Fred Thompson plans to announce Tuesday that his committee to test the waters for a Republican presidential campaign raised slightly more than $3 million in June, substantially less than some backers had hoped, according to Republican sources.
Thompson plans to make the disclosure in a filing with the Internal Revenue Service, as he continues to operate his prospective campaign as a political organization that does not require disclosure to the Federal Election Commission. Many Republicans had seen the “Law & Order” actor and former U.S. senator from Tennessee as a potential savior in a tough election cycle.
He attracted support from such top-shelf party figures as Mary Matalin, Liz Cheney, George P. Bush and other GOP stalwarts who saw him as a potential Hillary Clinton slayer.
But many Republicans have turned queasy as Thompson has ousted part of his original brain trust and repeatedly delayed his official announcement, which is now planned for shortly after Labor Day, in the first two weeks of September. Some are already saying a prospective Thompson run is a flop. “I just don’t see it anymore,” said a key Republican who had been extremely enthusiastic about a Thompson candidacy.
“That number is really underwhelming. There were indications it could be double that. They’ve been saying that people were waiting for Fred, and the money was going to pour in. He looks like he’s already losing momentum.”
Read the rest of the ARTICLE…It is already looking like Fred will fizzle…Which makes it all the more important the we take advantage of this opening door…And push Mike through it…It is his for the taking…But he needs our help…It is there for the taking…Now let’s take it…
After 30 years of political organizing, the anti-abortion movement has won a series of victories in the legislatures and the courts and stands tantalizingly close to winning even more. But these are anxious days for the movement.
Six months before the Iowa presidential caucuses, anti-abortion activists in the Republican Party are trying to adjust to a strikingly different political landscape. For the first time in more than a generation, they face, in former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani of New York, a front-runner for the nomination who supports abortion rights.
“Pro-life” support is divided among several other candidates, including former Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, a relatively recent convert to the cause, and former Senator Fred Thompson of Tennessee. And some strategists and outside analysts are voicing a theory that was once unthinkable in the Republican Party: That a convergence of forces – such as the early primaries in moderate states like California – may have diminished the influence of the anti-abortion movement on the Republican nominating process.
Anti-abortion leaders are increasingly moving to defend the seminal victory they first won in 1980 – the definition of the Republican Party as the “pro-life party” in its platform and its presidential nominees. Key leaders are signing on with the anti-abortion candidates they see as best able to go the distance. And some of those leaders are warning, bluntly, that the abortion issue is fundamental – not something to be finessed.
At the Republican straw poll in Iowa next month, anti-abortion activists will circulate a petition calling on the party to reassert its pro-life values, honor its platform and choose an anti-abortion nominee.
“We have our eye on the goal,” said Kim Lehman, president of the Iowa Right to Life Committee, who estimates that the overwhelming majority of Iowa caucus-goers oppose abortion. “Our goal is to get a pro-life president so we can be confident of his position on legislation and confident of his judges.”
Mike Huckabee is the only one that can prevent the following from happening…
This is a pretty awesome ARTICLE about the war…
But for now, things look much better than before. American advisers told us that many of the corrupt and sectarian Iraqi commanders who once infested the force have been removed. The American high command assesses that more than three-quarters of the Iraqi Army battalion commanders in Baghdad are now reliable partners (at least for as long as American forces remain in Iraq).
In addition, far more Iraqi units are well integrated in terms of ethnicity and religion. The Iraqi Army’s highly effective Third Infantry Division started out as overwhelmingly Kurdish in 2005. Today, it is 45 percent Shiite, 28 percent Kurdish, and 27 percent Sunni Arab.
In the past, few Iraqi units could do more than provide a few “jundis” (soldiers) to put a thin Iraqi face on largely American operations. Today, in only a few sectors did we find American commanders complaining that their Iraqi formations were useless — something that was the rule, not the exception, on a previous trip to Iraq in late 2005.
The additional American military formations brought in as part of the surge, General Petraeus’s determination to hold areas until they are truly secure before redeploying units, and the increasing competence of the Iraqis has had another critical effect: no more whack-a-mole, with insurgents popping back up after the Americans leave.
Here is the ARTICLE talking about some of the problems in the Thompson Camp…
She has sometimes been dismissed as a tanned and bleached blonde “trophy wife”, only ever glimpsed in sleek and glamorous outfits on the arm of her much older spouse.
But in the past few days Jeri Thompson has suddenly emerged as the real political power behind her husband Fred’s presidential campaign.Mr Thompson, 64, a former senator and actor who is running second in most polls of Republican nominees even before he has officially declared his candidacy, last week replaced his campaign manager in a shake-up of his top team – which, it has emerged, was initiated by his wife.
Another senior aide quit after clashes with Mrs Thompson, a youthful-looking 40, who is in effect managing her husband’s White House bid and has hiring and firing authority over staff, according to campaign insiders.
The upheavals have highlighted the key role of Mr Thompson’s second wife, a lawyer and Republican political operative widely believed to have encouraged him to enter the fray. As her husband’s de facto campaign manager, Mrs Thompson has the greatest hands-on role of any spouse in the presidential campaign, even though she has so far steered well clear of the political hustings.
