Posted on 01/26/2008 5:43:05 PM PST by redtetrahedron
NASHVILLE Republican Fred Thompson is out of the presidential race, but that isnt stopping some top Republican officials from continuing to support the former U.S. senator in the Feb. 5 GOP primary.
Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville, is running as an at-large delegate for Mr. Thompson. Senate Republican Leader Mark Norris, R-Collierville, is running as a Thompson delegate in the 7th Congressional District.
And both are hoping to get to the Republican National Convention this summer as delegates.
During a press availability with reporters this week, Lt. Gov. Ramsey told reporters he has been getting calls from various GOP campaigns seeking his support since Mr. Thompsons flagging campaign officially fizzled.
Obviously, Chip Saltsman, whos with Mike Huckabee, called about 30 minutes after Fred was out, and I asked him what took so long, Lt. Gov. Ramsey joked of Mr. Saltsman, a former Tennessee Republican Party chairman who is Mr. Huckabees campaign manager.
Yesterday, Lt. Gov. Ramsey continued, I got a phone call that came up, unknown number, blocked caller ID. And usually I dont answer that because its usually one of you all (reporters), to be perfectly honest. ... But I answered anyway, and (the voice) said, Hello, this is Mitt Romney.
The lieutenant governor said, Im going to try to stay out of it at least for right now. Ill be behind whoever wins.
Sen. Norris then noted, Im a delegate for Fred Thompson, and Im still on the ballot.
Asked if he were encouraging people to still vote for Mr. Thompson, Sen. Norris grinned and said, you bet. Im a delegate.
Then came a confession from Lt. Gov. Ramsey: And I am (a delegate) too. So I will too. I'm a statewide delegate. I'm sure I still will. Even though he's out, I will, at this time.
Mr. Thompson remains on the ballot and can still win delegates if he wins a certain percentage of the vote.
And don’t forget, we still don’t know how much his withdrawal was spurned by family problems. His campaign had made statements that he would stay in even if he got 3rd in SC. The sudden and terse withdrawal statement coupled with the lack of any information since says to me that he and his family may be going through a rough time right now...
Everyone in my family is voting for Thompson in the primary...it’s the only way to let the RNC know that there are conservatives that will not bend their principles still aorund.
Screw the RNC, and what ever RINO gets the nod.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
I’m a veteran...
I wont feel slighted if someone doesnt jump the shark and vote for Romney, Huckabee, Paul, McCain, Gulianni...
Enough of the Tammeny Hall/Jim Crow stuff....
I hope nobody leaves FR just because someone didnt like how they voted...
This is still America and each of us has a right to our own opinion and our own vote...
And we also have a right to stay home...
Only 1/3 of the eligible American citizens register to vote and only 1/3 of the people who are registered actually vote...
that means about 5-10% of American adults decide who your POTUS will be...
Bill Clinton got 43% of the vote and became POTUS..
are you going to get mad at all the rest if the Democrats win this time ???
You want people to vote ???
give ‘em someone to vote for
I believe Fred is still on the ballot in Texas. I plan on voting for him anyway. For the first time since I’ve been of voting age, I have an opportunity to vote for someone I am enthusiastic about. Maybe if more Republicans vote Fred or Uncommitted, we can send a message that there is a small but significant minority in the party who will not allow it to be hijacked by leftists.
I don't know whether those delegates will be required to vote for Fred Thompson on the first ballot. I wouldn't be surprised if Mr. Thompson's being officially withdrawn will mean that they are free to vote as they wish even on the first ballot. In that case, Tennesseans will simply be electing uncommitted delegates to go to Minnesota.
Bill
As I said, those who stay home and pout into their coffee cups are not deserving of the chance to complain what happens afterwards. SHAME SHAME SHAME on you for advocating that people stay home! SHAME!
< < Kinda like the Alamo > >
Lottsa Texans are still grateful for that band of Tennessee volunteers that came with Davy Crockett.
I’ve said this before, but I think it is worth repeating (well, of course I do - I said it, LOL):
It looks as if the drive-bys have finally dropped Huckaboob in favour of McCain, yet there seem to be an awful lot of folk (FReepers and not) trying to convince us that Romney is a conservative. He is not. Just being a successful businessman does not make one a conservative - George Soros, Ted Turner, Bill Gates, Heinz Kerry...shall I continue, or do you catch the drift?
Campaigning against Romney in the November election will be too easy - all the Demonrats need to do is show his previous positions. And, as much as I am angry with el presidente Bush, I find Romney’s mantra that “Washington is broken” to be dangerous for Republican candidates everywhere. Sure the Pelosi/Reid group has been in charge for the past year and a half, but that is not how it will be spun. “Washington” will be Republican Bush and Republican Congressional leadership. (hehe, I misspelled that...spell check wanted to change it to “concessional leadership.” Spell check knows the RINOs better than some of us do.)
So, here is my suggestion: if you are in Florida, vote for Rudy in the hope of stopping the Romney & McCain machines’ momentum. Should Rudy win, the MSM will talk about his resurgence, and there will be 3 non-conservatives competing elsewhere. It puts Giuliani back into the running in NY, and MSM may get confused about who to back among all those choices.
Since Romney bends in the wind, he will either veer left again to compete with McCain, or keep talking right, thinking that he can still fool conservatives until he wins the nomination. Then he will forget us, just as the Republican party has for years - the “where else do they have to go” syndrome. Don’t we ever get tired of the knife in our baxk?
