I know!…

Your post is very informative….

…

DaveS on September 7, 2007 at 12:25 AM

See dave, you were real close to making some progress but you ran back to the fantasy world you have created.

Sorry dude, but being as far gone as you are, I am not experienced enough to help you to embrace reality.

Rich Lowry nails Fred’s hide to the wall for all to see. –csdeven

Um, not so much… there were only 2 things Lowry said that even superficially had any substance.

First:

But his Senate career tells against him. Not because he didn’t have the energy to make much of it, but because he apparently didn’t have the desire. … He headed the Republican Senate campaign and eventually rose to majority leader. Thompson coasted.

An unspoken alternative but related complaint that has turned up elsewhere is that Thompson didn’t pass a ton of laws while in the Senate… since when are conservatives worked up that someone wasn’t enthusiastic about passing new laws? I wish there were MORE senators who weren’t concerned with passing a zillion new laws with their names on them. I don’t understand the problem here. I, for one, am glad that Thompson isn’t more like Bill Frist. I don’t like Bill Frist.

But Lowry’s main point–that Thompson lacks ambition while Frist was the “go-getter”–is undermined by the fact that Thompson is running for President of the United States. Frist isn’t. (Unless Lowry is asserting that senate majority leader is the ultimate aspiration of the ambitious).

Lowry’s second pseudo-point…

Republicans need more fresh thinking, and Thompson’s devotion to federalism emphatically doesn’t count.

Lowry should ask himself his own question… why? Why doesn’t Thompson’s “devotion to federalism” count? Because Lowry says it doesn’t? On the contrary, the effectively communicated defense of federalism is remarkably–even embarrassingly–fresh amongst modern Republicans.

Exactly! I knew I could lead you to the truth eventually. He wants to be viewed as the outsider and he encourages the media to do so by painting himself as the outsider.

That’s the stupidest thing I have ever heard. He doesn’t “encourage” anything, but nobody in their right mind argues with the press when they are saying things that help them.

Whatever, dude. You’re irrational, and I actually question your santiy.

Ouchie baby! That ones gonna leave a mark.

Fred is no better than the leading dems? Do nothing senators with no executive experience.

Why in the hell would Thompson want to argue with them on that point? It’s advantageous to him.

Exactly! I knew I could lead you to the truth eventually. He wants to be viewed as the outsider and he encourages the media to do so by painting himself as the outsider.

Man am I good! I have this knack for leading misguided souls like yourself to the promised land!

Crimeny! You groupies have no shame do you?

It’s odd that you would see fit to infer that I was a “groupie” merely because I took issue with your obvious strawman argument. I saw a really stupid statement, and I called you on it. That doesn’t make me a “groupie”.

Does that boost your self-esteem? Maybe the confidence that you can’t possibly get from the soundness of your arguments/logic you instead try to cull from the categorization of your “opponents” into some odd taxonomy of “inferior groups” (as if that somehow makes your arguments more compelling)?

In either case, you fail.

The entire media community is reporting that Fred is representing himself as an outsider. Do you hear Fred deny this? No, you don’t.

Why in the hell would Thompson want to argue with them on that point? It’s advantageous to him. But “the entire media” isn’t the Thompson campaign. You still, after 6 or 7 attemps, haven’t given a single example of Thompson claiming to be an “outsider”.

Fred was an insider LONG before he was a senator.

I think we all know that… your own strawmen seem to have confused you. Nobody here claimed that Thompson was NOT an “insider”, and neither did Thompson. I don’t know what you are arguing about or who you think you’re arguing with. You are the one saying that Thompson is running as an “insider”, but you haven’t been able to substantiate that claim after multiple requests.

But where you miss the boat is that Fred is trying to paint himself as an outsider to fool the less savvy who might support him.

All I’m asking is that you produce a “boat”.

The foolish leading the ignorant in other words.

It isn’t foolish to think that a man with a knack for dramatic presentation might be a good communicator of ideas, and that his folksy persona might have broad appeal. Thompson has consistently delivered the most satisfying red-meat rhetoric of all of the Republican candidates, but he does so in a way that doesn’t turn away the less partisan… he’s a meat and potatoes Republican. If you want to go back 10, 15, 20, 30 years, I’m sure we can nitpick and/or misconstrue bits from every candidates background, but that is, of course, a pointless endeavor.

I’m used to ignorant misguided people like you mistaking 3 dimensional thinking for irrelevant logic…. I hate having to slow down for stupid a$$es like you… Now, if that sinks in, you’ll be up to speed…

LOL. My intelligence most likely dwarfs yours to the extent that it probably isn’t even worth discussing, but thanks for playing. I think your problem is, primarily, intellectual insecurity. On the one hand, you make some remarkably stupid assertions–non sequiturs and strawmen abound–so I can’t say I blame you, but you spend more time trying to tell everyone else how stupid they are then you do trying to substantiate your BS.

Now… would you like you FINALLY substantiate the claim that Thompson is “running as an outsider”? And, for the love of God, don’t point at some reporter talking about how he sounds like an outsider.

I think a lot of people might be supporting Fred Thompson because they think that the general public will think Arthur Branch is running.

DaveS on September 6, 2007 at 10:15 PM

The foolish leading the ignorant in other words.

Crimeny! You groupies have no shame do you? It’s ok for Fred to lie to you. It’s ok for Fred to pretend he is something he is not. It’s ok that Fred thinks he is really Arthur Branch. It’s ok that his supporters only support him because there are lots of stupid a$$ed ignorant people out there who are voting for a TV character.

Fred Thompson was a US senator. He is a Washington insider.

Were you not aware of this? Or are you just arguing with strawmen again? I know you aren’t that smart, but I’m still a bit surprised at your confusion on this.

