Why are the cons so infatuated with Fredtruck Thompson?

[hiaasenrocks]

Is it just the hope for a Second Coming of Ronald Reagan? Something specific Fredtruck has said or done, something in his record, etc?

I think they're desperate.

And if you don't know what I mean by the name "Fredtruck" just google his name and "red truck."

[hlthe2b]

1. maybe it is his "trophy" wife?

Lot of REPUG men needing a way to compensate, after all...

[earthside]

2. Yes - Desperate

After watching as much as I could stomach of that "debate" last evening, I am actually beginning to believe that Bush may really be destroying his own party.

The Bushites and radical Republicans, I think, may be getting very worried that their party may collapse for all intents and purposes.

Fred Thompson is an unknown right now who they can project their hopes upon ... but I believe no one can ever live up to those kinds of expectations, so they are going to suffer another great disappontment when he finally becomes a candidate.

It makes me think that a Bloomberg/Hagel independent presidential candidacy is getting more likely -- to fill the void of the disappearing Bush-Republican party.

[DFW]

3. I think it's for one main reason

He has kept his mouth shut recently.

The moment these right-wing puppets open their mouths
these days, they tend to stick their extremities into
them as far as they will go in. Thompson has said the
least, and so has disappointed them the least. Don't
knock it--that's how reagan got in.

[MiniMe]

4. Because he is out of politics now and doesn't have a voting record

Also, they are in love with the character he plays on TV. Of course, that is acting, not that the repukes can tell the difference.

[peacebird]

5. googled red truck Fred Thompson... lovely... a perfect repuke....

"Far from being soured on politics, Thompson promptly set up shop inside the Beltway. In 1975, he became a registered lobbyist, entering Washington's infamous revolving door, through which well-connected individuals emerge from government service to take well-paying private-sector lobbying jobs.

With a few breaks along the way for additional Senate counseling, Ol' Fred spent the next 18 years as a D.C. lobbyist, viewed by many as the most loathsome type of cog in the political machine. Thompson maintains that he was never really a lobbyist, merely "a lawyer who did some lobbying" But for a guy who wasn't serious about lobbying, Thompson represented some pretty serious clients, including Westinghouse, General Electric, and the Teamsters pension fund. And he lobbied for some pretty influential legislation: As representative for the Tennessee Savings and Loan League, Thompson pushed for Senate passage of the Depository Institutions Amendments of 1982. Sponsored by former Sen.Jake Garn, this deregulation bill provided for additional government support of ailing S&Ls; increased thrifts' freedom to invest in potentially more profitable, but riskier, ventures; and eliminated interest-rate ceilings on new accounts to increase S&Ls' competitiveness. Passed in September 1982, the Senate bill became part of the Garnet. St. Germain Act. widely credited with having laid the groundwork for the S&L collapse of the late '80s.

Beginning in 1991, Thompson extended his lobbying expertise to foreign entities. Working for the D.C. firm Arent Fox Kitner Plotkin & Kahn, Thompson was registered as a foreign agent representing clients including a German mining group and Japan's Toyota Motor Corp."

:puke:

he'll sell himself as all folksy and outside the beltway, and continue the great sellout of america.

[Ganja Ninja]

17. I'm surprised he doesn't show up for his rallies with a ...

corn cob pipe and bib overalls. It's amazing how easily the GOP faithful are bamboozled by props.

[Warpy]

6. They all want Reagan, II

and see in Thompson an actors delivery backed up by the least amount of thought and the least possibility he'll actually try to run things. You see, Reagan's genius was in making stupid folks feel so gosh darned good about everything while the GOP robbed them blind.

If your aim is to keep the majority quiet and complacent while their country is going out from under them, an actor is who you want.

Thompson is no Reagan, though, and lacks the folksy delivery. Also, the times have changed, the Reagan Revolution has come almost to its endpoint, and too many people realize it was all an horrific mistake that beggared the country while setting up an aristocracy.

Wanting is not going to be getting this time.

[Norquist Nemesis]

7. Because he "looks" like a strong, caring, Daddy

IOW, he's an actor they can rally behind. Give him a script with Presidential authority, and all of their dreams will come true! Actors don't like negative reviews from critics. Just imagine what the RW echo machine would do to an actor with Presidential authority who doesn't perform well! Oops! Been there, done that.

[Double T]

8. Fred is the rethug 'hollywood' answer. They believe Fred (along with his trophy wife)..........

can 'glam up' their decrepit, foul, disgraceful political party. Fred is not the second coming of Ronnie Raygun; Ronnie was actually the individual that initiated the ongoing decline of America.

[Tejanocrat]

9. 2 reasons: (1) he's not Rudy McRomney and (2) he hasn't been forced to take hard stands on issues

yet and so he hasn't yet alienated the Repu thugs which those stands will ultimately alienate.

Give Fred time, and you'll see him fall to the bottom of the top tier. Fred'll do well in national polls (just like Giuliani was doing before the Repu thugs began to figure out that he was only fascist on some issues but not on abortion or gay rights), but he'll suck wind in Iowa and New Hampshire.

When he finishes 4th (or 5th?) in Iowa, you'll be able to stick in fork in him. Until then, he will be the source of much unwarranted hand-wringing because of his national poll numbers which will be unrealistically inflated due to his celebrity status, relatively high name identification, and widespread dissatisfaction with Rudy McRomney.

[Richard Steele]

10. Desperation. They sure as hell can't get excited about any of the others.

Add that to the standard, craven-Repub need to be protected
by a strong "Daddy" figure, and there you go.

[RedStateShame]

11. 'Cuz hee tawks lahk thim.

And while I do like "Fredtruck," I'm still partial to "Fredhorn Leghorn."

[leftofthedial]

12. desperation

[Javaman]

13. because he's not a real politician, he just plays one on TV.

note that ronnie ray-gun was a hack actor that ratted out his buddies during the red scare but he was a real stand up guy to the right.

[Jacobin]

14. They are like scared children looking for a daddy figure to assure them

that their idiotic party will keep them 'safe' from all the boogaboos in the world.

[AspenRose]

15. Even my republican husband doesn't understand it

Last night he said people were practically having "wet dreams" over Thompson, and he didn't get it.

I was very shocked to hear him say this (at the very least!). Perhaps there's hope for DH yet....

[H2O Man]

16. They view him

as the vehicle that will allow them to maintain control of the office of the vice president.