« No Rush To McCain Here | Main | Thompson Decides To Drop Out » Thompson Decides To Drop Out22 Jan 2008 01:54 pm Ex-Sen. Fred Thompson has told several Republicans that he has decided to drop out of the presidential race and will make public his intentions by close of business. Thompson does not plan to endorse any rivals for now, even though one of his best friends is Sen. John McCain. He's been visiting his mother, who is ill, in Tennessee. Comments (53)
Goldwater published a lot of racist dreck? I missed that part. 
>>a lot of racist dreck? You do know that the four sentences that are quoted (out of context) to support the racist smear were not even written by him? amazing that people will hate something without even knowing why
I don't know if Goldwater published any racist stuff, but down South where I live, it was understood he was anti-black. Goldwater ran in the first election I ever voted in, so I kept up with the campaign. Don't kid yourself: Goldwater was a racist or at least sent out those vibes to Southern bigots. nh
Fred, we love you and support your decision to stepdown. We hope all is well with your mother and the lords prayers be her and the family. I know we will see you again if some form or fasion. God bless
He opposed civil rights legislation to pander to the south, did you miss that?
I'm thinking a Romney / Thompson ticket is in order.
I wonder what all these idiots in TN are going to do with their Fred 08 stickers?? This is best news I have heard all day...Can Huckabee and all is buybull bs drop out next?
I'm thinking a Romney / Thompson ticket is in order.
And Reagan opposed the Civil Rights Act, too. As did George HW Bush.
You do know that the four sentences that are quoted (out of context) to support the racist smear were not even written by him? not sure about how out of context they were, but they were published without byline in a newsletter ostensibly by him. So while he may not have written them, he let them be published. And that makes him complicit or just someone who was not paying attention - just what you want in a president.
I'm actually kind of sad, Thompson was more conservative than the others... oh well, I guess I'll have to vote for Ron Paul.
Fred ran an honest campaign, even if he wasn't the bulliest of campaigners. I'm glad he added something to the discussion over the last few weeks. Those clamoring for a Romney/Thompson ticket can dream on. NONE of the candidates running for president, Republican or Democrat, can stand even the sight of Mitt Romney. You would think that this would show some of the Romney Sheep out there why not to vote or support him, but apparently the laundry list of Mitt's issues aren't enough for some people. Lets hope Thompson endorses McCain or Guiliani asap, and pushes his supporters away from voting for Romney.
I'm actually kind of sad, Thompson was more conservative than the others... oh well, I guess I'll have to vote for Ron Paul. Excellent! Stand on your principles-- don't bend over for the neoconservatives! They'll get the message soon enough.
If he were to support the most conservative candidate - most similar to what his beliefs, goals and desires are: He'd come out and support Mitt Romney. And boy do I hope and think he should! Romney's got the best chance of uniting Conservatives, of standing up for Conservative values and stances - and has all that it takes to beat whatever Democrat is put up against him! McCain can't unite the party... Sure he can rally Independents and Democrats, because he is one (somewhere in between there) - but he'll lose too many actual Republicans in the process! Rommey is the way to go.
Goldwater ran in 1964 and I worked in that campaign. As for the '64 civil rights act, Goldwater opposed the concept of race-quotas and forced busing (LBJ promised that no child would be bused for purposes of integration) but as for the rest of the concept he wholly endorsed equal political rights for all citizens of the republic. (Remember, the'64 Civil Rights Act merely renewed the 1878 Civil Rights Act passed by the GOP over Democrat party opposition, and in 1964 it was a coalition of republicans and northern democrats who passed the act over the opposition of dems like Fulbright and his protege Bill CLinton.)
I wish he made this decision a week ago. He has caused great harm to the social conservative causes. I can only hope that National Right to Life now will re-endorse Huckabee. This is their chance to redeem themselves. Otherwise I will not give them any more money.
Goldwater was far from a racist, as he repeatedly proved in his later life. He did however believe that civil rights was a matter for each state to determine, rather than the Federal government. As a Goldwater Republican during the sixties, I did not agree with his position on civil rights, but did agreed with many of his other positions. He was much like McCain. He said what he believed. During his 1964 campaign in the South, while speaking against the Federal TVA, he said, "The Tennessee River is the only river that flows through two states, but drains fifty." If he was pandering to the South for votes on the civil rights issue, he would never have made such a comment on this most-sacred southern project.
If Thompson endorses McCain, it's certainly not going to be rewarded with a spot on his ticket as a running mate. It's almost certain that will go to his new BFF Joe Lieberman. McCain and his dad have been very big supporters of Israel (Google McCain USS Liberty), so this makes a lot of sense. If Thompson really wants to make a difference and seriously impact this race then an endorsement of Ron Paul would be really huge. C'mon Fred! Do the right thing!!
