Fred Thompson's very excellent speech

"John McCain has the kind of character that civilizations
throughout history have sought in their leaders."

I thought Fred Thompson's speech at the Republican National Convention last night was as good as any of its genre I've ever heard. I'm glad I went to town where I could watch the speech on FOX News, because CBS and NBC censored Fred's speech from their convention coverage. Today, the communist stooge press is panning the speech and Fred Tompson.

By now, anyone that reads the Plains Feeder is aware of how deeply in the bag for Obama I perceive the liberal news media to be. They have abondoned even the pretense of objectivity and impartiality.
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Joe Lieberman's speech. I'm happy he's in the GOP tent and even happier that he isn't on the ticket.
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Outside the convention: Barack Obama's brown-shirts engaged in deadly, violent disruption. Obama claims he doesn't inspire and condone this violence and terrorism. He also says he doesn't want his misogynist supporters attacking Sarah Palin's family. We already know that Obama's a liar.

Fred Thompson is no Gandhi

What Would Gandhi Do?

I still think the GOP screwed themselves when they failed to take Fred Thompson seriously. The old cat never ceases to amaze me. A Google Alert popped these two stories from the Indian Blogosphere into my in-box this morning: Gandhian self-destruction from Indian Raksa - Defending Secular India, and Gandhi’s Way Isn’t the American Way: Collective suicide is no foreign policy from Islamic Terrorism in India.

Both of these posts are based on this March 15, 2007 National Review Online transcript of a Fred Thompson radio spot. Listen to Fred right here. (mp3 file) Doesn't he sound presidential?

Here is a cut and paste of Fred's still relevant talk:

At what point is it okay to fight dictators like Saddam or the al Qaeda terrorists who want to take his place?

It turns out that the answer, according to Gandhi, is NEVER. During World War II, Gandhi penned an open letter to the British people, urging them to surrender to the Nazis. Later, when the extent of the holocaust was known, he criticized Jews who had tried to escape or fight for their lives as they did in Warsaw and Treblinka. “The Jews should have offered themselves to the butcher’s knife,” he said. “They should have thrown themselves into the sea from cliffs.” “Collective suicide,” he told his biographer, “would have been heroism.”

The so-called peace movement certainly has the right to make Gandhi’s way their way, but their efforts to make collective suicide American foreign policy just won’t cut it in this country. When Americans think of heroism, we think of the young American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, risking their lives to prevent another Adolph Hitler or Saddam Hussein.

Gandhi probably wouldn't approve, but I can live with that.

I could live with that myself, rather than than die trying to appease or reason with the murderous Mohammedan fanatics. Peaceniks, who needs 'em? I'll leave it up to you to ascertain the answer to What would Obama do? We shall see if he's still for surrender in the middle east after he visits the victory zone. Perhaps another giant BO flip-flop is in the works.
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Google Alerts - like having your own clipping service.

To Fred Thompson: Please, please, please

James Brown and the Cape

Here is an open letter from the old feeder to Fred Thompson.

Fred,

Please reconsider your decision to suspend your campaign for the Republican Nomination. You wouldn't have to spend a dime to have the support of Republicans who can't bear the thought of supporting John McCain. It is tearing the party apart. There is talk of throwing the election. Its getting worse.

Its a shame the way our nominating process, helped out by the liberal media and the unwholesome 'good old boy's club' mentality of the party leadership, worked to piss on the conservative fire you started. Please, at least show up at the convention armed with a drop-dead conservative speech. You will have the nomination by acclaim.

The Republican party needs another shot of Fred Thompson.

The Plains Feeder

I've been a Fred Thompson supporter from the first Draft Fred movement. He's the real deal. If enough Republicans and conservative independents make it clear to him that we need him back in the running now, there might be a chance. Please, please, please!
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Do you remember the way James Brown used to end his act by collapsing? One of the Famous Flames would rush to cover him with a robe and help him off stage. After a long few seconds, James would throw off the cape and resume his frenzied show. This could happen several times. The crowd loved it. Click to watch Mr. Brown do his cape thing while performing Please, please, please!

Throw off that cape Fred. We're ready for the rest of the show.

