Saturday, August 18, 2007

Fred Thompson Going After Social Conservatives

Fred Thompson is looking to scoop up all of the social conservatives in the Republican base who haven’t been able to stomach any of the other candidates. 

Likely Republican White House hopeful Fred Thompson told CNN Friday that he would work to overturn Roe v. Wade if elected president, and would push for a constitutional amendment that protects states from being forced to honor gay marriages performed in other states.

“I don’t think that one state ought to be able to pass a law requiring gay marriage or allowing gay marriage and have another state be required to follow along,” Thompson told CNN’s John King in an interview Friday.

Thompson added that the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion “was bad law and bad medicine.”

Who does this hurt most? 

Romney.

(6) Comments
Posted by Owen at 1315 hrs
Politics + Politics - General

  1. Maybe Romney—but it’s the RUUUUDEEEEEE! crowd that’s been taking potshots at Fred (for at least the last 60 days.)

    That’s because Rudy’s social positions are even weaker than Romney’s, although I will give Rudy credit for being consistent.

    Posted by dad29 on August 18, 2007 at 1356 hrs


  2. Going after Romney’s base is probably the best and only shot that Fred Thompson has to make any headway at all in this race.

    Absent Thompson, and considering only major candidates, Romney should have a lock on the vote of every person whose votes are determined solely by conservative social issues (e.g. abortion, gay marriage), unless that socially conservative voter is hung up on the fact that Romney is a Mormon.

    The people who are self-identifying as Republican in these polls and supporting Giuliani or McCain either consider their social conservatism as a secondary element to something else (likely, national security - at least among the base), or are socially moderate/liberal fiscal conservatives who just wish the party would stop hanging out with the religious right.

    It seems pretty clear that McCain isn’t going to take shots at Rudy in this race, perhaps because he’s trying to keep his nose clean for possible VP consideration.  I also suspect that if things get close and McCain isn’t viable, he’ll drop out and endorse Giuliani, effectively sending his 15-20% over to Rudy.

    Romney’s screwed, because he’s the guy that everyone is aiming at, and he’s going to be taking bullets from both sides.  But in the end, I have serious doubts that the Romney/Thompson winner will be able to take out the Giuliani/McCain winner in such a densely-packed primary schedule.

    Also, welcome back Owen.

    Posted by Recess Supervisor on August 18, 2007 at 1449 hrs


  3. When you are Fredheads going to admit that Fred looks really bad and has lost a lot of weight—the type of weight you don’t lose on a diet.  He looks really old and his handlers kept people away from him at the fair yelling at them to get back as he cannot stand to be in crowds.

    Don’t blame Rudy or Romney or McCain or Huckabee people that Thompson is not up to running a campaign and is pandering to social conservatives based on his wife’s plan.  If some of you bothered to wake up and actually read what Fred has been about all these years from the Nixon Mole, to lobbying for pro-choice, to having two papers in 1996, one for pro choice and one for pro life and being for CFR and known all over Capitol Hill as lazy, you would understand why a lot of Republicans don’t want to touch this candidacy.  Some of you have drank the Thompson koolaid.

    Maybe what you better be doing is asking about his health instead of worrying if he is going to run for President.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on August 18, 2007 at 1727 hrs


  4. These positions hurt America the most, silly.

    hiho
    Mp

    Posted by Mpeterson on August 18, 2007 at 1849 hrs


  5. You cannot be serious that Romney is a ‘social conservative.’

    We know and respect a lot of Mormons, and the faith-issue doesn’t bother me in the least—nor anyone else I know.

    But ROMNEY was the one who DIRECTED the town clerks in Mass. to perform gay “marriages,” and he did it without Legislative authority of any sort.

    ROMNEY is the one who’s changed his story on abortion.

    ROMNEY is the one who implemented a semi-socialized medicine plan in Mass.

    And ROMNEY doesn’t have particularly great marks from the NRA, either.

    Sorry, but Romney’s about as plastic as a MasterCard.

    Posted by dad29 on August 19, 2007 at 0730 hrs


  6. I agree with you, Dad29, about Romney.  My point was predicated on Romney’s campaign strategy to go after the social conservative base while the other leading GOP candidates went after other GOP constituencies.  Thompson is going to give Romney some competition for that base.

    Posted by Owen on August 19, 2007 at 1153 hrs


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