Event Showcases Increased Attention on Cowboy State
In Wyoming, Thompson Shines in First GOP Forum
By Brodie Farquhar, 9-30-07
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| Caption: Above: Fred Thompson addresses the crowd in Casper Saturday. Middle: Duncan Hunter. Below: Sam Brownback. Photos by Travis Gough | |
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Three Republican candidates for president—Fred Thompson, Duncan Hunter and Sam Brownback—all ventured into “Cheney country” this weekend, during a meet-the-candidates forum held at Swede Erickson Thunderbird Gymnasium at Casper College.
The college is just up the hill from the alma mater of Vice-President Dick Cheney, Natrona County High School.
All three sounded largely the same themes, although Hunter took a more populist slant, decrying the loss of manufacturing jobs to China.
The Wyoming Republican Party has scheduled a Jan. 5 convention, allowing Wyoming to compete in staging the first presidential primaries and county conventions in the country.
“We’re going to break the lock Iowa and New Hampshire have on selecting presidential candidates,” said Fred Paraday, state party chairman.
It is widely believed that this move has brought increased attention from Republican candidates. Two other candidates – Ron Paul and Tom Tancredo—had been scheduled to attend the forums in Casper and Riverton, but dropped out in the prior week.
Thompson, a former senator from Tennessee, was the only GOP candidate whose national poll numbers put him in the top tier of Republican candidates, behind Rudy Giuliani. Representative Hunter, R-Calif. and Senator Brownback, R-Kan., both score in the low single digits at 2 and 1 percent, respectively, according to the September 15 Gallup national polls.
Giuliani, former mayor of New York City, leads the GOP pack at 30 percent, followed by Thompson at 22 percent, Sen. John McCain of Arizona at 18 percent and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney at 7 percent. Romney attended a Jackson Hole fund-raiser in late August.
Star power
Thompson, the “Law and Order” TV star, spoke last, in what was apparently his first appearance with other presidential candidates.
“I have nothing to lose by telling the truth,” he said. “I’m free to tell it like it is, as I see it.” The worst that can happen to him, he said, is that if the public doesn’t like what he has to say, they can send him home, “where I’ll be the happiest man in Tennessee.”
In a 15-minute presentation, followed by a 15-minute question and answer session, Thompson spoke about the first principles of the nation – that rights come from God, not the state. That no one branch of government should have too much power. That a government “that is powerful enough to give everything can take it away.”
Thompson decried the Democratic candidates for president, as they seek bigger government, more taxes and a western European approach to social services – just as western European governments are rejecting socialism.
“We can’t turn the keys over to them (the Democratic party),” said Thompson to applause.
Thompson said he was pleased to usher through the nomination of Judge John Roberts to the Supreme Court. As president, Thompson pledged to nominate judges who rule according to the Constitution, “not who make it up as they go along.”
He praised the United States as a nation of immigrants, but emphasized standing in line and playing by the rules. “If we cannot secure our borders, we will not remain sovereign very long,” he said, stopping short of Duncan Hunter’s pledge to build a massive, 800-mile fence along the U.S. – Mexico border.
Thompson said the nation has yet to come to terms with a global conflict, “of which Iraq and Iran are a part.” He said Islamofascism has declared war on the United States, and the rest of the world is watching to see how the nation responds.
“We need to do whatever is necessary” to defend ourselves, said Thompson.
In answering questions posed by party precinct members, Thompson:
- Pledged to fight to preserve the tax cuts passed during the Bush Administration.
- Warned that energy independence won’t come easily or quickly.
- Cautioned that there are “no silver bullets” in improving schools.
- Suggested greater education flexibility for the states, and “local parents and voters will take care of the problem.”
Tough Marine
Rep. Hunter, who served in Vietnam as a Marine and whose father was a Marine, credited the late Sen. Craig Thomas as inspiring Hunter’s son to be a Marine, when Hunter and Thomas served together in the U.S. House of Representatives, and Duncan Hunter II scampered around the floor of the House, as a small boy.
Hunter said he’s proud of the United States and its role as the arsenal for democracy in World War II, when Ford Motor Company cranked out a bomber an hour and Chrysler made tanks. He told the audience that that arsenal is in danger – that only one manufacturer was left in the country that could armor-up Humvees or provide guidance systems for “smart bombs.”
