Fred's Mo (that's Motive)
Nathan Greene
Post a Comment
It’s not even 1 hour after the South Carolina polls have closed, and not even 1% of the votes have been tallied, and the CNN pundits have already heard from several Fred Thompson campaign sources that it seems likely that Fred will drop out, perhaps tonight, or in the next few days. Sounds like a guy looking for a way out. Actually, we all pretty much know that Fred’s wanted out for a while now.
So, my question is: Why wait till now to drop out? His poll numbers, even in South Carolina where he’s spent a lot of time and money, have been in the sewer for a long time. Fred’s been trying to paint himself at the “true” conservative, but ask yourself who has benefited from Fred staying in the race?
I think it’s pretty obviously McCain who has benefited. Most agree that McCain is not the poster boy for conservativism. You know the litany… McCain-Feingold campaign finance, McCain-Kennedy amnesty, a 60-some% pro-life ranking, and not exactly a huge proponent of traditional marriage. So, by Thompson splitting some of the “true” conservative vote, that’s had to have helped moderate McCain, especially in South Carolina where we know the race is so close.
Fred has to know that his candidacy is only helping other less-than-conservative candidates, so you have to ask yourself, why is he still in the race, especially since we know he’s wanted out for some time? Given that this is the result of his continued candidacy, I think we also have to ask how conservative Fred really is if he knows he’s only helping moderates (i.e. McCain) win?
Reader Comments