Friday, June 08, 2007

FRED THOMPSON

Tarheels Like Thompson; Does He Need New Ideas? (UPDATED)

Fred Thompson leads in North Carolina.

Meanwhile, sometimes NRO correspondent Jennifer Rubin worries that Thompson may be about a quart low in the "new ideas" category. She notes that Reagan himself said, “I never thought it was my style or the words I used that made a difference: It was the content. I wasn’t a great communicator, but I communicated great things.”

UPDATE: More than one Hillary Spot reader thinks Rubin is off base; they contend Thompson doesn't need new ideas, because he's standing for old ones. (Let's not call them old, let's call them classic.)

I disagree, slightly. Thompson has done a fine job of articulating classic principles; turning these into policies is a slightly different story. For example, when Reagan took over in 1981, it was clear that high tax rates and an overgrown regulatory state were the biggest impediments to the American economy. I would contend the economic challenges of today are a little different: a workforce that feels vulnerable to globalization, the mass influx of unskilled workers, the continuing change over from an industrial-based economy to a service and knowledge-based one; neither employers nor employees happy with who's paying each share for health care, etc. Cheap imports from overseas, currency competition, a workforce that in many areas hasn't kept pace with skill demands, an infrastructure that's overdue for some improvements...

The principles of Reagan 1980 campaign will be fine in 2008, but the policies won't. It's a different world; we need new ideas on how to apply what conservatives have long stood for - limited government, free markets, hawkish defense of our nation and interests, and balancing traditional social values and libertarian leave-me-alone interests - to the problems we face today.

06/08 10:39 AMShare