Well, time for a status report on the way I see things
Things have been hitting a few bumps here and there, as can be expected. After all, how many times has a candidate been drafted for President of the USA over the objection of the establishment, and over the internet? Precisely Zero. So we are breaking new ground here.
On the bright side, it looks as though our early activism (dating back to March here) has set the tide for Fred to declare a run for the presidency. He has garnered a lot of press, and has gotten a lot of net-support from all parts of the blogosphere.
On the not-so-bright side, there are the constant baseless attacks of the conspiracy loonies in the "Travis Bickle" contingent that back Ron Paul (and mindlessly attack anything that is not Ron Paul), the clueless inside-the-beltway people like the bloggers and columnists who regurgitate talking-head points - points we online folks have dealt with long ago online (see Fred Thompson FAQs for a shining example), and smear merchants and whispering campaigns from other campaigns - the ones Fred himself termed "gnats".
It is the price you pay when you become viable - people with entrenched interests are going to attack. And attack they have. The prior issues are really not all that important in the grand scheme of things, after all Ron Paul's lunacy is apparent to anyone that bothers to deeply research his past performance and positions, and his backing of the conspiracy cabal. And the other stuff? Its been dismissed by any reasonable observer after they have all the facts in hand - the truth is a great weapon to have on your side. The sad truth is: Half-truths, dis-ingenuousness and lies of omission have become standard operating procedure for politicians who have nothing to run for and therefore need something to run against. Which is why Fred's opponents have started in with such things.
It is to be expected, and with the net and all the supporters out there the speed of response is so fast that these disinformation campaigns are quashed for lack of credibility before they can gain any traction (as they say in the open source world "more eyes makes for shallow bugs").
Fred Thompson, given his power base in the Grass Roots and movement conservatives, does not need to seek the approval or permission of the insiders, nor will he need to kiss the ring (or any other part) of people like George Will and the other east-coast elites, who have set themselves up as faux kingmakers for the Republican party.
So, the big news for Prince George Will, Senator Foghorn Leghorn Lott, and your snooty elite Beltway and East Coast courtiers: your time is up.
You gave us George Bush 41 who then gave us Bill Clinton, and now George Bush 43.
Bush 43 gave us the largest entitlement program ever (Medicare prescription drug program), the No Child Left Behind act, a medal of freedom for that boob George Tenet (who should have been fired, not decorated), an untamed and undisciplined CIA that is at war with the executive branch (Scooter Libby), an incompetent Attorney General who has been so busy being a political errand boy (cleaning out prosecutors) that he has left important judicial nominations EMPTY for years. A President that started a war and then refused to defend it or appoint someone capable of articulating it well - and then he has mismanaged it completely with his misplaced penchant for loyalty over competence (Rumsfeld's resignation was ill timed and far too late). Bush also attempted to foist Harriet Myers on us, and even now is trying to jam a disastrous improperly formed and wrong-headed bill on immigration amnesty down our throats -- all whilst insulting us and impugning our motives.
You've had your run and it has ended in the Congressional and state electoral disasters of 2006 and the maelstrom of incompetence & pigheadedness which the Bush administration has become, all while it is circling the drain in effectiveness and public opinion.
Well guess what Kingmakers: We are coming to kick you out. Start packing - because we are going to do the one thing you fear most: we are going to do our best to make you irrelevant, just like the internet is hammering print news (As the NYT and other papers about circulation numbers). Your money and "rep" might be able to buy congressmen, but it cannot buy the most important thing: our votes. And without those, you lose. Never forget that - 2006 should have been your lesson. This candidacy and the immigration bill are your chance to show that you have learned.
But no matter what, this time, we the people are not going to vote for your handpicked "Next guy in line" candidate, bought and sold by the old Country Club and Rockefeller Repubs. No thanks to your presenting to us a Scylla and Charybdis; We will instead vote for someone that came from the Sam's Club Repubs side of things, someone we choose: A conservative who truly believes our causes at his core, a federalist who is well spoken and can deliver the message of small government that works better, and strong on defense and the war on terror: Fred Thompson.
Whether you come along or not, this train is leaving the station in a few weeks. Its your choice to be on it or under it.
For those of you on the Thompson Chattanooga Choo-Choo already - get ready, its going to be one wild ride. Be ready - soon we will need to stand.
