Good for Fred Thompson
Update: Mitt Romney has clarified his earlier remarks and come to Rush's defense. Now, where's Rudy?
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Regular readers of this blog know that I've hardly been an unqualified supporter of Fred Thompson's, but good for him for posting a statement defending Rush Limbaugh.
Candidates I've favored more -- Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney -- seem to have decided to handle the controversy another way. There doesn't seem to be any reaction from Rudy, and Mitt Romney criticized Limbaugh based on the false facts being circulated by Media Matters -- but seems not to have done anything to set the record straight.
This strikes me as a lost opportunity for both the Giuliani and Romney campaigns. One reason conservatives have warmed to Giuliani is because of his willingness to be combative when it comes to the sacred cows of the left -- for example, daring to eject Yasser Arafat from a concert in New York City. His failure to defend Rush undermines voters' perceptions of what has been one of his most likable traits.
And then there's the Romney campaign, which rushed to denounce Limbaugh -- and still has failed to correct its initial statement. To me, there seems to be no upside in joining the left-wing chorus of denunciations, especially when the condemnation is based on untruths.
Don't Romney and Giuliani understand that, in fact, Rush is more popular than they are among the constituencies that they need to win the nomination? Even more worrisome, if they're this timid in confronting a left wing smear, how will they ever succeed in prevailing in a general election against Hillary Clinton?
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Regular readers of this blog know that I've hardly been an unqualified supporter of Fred Thompson's, but good for him for posting a statement defending Rush Limbaugh.
Candidates I've favored more -- Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney -- seem to have decided to handle the controversy another way. There doesn't seem to be any reaction from Rudy, and Mitt Romney criticized Limbaugh based on the false facts being circulated by Media Matters -- but seems not to have done anything to set the record straight.
This strikes me as a lost opportunity for both the Giuliani and Romney campaigns. One reason conservatives have warmed to Giuliani is because of his willingness to be combative when it comes to the sacred cows of the left -- for example, daring to eject Yasser Arafat from a concert in New York City. His failure to defend Rush undermines voters' perceptions of what has been one of his most likable traits.
And then there's the Romney campaign, which rushed to denounce Limbaugh -- and still has failed to correct its initial statement. To me, there seems to be no upside in joining the left-wing chorus of denunciations, especially when the condemnation is based on untruths.
Don't Romney and Giuliani understand that, in fact, Rush is more popular than they are among the constituencies that they need to win the nomination? Even more worrisome, if they're this timid in confronting a left wing smear, how will they ever succeed in prevailing in a general election against Hillary Clinton?
posted by LadybugUSA at 1:03 PM
1 Comments:
It's what I like about Fred, he doesn't have to stop to think about how it's going to look to one constituency or another, he says what he believes to be right. Remember his put down of Michael Moore, done in a couple of hours and one take, and MM didn't have an answer.
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