Free Republic

That's what Fredheads hope, anyway. Fred Thompson seems to have come alive in South Carolina; his campaign reports that they've had to shut down at least two events because supporters have overcrowded the venues. His joltingly aggressive performance on Thursday has people wondering where this Fred has been -- and hoping he sticks around. Baby, they love his way, even the lines on his face ... and they want more people to feel like they do. Here's a little Photoshop fun for the evening; maybe you'll want to put on the great classic album and think, (I'll Give You) Money....

Republican presidential hopeful Fred Thompson continued his full-court press in South Carolina Saturday morning by meeting with about 100 supporters in North Charleston and continuing to take jabs at a rival. While Thompson didn’t name names, his comments at Perkins Family Restaurant echoed what he said in Thursday night’s debate about former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee being too liberal for the Republican base. “A lot of people nowadays think that we have to be moving away from our traditions of the Republican party,” he said. “Most of the populist rhetoric you hear winds up in bigger government and more government...

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — John and Ann Berenberk dutifully watched the umpteenth Republican presidential debate on television on Thursday night and had an epiphany. It was about the candidate they had previously referred to as the tall, silent one. Fred D. Thompson. The last of the candidates to enter the race, Mr. Thompson, 65, a former Tennessee senator, has so far seemed to distinguish himself mainly by a laconic style that has made him_almost invisible beside the others on the stage in past debates, the Berenberks said. “But then last night — we hadn’t even been thinking about him —...

Fred Thompson has raised over $200,000 online since his boffo debate performance last night, says spokesman Todd Harris. For a candidate who is putting everything on South Carolina, the showing could not have come in a better place (Myrtle Beach) or on a better network (Fox) or at a more critical time (just over a week before the South Carolina primary). The debate got front-page previews in both the Charleston and Myrtle Beach papers yesterday, and many conservatives were already likely tuning in to their favorite station. The South Carolina papers had similarly prominent coverage of the debate this morning....

The Thompson campaign held a conference call for sympathetic bloggers this afternoon. On the call, Senator Thompson stressed that he would stick to his campaign style, but added he would increase his efforts to make comparisons and draw distinctions with his opponents. A few highlights from call: On his campaign style: "If it's too laid back for folks, it's too laid back for folks," and "we used to judge our Presidents and what we wanted in our Presidents on a different basis." "I stand or fall on the basis of who I am and what I believe." On the press:...

TALLAHASSEE | After a miserable showing in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary, GOP candidate Fred Thompson is clearly banking on a surge in the South to revive what was once the most spirited of conservative campaigns. About a dozen state lawmakers joined U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Lakeland, in the Capital Press Center in Tallahassee for an odd Wednesday morning press conference. Putnam, one of the first Floridians to press for Thompson's candidacy last year, said the former Tennessee senator would do well in next week's South Carolina primary and Florida's Jan. 29 vote. "Everybody recognizes Thompson's appeal in the South," Putnam...

SUMTER, S.C. - Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson said Wednesday he is drawing a "line in the sand" in South Carolina, hoping that familiar Southern territory can revive a campaign sputtering following his last-place finish in New Hampshire the night before. The former Tennessee senator and actor arrived in this early primary state the day before New Hampshire voters went to the polls, and has steadily ratcheted up the importance South Carolina will play in the future of his White House bid. The Republican primary here is Jan. 19. "I'm proud to say I am drawing a line in the...

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - It doesn't matter to South Carolina state Republican David Hiott's colleagues that he's an avowed Fred Thompson supporter - his phone keeps ringing with pleas for him to get ready to jump ship. Hiott says he will be with Thompson "until the bitter end" of his presidential campaign. Hiott and other Thompson supporters in the early voting state say Statehouse colleagues for months have been trying to snare their support for other Republican candidates. But they're sticking with the former Tennessee senator and actor. They say Thompson's conservative credentials and foreign policy experience will gain traction...

Columbia, SC (LifeNews.com) -- National Right to Life is putting its money where its mouth is for Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson in South Carolina. The pro-life group has mailed a postcard touting Thompson’s record to thousands of residents in the third primary battleground state and one where Thompson needs a strong showing. The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) endorsed Thompson back in November saying he has a strong pro-life voting record and stance on both abortion and bioethics issues. The mailing, sent by the group's political action committee, features a picture of an infant baby and says, “This...

Choosing a person for the office of president of the United States is the most difficult decision that a citizen of America must make. The person I chose is of high quality in character, integrity, wisdom, knowledge, education, experience, and a love for our Creator, [the people] and for our nation—[some]one of obvious moral and ethical character ... including unimpaired soundness in [such] qualities as honesty, reliability, faithfulness and maturity. And, of course, wisdom. Knowledge is also a requirement, and that is acquired from tried-and-true hard work, using the tools of a fine education and experience from the trails of...