Hunter said the nation’s “industrial base must be restored.” Without mentioning U.S. businesses that have exported industries and jobs overseas, Hunter blamed China for cheating on trade issues and devaluing its currency by 40 percent .
Hunter pledged to stop China’s unfair trade practices and to “bring jobs back to the United States.”
Hunter said the recent “surge” in Iraq is working, and that as the 131 battalions of the Iraqi army stand up, American troops will be able to come home.
He spoke with distain of Democratic candidates worrying about how many countries now hold the U.S. in poor regard, noting that those counties have received vital help from the U.S. in times of need. “I will never apologize for the United States,” he said, receiving a standing ovation.
Rep. Hunter also pledged to:
- Build an 800-mile fence on the Mexico border within the first six months of his presidency.
- Appoint judges who can look at a sonogram and see a human being.
- Pursue energy independence, including Wyoming coal, Colorado oil shale, Canadian oil sands, alternative and renewable energy.
- Inspire kids to pursue careers in science and engineering, at an early age.
- Pursue a “good neighbor” policy between public lands and rural communities.
- Protect the Second Amendment, noting he and his wife were going antelope hunting in Wyoming the next day.
Hey neighbor!
Sen. Brownback told the Wyoming audience, that if they liked Senators Mike Enzi and Craig Thomas, “I voted with them 98 percent of the time. The other two percent, I was wrong.”
The Kansas senator even teased Thomas’ replacement, Dr. John Barrasso, noting that he’d just seen Sen. John Warner of Virginia complain about his trick knee to the orthopedic surgeon.
Brownback said he’d gone to Washington the same year as Wyoming’s Rep. Barbara Cubin, “and she’s been a firecracker ever since.”
A more polished speaker than Thompson and Hunter, Brownback drew the audience into a story about his abortive career as an auctioneer, getting them to repeat tongue-twisters like “Rubber baby buggy bumper.”
On a more serious note, Brownback praised the recent bill that was passed in the Senate – a “soft partition” bill that would divide Iraq into Kurd, Sunni and Shia regions, with Baghdad as a federal city.
“We can’t resolve Sunni/Shia differences,” he said bluntly, adding that the partition of the country could lend itself to a political solution.
Brownback also pledged to:
- Achieve energy security in North America in 15 years, by using local energy sources.
- Get rid of the tax code, in favor of a flat tax.
- Encourage the public to privatize Social Security, as a way to save it from default. “It was great for my grandparents and it stinks for my kids,” he said.
- Secure the nation’s border.
- Appoint a judge who’ll overturn Roe V. Wade.
Most of all, Brownback wanted to bring God back into the public square and to “get life right,” from conception to death. Brownback has co-sponsored a bill to de-fund the nation’s largest contraception provider, Planned Parenthood, by excluding it from Title X family planning for the poor.
Gee, Thompson sounds great if only he believed what he was saying. He talks the great "federalist" talk out of one side of his mouth, and contradicts it out the other side.
If he was doing anything more than playing lip-service, he would be a great candidate. Unfortunately, after looking at his record and when listening to EVERYTHING he has said, it is clear this man is simply "acting."
If I'm not mistaken, Hunter was actually an Army Ranger - not a Marine.
Comment By Rich, 9-30-07The warmonger fest lol.
Lets see...
Fred Thompson rents an old red pickup to seem like a good ole boy
Fred Thompson is a corporate fed warmonger
Fred Thompson was a lobbyist
Fred Thompson was a draft dodger
Fred Thompson did nothing of significance in Congress
Fred Thompson was on CFR
Fred Thompson is supported by Bush Administration
Fred Thompson is identical to GW
Fred Thompson supports NAFTA, CAFTA, and the super highway
Fred claims to be strong on illegals, but the above disprove that.
Ha! Conservative! What a facade that it is!
I wont even get into all of Hunter's crooked weapons dealings that he makes millions of dollars off of
I've seen Fred twice on the campaign trail here in Iowa & he's impressive. The campaign is just beginning...
http://fayettecountyrepublicanpartyiowa.blogspot.com/
Wow Rich, I would like to say I am impressed with your liberal like way of attacking Fred but I am not. Fred Thompson is a man of character and principles. He has represented Tennessee well and will represent this country well. He is a man of strength and courage, something few of the other candidates offer. He doesn't do it the way the media wants it and they don't like that. Fred may not be perfect but he loves and believes in this country.