There has been much talk over what kind of campaign this would be by the Thompson camp…A “different” kind of campaign…the new age campaign…the kind where my trophy wife, who thinks she is a political expert, runs the show…the kind where I don’t go and meet voters face to face but instead we connect on the internet…the kind where we don’t enter the race until we feel like it…basically FRED is too lazy to do what needs to be done…what I appreciate about Mike is that he is willing to meet face to face with voters in Iowa…in NH…in SC…in AMERICA….thats important…Mike is willing to do what it takes to be President because he cares about this country…Fred just doesn’t want to make his “trophy wife” mad…also take a look at this ARTICLE on what it takes to be electable…and look he is getting mentioned with…
I think clearly Romney, operationally, is running a very impressive campaign. Mike Huckabee is a very endearing, personable candidate. He’s got a good sense of humor. He’s got skills as a politician and as a pastor. I’ve really seen him give some moving speeches. And I’ve got to include Rudy Giuliani, too, on that list of people who I think have done pretty well. On the Democratic side, obviously Barack Obama is still a celebrity here. And I think Hillary Clinton is showing some good discipline now in her campaign. She had some rough patches at first, and she’s trailed here in polls even though she leads nationally, but she’s running a pretty disciplined campaign.
You Know You’ve Done Well When…The other side is complaining about your SC Justice picks…One more would be so nice to have…Read this ARTICLE…
New York Sen. Charles E. Schumer, a powerful member of the Democratic leadership, said Friday the Senate should not confirm another U.S. Supreme Court nominee under President Bush “except in extraordinary circumstances.”
“We should reverse the presumption of confirmation,” Schumer told the American Constitution Society convention in Washington. “The Supreme Court is dangerously out of balance. We cannot afford to see Justice Stevens replaced by another Roberts, or Justice Ginsburg by another Alito.”
Schumer’s assertion comes as Democrats and liberal advocacy groups are increasingly complaining that the Supreme Court with Bush’s nominees – Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito – has moved quicker than expected to overturn legal precedents. Senators were too quick to accept the nominees’ word that they would respect legal precedents, and “too easily impressed with the charm of Roberts and the erudition of Alito,” Schumer said. “There is no doubt that we were hoodwinked,” said Schumer, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee and heads the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
A White House spokeswoman, Dana Perino, said Schumer’s comments show “a tremendous disrespect for the Constitution” by suggesting that the Senate not confirm nominees. “This is the kind of blind obstruction that people have come to expect from Sen. Schumer,” Perino said. “He has an alarming habit of attacking people whose character and position make them unwilling or unable to respond. That is the sign of a bully. If the past is any indication, I would bet that we would see a Democratic senatorial fundraising appeal in the next few days.”
Schumer voted against confirming Roberts and Alito. In Friday’s speech, he said his “greatest regret” in the last Congress was not doing more to scuttle Alito. “Alito shouldn’t have been confirmed,” Schumer said. “I should have done a better job. My colleagues said we didn’t have the votes, but I think we should have twisted more arms and done more.”
While no retirements appear imminent, Bush still could have the opportunity to fill another vacancy on the court. Yet the two oldest members – Justice John Paul Stevens, 87, and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 74 – are part of the court’s liberal bloc and could hold off retirement until Bush leaves office in January, 2009.
Check this ARTICLE out…
True story: it is a warm evening in the summer of 1995. A crowd has gathered in the auditorium of a suburban high school in Knoxville, Tennessee. Seated in the audience is a childhood friend of mine who now teaches at the school. On stage is Republican Sen. Fred Dalton Thompson, the lawyer/actor elected in 1994 to serve out the remainder of Vice President Al Gore’s Senate term (when Gore’s appointed successor retired after just two years). The local TV stations are on hand as Thompson wraps up his presentation on tax reform, in the plain-spoken, down-to-earth style so familiar to those who have seen him in any of his numerous film and television performances.
Finishing his talk, Thompson shakes a few hands, then walks out with the rest of the crowd to the red pickup truck he made famous during his 1994 Senate campaign. My friend stands talking with her colleagues as the senator is driven away by a blond, all-American staffer. A few minutes later, my friend gets into her car to head home. As she pulls up to the stop sign at the parking lot exit, rolling up to the intersection is Senator Thompson, now behind the wheel of a sweet silver luxury sedan. He gives my friend a slight nod as he drives past. Turning onto the main road, my friend passes the school’s small, side parking area. Lo and behold: There sits the abandoned red pickup, along with the all-American staffer.
Check out what Huck had to say when comparing himself to another Senator…(switchback)
“The key difference is I’ve actually been a governor for ten and a half years and I’ve run a government.” Huckabee is not shy about why he would be the more electable conservative. “No senator has been elected since JFK,” he said, “and frankly there’s a good reason for that.” If a member of the legislative branch can’t change Washington, they are either “part of the problem,” he said, or they haven’t been strong enough in enacting change.