Favorite son Fred Thompson got into the presidential race running against Rudy Giuliani. Now he’s running against Mike Huckabee. The arc of this campaign keeps changing and now Fred finds himself in Iowa this holiday season fighting to stay in the race. Even his supporters back here in Tennessee have been asking (whispering among themselves) “What’s the matter with Fred?” When Thompson got into the race it didn’t appear that Iowa would matter. Mitt Romney has spent two years and millions of dollars organizing, and seemed on track to score an easy victory. Giuliani and John McCain weren’t even competing...

Almost as I'd thought. The endorsement of Rep. King has begun having an impact in the Iowa poll numbers and the Thompson campaign is on the move according to this latest Strategic Vision poll. - Huckabee -31% - Romney - 25% - Thompson - 16% The anomaly in this poll right now is Huckabee (another post on that later) who when this poll was taken was at 31%. I have not heard the entire show, however the internet is abuzz with Rush's cremation of Huckabee (and for good reason...again more on that later). Huckabee's numbers are going to plummet down...

As regular VC readers know, I am one of several conspirators who is supporting Fred Thompson's campaign for President. I cannot speak for the others, but my reasons for supporting Thompson include his commitment to federalism, his candor on important issues other candidates would prefer to avoid (e.g. entitlements), and his record on regulatory reform and government oversight over the past thirty years. For National Review's pentultimate issue (the one before they endorsed Mitt Romney), I authored an article making the conservative case for Thompson. For those without subscriptions to the print magazine, here is an excerpt: Sen. Fred Thompson...

Tell us, Fred Thompson, about your national security policy. "The good guys win and the bad guys lose -- how 'bout that?" Profound. And your economic policy? "Free people, free markets, doin' free things together." Well said. Do you worry that tax cuts might cause lost revenue? "It ain't lost, it's in my pocket." As for how he came to hold certain views on health care, he has this answer for his audience in Anderson, S.C.: "I had a conversation with my little mama back in Franklin, Tennessee." His 87-year-old mother's advice also persuades him to reject the new National...

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Mike Huckabee, John McCain and Mitt Romney tout their pro-life credentials. But Fred Thompson keeps getting key endorsements. Check this out below from the Christian News Wire: Today, at a press conference in Columbia, South Carolina, Fred Thompson received the endorsement of South Carolina Citizens for Life. "South Carolina Citizens for Life is pleased to join in National Right to Life's endorsement of Fred Thompson for President of the United States," said Holly Gatling, executive director. "We believe Fred Thompson is the pro-life candidate in the strongest position to defeat pro-abortion Rudy Giuliani and then to defeat the pro-abortion Democrat...

SPARTANBURG, SC (AP) - Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson says Americans need to choose a president next year that will get the country back on the right track. The former Tennessee senator told an overflow crowd of about 100 people at a Spartanburg restaurant that the nation needs a true conservative as president to help lessen the influence of liberals in Congress. Thompson also emphasized his Southern roots and says he is an example of the true American story. Thompson also talked about his bedrock conservative values and said he is unique among Republican candidates in that his stance on...

Days left until the Jan. 19 S.C. Republican presidential primary: 46 Days left until the Jan. 26 S.C. Democratic presidential primary: 53 Days left to register to vote: 17 CAMPAIGN TRAIL When and where presidential candidates are appearing in South Carolina 12:15 p.m. today: Former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson will have a meet-and-greet at Wade’s Southern Cooking at 100 N. Pine St. in Spartanburg. 2 p.m.: Thompson will visit Blue Ridge Shooting Sport Store at 3559 Ballenger Road in Greer. 6 p.m.: Thompson will visit Market Square Deli at 2029 Wade Hampton Blvd. in Greenville. 8:45 a.m. Wednesday: Thompson will...

You can thank me (or throw eggs at me), not the miscounting in Florida, for Al Gore not being the president of the United States. You see, Tennessee did not vote for its favorite son in 2000. I was a voter in Tennessee in 2000. Had Gore been able to carry the state that knew him best, there would have been no need for recounts in Florida. Throughout the three weeks of recounting, the media descended upon Florida. No one came to Tennessee to ask us why we had not voted for our own former U.S. Senator. We did not...

LADSON, S.C., Nov. 24 — Joe McCormick, a burly man over six feet tall, a World War II-era Mauser rifle at his side, said he was frightened. “Giuliani scares me,” Mr. McCormick said of Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination. “What does a mayor of New York know about guns?” Fred D. Thompson, who was about 30 yards away — just past the “Confederate Cutlery” collection of knives, fingering an M-1 rifle at the Land of Sky Gun Show here Saturday — was more his kind of candidate. Mr....