Fred Thompson and Warren G. Harding

1920 Republican National Convention

Steven Stark at RealClearPolitics has an interesting scenario: Who Said Freddy's Dead? The premise is that we could see a brokered Republican convention this year. This happened in 1920 after none of the front runners could garner the number of delegates needed for a clear, swift nomination. Warren G. Harding got the nomination after 10 ballots. Mr. Stark suggests that a similar situation might be brewing this year, a situation that could mean that we haven't seen the last of Fred Thompson.
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As for myself, I'd love to see a rollicking convention with a real contest. Remember that Harding, low man as the 1920 convention started, went on to win the nomination and the White House. That year also saw the first national election in which women could vote.
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Note that the 'G' in Warren G. Harding stands for Gamaliel, a hoary old Israelite name. Gamaliel the Elder was a Rabbi and is said to have been the Christian Apostle Paul's teacher. I wonder if Harding's middle name plagued him as much as Barack Hussein Obama's Mohammedan middle moniker bothers him?

You can't win them all

Fred Thompson can't get enough support for steadfast, no-nonsense constitutional conservatism, calls it quits.

January 22, 2008
For Immediate Release

Statement from Sen. Fred Thompson

McLean, VA - Senator Fred Thompson today issued the following statement about his campaign for President:

"Today I have withdrawn my candidacy for President of the United States. I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort. Jeri and I will always be grateful for the encouragement and friendship of so many wonderful people."

Get ready for the Trendy but Professional Republicanists that now lead the GOP to build a platform that will come to resemble the Democrat more each day as the Minneapolis convention draws near. You can't win 'em all. Sometimes it seems like you can't win any.

Fred Thompson - He's for Change

Fred Thompson - He's for Change

I got an e-mail from Newt Gingrich's outfit today. I didn't have time to read it, but the hook line was something like "The Democrats are selling change. What are Republicans going to do about it?" He's correct, of course. America's desperate need for some magical but unspecified change seems to be at the root of all the best Democrat presidential campaigns. The MSM makes it appear as though Americans are buying into change.

I suspect that many Republicans, seeing what looks on its face to be a real grassroots desire for change, want some to sell themselves. As though change was ding an sich, a commodity that perhaps Republicans could label as New and Improved Change. Then the suckers voters would cross the midway to the Republican pork-barrel and snake-oil tent. I hope this isn't what Newt had in mind.

I think the Republican party should embrace change. I don't mean that cheap 60's I want to make a difference, change-the-world hippie horse-shit idea of change. I don't mean the ephemeral, unspecified change for the better, whatever that is type of change the Democrats are selling this month. I mean this: The Republican party should undertake the task of changing themselves into true Republicans once again. Its time to face up to our conservatism instead of pandering to every passing political fancy.

Ronald Reagan wasn't ashamed to be true to genuine conservatism. Every other US President in my memory was willing to pimp our Constitution for a vote or a legacy. All of 'em were panderers to one degree or another, Democrat or Republican, both Bushes included. (I don't remember Truman very well.)

The same charge applies to every viable 2008 presidential candidate save one. Fred Thompson won't trade our traditions for what happens to be trendy. He will bring our party back to its constitutional senses. That is a change that would be welcome.

2008 presidential election issue #1: judicial appointments

Trust us, we'll make conservative appointments!

What kind of Supreme Court and Federal Judiciary do you want? An activist Supreme Court that usurps the legislature and pulls trendy laws out of some phantasmagorical penumbra of constitutional double-read, or a court that will staunchly defend our constitution from those that would use it to "change" America to suit their impossible utopian pipe dreams? Federal judges that undo everything that Congress does that doesn't fit their vision, or ones willing to follow the law?

If you are a conservative and concerned about this, you certainly won't be supporting any of the Democrat candidates. What about the Republican candidates? Will Rudy Giuliani appoint soft on abortion justices? Will McCain select justices that are OK with usurpations of free speech like his McCain-Feingold mess? Will Huckabee say, "Aw-shucks, she won't vote to ban handguns once she's on the bench."?

The only viable candidate I've seen so far that espouses strict construction of our constitution is Fred Thompson. I believe Fred would resist pressure to compromise on court appointments; the one presidential matter where compromise means the death of our republic. The three stooges pictured above are all too wishy-washy when it comes to constitutional integrity.

