Thompson Bucks Up the GOP

Fred Thompson spoke in Richmond, VA at a Republican fundraiser and seemed to hit all the right notes:

"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," he declared in the deep Southern rumble made famous by his roles in film and on television's "Law and Order." . . .

But he received his biggest applause for blasting the bipartisan plan for immigration reform, which he called unworkable. "We are a nation of compassion, a nation of immigrants," he said. "But this is our home . . . and we get to decide who comes into our home."

Thompson reminded guests that he now lives in McLean, but he offered himself as a Beltway outsider, saying there was a "disconnect" between Washington and the rest of the country "like I've never seen before." He said the GOP had lost its congressional majorities because "some of us came to drain the swamp and made partnership with the alligators."

I think this last paragraph in the story sums up the feelings of many Republicans right now:

"There's a conservative void in the field running right now," said Joshua Morris, 25, of Centreville, who does direct-mail fundraising for nonprofits. "None of the other candidates excite me. I'll be going to his Northern Virginia office to sign up as soon as it opens."

Instapundit advises that you can see the speech for yourself on C-SPAN at 6:30 or 9:30 PM (EDT) tonight.