A hard look at Fred’s troubles on the trail
I know I’ve got a lot of readers who support Fred Thompson. You know that I’m not incredibly enthusiastic about any one of the GOP candidates. So, don’t bite my head off when I point out to you that it’s not just the liberal media who are reporting on Fred’s troubles on the campaign trail. What happened with Fred’s campaign in Delaware (which votes on Super Tuesday, Feb. 5)–or rather, what didn’t happen–embodies Fredinertia. Let’s take a closer look.
First, here’s an interesting comment at conservative stalwart Patterico’s site from a few days’ ago about the Delaware debacle that shows the lack of basic organization plaguing the campaign:
Unfortunately, Mr Thompson has run a campaign that’s a joke. Oh, sure, he’s got all of the positive attributes our host mentioned, but it’s almost as though he thought he could put all of his position points on the internet and then everybody would just then flock to the polls to vote for him.
Perhaps this will seem like a little thing to a lot of people, but to me it demonstrates something larger. In the small state of Delaware, it requires only 500 signatures of registered Republicans to get on the Republican primary ballot. His campaign staff, which made plenty of calls asking for money, declined the volunteer help of a GOP worker, a man who has done the grunt work of canvassing neighborhoods for candidates, and then fell short, very short, of the 500 signatures needed.
That campaign worker didn’t sign the petition, because the only place he could have signed it was at Thompson headquarters in Wilmington; he’d have had to have driven to HQ to sign it.
Out of 178,000 registered Republicans in Delaware, the Thompson campaign got less than 300 valid signatures.
Another Thompson campaign story: In Iowa (a rather important state at the moment), a conservative blogger who was important enough to land a one-on-one interview with Mike Huckabee, but had still come out in support of Mr Thompson, was notified by the campaign (via e-mail) of a Thompson appearance in his home town of Ottumwa just six hours before the appearance.
Unlike the governors running, Mr Thompson has very little experience in actually running anything that we can see; about his only managerial experience is in his own campaign. And, quite frankly, in that one job, he has done very poorly.
If the man can’t even run his own campaign well (or find good managers to whom to delegate responsibility), why should we have any confidence that he’ll be able to run the government of the United States?
Comment by Dana — 1/2/2008 @ 5:17 am
Good question.
Delaware Grapewine shared details from disappointed Fredheads last month:
Fred Thompson’s presidential campaign, which has a reputation for being lackadaisical, gave that image a mighty boost this week in Delaware.
It was heavy lifting by inertia. Just perfect.
Thompson, a Republican probably better known for his television and movie roles than his tenure as a Tennessee senator, was trying to get on the ballot for the presidential primary here. He needed 500 signatures from Republican voters by Monday afternoon to make it.
His operation ended up only 209 signatures short. It came cantering into the Elections Department in Dover about 10 minutes before the deadline with petitions that appeared to be in order, but they were honeycombed with signatures that did not count because they were not from Republicans. “A lot of independent voters, unaffiliated,” said Paul Baldwin of the Elections Department. There are more than 178,000 Republican voters in Delaware, and Thompson’s campaign could not find 500 of them. He was ruled out of the primary.
The actor could not get his act together.
The setback frustrated some local Republicans who favored Thompson — or more precisely, added to their frustration. Chief among them were Everett Moore, who was the Republican state chair from 2001 to 2003, and John Feroce, who ran for the state Senate in 2006. Independent of one another, they had contacted the campaign during its lurch of a launch last summer. Thompson probably could not have asked for better backing here. Moore, a Georgetown lawyer, is an experienced political hand who still commands respect in the party and especially in Sussex County, where Thompson could have been a fit for its conservative politics. Feroce, who was a Rhode Island legislator before moving to Middletown, is a former Army Reserves major with operational know-how. Each got nowhere.
“I had talked to the campaign very early on, and after two or three conversations, it died. It was just a total drop,” Moore said.
“It just never happened. It speaks really to the top of the organization, not anything in Delaware,” Feroce said.
Jason Bonham has more.
Lesson: If and when the Fred campaign finally calls it quits, there will be no one to blame but the candidate and his top advisers who blew it with spurned diehards ready and willing–but unable–to help.
***
Question: Is Fred helping Huckabee by staying in the race?
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633 Comments
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Categories: Fred Thompson
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i think fred’s wife would make a better candidate. that being saidd, he has not had the infrastructure to run a nationwide campaign. he has not been able to pull one together and he should just pack it in now. so we can see where those votes will go.
geez..
AJ going bawl-istic in
5…4…
Dude, just having fun! Still luv ya “bra”.
I think he knows the Republican candidate is not going to win and he is just saving his energy.
Fred is a prune.
I think Fred will be fine. He finished third in Iowa and second in Wyoming with South Carolina coming up. The media sickens me. And I mean ALL media. I’m so tired of the best candidate with the best ideas getting absolutely no coverage because he conducts himself as a gentleman and doesn’t interrupt others in debates and act like a fool. And who the hell started the “he doesn’t have the fire” thing?! How has anyone else shown any “fire”? People just repeat what they hear. People need to seriously look at the candidates and what they stand for. We’re not voting for homecoming king and queen here folks. We’re voting for the President of the United States of America. Fred is by far the best man for the job and the only true conservative in the race.
