Seismic shift in Republican Party leadership
It's almost official…
Fred Thompson Could Be the New Ron Reagan
By J.B. Williams
Tuesday, March 19, 2007
Liberal cheeksare puckering all over this country, including at RNC headquarters, at theprospects of a Fred Thompson presidential campaign. The last good-ole-boyconservative actor turned presidential candidate became the most universallybeloved US President of the 20th century!
In my ownunofficial not-so-scientific regular reader poll, which asked my mostlyconservative regular reader mail list one simple question, Who would youfeel best about supporting for President in 2008?, the answer could not have been clearer...
| Fred Thompson |  43% |
| Newt Gingrich | 17% |
| Duncan Hunter | 10% |
| Rudy Giuliani | 10% |
| Ron Paul | 8% |
| John McCain | 6% |
| Mitt Romney | 4% |
| Tom Tancredo | 3% |
| Sam Brownback | 0% |
I can only guesswhy the results are what they are. But my readers are not alone in their searchfor an unapologetic, no-nonsense, plain-spoken conservative leader who sharestheir conservative values.
After six yearsof "compassionate conservatism", which turns out to be more compassionate thanconservative, the conservative core of the Republican Party seems finally inthe mood to force a seismic shift in party leadership, from recent liberal RINOcontrol back to the conservative values that founded and built not only theGrand Ole Party, but this nation.
Traditionallyliberal rags like the NY and LA Times are talking about the conservative quakeunderway at the RNC on a daily basis. RNC leadership seems baffled at the newsthat their hand-chosen liberal frontrunners are meeting with a less thanexuberant welcome from the party faithful. They just aren't used toconstituents telling them what to do and they are not so sure they like it.
Even Republicantalk show hosts like Sean Hannity, seem agitated that they are unable to anointRudy Giuliani, who is having trouble connecting with conservatives over hisliberal social values.
For a change,conservatives seem awake and engaged in the primary process of selectingthemselves a real "people's" candidate for '08, instead of waiting for RNCleadership to anoint another lackluster RINO, compassionate towards liberalvalues and policies. As a result, there appears to be a growing nationalconservative movement to recruit Fred Thompson.
Otherconservative sites are asking readers the same question and getting verysimilar results.
From the web-site GOPNation.com with almost 5000 voters...
Who is your choice for '08? [4608 votes total] | |
| Former Sen. Fred Thompson (2685) | 58% |
| Rep. Duncan Hunter (766) | 17% |
| Rep. Ron Paul (574) | 12% |
| Former Rep. Newt Gingrich (139) | 3% |
| Former Mayor Rudy Guiliani (110) | 2% |
| Rep. Tom Tancredo (101) | 2% |
| Sen. Sam Brownback (98) | 2% |
| Former Gov. Mitt Romney (59) | 1% |
| Former Gov Tommy Thompson (26) | 1% |
| Former Gov. Mike Huckabee (20) | 0% |
| Sen. John McCain (18) | 0% |
| Former Gov. Jim Gilmore (7) | 0% |
| Sen. Chuck Hagel (5) | 0% |
And from conservative web-site RedState.com with almost 1500 voters...
Should Fred Thompson Run for President?
| Selection | Votes | ||
| Yes | | 77% | 1,122 |
| No | | 18% | 267 |
| Undecided | | 4% | 59 |
1,448 votes total | |||
Conservativesalso seem to be thinking about both conservative leadership qualities andelectability. Newt Gingrich has some support because he has a track record ofgood leadership via his Contract with America that hoisted Republicans intocontrol of congress for the first time in 40 years and balanced the federalbudget for the first time in 60 years. But conservatives also seem to sense anelectability problem with Newt, a result of the cloud under which he leftcongress not so long ago.
From the second JB regular reader poll... with the voting not complete yet.
Which RNC ticket would you feel best about supporting in '08?
| Thompson - Hunter | 36% |
| Thompson - Gingrich | 33% |
| Thompson - Giuliani | 12% |
| Hunter - Thompson | 5% |
| Gingrich - Giuliani | 4% |
| Gingrich - Thompson | 3% |
| Hunter - Giuliani | 2% |
| Hunter - Gingrich | 2% |
| Gingrich - Hunter | 2% |
Conservativesseem to love Fred Thompson. They also seem to like and respect one of the mosthonest and decent real conservatives in the race, Duncan Hunter, though theyalso seem to recognize that he has yet to demonstrate the leadership qualitiesof a Commander-in-Chief, or even an ability to mount a serious nationalcampaign.
