First: where are you?
Many people, myself included, are asking that question nationally. But even asking that question begs additional questions and poses some serious problems and, in my opinion, expectations that cannot, in reality, be met.
And the longer Fred Thompson waits to declare his candidacy, the higher the bar, the higher the expectations, are set. And that in and of itself creates its own set of problems.
And makes me wonder: are we, as Conservatives, setting ourselves up for failure when we, after having examined all the other GOP candidates, seem to be placing all our hopes and soaring assumptions onto the shoulders of someone we so much want to like, we want to embrace, we want to be the deus ex machina that none of the other candidates seem to be?
I’ll be the first to reiterate as it clearly states on the sidebar to the immediate right of this post: I am a Conservative first and a Republican only when it becomes necessary.
I have my own issues with the Republican Party. I suspect these issues are not only mine but those of many of my readers as well.
I dislike labeling some persons BushBot and the like; I don’t believe that advances the Conservative agenda. But I do believe that the GOP and some of its supporters need to step back and examine, in something of a totalic “global” concept, the past and current moves of not only the current Administration but the failures of those politicians who claim to cling to Conservative tenets but who constantly prove themselves to be RINOs.
One thing I most definitely believe is that not all is good with the GOP and that, without exposing our ills, problems, inconsistencies and hypocrises to the light of day, we run the risk of flying blind. We cannot correct our problems without first finding them, identifying them, and then having been identified going about the task of correcting them.
The Republicans, the GOP, HAD the power and then pissed it away.
“With great power comes great responsibility.”
These were the words uttered by Uncle Ben to Peter Parker in the original comic SpiderMan as written by Stan Lee and drawn by Steve Ditko in the 60s. They are as true now as they were then.
But the power Republicans had (past tense) was never truly utilized. The GOP bent to the various prevailing political prairie winds and the tenets of Conservatism were sacrificed on the assorted altars of Political Correctness, greed, fear, status quo, and the unwillingness to actually wield the power granted at that time. In a word, the GOP became collective invertebrates. The GOP and President Bush became whores for votes.
They wanted to be loved.
Get over it; Conservatives will never be loved.
Conservatives will never be loved because we believe in God, we take a stand, we make judgments, we use discretion, we set limits, we believe in discipline from within and without, we believe in independence, we believe in the power of the individual, we believe in a minimal government, we believe in consequences for actions, we believe in responsibility, we believe in a free market economy, we believe in borders for our country, we believe we are a nation of laws, we believe in English as our only language, we believe that immigrants must withstand the process of vetting and assimilation.
My wife is Mexican. You either accept that or you don’t. But she was born in America, speaks English, pays taxes, has an intellect way above me, and embraces this country as her own. Yes, she can speak Spanish, was raised in Fresno by her grandmother, managed to escape the local barrio and became a Chief Deputy for a major State of Fornicalia entity. Mexico features not into her plans. In a word, she has assimilated. Imagine that. I love her with all my heart.
All this considered, Fred Thompson has the penultimate challenge.
He has a massive weight upon his shoulders — shoulders he has not even exposed to the GOP or those considering his candidacy.
Will he run?
And even if he runs, is it too little too late?
And even if a tad too late, will his positions fall into the patterns and thoughts that most of us, as Conservatives, hope he will embrace?
Fred: I have some notes for you. Please see this post.
Will you be a Conservative?
Will you be a disappointing Republican?
What are your views? What is your platform? Or are you even running?
Make your move.
BZ
Ya know, I have said the same thing today in one of my posts, sans the big word words, LMAO, sorry…
Seriously, Thompson needs to charge out there and he needs to do it NOW, what I saw last night was pretty much a disaster…
I lost a lot of respect for Tancredo for his weak, one trick pony stance, I had no respect for McCain and Giuliani to begin with, I wasn’t impressed with Duncan Hunter, I wouldn’t vote for Romney if he was the only horse in the race and Brownback just leaves me cold…
I’m afraid the RNC has already chosen Giuliani as their ‘golden boy’ but his abortion statements last night pretty well shot him down with anyone that really IS a Conservative, and there’s not much of a chance for ANY Repub to get elected unless he gets the Conservative vote…
And after the way Bush has taken the Conservatives for a ride, we’re gonna be pretty damn careful next go round…
I hope Thompson starts talking, a lot, and I hope it’s Conservative in the style of Ronald Reagan, but I hope he takes a hard stance on the border, Iraq and abortion, and presents us with a well rounded and electable candidate…
But he’s gotta declare 1st…
“Fred Thompson”????!!
Yeah, right…like anyone would ever seriously consider electing an actor to become President!
I seen him in an interview with O’Rielly I think, and in a movie, and was totally impressed. It would be good to see him run….. it’s his time.
Now that the media is attacking him for a TV role, he has to run for spite.
The thing that gets me is that you fellas aren’t tearing Fred’s voting record apart.
BWH: the problem is, I don’t KNOW Fred’s voting record. That’s part and parcel of the overall problem: is he going to do nothing but disappoint?
BZ
I too am disappointed that he is not announcing yet. I wish he would.
He doesn’t have to be a perfect man or conservative to be the best of the pack we have this time.
Thompson’s voting record (two pages) may be found here:
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/t000457/votes/page2/
…it’s a little dry, you will have to provide your own commentary….
BBI: hey, thank you, I’ll go check it out!
BZ
For what it’s worth:
NEWSWEEK Poll: Bush Hits All-Time Low – Newsweek Politics – MSNBC.com
Fred: that’s news?
BZ
No, just an indicator, uh, well, it might be a surprise to his fan club though, ya never know…
Thompson needs to get in this thing, NOW!
I would like to see Fred declare he’s running too. If he’s not, he certainly has made a lot of speeches that give me hope!
His time is NOW. He cannot afford to miss this opening if he is actually serious.
BZ
The freaking convention is MORE THAN A YEAR away, the first primary is 10 months away. Why get into the race now? Fred doesnt need to get the name recognotion, his views are as well known as any of the candidates. The only thing getting int o the race this early accomplishes is wasting money. Gulianni and Romney arent going to change anyones mind between now and August (which is when I think Fred will need to announce and is also the more traditional timeframe anyway). Shitlary Osamabama got in early so they could bankrupt the other dem candidates before the real voting begins and to disrupt anything Bush tries to do in his last few months as president.
It will be interesting to see. I’d love to see Fred run….