Crazy! So one of the pseudo-republicans is gone, the other pseudo republican is Tax Hike Mike.Maybe now people can hear more of the message of the constitution. Giuliani the liberal is pretty much done. I think this thing will come down between the only conservative republican running, which would be Ron Paul, the moderate liberal democrat Switch Romney and Amnesty Juanito 'open borders' McCainzales. Hopefully people wake up and ignore the liberal media's smearing of the only conservative in the race. Lets face it a vote against the Ron Paul and the constitution at this point is a vote for Obama and socialism...plain and simple. Im a black immigrant by the way and will be voting for the only conservative in the race no matter what...even if I have to write his name in.
Hmm. Maybe Ron Paul will now get a few more extra minutes in the debate, or they might just let Judy Ruliani, Mitt plastic-hair Romney, et al. ramble on longer, digging themselves into deeper holes. Go Ron Paul!
Giving each state the choice for action on civil rights would be like giving each state to determine if they should allow women to vote. I'm sure their were politicians during the time of the suffragette movement that brought that up. These things were talked about in the US Constitution, it doesn't exclude groups of people.
I think that Fred would have done much better had he entered early and not stayed on the fence so long. He also waited too long to get vocal on many issues. Like the say in NY, "you have to be in it to win it". It's interesting to see all of this talk about Paul and Goldwater under the Thompson article. Did you guys know that Goldwater Jr. is actually out there supporting Ron Paul? He's been featured in many pro-Paul YouTube videos.
Fiscal conservatives now have only one choice. Ron Paul. Educate yourself and make an informed decision. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Ron_Paul
I know it's hard for some of my fellow Republicans to conceive after all the rancor and mud-slinging we've seen, but if you want to reduce the size and scope of fedgov, protect gun rights, take real aim at the IRS, address the crumbling economy, and bring the Reagan Democrats back, Ron Paul is the way to do it. Yes, it'll cost us some war-swagger, but look at our economic situation (esp. our borrowing $3B/day!) and ask the hard question of whether we can keep it up. We're headed for tough choices no matter what. Come on home to the Constitution, y'all. Lots of room inside the Ron Paul Revolution!
I want to pick a winner, but I don't want to vote for flip flopping Romney and crazy McCain - both are phony conservatives. With Fred gone and Huckaboom broke, I guess the best option now is Ron Paul. He seems like such a sincere man and his record is impeccable – I think Americans will forgive him after a nice little sit down with a friendly neighborhood nationally recognized journalist that is sympathetic with Paul’s views - don’t you... Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaahhhhhhh Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. Ron Paul 08
Follow this link if your interested in who many of the Freadheads will be flocking to. This poll was ran on a popular Fed Thompson site. By the way a warm welcom to any of you Feadheads out their. Go Mitt Romney.
Ron Paul WISHES he had hair like Mitt Romney, hmphh! ROMNEY/POWELL '08 Thompson is a good man. The presidency clearly wasn't his bag. Good luck to him in his endeavors.
My Apologies here is the link. http://blog.electromneyin2008.com/2008/01/22/fredheads-will-decide-the-gop-nominee/
"You would think that this would show some of the Romney Sheep out there why not to vote or support him" So, by your analysis, because ALL of the other Democratic+Republican candidates can't stand the sight of Mitt Romney, this should sway support from him. Hmmmmm.....sounds kind of like who is the most popular kid in the 4th grade logic. Sounds like petty jealousy to me. Yes, that would be a most judicious way to eliminate a candidate from consideration. Because the others don't "like" him.
Fred Thompson was for small federal government and states' rights, but was for interventionist foreign policy. There are plenty that are for interventionist foreign policy, but there is only one that is for small government, and that is Ron Paul.
The other candidates in the race can't stand Romney because he isn't one of them. He's not an insider washington senator. He doesn't speak their language. When he talks reform he actually means reform, not shuffling things around to different deparments. When Romney talks change he doesn't form another committee...he actually makes changes...sometimes painful ones...but very much needed. Romney is the clear best choice of anyone who wants to make washington for accountable, more efficient, more user friendly, more pro-growth, more conservative and more able to meet the demands of the modern world.
Fred has to be in a difficult spot. Philosophically he and Mitt and closest but McCain was a friend in the Senate. I have a liberal friend too and it would be difficult to not endorse him but he opposes everything I believe in so how could I? The best thing would be to let your supporters make up their own minds which I suspect they would do anyway no matter who Fred suggests. I came to think a lot of Thompson and wish him and his mother the very best. I would extend those same wishes to Duncan Hunter whom I also liked.
I'm sure I speak for a lot of guys when I say I'm going to miss his wife way more than Fred.
huckabee and Fred are both gone as far as the Florida Caucus is concerned, because Fred is withdrawing and "the huckster" is broke. Mitt will carry Florida Big!!! Then on to "Super Tuesday"
And one more drops... If I was not 100% Ron Paul, I would probably have leaned toward Fred. Perhaps those Fred supporters will now c'mon over to see what Dr. Paul has in store for us! Hang on, the ride is about to begin! We are going to get our liberties back! WooHooo!!!!!!!
The article Why the Beltway Libertarians Are Trying to Smear Ron Paul deals with the actual context of the so-called racist newsletters that went out under Ron Paul's name. Plus, you have the Director of the Austin, TX, NAACP defending Dr. Paul here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvFLSwDvBUA. The diligent researcher can come to no other conclusion that Dr. Paul is not only not a racist, but strongly anti-racist.
