Posted on 11/01/2007 8:55:33 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
By Kleinheider
November 1st, 2007 - 8:13 am
Steve Gill pens a column this morning counseling Fred Thompson to hit the immigration issue hard — especially Hillary Clinton’s rambling answer in Tuesday night’s Democratic debate regarding drivers licenses for illegal immigrants. An answer she has now retracted.
Steve Gill on Fred’s immigration opportunity:
Thompson has the opportunity to pounce on the issue and make it his, which would give him an advantage in both the Republican Primary as well as the general election. Granted, Thompson’s personality and style do not fit well with the image of a quick, cat-like “pounce.” So perhaps he should be more like a grizzly bear and launch a big pawed “swipe” at Hillary…with the claws out.
It would appear that Fred is already heeding Gill’s advice:
While Hillary Clinton was speaking out both sides of her mouth at last night’s debate over the issue of drivers licenses for illegal aliens, what went unsaid is that this is a recipe for increased voter fraud. Under the federal “Motor Voter” law (the National Voter Registration Act of 1993), states must provide applicants for drivers licenses with the opportunity to register to vote.
Giving legal drivers licenses to illegal immigrants is wrong and would provide them the opportunity to register to vote in our country. People who are not citizens of the United States should not be encouraged by pandering politicians to further break our laws and risk the health of our political system.
And Clinton is not his only target on the issue. Fred is going after Mitt Romney as well:
Thompson’s campaign also included all the usual oppo on Romney’s prevous, much softer stance on immigration, including the oft-cited Boston Globe interview from November of 2005 in which Romney called an early version of comprehensive reform “reasonable.”
If he has one, this could be Thompson’s moment. No top-tier Republican has effectively made any hay out of Romney’s marked change in tone on immigration. John McCain and Rudy Giuliani have cited the 2005 Globe story umpteen times, but have not been able to do any damage to Romney on immigration because of their own difficulties on the issue.
Fred Thompson is floundering in the polls and the media elite have already handicapped the race and decided on high that he will lose.
Fred Thompson can reasonable be said to be losing the horserace aspect of this campaign. Of course, this is a game he was never intent on playing. He is, or so he says, unconcerned by polling and elite opinion.
That may be true, however, does he not still need something, anything, that will resonate with the public and get him back in this race? Romney has the money and organization. Giuliani has the compelling narrative of 9/11, elements of the Religious Right are coalescing around Huckabee and Ron Paul is attempting to lead a social movement. Fred Thompson needs something in his campaign right now. Is it immigration? Can immigration be the issue that put Fred Thompson back in this hunt in defiance of elite opinion and polling numbers?
SEE ALSO: Fore Left
>It’s about savaging the most conservative candidate in the race......<
Duncan Hunter remains king of the hill on conservatism, Pet. Freddie is just a pretender to the throne.
If this is an immigration thread, then what does an unconfirmed sex scandal rumor about an unidentified candidate have to do with anything?
***My post was a response to this statement in post #2:
I find it odd that FDT is now dropping in the polls after getting tough on illegals....
My post was withdrawn, so it looks as if we have some kind of answer about who was being abusive here.
I apologize to you Fred followers. That was apparently a smear.
I have to admit that I’m still scratching my head how that is considered abuse when we see so much traffic coming down the other side of the street, but I’ll stick around to learn what the ground rules are for debating. You’d think after a decade of Freeping that it would be clear.
Duncan who?
Yes, quite.
I pushed the button on that one. I suspect others did as well.
"No, Hunter!"
"H-U-N-T-E-R..."
"No, one t...."
"No not Doug, DUNCAN..."
Sorry, couldn’t resist...
>As his own staff has admitted, he hasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell.<
Scum, Pet? Know what happens when you point your finger?
In your above statement you perpetuate a rumor that the staff member has publicly denied ever saying.
Jim Rob, I would ask for some clarification on this issue in terms of how it is determined to be a smear.
I have apologized for my remarks.
The same level of comments were appearing on the thread where the LATimes was withholding a story about a leading candidate, and even the posters on this thread acknowledge it could be Fred. It could be any of the leading candidates.
I’ve stayed away from the Fred threads in order to not knock down a good conservative. My candidate has criticized Fred for having a Road-to-Des-Moines conversion on this issue. A poster in post #2 wondered why Fred’s been falling in the polls, and that is a legitimate suggestion. It’s a question that was asked & answered. If this is a smear, why are not the Fred suppositions on the LAT rumor thread being pulled?
I have no intention of carrying that conversation to any other Fred threads unless my candidate takes the lead and criticizes him on another issue.
While not his highest priority, and despite the distortion of his record via selective reporting from NumbersUSA, Thompson was still a strong supporter of measures to stop illegal immigration while serving in the Senate.
There's no flip-flop here, just more desperation from supporters of a hopeless candidate.
Yep, lots of scum rising to the surface around here....
Yes, and so would I. After I scrubbed the tortilla dough from my fingers, I'd hold a press conference...
Yes, quite.
***but it isn’t.
I once had a comment pulled because someone was so thin-skinned they couldn’t handle a funny light-hearted jab from http://www.blogthings.com
So, no, it is not clear.
I don’t believe I mentioned anything about driver’s licenses, PK.
Can I quote you on that in regards to our earlier conversation....
Looks like we have two F1 cars indeed...
Yet you pulled the trigger on jellybean?
Note that #49 was posted before #11 was pulled.
I do note that. It’s true.
See, I told you I’d get things going around here. :)
********************
Excellent.
Everyone makes at least one mistake.
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