There was a time, long before things like September 11th, climate hysteria and Hillary Clinton's disturbing pant suits of androgyny when I wouldn't seriously listen to a presidential candidate who didn't talk about overhauling the tax code. (Can I get a little Jack Kemp "Amen!" in here?)
Republican candidates have, at best, been paying a small amount of lip service to taxes in recent years. Republican candidates have also gotten their heads handed to them in recent elections. Blame the war all you want but, as I've said before, the party lost last year because it didn't pay enough attention to taxes and fiscal responsibility.
The sad thing for Republicans thus far in this race is that Ron Paul is the only candidate who has tried to address taxes. Even the Village Idiot can have a few lucid moments but when they're sandwiched between all the crazy talk they are hard to listen to. His army of flying cyberspam monkeys have helped Paul morph into the Dennis Kucinich of the right. All we can do is stare at them, wonder how they got here and hope that the mother ship returns for them soon.
Until this week, Fred Thompson has looked like he's running to be nominated by the Apathetic American party. When I've had trouble sleeping all I had to do was watch Thompson on TV and I'd be out like Keith Richards after a night in a hot tub filled with Jack Daniels.
Fred finally decided to start speaking in specific terms this week and he started with a proposal about taxes that he trotted out on Fox News Sunday. It's a hybrid system that would allow people to free themselves and file using a flat rate. Those who are enamored of the current oppressive system (Democrats and the clinically insane) can continue to file that way.
Thompson is the opposite of most of the other candidates (on either side) in that he is better speaking in detail than he is blathering on about broad generalities. To date we've had the GOP candidates vaguely discussing saving us from evil and the Democrats promising everything but free puppies to every American who isn't part of "The Rich". Of course, I'm dismissing the absurd detail that Rudy Giuliani (R-9/11) goes into by narrowing his record down to one day in history. This proposal, coupled with his emphasis on Rudy's awful gun rights record could be the beginning of a sort of second entry into the race for Thompson.
All I want for Christmas is a GOP candidate I can get excited about again. One who will send both Rudy and Hillary back to New York for good. Let's get Freddy a couple shots of espresso and see if he can do the trick.
Cross posted at Grizzly Groundswell and Real Clear Politics (Vote for it!)
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