I think this just shows what a lot of people confirm as true…It is very difficult for a Senator to win a national election…Because they have to explain every last stinking vote that they make…I was visiting with David Sanders (columnist for the AR News Bureau) the other day…he brought up the fact that Kerry in 04 had to explain why he voted to raise taxes 300 times!…on the surface this seems like a crime…and Kerry is for raising taxes no doubt…but most of those votes were procedure votes…votes that even republicans voted for…Fred was known as a do nothing senator…when voters really analyze his record…they are going to get the dirt on him…Huck represents what is pure…never had to make one vote his entire life…never been to Washington as a lobbyist…NEVER DRIVEN A TRUCK TO GET VOTES OR CLAIM TO BE SOMETHING HE IS NOT (ROMNEY AND HUNTER CONFLICT)….Huck is what he says he is…THE AUTHENTIC CONSERVATIVE…
More word on how Freddy’s team isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be…Read this ARTICLE…and let us know what you think…
Fred Thompson’s newly hired research director JT Mastranadi has stepped down after a week and a half on the job, out of concern that he hadn’t found what he expected when he began to see what the Thompson campaign was all about.
Specifically, he found a team without a leader or a specific mission; as a researcher, he’d come to work each day and the campaign would ask him what they should be doing that day, instead of telling him what his job should be. Nobody’s calling the shots, and there’s no overarching vision for the direction of the non-campaign.
The resignation comes one day after acting campaign director Tom Collamore moved to an advisory role yesterday due to clashes with Fred Thompson’s wife Jeri Kehn Thompson – a hard-nosed former GOP operative and a long-time political professional with a strong will. Insiders have long speculated that her personality would play a big role in the narrative of Thompson’s candidacy. Technically, Thompson’s candidacy hasn’t even begun yet and it’s already caused a staff shake-up – as well as an embarrassing, poorly handled response.
HUCKABEE CAMPAIGN REFUTES TANCREDO RADIO AD
DES MOINES, IA – A new radio ad by Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo makes false claims about Mike Huckabee’s conservative record on amnesty and should be pulled off the airwaves, said the former governor’s campaign manager on Thursday.
Campaign manager Chip Saltsman said that the ad pulled off the airwaves “because it clearly distorts Mike Huckabee’s conservative record on amnesty.”
“While I respect the Congressman’s record on many issues, he has a history of making shocking statements to provoke publicity. Nevertheless, this radio ad is grossly misleading and it should be pulled off the air,” said Saltsman.
Huckabee, who served as a governor of Arkansas for 10 ½ years, has a strong record on conservative issues, including his support for the 2nd Amendment and gun control rights, pro-life legislation and other social conservative issues.
Huckabee has repeatedly stated his position against amnesty for illegal immigrations, stressing that his top priority is to get the U.S.-Mexico border under control. “We also need to enforce existing laws on the books, which includes enforcing penalties against illegals who have committed crimes,” Huckabee said.
“With all due respect to Tom, he needs to practice truth in advertising,” said Huckabee.
Tancredo is a nut…Big-Time bonafide NUT…The man has called the city of Miami a third-world country…and he still stands by his statement to this day about that…Take a look at what he had to say when then Gov. Jeb Bush asked him to apoligize for his statement…Tancredo replied in a letter, “I certainly understand and appreciate your need and desire to try and create the illusion of Miami as a multiethnic ‘All American’ city,” he said. “I can also appreciate … that the cultural and ethnic diversity of the city offers many advantages to its residents. However, it is neither naïve nor insulting to call attention to a real problem that cannot be easily dismissed through politically correct happy talk.”…The man is a serious RACIST nut ball who has in the past come under fire for wanting to dismiss the Black Congressional Caucus as well as the Hispanic Caucuses of both parties, and given many speeches at Confederate get togethers…thats right Civil War dress ups in which battle flags are draped everywhere and Dixie is sang…take a look at what this WEBSITE had on ol’ tancredo…
He likes to talk in apocalyptic terms about the forces of “radical multiculturalism” threatening to knock down America’s doors. For example, according to commentator Paul Jacob, Tancredo recently said: “There are places right now in East L.A. and southern Texas that you would honestly – there is absolutely nothing that you would say makes them part of the United States of America. They are a separate country – it is a separate country – right now, at this moment.” (Mr. Jacob responds: “Uh . . . how about a desire for freedom and to build a better life, Congressman Tancredo? Isn’t that what makes these people Americans – regardless of the language they speak or their race or creed?”) Tancredo’s support by racist groups and heavy funding by known racists was exposed by the Bill Winter campaign in 2006.
I like his voting record but the man isn’t any better than Brownback…he is an emotional nutjob…he needs to get his facts straight…as someone who is vehemently opposed to amnesty I can testify to Huckabee’s Record on the subject…It is 100% Anti-Amnesty…Bottom Line
“I think sometimes pro-life people have been criticized for being just anti-abortion, and it’s a legitimate criticism,” said Huckabee, a former Baptist pastor. “What happens to people after they’re born is no less important.”
Huckabee said he is concerned that all children in the United States do not receive a quality education, live in safe, clean homes and are nourished with good food and clean drinking water.He said that same attention is also appropriate for people at all stages of life.
“I’m equally concerned about people whether they’re 8 or 80,” he said.
Great ARTICLE…More to come later…
