I like Thompson’s federalism, but that’s about it. The guy is by all accounts lazy. That might be superficially attractive to a conservative, but lazy thinking is something we don’t need more of. For example, in his Tonight Show appearance Fred said:
“Our people have shed more blood for the liberty and freedom of other peoples �?� than all the other countries put together.”
Both very wrong and enormously stupid. At a time when even some of our staunchest allies are moving away from us, this kind of dumb nationalism is harmful to America:
http://larison.org/2007/09/20/why-thompsons-gaffe-matters/
Note the contrast with Ronald Reagan:
"Do you remember the story of Bill Millin of the 51st Highlanders? Forty years ago today, British troops were pinned down near a bridge, waiting desperately for help. Suddenly, they heard the sound of bagpipes, and some thought they were dreaming. Well, they weren�??t. They looked up and saw Bill Millin with his bagpipes, leading the reinforcements and ignoring the smack of the bullets into the ground around him.
Lord Lovat was with him �?? Lord Lovat of Scotland, who calmly announced when he got to the bridge, �??Sorry I�??m a few minutes late,�?? as if he�??d been delayed by a traffic jam, when in truth he�??d just come from the bloody fighting on Sword Beach, which he and his men had just taken.
There was the impossible valor of the Poles who threw themselves between the enemy and the rest of Europe as the invasion took hold, and the unsurpassed courage of the Canadians who had already seen the horrors of war on this coast. They knew what awaited them there, but they would not be deterred. And once they hit Juno Beach, they never looked back.
All of these men were part of a roll call of honor with names that spoke of a pride as bright as the colors they bore: the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, Poland�??s 24th Lancers, the Royal Scots Fusiliers, the Screaming Eagles, the Yeomen of England�??s armored divisions, the forces of Free France, the Coast Guard�??s �??Matchbox Fleet�?? and you, the American Rangers."