- The Cat

By Michelle Malkin • January 3, 2008 10:52 AM You know how I feel about the GOP’s open borders drag queens. Roy Beck of the grass-roots immigration watchdog, NumbersUSA, weighs in with an Iowa caucus-day e-mail missive today on the presidential race and immigration. GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter wins the group’s highest overall rating, and deservedly so. Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney earn the next-highest rating.

WHOA!! That’s NOT what I see at all. What up???

Ex-tex on January 3, 2008 at 3:06 PM

Unless there is some weighting system to each of the categories, here is what I counted for Thompson/Romney:

Thompson: Excellent (6), Good (8), Fair (1), Poor (1)
Romney: Excellent (5), Good (5), Fair (1), Poor (3), Bad (2)

I don’t see how that makes Thompson’s and Romney’s ratings equivalent on illegal immigration. But, like I said, there may be weighting of each category.

As far as which categories that Romney is better than Thompson, there are only 3, 2 of them being EXCELLENT vs GOOD and the last being GOOD vs Fair.

As far as which categories that Thompson is better than Romney, there are 7, including 2 where Thompson is GOOD vs Romney is bad.

I’d like to know how they came up with an equivalent rating for Thompson and Romney, because just looking at the chart, it seems clear that Thompson has a much better rating than Romney.

Weber48IDA on January 3, 2008 at 10:24 PM

Weber…if you do happen to come back in and read this, please reconsider. We have our slapfights, our echo chambers, unaccountably moody and irritable threads, and so on. Sort of a cross section of human nature, actually! But one thing we don’t have is cliques among the commenters. There IS a place for constructive dialogue here.

Stay, and reach out. Say more, not less.

Whining isn’t putting me in my place. You have no more reason to believe Thompson than Politico. You’re the one who’s flailing here, not me.

Here’s a better idea. If you don’t like the Fred posts or my posts generally, don’t read them. Take a couple days off, in other words.

Allahpundit on January 3, 2008 at 9:22 AM

Done. Bookmark removed for this place and michellemalkin.com. You’re not creating a constructive atmosphere for dialogue. I’ll go elsewhere.

Go ahead and delete this account.

They’ll settle for McVain though, since they know he’s got the knife in his hand and has no reservations about plunging it into conservative backs.

thirteen28 on January 3, 2008 at 6:43 PM

Sounds like the moderates/indpendents are voicing their considerable influence on what they deem acceptable from the GOP.

All things considered, what the media doesn’t want is another Republican president unless it is a RINO like Huckabee. So they will do anything to besmich any conservative Republican and in my opinion, Fred is the most conservative of the candidates.

docdave on January 3, 2008 at 5:59 PM

They’ll settle for McVain though, since they know he’s got the knife in his hand and has no reservations about plunging it into conservative backs.

Criticizing Fred “round here” is akin to tossing a live grenade into a porta potty.

Fred’s fate doesn’t turn on Allah’s keyboard, or Michelle’s, or Politico’s.
Limerick on January 3, 2008 at 10:18 AM

No, that is true. Fred’s fate turns on me, csdeven. I am single handedly responsible for the 2 million Fred raised over the holidays.

/s/

I agree. Fred’s not from their hometown. Most “humble” country folk don’t gush like Hollywood fanclub geisers when the camera’s rolling. If a celebrity walks into a small town diner, I’d expect the residents to whisper about it, faintly abashed to stand up and cheer for a stranger. Some people do NOT like drawing attention to themselves or to others, but were taught to go about their own business in their own way as is their habit. Call them prims or old fashioned, but don’t equate their reactions with outsider preconceptions of behavioral analysis. They may or may not simply be reserved. As homogenous as America is, there’s still a difference between big city and small town.

Being a television star does not make a candidate cuddly across the board. The very character that Fred Thompson plays is basically his public persona, an extremely intelligent, wisened tough guy who knows the law. Fred is not a character actor any more than Sean Connery–they project themselves convincingly as they are, not as anyone else might request.

Be it for some bloggers to naively think that Fred will call it “quits” and get out. A lot of hot air, I’d say. Let’s not be that gullible, folks.

WHOA!! That’s NOT what I see at all. What up???

Ex-tex on January 3, 2008 at 3:06 PM

Michelle is quoting NumbersUSA and she is quoting exactly the update that I got from NumbersUSA yesterday, so there is nothing up.

wccawa on January 3, 2008 at 3:28 PM

Dang it!! I keep forgetin’ that truth don’t matter.
Thanks fer reminding me wccawa!

