So, Fred endorsed McCain…
Fred Thompson, the one-time Republican presidential candidate, endorsed Sen. John McCain Friday, calling on the party to “close ranks” behind the presumed nominee.
Fred is a conservative. But he’s also a party man. More of one than McCain, for sure.
“This is no longer about past preferences or differences. It is about what is best for our country and for me that means that Republicans should close ranks behind John McCain,” Thompson said in a statement reported by the Associated Press.
You knew that was coming, so it should be even less of a surprise than Romney suspending his campaign. Thompson and McCain have been buds for a long time, which might explain why he wouldn’t go after the Maverick while he was still in the race. But Fred’s endorsement doesn’t carry enough weight for me to change my mind. John McCain has spent the last 7 years (or longer) going out of his way to NOT get along with conservatives. He can preach the conservative message now all he wants, go to CPAC once a month with a couple busloads of supporters for all I care, he is not going to convince me that he will now somehow govern differently (read that “conservative”) from the Senator we’ve watched for the last many years. For crying out loud, this is still the guy who was going to switch parties a few years back…
The endorsement now may help McCain to coalesce the factions of the party around him. Thompson, who represented Tennessee in the Senate for eight years, is thought of well in the South, an area that McCain has not done well in.
The endorsement might be enough for some. That’s alright. A cherished conservative principle is that every man has a duty to be fully convinced in his own mind, then he has the duty and the freedom to act accordingly, especially when it comes to voting. But for me, McCain isn’t getting my vote on his own, nor is he getting it based on somebody else’s endorsement. I’d have to say that about the only way I could vote for a McCain ticket would be if he put Fred in the Veep spot. Or maybe Bobby Jindal, although it’s probably too early for a leap that high for Jindal. But McCain and almost anyone else? Nope. And I’ll re-up with the NRA and one of the 2A groups with any spare cash I have for politics this year. John has spent a long time telling me he doesn’t need me… fine by me.
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