Posted on 08/08/2007 2:36:49 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Word of Fred Thompson's imminent entrance into the presidential sweepstakes rippled through Republican circles this spring. Two months later, that talk is pretty much the only thing the Thompson campaign has to show for in New Hampshire.
But don't worry, all you Fred-heads. Thompson, a former Tennessee senator, may lack a Granite State office, campaign staff or fundraising team. But he's got one thing the other GOP hotshots don't: Dan Hughes.
"I'm sitting here in my basement ready to go," Hughes told us by phone yesterday.
Hughes, a former state representative from New Castle, is Thompson's man on the ground (or, underground) and, despite the absence of public events, he's feeling good about his candidate. Hughes said he's been inundated with phone calls from potential Thompson supporters since the ex-senator and actor hinted at a White House run in May. Many of the inquiries come from people already signed on with other candidates who now find themselves with a wandering eye, Hughes said.
"There are a lot of people who are, quote-unquote, committed to campaigns, and they're really not so committed," he said. "Some people started early, and in the their enthusiasm they signed on with someone. And now they're not too enthusiastic any more."
Hughes expects Thompson to officially announce his candidacy next month and a campaign staff to materialize soon after.
"In early September he will be formally announcing - hopefully. Although that hasn't been announced either," Hughes said.
Though he's not an official candidate, Thompson is acting like one: He's raising money and has visited most of the early voting states, including a much-hyped trip to New Hampshire in June. Still, Hughes said, Thompson is legally restrained from taking more formal steps - like hiring staff and buying television ads - until he files official campaign papers.
"He wanted to test the waters for him and his family," Hughes said. "It's a big decision to run for president.
We do hear, however, that the Thompson folks are busy interviewing candidates for jobs on the New Hampshire campaign and they expect to settle on paid staff here within the month.
Those staffers may have their work cut out for them once they set up shop here. Polls show Thompson near the front of the pack nationally but running a distant third in New Hampshire. Fergus Cullen, chairman of the state Republican Party, described Thompson's presence here in two words: "Radio silence."
"No one seems to be hearing anything from that organization," he said. At a meeting of the Republican National Committee in Minneapolis last week, Cullen said many GOP officials were speculating whether Thompson would abandon his candidacy before it ever formally began.
"The ability to build a statewide grassroots organization is starting to diminish," Cullen said. "There is a window of opportunity, and that window is closing, but it's not closed yet." Hughes, for one, isn't discouraged by such talk. He says he talks regularly to Thompson staffers in Washington and Nashville, and occasionally hears from Thompson himself, or his wife Jeri Thompson.
"I tell them to keep the lines tight and the powder dry," Hughes said. "Remember: We didn't start late, everybody else started early. And (Thompson) never bought into that."
Just in time
Sept. 5 is the day when Thompson will announce his candidacy, NBC's Tim Russert reported this week. That's just in the nick of time for the Republican debate at the University of New Hampshire, scheduled for that night.
Thompson hasn't made a "formal commitment" to that debate, Cullen said, but his campaign has seemed "favorable" to it.
"We've had some discussions with him and we've had positive indications," Cullen said.
Giuliani is NOT a conservative.
Prove it.
“Of the 3 you mentioned, the only one that even has an outside chance of winning is Thompson, but he’s squandering it.” Tell us, oh brilliant one, what you would do if you were Fred Thompson’s campaign manager. You have our attention...
Well hear you are again, on yet another Fred thread, pimping Rudy and Mitt.
It’s going to be fun watching all your skeptical anti-Fred “theories” get blown straight out of the water, LOLOL!
The Republic needs a man like FDT!
“Fred will be the next president of the United States. You heard it here first...”
Fred will slay the Hildabeast!
Even if Fred hadn't said it, point blank, in the way he did, it doesn't take a "brilliant" person to figure out that at this stage of his life the last thing in the world that could even possibly appeal to him is being "second fiddle" in politics.
For that reason alone, I can't take what "Brilliant" consistently writes as a serious opinion.
/un-brilliant
Brilliant, so let me understand this; If FT becomes the GOP candidate, he will not be able to raise enough money from Repubs to be competive against Hillary.
The whole of the Republican Party will not cough up money to support its candidate.
What planet are you living on- it certainly can not be your namesake.”Brilliant”
Whoever is the candidate, he will receive plenty of funds because the idea of Hillary as Pres will scare enough people that money will not be a problem.
Its the primaries that are the candidated problems regarding money, not the General election.
No, but they sure as hell do 5 months out from the primary.
First of all, I haven’t seen any polls that have Thompson beating Giuliani, but second, and more importantly, the question of whether he can beat Giuliani is irrelevant. The question is whether he can beat Hillary.
When he first tested the waters, I thought this guy might be the right guy. But here we are months later, and he hasn’t even announced. He’s way behind in the money race. The only thing he’s got going for him is that he’s made a respectable showing in the polls, given that he’s not actually in the race.
But I don’t want a candidate who “makes a respectable showing in the polls.” I want one who’s going to win, and I’m not voting in the primary for a guy who has not been tested.
Fred’s not stupid, so I assume that he knows that millions of Republicans have the same viewpoint that I have on that. That’s why I don’t believe he’s really running. His strategy is one that is often used by candidates who are actually seeking the VP spot. They don’t run an aggressive campaign. They just make an appearance to get attention. He’s counting on his conservative support to seal the deal.
But I’m not sure that’s going to be enough, if Hillary has a 3-1 edge in contributions. If it’s Romney, he’ll need to take Giuliani in order to boost his war chest. If it’s Giuliani, he’ll need to take Romney for the same reason.
If you want Thompson on the ticket, then I would suggest that you stop talking about how you will write a check the moment he announces, and send it to him now.
Let me just point out that Hillary has not been nominated, yet she has more money in the bank than all of the GOP candidates combined. Apparently, the Dems do not ascribe to the view that it’s the general election that generates contributions.
And besides that, there are separate contribution limits for the primary and the general campaign. You can give money now, and then give more money in the general campaign. So if you pass up the opportunity to give during the primary, you’re hurting your candidate in the general election campaign because you can’t double up in the general compaign just because you did not give in the primary.
For one, I would announce my candidacy and make an appearance in the debates.
Guiliani and Romney have teh consensus building power of Bob Dole.
Nobody, NOBODY is buying the cool aid to support two RINOs.
With either one on the ticket, you'll also have NO SUPPORT from folks like me.
I don’t want to rub this in too hard, but let me just remind you that Fred did not meet his own fund-raising goal last quarter. Apparently, support from folks like you doesn’t mean a whole lot.
I’m not a Fred supporter. So what’s your point?
Nice sidestep, but you’re obviously not supporting Giuliani or Romney. And the other candidates are doing worse than Fred money-wise, and vote-wise. So if you’re telling me that you support “other,” then basically you’re telling me that you’ve resigned yourself to having Hillary as your President.
I can see that some of you may have reached that point, but I’m not drinking the Kool-Aid.
He raised $3.45 million in only 26 days in June. It was not a quarter, but a partial month. If Donald Trump says he wants to make $5 billion in three weeks but makes $3.45 billion, is that a failure? I’ve already sent my $2300 to FDT, and I’ll bet many others here have too. I will bundle $1 million for Fred and I know that I’m not the only one!! Make Hillary Clinton the democratic nominee and watch the cash spigots open!!
You’re attempting to present a silly false choice, one that thinking people will quickly reject. Giuliani and Romney are liberals, and conservatives don’t support liberals.
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