I don't know whom you are supporting but I bet we could line up and attack their votes and beliefs also. Fred Thompson is making people nervous and they are attacking him in full force. That should tell you something right there. Go Fred Go!
@ Dave,
The truth is neither liberal nor conservative, it's just the truth.
Fred trys to come off as a small government, constitutionalist like Ron Paul, but in reality is just another CFR, pro-NAU neocon like Rudy McRomney and GW Bush.
Fred's another one just like the other ones...
At the present time, I think we have three contenders for the Republican Party for president. Fred Thompson, Rudy Guilliani, and Mitt Romney. Personally, I think that either would beat whomever should win the Democratic party pick.
I'd like to see someone like Steve Largent or J.C. Watts chosen to be Vice President.
Fred Thompson conservative? He won't promise not to raise taxes, much less actually to cut them. And perish the thought of doing what we all know is right, and eliminate the income tax. Is there any federal program for which he promises to cut the budget, and I mean genuinely cut it, as in spend less on it in '09 than will be spent in '08? Much less will he actually eliminate whole agencies and departments that aren't constitutional. Will he abolish the NEA, the NEH, the Dept. of Education? Please, that guy is Bush 3.0. He's never met an opportunity to spend your money for you that he didn't like.
Comment By Eric Rowe, 9-30-07Oh yeah, and he absolutely adores McCain-Feingold. Nice. If he's your idea of a conservative, your standards are far too low.
Comment By Hawaiian Style, 9-30-07There is nothing Thompson has said that every other candidate hasn't already said six months ago... Impressed with what Dave. He will fizzle out before the fireworks begin anyway. If Mitt Romney jumps on the Fair Tax boat, it will be all over... Aloha!
Comment By Matthew Price, 9-30-07Who has the best record? Is a candidate able to put actions with words? Thompson is the ONLY top-tier candidate who has a solid conservative record. He was wrong on endorsing CFR, but has now pointed out what parts are right about it (soft money), and what was wrong (restrictions on ads etc.). He should never have supported it. BUT, it comes down to a choice of 3 candidates of which you agree with one of them 10%, 80%, or 95% of the time. Will you toss the candidate that you agree with 95% of the time out just because he doesn't fit your EXACT mold of what you want in a Presidential candidate? Go Fred!
Comment By Alan, 9-30-07Senator Fred Thompson is the only major candidate that gets it. He makes decisions based on principles. Principles don’t change. You have to stand for something and not change who you are based on the polls. That is what Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani have done and all of the Democrats do it. Give me a leader that will stand by his principles anyday versus someone that stands for everything.
I know many, many Republicans that will stay home if Rudy Giuliani is the candidate. He does not represent our values as Conservatives, and never will. Mitt Romney is a RINO (though a very nice man) that simply has everything else and nothing to do. “I guess I’ll just try to buy the presidency”. Conservatives will simply stay home and the Democrats will pick up additional seats in the House and probably get the 60 seats in the Senate they need to completely destroy our Country. Nice picture huh?
However, I think Fred can bring America back together, if that’s even possible. America needs a rebirth of patriotism and honor. Republicans also need a rebirth. President Reagan was our last rebirth and he can never be duplicated. Fred Thompson will bring his own down-to-earth common sense to this Country and strength back to our party. A little of the good old days of faith and family would do well for this Country. If a Conservative runs as a Conservative, he will win!
Think of it this way: Eight years of another Clinton White House? Now if that is not a sufficient enough reason to pull together as a party, as a Country, and fight this socialist liberal takeover of our government, what is? It is not impossible to take back the House and the Senate. We are winning in Iraq—they know it. The best they can do now is stop our progress and choose defeat, just like they did during Vietnam. We lost because Congress chose defeat. History repeats itself when not learned from.
Folks, we are in for the fight of our lives, just as our young men and women are fighting for our freedoms in Iraq and Afghanistan, we must fight for our Country right here and now! I truly believe Fred Thompson is the one man who can pull this party and nation back together! Rudy Giuliani will just tear us apart as a party. Liberal is liberal every day of the week.
