Here is another article from Charles Davenport on why there is such enthusiasm for a Fred Thompson presidential run. Enjoy!

p.s.: There will be another The More Things Change article forthcoming about the environmental movement, so be on the look out for that as well!

Thompson pleases the Republican base

--From the (Greensboro, NC) News & Record of Sunday, June 10, 2007

Last year’s electoral success for Democrats was the direct result of disenchantment and malaise among conservatives. The Bush administration and the formerly GOP-controlled Congress have disappointed the Republican base on several issues paramount to the traditionalist Right—most conspicuously, on immigration. Meanwhile, the current field of GOP presidential candidates has elicited from culture-cons a yawn of indifference because no candidate is considered both conservative and electable. According to a New York Times/CBS poll, 57 percent of Republicans are “dissatisfied” with the present field.

The conservative countenance brightens dramatically, however, at the mere mention of one name: Fred Thompson. His candidacy, likely to be announced next month, quickens the pulse to a degree reminiscent of November 1994 and the Gingrich revolution. Justifiably so. Thompson, a “Law & Order” star and former senator, is indisputably conservative and eminently electable.

On the latter point, even Democrats agree. Strategists and campaign managers on the Left have forthrightly expressed their fear of a Thompson candidacy. John Fund, writing in The American Spectator, brings to our attention the opinion of prominent Democratic strategist Bob Beckel. A Thompson candidacy, he says, “scares me.” Beckel believes Thompson’s communication skills and broad appeal would make him a formidable opponent. Long-time Clinton staffer Lanny Davis concurs, writing of Thompson: “I hope he isn’t the GOP nominee because he would be very difficult to beat.”

Fred Thompson’s conservative credentials were firmly established in the 90s, during his tenure as a senator from Tennessee. His voting record earned him a rating of 86 from the American Conservative Union. (Senator Clinton’s rating is 12, Obama’s an 8, and Edwards’ a 10.) Although there are other GOP candidates with higher ACU scores, they are relative unknowns, and probably unelectable.

In recent months, Thompson has rejuvenated the Republican base with a series of red meat-laden speeches, articles and television interviews. When liberal filmmaker Michael Moore challenged him to a debate on health care last month, a cigar-chomping Thompson responded with a stinging, deliciously sarcastic video clip on the Internet. The applause from conservatives was deafening.

Pro-lifers, given the opportunity, will storm the voting booth in droves to support Thompson. His Senate record on the issue is excellent, as evidenced by his 0 rating from NARAL, the National Abortion Rights Action League. He considers the Roe v. Wade decision “bad law and bad medical science” that should be overturned.

Although Thompson embraces tolerance, he rejects “special rights” for anyone. He opposes gay marriage, for instance, but believes the states should decide the question of “civil unions.” Marriage, he says, is the exclusive domain of “a man and a woman.” Federalism is a key component of Thompson’s belief system, across the board. His nod to the Tenth Amendment will appeal to advocates of lower taxes and limited-government—in short, the Republican Party’s base.

Conservatives will also be delighted with Thompson’s position on gun contol: he opposes it. His voting record is friendly to Second Amendment enthusiasts and, specifically, to owners of firearms. He also favors school choice.

But the issue likely to propel Thompson to the top of the GOP heap is immigration, on which his views are identical to the conservative rank-and-file (and 70 percent of the electorate). In the good-natured, congenial way that he speaks of most issues, he blasts the GOP establishment’s position on immigration.

The immigration bill currently before Congress, for instance, Thompson considers a “phony bill of goods on border security.” The American people, he believes, will not be duped again by promises of enhanced border security and workplace enforcement provisions in exchange for amnesty. Of stricter enforcement, he says merely “putting it on a piece of paper does not convince the American people.” Thompson believes border security must be in place before we even consider the status of the 12-20 million illegal immigrants (or “undocumented workers”) already here.

As president, Thompson says, he would remind Mexico’s Felipe Calderon that a “sovereign nation loses that status if it can’t secure its own borders,” and that the U.S. will enforce immigration law. Calderon is mistaken, Thompson believes, in his belief that it is this nation’s responsibility to “make citizens of his constituents.” Furthermore, perhaps Calderon should rethink Mexico’s “left-of-center” policies which have created an economy that depends “on the export of its own citizens.”

Fred Thompson has neither declared his candidacy nor spent a dime on advertising, yet he consistently places second and third in national polls. Unlike any candidate in recent memory, Thompson inspires and motivates the Republican base. Consequently, upon announcing his candidacy, he will leapfrog the rest of the field.

Charles Davenport Jr. (www.cdavenportjr.com) (daisha99@msn.com) is a freelance columnist who appears in the News & Record on alternate Sundays.