Synapse: Current Issue

As the Bush administration continues its precipitous and inexorable descent into political oblivion, victim of a perfect storm of corruption, incompetence and unpopularity, a palpable sense of fear and frustration has gripped the conservative faithful over the future direction of their party. It was only a few years ago that the Republicans seemed poised to consummate a prolonged period of complete political domination, having successfully recaptured the presidency and extended their majorities in the Congress. An exultant Bush proclaimed his intention to spend the political capital the American electorate had given him, and conservatives across the country once again feted Karl Rove’s genius and celebrated their victories, safe in the belief that their power and influence would hold for the foreseeable future.

How times have changed.

Fast forward a few years, following a landmark midterm election in which the minority party successfully reclaimed both houses of Congress, and you’re not likely to find a Republican satisfied with the direction of the party or optimistic about the upcoming 2008 presidential election. Indeed, a recent New York Times / CBS poll found that 40% of Republican voters believed their candidate would lose the election while only 12% of Democratic voters shared that bleak outlook. And while a crowded and diverse field of candidates has already stepped forward to vie for the opportunity to fill the political void that will be left when President Bush leaves office, over 60% of Republican voters have expressed dissatisfaction with their options. It’s not hard to see why: all the candidates, including frontrunners Giulani, Romney and McCain, bring glaring liabilities to the table that likely would have cost them the nomination under any other circumstance. Giulani’s social liberalism, Romney’s Mormon faith and perceived political opportunism and McCain’s maverick behavior and suspect conservative credentials have disturbed many activists desperately searching for the candidate who will restore the party’s integrity and reclaim Reagan’s mantle. Now onto the scene steps Fred Thompson.

A former senator from Tennessee, Fred Dalton Thompson caused a stir when he flirted with the possibility of announcing a candidacy during an interview a few weeks ago, rocketing to third place in front of Mitt Romney in a recent Gallup poll and performing similarly in early primary and caucus state polls. Although Thompson has stayed out of politics since he left the Senate in 2002, trading in his Southern charm and folksy drawl for a high-paying role on NBC’s Law and Order, he was always viewed favorably by the party faithful as a political “outsider,” a charismatic, straight-shooting, anti-tax and big government man of the people.

Before riding a wave of voter frustration and discontent to his first term in the Senate during the 1994 Republican revolution, Thompson worked in private law and as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C. for eighteen years. During that time, he represented several big-name clients, including General Electric, Westinghouse and Toyota Motor Corp., and helped push for the passage of several important bills, including the Depository Institutions Amendments of 1982, which provided government support to the ailing Savings & Loans industry and, as part of the wider Garnet-St. Germain Act, laid the groundwork for the S&L bailout in the late ’80s. He also began his acting career during those years, first portraying himself as an attorney in a case he worked on in 1977, a role that would lead to a multitude of star turns in other films and TV shows.

Upon entering the Senate in 1994, having campaigned on a platform of campaign finance reform, term limits and lower congressional pays and raises, he immediately set to work on keeping his word to the voters. As a member of the Government Affairs Committee, he helped set into law the Congressional Accountability Act, a bill that subjected congressmen to the same labor laws as businesses, and worked unsuccessfully to enact a raft of ambitious reforms including a constitutional amendment to establish term limits and legislation to overhaul the bloated budget process.

Although he continued to press for wide-reaching reform during the remainder of his Senate years, helping him retain the image of a common sense, independent politician unafraid of ruffling some insider Beltway feathers to get the job done in the eyes of his constituency, when push came to shove and bills needed to be voted on, Thompson could always be counted on as a reliable vote for the Republicans. According to the non-partisan Project Vote Smart, Thompson stood toe-to-toe with a handful of colleagues on voting the Republican Party line most often, supporting Contract With America items 100% of the time. He did so by consistently voting to cut funding for education and welfare reform, increase military spending and by voting against pro-choice legislation and anti-gun bills. However, he also bucked party trends (and his supposedly reformist image) by opposing the banning of gift-giving by lobbyists and tort reform.

It remains to be seen whether the giddiness some have expressed over the prospects of Thompson entering the race will last or whether they will prove as short-lived as his reformist agenda. Although he has begun forming the beginnings of a campaign team in the wake of the positive buzz and appeals from conservatives he’s been garnering over the last few weeks, Thompson faces some clear challenges down the road if he chooses to throw his hat in the ring: his late entry will make catching up to the other candidates’ fund-raising efforts almost impossible, and his complete absence from the realm of politics and current events will make formulating convincing policy statements difficult. Yet with McCain’s candidacy on the verge of collapse and a Giulani backlash just waiting to happen, it is still too early to dismiss Thompson’s chances.

Jeremy Jacquot is a first-year dental student.

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