I lost hope in a Fred campaign in July when the whole “. . .going to announce over 4th of July weekend” fiasco happened. I thought he voluntarily gave up the momentum with that stunt.
Go Mitt!!
This is just silly.
The most principled conservative in the race is running a nontraditional campaign and conservative bloggers — Michelle and Allah Pundit, notably — are hammering him for it. Instead of focusing on his campaigning, how about focusing on the issues. You know, the aspects of an election that should actually matter to the voters.
The problem isn’t with the liberal media, either, as FNC isn’t given Fred! a very fair shake either. The problem is with the media in general. Why are people paying more attention to style as opposed to substance?
Fred! is the only guy on the GOP stage who is actually palatable to our coalition, but because he isn’t glad-handing and baby-kissing and raising millions of dollars he gets written off. Nonsense says I.
Fred! is, in my humble opinion, the only chance the GOP has of maintaining the coalition. If he doesn’t get the nomination I most certainly will be abandoning the party. And that’s no threat either. It’s just a little dose of reality to the supports of Huckabee, McCain, Giuliani and Romney.
Wise up, folks. Your candidates will not be able to beat Obama.
There’s plenty to be said about Fred’s lackluster campaign. I myself have said over at HotAir that Fred looks like he couldn’t sell marijuana at a Grateful Dead concert.
That being said, there’s no reason to seize on stories by Politico, one of which was, at best, a blatant mischaracterization, while another one was unsubstantiated by anyone and likely based on an outright fabrication.
You wouldn’t support an anti-war case with Jamill Hussein or Scott Beauchamp/TNR garbage, so just the same, you shouldn’t use Politico’s obviously yellow journalism to support an anti-Fred case.
HebrewToYou #7: AMEN!!!
well, the Thompson camp either has, or does not have the signatures. this isn’t an anti-Fred thing…this is simply a fact. 500 signatures isn’t even backbreaking.
if he wasn’t serious about running, he shouldn’t have entered the race.
Fredheads should give their support to Mitt. Put a stop to the liberal Huckabee and McCain tag team!
If Fred Thompson has any sense and he really wants to have a say on the national stage of politics, he should get out of the campaign for President and join forces with Mitt Romney as his VP. Romney has the tight organization that Fred lacks and seems incapable of putting together and with that Fred could be Fred. He would be quite effective as the attack dog for Romney and help overcome some of Romney’s penchant for going wonky when he needs to be more “down home.”
I vote for a Romney/Thompson ticket.
Exactly. My post isn’t “silly.” Denial is silly. I’m not criticizing his “style.” People who have had first-hand dealings with the Thompson campaign are exposing its incompetence. The only folks who need wising up are people who think Thompson can beat Obama or Clinton–when he can’t get 500 signatures in Delaware and avail himself of grass-roots supporters knocking down his door to help.
But, oh, silly me. IT’S THE MEDIA’S FAULT!
Warning to the RNC-there are those of us out here who will no longer vote for the “LESSER OF TWO EVILS”.
Big government Republicans are as bad as big government Democrats!
A long way to go, still a Fred head…..
Go Fred! Please!
I know in this day and age, it may seem amazing that Fred hasn’t had the exposure that all the other candidates have had(though with our current media, I’m not surprised), and maybe it seems like his campaign advisors and workers aren’t on the ball, but that doesn’t mean Fred should drop out at any point until some other candidate is actually chosen(and God help us if it’s NOT Fred) and I think what his supporters on this sight don’t appreciate is the constant put down from your end; we respect your opinion Michelle, but unless you want to ban us from commenting, we don’t have to agree with you.
The fact is Fred’s the most conservative candidate out there, and once push comes to shove, people with common sense will see that and make the RIGHT choice. I know this sounds a little backwards, but it seems to me that his unwillingness to feverishly clamor after the job the way the other candidates do, just proves he’s much better suited to do it. He’s trusting smart people to make their own choices without shrieking and postulating why we HAVE to chose him.
This illustrates all that is wrong with politics…we actually care how a candidate runs his campaign instead of how he would run the country. So let’s pass on the only guy that is conservative on every point and always has been, in favor of a bunch of polished politicians who lie every day about what they believe and about their own record because they can “run a campaign”, which really means, they can convince the majority of voters of their pack of lies.
I wish Fred was running a better campaign because he is right on all the issues, but more than that, I wish the voters cared more about the man, his character and his principles than based on how well he performs in this beauty pageantry we call the presidential primaries.
…. AND – we will no longer volunteer for RINOS!
Time will tell if Fred and his team know what they are doing by running this unconventional type of campaign. I still like him and Hunter as the best conservatives still in the race. Thanks for keeping us in the loop Michelle as I always tell my boss “if the baby is ugly you have to state the baby is ugly.”
I’m not overly enthused with Romney, but I could support that ticket, and I think it might bring some credibility to Mitt … and it would be infinitely preferrable any ticket with McVain or Huckster at the top.
& will not bow & scrape to the doctrines of appropriate Media conduct. Take a good look & listen:
http://hotair.com/archives/2008/01/07/video-fred-debuts-on-the-factor/
Who refuses to be driven by the sick/slick demands of a media gone insane that DEMANDS MILLIONS to get out????
O, all Ye well & even tempered-undecided….WTFU!!!…this is not a trick question……the American people have had so much shite stuffed up the nose of their brains ever since TVs were invented that they wouldn’t know a real Leader if they fell over one. & as for not being sure yet……way too late for that. Sht or sign on to sharia.
