??????? Nationally syndicated columnist George Will has incredibly claimed – given the?history of President Ronald Reagan as the guy who won the Cold War without firing a shot, the guy who sparked the largest peace time expansion of the American economy in?modern times, and the guy who implemented and was the model for conservatism?for the current generation?- that the tenure of Rudy Giuliani as Mayor of New York City was “the most successful episode of conservative governance in this country in the last 50 years.” So much for worrying that Mayor Giuliani is not conservative enough in the tradition of President Ronald Reagan; Mr. Will has uncovered the here-to-fore unknown truth that Mayor Giuliani is a better conservative than President Reagan.
The?latest effort of Mr. Will in support of the Giuliani campaign is a swipe at the potential candidacy of former?Senator Fred Thompson, belittling the latter as the candidate du jour and with the unsubtantiated smear that he has a poor work ethic.?But I guess?if you are as big a flak for the Mayor as Mr. Will then it is perhaps natural to hope the groundswell of support for Senator Thompson to get in the race will fade, or if it doesn’t and the guy gets in the race that at least maybe he won’t work very hard to defeat the Mayor.
The one substantive?concern with Senator Thompson that Mr. Will?threads?into his screed is the reminder that the Senator supported McCain-style campaign finance reform and the federal income tax checkoff system of presidential campaign subsidies. Fair enough. However, what Mr. Will fails to tell his readers is that Senator Thompson is becoming a lot more conservative on this issue and now says, “I’m not prepared to go there yet, but I wonder if we shouldn’t just take off the [campaign donation] limits and have full disclosure with harsh penalties for not reporting everything on the Internet immediately.” But I guess the lack of interest in fully?analyzing an important policy position on the part?of a 2008 GOP presidential contender would be par for the course for someone who does not want more contenders and debate in the race?as a?whole.
Now that we are at the point where?syndicated columnists are openly campaigning for specific presidential candidates and trashing the competitors of their chosen favorite, why not have a debate among them as to who the Republican presidential nominee in 2008 should be? Representing Mitt Romney, Hugh Hewitt; representing Rudy Giuliani, George Will; etc. Let’s debate the field in the open rather than behind the feigned objectivity of columns, shows, and interviews.
I am for?more debate, not less, and hope that Senator Thompson and Speaker Gingrich will get in the race – even though?such additional candidacies?bother folks like George Will who have made their choice and now have a vested interest in?seeing their candidate prevail, whatever it takes.
April 8th, 2007 at 7:50 am
George Will’s the same guy who thought “Born in the U.S.A.” was an anthem for conservatives, and that Springsteen and Reagan would be partners in ideology. Go figure.
April 8th, 2007 at 7:55 am
Or perhaps we could have debates between candidates now as the campaign is already well underway.
April 8th, 2007 at 9:48 am
What is this, an Armstrong Williams deal? That’s the only way Will could write it.
http://www.political-buzz.com/
April 8th, 2007 at 11:22 am
I hope to see George Will in May. He is speaking at the Center of the American Experiment. I wonder if he will get a plug in for Rudy.
http://www.americanexperiment.org/events/2007-05-17.php
April 8th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
Republius, is Thompson really the conservative savior? The guy who was part of the Howard Baker moderate Tennessee Republican brand? The guy who refused to join the GOP establishment and supported McCain in 2000? McCain in 2000! How do you reconcile this?
Also, how do you explain Rudy endorsing W in 2000 over McCain?
I think Thompson is fundamentally a conventional moderate Republican with some strong conservative stripes that color him more conservative than he really is.
Likewise, by focusing only on his social views, many conservatives are missing the fact that Rudy, while socially liberal, is not a moderate or centrist, in that all his other views are quite extreme.
April 8th, 2007 at 2:44 pm
David, Republius is not defending Thompson the candidate. What he is saying is to let him in and see what he’s got. I’m willing to listen to his ideas. Those who don’t want Thompson in are coming across as being worried he might take out their candidate. The more the better, and we’ll end up with the best candidate.
April 8th, 2007 at 3:09 pm
Fred is blogging.
“To misrepresent unpunished piracy as a victory is as Orwellian as the
congressional mandate banning use of the term “the global war on terror.”
What are we Reuters?” http://tinyurl.com/2qc4ua
April 8th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
“However, what Mr. Will fails to tell his readers is that Senator Thompson is becoming a lot more conservative on this issue and now says”
Sounds a bit like he’s running for office. Fancy that, a potential Republican POTUS candidate becoming more conservative on an issue
April 8th, 2007 at 7:57 pm
Tommy has hit the nail on the head here in #6. We will not know how well Senator Thompson does unless he gets in, which seemingly is what Giuliani, McCain, and Romney supporters are trying to prevent. I have said from the get go that they should all get in, Gingrich too, and then let’s see how they do when scrutinized by the press and in debate against each other.
I would only add for the sake of David B in #5 that it seems to me Senator Thompson’s voting record as Senator, which the American Conservative Union gives him a lifetime rating of 86 for, says a lot more about his ideology than who his close friends are. Anyone who runs in Tennessee as a Republican naturally has to be close to Howard Baker and Lamar Alexander to succeed; and Thompson previously worked for Baker. In addition, endorsements are meaningless as a reflection of what a candidate’s ideology is – or at least they better be for Giuliani’s sake, since he endorsed Mario Cuomo for governor.
April 8th, 2007 at 8:05 pm
Republius,
Brushing off endorsements from a white horse supporter such as yourself, is akin to your complaints that those who support the top three are trying to be dismissive of Thompson because he has no groundgame. I really don’t see a difference.
To say endorsmenets are no indicator of idealogy is silly since you would probably never see Linclon Chaffee endorse Brownback. There is something said if only the the endorser has faith in the candidate. Of course it is not the only indicator, anymore than early polling is.
If there was no importance to endorsements, than no one would be trying to get them, that is clearly not the case.
April 8th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
Jason, We’ve seen enough wacky endorsements to know that they don’t always appear like they really are. Some are based on friendship.
April 8th, 2007 at 9:07 pm
Tommy,
I am sure your story will change when Fred starts picking some up.
April 10th, 2007 at 12:26 pm
[...] has changed positions since he was in the Senate, that might help; That very thing is being posited by some pundits and bloggers [...]