Fred Thompson

Wayne Slater, writing in The Dallas Morning News, says that while Rudy Giuliani might not be much liked by the Republican Party’s social conservative, right-wing base, he might not be totally unacceptable either, especially if they are faced with the prospect of Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee:

As the most powerful movement in American politics for several decades, conservative Christians insisted that above all else, their candidates adhere to their positions on social issues, particularly abortion and gay marriage. But as their movement changes, many are placing the fight against Islamic extremism at the top of the list as well.

For the last several years, the “fight against Islamic extremism” has never been a key issue for the Right.  While it has been an issue they’ve mentioned occasionally, its importance has always paled in comparison to their primary goals of fighting for restrictions on abortion, passing a federal marriage amendment, and controlling the federal judiciary.  As a matter of fact, the issue of terrorism was nowhere to be seen on last year’s Congressional scorecard [PDF] put together by the Family Research Council and Focus on the Family, which claimed to be a “compilation of significant votes representing a cross section of issues affecting the family.”

So what could explain this relatively sudden rise in the importance of national security issues and terrorism for the Right?

As if it wasn’t hard enough for Republican presidential candidates – and potential candidates – seeking the right-wing mantle, two undeclared contenders may spar over who gets to be the dark horse.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, whose background makes him unlikely to gain widespread support, has spent months hinting that he may enter the race if no suitable candidates emerge, all the while attempting to build a kind of grassroots structure. He recently called the GOP’s crop of candidates a “pathetic” bunch of “pygmies.”

But the likelihood of a run by “Law & Order” star Fred Thompson, who also plans a late entry, has stolen much of Gingrich’s thunder. Thompson’s rising star "would appear to shade some of the sunlight" from Gingrich, as Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform put it.

Gingrich let it be known that he’s not impressed by Thompson. "I'm excited to see whether Fred turns out to be as decisive a front-runner as John McCain, or better," he said, referring to the apparent collapse of McCain’s campaign recently.

In fact, Gingrich is still making preparations, according to an article in the Washington Times’ Insight Magazine (available to subscribers):

Those close to Gingrich said that he has concluded that all of the GOP candidates, including Fred Thompson who has not yet announced his bid, would fail to ignite Republican voters and drop way behind in any race against Democratic front-runners Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Gingrich plans to let Thompson announce his candidacy over the next six weeks and gauge reaction, particularly in the Southern states.

Indeed, with Thompson expected to announce his candidacy after Labor Day, Gingrich has apparently pushed back the possible date when he would launch his campaign from September to “mid-October.”

According to the right-wing news website, WorldNetDaily, Fred Thompson has finally and “candidly” confirmed his membership in the Council on Foreign Relations, which WND says is sometimes referred to as the “‘shadow government’ organization of elites with a global agenda.” Earlier this week, Thompson was confronted and questioned by an activist during a campaign stop regarding his association with the Council, long a bete noir of activists who suspect the United Nations and other elites of scheming to destroy U.S. sovereignty.  The activist who confronted Thompson, and was eventually forcibly removed from the event, mentioned the Council’s supposed efforts to bring about the North American Union, the latest nightmare for Phyllis Schlafly and the black-helicopter crowd.

Thompson seemingly tried to defuse the situation with polite mush:

“I didn't know they were up to that… There are several conservatives over the years who have been members of the Council on Foreign Relations. I try to learn as much as I can from all viewpoints. I have been a fellow of the American Enterprise Institute, one of the conservative thinks tanks in town, and enjoy having intellectual exercise and discussions whether I agree or not with anyone on any particular issue.”

But his association with the Council may fuel the suspicions of anti-immigrant activists who have also latched onto the North American Union as a plot to dissolve the U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada.  Thompson has previously been condemned by VDARE, an anti-immigration group that has been accused of publishing white nationalist authors, but is also associated with notable commentators such as Pat Buchanan and Michelle Malkin. WorldNetDaily columnist Jerome Corsi, of Swift Boat fame and co-author, along with Jim Gilchrist, of Minutemen: The Battle to Secure America’s Borders, has been perhaps the most outspoken in attacking Thompson. Corsi, calls Thompson a “red herring” being peddled to conservatives even though, asserts Corsi, he is “not a conservative.”