A bad choice for president lasts for four years at worst. A bad Supreme Court justice or federal judge appointment lasts a lifetime.
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Show that you care about the future of our republic: send Fred Thompson some money today! None other than Ragnar Danneskjold agrees: "Fred's Red Truck Fill-up - Only $23K to Go!! As of this writing, Fred is only $23K away from hitting his goal of raising $1 million by midnight tonight. Whaddaya say to dropping by Fred's site and showing some blogger love?"

Monkey business: Fred Thompson won't play

Drudge Composite - Where is Fred?

Does it seem like the news media, both the mainstream and the not-so-mainstream, are ignoring Fred Thompson's campaign for the Republican presidential nomination? I made the above composite of Matt Drudge's 'flash' headlines for yesterday and today. Note that Fred isn't mentioned for his strong showing in the Iowa caucuses (or is it cauci?), or anything else. I guess Matt figures Fred's steady progress and solid values won't capture the attention of his audience. I don't think the media hates Fred, its just that Thompson refuses to engage in the type of political monkey business that makes flash headlines and clever sound-bites.

Fred hasn't flip-flopped on the issues, hasn't changed his position due to poll results or any recently experienced epiphanies or 'eye-openings'. Fred hasn't suffered a setback or gained from a sudden case of voter infatuation. Fred hasn't had any nasty temper tantrums, hasn't said anything shockingly weird or outrageously stupid. Fred doesn't wave his bible around. Fred wouldn't even participate in the puerile show of hands that the Des Moines Register thought would pass for a debate. In short, Fred gets little ink because he won't play along with the political monkey business the media thrives upon at the expense of informing the electorate on the coming election.

If you want to know where Fred stands, check out his website. He has some great videos where he clearly addresses the issues - without any monkey business.
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Please take a moment to vote in the Read-Mor 2008 Presidential preference poll. It is scientifically adjusted for bias and wrong thinking. Ron Paul isn't even excluded.

Man of the Year - 2008

Fred Thompson

I support Fred Thompson for President in 2008. I have no reservations about the man, and I believe I have exercised more than due diligence in vetting Fred. I find him to be not only intelligent, well-educated and sufficiently experienced, but to be steady and level-headed. Of the other front-running candidates, regardless of party, not one of them has ever been at once both steady and level-headed.

All of the major contenders seem obsessed with becoming the next President of the United States. All but Fred Thompson. The other candidates are driven by radical agenda or megalomania. Not Fred Thompson. Take a step back and review what you already know about each of them. Don't they appear as grotesque caricatures of the persona they work to project? Take one more step back and some of them start to look a bit unbalanced or deranged. Steady? Level-headed? Fred is the only one.

Fred has what it takes to dominate when confronting a fanatical Mohammedan Mullah or a Mexican Government mobster or any of our enemies. Thompson looks and sounds like he has cojones. The rest of the lot leave me cold; our enemies see in them only as easy marks.

Because I support Fred Thompson and I run the feedlot, I have unilaterally named him the Plains Feeder Man of the Year for 2008.
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Beldar has a fine post, I'm With Fred, which I recommend highly. It answers these questions:

• Why now?
• Why Fred
• Why not Mitt?
• Why not McCain, Giuliani, or Huckabee?

Couldn't have said it better myself, Beldar.

Inching along on the campaign trail

Fred in Spencer

Fred Thompson was in Spencer, Iowa yesterday for a short visit. He gave an interview at Carroll's Bakery, across the street from where he's standing, and also spent a little time walking around and talking to people. Fred was recently endorsed by Iowa 5th District Congressman Steve King.

Spencer is often accused of being a conservative town in a conservative part of the state. Maybe so but I put together some crude stats from The Daily Reporter print edition that at least question that notion. Keep in mind that the editor, Randy Cauthron, is a pro-war and pro-life conservative who isn't shy about making his opinions known in his columns.

In the month of December we've been visited by Fred, Barack Obama, and representatives of Hillary, Joe Biden and John Edwards. My so-called stats are simply column inches in the print edition of the newspaper devoted to each candidate's visit.

