Word is Thompson is lazy and wants the nomination handed to him

[Quixote1818]

I was listening to conservative radio yesterday at a local radio station here in Albuquerque, KKOB 770 am. I don't know where they got some of this stuff but the host (more of a libertarian) had heard that Thompson wasn't the type to work very hard on a campaign and is probably hoping to get in and just be crowned as the Republican nominee. Word from the show suggested he is kind of lazy and arrogant.

[wakeme2008]

1. Sounds like Bush II

:rofl:

[Quixote1818]

2. That is exactly what a couple of people said. nt

[bunkerbuster1]

3. Have I mentioned he married his trophy wife in a queer-friendly church?

That'd be First Congregational United Church of Christ, Naperville, Illinois?

UCC? The same denomination as "Barak Hussein Obama"?

Wonder what the fundie base thinks of that?

[Warpy]

4. Sounding more like Reagan every day, isn't he?

Nobody ever accused Reagan of working particularly hard, not even when he was throwing mental patients into the street and fucking the working class over with his skewed tax system.

Yep, Thompson is the heir apparent.

It'll be fun to see what they do with that Britney clone he's married to.

[Virginia Dare]

7. She's not the dumb blonde she wants you to think she is...

she's a well connected political hack, and she will be the wizard behind the curtain.

[Warpy]

13. I never said she was dumb

I only know she dresses like a Britney Spears inspired streetwalker.

[Virginia Dare]

18. Yes, and her personality is more Evita than Britney..

that's my take...:hi:

[TwilightGardener]

21. Yip--she's driving the bus on this campaign.

[LiberalFighter]

5. Is that why he didn't do much in the Senate?

[Hubert Flottz]

27. He did do something in the senate.

He lied like Bill Frist and Trent Lott and the rest of them did every day, as they ripped us off and wiped out the rule of law. He voted in lock step for everything Bush stampeded through congress. He's as guilty of the shit in Iraq as Bush. He Loved the patriot act! He's as bad as Bush and Cheney!

[CanonRay]

6. Lazy? Arrogant? Isn't he already in the White House?

[tridim]

10. Big head, delusions of grandeur?

Regardless, he sounds like a typical asshole Republic in the Tom Delay mode.

[blm]

8. Which describes exactly the Bushboy - so the RNC and corpmedia created a hero

out of a zero with no personal accomplishments while the most influential Dem party leaders LET THEM DO IT.

[TwilightGardener]

9. He either can't run really hard or his immune system will take a hit,

thus potentially bringing his cancer out of remission, OR he wants to make well-scripted, splashy and well-publicized appearances and internet videos his entire modus operandi, rather than taking it to the people with less-glamorous, less attention-getting and riskier town hall forums and diner appearances. That may not work out so well in Iowa and NH--they tend not to reward lazy assholes.

[Hobarticus]

12. He's really getting a free pass on his health...

Considering how McCain gets hit on for his age.

I wonder if the MSM will pick up on that once his campaign picks up steam.

That video reply to Michael Moore, he just came across as a horse's ass. Can't find too many thirty-percenters even who don't realize the health care system's in trouble, and snappy little punchlines delivered in the same old crusty codger role he's always played does not a long-overdue discussion make.

[TwilightGardener]

19. I thought the video was truly weird and creepy, and reminded everyone

that he is, first and foremost, an actor--a bad one. Glad to see "Sicko" is so well-received, hope Moore is getting the last laugh. I don't think the Repubs in the primary will touch the cancer, BUT it will be an issue at some point, just like Bill Bradley's atrial fibrillation was in 2000. Honestly, both Thompson AND McCain (with his "cured" melanoma) are too big of health risks to be President--that's not even a partisan assessment, I'd say that about our candidates too. It would be a genuine disservice if the media didn't make the public aware, and yet so far--very little mention of it.

