“So the fact that Mitt governed a state but has never uttered a peep about Federalism makes him a federalist?”
How do you know he hasnt spoken out on the topic? You sound pretty uninformed about him generally, you should check up on his speeches more closely.
“Mitt sounds no different than Bush, and we know what a disaster HE turned out to be.”
Bush is wrong on immigration, and we’ve had political trouble due to several other factors, but Bush beats Kerry and Gore hands-down and he’s done some great things: Tax cuts, USSC appts of Roberts and Alito, has not wavered when going has gotten tough in Iraq and GWOT, etc. So let’s not fall into the beat-up-on-Bush emotionalism.
I said already that Romney is a more articulate, capable, better-on-immigration and more-fiscal-conservative version of G W Bush. We could do worse (Rudy, McCain), and we could do more conservative (Hunter, Tancredo). But for getting an electable conservative Republican standbearer who will beat Hillary, Romney could be the right man. Maybe Fred Thompson could be, but let’s see him on the campaign trail.
“Fred has acknowledged the errors of the CFR result”
I’d like to see the quote, but that’s not good enough. Conservatives like George Will and Sen Mitch McConnell predicted its bad impact and its assault on the First Amendment from the get-go. This issue was a no-brainer freedom-vs-the-social-engineers and Fred hopped on the Macainiac anti-freedom bandwagon on it.
In his 8 years in the Senate, what bill did he get passed that advanced Federalism? Did he get the Dept of Education abolished? Does he support abolishing today? Reduce mandates? Get highway funds block-granted?
What about NCLB? There is nothing ‘ardent’ about Fred’s supposed Federalism angle if he doesnt follow through on his rhetoric.
Howard Baker, Lamar Alexander and Fred Thompson go way back ... all the way to the early 1970s when FredT ran Howard Baker’s campaign. Baker and Lamar both are in the wimp-bipartisan-nice-guy wing of the Republican party. Like, say, John Warner. Mostly good, but not real conservative firebrands that advance our causes. Fred Thompson as Senator fit that mold, hence his error in joining his friend McCain on CFR.
How do you know he hasnt spoken out on the topic (of Federalism)?
I’ll be happy to point you to my guy’s words on the subject if you’ll point me to yours.
Romney could be the right man. Maybe Fred Thompson could be, but let’s see him on the campaign trail.