TELL IT LIKE IT IS FRED!!
signed: apologies offered to all offended parties.
if you can’t run a campaign, you can’t run the country. he is showing his lack of leadership and organizational skills to run the country in my book. i like fred but prefer him as the VP on a Romney Ticket.
LOL Michelle. All fired up.
Supporters help campaigners who help themselves.
You are in a no win situation. If you did good pieces on all of the candidates – you would still get pounded. Pace yourself. November is still a long way off.
i could take a romney/duncan hunter, too. but i would prefer duncan as the head of the national security..
If the media isn’t to blame for the current way we pick our Presidents, why is it that hardly anyone knows anything about Obama’s stances on most issues? It’s just a popularity contest and let’s face it, if the media likes you, you will be a frontrunner and then the money and signatures will come. Having said that, I do agree with Michelle that many mistakes were made in Delaware and Fred can only blame himself and his campaign managers for that.
I am really, really disappointed in Fred Thompson and his campaign. I had been waiting for him to run for a long time…years in fact. I have liked him as an option for President, and thought he would make a great President for a long time.
When he came into the race, I really had thought and hoped he would come out swinging. I really thought he would be the man he had always been and run tht campaign the way e had always done things. I truly thought he was going to “Man Up” and ride the Democrats like cheap mules, calling them on all their garbage and thus, running roughshod all over the board and polls. He was going to be a force to be reconned with, and the great many people that supported him in his run up to his decision and announcement of his candidacy proved it.
People knew him, what he was about, that he was a stand up guy, and that he was not about to take any guff from or allowed to be bullied by and Islamist or any Liberal anywhere.
I don’t knwo what happened to that Fred Thompson, but it seems like his Evil Other Dimention-esqe clone has shown up, and it has been one frustration after another. In fact, if I didn’t actually know he was running by paying attention to his site, I probably wold have missed it entirely.
Where did Fred go> Bring him back, and take this evil pod persln back with you. He isn’t doing anyone any good.
IMHO, I think Fred would clobber Hillary or Obama in a one on one debate and win, lets just see if he can make it that far….. someone nudge me win it’s over.
calling Fred’s campaign unconventional is like calling the crazy person eclectic.
his style isn’t working, it won’t work, and expecting to work at some future date is wishful thinking (isn’t this what we accuse the dems of?!?). we need to look at the objective facts here…he’s polling no where. his style is a turn off to voters. and now, more than ever, the repubs need to court the young vote. Thompson isn’t sexy like that.
his platform is appealing, but his message is not. he had his shot.
So, Fred’s shortcomings are in his campaign; the other candidates have other shortcomings.
I like Fred the best and I’ll stick with him as long as he’s still in it.
Besides, I hear the pundits talking so much about the things that could spell doom for the frontrunners, Fred could win the nomination by hanging in there till enough other people shoot themselves in the foot.
As far as the general election, I think most of the Republicans could beat Hillary because she’s disliked by so many people. Obama’s charisma scares me more than anything else I see in the Democrats.
I dont think I have ever wanted a year to go by so fast in my life. I truly believe I know what it’s like to be in jail now.
Michelle, incompetence is the word of the day. How disappointing that Thompson can not even form up an organization to gather 500 signatures. The GOP is running a bunch of losers.
Un-Freaking-Believable
I think Fred will have a strong showing in South Carolina. New Hampshire and Delaware are hardly conservative hotbeds.
NO, YOU ARE WRONG.
Fred is bucking the Machine.
Take off your machine glasses.
How many amazing Big Label Bands came out of the 90s???
Can you define the non-industry ‘Indie Wave’ Sound.
2 divergent universes…..one dying, the other evolving.
Fred is walking on the corpse!…the dead don’t like that!!!
& most ppl don’t realize IT’s DEAD!! yet.
‘Mama, come bring me dat fork, onnaconna I’m sick’a all da jive.’
OR
You are only worth what you can actually do when the power goes down.
I wonder what all the naysayers would do if for some reason Rush Limbaugh broke from tradition and endorsed Fred Thompson.
Admissions Dept: I am a FredHead. I am a Fred volunteer. I (for the first time ever) have cracked open my wallet and financially supported a candidate – Fred.
Fred has an uphill battle, no doubt. What endears me to the guy are his positions, intelligence, humor and presence. He looks and acts like a statesman, and not a politician. He is able to quickly explain his position, without talking points and without a stump speech with every answer. He understands his opponent’s positions so well he is able to pick them apart off the cuff (we’ve all seen it).
I believe this is the kind of leader (not politician or “CEO”) that this country needs. I think the “fire in the belly” schtick is a bunch of feces.
What remains to be seen is whether he can drive a campaign that ignites a fire in a larger audience. I suspect Fred is bright enough to understand that this a partly a battle of attrition. Let’s be honest folks: we’re into politics, but most people don’t even know half the names yet. It’s a loooong time until this is over. Fred’s strategy is clearly to pick up momentum in the South, and I think it has a good chance to work.
And then there’s this: Even if it doesn’t work, doesn’t Fred’s very solid conservative positioning force the other candidates to defend and strengthen their positions? The grindstone of debate sharpens all the swords put it front of it, not just the owners. We should, at least, feel lucky that our candidate of choice gets to spar with Fred. It may make them better. With the way things are going on the other side, our eventual nominee may need to be sharp indeed.