Thompson should endorse Ron Paul. He is the only one the can pull votes away from the dems. Romney is fake.
Romney is my number 1 choice (now more than ever with the state of the economy), but Thompson was #2. Good luck to Fred - there is a lot to like about Fred and I'll especially miss seeing him in the debates. Hope his mother is okay.
As someone who supported Ron Paul (as in donated money so he could get his message out), I understand his appeal to some. My problems with him were as follows: He wasn't libertarian enough ( I would have still voted for him if that was all however) He "doesn't accept the theory of evolution". This was the killer for me. Someone who doesn't have the gumption to look at the facts objectively and let his reason lead him to a conclusion is not going to get my vote.
Romney has already picked up most of the Fredheads - only natural. It doesn't matter who he endorses, the jump has already been made. Perfect timing too. Economy is the number one issue and Huckabust is skipping Florida because he doesn't have any cash. He was the minor blip on the screen most people (including me) predicted, but the MSM wanted to win so badly. With Romney already leading FL polls and the economy tanking, Romney will take Florida and then McCain's money will dry up....again. I love to see Senators lose - especially McCain. They don't like Romney because he's not in their exclusive Senator club. Or maybe their jealous because Romney hasn't failed at marriage......once, twice or three times? Huckabust has lost to Romney for the Evangelical vote in Michigan and Nevada. Way to play the bigot card and lose there Mikey. After Florida, the swing goes to Romney before Super Tuesday. Ten bucks says that McCain loses his home state of AZ to Romney.
Pulbius or anyone else with the same opinion, Why do you think that none of the candidates Republican or Democrat can stand Mitt Romney?
Thompson is wonderful at one-liners and “gut” instincts. I think Romney would really struggle trusting advice from his VP’s gut, being someone that is so data driven. However, he has succeeded by surrounding himself with dissenting voices and different points of view so it could work. Whether their work ethics are too different is another story. At the end of the day, Fred can bring the candidate he supports lots of votes. I can see McCain and Thompson as natural allies on a personal level. They are both divorcee Type-A "manly men" that have played in the senate and been part of the old boys network in Washington with all its attachments. Romney, despite his extremely conservative family values has succeeded in that world, and its equivalent in the business world, but never bought into, nor embraced the extra-curricular vulgarities and social norms of their old boys network. Hence he is the quintessential outsider, which is why they hate him and fear him: he has succeeded but he plays by a different set of rules. Whether Thompson wants to be part of that dynamic remains to be seen.
Seeing how the state that I live in, along with 75% of the rest of the states, didn't get to say a word as to who should be our own parties candidate. I am going to write in Fred Thompsons name on my ballet and if it counts for nothing, then so be it.
I liked Thompson, Romney and Hunter. I am disappointed to see Thompson and Hunter drop out. But it does make it easier for me to decide who to vote for in the primary.
Ahh Oh well. I guess we expected this after Nevada. Godspeed, Sen. Thompson, I'll be praying for your mother and family. My second fave candidate is Congressman Paul, so I'll be supporting him now. I was in support of the War in Iraq and so I supported Thompson. But I'm open to supporting our troops by bringing them home and trying to avoid antagonizing other nations.... The most important thing to me is the U.S. Constitution, and I'll reluctantly admit that Congressman Paul is right. But I really liked Thompson. :::sigh:::
In the words of Stephen Colbert:
So.... You need a new dark horse candidate?
Obviously I have stumbled into a nest of Ronpaulians. Yikes, the freaks are swarming. How can so many people be so communilly wacky. Bye Paulbats!!!
Publius: I dare you and any others to find the "smear" for Romney that all of the other candidates have - you cannot. All who are critical of him are just jealous that their lives have not been as orderly and/or successful as his and they are not as good looking as he is. Shame on all of you - he has the most experience, the professional demeanor and appearance, the intelligence and the ability to be one of the best Presidents we have ever known. Stop acting like children and do something good for the country for once in your lives.
Some bizarre person accuses Bill Clinton in Washington of aiding Senator Fulbright in opposing the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Bill was 18 at the time. I doubt if he was doing any intensive lobbying for anything.
Those of you who are clamoring for Ron Paul... give it up! Do any of you seriously think that he has the slightest chance of winning? Your divisiveness is only destroying the republican party. Mitt Romney is the only candidate that can claim any experience in solving economic problems. All the rest are just talk, Ron Paul included. Romney has excellent credentials and strong family values. When are you going to wake up and stop listening to the MSM which hates Mitt? Has it ever occurred to you that you are only siding with the liberals? Right now the democrats are terrified of Romney, because they know he can put Hillary or Obama to shame. Swallow your pride and do the right thing... get behind Mitt Romney!
personman, good point: I don't think Ron Paul should be held responsible for things published repeatedly in his own Congressional newsletter ... ???
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Thompson wants to endorse Ron Paul -- the only Goldwater candidate in the race, which is where FT's heart is -- but can't.
Posted by FZappa | January 22, 2008 2:28 PM