They seem not soimpressed with John McCain, who has made a serious mistake by repeatedlysnubbing the conservative core of his party, as if he can run a successfulcampaign not only without them, but at ideological odds with them. He must havemissed the headlines •„ Bush at lowest approval ratings in history aftertorching his conservative base.
But what is itabout Fred Thompson that gets conservatives so excited? Could he really be thenew Ronald Reagan so many Republicans still love and admire? Is he cut from thesame cloth and does he have the same no-nonsense leadership ability that cannot only unite a divided party, but a divided nation?
Before one cananswer this question, we must ask a question so obvious that it would becompletely dishonest, or at least disingenuous to not ask it.
Areconservative voters buying into the public prosecutor persona of the HollywoodFred Thompson, or is he the real deal conservative leader they have beensearching for? Is he the new Ronald Reagan who can reunite the Republican Partyaround real conservative American ideals, or is he just a mirage in theconservative mind hungry for true leadership?
Before analyzingThompson's "Reagan" factor, allow me to throw a few facts at the sometimesselective memory of Ronald Reagan. This phrase "Reagan Republican" seems to getbantered about with little recognition of the fact that Reagan was not reallyall that conservative.
Reagan was a Democratthroughout most of his life. Only when the Democrat Party fell under thecommand and control of 60's radical secular socialists did Reagan jump ship,claiming the Republican Party as his new home after the DNC left him and allother pro-American morally conscious capitalist freedom lovers out in the cold.
Reagan was mostconservative in the arena of national security and firm foreign policy. Reaganunderstood that America was the only nation in the world with the power andmoral authority to defend freedom and liberty around the globe, in defense offreedom and liberty here. Reagan commanded respect across the political aisleat home and abroad and remains one of the most loved US Presidents in UShistory even today.
But he wassomewhat liberal on social issues. Or, like Thompson, he was at least ananti-federalist who sought to return private assets and personal liberty to thestates and the people at every chance. He was "compassionately conservative"so-to-speak, though not nearly as compassionate towards modern secularsocialist principles as either Bush administration since.
Thompson mightindeed be more ideologically similar to Reagan than either Bush. He too is verystrong on national sovereignty and security, with firm views regarding Americasroll in the world and the need for strong national defense and foreign policyinitiatives. But he is not a believer in any world order under UN control andone must wonder about both Bush Presidents in this regard.
He clearlyunderstands what's at stake in the current international war against terrorismnetworks with world-wide reach and he seems to be much more willing than Bushto call a spade and spade when addressing the current crop of anti-Americanleftists working to undermine American interests in congress right now.
Combined withthe fact that Thompson is a great communicator, unlike Bush, these are veryvalid reasons for the current excitement surrounding the prospects of a FredThompson candidacy. It also explains the clear conservative comfort with goodmen like Duncan Hunter and Newt Gingrich, as well as the utter disdain for fauxconservatives like John McCain.
It's almostofficial. Fred Thompson is looking more and more like the new Ronald Reagan ofthe 21st century that the Republican Party has been without since1988. The groundswell of independent efforts to draft him into the '08 race isalso looking more like a real grassroots movement to elect the first "people's"President in decades.
All of thisexplains the current fear atop the RNC leadership committee and within theranks of Democrat Presidential hopefuls who are only pretend "peopl's"candidates, ordained by their party leadership and the press.
2008 may turnout to be the most interesting Presidential race in modern history and it couldmark the first time in a half century that the average American voter got fedup enough to dictate a "people's" candidate against the will of both nationalcommittees and the press, who have become far too accustomed to telling thepeople how to vote with appalling results.
Finally...theAmerican people seem prepared to wrestle control of their nation from the twonational committees who have spent the last several years wrecking theircountry.
Now that a "peoples" frontrunner may soon emerge, I must remind you of a recent columnthat tells you what to do about it... ConservativesGotta Get Real! America must save herself
Not a moment too soon!
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