-By Warner Todd Huston
Here is how I see it; Fred Thompson may be the last quintessentially American candidate for the White House that we will ever see.
One statement that he made in Dubuque frames his entire philosophical position perfectly.
He told folks in Dubuque that he had “no special message for Iowans.”
Exactly right! He has nothing different to say in Iowa than he does in Peoria, Illinois, Boston or New York. He is NOT a panderer. He is not bending and shaping his “message” to fit the crowd he faces. He has ONE philosophy, ONE idea of what “America” is.
This is evidence of his Reaganesque quality. He is not Reagan, of course, and no one is saying he is exactly like Reagan. But, Ronald Reagan’s chief strength was his singular American vision. He knew what he thought of America and based his policy decisions on that. He did not merely stick his finger in the air to test the winds and then build policy (are you listening Clintons? Do you hear me Dick Morris?).
Fred Thompson is in this mold of American leader. He will make policy based on a tried and true vision of America as it should be. Not the America as it might be for every single interest group that brings an agenda to Washington.
But here is the danger we face.
If we do not elect Fred Thompson to follow up Reagan’s years with a president who leads with a singular, traditional American philosophy, we may find that Thompson is the last candidate who has such a philosophy who will ever be in the running for president of the United States of America.
If Thompson’s bid fails, we will surely see the last of his kind. No more will a candidate that understands America’s traditional culture be able to run for the highest office in the land. We will only get one panderer in chief succeeding the last.
Thompson’s visit, though, shows that he is no panderer.
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Thompson embraces Republican values
Newest presidential candidate stumps in Dubuque
The Telegraph Herald, Dubuque, Iowa
Former Tennessee senator-turned-actor Fred Thompson brought his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination to Dubuque on Wednesday, saying he has “no special message for Iowans.”
Instead, his message was for his party to return to the values it embraced in 1994, when he was first elected to the U.S. Senate. The party in those days stood for respect for the rule of law, market economics, respect for life and the right to bear arms, he told his luncheon audience of more than 100 meeting at the Best Western Midway Hotel.
“The American people were receptive of us in ’94,” Thompson said. “They haven’t changed their minds.”
Describing himself as a “common sense conservative,” Thompson, 65, said he decided to enter the presidential race because he is concerned about what the future holds for America’s children, including his daughter Hayden, 3 1/2, who for a while accompanied him in front of the crowd.
Demonstrating his adherence to Republican values, Thompson drew applause by citing his “100 percent pro-life voting record in the Senate,” and trying to “make sure justices don’t make up laws as they go along.”
As president, Thompson said his top priority will be the nation’s security and prosperity. Americans need to face the fact that the war on terror is a long-term proposition. “We can’t afford to send a message that we are weak and not united,” he said.
Chastising American courts for “giving al-Qaida as much rights as ordinary Americans,” Thompson, a one-time assistant U.S. attorney who most recently played the role of a district attorney in television’s “Law & Order,” said the government has to “adjust” the nation’s court system.
On the economic front, Thompson said he believes the rule should be to “continue doing what’s working and stop doing what’s not.” Tax cuts are working, he said, and should be accompanied by lower interest rates, encouraging people to invest, “and maybe less regulation.”
“The nation’s manufacturing sector is, in many respects, doing very well,” Thompson said, blaming corporate tax rates for disadvantaging American manufacturers. He expressed confidence that as consumers choose better-made, safer products, the market will correct some of the unfair competition from overseas companies that produce inferior and dangerous products.
America’s porous borders are both a social and security issue that must be a national priority in order to solve, he said. He identified cities that declare themselves sanctuaries and colleges that offer free tuition as “magnets” that attract illegal immigrants. While there is suppose to be a system for helping employers identify legal workers, the total responsibility cannot be theirs, he said.
Thompson said he believes there is a competitive health care market that has not been tapped. There is a wide variety of costs when it comes to medical procedures, he said, “but you’ve got to check around” to find them, he advised.
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Warner Todd Huston’s thoughtful commentary, sometimes irreverent often historically based, is featured on many websites such as newsbusters.org, townhall.com, men’snewsdaily.com and americandaily.com among many, many others. Additionally, he has been a guest on several radio programs to discuss his opinion editorials and current events. He has also written for several history magazines and appears in the new book “Americans on Politics, Policy and Pop Culture” which can be purchased on amazon.com. He is also the owner and operator of publiusforum.com. Feel free to contact him with any comments or questions : EMAIL Warner Todd Huston