Posted on 09/21/2007 12:16:57 PM PDT by Josh Painter
Going in, Rudy Giuliani was going to have a tall order to get a warm welcome from the NRA. Fred Thompson just made that harder by going up on the stage and giving a just about flawless performance.
He repeats the line about Americans sacrificing more blood for other countries' freedom than for any other country; I can't help but wonder if it's a jab at the Washington Post for critiquing it and arguing the Soviet Union might rival that claim.
He got a standing ovation at his finish, and then he did a brief Q & A.
"Some believe that the Second Amendment has different meanings in different places, and that the gun rights of citizens in, say, New York City and Chicago can restricted more than the gun rights of those in Tennessee and Montana. Do you agree?"
Thompson responds with a deep, rumbling, slow, "Noooope." Then he follows with absolute catnip for gun owners: "It's never seemed to me to be coincidental that the places that have the highest crime rates tend to be the places that have the most restrictions on gun ownership in America."
Asked about gun shows, he calls the "part of Americana... There's always been an effort on the other side to go after something high profile or particularly vulnerable, an easy target, but I've always resisted that."
Will he appoint an Attorney General who shares his opinion of the Second Amendment. "Yes." More applause. "I think we're winning on the interpretation of the Second Amendment. I have a complicated position on this: The Constitution means what it says." He gets another standing ovation.
From my regular appearances on NRANews.com, I think I have a pretty good idea of what gun owners want to hear from a presidential candidate; Fred Thompson gave 'em pretty much their ideal.
I would also note that perhaps Thompson ate his Wheaties this morning, because he didn't seem tired or sleepy at all.
I’ve seen the man speak; he’s very good.
The NRA has approximately 4 million members, and ten times more who identify themselves as NRA members, but, interestingly enough, are not actual members. NOW has about 400,000 members, about the same as the ACLU.
I like Fred, and no politician is going to be perfect (e.g FDT’s support for CFR), but on this issue he’s get it right on the money. To be fair several other candidates do to. Only they don’t have quite the numbers at this time.
Fred was about due, yes. To use a baseball metaphor, he’s been in a slump, with a lot of fouled-off pitches, ground outs and pop flies. This was a no-doubt home run.
2A issues mean a lot to me. Glad to hear Fred stand tall on this.
Poll numbers don’t suggest that he has been in a slump. Why do you suggest it?
There was a story months ago which had him taking a cell phone call in the middle of an important Iowa meeting with possible supporters/donors. I think in that one he actually didn’t come back. Anyone remember?
I was responding specifically to a comment about how well his speeches have been received by the persons there present, not his polling generally.
I like the answers posted here.
I LIKE the notion of consistency of the Second Amendment across the fruited plains.
This is a big inducement to vote for Fred.
(though this is inconsistent with his position on the Federal Marriage Amendment which some supporters have indicated F.Thompson has due to a federalism argument. Of course that has yet to be fully developed)
Well, I hope the NRA and other firearms rights orgnizations support Fred to the max.
I think you’re right . The NRA vote will be crucial in this primary and I think it will go to Thompson as well.
Romney didn’t bother to educate himself on the gun issue and so-called AW’s and it will hurt his campaign .
McPain was doing anti-gun PSA’s for an anti-gun front group called AGS a few years back, as well as attacking gun shows .
Rudy , well no comment needed .
The MSM has been covering Fred Thompson?
I thought all MSM stories INCLUDING FNC only did the Guiliani and Hillary show with Obama as comedy relief.
I have not seen good, bad, or otherwise about Fred.
And the best part, he didnt take any cell phone calls during his speech.
Who did that????
Probably because this wasn't a drive-by media hit piece, and they therefore didn't get the memo that the meme for the month is "FDT is sleepy and slow".
Don’t read much, do you..
LOL!
I believe that most of the GOP "front runners" can handle the daily hammering of a campaign still roughly a year and a sixth long. I "feel" that Thompson can resonate comfortably with conservatives about 95% of the time. I "feel" that he will deal with past foibles in an honest and sincere way.
Thompson "strikes" me as an unapologetic conservative. That "strikes" me as a rarity on the national political stage.
If Thompson can hone his message in an optimistic and pro-American (may I say Reagan-like?) way, he will pass the rest of the Republicans AND ALL of the Democrats like they are nailed to the ground. He will also have LONG coat tails that will dump those embarrassments, Pelosi, Reid and that fat drunken blob from Massachusetts on the ash heap of history).
Hey, guys, apparently people who are present at Fred’s speeches have nothing but terrible things to say.
What do you think?
And even this lefty is starting to understand Fred’s appeal:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1899393/posts
I only watch Dobbs on CNN and FOX. Dobbs doesn’t mention Thompson but occassionally does mention Hunter because of the border issues. FOX mentions Guilianni a LOT but also Romney and Thompson. Rarely Hunter.
I’ve seen (full-length video of; not present personally) Fred speak on a number of occasions. At his best, he is probably the best speaker out there. At his worst, he is soporific. Generally, when he is well-prepared / not tired, it’s the former.
I just saw Fred last night and he was doing great thwarting the terrorists...
(Die Hard 2)
He did? what a moron!!!
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.