2007March28, Wednesday
Fred Thompson: The Last Best Hope for GOP in 2008
I had almost given up on having a decent Republican candidate in the 2008 presidential election until i saw Sen. Thompson (of Law and Order fame) give a telling grin when asked if he’s considering a run for president in 2008.
All the other candidates: John McCain is a social liberal and a fiscal conservative—a bad combination to try and win the Christian base that any Republican candidate needs. Rudi Giuliani’s greatest claim to fame is as a turn-around mayor; had 9/11 not happened, he’d have gone down in history as a mediocre (at best) mayor of the largest city in the US. Mitt Romney has only two things anyone knows about him: he’s a Mormon, and he’s a flip-flopper on abortion. The two socially conservative candidates are Huckabee, a Baptist minister, and Brownback, a Romanist who is confused about whether he is an Evangelical Protestant (according to an article i read, he attends Roman Mass alone early in the morning and then goes with his family to a broad Evangelical church)—neither of whom have any kind of power to draw out strong and influential supporters.
I thought to myself as i saw this “dazzling” array of candidates, I am ready to bail altogether. The Constitution Party might be small and less politically powerful than even the Libertarians, but at least they stand for the Constitution as it was written. The Bill of Rights has more than just two amendments in it, and the two most important amendments (in my humble opinion) are the ninth and tenth—and i’d bet that hardly any of those politicians in Washington can tell you what they even say. Politically, i’m a States’ Rights Southerner, a social conservative (what i think all Christians should be), and a fiscal moderate-to-conservative.
I doubt that Fred Thompson is all of those things, necessarily, but i believe that he’ll be a strong candidate with some kind of socially conservative ideals. He has, in addition to a somewhat conservative background, a very endearing demeanor and a very famous and recognizable face from television’s most-watched dramatic series. I think i’ll support his candidacy until and unless something comes along to show me i can’t. In light of all the other candidates who have declared, he’s the best thing going, and i think he’ll be able to unite Republicans the way none of those in the above list can.
Treading Out Grain 
Andy Packer said,
2007March29, Thursday at 10:30
What about Ron Paul?
Trey Austin said,
2007March29, Thursday at 11:19
Rep. Ron Paul is a political unknown outside of TX and his small circle in DC. He has as much a chance at election as Huckabee and Brownback, which is to say, slim to none.
When i talk about a “hope” for the GOP, i mean “a hope for electing a real Republican.” Those who are unelectable are no hope at all for that. Those who are electable are not real Republicans. That’s the real problem in this election cycle.
al said,
2007March29, Thursday at 12:30
Trey,
You need to compare notes with Dr. Dobson. Haven’t you heard that Thompson is not even a Christian? Not one like Newt anyway.
al sends
Trey Austin said,
2007March29, Thursday at 14:45
LOL Well, I’d love to see someone with some substance in the White House. Having a strong, professing Christian there is obviously not always what it’s cracked up to be, though. G.W. Bush is a nice guy, but a leader he’s apparently not. The best thing Christians have gotten out of him are some fairly decent justices. Of course, the reason i don’t like him and alot of other Republicans like him is that they’re way too much like Democrats for my taste.
Truth is, the best thing we can do is to try and gradually make improvements in the government. We can’t expect to get where we want to be overnight, can we? Besides, i make it a point not to listen to a thing Dobson says—not that i don’t ever agree with him, just that his politics and piety are a good bit different than mine are. Does that make me a “meanie”?
Water From A Rock » Blog Archive » I Owe an Apology… said,
2007June2, Saturday at 8:54
[…] At the end of March, when i first heard about Fred Thompson’s possible bid for chief executive of our federal government, i posted this, claiming that Thompson was the “last best hope for the GOP.” Now, as i explained in my comments, what i meant by that was the fact that he was not only a true conservative (there are those in the race already), but that he actually could be elected. […]