Fred has seized the internet’s high ground nearly unopposed
I said earlier that this week that Fred Thompson may be the first political candidate to truly understand the revolutionary changes brought by the internet to politics. Apparently so. Here’s Fred in his own words:
By empowering individuals and building communities, the Internet provides a way of going around the inside-the-beltway crowd to reach people in numbers unheard of not that long ago.
I believe this direct communication and discussion is going to have an enormous impact on our political process.
Fred wrote that in a letter to Pajamas Media. Earlier, he answered Michael Moore’s stunt on Breitbart.tv. After the first GOP debate he gave an interview, not to any of the networks who would have jumped at the chance to have him, but to Breitbart. He’s been blogging on RedState.
Fred is undoubtedly new-media savvy, but he’s also new-politics savvy. He’s not spending time and money now in states that won’t cast ballots for another eight months. He knows from the recent history of past presidential campaigns that there is still plenty of time remaining to run a brick-and-mortar campaign there. Â
Instead, while the rest of the field is exhausting themselves in a year-long siege of Iowa and New Hampshire, Fred Thompson has occupied the internet’s high ground nearly unopposed.
This far out, the internet is America’s first primary. And Fred thompson is leading that race without spending a dime. Pretty savvy.
UPDATE:
Michael Silence notes this:Â Keep in mind that 95 percent of America is paying no attention whatsoever to the 2008 presidential race.Â
He’s right. And that remaining 5 percent is paying attention in ever increasing numbers to the internet where Fred dominates the race.
2nd UPDATE:
Roger notes Peggy Noonan’s parallel thoughts:
[Fred]Â is running a great campaign. It’s just not a declared campaign. It’s a guerrilla campaign whose informality is meant to obscure his intent.
Read the whole thing.
May 18th, 2007 at 7:06 am
[...] More comments on Fred’s letter from Bob Krumm [...]
May 18th, 2007 at 8:49 am
Kudos,
I think you guys may have found your own Ned Lamont :)
May 18th, 2007 at 9:20 am
[...] ALSO: Bob Krumm Michael Silence Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can [...]
May 18th, 2007 at 11:46 am
Sean,
Ned Lamont is a cautionary internet tale, to be sure.
While there is much time remaining to prove me wrong, I think there’s a difference. Lamont was the beneficiary of the left-wing seizing the primary nomination away from the general election’s center. Whereas, I don’t think Fred pulls from the extreme right as much as he does from across the entire center-right coalition.
May 18th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
Bob,
Fred Thompson, via his immigration talk today, is going to be pulling from the vast right more than any candidate. He is anti-immigration, pro-war, pro-more war with other countries.
Granted, Fred Thompson circa 1994 would pull from this Center coalition, but Fred Thompson 2007 is gunning for the right.
May 18th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
Sean,
Surely you meant to say “anti-illegal immigration,” right? If, on the other hand, you actually meant what you said, could you please provide us with some support for that?
Oh, yes. I thought not.
May 18th, 2007 at 4:12 pm
Thompson is a lightweight phony actor-lobbyist. He’s not presidential material, he shouldn’t even play one on teevee. Like most Republicans these days he thinks nobody’s gonna factcheck him. It’s an understandable fault, because the media hasn’t bothered factchecking Republicans since 1976.
Here’s a nugget from what Thompson had to say in one of the podcasts ABC pays him for the other day:
“If you went to college in the sixties, like I did, you might not know how much higher education has changed since then. Universities today are different places. At Vanderbilt, where I got my law degree, I hear you can take courses in third wave feminism or colonial governmentality.
Your guess is as good as mine.
On the other hand, some of the courses that we took for granted aren’t around at all. One area of study that’s almost disappeared from universities today is military history — the history of warfare.”
Here are some courses taught this semester at Vanderbilt:
Military Science courses: Basic Leadership, American Military History: Principles of War, Leadership & Ethics, and Officership. The History Department is offering Sea Power in History and the History of World War II. The undergraduate seminar on the U.S. Occupation of Japan has a few lessons regarding what America’s military is tasked with these days.
*Credit to No More Mister Nice Blog for finding this.
May 18th, 2007 at 5:48 pm
[...] This guy never shuts up. He’s got to be scaring the bejabbers out of all the declared candidates as they contemplate what will happen when he does declare (if he [...]
May 18th, 2007 at 5:54 pm
almost
It’s a small word with a big meaning.
May 22nd, 2007 at 1:57 am
MArkg8
“Universities” is a generalization. Vanderbilt is obviously an exception – and he was not referring specifically to Vandy when he said Military courses aren’t taught. Go look at the Ivy League.
As for “just an actor”… wrong.
Fred Thompson is a lawyer, former US Attorney and federal prosecutor, a civil attorney who brought down a crooked governor, prosecuted the Nixon criminals as one of the lead counsels in the Watergate affair, had chaired several committees during 8 years in the Senate, serves as an advisor to the State Department even now, shepherded Chief Justice Roberts through the Senate to confirmation….
Need I go on?
Nice of you to beclown yourself so effectively. Now go generate another name while you slink away from this.
Ed: ad hominems removed
May 30th, 2007 at 9:49 am
[...] He needs to brand it and continue to use it as a sustainable competitive advantage. In his own words: By empowering individuals and building communities, the Internet provides a way of going around [...]
June 10th, 2007 at 7:04 am
Bob, I really think you have no idea what you are talking about:
“Instead, while the rest of the field is exhausting themselves in a year-long siege of Iowa and New Hampshire, Fred Thompson has occupied the internet’s high ground nearly unopposed.”
Can you name a single innovation that Fred has launched online? By “high ground” do you mean rhetorical stance on the Internet? Did you happen to notice McCain’s March bracket innovation? Have you noticed the viral effect of Mitt’s innovative adoption of the Internet tool SalesForce.com? Have you noticed the 80+ blogs specifically supporting Mitt? Have you seen the interactive Mitt tool for youngins? Have you seen the force on Mitt’s Facebook entry? I’ll admit I’m a bit biased… but this is really poor rhetoric.
“This far out, the internet is America’s first primary. And Fred thompson is leading that race without spending a dime. Pretty savvy.”
“That remaining 5 percent is paying attention in ever increasing numbers to the internet where Fred dominates the race.”
Leading the race? Dominating the race? How do you figure this? Are there specific stats you want to point to?