The winner is Barack Obama with 194" of print and pictures. Randy Cauthron, in spite of his politics, thought Barack deserved special credit for making his second visit to Spencer. He really believes presidential candidates should flock to this town of 12,000 like pigeons to an overturned wagon of corn, but Randy is originally from Los Angeles so apparently can't avoid feeling an unwarranted sense of pride for wherever he lives.

In second place, with 87" is Ben "Cooter" Jones of Dukes of Hazard fame representing John Edwards. He played a numbskull mechanic on the Dukes, was a Georgia congressman for two terms, and is now touring the country on behalf of John Edwards.

Fred Thompson came in third with 73". Bob Vila, the T.V. handyman, came in fourth with 63" for Hillary Clinton, and Joe Biden's son, Beau Biden, was a close fifth at 62".

As meaningless as these stats undoubtedly are, I considered something even worse which would would have entailed driving around northwest Iowa counting the yard signs displayed for each candidate, which Hillary would have easily won.

Income Tax Options

Diversity of Democracy

Republican Presidential candidate Fred Thompson has suggested a way to ameliorate our nasty income tax situation. Read about it here. I've never seen a tax on income that I liked. Even the various forms of income taxation called the flat tax.

Flat taxes used to be the norm in most of the civilized world after the French Revolution and before WWI. The idea has an appeal to conservative types; it is less progressive, doesn't penalize success, and in its modern incarnations, provides for a zero tax rate for 'poor folks', who don't pay income tax now.

Fred wants to make the flat tax systems optional. (Not really optional, but as an alternative to the current convoluted code. I think all taxes ought to be optional, but that ship has already sailed.)

I'm curious about what other cats think of this idea. Cats whose opinions aren't influenced by having had Treasury agents draw down on them over a few measly bucks.
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Check out the latest Fredipedia here.

Fred Thompson returns to television

Fred's new TV spot

The old feeder, holed up in town and watching cable, just saw US Presidential candidate Fred Thompson's new Iowa television ad. Its pretty good; Fred actually smiles a little. You can watch it at: Fred '08 - Friends of Fred Thompson. Fred is the man for 2008.

Fred Thompson: Security - Unity - Prosperity

Fred for President

Coming soon to the Plains Feeder: What is wrong with each of the other 2008 Presidential candidates.

Is this all they have on Fred Thompson?

Monica Hesse, a Washington Post writer whose name presumably sounds intelligent, has written a piece designed to paint Fred Thompson as a poor choice for US President because she thinks his first name sounds funny. Or stupid. Or not-sexy. If that is all they have on Fred Thompson, they might as well give up now.
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Like Barack doesn't sound odd to some ears. It is lightning to the semitic listener, apricot brandy to the Hungarian. A Barack appears in the Bible as a military leader. Wolf Blitzer uses Barak as a less German sounding pseudonym. Blitzkrieg anyone? Do you suppose Obama's goofy parents named him for this Australian cat?
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File this under Liberal Desperation. Along with the smears of his lovely wife, Jeri Kehn.

Today in History: Nixon Watergate Tapes Revealed

On this day in 1973, the existence tape recordings from President Richard M. Nixon's secret bugging of his own offices was revealed. The Watergate hearings were the hot news of the day, and the old feeder was watching the whole mess on TV.

Lawyer Fred Thompson, now a possible candidate for the Presidency himself, asked Nixon flunky Alexander Butterfield if he knew about the bugging and the incriminating tapes. With Butterfield's answer, Nixon's fate was sealed. Read more here.
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Today is also the anniversary of the first atomic bomb explosion. For some reason, the test was code named Trinity.

Fred Thompson can win in 2008

No other Republican, declared or not, has numbers like Fred Thompson gets in the new Rasmussen Poll: Hillary 45% - Thompson 45%. How much money has Hillary Clinton spent to get her numbers? Fred hasn't officially declared yet and I don't think he has spent very much at all.
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Maybe if Bill and Hillary were to campaign together in the nude while holding Bibles and adopt Barack Obama...

Fred Thompson Hometown Story

The Thompson Mansion - Fred's boyhood home

Here is a link to one of my favorite newspaper background articles on Fred Thompson, the man who will be the next President of the US. From the Tennessean, it is a bit of a puff piece, but the writers pull no punches. They don't leave out how Fred came to marry his first wife: she was pregnant and he wanted to 'do the right thing'.

