Fred's SC Comments

I have looked at the videos from FDT's visit to the South Carolina GOP from last week. While the portion of the speech that made the news was his single comment about illegal immigrants from Cuba, the entire speech should be viewed by as many as possible. I am sure that as the campaign goes on that people will see the Fred Thompson that I see in this speech and will be drawn to his candor and straightforward approach to very important issues.

Here are the links to the video:

FDT at SCGOP Part 1
FDT at SCGOP Part 2
FDT at SCGOP Part 3
FDT at SCGOP, Q&A

Now a bit of a review on what you will find on these links:

In Part 1 FDT talks about what I would think the Dems would really focus on regarding Fred--his support of the general War on Terrorism. He is unashamed in his support of the War. He does not necessarily come down in support or opposition to specific approaches, but rather he is emphatic on the need for the U.S. being strong in this issue. He is supportive of waiting to hear from Petraus and is optimistic about the results that will be reported. FDT is highly critical of the weakness that was shown during the Clinton administration--though he is careful not to name him. He has a belief that terrorists' ultimate target is the U.S. and that they start with other countries first. In this topic, FDT is probably out of step with many in the U.S. (though he is right), but he makes a stronger case than what we have seen Bush make for the efforts.

Part 2 has the quote that has been talked about regarding Cuban immigration. The larger context in this section is talking about the problems with immigration. He points out that the government is not particularly efficient in what it has to do now with immigration and the Senate proposal would have made things much worse. He wants to focus on securing the border and doing things that will strengthen the country. In this area, FDT is in line with the thinking of well over 60% of the U.S.

He continues by talking about the growth in government bureaucracy. He moves onto the tax rates. He points out that the lower tax rates have benefited the economic growth of the economy and thereby increases tax revenues. He points out that the Democrats are targeting these tax cuts which will be detrimental to the economy of the U.S.

Part 3 continues the discussion on runaway spending within the government. He mentions the need for Social Security reform within this context. He mentioned that the results of the 2006 election had less to do with opposition to the war than it had to do with corruption and spending, where the Republicans had problems.

He concludes with a discussion of "what do you believe in" because there will always be issues that come up in a Presidency that were not discussed in the election. FDT points to the founding documents and ideals of the U.S.--the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the concept of Federalism, the separation of powers. These are aspects that make us the greatest nation in the world.

In the Q&A section he answers questions that have been brought up in the media over the last few weeks: abortion record, the length of the election cycle, the idea of whether or not he is an "insider", some discussion (hard to hear) about campaign finance reform.

As you can tell, he covered quite a bit of territory in this speech. It was a very good speech. He communicated clearly. He brings out his conservative (and maybe "populist") beliefs. More importantly he doesn't just make his opinions known, but makes the case for them.

Take the time to take a look at these clips. You will be glad you did.