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Home Front: Politix
Thompson may drop out, back McCain
2008-01-04
Several Republican officials close to Fred ThompsonÂ’s presidential campaign said they expect the candidate will drop out of the race within days if he finishes poorly in ThursdayÂ’s Iowa caucus.

ThompsonÂ’s campaign, which last spring and summer was generating fevered anticipation in the media and with some Republican activists, has never ignited nationally, and there are no signs of a late spark happening here in Iowa, where even a third-place finish is far from assured.

This reality — combined with a fundraising drought — left well-connected friends and advisers of Thompson Wednesday evening predicting that he will pull the plug on hype and hope before the Jan. 8 New Hampshire primary.
Posted by:Fred

#24  Hunter as Thompson's Sec Def.

If Thompson wants to throw some red meat out there, all he has to do is say he wants Bolton cleaining up State.

I'm hoping Hunter can get the clue, and drop the bid - and back Fred.

Posted by: OldSpook   2008-01-04 23:26  

#23  should've said "and as a Marine reservist 1st Lt. in Iraq"...damn

as Freep notes in April: "Congressional hopeful and Marine reservist Duncan Duane Hunter has been recalled to active duty, but he says going to war won't interfere with his political aspirations.

Hunter, 30, is running for the seat now held by his father, 14-term U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, a conservative who is the ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee. The elder Hunter, who is making a long-shot presidential bid, has said he will leave politics if he does not win the Republican nomination.

It will be the third deployment for the younger Hunter, who joined the Marines in 2002 and is now an artillery captain. He served in Baghdad in 2003 and in the first battle of Fallujah in 2004. He was unsure where he'd be sent this time, but said most likely it would be back to Iraq.

Hunter is one of about 1,800 reservists the Marine Corps recently recalled to active duty, citing a shortage of volunteers to fill some jobs in Iraq.
Posted by: Frank G   2008-01-04 17:21  

#22  as some of you are tired of hearing, Duncan is my congressman (R-Alpine), and I donated (some) to his Pres. candidacy, purely out of loyalty. He's been a great Rep., straight shooter, strong on defense (BIG in San Diego), and anti-illegal immigration (also BIG). He never had a chance as POTUS, but would make a fine VP or SecDef. His son, Duncan Duane Hunter, is running for his seat after he retires this term, and as a Marine reservist 1st Lt., is doing the job we wish a lot of the Congresscritters had to do. I'm pulling for DDH....can you tell?
Posted by: Frank G   2008-01-04 17:17  

#21  ABC drops Hunter from debates. They never even gave him a chance.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305   2008-01-04 15:33  

#20  Haven't heard anything about their ties to the Illuminati either...

Isn't the fact that you have not heard anything a most telling confirmation of it being true?

Personally, I'm kinda sorta liking Fred. He seems less of an idiot than all the others.
Posted by: SteveS   2008-01-04 14:53  

#19  This rumor was a Romney planted smear in Politico that was designed to do exactly what it did - peel voters away from Fred in Iowa.

Its despicable.

FYI, Fred raised almost 2 million the week of Christmas thru newyear.

So the article is a lie.

As for Hunter, he and Thompson are the only candidates that have articulated consistent, conservative, secure policies for the nation.

I'd be proud to have either of them, but its looking like the MSM has buried Hunter by stifling him, and is trying to smear Thompson out of existence, leaving only repubs like Huckabee and McCain unbashed.



Posted by: OldSpook   2008-01-04 14:27  

#18  I'm surprised that no mention of the CFR membership of Thompson, McCain, Romney, Huckabee, Obama, Clinton, and Edwards.

Haven't heard anything about their ties to the Illuminati either...
Posted by: Pappy   2008-01-04 14:14  

#17  The media completely ignored Hunter knowing he didn't have enough name recognition to do anything about it. He truly is the best candidate, but even though it is the media's fault, it still remains he doesn't have the name recognition he needs to pull a win. I'm hoping he will run as a VP.
Posted by: Whomong Guelph4611   2008-01-04 14:04  

#16  What about Duncan Hunter

I like him too, wxjames. I just don't see him gaining any traction. Part of it is the media's fault. They go a whoring after the likes of Ron Paul or Dennis Kucinich and completely ignore a good, solid man like Hunter. Did you notice in the debates that they asked all the questions of Giuliani, McCain and Romney? Once in a while they would throw a bone to Hunter or Trancredo but nothing like Giuliani who is now toast. Then Fred shows up and they all recognize his name because he's been on TV so he gets all the attention. Fred might be OK but I think it's sad that nobody notices Hunter.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305   2008-01-04 13:54  

#15  He is too liberal and his only winning conservative point is that he is a minister.

Damning with faint praise, This slams him into the Baker/Rev Ike/category.(Ouch)
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2008-01-04 11:18  

#14  I'm surprised that no mention of the CFR membership of Thompson, McCain, Romney, Huckabee, Obama, Clinton, and Edwards.