Rudy is right on taxes, foreign affairs, crime. And he’s made the same flipflops on immigration and RKBA as Romney. If you are willing to suspend your disbelief for Mittens, you should do the same for Rudy. At least Giuliani has been honest enough not to flip his social positions, as distasteful as they are to Conservatives, so I am almost inclined to think he means it when he says he changed. Almost. Being a FRederalist, I believe those social issues are State’s Rights decisions anyway. If Rudy were to win the nomination we’ll need him to know we backed him to assure he really will appoint justices that are pro-life.
For everyone else outside of Florida, vote for FRed to keep the party aware that conservatives still want a conservative candidate (platform is not enough - remember HW Bush? never read the platform, didn’t have to follow it). The only exception to vote for FDT is if we need to keep any one candidate from reaching 1191.delegates.
It is not an easy balance, with the possibility that one of those guys will get the nomination, but if we keep the delegates distributed, none of the three will know if we supported them or didn’t, so they can’t afford to throw us overboard. I won’t count on a VP for Thompson - I don’t think he wants that - too much going for him outside that bucket of warm...spit,
We need a deadlocked convention to nominate Fred or another conservative. If not that, we need the leverage to get a conservative VP nominee.
My 10 cents (inflation, plus a post too long to be only 2 cents)
Alkhin wrote ...
You have someone to vote for...and you have the perfect freedom to pencil that person in. Seems to me those who are stomping their feet and saying “My way or the high way” are the ones who are the biggest harm to the situation. And where do you get off calling my assertion that voting for someone is more honorable than not a “Tammeny Hall/Jim Crow” situation?! At least Im not pouting that things havent been fixed the way I want them to! IM VOTING.
As I said, those who stay home and pout into their coffee cups are not deserving of the chance to complain what happens afterwards. SHAME SHAME SHAME on you for advocating that people stay home! SHAME!
___________________________________________________________
WWHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTT ???????????
You’re the shameful one and hysterical...
You wrote this to o_zarkman44.......
To: o_zarkman44
So write in who YOU want as President. Youre not voting at all automaticlly disqualifies you from any discussion of issues. Sorry, but thems the facts. If you want to go ahead and not vote, thereby p*ssing on the sacrifices of those who worked to give you the freedom to vote, go right ahead, but Id better not see your name on FR after the Nov. elections. You will have no credibility with me or other FR who have worked hard to keep up the battle.
50 posted on 01/26/2008 6:35:02 PM PST by Alkhin (Hope looks beyond the bounds of time...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 46 | View Replies | Report Abuse ]
_____________________________________________________
Why wouuld you write such a thing inferring that you were some great trumped up champion of veterans and then attack me, one of the veterans you pretend to support...
As an American veteran, I will stick up for the guy who doesnt want to vote for a socialist...
I dont need or want your pink code mentality
I never told anyone to stay home...
While you announced you would shun the poor guy, I said I would still regard him as a fellow American with his right to vote or not to vote...
I understand your desire to avoid discussing politics with those who do not participate...
But I served my country honorably, and it was for the voters and also those who dont wish to...
You are going to be very lonely if you shun people who dont vote because more Americans dont go to the polls than do...
You cant shun more than 1/2 of the population so you are in a pickle...
I appreciated your premise on behalf of me and my fellow veterans and the men and women who are serving in the US military at present, until you verbally attacked me unwarrantedly...
I must have misunderstood your original comment...I guess you were not supportive of me and the rest of the veterans and the troops after all...
Dismissed...
Great post...
:)
.
I'm sure he also looked out over the political landscape and realized that not enough conservatives were voting for him, even though they themselves have been clamoring for someone like Fred for years! Maybe he realized that with his Mama sick, he didn't have the time to devote to the race that he knew he'd truly need to overcome the deficit in votes.
I certainly don't begrudge him the time with his Mama!
Many have gone to Romney, but it is a default position so it is not some victory to be bragged about.
Fred maybe out, but he is till a factor for us Conservatives.
It wasn't started by the Huckabites. They just picked it up as a rallying cry after Huck lost South Carolina. IIRC, it was started by the RNC-insider types who were doubling-down on Giuliani about the same time Fred officialy announced.
The movie was "The conqueror" starring John Wayne as Genghis Khan (pronounced with a hard "G" rather than that silly way John Fn Kerry pronounced it.)
It is the only Socialist State forced healthcare payer system in America today and he signed it into law.
You cannot get away from that.
Forced. - no voters voted on this. Forced.
No matter how much spin, there it is. - the only Socialist State forced healthcare payer system in America today and he signed it into law.
Together with all of his other very left public stances he is out for me.
Of course now he didn’t really mean any of that right?
He was just working with a leftist legislature, right?
Just like the one he would face in the US Congress today, right?
The dems are going to make even more gains in Congress, and I stand behind that prediction, as well.
Nothing was learned in 06. Nothing.
And thank you for your post. - Bill
Now that gave me a chuckle. No such quote in my post.
There are liberals in the GOP. Or has that very obvious reality eluded you this election?
And there are several of them running right now.
But if you apparently believe that you know what I apparently believe, then you are a very misguided soul
I forgot, thank you for your post - Bill
“This is a good idea . By maintaining your support for Senator Thompson right up until he endorses McCain , it will be easier for you to vote for Juan McAmnesty”
That statement makes absolutely no sense at all! I think Fred not endorsing says volumes anyway!
What an asinine, arrogant set of comments.
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.