California Conservative

Based on the reporting in this article, it sounds like the crowds that Fred’s attracting are growing. Here’s what I’m basing this on:

It took Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson almost 15 minutes to drop the words “Law and Order” during his talk Saturday at Barbara Jean’s Restaurant, drawing a round of applause from the crowd of about 200. But the Lady’s Island gathering saved its loudest ovations for the former actor’s conservative messages during a brief Beaufort stop on an overcast afternoon. Coming off a sixth-place finish in New Hampshire’s Republican primary, the one-time Tennessee senator found a warm reception in “my neck of the woods.”

“You could see in there the level of enthusiasm people have,” Thompson said on his bus after the town hall-style meeting. “We’re going to be competitive on the airwaves in terms of radio and television…and I think we’ll do real well here.”

Fred’s message, combined with his imported GOTV operation, are leading to the increaseing crowd sizes. I’d bet that it’s intimidating to other campaigns that Fred’s got people flying or driving in to do doorknocking and phonebanking from all across the nation. That’s the type of ground game that’ll give a candidate a substantial advantage. Anyone that’s got that many passionate supporters is a force to be reckoned with.

Now check out what Fred’s saying:

In a campaign season marked by themes of change, Thompson started by citing something that doesn’t change, what he called the United States of America’s founding fathers’ understanding of “the wisdom of ages”, that too much governmental power corrupts. “That’s why they established the Constitution the way they did. The notion that a government big enough and powerful enough to give you anything was big enough and powerful enough to take anything away from you,” Thompson said.

Fred’s a true federalist. What makes it even better is that he isn’t bashful about being a federalist. It’s a safe bet that that’s a winning message in the South Carolina GOP primary. Fred’s saying that the Founding Fathers were wise is something else South Carolinians are sure to appreciate.

Check out this shot at McCain and Huckabee:

Thompson highlighted his opposition to closing the prison camp for suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and to using taxpayers’ money to fund programs for illegal immigrants.

“As a politician, taking money from a hard-working taxpayer who’s abiding by the law and giving it to someone who is illegal doesn’t make me a better person,” he said. “It’s not my money to begin with.”

Finally, a politician that understands that money is the wage earner’s first, who then lends it to the government. That’s a We The People perspective that’s easy to get excited about. Far too frequently, GOP politicians like John McCain and Mike Huckabee think of taxes as the government’s money. In We The People country, we view things quite differently.

That type of common sense is sadly missing in Washington. It wouldn’t improve with a President McCain or President Huckabee either. It’d continue on the same disgusting glidepath that it’s currently on.

If Fred keeps preaching that federalist, limited government gospel, his crowds will continue to swell. We’ve held 2 caucuses and 1 primary. Super Tuesday is still looming. If Fred wins South Carolina, which I think is a definite possibility, the landscape changes entirely.

That doesn’t mean Rudy won’t win some big states like California and New York. It does mean, though, that Fred will be, at minimum, competitive in states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Missouri.

The Fred Express keeps rolling with Fred providing the inspiration.

Technorati Tags: Fred Thompson, South Carolina, GOTV, States Rights/a>, Federalism, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Election 2008

Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 13th, 2008 at 6:02 pm and is filed under Author: Gary Gross, Election 2008, Immigration, Patriotism, Taxes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.