Fred Thompson
Crack in Thompson's Southern Strategy
It was not two months ago that Fred Thompson tantalized a crowd of more than 400 Virginia Republicans at a state GOP party fundraiser in Richmond, laying out his conservative principles for the first time after making his first official filing toward a presidential campaign. "Folks, we're a bit down politically right now, but I think we're on the comeback trail, and it's going to start right here," rumbled the actor and former Tennessee senator, to loud applause. For good measure, he threw in some Southern quips and references, to remind the crowd that he, unlike the other leading GOP candidates, hailed from Dixie. At that moment, the support of Virginia Republicans seemed his for the taking.
It hasn't exactly worked out that way for Thompson in the state, a letdown that could be seen as emblematic of Thompson's troubles in taking flight nationally. This morning, the state's top ranking Republican elected official, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, will endorse Mitt Romney at a press conference in Richmond The endorsement is a coup for the former Massachusetts governor, who is eager to show that he is viable in the South despite languishing in the polls in South Carolina, where the first Southern primary votes will be cast. Tonight, Romney heads over to Virginia Beach for a fundraising dinner. As notable as the endorsement, perhaps, is that Romney's fundraising in Virginia did not fall off a cliff with Thompson's entrance onto the stage -- Romney collected $308,000 in the state in the quarter ending June 30, compared with about $466,000 in the first quarter, a dropoff more or less in line with Romney's fundraising pace nationally over the first half of the year. Likewise, Rudy Giuliani collected $300,000 in the state in the second quarter, on top of about $438,000 in the first quarter.
Thompson, meanwhile, is expected to report today that he collected slightly more than $3 million in June, less than the $5 million his fledgling operation was hoping to raise. He has pushed back the likely date of his official announcement from July to September. Even before launching his official campaign, he has endured a staff shakeup that saw the departure of several aides. And sources familiar with the campaign say fundraising has tailed off in recent weeks.
Romney spokesman Kevin Madden said Bolling's endorsement, like others Romney has received, was a result of Republicans' appreciation of Romney's vigorous pursuit of the nomination -- a remark that one could take as a comment on perceptions that Thompson has been less than dogged in getting his own campaign underway. "One of the things that draws people to our campaign is that we've been very aggressively organizing on the ground since January. The governor's been working like crazy since January 4," when he formed his exploratory committee, said Madden. "He's going to do everything to build the organization you need to get to next January."
Among those attending Thompson's big kickoff speech in Richmond was Donald Ledwig, a former president of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and chairman of the Alexandria Electoral Board. At the time, Ledwig said he was intrigued by Thompson's arrival on the scene. But now, he's leaning more and more toward Romney, saying his experience as governor and as a business executive, combined with his picture-perfect family, makes him an ideal Republican candidate. He predicted that Romney would exceed expectations in Virginia, even if he has to overcome anti-Mormon bias among some evangelical voters. After all, the fastest-growing part of the state is Northern Virginia, where Romney's business-friendly vibe might match or trump Thompson's Southern drawl (and where, as it happens, there is a greater concentration of Mormons than almost anywhere else on the East Coast.)
"He's the ideal candidate from central casting," said Ledwig. "It looks to me like Romney's the man that someone's going to have to beat."
--Alec MacGillis
Posted at 9:24 AM ET on Jul 31, 2007
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Posted by: kevenj1 | July 31, 2007 5:36 PM
The fundamental teaching of the Mormon Church is one central doctrine: "As Man is, God once was; as God is, Man may become. This deification process is what separates the Mormons from other Christian denominations.
Posted by: pbailey | July 31, 2007 2:58 PM
The Church of Jesus Christ (LDS) is often accused of not believing in Christ and, therefore, not being a Christian religion This article helps to clarify such misconceptions by examining early Christianity's comprehension of baptism, the Godhead, the deity of Jesus Christ and His Atonement.
• Baptism: .
Early Christian churches, practiced baptism of youth (not infants) by immersion by the father of the family. The local congregation had a lay ministry. An early Christian Church has been re-constructed at the Israel Museum, and the above can be verified. http://www.imj.org.il/eng/exhibitions/2000/christianity/ancientchurch/structure/index.html
The Church of Jesus Christ (LDS) continues baptism and a lay ministry as taught by Jesus' Apostles. Early Christians were persecuted for keeping their practices sacred, and prohibiting non-Christians from witnessing them.
• The Trinity: .
A literal reading of the New Testament points to God and Jesus Christ , His Son , being separate , divine beings , united in purpose. . To whom was Jesus praying in Gethsemane, and Who was speaking to Him and his apostles on the Mount of Transfiguration?
The Nicene Creed"s definition of the Trinity was influenced by scribes translating the Greek manuscripts into Latin. The scribes embellished on a passage explaining the Trinity , which is the Catholic and Protestant belief that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The oldest versions of the epistle of 1 John, read: "There are three that bear witness: the Spirit, the water and the blood and these three are one."
