Fred Thompson
Mar 24th 2007David ShaferPresidency & Politics
I spent most of today in the cafeteria of Peachtree Ridge High School in Duluth as a delegate to the Gwinnett County Republican Convention. Representative Tom Rice did a great job as convention chairman, and we elected a fine team of officers to lead us for the next two years. Greg Howard will remain at the helm as county chairman, and he will be assisted by Brandon Doty, the new first vice chairman.
Two very good friends, Don Butler and Chris Farris, were elected to the county executive committee as at-large members.
But the most interesting news came from the Presidential straw poll, which had been tacked on to the end of the officer ballot, almost as an afterthought. The delegates were given a choice of a dozen or so candidates. None of the Presidential campaigns were represented at the convention.
The national frontrunner, Rudy Giuliani, placed third, right behind Georgia’s own Newt Gingrich, who finished second. But the winner was former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson of Tennessee, who received more votes than all the other candidates combined.
Fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh place went to Romney, McCain, Huckabee and Brownback, in that order.
I have always liked Fred Thompson, but his stunning and seemingly spontaneous victory took me completely by surprise. I am not sure what it means, but his nascent candidacy certainly bears greater scrutiny.
6 Comments »
6 Comments
March 24th, 2007 at 4:49 pm
Senator,
Thank you for the kind words about my election to the county executive committee.
You were working the room and may have missed Congressman Linder’s endorsement of Sen. Thompson as a candidate who would likely run on ideas. Linder’s speech to the Gwinnett GOP was the first time in awhile I had a good feeling about 2008.
March 25th, 2007 at 11:55 am
I am hoping that Senator Thompson gets in the Presidential race. If he does, he would be fortunate to earn your endorsement.
BTW, it was nice seeing you yesterday.
March 27th, 2007 at 11:08 pm
Senator Thompson’s entry into the GOP race is the right medicine for what is wrong with the current “frontrunners”. I have been watching this campaign begin to build and quietly emerge. The college students are beginning to catch the Thompson fever. Websites are popping up all over the place and many are built by these kids. One of the best is http://www.anotherRonaldReagan.com. This one is designed by a college student at the University of Tennessee. No surprise there.
Thompson’s showing in the latest USAToday Poll show Thompson debuting at 12%, Gilliani plunges 13% and McCain stuck in the low twenties. This now looks like a two man race to me.
March 30th, 2007 at 6:29 am
Two words: Social conservative!
April 5th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
I’d like to imagine that Fred Thompson is the next Ronald Regan, but my gut (and brain) tell me this is more about discontent than it is about a genuine groundswell of support for Thompson himself.
What exactly is it that he’s hanging his hat on? He was a one (or one-and-a-half) term Senator, who hasn’t seen further office in over four years. The most memorable thing I can recall from his short time in office were some criticisms of Bill Clinton for his sexual escapades.
Yeah, he a “social conservative”, but so is Gov. Perdue… where’s Sonny’s exploratory committee? Is the GOP really so desperate for a fresh “public face” these days that simply having some acting experience sends you near the top of the pile? God, I hope not. I believe the real story behind this buzz is the gaping dissatisfaction with the current front-runners, and the giant vacuum it’s created in the grassroots.
April 5th, 2007 at 1:03 pm
By the way Chris, I didn’t want to mention this earlier until I had checked my facts… but isn’t it a little flip-floppy for John Linder to be endorsing Fred Thompson when he’s already endorsed Mitt Romney?
http://www.mymanmitt.com/mitt-romney/labels/Endorsements.asp
Half the Georgia Congressional delegation hopped on the Romney bandwagon when Mitt first started out with his fund raising advantage. Now that it looks like abortion and homosexuality baggage are going to be issues after all, are these Congressmen already abandoning principle… in March of the year BEFORE the primaries?
I believe the moral of the story for Sen. Shafer is that there is little political advantage to jumping on ANYBODY’S bandwagon this early on in the process. This election cycle looks like it’s going to be wild one on the GOP side… so you want to pick your horse very carefully, since it makes one look bad to change in midstream.
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