Really tick off the leftist democrats and contribute to Fred Thompson: https://www.fred08.com/contribute.aspx?RefererID=c637caaa-315c-4b4c-9967-08d864cd0791
All this negative talk about Fred Thompson makes me think that is who the Demon-crats fear the most!
I'm going to support Fred!
Just because traditional Republicans do not support Fred doesn't make you a liberal or democrat. I think many have confused NEOCONS with Republican they are not republicans. Too many of you have been brainwashed by Fox,Malkin,Hannity,Rush these
people are not REPUBLICANS their NEOCONS. Hillary is a neocon its why she voted to give Bush authority to atk Iran this week. Wake up pay attention and look at voting records and do not believe anything you see on TV. The neocons are crashing the dollar to usher in the NAU. The dollar closed @.77 cents friday and is worth less than the canadians money. Most recently last 40 yrs Neoconservatives are a defection of the left or "intellectual liberal" that moved into the republican party after the nixon adminstration they were Dem's so to speak and are big government not the defin. of conservative. Why anyone would support a president who says he fears terror but leaves the border
wide open for 5,000 illegals to come in this country is insane. Its a lie and you just dont want to accept the fact that any neocon in office or running for president does not give a FRAK about you or your children and we aren't fighting them there so we wont fight them here. We are fighting them their to exterminate them. We are the invaders in this war and if you think for one second that China and Russia will stand by when we invade Iran your wrong. China will kick our ass 500 million troops and we should be praying that they do not call their bill for America because if they do this country will be over and in complete financial ruin.
Yessir, Fred Flintstone is one heckuva candidate, yessir! Him and Ronnie, and Dubya—man, they are true Amerikuns! True blue (and red and white, but mostly white) patriots!
Comment By mike, 10-02-07http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/10/02/thompson-saddam-hussein-clearly-had-wmd/
Knock yourselves out. boys!
Now there is no doubt that Fred will win. IF the folks on the other side are like Rich it will be a slam dunk! NEOCONS NEOCONS ah everybody run for the hills!
This ladies and gentlemen is what you get from idiots who have no solutions and believe in only one thing; America must be defeated! It is not moral in their eyes for America to be strong and right and defend liberty and freedom. These are the blame America first crowd. "We were attacked on 9/11 because of our policies" "We have to understand why they hate us" "IF we treat them nice they will be nice to us"
BS! They want us dead, period. There is no negotiating with fascists. Or perhaps you have forgotten "peace in our time". I think there are about 50 million people who might have lived through the 30's and 40's including more than a dozen distant relatives I would have liked to have met, if Great Brittan and the United states would have crushed Hitler in 39, what do you think?
Any one of the current Republicans except Ron Paul will do a better job than any of the Dems. Fred is the closest thing we currently have to Ronald Reagan and so he gets my vote, my money and most importantly as much of my volunteer time as I can spare!
Hey Move on.org, we are coming for you next!
Jeff
Jeff: so the principle of Free Speech is only for those who agree with you? What does "Hey Moveon.org, we are coming for you" mean? Are you going to shut them up? How? Are you going to cart them off to concentration camps?
Hitler shut people up. He burned books. He burned people. Are you so very different?
Yes, there are people in the Middle East that hate us, but I very much doubt they are fascists, as would be recognized by Hitler or Mousellini. Nor do they hate us for our freedom. They hate us for what we DO, and what we're doing in Iraq is building up an incredible level of hate that will make us insecure for decades.
Unless you want to emulate the great killers of history -- Genghis Khan, Hitler, Stalin, Mao -- you can't kill your way out of this problem. For all our vaunted military technology, cheap IED's are killing our troops and we can't do very much about it -- unless you want to turn the nations of Islam into baked, radioactive glass parking lots.
No Mate,
I do not believe in "shutting up" anyone. I would fight to the death {and have} for them to have their say. With a caveat. That caveat is where does their money come from? What is the stated intent of the money that is behind them? When I say we are coming for you it means we will beat them in the arena of ideas. They have none save one, America needs to be defeated. George whats his name that pays for it all is an avowed communist and feels that we deserve what the islamic murderers do to us around the world.