Scribes later added "the Father, the Word and the Spirit," and it remained in the epistle when it was translated into English for the King James Version, according to Dr. Bart Ehrman, Chairman of the Religion Department at UNC- Chapel Hill. He no longer believes in the Nicene Trinity. .
Scholars agree that Early Christians believed in an embodied God; it was neo-Platonist influences that later turned Him into a disembodied Spirit. Divinization, narrowing the space between God and humans, was also part of Early Christian belief. The Church of Jesus Christ (LDS) views the Trinity as three separate divine beings , in accord with the earliest Greek New Testament manuscripts.
• The Deity of Jesus Christ
Mormons hold firmly to the deity of Christ. For members of the Church of Jesus Christ (LDS), Jesus is not only the Son of God but also God the Son. Evangelical pollster George Barna found in 2001 that while only 33 percent of American Catholics, Lutherans, and Methodists (28 percent of Episcopalians) agreed that Jesus was "without sin", 70 percent of Mormons believe Jesus was sinless. http://www.adherents.com/misc/BarnaPoll.html
• The Cross and Christ's Atonement: .
The Cross became popular as a Christian symbol in the Fifth Century A.D. . Members of the Church of Jesus Christ (LDS) believe the proper Christian symbol is Christ's resurrection , not his crucifixion on the Cross. Many Mormon chapels feature paintings of the resurrected Christ or His Second Coming. Furthermore, members of the church believe the major part of Christ's atonement occurred in the Garden of Gethsemane as Christ took upon him the sins of all mankind.
• Definition of "Christian": .
But Mormons don't term Catholics and Protestants "non-Christian". They believe Christ's atonement applies to all mankind. The dictionary definition of a Christian is "of, pertaining to, believing in, or belonging to a religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ": All of the above denominations are followers of Christ, and consider him divine, and the Messiah foretold in the Old Testament. They all worship the one and only true God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and address Him in prayer as prescribed in The Lord's Prayer.
It's important to understand the difference between Reformation and Restoration when we consider who might be authentic Christians. If members of the Church of Jesus Christ (LDS) embrace early Christian theology, they are likely more "Christian" than their detractors.
• The Need for a Restoration of the Christian Church:
The founder of the Baptist Church in America, Roger Williams, just prior to leaving the church he established, said this:
"There is no regularly constituted church of Christ on earth, nor any person qualified to administer any church ordinances; nor can there be until new apostles are sent by the Great Head of the Church for whose coming I am seeking." (Picturesque America, p. 502.)
Martin Luther had similar thoughts: "Nor can a Christian believer be forced beyond sacred Scriptures,...unless some new and proved revelation should be added; for we are forbidden by divine law to believe except what is proved either through the divine Scriptures or through Manifest revelation."
He also wrote: "I have sought nothing beyond reforming the Church in conformity with the Holy Scriptures. The spiritual powers have been not only corrupted by sin, but absolutely destroyed; so that there is now nothing in them but a depraved reason and a will that is the enemy and opponent of God. I simply say that Christianity has ceased to exist among
those who should have preserved it."
The Lutheran, Baptist and Church of Jesus Christ (LDS) churches recognize an apostasy from early Christianity. The Lutheran and Baptist churches have attempted reform, but Mormonism (and Roger Williams, and perhaps Martin Luther) require inspired restoration, so as to re-establish an unbroken line of authority and apostolic succession.
* * *
• Christ-Like Lives:
The 2005 National Study of Youth and Religion published by UNC-Chapel Hill found that Church of Jesus Christ (LDS) youth (ages 13 to 17) were more likely to exhibit these Christian characteristics than Evangelicals (the next most observant group):
Attend Religious Services weekly
Importance of Religious Faith in shaping daily life - extremely important
Believes in life after death
Believes in psychics or fortune-tellers
Has taught religious education classes
Has fasted or denied something as spiritual discipline
Sabbath Observance
Shared religious faith with someone not of their faith
Family talks about God, scriptures, prayer daily
Supportiveness of church for parent in trying to raise teen (very supportive)
Church congregation has done an excellent job in helping teens better understand their own sexuality and sexual morality
LDS Evangelical
71% 55%
52 28
76 62
0 5
42 28
68 22
67 40
72 56
50 19
65 26
84 35
Posted by: bot1 | July 31, 2007 2:16 PM
I still can't see for the life of me what true conservatives (that's an oxymoron) would see in Fred anyway. He's collecting Millions and bypassing reporting requirements for real candidates (Not illegal) by not being a candidate. Look at his involvement as far back as Watergate with the Washington Insiders. I just don;t see them backing him.
Posted by: richedwards58 | July 31, 2007 12:19 PM
yes it is amazing how well a northeastern or as you say,Northeastern, moderate can do so well in the south...oh wait..that's the old Romney..mybad
Posted by: askgonzo | July 31, 2007 10:52 AM
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The fundamental teaching of the Mormon Church is one central doctrine: By Jesus Christ the world was created and by him and through him the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.