After coming under fire for seeming to refer to Cuban refugees as terrorists during his speech in South Carolina on Wednesday, Fred Thompson struck a defensive tone at his blog yesterday, saying he wanted to “clarify” his position.
In his Columbia, SC talk Thompson criticized the immigration bill and, for some reason, singled out illegal immigrants from Cuba, adding: “I don’t imagine they’re coming here to bring greetings from Castro. We’re living in the era of the suitcase bomb.” Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager, Patti Solis-Doyle, criticized the remarks yesterday via-email:
“For many decades, Cubans have been forced to leave the island, risking their lives to escape Fidel Castro’s brutal dictatorship in search of freedom and opportunity. It is simply wrong to equate people fleeing from communism with terrorists.“
Thompson’s gaffe seems particularly strange given the importance of Florida Cubans to Republican electoral fortunes. In his “clarification,” Thompson continues to insist on the dangers of infiltration by Cuban agents, even as he attempts to mend fences with the Cuban exile community, saying that “we must oppose the illegal immigration of Castro’s agents into the United States while welcoming the vast majority who immigrate legally and with legal intentions.” In what seems like an effort to distract from the gaffe by appealing to right-wing paranoia, Thompson adds:
All of us should be rightfully concerned about Castro and his ideological pal Chavez sending agents and provocateurs into the United States through Mexico. I’m sure that Cuban-Americans share this concern as well.
The controversy might reinforce suspicions on the right that Thompson, acting skills notwithstanding, isn’t quite ready for prime time. Power Line reported yesterday that Congressional conservatives, at least, are not particularly pleased with Thompson on a general level:
The Fred Thompson campaign recently set up an event for 60 of Congress’s most solid conservatives. Many of them were hoping to be able to endorse Thompson. Unfortunately, Thompson did not impress the Congressmen. He did not appear to be ready for a tough Presidential campaign. One of his aides explained that Thompson was “rusty,” which, as one Congressman told me, did not inspire much confidence in this YouTube era. Some of those who attended are now looking at Mitt Romney as the most viable conservative in the race.
Thompson will need to avoid mistakes like the Cuba controversy if he’s to convince the conservative establishment that he’s ready to make a serious challenge.
Something to say?
