Posted on 06/09/2007 4:10:12 PM PDT by radar101
Will Fred Thompson's voice destroy his chances of becoming President?
While it might seem trivial at this stage, you can't help wondering what the Democrat Party and mainstream press will make of the former Senator's Southern drawl over the next few months. Considering the stereotypes that Democrats and the press have peddled about Republicans in the past, it's very likely that Thompson's style of speaking will be mercilessly attacked on the campaign trail.
You just know the left is horrified by Thompson's Southern accent and background. "Progressives" have been engaged in a decades-long feud with the South, an area of the country they generally view as backward, bigoted, uneducated and uncultured. Like President Bush, Thompson has a personality that irritates the sensibilities of the Northeastern and cultural left.
If past performance is any indication of future actions, then it won't be long before op-ed columnists at the New York Times and Washington Post start writing articles about how Thompson's voice brings to mind the speeches of long-deceased segregationists. The left won't hesitate to suggest that Thompson's tone of voice will appeal to the rednecks and yahoos who allegedly dominate the GOP. The press will scour every Thompson speech to uncover evidence of supposed Southern bias--if you thought the 1980 attempt by the left to depict Ronald Reagan as anti-civil rights was bad, you haven't seen anything yet.
Once Thompson gets into the game, the left and the press will have another opportunity to express regional bigotry. When it comes to the South, the left is hopelessly stuck in the past; "progressives" will never abandon their image of the South as a haven of moonshine, mental mediocrity and minority-bashing. It will be extremely petty for the left and the press to attack Thompson's voice--but after all these years, we should expect the other side to be uncivil.
Right you are. It was in the Southern League (AA). I can remember the eight teams thusly:
Atlanta Crackers
Birmingham Barons
Chattanooga Lookouts
Knoxville Vols (for "Volunteers")
Little Rock Travelers
Memphis Chicks
Mobile Bears
New Orleans Pelicans
Does anyone remember just how short the distance it was for the right fence wall of the Lookouts (Sulphur Dell was the name of the park)? It was unbelievably short...and the Lookouts naturally had many left-handed hittsrs.
Nope, the President grew up in Texas where his parents had moved when he was small.
Fred has a deep baritone voice, which, along with the Southern accent is like honey.
Wondered the same thing myself.
It was the Nashville Vols and later home to the Negro League Nashville Elite Giants in the 1930s.
Right you are, it was the Nashville Vols. Don't know why Knoxville came to mind.
As regards Sulphur Dell's outfield, I'm going to make a guess and say that the fence was somewhere in the area of 140 feet from home plate. It was not uncommon to be listening to a game and hear the announcer say, "There's a high fly ball into right field. Uh oh, it's a home run."
In defense of Chattanooga, it was impossible for them to extend the right-field fence any further. There was some very tall industrial building blocking the way. Nevertheless, it was a constant cause of poking fun at the Lookouts.
I think I remember that Babe Ruth refused to play right field for either the Red Sox or the Yankees (whichever he was under contract at the time) during an exhibition game there, saying that that fence and the incline up to the wall were too dangerous.
Interesting. FremontLives . . . posts tons of one-liners on FR (something Jim Ro has said appears to have been a concerted effort targetting FR). Who knows about FremontLives. Except that his posts on this thread make little sense.
Common lib attack on W for years (before they had Iraq and assorted red herrings to moan about) was to say his Texas accent was fake and that he wasn’t from there. Having read his posts on this thread 3 times, I think he’s making the same argument here.
W is from Texas. I don’t know where he was born and don’t care. He spent most of his life in Texas. That qualifies him as a Texan. And yes, he speaks like my family from Texas and thereabouts. He’d linguistically fit right in on a Saturday afternoon eating watermelon on the porch (not that he’d do that though).
Whether anyone here is a W fan or not is irrelevent. If you can’t get the simple facts straight . . . .
Interesting. FremontLives . . . posts tons of one-liners on FR (something Jim Ro has said appears to have been a concerted effort targetting FR).
What does that mean? I may be misguided or incorrect, yet I feel my antipathy for GWB is fully justified for any number of reasons such as A) he’s not a conservative and B) hes selling our security down the river and not fully prosecuting the War on Terror.
You really need to stop calling people liberals. If I were a Liberal, why would I be here?
You cannot court the South and at the same time mock one its own.
I’m actually more worried about his appearance. He looks very very old. In our looks obsessed culture, that is a liability. John Edwards whole career is based on his looks.
well said, billbears - the wisdom of George Washington
Yeah, except that their two patron saints of their modern era--Clinton and Carter--were from Arkansas and Georgia, respectively.
So, because you have antipathy towards the President, it gives you license to lie about his accent?
How am I lying? I’m offering my opinion through conjecture. I’ve stated no facts, merely my impression of the man.
Lying by any other name is still lying. And yes, you are...
I know he grew up in Texas. I never claimed anything otherwise. He also grew up in Maine and Connecticut and in schools in Massachussets. When you sit down, is there a hard tension? That’s the stick. I could give you the names of several Doctors who could remove it. Once it’s clear, replace it with your indignation, Bushbot. This all started as a way of saying Fred Thompson is much more genuine than Bush. Can you disagree with that?
What will you do next?
My part of this conversation is over. Fred Thompson 2008.
W IS STILL OUR PRESIDENT, AND DON’T YOU EVER FORGET IT!!!!
Fred isn't 100 percent TRUE CONSERVATIVE, and he's certainly not perfect, but he's a damn sight better than the gaggle of RINOS currently running, and...
With his experience, speaking ability, and name recognition, I believe he can win.
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