[Hobarticus]

24. Remember, McCain's wife became a drug addict in the SC primary...

Dubya's team was relentless, and I'm afraid they've lowered the bar in politics for good. The gloves come off in the primary, anything and everything will be fair game. Thompson will wither; everything I've read says he has no stomach for hard campaigning.

[KittyWampus]

11. It already HAS been handed to him. Rove's protegy, Tim Griffin, is signing onto Thompson's campaign

[predfan]

14. whoever wins the presidency next time

really has his?her work cut out.....this is not time for for another "hands-off" executive. We need someone who'll fight the deficit, work toward alternative energies, and still reestablish relationships wordwide.........nothe the time for another "aw, shucks" type.

[Norquist Nemesis]

23. Since you're from TN, what's your take on him?

BTW, welcome to DU. :hi:

[predfan]

15. whoever wins the presidency next time

really has his?her work cut out.....this is not time for for another "hands-off" executive. We need someone who'll fight the deficit, work toward alternative energies, and still reestablish relationships wordwide.........nothe the time for another "aw, shucks" type.

[rox63]

16. We need to publicize his cancer

If people think he might die in office, they probably won't vote for him. Want to bet that the MSM will conveniently forget to bring this up?

[NewJeffCT]

17. and this differs from the typical Republican how?

lazy, arrogant, elitist, etc.

[DFW]

20. I think Rove and Co. see McCain and Giuliani melting down

And they are looking for a substitute. Hagel thinks for himself, so he's out,
and the rest of them are out of the question. Thompson fits the bill of what
they want--a figurehead that will say what they like and do their bidding.

He may or may not be their nominee, but he is "qualified" in their eyes.

Scary qualifications in our eyes, but perfect if you really think Reagan
and Bush Lite were peachy keen, as so many of them do.

[MadHound]

22. Geez, once more history is repeating itself

These same sort of charges, attacks, and dismisal of Reagn's campaign cropped up in the months before the '80 election. "He's old, senile, a B movie actor for Christ's sakes. He'll never be nominated, we should just ignore him, he won't get the nod." And then Reagan proceeded to eat everybody's lunch.

Learn from history people, and don't dismiss this man so easily. While the left wing echo chamber is pumping out the meme that he is ugly, and god forbid, has a younger wife, the reality is that the man is distinguised looking enough to make it in Hollywood, with a mantle of folksy charisma that will charm many, if not most of the people, and while his wife may be twenty years younger than he is, she is not some blonde bimbo, but an accomplished professional in her own right and is an asset to her husband. Oh, and as far as the label "lazy" goes, you don't make it into three Senate terms, and into Hollywood by being lazy and waiting for people to hand jobs to you.

Wake the hell up, if Thompson does climb into the race, he will get the nod. He is the only 'Pug out there who can unite all of the disparate factions of the 'Pugs together as a unified whole, much as Reagan did.

[TwilightGardener]

26. I don't think anyone is dismissing him. But the "lazy" charge is

not coming from OUR assessment--the NYT described him as preferring "investigating" stuff during his time in the Senate than actual "legislating"--in other words, what the people of TN put him there to do. George Will reported that he found much of his Senate work "irrelevant" and apparently tedious. Even the fawning reports about him essentially admit that his time in the Senate was worth a pile of crapola. His laziness as a legislator was essentially his reputation, before he even left the Senate--not a smear invented to hurt his campaign now. And while his wife has "assets", being a quarter-century younger is definitely not an asset--some find it a bit inappropriate. He may or may not be the nominee--I certainly think he's beatable.

[MadHound]

28. Well, doing some quick research seems to counter that notion

Got himself on the Senate Finance committee, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the National Security Working Group, and was appointed to the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, one of the most junior Senators to do so. And apparently, he proposed and worked hard on many legislative pieces in addition to doing investigative work on Clinton. And the people of TN were satisfied with what he was doing, since they re-elected him twice.

