Most of the attention on the straw poll at last week’s Values Voter Republican Presidential Debate was on the big winner – Mike Huckabee.
The former Arkansas governor deserves the recognition he got from the delegates at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale.
He entered the contest as the favorite of 35 percent of the delegates from pro-family organizations. But he finished the debate as the favorite of 63 percent.
That was quite an accomplishment.
There was, however, a big loser in the debate – one of the four GOP presidential candidates who decided not to show up.
The big loser was Fred Thompson, who entered the evening as the favorite of 15 percent of those in attendance. When the evening was over, he had the support of just 4 percent. No other candidate lost anywhere near that kind of support as a result of his performance or, in Thompson’s case, his non-performance.
He also lost me.
Before his decision to be a no-show in a debate organized by groups representing millions, if not tens of millions, of voters, I admit holding out some hope Thompson might be electable as well as worthy of being elected.
I’ve changed my mind.
I feel increasingly uneasy about Fred Thompson.
It’s not just his decision to snub a constituency he desperately needs to get the nomination and win the presidency. It’s also his blas? attitude, his lack of vision, his ignorance of the major issues of the day, as well as his questionable stands on some of the key issues of the day.
If Fred Thompson wants my vote, he’s going to have to work for it. He’s going to have to show me something.
He’s going to have to persuade me that he’s a real alternative to the politicians who subordinate the interests of America to the interests of the global elite.
He’s going to have to persuade me that he is a real alternative to the politicians who provide lip service to the sanctity of life but little else.
He’s going to have to persuade me that he is a real alternative to the politicians who say they believe marriage is an institution created by God between one man and one woman but don’t lift a finger to back up those words.
He’s going to have to persuade me that he is a real alternative to the politicians who want to sell out America’s borders, language and culture by winking at the illegal immigration that is profoundly changing the very character of our country.
He’s going to have to persuade me that he is a real alternative to the politicians eager to sell out the First Amendment through so-called “campaign-finance reform” measures that stifle free and open politically protected speech and through efforts to reinstate the unconstitutional so-called “Fairness Doctrine.”
He’s going to have to persuade me that he is a real alternative to the politicians who want business as usual.
I don’t know about you, but, so far, I haven’t seen anything from Fred Thompson that makes me think he is that kind of candidate.
Not only did he dodge last week’s Values Voters Republican Presidential Debate, which I had the honor of moderating, but, I’m told, he is also dodging events sponsored by some of the finest, most hardworking pro-family organizations in this country.
It seems it wasn’t just a matter of scheduling. It was a matter of conviction. It was a matter of fear.
If I’m wrong, I invite Fred Thompson to make his case right here to millions of WND readers. WND attracts more “conservative” readers than any other website in the world. We’re ready to interview him on the hot issues of the day. We’re ready to provide him a forum where he can clarify his views and his recent actions. We’re ready to re-evaluate his candidacy based on such efforts.
But right now, color me extremely skeptical about Fred Thompson.
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