That having been said: Go Fred! As Cartman would say: “Kick A$$!”
Flip Flopney is a non-starter for the GOP base. I have underwear older than the precious few conservative principles that he CLAIMS to have.
He appoints a majority of liberal dem judges. He raises his mitt for Gorebal Warming. He doesn’t give a hoot about the 2nd amendment. He raises “fees” in an already overtaxed state.
If you want dems to win without even breaking a sweat, support Rudy McRomney.
“he couldn’t sell marijuana at a Grateful Dead concert”
ROFL
Michelle, conservatism can beat anyone on the Democrats side. Moderate Republicans will not. If we all got behind a real conservative, we could help the best person with the best principles get his message to the people. This country is run by the voters not the politicians. We can complain all we want about the lack of good candidates running for office, but if we fail to support the ones that support our views, flaws and all, we have little chance of ever getting a real conservative in office.
I don’t know about the MSM, but a Hunter Thompsom ticket would be loved by the gonzo media.
the only way you can successfully buck a system is if you know how that system works, and exploit its weaknesses. i don’t see any evidence of this. it seems like it looks – lazy.
now, i’m not above being wrong, but there’s no way i can see Fred’s bid being successful.
On January 8th, 2008 at 2:06 pm, coldfront said:
What? Say it again but this time in english.
I just saw a poll on Hannity.com that asked who would you like to be the Republican party nominee? The results are as follows:
Thompson 41%
Huckabee 25%
Romney 21%
Giuliani 9%
McCain 4%
So, don’t tell me that Thompson doesn’t have any support. I listen to Hannity every day and this poll has been up for a few days now and I haven’t heard him mention the results as of yet. That’s a pretty big lead and yet it goes un-noticed even by the sites host. It’s very frustrating. If Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh would come out and support Fred, his campaign would definitely catch fire. I’ve heard them both say that he has the most conservative record, but yet they won’t back him.
This is true, Fred needs you Michelle! Less Hillary, More Fred!
You can do ittttttttttt!!!!
“On January 8th, 2008 at 2:28 pm, gregorystephens said:”
the Paulbots must not have seen that poll, or surely they would have thrown it.
but given this logic (and internet poll says it, it must be true!), Ron Paul has a shot too.
Fred not only is the messenger he is the message.
I think I get it now. If every Republican just wishes really hard, Fred!!!!! will be President. It’ll be our first Immaculate Inauguration.
C’mon. Just like it was pointed out yesterday with Hunter, the candidate has to take responsibility for getting their message out, and to run a competitive campaign. That means paying attention to details like getting on the ballot.
I am a Fred “leaner”. I believe, like many others, that he and Duncan Hunter are the only true conservatives in the race.
That being said, it is inexcusable for someone running for President to fail to get on a ballot for lack of 500 (or 209) signatures. This is basic blocking and tackling.
His campaign has made some strategic blunders. He flushed a lot of goodwill and momentum down the crapper when he delayed, and delayed his annpuncement to run. He picked a CAIR lover to be one of the primary shakers and movers on his campaign. And so on. Those moves were just plain bad strategy, and people I believe were willing to look past that.
But Delaware is not bad strategy – it is blatant incompetence. Yeah, probably not Fred’s doing, but he picked the people running his campaign. He needs to make a head or two roll over this. If not, the public will think he is condoning their actions, and it will come full circle to rest on Fred’s shoulders. And what people will conclude, is how is he going to run a Country when he can’t get the basics right on a political campaign.
And this is specifically the problem with the campaign. He wants to be president of ‘some’ of the United States, but not others. If Fred can’t beat Huckabee in Iowa (don’t go blaming the ‘evangelicals’ here like the media does), he won’t win.
Huckabee got Chuck Norris. I know its campy, but people LIKE it. Obama got Oprah. I know it’s campy but people LIKE it. Thompson IS Hollywood. Can’t he have found some Hollywood buddy that could support him to generate some ‘buzz’ on the trail?
You can live on the ‘I don’t play hand games’, or ‘I don’t play hat games’ all you want to. But at the end of the day, the voters will say ‘I don’t play the vote game’.
Fred could have won Iowa if he cared. Fred could have done well in NH if he cared. Cared NOT about the presidency, but cared about the people of those states. . . who happen to be Americans.
Heh heh.
Michelle, thanks for telling us about this. That said, I am still hoping–and praying–that Fred’s “style” will not completely derail things for him. I really like this man and what he says and writes on Townhall. Perhaps the audience of 2008 is not geared to look at someone who marches to his own steady drum. Maybe he waited too late and his organization is not as energized and this will bring a swift end. Or, perhaps, he could pull this off.
I think it is still early, and will wait to see what the South will do. I realize I could be whistling in the dark, or whistling Dixie.
As Gayle and many others say on your blog, Thompson and Romney would be a good team IMHO. Or Romney/Thompson. Either would be formidable against Shrillary or Obama. They are who I am praying for the most—not the Huckster and his twitchy eyebrows that I don’t trust.
At least it is getting interesting, but it is going to be a looong year til November.
