Significant Fred Thompson Endorsement
I enjoyed reading, and highly recommend, this article by Pejman Yousefzadeh about why he has decided to endorse Fred Thompson for President.
Here are a few of the key paragraphs:
My emphasis in this and other writings when it comes to political discussions has been on policy. I want a candidate who espouses small government, federalism, free markets, free trade, a brave and unabashed message of capitalism and consequential, weighty and creative solutions to the many foreign policy and national security dilemmas facing the United States.
That’s why I am supporting Fred Thompson for President.
Start with the issue of policy substance. Thompson has loads of it, as this editorial makes clear. Thompson has made detailed and specific proposals concerning the issue of entitlement reform, oftentimes in the face of overwhelming and widespread political fears that to mention the need for entitlement reforms is to kiss one’s chances at electability goodbye. There is something refreshing about a candidate for President willing to risk his electoral chances to speak some hard policy choices and Thompson is to be commended for his bravery. As the editorial makes clear, Thompson has also presented innovative and intellectually rigorous ideas concerning immigration and the size of the nation’s military. The Adam Smith Institute comes out with justified praise for Thompson’s tax plan and notes that Thompson has a very interesting and original idea on how the United States could be transitioned to a flat tax system. Anything would be better than the current “progressive” scheme and Thompson is one of the few Republican candidates who has come out with a workable alternative tax system for the United States to adopt.
Indeed, as a general matter, it should be noted–as many have said–that when it comes to policy discussions, Thompson is clearly intellectually and substantively prepared to wade into the deep end of the pool. Moreover, Thompson clearly enjoys serious and intense policy discussions and is a genuine wonk. Thompson intellectual approach to policy issues will lead to a more refined and successful decision-making process if he should be elected President. Contrast this most especially with Huckabee, who resembles, for all of his silver-tongued eloquence, a drowning man when conversations get excessively substantive. The choice between these two candidates should be and is no choice at all. Thompson is simply one of the most intellectually impressive candidates on either side. Policy wonks like me appreciate and respect his serious attitude to substance and the issues and such seriousness is in great demand given the policy challenges we face.
And later:
Many writers, in praising Thompson, have indicated that one of the more laudable things about his candidacy is that he is more interested in doing something than he is in being somebody. This is true. Ambition is a good thing to have but far too many politicians make ambition an end in and of itself. For Thompson, ambition is a means to an end–a means to implementing the policy positions he and other Reagan Republicans care about so deeply.
But read the whole thing, which includes a significant roundup of intelligent reactions to Thompson’s candidacy so far.
I think Fred will be our Cincinatus.
He inspires me. And I believe the ‘opinion makers’ are in for a few surprises from the good Sen. Thompson.
FRED THOMPSON is the best person to lead this country. He is a true conservative and has been his entire life. All one has to do is check his record to see this.
During my time in the Army as an Intelligence Analyst, I served under both Presidents Carter and Reagan (as my commanders in chief). Without argument, President Reagan was the best commander-in-chief a military person could ever have served under. Fred Thompson possesses the same qualities and vision as President Reagan in that he is strong on national defense and sees a dire need to secure our borders and control immigration.
I can think of no better person to lead this country and fix the problems we have. He is the only candidate from either party who has specific and detailed plans on border security and immigration reform; revitalization of America’s armed forces; saving and protecting Social Security; and tax relief and economic growth. These are detailed on his Web site at http://www.fred08.com. I challenge you to find any other candidate who has laid out specific plans to fix anything.
Fred Thompson has published his first principles, some of which are mentioned above. In addition to those, he strongly believes in individual liberty, personal responsibility, limited government, federalism, traditional American values, the rule of law and is a strong proponent of the Second Amendment — all concepts established during the birth of our country and documented in our Constitution.
Again, try to find any candidate who has laid out their plans to “fix” this country. You will find they all speak in vague and abstract terms on their plans.
For those who have heard Fred Thompson speak, you will usually hear him say that the Fred Thompson you see today is the same Fred Thompson you saw yesterday and is the same Fred Thompson you will see tomorrow. He stands by his principles and values and doesn’t shift his positions based on polls or public opinion; in other words, he doesn’t say what the voters want to hear just to get elected, but remains steadfast on his views and convictions.
During his time in the Senate he focused on three areas: to lower taxes, strengthen national security and expose waste in the federal government. Fred Thompson has foreign policy experience, having served as member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Senate Intelligence committees.
As chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, he opened the investigation in 1997 on the Chinese government’s attempt to influence American policies and elections, and this investigation identified connections with the Clinton administration (documented in the committee’s report).
As a member of the Finance Committee, he worked tirelessly to enact three major tax-cut bills. Fred Thompson remains steadfast and even though a person may not agree with all his views and he understands some may disagree with him, you can count on him to be consistent and unwavering.
Don’t be fooled by his laid back approach and what critics call his “laziness.” As a former assistant U.S. attorney, he earned a reputation as a tough prosecutor and he possesses the toughness this country needs in order to tackle today’s and tomorrow’s issues.
I ask that you take a hard look at what this country needs, then take a hard look at all the other candidates’ views, policies, their records and their track record on consistency. Fred Thompson possesses integrity, loyalty, commitment, energy and decisiveness, all traits of an effective leader, and will emerge as the best person to take this country boldly forward.
[...] an interesting post today on Significant Fred Thompson EndorsementHere’s a quick [...]
Hi Josh,
I think there’s a fundamental flaw in getting excited by a major party candidate. At this point in history, I think it’s clear that we aren’t going to advance our freedom by voting for Republicans (or Democrats). Bush was the last mistake we ever need to make in that regard. Whether we vote for Republicans or Dems, the federal government will grow larger, spend more, and expand its power over us. I see no reason to think of Thompson as any different from all the rest.
Relatedly, it’s time to move past the hook that Republicans always use to seduce pro-freedom people — promises of more economic liberty (tax cuts, free trade, etc.). When we vote myopically for conservatives because of those issues, we lose. We end up with the Patriot Act and non-defensive expeditionary wars that will bankrupt us. And we don’t even get any fiscal conservatism out of the deal — rather we get more socialized medicine, more spending all around, with the potential for massive deferred future tax increases.
Thompson is anti-gay, anti-Mexican, and anti-choice. Depending on how much you care about those issues, they may easily trump his promises of minor social security reform or a tax cut.
Mr. Duarte:
I’ve got to call blather when I see it.
Read Fred’s position papers. Everyone else is providing platitudes.
And it’s pro-heterosexual marriage, pro-controlled immigration, and pro-life that Fred stands for. Your terms reveal your liberal foundation.
Joe,
You sure like using broad strokes. Seems to me like you’re ignoring some large and very significant differences between the candidates in this election.
Even if you ignore difference in the policy positions between (for example) Hillary Clinton and Fred Thompson, the differences in their capacities as leaders are tremendous.
I’m someone who votes 60% on character and 40% on issues. I happen to agree with Fred on most of the issues, but at a more fundamental level he’s just the kind of human being I want leading the country when we — inevitably — face crises as a nation and need strong and principled leadership.
If you don’t understand the importance of strong leadership, I don’t know what to say. And leadership consists of much more than a list of policy positions.
Joshua