Thompson Run Could Change GOP Calculus

As we noted earlier, with Thompson in the race all bets are off.

If there was a candidate in the race who matched Ronald Reagan on the issues, it was George Allen, with his belief in economic freedom, his foreign policy hawkishness, and a social conservatism tempered by the Gipper’s leave-me-alone libertarian streak that many Republicans have seemingly abandoned.

2008 didn’t turn out to be Allen’s year, but the same perfect storm that could have made Allen formidable may just hit the race for the GOP nod with a vengeance if former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson decides to throw his hat in the presidential ring. Like Allen, Thompson brings to the table the position papers that would make Reagan crack a smile. But Thompson also exudes a Cheney-style gravitas that is complimented by a charm and warmth that the vice president has always lacked. As such, a Thompson run could prove very dangerous to the other candidates in the field and could shake up the entire topography of the race on the GOP side.

The boys over at RedState have posted a video of an interview with Sen. Thompson in which the former senator fleshes out some of his positions on the issues. Thompson’s articulation of a conservatism that we haven’t seen since the ‘94 revolution is refreshing after so many years of watching the GOP establishment pervert and contort conservatism into some sort of hybrid between ’60s Rockefeller Republicanism and the big government conservatism of continental European Christian Democrats. Thompson is pro-life and pro-traditional marriage, but he responds to questions on these issues in a pithy and straightforward manner, demonstrating that he has no plans to wear these positions on his sleeve in order to squeeze a few more votes out of southern Ohio. He talks a lot about federalism and believes that things like abortion laws and civil unions should be decided in the states and through the political process. He wants to finish the job in Iraq and seal the borders, but also admits that mistakes were made in the war and that it’s unfeasible to send 12 million people home. He is able to be simultaneously a social conservative and a libertarian, a man of principle and a pragmatist, something that very few can pull off, and talks policy in a very real-world, common-sense manner, allowing him to diffuse those positions that conservatives would normally find problematic. He also has just a touch of populism, which is evident from his reasoning behind his vote for McCain-Feingold, but again, so did Reagan.

The Fred Factor