Here is the blasted link, don’t know what happened:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0407/3562.html
if you think about it, huck the schmuck has flipped and flopped on every issue, as every month he has a new stance on immigration. from his original just 3 or 4 months ago. now, mind you a person can change their stance after much thought and revelation, but in a 3 month time?
the flip flop title was given to Romney by the media. i don’t trust the media. they labeled him and it is sticking. to bad, cause had they labled the huckster appropriately, maybe he wouldn’t have won iowa. the clinton clone should scare every true republican.
and i liked reagan, but please, it is time to define conservatism in the 21st century. let the conservatives move forward as a no amnesty party (reagan gave amnesty), balance budget (reagan didn’t balance and blamed it on the dem controlled congress, maybe true but more could have been done), and finally reagan gave us many things to overcome as a party. Iran/Contra just as one example of overcoming.
i voted for reagan, loved him as governor of california, but please as a party we need to progress beyond reagan. we must define ourselves as conservatives beyond the reagan mold.
out there right now, only a two candidates have come close to these ideals as a true leader/manager of a high political office. not huck, not thompson, and not mccain.
Well, I started reading this post about the whole Delaware thing, and began thinking, wow, finally a complaint with the tiniest bit of substance.
Then I read on, and found that the first post up there completely misrepresents what happened, with the 2nd adding some much needed clarification that totally casts it in a different light, at least by my eyes.
If Fred “couldn’t come up with 500 signatures”, as the first post asserts, that would indeed be pretty bad.
But he -did- come up with 500 signatures. It’s just that a bunch were from independents, which it turns out in Delaware (and unlike many other states) aren’t eligible.
Now, you can insinuate that it was total disorganization, that he “couldn’t even get that many signatures”, or you can chalk it up to the simple ignorance of some arcane bit of bureaucratic BS imposed upon Delaware candidates. Maybe whoever handled it there had just done it in 5 other states where independents -did- count, and never even thought to question it.
Was it a screwup? Sure. But being unaware of a bureaucratic requirement that every signature -must- be a Registered Republican is a hell of a lot different from “couldn’t find 500 signatures”, and I’m sorry, but I think it’s pretty slimy to try to misrepresent one as the other. It’s the sort of thing I -would- expect from the Left. Surprising to see it here.
Qwinn
We’ve got to put our best candidate on the ticket and thats not just who can get elected.
Nominating a candidate with the competence to govern is our single most important obligation.
I really like Fred’s Federalist Conservatism and at the same time he still has to meet the standard of job performance required to successfully carry out the duties of the highest office in the land.
When the whole primary process was known to be accelerated, I knew then (and said as much) that the old rules do not apply.
I have a few problems with Sen. Thompson (I have at least a few problems with all of the GOP contenders), but he does have the most Conservative street cred of the bunch.
I am in no hurry to pick MY candidate. Perhaps Sen. Thompson is waiting for the pack to thin.
I can only hope as much.
What is killing fred is what is killing the republican party right now. The reliance on to much Washington elitists who are clueless on how to run campaigns. This isnt just a Fred problem its a problem for the entire party.
The consultants in Washington are too out of touch with the American people. This has led to the poltical class assuming it knew what the american people wanted based on Arrogance
Its telling that the non washington outsiders suck as Paul and Huckabee have killed insider politicians. They have been able to get more people and money behind them than better established candidates.
This is why I sit out elections other than to vote. I have fought repeatedly with the Washington elites who THINK they know how to run elections.
I like Fred and would support him but his campaign like all the others just treats me like an ATM or free labor. That is because the elites have patted themselves on the back to often and convinced themselves that they know whats going on when they are clueless.
So yet again I sit out and watch why those that have control show their uselessness again.
qwinn says:
Qwinn this is the key to this entire blog story:
plus they should have known they needed only republican signatures, and they should have known that the signatures they collected were not all republicans.
don’t know what story you read, but these seemed pretty clear to me. absolute lack of organization as well as true leadership is lacking in the campaign. if you can’t lead in a small venue how can you lead in a large one? he doesn’t have the infrastructure or ignored one provided by someone with a long time relationship in the area.
Poor campaign structures have never equated to bad candidates to me because I’m not an uneducated or apathetic voter. When I take the time to research the candidates and their messages, I feel pretty good about the decision I make when I vote. I don’t make the huge leap that because a candidate doesn’t micro-manage his campaign that he won’t make a good public servant.
Overly ambitious, power-hungry candidates who don’t have the humbleness to serve but just want the title, are the ones who irritate me and I’ve seen MORE than my fair share of them within the GOP. Campaigns with loose cannons like Ed Rollins are a problem. Or campaigns which hire push-polling callers illegally in NH.
Republicans in trouble? Indeed they may be given the fact that there are Republican voters in sufficient numbers who will not support Romney, McCain, Guiliani, or Huckabee under any circumstances – even if it means electing Clinton or Obama as Commander in Chief. Republicans better take heed to this reality and seriously re-assess their options. The only candidate that does not alienate any of the Republican voting constituencies is Thompson, by virtue of his voting record in the Senate and his current specific policy positions on national security; immigration; abortion; taxes; trade; education; etc.