A few months ago, Richard Land appeared on “Hard Ball with Chris Matthews” where he repeatedly stated “I don‘t endorse candidates.”  Of course, that hasn’t stopped him from “negatively endorsing” potential nominees such as Rudy Giuliani and Newt Gingrich.

But while Land may not have technically “endorsed” any Republican presidential hopeful, it is becoming increasingly clear that he is enthusiastically supporting Fred Thompson’s campaign.  So enamored with Thompson is Land, in fact, that his relentless campaign to heap praise upon him is becoming somewhat embarrassing and calling into question his claim that he doesn’t endorse candidates. 

For instance, when James Dobson questioned whether Thompson was sufficiently Christian, Land came to Thompson’s defense, praising him as a “Southern-fried Reagan” and saying that to “see Fred work a crowd must be what it was like to watch Rembrandt paint.”

Since then, Land has been Thompson’s number one fan, introducing him before he addressed the right-wing Council for National Policy and more recently riding to his rescue after it was reported that Thompson had once lobbied for a pro-choice group, gushing to CBN’s David Brody that he has “never seen anything like this grassroots swell for Thompson” and telling WORLD Magazine that the candidate would be “red meat” for conservative Republican primary voters. 

And when the Washington Post recently ran a story about the impact Thompson’s past lobbying might have on his support among right-wing voters, there was Land again to praise him as the second coming of Reagan and the great right-wing hope:

Richard Land, an official with the nation's Southern Baptists, called the video "stunning in its strong, pro-life message."

…

"I'm around a lot of Baptists," Land said. "They find Fred Thompson to be a tantalizing combination of charisma, conviction and electability. He's got a Reaganesque ability to connect with ordinary folk that is powerful."

Land added: "He also has the same Teflon coating that Reagan had: Bad stuff just doesn't stick."

It is getting to the point where Land would be better off just dropping the claim that he doesn’t endorse candidates and admit that he is endorsing Thompson, as he claims of neutrality and nonpartisanship are becoming increasingly dubious.  

While presumptive presidential candidate Fred Thompson is in hot water with some on the Right over his record in the 1990s on abortion and campaign finance reform, a contender for religious-right kingmaker is apparently lending his support to the actor and former senator. Southern Baptist leader Richard Land, increasingly preferred by reporters as a handicapper on GOP candidates’ efforts to woo the Religious Right, reportedly introduced Thompson at a critical speech before the elite Council for National Policy in May.

Land was a key figure in the right-wing takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention in the 1980s, and made abortion and homosexuality its political priorities as head of SBC’s Christian Life Commission, later the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, the denomination’s lobbying arm. More recently, while still an outspoken advocate of far-right policy positions, Land spent more time establishing himself as a commentator on politics and religion.

Now, at another critical moment for Thompson’s efforts to win over the Right, Land has reemerged to talk up the candidate in religious media. Land told David Brody of Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network that “it is Fred Thompson's race to lose.” Of the man he calls a “Southern-Fried Reagan,” Land said, “I have never seen anything like this grassroots swell for Thompson. I'm not speaking for Southern Baptists but I do believe I have my hand on the pulse of Southern Baptists and I think I know where the consensus is.”

And in World Magazine, Land emphasized the “red meat” appeal Thompson will have with primary voters. While anti-abortion activists complained to Land when he promised never to vote for Giuliani, he said, Thompson will end the frustration.

Land predicts the fussing will stop once the pro-life Thompson enters the race. He thinks evangelicals will flock to the Tennessee politician: "I think the Giuliani express will slow, stall, and go in reverse."

While Fred Thompson’s presumptive candidacy for president has been bolstered by right-wing activists dreaming of finding a perfect match in the “Law & Order” star, some in the conservative movement are taking a skeptical look at his political career, and chinks in his image are emerging to match those of the other leading Republican contenders.

First, James Dobson came out early on to say of Thompson that “I don't think he's a Christian; at least that's my impression” (a statement he later tried to back away from). Then, a video clip from his Senate campaign was released in which he appears to show support for abortion rights. And the Supreme Court’s recent decision to strike down a provision of campaign finance reform – FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life -- reminded many anti-abortion activists of his critical role in passing the legislation that they strongly oppose, as well as his investigative subpoenas into the finances of interest groups, which raised hackles among religious-right groups targeted.

On Saturday, the Los Angeles Times reported that, when he worked as a lobbyist in Washington, Thompson took a job from a pro-choice group to convince the first Bush Administration to lift the “gag rule” on federally-funded clinics mentioning abortion. A former colleague called Thompson’s denial of pro-choice lobbying “absolutely bizarre.”

