Fred Thompson & the GOP's Southern Problem By Richard Baehr

Real Clear Politics ^ | 5 May 2007 | Richard Baehr

[K-oneTexas]

Fred Thompson & the GOP's Southern Problem By Richard Baehr

The inside the beltway political horse race broadcasters are abuzz about the possible (I think likely) entrance into the GOP Presidential race of former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson. In his email report to subscribers, Charlie Cook summarizes two polls that show Thompson hurting current frontrunner Rudy Giuliani more than any of the other candidates, with Thompson moving into 3rd or 4th place, and the race tightened from top to bottom:

[Snip]

[K-oneTexas]

Sorry. Having to excerpt really takes away from the article. Reading it in its entirety provides some important insights and conclusions. Right or wrong.

[K-oneTexas]

Just realized this is a dup, it should be removed.

[radar101]

PROBLEM? What PROBLEM?

As Fred said in his speech last night, you have to listen to the people.

I get disgusted when I hear “Expert Analysts” like the female Dem strategist on Glen Beck last night, saying that unless the Republicans renounce the War, all is lost.

I will not vote for some guy from the East Coast that proclaimed one position in his last election, but now wants us to believe that he is a Conservative.

I will not vote for some loose cannon who has a history of siding with Liberals when crunch time came (McCain)

There are only two candidates for the Republican Party that can PROVE thaty they are Conservative by their voting history:
Duncan Hunter and Fred Thompson

[loreldan]

Assuming that Thompson would be running against Hillary, identifying him as Southern doesn’t hurt us. Does anybody think that Hillary would carry any states besides the NE, Illinois, and the west coast? This article is onesided. Just as the Republican party is considered the southern one, the Democrat party is considered the Northeast liberal one, and that has it’s own drawbacks. The midwest (flyover country) is the tossup region, and if the choice is Hillary, Thompson will win hands down.

[Politicalmom]

Duplicate, so NOT a PING!!

Fredipedia: The Definitive Fred Thompson Reference

Please FReepmail jellybean if you want on/off this list. WARNING: This ping list can often be extremely active.

[David Isaac]

“The Democrats have had success in their multiyear campaign to identify the GOP as largely a Southern regional party, and a bigoted one at that. You may not like it, but pretending that the problem doesn’t exist is foolish.”

The author does not point out that the Democrats, on their own, are complete incapable of building such a perception. It requires the media to perpetrate such a fraud, which is something they are more than willing to do.

[Altura Ct.]

“This is due to one principal factor; his Southern roots”

What a bigoted and moronic thing to say but of course we are schizophrenic and very hypocritical in this country on issues of race and culture anyway.

[RobbyS]

I agree. The whole Northeast thinks we are rubes.

[Princip. Conservative]

I get tired of the old South bashing. One out of 3 Americans live in the South and it’s going to be far more influential than the silly Northeast or West Coast.

[bilhosty]

Fred is my second choice. But, I think there is a definite cultural thing in politics. As we become more connected with Southern and small town America we lose everyplace else. This is just like what happens to Dem’s when they become over connected with the coasts. We need to broaden either go into the Dem’s own Giuliani) or take it to the upper Midwest (Tommy Thompson) to become competitive if at all possible (I am living in Georgia and damn proud of it).
We need to watch the cultural thing.

[Galactic Overlord-In-Chief]

Assuming that Thompson would be running against Hillary, identifying him as Southern doesn’t hurt us. Does anybody think that Hillary would carry any states besides the NE, Illinois, and the west coast? This article is onesided. Just as the Republican party is considered the southern one, the Democrat party is considered the Northeast liberal one, and that has it’s own drawbacks. The midwest (flyover country) is the tossup region, and if the choice is Hillary, Thompson will win hands down.

True. And about southerners in general being repelled by the north, how does the author explain Clinton, Gore (who won the northeast), LBJ, and Carter? Thompson may have a problem in that he's a Republican, and northerners may not look fondly on that right now, but I hardly think his southern roots are going to be that much of an impediment if the other men I mentioned didn't have any trouble. Bush's problem is that he's not as articulate as all the above men; Thompson doesn't have that problem.

[JSDude1]

Most southerners (both black and white) are proud of their heritage! Just a fact..!

[Altura Ct.]

I agree with you and wonder why him being “southern” is a problem?? Typical double standard by the “tolerant” ones.

[Tailgunner Joe]

If the Republican Party nominates a non-Southerner, then they will lose the southern vote. Then where will they be? The South won’t vote for a Yankee like Mitt or Rudy.

[JSDude1]

Or more poigniently A NE LIBERAL.

[BillyBoy]

>> If the Republican Party nominates a non-Southerner, then they will lose the southern vote. << <<

Absolutely - we gotta stop that guy Reagan from getting the GOP nod. He's from southern California for crying out loud. Hangs out with the Hollyweird crowd. He was raised in Illinois and even spent some time in Chicago. Yankee through and through. He's from blue America. It's soooooo much better when we nominate guys from safe red states that the GOP wins by default!!

[Tailgunner Joe]

Too bad Reagan’s not running.

[MinorityRepublican]

One out of 3 Americans live in the South and it’s going to be far more influential than the silly Northeast or West Coast.

The New England will become irrelevant due to population decline.

The West Coast will remain important.

[FreedomCalls]

There are far more northerners moving south every year than there are southerners moving north. What does that tell you?

[BykrBayb]

The GOP needs to move beyond the South to win in 2008. A candidate who can run well in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, and suburban America, is better than one who will pad the victory margin by 5% in Texas . It is how many states you win, not how much you win them by that counts.

New Jersey loves celebrities. I don't think they'll be turned off by his accent. But it would help if he had connections to organized crime. They prefer liberal democrats, but they'd settle for a familiar face from a notorious crime family. All we have to do is invent an ugly rumor, and he'll have NJ.