 | eCachecommentary from down jersey |
Out of retirement, Fred Thompson wrote in the Wall Street Journal yesterday:
An education system cannot overcome the breakdown of the family, and the social fabric that surrounds children daily.
How true. I have a lengthy post sitting here that I haven’t gotten around to sourcing and completing that says the same thing. Fred said it far more succinctly than I.
Fred Thompson, the man I backed for President, is back on the scene. Today he wrote an article for Townhall.com. It began promising:
conservatism is alive and well in America . . . while man is prone to err, he is capable of great things when not subjugated by a too-powerful government.
That’s the conservative voice I liked hearing. Unfortunately, this introductory piece appears to be little more than pimping for Townhall Magazine:
That’s what I’ve been talking and writing about for the past few years, and that’s what I want to talk write about here on Townhall and in the new Townhall Magazine.
I joined Townhall and am writing exclusive commentaries for Townhall Magazine because I see them elevating the discourse on issues based on these principles — smaller government, individual liberty, standing for common values that have become all too uncommon, a strong national defense and, most of all, an optimism and belief in America.
Sigh . . . can new print magazines really make money these days? I subscribe to but one magazine and that is solely out of a sense of loyalty and doing things correctly. I could easily get all the recipes for free even if I didn’t subscribe.
I would love to read Fred’s thoughts on conservatism, but I’ll be damned if I’ll pay to do so.
Last April I wrote:
Tell me why Fred Thompson should not be our next president.
He spent a couple months speaking at all the right groups, making videos outlining his conservative platform, and rallied his base. He charged a group of conservatives as he seemed to have a natural niche in the Republican field. Despite my excitement for Thompson, I still left the Republican Party last summer.
Thompson was the first candidate for president that I have ever been excited about. I even considered, although ultimately did not, contribute financially to his campaign.
Thompson is a conservative through and through. Yet, his campaign was poorly run. He dinked around too long and didn’t enter until September after dangling a 4th of July date. He declared his candidacy the day after a debate, which was a huge mistake. And as soon as he was in the race, he disappeared from the radar.
I understand running an alternative campaign. Yet, when the candidate disappears from the public discourse, he has relegated himself to the second tier. That is exactly what happened. During that downturn, Mike Huckabee seized upon the nice Thompson was catering too. His meteoric rise all but killed Thompson’s chances. They split the true conservative vote. Huckabee has no shot as his record and positions are not conservative, despite appealing to a segment of the party. That marginalized Thompson.
He poured everything he had into South Carolina and stepped up and scorched the last debate. Yet, he finished a distant third.
Yesterday’s announcement that Thompson was withdrawing was no surprise.
Today I have withdrawn my candidacy for President of the United States. I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort. Jeri and I will always be grateful for the encouragement and friendship of so many wonderful people.
Remaining in the second tier does not generate donations. Without donations, there was no way to continue through the primary season.
While I contend Thompson is the best candidate for the GOP, he did not get his message out well enough to earn the nomination. America loses today. I really worry about the General Election this year. I do not see an upside with any of the remaining candidates in either party.
Okay, I know I am linking to a lot of Fred Thompson video of late, but the man has the right responses to the questions. As I wrote to someone earlier,
He is not a dynamic speaker. He answers questions. He is straightforward. He has a plan. Obviously he is unfit to be president.
I do not see the negatives in Thompson. His campaign has been lackluster, but he hits home run after home run on the issues. That’s what I am looking for in a president.
McCain supports Shamnesty. Giuliani ran a sanctuary city. Huckabee ran a sanctuary state that provided tuition breaks for illegal aliens. Romney supported McCain’s position and then flipped, so who knows where he really stands? Thompson is the only one holding those who commit an illegal act accountable.