Posted on 06/11/2007 7:59:16 AM PDT by hardback
Aides to Fred Thompson, the actor-politician considered a likely presidential candidate, have had repeated conversations with Iowa Republicans about him possibly competing in the straw poll in August.
"They want to know what it's going to look like, how the voting works, the logistics of it and how the program works in general," said Chuck Laudner, executive director of the Republican Party of Iowa.
Laudner said the conversations began a couple of weeks ago, and the most recent was at the end of last week after two prominent contenders, Rudy Giuliani and John McCain, announced plans to skip the August straw poll in Ames, Iowa.
The departure of the two rendered the event all but meaningless and essentially cleared the way for Mitt Romney to win the nonbinding contest. The former Massachusetts governor has focused time and money on the straw poll, traditionally a precursor to the Iowa caucuses in January.
Thompson, the former Tennessee senator, has formed a presidential exploratory committee and is expected to join the GOP race this summer. His late entry and delayed start in raising money made it less likely that he would compete in the Aug. 11 straw poll.
The potential of Thompson participating in the contest had Republicans upbeat.
"People are going to turn out to see him," Laudner said of the actor from NBC's "Law & Order." "Absolutely we have been talking to them."
Among the lesser-known candidates, Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback has said he will compete in the straw poll. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee initially said he would as well, though there are signs he may reconsider.
ping
Go for it Fred. It’s time to shake the rafters and get the riff raff out of the GOP race.
Here’s hoping Fred gets in. I’ll probably be a vote for Fred.
If Fred does it... and BEATS Romney.... Romney may be OUT of the race entirely.
Even our best candidates have made mistakes,does Senator Thompson see that his support of McCain-Feingold was one of his?
And Guiliani and McLame will have made major mistakes in skipping Iowa.
The danger for Thompson is that if he participates, he must come in no worse than second; if he loses to Guiliani or McCain, who aren't even there, or a "2nd tier" candidate, it's going to look really, really bad.
Yes he has repeatedly said so.
Rudy & McNasty cut & run when they realized they were not going to beat expectations, let alone win.
Yes -- Thompson is very disappointed in how McCain-Feingold turned out. He still wants to reform money in politics, but he wants to scrap the parts of McCain-Feingold that are counter-productive. However, things like the increase in hard money limits are good things and should be kept.
With Fred in they have even less reason to participate, considering the a$$-kicking they'd almost surely get. At this point, for me, it's between Duncan Hunter and Fred Thompson.
Yes he does! He has already stated that it was a mistake and the final bill was not what he wanted.
You could be right, Fred could blow all of Romney’s organization out of the water in a few months.
*************
What a great idea! You're absolutely right.
Yes, he has publically, and repeatedly, said CFR was a terrible mistake.
This is well-known and the links are easily available on F.R.
You've not been paying attention for the last month and a half, I take it?
A Fred win would be awesome, but Romney’s been spending a lot on buying this particular straw poll. His supporters have been bragging about it on the forums here for quite some time.
It’s possible that Fred’s grassroots support can overcome that, but I wouldn’t count on it, nor would I consider a loss to Romney any kind of bellweather.
Of course, if you watch Romney supporters, you’ll notice that they have a habit of doing just that, taking little bits of things and claiming that they are a bellweather. So, you’ll likely see some boasting if he does win. I bet Thompson gives him a run for his money though and does it without spending anywhere near the amount that Romney does.
Good point. I was thinking it could be over if Thompson steps in and wins; Guiliani and McLame could be out of it at that point.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.