It seems that Republican voters are in a dilemma over whether the party will maintain conservatism or become a party of moderates. There is only one viable conservative in the Republican race, Thompson. Republican voters will ultimately have to decide whether they will support conservatism, and thus Thompson; or relinquish conservatism and support one of the other candidates and lose the general election by failing to manifest a large voter turnout among their current conservative base. In a close election, the Republican nominee cannot win without a large turnout among their conservative base – the very base who will not under any circumstances, “hold their nose” and vote for a RINO. These conservative voters will simply not cast a vote for president in the voting booth. They will not vote for a non-Reagan Republican conservative candidate.
Read more on this matter here:
http://sheetanchor.wordpress.com/2008/01/05/a-house-divided-will-not-stand/
When it comes to politics, especially at the federal level, I stick to the Lockean essentials (life, liberty, property, which translates as gun rights, low taxes, and property rights). Everything else is sideshow.
Only Fred Thompson and Ron Paul have a shot at my vote on the merits, and Fred’s foreign policy prescriptions are a better choice for the world we live in today. I would be very hard put to it to cast a vote to a gun-grabbing (redacted) like Hizzoner or Slick Mitt, an aggravated serial violator of his oath of office like Honest Johnny Quote Constitution McAmnesty, or a warmed-over populist naif like Jimmeh Earl Shuckabee.
As to the Delaware situation, I’ll confess that it does remind me of what I saw in New Hampshire in 1984 when I was a John Glenn volunteer (I used to be a Democrat). Senator Glenn was ill served by the professionals running the show. I keep reminding myself Fred was twenty points down in his first Senate campaign, but at some point that has to change.
Don’t forget the Little Green Football’s poll of the recent debates:
Which Republican candidate turned in the best performance in the Fox News forum on January 6, 2008?
1,140/15.8%Rudy Giuliani
319/4.4%Mike Huckabee
615/8.5%John McCain
2,302/31.9%Mitt Romney
2,843/39.4%Fred Thompson
Total: 7,219
Hey, Michelle, could you please run your own poll for the curious? Thanks. I realize these polls, on conservative blogs, are not the “whole picture” but I think it does show that he is more popular than the media believes.
I think some of what the people are seeing as a lack of fire was caused by high hopes and early expectations. I remember before Fred announced. His biggest supporters were saying just you wait and see what he does. He’s gonna be on fire. He’s gonna do this. I was looking forward to a lot. After all it wasn’t just Fred, it was Fred!. Then he was on Leno the night of the debate. Eh. Hey the guy has some very good policy statements I’ll give him that. He’s one of my top choices, but after that buildup, it was a letdown. Nobody could have lived up to that.
It’s not really that arcane. I haven’t looked it up, yet, but I would guess that many closed primary states would have this requirement. Look, even Tom Tancredo is on the Delaware ballet and he dropped out of the race.
It doesn’t satisfy the question about how Fred’s campaign could make this error. Did the campaign collect 500 signatures and stop? 700? 1000?
Not knowing or understanding the rules is a poor excuse. I’m not anti-Fred, but it seems clear that his campaign messed up here. When you’re coming from a legislative background, you need to be able to prove that you can execute (IMHO).
I’m with Qwinn #51, great post. I also think it’s childish to make a comparison like “if he can’t run his campaign, how can he run the country”.
His campaign is nothing like the others, and I for one am glad about that. I’ve just about had it with the polls every 15 minutes and the Frank Luntzisms delving into the underbelly of undecideds “true” feelings. Please…
I sincerely hope Fred will prevail and prove you don’t need the circus and the horsesh&t to spin the public and win the election. Call me old-fashioned but I’m still rather fond of straight answers.
P.S.
I also don’t believe that the GOP is in trouble or dispirited—as the media, in its subliminal manner, wants us to fear—if they keep sayin’ it we will believe it,no?
I think, come November, we will be breathing fire against the Dems—once we get united behind someone against Hil or Obama Osama. We did it against all odds and polls in 2000 and 2004, and we can do it again.
Just sign me,
Stubborn Optimist ’08
Okay. Can we all agree that Rudy’s numbers tanking is a GREAT thing?
It will be an even better day for Republicans when he withdraws!
I’ll stick with the Reagan mold, thank you very much, as it was defined based on first principles (low taxes, less regulation, strong national defense, defense of life) that never go out of style. If he were around today, he could run away with this campaign, because every one of those principles is easily adapted to the present circumstances.
The fundamental reason right now the Republican party is in such a major sh**storm is because it has gotten away from those principles, and as such, the coalition built thereon (the most successful coalition the Republicans have ever had) is falling apart.
See you in the political wilderness.
As much as I liked Fred,it is time for him to drop-out.All he is doing at this point is hurting the Republicans chances of winning in Nov.At this point it seems pretty clear cut that he ,Guiliani,and Huckabee can’t take votes away from Dems,only other Republicans.I would add my personal choice,Hunter should go,also,but he hasn’t drawn enough attention to make a difference. Maybe I’m just feeling pessimistic ,but the thought of any of the Dems winning scares the s**t out of me.
uhangtight:
I’m not surprised that they turned down that volunteer help. If anything it reinforces my point. They had 500 signatures that they thought were valid. As far as they realized, they didn’t -need- another volunteer for them. It turned out they weren’t valid in Delaware. Okay. And yes, that’s a screwup. Okay. But it’s still a single mistake that you’re trying to blow up to be like 3 or 4 separate mistakes. No. It was one single mistake – they thought independent signatures would count. Because of that, they didn’t get this guy as a volunteer to do something they thought was already done, and you’re trying to make it sound like that was some unbelievably stupid secondary mistake. It wasn’t. It’s completely to be expected given the circumstances. Get my point?
