Free Republic

When the leading Republican candidate for president bemoans the lack of strong leadership these days, it's a pretty clear sign that the party is less than excited about its political prospects. Speaking at a rally in Wilmington, Del., Rudy Giuliani said the feeling that the country is on the wrong track shows a lack of leadership, according to The Associated Press. "What we're lacking is strong, aggressive, bold leadership, like we had with Ronald Reagan," Giuliani said. In the recent AP-Ipsos poll, just 21 percent said the U.S. is heading in the right direction. When the Republican candidates gathered for...

I realize that Reagan signed the immigration bill in 1986 that granted amnesty to over 3 million illegal immigrants, but I believe that the Republican party needs a Reaganesque candidate for 2008. I firmly believe that the Republicans don’t stand a chance unless someone emerges to lead the party back to conservatism. Reagan believed that all of us were created to be free, and with that freedom we have the potential to be great. Listening to the current crop of declared candidates from both parties, reminds me of a bad high school play. A group of amateurs trying to act...

"Law & Order" star Fred Thompson may be just testing the presidential waters, but his potential candidacy has already swamped John McCain and is threatening Rudy Giuliani, a poll says. The Los Angeles Times-Bloomberg survey found New York's ex-mayor holding on to the front-runner spot with 26% of Republicans liking him best, but Thompson grabs 21% and Arizona Sen. McCain gets 12%. "It's amazing," said Baruch College political scientist Doug Muzzio. "Here we have an undeclared candidate beating John McCain and [ex-Massachusetts Gov.] Mitt Romney, and within the margin of error of Giuliani." "It shows there's a hunger among Republicans...

So far, most of the video clips being passed around about Fred Thompson are masterpieces of style (such as his slap down of Michael Moore.) This clip has by far the most substance of any I've seen, and Thompson shows brilliance as well as gravitas. http://www.hoover.org/multimedia/dfv/7959792.html Some excerpts: "The country's not going to be indifferent [about taxes] for very long, they're facing a huge tax increase come 2010. The AMT is gonna be kicking more and more people... There's a lot to do as far as reforming the entire tax structure." "My disposition is pretty much what Thomas Friedman said....

Fred Thompson has had a relatively easy ride as he has flirted with a bid for the Republican presidential nomination. His strategists have found traction promoting him as the heir to Ronald Reagan -- and a conservative alternative to the top tier of the GOP field. But the ride is starting to get a bit bumpy. Opponents and their researchers have begun working -- mostly behind the scenes -- to highlight perceived soft spots in his conservative bona fides. And Thompson will have to neutralize questions on the campaign trail and in the media about his centrist votes in the...

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) -- Arizona Senator John McCain dismissed poll numbers that put him behind Giuliani and Thompson in the bid for the Republican presidential nomination. McCain hosted a small fundraising breakfast at San Francisco Campton Place this morning. The Republican has spent the last several days shaking hands from Sonoma and Vacaville to Atherton and San Francisco. Various polls show him running second and third. He is chasing Republican former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani who was speaking to $1,000-a-head crowd in Central Valley on Sunday. Former Tennessee Senator-turned-actor Fred Thompson, who has yet to declare, spent time querying...

Republican presidential contender Rudy Giuliani said Tuesday he can act too when asked about actor-politician Fred Thompson's expected GOP candidacy. Giuliani, a former New York City mayor, has appeared in films such as "Anger Management" and "The Out-of-Towners." He also appeared in an episode of the hit TV comedy "Seinfeld." "I go through airports and people remember the Seinfeld episode better than I do," Giuliani said before attending a fundraiser at the home of Richard Egan, co-founder of data storage giant EMC Corp. and former Bush administration ambassador to Ireland. Giuliani said the most fun was hosting "Saturday Night Live."...

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- A new poll shows that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has surged ahead of the pack in New Hampshire in the Republican presidential primary race. The WMUR-CNN poll of 304 likely Republican voters shows Romney with 28 percent of the vote, an improvement from 17 percent in April. Rudy Giuliani and John McCain dropped to 20 percent each, down from 29 percent each in April. Newcomer Fred Thompson, who is not yet officially in the race, was fourth, with 11 percent. The University of New Hampshire Survey Center polled voters following last week's debate in New Hampshire....

Everywhere I go and in every interview I do, people ask me who I am supporting for President in 2008. In my book "Taking America Back," I explain in great detail why I don't get consumed with who will be our next President. I explain the limitations on the powers of Presidents. I explain how unlikely and difficult it is for them to change the direction of the country in a positive way. I explain how there are so many more important issues for Americans to be concerned with in their daily lives. I explain that we make choices every...

The Los Angeles Times article about the Bloomberg poll it sponsored highlighted the fact that Fred Thompson is only six points behind Rudy Giuliani in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. For those watching the nomination polls, that's encouraging but hardly shocking. But many other poll results are downright surprising. For instance, the LA Times treats Republican-leaning independents as Republican primary voters, as if the rest of the nation followed California's relatively unique system of open primaries. But Giuliani leads among independents, 31-17. The category “Conservative Republicans” seems to track very closely to an estimate of the results of...

