“Thompson Sharpens Mood, Unveils Immigration Plan”

That’s the headline in today’s New York Sun. The article includes extensive quotes from a speech by Fred Thompson in which he adds flesh and a forceful human voice to the substantively ground-breaking but pro forma-sounding immigration plan that was posted at his website yesterday.

Prior to this, Thompson’s campaign lacked a raison d’etre, other than that he was a more acceptable generic conservative than anyone else in the race. With this new immigration plan, which includes startlingly hard-edged proposals such as cutting off federal grants to “sanctuary” cities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, and the elimination of certain immigration categories resulting in a substantial reduction of legal immigration, Thompson’s candidacy now has a distinct profile and purposefulness that sets him apart from the other “top-tier” candidates.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at October 24, 2007 07:56 PM | Send