UPDATED: Thompson is In ... Almost
This story in The Politico has the basics. Key excerpts:"… he has already raised several million dollars and is being backed by insiders from the past three Republican administrations …Lovely, though I'm not sure a former Big Tobacco executive sends the right message (regardless of his pedigree), nor do I read any details here about how Thompson will "unite all elements of the Republican Party." Is he really prepared for Republicans like Dennis Sanders, Michael vdG, and I? Will he deliver on the "flexible on social issues, realistic on foreign policy" mantra I laid out yesterday?
"Thompson dropped all pretenses on Tuesday afternoon during a conference call with more than 100 potential donors, each of whom was urged to raise about $50,000 …
"A testing-the-waters committee is to be formed June 4 so Thompson can start raising money, and staffers will go on the payroll in early June, the organizers said. A policy team has been formed, but remains under wraps …
"Campaign officials said they have every indication Thompson will declare his candidacy, but cautioned that he could still decide not to run or to postpone the announcement. Mark Corallo, the campaign spokesman, said: 'He is seriously considering getting in and doing everything he has to do to come to a final decision' …
"The chief operations officer will be Thomas J. Collamore, a former aide to Vice President George H.W. Bush and former vice president of public affairs for Philip Morris Companies Inc. In the George H.W. Bush administration, Collamore was an assistant secretary of commerce under Commerce Secretary Robert Mosbacher. In the Reagan administration, he was special assistant to Commerce Secretary Malcolm Baldrige …
"A member of Thompson's inner circle, who insisted on anonymity, said the former senator will offer himself as a consistent conservative who can unite all elements of the Republican Party. 'The public is increasingly cynical and disenchanted with government,' this adviser said. 'Competence is at the heart of what people want from government, and they need to have a sense that government can do the things they care the most about. They want a reason to continue Republican governance. Thompson can be seen as the adult with a firm hand on the tiller' …
Time will tell. In the meantime, from the same Politico article, the only real policy-like nugget (sans detail) is this one from the closing paragraph:
"Now a senior analyst for ABC News Radio and substitute host for the legendary Paul Harvey, Thompson savaged the White House immigration proposal in a commentary last week. 'A nation without secure borders will not long be a sovereign nation,' he said. 'No matter how much lipstick Washington tries to slap onto this legislative pig, it's not going to win any beauty contests.'"
Other reactions by Michael vdG, Ed Morrissey, and Jonathan Martin.
4 comments:
Well, a former exec from Phillip Morris isn't the greatest, but then again, cigs are still legal and it is but one thing. I'm not going to cancel someone out simply because they once worked for a company I might not agree with but is still a legal business. (If that's the case, I would also cancel out anyone who works for the auto industry or Big Oil.) If we cancel everyone who works for something someone doesn't like, then we'd have no one working for anybody in politics, though that might be a good thing.
As for Thompson, we will see. I am not sold on him, but maybe he could persuade me.
One more thing. Do any of the Democratic candidates fit your criteria?
Dennis -- Don't get me wrong. I'm not personally condemning the choice of Thomas J. Collamore as COO for the campaign. In fact, as a former smoker who still believes firmly in the "right" to smoke, I have no problem with Big Tobacco. My point was more one about the impression this choice might leave, not the substance of the choice or the person. Sadly, elections are largely about impressions, maybe moreso than substance. But you already knew that.
And I'm with you on Thompson ... a wait and see.
In terms of your other question (do any of the D's fit my criteria), I think Hillary actually does. I know. I know. Baggage galore, and my wife guffaws every time I give HC a nod. But I think she's far more centrist than she gets credit for being.
Then again, unlike most Republicans, I was a major fan of her husband's (and think he was actually more of a Republican than the guy currently sitting in the White House), so maybe I'm transferring my fondness for Bill to her.
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