I am qualifying this by saying it is COMPLETELY unconfirmed. Anyone else have a take on this? Did anyone else see that?

“Just because he [Fred] denies it [lie] doesn’t mean it isn’t true. You think Politico invented the advisors it quoted wholesale?”

Name the so-called “advisors” or discount the rumor.

Fred said it was all whole cloth = total fabrication.

WHOA!! That’s NOT what I see at all. What up???

Ex-tex on January 3, 2008 at 3:06 PM

It doesn’t matter! Blogs have no influence, remember?

So what if what she posted a lie completely untrue statement? It’s all in the commentary and opinion value!

Get with the program!

For some reason Michelle references this as:

Choose or lose: NumbersUSA, the candidates, and immigration
By Michelle Malkin • January 3, 2008 10:52 AM You know how I feel about the GOP’s open borders drag queens. Roy Beck of the grass-roots immigration watchdog, NumbersUSA, weighs in with an Iowa caucus-day e-mail missive today on the presidential race and immigration. GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter wins the group’s highest overall rating, and deservedly so. Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney earn the next-highest rating.

WHOA!! That’s NOT what I see at all. What up???

I prefer this kind of reasoning from By Pejman Yousefzadeh @ Redstate:
Remember: We are not voting for “Best Campaign.” We are voting for the person who would be the best President if forced to walk into the Oval Office tomorrow and assume the responsibilities of the Presidency instantly. And I have a feeling that if more people voted on that basis, Fred Thompson’s campaign would be running away with popular support.

Ex-tex on January 3, 2008 at 2:37 PM

I agree. It’s kind of weird how everyone seems to think a candidate should be a rock star with groupies all over them all the time. Some of these bloggers are going out of their way to make Fred sound pathetic. What do they expect? For crowds to be cheering every time Fred walks into a diner? Most people don’t act that way. It’s “painful” for real people to act like real people?

Sheesh.

Remember: We are not voting for “Best Campaign.” We are voting for the person who would be the best President if forced to walk into the Oval Office tomorrow and assume the responsibilities of the Presidency instantly.

Too bad those types are in the minority. Most people are voting (and writing about) who has the best campaign.

It’s all opinion. And MM and Hot Air don’t like Fred and think his supporters are delusional.

I wouldn’t take it too seriously. We’ll see tonight how well Fred does.

Jaynie59 on January 3, 2008 at 2:14 PM

ya think.

I prefer this kind of reasoning from By Pejman Yousefzadeh @ Redstate:
Remember: We are not voting for “Best Campaign.” We are voting for the person who would be the best President if forced to walk into the Oval Office tomorrow and assume the responsibilities of the Presidency instantly. And I have a feeling that if more people voted on that basis, Fred Thompson’s campaign would be running away with popular support.

You guys can complain about Allah now, but when our nominee is picked and we are head to head with the she-monster, then you will thank all that is holy and good that we have Allah on our side.

You’re assuming that he won’t have convinced us that HA has jumped the shark by then.

when our nominee is picked and we are head to head with the she-monster, then you will thank all that is holy and good that we have Allah on our side.

I would agree with that.

Hillary will never know what hit her.

Rightwingsparkle on January 3, 2008 at 1:40 PM

If AP would quit downplaying his own influence, I would believe that, too!

The huge surprise to many who are too close to Washington is that a politician can actually speak reasonably about what could happen if the voters overwhelmingly choose to support another candidate. Apparently, if a candidate doesn’t lie and say that they are sure of winning and that losing never enters their mind, they don’t have the “fire.”

That’s complete garbage. Think of Washington when he refused to become King after the Revolutionary War was over. Nowadays, he would be described, not as a public servant willing to serve if called upon, but as a miserable loser and, by nowadays definition, a poor leader without any “fire in his belly.”

Not saying that Fred is Washington, but the parallel of offering oneself for public service is there and on display if one only chooses to open his eyes. The MSM, scared of Fred, spins it the other way — a very slick way to dismiss a candidate and a built-in excuse not to cover him. That people actually buy this line so easily proves the power of the MSM to construct the arguments, and its enduring capacity to engender paralyzing cynicism and depression in the electorate.

The issue is not whether Fred wants to be President: of course he does, else he would never had put himself through this. The story here is the media bias and blackout on Fred! and what this proves about the candidate.