What about Duncan Hunter, a man with a record, who wants to seal the southern border, which is against CFR plans for a North American Union.
Wake up Rantburgers, take your government back from the CFR and their global givaway agenda.
Posted by: wxjames   2008-01-04 10:43  

#13  This race will be different from the last ones for the past 50 years. I think the Iowa and NH primaries will choose the second and third place winners. They don't show the republican party, only the RINO side of it. SC and Florida will be the kingmakers this year. Fred will need to win one or both to make any headway in super tuesday. Whichever Republican wins those states, will be the candidate.

As far as the dhimocrats go, I think Iowa and NH will be their kingmakers. Expect to see Obama or Edwards as the candidate for them.
Posted by: DarthVader   2008-01-04 10:30  

#12  FRED! is the only real conservative in the race. Consistent on all core issues and consistent on states rights. The only bone anybody has to pick with him is on campaign finance. I ask those people to consider the $37m Romney has spent trying to buy the Presidency and whether that is any way to choose the office. Though given Romney's bad performance we can all hope he wasted his money the same way Ross Perot did.
Posted by: Excalibur   2008-01-04 10:15  

#11  So far, I like Fred the best.
Posted by: Whomong Guelph4611   2008-01-04 09:26  

#10  The fact that Fred T. got any votes is rather remarkable. He spent almost no time campaigning in Iowa, just like Guiliani. This was dumb. Fred's message and honest, down-to-earth demeanor impressed Iowa crowds where he appeared. Problem was he didn't appear much and most people had to drive long distances to see him. He easily could have won Iowa had he tried. Guiliani couldn't have. Iowa pegged him as a NY shuckster from day 1. However, the really good news was that the simps picked Barry Hussein as No.1. If the Dummos nominate Barry, it will provide the only pathway for the Pubs to take the White House. If they pick Fred, or maybe even Huckleberry Hound, and promote crackdown on illegals and strong defense, that's all they need to whip Obama.
Posted by: Woozle Elmeter 2907   2008-01-04 09:19  

#9  He is too liberal and his only winning conservative point is that he is a minister.

I don't care for the socialist huckster. I saw him on Leno and liked him even less when he played his guitar in an attempt to repeat Bill Clinton's sax moment.

That said, the man is quick on his feet, funny and likeable. Don't count him out, he really is another Bill Clinton.
Posted by: Whomong Guelph4611   2008-01-04 09:15  

#8  3rd place in Iowa isn't the end of the world. Far from it. Now if he is still trailing at the end of January, he is finished.

Personally, I think it will be a race between Thompson, Guiliani and Romney. This is Huckabee's high water mark and he will sink after this. He is too liberal and his only winning conservative point is that he is a minister.
Posted by: DarthVader   2008-01-04 08:51  

#7  The rumor that Fred Thompson will quit the Republican presidential race if he finishes poorly in Iowa is not only false: it rises to the level of a political dirty trick aimed at reducing Thompson-backers’ turnout in tonight’s Iowa caucuses.

The story, which began as a rumor and caught fire as a result of a piece in today’s Politico, said that Thompson was likely to quit after Iowa if he did poorly there, and might endorse Sen. John McCain before next week’s New Hampshire primary. The article painted a glum, almost resigned mood among Thompson’s inner circle.

Thompson and his top campaign advisor Rich Galen both denied the story’s claims today.
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=24267
Posted by: Procopius2k   2008-01-04 08:21  

#6  Yeah, just what we need, another fat Governor from Arkansas.
Posted by: Steve   2008-01-04 07:27  

#5  Fred got 13% of the vote, jsut ahead of McCain and the 10% for Paul and 4% for Giuliani.

Romney got 25% and Huckabee (who'd want a President with a name like that?) got 34%.

Say, isn't Huckabee another Governor from Arkansas?
Posted by: Bobby   2008-01-04 06:19  

#4  Yah, yah, Thompson's a lazy good-for-nothing bum because he wasn't camping out in Iowa since Jan. 2005... there's an old saying, be careful what you wish for. The start of the 2012 campaign season in January 2009 is going to be a nightmare for any adults still left in the country; will the last one to leave for Canada (or Chile) please turn off the lights?
Posted by: Abdominal Snowman   2008-01-04 01:45  

#3  This wouldn't even have to be a story if he would have campaigned.

As for dropping out, I don't see how he can drop out before at least some of the southern states vote.

Nobody was expecting Iowa or New Hampshire to vote for the republican who eventually wins the nomination. Those states primaries are almost irrelevant to actual Republicans.
Posted by: Mike N.    2008-01-04 00:52  

#2  "notice they have no names listed. "

And they didn't define "poorly". Probably got the story from DEBKA.
Posted by: crosspatch   2008-01-04 00:33  

#1  notice they have no names listed. This is the oldest trick in the book - spread a rumor that the candidate doesn't really want the job. I heard Fred Thompson say himself about 10 times today that he has no intention of dropping out.
Posted by: Whomong Guelph4611   2008-01-04 00:13  

00:00