Qwinn
I took a look at that comment and didn’t see a source. Who is this so-called seasoned GOP volunteer whose help was declined? Is this just hearsay?
Thompson: Great candidate, lousy campaign…it’s a shame, Fred and Hunter are the only real conservatives running.
It would be nice if we had someone who is both right on the issues and could run a great campaign. Unfortunately we don’t.
So I guess we have to settle for someone who is right on the issues. Maybe if conservatives would stop taking pot shots at Fred on such a regular basis and get behind his campaign we could fix the technical issues with it.
I agree, Delaware was a screw up. There is not a single candidate who hasn’t had a screw up in either party. I could see a reason for angst if this was South Carolina, but Delaware?? That’s now the critical issue in who we choose for President. Forget the war, amnesty, campaign finance reform, social security and the like — find us someone who doesn’t mess up Delaware.
If Thompson leaves the race and Mitt is in trouble we get Huck or McCain. And another four years of fighting Amnesty and the DREAM Act. Maybe we better rethink this one and try and jump start the car instead of trading it in on a shiny new McHuckmobile. Because if we can’t salvage Fred or Mitt, that’s what we are going to get by default.
This race brings to mind the adage of the perfect being the enemy of the good.
Qwinn#67–Not to argue the point, since I don’t heve much knowledge of the subject.I understand the point you were making ,but it seems to me that it would have been in Fred’s best interest to get as many votes as possible.If he only needed 500,wouldn’t it be better to get say,1000,or 1500?
As much as it pains me, McCain is the only guy who can win in states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Colorado where the election will be decided. Huck, Fred & Mitt have little independent appeal. Rudy could win only because he is a liberal.
It’s a good thing he’s dead then.
Silver Cat,might I add that even McCain will have a hard time here in Pa.,where the voters don’t even know the candidate’s names.All people here can see on a ballot is the Big D.
And by the way… I think it was also -way- out of line to claim that Thompson’s rebuttal of the Politico “dropping out and endorsing McCain” dirty trick was a “non-denial denial” – it was as blunt a denial as possible, not to mention labelling it “painful”. It was also every bit as much out of line to call the ridiculous Politico faux-scandal over the firehat “brutal”.
Until this election, I’ve always loved your writing, Michelle, and I even liked Allahpundit over at Hot Air. But the searing disdain you guys have displayed for Fred Thompson, and especially AH’s constant need to belittle the great number of your readers who really really like him (while simultaneously and hilariously claiming he doesn’t excite anyone)… I don’t get it, I don’t understand why you’ve totally chosen to undermine the candidate who should be your -dream- if you’ve meant half the things you’ve posted over the last few years, but seriously, I’m sick of it, and it’s totally turned me off as a reader of your blogs. I don’t expect you to care if you lose one reader, but seriously, is asking for you to stop buying into every single faux meme started up by proven liars with an anti-Fred agenda like Politico and for turning a single mistake in Delaware into a comedy of errors too much to ask? It’s hard telling you apart from the MSM on this.
Qwinn
Respectfully disagree. I will vote for the lesser of two evils (LOTE)any day because I don’t want the greater of two evils (GOTE) to win. Seems pretty simple to me.
However, I won’t give my money or time to the LOTE.
So pinch your nose and vote the LOTE or you’ll get the GOTE.
Boys & Girls RELAX! It’s awfully early in the hunt. We have fallen prey to the 24 hour newscycle and soundbyte syndrome. Trust me, NOBODY is out yet. Well except Paul, but he was never IN.
The topic of this thread is about the Delaware screw up. There aren’t many here that are disagreeing with Thompson’s side of issues.
However, it is significant that 178,000 republicans will not have a say on how they feel about Fred, no? Why do you suggest that South Carolina is greater than Delaware?
At the very least, the mistake should be owned. Time will tell if that will happen and I’m curious to see what the outcome is. Shrugging one’s shoulders and acting as though it were an inconsequential mistake would seem to compound the mistake. Granted, that’s just my opinion.
Living in neighboring KY, I was awful proud of Tennessean Fred Thompson’s work in the Senate but now he just doesn’t seem to be able to hit those same campaign themes he once so adroitly used in his senate days.
Back then, when he was campaigning for the Senate, there was a vibrancy and urgency to his messages, which were always filled with solutions and offered up-beat tones of self-determination and hope; it’s like someone has taken away his drive to succeed in this race.
I agree with #69, it’s a shame Thompson hasn’t hit his stride again, because he does seem to be one of the few conservatives in the race.
blues:
“If he only needed 500,wouldn’t it be better to get say,1000,or 1500?”
I would consider it a pretty inefficient allocation of resources to do that if you think you’ve got the 500 you need. Handing in 1000 or 1500 isn’t going to get you a higher position on the ballot than 500 will, so what’s the point? It’s only worth doing if you think the 500 you’ve got aren’t valid – but if that were the case, the original mistake wouldn’t have been made in the first place.