In sleepy Lawrenceburg, few claim to have predicted the fame and stature that lay ahead of him. They remember Freddie as the class clown — he was likable and smart, though not studious.

They also say he matured quickly and deeply after becoming a young husband and father. They describe him as a genuine and decent man with a knack for being in the right place at the right time.

"He had a way of making you like what he was saying even if you didn't agree with him at first," said childhood friend Jan Clifton, gesturing toward a lamppost on the square. "He had a way, if I didn't think I could climb that pole, of convincing me I could do it."

As for the presidency, Lawrenceburg folks think this is Fred's right time.

"He comes across as so sincere," said Tommy Beurlein, one of Thompson's high school classmates. "He's not trying to answer some way to be popular at the minute."

How can you not like this cat for President? Maybe you think Ron Paul is cool, but this cool? I know cool; the generation Fred and I belong to invented the modern usage of the word.

High School Freddie - 1960 Lawrence County High School His Dad was a used car salesman and a Democrat.

Rumor: Fred Thompson to announce candidacy tomorrow

Will Fred Run? You Bet!

Rumor has it that Fred Thompson will make it official tomorrow in Nashville. I saw it at Scared Monkeys. I look for his campaign to take off like a rocket. The liberals are getting nervous about Fred. The Democrats, too.
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Update: it looks like Fred's people weren't kidding when they said not to look for an announcement on Tuesday. I'm so used to politicians lying to me, I figured they were just teasing. Now I'll have to go back to my original guess: Fred will announce on the Fourth.

Fred Thompson's Secret Weapon

Fred & Jeri Thompson

It is beginning to appear that Fred Thompson is quite a hit with the ladies. The girls I know like him too. Hillary Rodham Clinton (Mrs. Bill, as she prefers to be called) isn't going to win the female vote by default, as she had hoped. Fred has the Secret Weapon!
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Some folks are calling this article, Old girlfriends cast their vote for Thompson, in the Sunday UK Times 'British humor'. I don't think so, nor is it a 'puff piece', as Spree thoughtfully explains at Wake up America. Spree's point: women appreciate chivalry.
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Red State's Pejman Yousefzadeh calls the endorsements from Fred's former wives and girlfriends: "An Endorsement Of The First Rank." Pejman adds: "if I were running the Thompson campaign, I would get the ladies mentioned in this story to do a commercial together for Thompson."
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Captain Ed says of the g/f endorsements: "If a man can move through the dating scene in DC and Hollywood without picking up any baggage at all, he's probably got the chops for high-stakes diplomacy, too. At the very least, it shows something about his character that will reinforce his image as a straight-shooting good guy."
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The Instapundit weighs in with: Forget The Old Boys Network, Fred Thompson mobilizes the old girlfriends network.
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Aside: Read about Fred the blogger in the Noisy Room.
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Comment: "There'll be resistance. Althouse, in a video with Annie Gottlieb, tried to get the word going that Fred is 'ugly'." (DadGum)
My Reply: Izzatso? Look who is talking.

Thompson Announcement Set For Nashville

Go Big Fred

Exclusive from the web site of WSMV-TV in Nashville: Fred Thompson, the who has rekindled a sense of hope among conservatives, will announce his decision to run for the Republican Presidential nomination in Nashville very soon.

A source close to the campaign planning tells WSMV that that Thompson planned to announce his candidacy on the steps of the historic Fall School Building Tuesday, but Thompson campaign officials deny that Tuesday's announcement is an official run for the White House.

I'm thinking the Fourth of July, but I don't know why. I will support Fred, as I have since I discovered how perfect he is for the job. See the video. Check in with the Freepers. Look at these stunning photos of Fred's lovely wife, Jeri Kehn Thompson. She looks better than Jackie Kennedy did when she was in the White House getting the Bill Clinton infidelity treatment from JFK. I know, Monica Lewinski was no Marilyn Monroe, but then Bill was no JFK, either.
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More: FredHead JM24 at Joe's Crabby Shack says: "This is Nebraska. Go! Big! Fred! just rolls off the tongue." I like the sound of it myself. I like it so much I made this little banner for Nebraska Fred Supporters. It is, like everything else in the Plains Feeder, free for anyone to use.