As far as your statement that we can't do anything militarily short of a nuclear strike, there are many things we can do and some we are already doing. Many mistakes were made in the Iraq campaign. The President himself has said as much. The biggest failure was the lack of ground troops to support the new government following the fall of Saddam. The second and almost as big an error was in the disbanding of the Iraqi military complex.
But ok the mistakes were made and now we have to live with the consequences and fix it. The surge is having the desired effect and as it moves across Iraq from province to province those areas get calmer and more peaceful. As that happens then more and more of the local people come out and offer assistance to our guys. I am in contact with several of our brave troopers in Iraq weekly and they are very honest in the renewed optimism of the Iraqi people. Yes the violence is hard to live with but it is getting better not worse. The Iraqi people want to run their own country and they will. But ask most of them on the street and they will tell you that they are much better off with us there and Saddam dead.
You won't get that from the mainstream media. But I'll put my belief in our troops and the generals long before I pay any attention to a move on.org that dares to accuse a career 4 star general of betraying his country! And as far as Hillary goes with her "suspend disbelief" garbage, wonder how much disbelief she has had to suspend on a daily basis since she married Billy Bob.
And lastly, Israel showed the proper way to keep things calm 2 weeks ago when they flew an absolutely perfect mission against Syria's nuclear facility. WE provided the intel along with Mosad and pow total surprise and perfect destruction. If Iran will not come to heel with it's nuclear program then we need to look at similar means. You might notice that Syria and North Korea have shut their mouths over the whole incident! HAnds caught in the cookie jar. But if you are asking me what we should do if it looks like they are going to move against Israel or us it is very simple we blast them back to the stone age. Our children are worth more to me then theirs, Sorry!
Jeff
Dear Jeff: glad we could clear things up about the Bill of Rights.
And yes, it is always good to "follow the money" and know whence comes the dough that supports various groups, politicians, causes, etc.
You expressed unhappiness with moveon.org "that dares to accuse a career 4 star general of betraying his country!" So how do you feel about Col. Hunt, analyst for Fox News, and his charge that the generals are betraying the troops? Are generals always to be believed about everything? Where are your critical thinking skills, your sense of history?
May I suggest you read Sy Hersh's latest missive in The New Yorker, where you'll find that Bushco is gearing up for yet another war (the Iraq war is going swimmingly), this time with Iran. What lies will Bush/Cheney use this time? It would be tiresomely redundant if they recycled WMDs, 9/11, etc., but the TV channels (especially Fox) could simply run those tapes again from 2003.
Well, Thompson is an ex-lobbyist, an ex-senator from a middling suthrun state who snitched important information to one of our outstandingly evil presidents, an occasional b-movie actor, and a character actor in a TV series. And he's supported by people like the poster above—"Hey, moveon.org, we are coming for you next!"
That's just what this country needs.
There are some real right wing nut cases here and they NEED to learn some definitions. Look up, Fascist/Fascism a word this country is becoming. It is not a left wing term, sorry. As a liberal I have to laugh at most of what gets written here. Bring on Thompson, the lazy Olf won't make it through the primaries, he is lazy, and has NO original ideas. Some Facts for you blowhards and please try to keep up. Iraq did not attack the US, that act was caused by mostly Saudi’s. There were no WMD in Iraq that was a lie to get at the oil. A war of Aggression is the supreme act of an out of control country and IS a war Crime. Fact, the majority of Iraqis want us out of Iraq. There is ethnic cleansing occurring, and massive amounts of refugees fleeing the country, both big reasons that murders in Iraq are down. The surge is a tactic that ran its course and there is no strategy for a political solution. Now tell me what would Jesus do? Nuke them? More hypocritical behavior from the religious right.
The American people are currently behind all things Left, astron middle class, Stem Cell Research, keeping SSN, ending this stupid war, and Fiscal Restraint (A strong Dollar). There are no ideas on the Right, Name one? The Repugs had K-Street (a project to sell off America to the highest bidder) this War, and tax cuts for the wealth. That’s it! It is the party of Big Business and Religious Loons, and will soon be a fractured party when there are no "God thinks for them candidates" the loons can support.
I am no fan of Hillary, I also think she will represent the Neo-Con philosophy. But I will enjoy the fact that she drives most of you crazy. Time to start beating your head against the wall, as that is ALL you can do. Learn to enjoy the pain, as that is what your world will become. Signed, laughing in Montana.
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