His wife is also a lawyer and high priced media consultant. Definetely an asset to the man, age non-withstanding. The 'Pugs aren't going to say boo about her age. The normal male 'Pug voter will actually think that it makes the man even more studly, and Thompson's views on social issues will override any qualms women will have. His track record with religious conservatives is, in their own eyes, perfect, so he will get no grief on his personal life. And it would look foolish, petty and hypocritical for the Dems to attack her age, given Kucinich's wife and our supposed tolerance of people's personal life.

And take whatever the NYT says with a grain of salt. After all, they've got their boy Rudy in this race.

[TwilightGardener]

29. I don't deny he may appeal to R's--that's fine with me. In fact, the more

accpetable he is to them, the less acceptable he should be to Dems--and certainly anyone who is opposed to this war and doesn't want Iran messed with, which he has proposed--he is a neocon hawk, worse than McCain, and mocks the very idea of global warming. This plays well to the base R's, of course--but he's going to look mighty stupid up against a Dem candidate that is proposing measures to reduce greenhouse gases while he maintains his (wrong) position--most folks seem to believe in global warming to SOME extent, same as most folks seem to believe in evolution, to some extent. Denying science makes one look asinine. The wife thing won't be a Repub issue--but unless Hillary is our nominee (and I hope not), it won't look that great in comparison to Obama's and Edwards's more conventional families, fair or not--appearances are important, and rationality doesn't enter into it. That's why I think Mittens will ultimately come out on top, especially since he is more qualified and has the money and most importantly, INSANE ambition and drive.

[MadHound]

30. We'll see, I think that this will be Reagan redux

And one thing that Thompson has over Mitt is that he is consistent on the issues, and doesn't have the LDS tag hanging over him, which will drive off the religious right base.

I just think that all of the underestimation of Thompson that I see here is off base. People are dismissing him on trivial matters, much like they did with Reagan, and aren't considering the real pulse of the people. This allowed Reagan to eat the Dems for lunch, and can allow Thompson to do the same. About the biggest drawback Thompson has is his cancer.

[TwilightGardener]

32. I wouldn't say he's consistent on the issues--he's now backed away

from campaign-finance reform, which was almost as much a signature issue for him as for McCain. He was initially pro-choice when running for Senate, now considers himself pro-life. His hard-line stand on immigration now is also inconsistent from his Senate days, where his voting record was pretty much pro-big business. Don't forget the PAC (recently closed, quietly) which was used primarily to enrich his son's "consulting" firm rather than for its intended purpose of raising campaign funds for other R's--doesn't look good. There will be stuff we have yet to hear. You may be right that he may have the appeal of Reagan, but I agree, we'll have to wait and see--hard to predict!

[DFW]

25. No one said Thompson is stupid

And you may or may not be right about his being lazy, I don't
know about that (and he served 1 1/3 terms in the Senate, not 3),
but he is still sommeone with a presence without a base. If he is
being recruited to run, it is because he fits a certain profile.

With his health an issue, I see vulnerability there, unless his
health is not as bad as it is being made out to be, in which case
he can be portrayed as the courageous fighter whoh is too tough
for some disease to get the better of him etc etc.

I don't think anyone here is saying he should be underestimated,
and I think he could mount a cleverly scrpited campaign if he
gets the nomination. However, he is still more known as an actor
than a skillful politician--not that this will prevent him from
being an effective candidate if they nominate him. But if he should
ever get in as president, he will not be any better than Reagan or
Bush lite. If he has any ideas of his own, I'd be interested in hearing
what they are.

Then again, we forget at our peril--Reagan and Bush Lite DID take office.

We dare not ignore that the best candidate does by no means always win.

[TreasonousBastard]

31. Is there a reason to take this seriously? It's...

election time and opinions are bursting out like the spring flowers-- most of which are being artfully placed as propaganda and bullshit to get the conversation going.

Thompson scares me more than any of the other Republicans at this point because not only would he make a terrible President, but he might be the easiest to elect.

No obvious negatives and a good ol' boy persona that at least half the country is comfortable with-- that just could steamroll over any of our people like
Reagan did.