Most Staten Island Republicans are four-square behind former GOP Mayor Rudy Giuliani in the 2008 race for the White House. But we did manage to ferret out one borough Republican who's a big fan of likely GOP candidate Fred Thompson, the "Law and Order" star and former U.S. senator from Tennessee. "Thompson has 'it,'" said the Republican, who couldn't speak on the record because his position in government prohibits him from talking about politics. "He offers something to everybody in the Republican Party." In addition to the aura of his tough-guy roles in movies like "The Hunt for Red October"...

Fred Thompson's expected entry into the tight Republican presidential race is drawing crucial strength from conservatives and older men, vaulting him into the thick of the nomination fight, an Associated Press-Ipsos poll says. The survey shows the top Democratic contender, Hillary Rodham Clinton, has twice the support from women that her nearest rival, Barack Obama, does, but she has dwindling strength among men. Her margin over the Illinois senator has eroded slightly since an AP-Ipsos poll in March. Thompson, who has sandwiched an acting career around a largely anonymous eight years as a Tennessee senator, has not formally entered the...

Former Sen. Fred Thompson still hasn't formally entered the presidential race, but he's already posing a serious threat to some of his potential GOP rivals. The Washington Post reports the likelihood of a Thompson candidacy is pulling major donors away from Sen. John McCain's already struggling campaign. While Thompson is trying to woo conservatives who may be unsatisfied with GOP triumvirate of Giuliani, Romney and McCain, he "appears to present the most challenges for McCain," says the Post. As Thompson "builds his team of major fundraisers … the challenge for McCain will be to collect the millions of dollars necessary...

George W. Bush's 2004 campaign fund-raisers and contributors are being bombarded with appeals for money by Sen. John McCain's heavy-spending, money-short 2008 campaign. McCain is concentrating heavily on the rich target of lawyers and lobbyists in Washington, D.C. They have been invited to multiple McCain fund-raising events held in the nation's capital, currently a $1,000-a-ticket reception June 26 at the Capitol Hill Club with a potential "event co-chair" asked to raise $50,000. A large percentage of the Bush fund-raising team remains uncommitted, a signal that the Republican establishment is not satisfied with the present field seeking the party's nomination. McCain's...

Back in the day when people cared that the President of United States was giving a televised speech, I remember sitting in front of my family's gigantic wooden tv box complete with rabbit ears anticipating with my mom and dad the announcement that our President, Ronald Reagan would soon be speaking to the nation. I was 11 years old. My parents were Democrats. That was also back in the days when the election ended and the President was our President regardless of how we voted--democrat or republican. I didn't know what I was until I heard Reagan speak. Strangely enough...

Supporters of Fred Thompson are seeking to raise $4.6 million to help launch the former senator and "Law & Order” star’s expected run for president in 2008. A group called the First-Day Founders got the ball rolling when all 100 members each donated the primary maximum of $2,300 on June 1, the day Thompson’s exploratory committee filed with the Tennessee secretary of state, allowing the committee to begin fundraising. If the First-Day Founders come through with their fundraising efforts, "Thompson presumably would start off with $4.6 million in ‘seed money,’” The Hill newspaper reported. "Speculation has been rampant as of...

Here's an interesting addition to the growing, un-revealed, unofficial presidential campaign of Ex-Sen. Fred Thompson : J. Timothy Griffin, the former RNC research whiz and Army JAG prosecutor who served, briefly, as a U.S. Attorney in the second district in Arkansas. Griffin, you'll no doubt recall, was selected with White House input to replace prosecutor Bud Cummins in AR when Griffin returned from serving a tour of duty in Iraq. Griffin is advising Thompson on communications and message and will probably be a consultant to Thompson's presidential campaign. Griffin was a very early, very informal adviser to AR Gov. Mike...

Sources close to the Thompson campaign have passed along the following first-day results for ImWithFred.com: Averaged close to 1,500 people per hour signing up as friends Averaged $12,000 per hour in contributions Raised more than $220,000 dollars via the website Seen just under half of the Friends send a message to others asking them to sign up or give. We'll see what traffic measuring services like Alexa say in a day or so, but this has to be considered a powerful shot across the bow.

Fred was interviewed by Sean Hannity last night...among the items discussed was his new campaign website.. http://www.imwithfred.com/index.aspx

Fred Thompson Could Face Fire From the Right By Fred Lucas CNSNews.com Staff Writer June 05, 2007 (CNSNews.com) - While many Republican voters view likely presidential candidate Fred Thompson as the great conservative hope of 2008, a review of Thompson's Senate voting record and past comments could change the minds of some conservatives. Thompson was quoted expressing support for abortion rights in 1994 when he first ran for the Senate from Tennessee, although once in the Senate, he consistently voted pro-life. He not only voted for, but was a major booster of the campaign finance reform bill that many...