And yesterday, the Times reported more on right-wing outrage at Thompson during his campaign-reform days, not only from McCain-Feingold and his subpoenas – which James Bopp, a lawyer who represented the groups back then and who now works for Mitt Romney’s campaign, called an unconstitutional “fishing expedition” – but also for failing to dig up dirt on a supposed fundraising scandal involving President Clinton. Larry Klayman – founder of Judicial Watch and a key figure seeking Clinton’s impeachment -- put the Tennessee senator on a “wanted” poster.

Longtime conservative movement activist Richard Viguerie is calling on the Right to “Beware Fred Thompson”: “Fred Thompson plays a tough guy in the movies and on television, but in real life he is a marshmallow who would pose no threat to the Big Government Establishment that continues to dominate Washington.”

At the same time, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins has come to Thompson’s defense on the lobbying charge, and he received an enthusiastic response at a Young Republicans this weekend.

“With all the [candidates] who keep changing their minds on abortion, that's got to be unsettling,” Paul Weyrich said of these reports on Thompson and abortion. But Thompson’s star power and personality will likely allow him to keep pace with the other leading GOP candidates, who have their own issues with the finicky right-wing base. For example, while John McCain’s campaign reform work has apparently made him a permanent enemy of the Religious Right, former Sen. Rick Santorum said that he and others might forgive Thompson for the same because, unlike McCain, Thompson has not “made a career of poking conservative colleagues in the eye.”

Last week, Richard Land was a guest on “Hardball With Chris Matthews” where he stated that while he did not endorse political candidates, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t “negatively endorse” them.  And that is just what he proceeded to do regarding Rudy Giuliani:

I don‘t think I could sell him to most of them and I wouldn‘t try.  I would say vote your values and your beliefs and convictions and have to leave it to them to connect the dots.  But I have said publicly, I don‘t endorse candidates, but I‘m negatively endorsing. I could not vote for Giuliani.

In addition to Land’s negative endorsement, Giuliani has also received a similar endorsement from right-wing direct-mail pioneer Richard Viguerie:

“If the Republican Party nominates Rudy Giuliani as its candidate for either president or vice president, I will personally work to defeat the GOP ticket in 2008,” says Richard A. Viguerie, author of Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause.

And if that wasn’t enough, Focus on the Family’s James Dobson has now taken to the pages of WorldNetDaily to declare that under no circumstances will he support Giuliani:

My conclusion from this closer look at the current GOP front-runner comes down to this: Speaking as a private citizen and not on behalf of any organization or party, I cannot, and will not, vote for Rudy Giuliani in 2008. It is an irrevocable decision. If given a Hobson's – Dobson's? – choice between him and Sens. Hillary Clinton or Barrack Obama, I will either cast my ballot for an also-ran – or if worse comes to worst – not vote in a presidential election for the first time in my adult life. My conscience and my moral convictions will allow me to do nothing else.

It should also be noted that Dobson has already negatively endorsed John McCain and has suggested that potential candidate Fred Thompson is not enough of a Christian.

A few weeks ago, we wrote a post quoting a Washington Times article that reported that possible GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson had contacted Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission “to say he wanted Mr. Land present at any campaign kickoff.”

Shortly thereafter, the kind folks at the ERLC alerted us to the fact that the newspaper had corrected its article to clarify that it was Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder who received the call from Thompson, not Land, which we duly noted.  

But now The Politico is reporting that Land and Thompson are indeed teaming up as Thompson attempts to kick his campaign into gear before the Council for National Policy: 

Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson acknowledges his coming-out speech in California last weekend didn't live up to expectations, advisers say, and he is planning a tighter and sharper message dubbed "Stump Speech 2.0" for a Saturday night event to be attended by key conservative leaders.

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Saturday's event will be a crucial audition in Northern Virginia, where Thompson will be the keynote speaker at a dinner of the Council for National Policy, an organization of conservative leaders. Organizers say he will be introduced by Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention, who is among the most important voices of evangelical Christians.

Land is currently enjoying his position as a leading religious right prognosticator on all things having to do with the current crop of Republican candidates and his carefully cultivated positioning as a “neutral” observer will probably take a hit once people realize that he is openly backing Thompson.