You can say “But another guy was willing to volunteer” – and yeah, that’s fine. But personally, if I offered to volunteer, I wouldn’t appreciate being made to do “overkill” work that, assuming things went smoothly, wouldn’t do one damn thing for my campaign. They thought it was covered, a guy volunteered, and they were nice enough to say no thanks, we’ve got it. They were wrong on that point, but again – it’s -one- mistake, not a circus like this post attempts to portray it.
Qwinn
The only ones who are for (get) all 4 of those is Fred! and Hunter.
Rudy might get an even split on Life with his judges pledge but only really gets Nat Defense.
Mitt gets Nat Defense but is shaky on Life.
McCain gets Nat Defense and Life.
Huckabee gets Life.
Paul gets Taxes, maybe Regulation and Life but not Nat defense.
Looks like Fred’s Wyoming organization was actually organized, compared to Delaware. Will the Delaware individuals ever get identified? I am a Fred backer, but they did have the responsibility to get the job done right. Problem in vetting the original state organizers???
Qwinn, I don’t have the millions of hits a day on my blog, but you’re always welcome there and of course at AoS.
Sorry but ALL get taxes. Since nada can be done about the tax system, all can say what they want and be on level ground. Just because Paul squacks more about it does not mean he will do more.
Qwinn-Got your point,thanks.
How in the world does Ron Paul get 8% in NH and Fred only 2%… insane. I guess the crazies are voting in the Republican primary. I’m still sticking with Fred, but he’s gotta take SC.
If Fred drops out I don’t think I’ll be able to get very enthusiastic about the others, and at this point I’d probably have to vote for Mitt.
Disappointing.
IIRC McCain voted against the Bush tax cut.
Romney, Guiliani, and Huckabee voted for an increase in some form of tax while mayor/gov. Actually Huckabee has proposed a flat-tax, but we all know it won’t happen since the Byzantine ambiguity of the tax code is what makes it able to take so much of our money without more of a protest.
#75
Quinn
I am another reader that was to say the least disappointed in the article and the resulting crickets chirping to an update or retraction. I may now come to read now and then but do not put much trust or importance to Michelle’s writing anymore.
To those who thought she was a voice of reason…and I count myself as one that thought so…the lack of update on that misleading and misguided article were eye opening.
I had hoped that she would step up to the plate and do the right thing. Alas those of us who hoped so are still waiting.
I never read Hot Air anymore…its become just that…hot air.
How did that one get associated with me? I didn’t write that.
Some of us who have been in the fray for a VERY long time have been holding our noses til they hurt!
Voting for the lesser of two evils got us a Republican majority that voted for a record. Guess what the record was…Pork Barrell spending -mid ’90 s. That’s my money and yours.
If the leadership of my party cannot get behind men of honest character like Hunter/Tancredo/Thomson,
then we will be “ruled over” by real socialists not the “kind of” socialists (moderates) that we’ve been holding our noses and voting for the last 25+ years.
Let me know when your nose starts to hurt. (-:
What got me to switch to a Thompson supporter from a Giuliani supporter was precisely his antiestablishment demeanor along with his viewpoints. It meant not only would I agree with his political opinions, if not every single one, but he also wouldn’t take gruff as President. He’ll be blunt and wouldn’t care what “image” he projects. He wants to be President, not a Celebrity.
I’ll be disappointed should he not win the nomination. Just as long as its Romney or Giuliani otherwise I’ll be happy.
I am sorry thirteen28.
I have NO idea.
Head up rear moment.
Forgive me.
thirteen 28 #65, you missed my point. i want someone more conservative than Reagan. PERIOD.
If we stand on our conservative principles we win every time. I don’t believe that Thompson is a true Conservative. He is more conservative than Guiliani but not as conservative as Duncan Hunter. He is more conservative than John McCain but not more conservative than any of the others. I believe that people are using McCain and Guiliani as the baseline for the ‘true conservative’ and I am not falling for this. Yes, I want a candidate far more conservative than Reagan. I think that is the way the Party needs to go.. step out of the by gone years of Reagan and wake up to NOW. Or we are no better than the Dems trying to re-live the 60′s or the 90′s. Paaalleeeze!
we can’t live in the past. we have to look forward. we have to look to being stronger in our conservative convictions.
Qwinn: I get your drift, I just disagree with your analysis. If you don’t have it together enough to ‘know’ the rules of the state, you have no business running for president.
Dittos, Qwinn.
I wonder if anyone bothered to ask Fred for his version of this story.
Michelle,
Just answering straight up, why don’t you let us know what it is about Fred’s character or policy positions that causes you concern?
Help us to understand what you are looking for…or what you see that others may not.
Click
But the dead do vote…
i think it is his actual record in the senate that shows he is not all that conservative..
go to the bottom of the page for his voting record
of course the New York Times thinks he is a conservative, the real thing. Not that I would listen to the NYT on this..
First off, yes it was a major screw up, It’s the candidate and his staff’s responsibility to know the election law’s of each and every state knowing that each state has it’s individual election laws.
Second Michelle is nothing close to slimey, Did she know about this obscure Deleware law maybe not, did she know that 200 signatures were from independent’s maybe not but the fact is Fred made a mistake not knowing the election law’s in Deleware. It’s called being misinformed, what it is’nt is slimey I believe you need to apoligize to Michelle and edit your statment in such a manner that it is not offensive.
Having said that I like Fred and would vote for him or Hunter but the fact is that Fred is not getting his message out for what ever reason and that is to his detriment.