Fred Thompson Anti Church Going Kills his Campaign
I’m so sorry for saying this but Fred Thompson just ended his campaign with this one speech politically. Not being a political genius, even I know that the worst thing to say while campaigning for the highest office in the land is to state that you do not attend church even somewhat regularly is a NO NO! Somebody fire off a flare because the Thompson campaign just sank on its maiden voyage.
Did anyone tell the actor and former United States Republican Senator that our nation is kind of religious? Did anyone tell him that he should be courting the Evangelicals and religious right who are still seeking a candidate to back? Umm, I’m guessing and I could be wrong but he just popped the Fred Thompson is us balloon or the me too Fred for President grass roots campaign.
Did anyone tell the actor and former United States Republican Senator that our nation is kind of religious? Did anyone tell him that he should be courting the Evangelicals and religious right who are still seeking a candidate to back? Umm, I’m guessing and I could be wrong but he just popped the Fred Thompson is us balloon or the me too Fred for President grass roots campaign.
Baptist, Lutheran and Protestant Ministers across the bible belt are admonishing themselves for stating out loud “Holy… and it begins with an F and ends with UCK and it isn’t FIRETRUCK!
Over at the Washington Post they have a little bit more to say about this issue regarding Fred Thompson and his run for President…
'Right With God' But Not Churchgoer Says Thompson
Chalk it up as another quirk of the 2008 GOP presidential field: The top-tier Repubican who entered the race as the supposed godsend for socially conservative voters in the Bible Belt who are dissatisfied with the other candidates is someone who does not attend church on a regular basis.
Asked about his religious beliefs during an appearance before about 500 Republicans in South Carolina yesterday, Fred Thompson said he attends church when he visits his mother in Tennessee but does not belong to a church or attend regularly at his home in McLean, Va., just outside Washington. The actor and former senator, who was baptized in the Church of Christ, said he gained his values from "sitting around the kitchen table" and said he did not plan to speak about his religious beliefs on the stump. "I know that I'm right with God and the people I love," he said, according to Bloomberg News Service. It's "just the way I am not to talk about some of these things." - Washington Post
Freddie can kiss Iowa goodbye and New Hampshire. For that matter most of the South Bible voters goodbye during the primary elections. Me thinks he surrounded himself with bad folks and advice or his own revelation was the first and last nail in the coffin of his campaign.
I’m a realist and for that matter honest with myself and the working of our nation. America is a very religious nation and that is a fact no matter how you psychologically try to break it down. Republican or Democrat we believe in God and worship regullarly, well most of us do and that is what it is. In elections, the majority rules. Politics is about surviving in the media and one mistake can end your campaign and Fred Thompson just stepped on the foundation of not just Republican voters lives but many Democrat voters as well.
Common sense would tell any campaign to look at Main Street America and see that on every other corner is a church. Hello Freddie? The life of any candidate for President is or should not be an open book in my opinion. If the former Senator had said simply that his religious belief was not up for discussion that would have been appropriate. He didn’t. Nobody in America has to defend their religion and yet in politics you have to take a stand and Fred Thompson chose his ground. It probably will not work out well for him in the Republican primaries but he was the one that spoke on his religious commitment.
I find it ironic that the people that want to run our nation have to run from their belief in God at all. In my life, in my faith, I find it to be my own comfort and saving grace when I need it most. For the record, if anyone asked me about my church going activities I would have told them that that is between my God and I and not for publication.
America has freedom of religion. In politics however there is no freedom of religion. Bad move Fred.
Papamoka
Cross posted at Bring It ON!
*****Rolling Heads has linked to this post... or hijacked it?
Labels: American Politics, Bible Belt, Church going, Fred Thompson, God, Law and Order, Religion, Republican Religion
posted by Papamoka at
9:19 PM
4 Comments:
I wrote a story on this topic at NY for Mitt (http://nyformitt.blogspot.com/).
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I also found the following story at Evangelicals for Mitt (http://www.evangelicalsformitt.org/front_page/church_attendance.php):
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The Washington Post reports that Fred Thompson only attends church when he's in Tennessee visiting his mom. (Incidentally, she attends church where my sister attends, but she's never seen him there.) He got his values not from church but from "sitting around the kitchen table."
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Doesn't sound like Fred even attends church when he visits Momma in Tennessee.
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Why can't religious, values voters see that Fred is not one of them?
Am I mistaken or was Reagan also a conservative who wasn't particularly regular in his church-going? Although I don't think it ever came up during his campaign.
I'm at Mass every week; perhaps I ought to run for the Republican nomination! ;)
I guess I'm one of the right-wing evangelical types you speak of....
And Fred is my guy all the way.
I think you fail to see the point- what I care about is honesty - I'd rather have a guy say he doesn't do church much at all and be honest than your typical politicians who show up at churches only during election season.
Tom,
I know that Billy Grahm and Reagan were very close but I'm not sure on his regular church going?
GuppyMan,
Thanks for stopping by and I can see your point. I think I should have clarified my point where as the Republican party claims the Evangelical vote as a lock. This announcement by Fred makes it look like a twist tie.
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