DaveS on September 6, 2007 at 10:01 PM

JEEZE! I hate having to slow down for stupid a$$es like you, but I’ve almost got you caught up so I’ll grace you with a little more of my valuable time.

Fred was an insider LONG before he was a senator. In order to get elected he had to play the role of “Old Fred” the outsider in order to get elected. After he was a senator he went back to his lobbying ways. Now he is trying to paint himself as the Washington outsider. It’s obvious I understand that and it’s clear that you understand it too. But where you miss the boat is that Fred is trying to paint himself as an outsider to fool the less savvy who might support him.

Now, if that sinks in, you’ll be up to speed and I’ll give you some more attention. If not, don’t bother to respond because you will have proven yourself a lost cause.

DaveS on September 6, 2007 at 9:56 PM

I’m used to ignorant misguided people like you mistaking 3 dimensional thinking for irrelevant logic. The entire media community is reporting that Fred is representing himself as an outsider. Do you hear Fred deny this? No, you don’t.

Yeah, people like you are the types who run to support a candidate NOT because of the candidate, but because of what someone else says about that candidate.

Sir, you are a complete moron.

People think Arthur Branch, not Fred Thompson, is running. If Chuck Norris were teasing an announcement he’d have an 18% cult of celbrity vote too.

You’re suggesting that pollsters use the name “Arthur Branch” when conducting the poll, and then later fill in “Fred Thompson” when reporting the results? That’s stupid.

Thompson is doing well because he is a meat and potatoes small-government type conservative who has a broad popular appeal with the general public. I think a lot of people might be supporting Fred Thompson because they think that the general public will think Arthur Branch is running.

We’ll see… I think you are going to be unpleasantly surprised. All of your ridiculous and ultimately irrelevant logic (regarding “outsiders” etc) notwithstanding. Arthur Branch is already in 2nd place in most polls and he hasn’t even started trying yet.

People think Arthur Branch, not Fred Thompson, is running. If Chuck Norris were teasing an announcement he’d have an 18% cult of celbrity vote too.

Fred was a lobbyist, not an attorney … Translation: Washington insider.

Um, being a lobbyist doesn’t automatically translate to being an insider, but here’s the thing you don’t seem to understand. Fred Thompson was a US senator. He is a Washington insider.

Were you not aware of this? Or are you just arguing with strawmen again? I know you aren’t that smart, but I’m still a bit surprised at your confusion on this.

Fred ain’t got it guys. Not yet anyway, and I don’t think 130 days is long enough to change the leopards spots and present the message coherently.

We’ll see… I think you are going to be unpleasantly surprised. All of your ridiculous and ultimately irrelevant logic (regarding “outsiders” etc) notwithstanding. Thompson is already in 2nd place in most polls and he hasn’t even started trying yet.

And just so you know, you’re probably helping Thompson. Most people, upon hearing someone like you, will go to Fred out of spite. You’re incredibly annoying and ooze juvenile ignorance. Most people will probably go to great lengths to avoid being associated with people like you. I’ll be blunt… you come across as a complete idiot. What’s really funny is that you seem to actually believe that you are smarter than other people.

You should go read your last comment… you spent a couple of hundred words trying to convey that Thompson used a lot of empty rhetoric, but you were so lacking in specificity that it really amounted to little more than empty anti-Thompson rhetoric! Ironic, eh?

I just hope the Fred supporters were watching because he did exactly what he has done in the past. Sean ask him for specifics on Iran and all Fred did was parrot the situation and offered no solutions. When he was done evading the question, Sean asked him if that meant we need to have a plan for Iran. Fred’s response?

“Yeah”

He took the easy road with the Craig issue and was evasive on the war on terror issue. I wasn’t too bothered by that and actually had some hope he would pan out, but then came the Iran question.

Fred ain’t got it guys. Not yet anyway, and I don’t think 130 days is long enough to change the leopards spots and present the message coherently.

DaveS on September 6, 2007 at 9:10 PM

We have attorneys here who dealt with this months ago. Fred was a lobbyist, not an attorney and he had the choice of clients. Fred ALWAYS chose against conservative ideals and for the big bucks.

Translation: Washington insider.

DaveS on September 6, 2007 at 9:08 PM

No, what I am saying is that you are a waste of time. If you refuse to understand the position Fred is taking, then you are totally intellectually dishonest. It has been Fred’s MO since 1994. Everyone can see it, as the articles I link prove and Fred does every thing he can to represent himself in that way. Every talking point, every mannerism is designed to leave the impression that he is a Washington outsider. Has he ever represented himself as a Washington insider? No. So, he is taking the position of the Washington outsider whether he announces it or not.

The reality is that short of Hillary, he is more Washington insider than any candidate running.

Nelsa on September 6, 2007 at 9:08 PM

When this country starts having a national election for POTUS, you can trumpet numbers like that all day long.

Why is it that MOST Fred supporters refuse to understand the concept of the local election for president?

So what you’re saying is you’ve got nothing, and you just sort of made up the “outsider” bit? –DaveS

We’ve seen your schtick before. It’s nothing revolutionary so spare us the bother and yourself the embarrassment. –csdeven

LOL… so what you’re saying is that you’ve got nothing, and you just sort of made up the “outsider” bit? Just admit that you got called on your BS, suffered a small amount of pwnage, and move on, dude.

Unless, of course, you can–on your fourth attempt–point out any instance where Thompson or someone from his campaign tried to paint him as an “outsider”. I don’t think you realize how crucial this is to any credibility you might have. This is a very simple question, and if you can’t answer it then it can safely be assumed that you fabricate pretty much anything and everything.