Ground Game

Is this 2008 Republican primary season becoming the Special Olympics of political contests, where all the participants get at least one "very special" primary or caucus victory?

A handful of conservative bloggers, lead most prominently by Quin Hillyer, are calling on South Carolina Republicans to vote for Fred Thompson in Saturday’s primary. Thompson has held a strong standing in the right roots community throughout his campaign, but Hillyer tries reaching beyond those confines to the broader GOP community with a big tent approach:

If I were a South Carolina Republican voter on Saturday, then for parochial, tactical, and philosophical reasons, I would vote for Fred Thompson.

This doesn't mean that I would not have voted for Mitt Romney in Michigan on Tuesday, if I were a Michigander, or that I would not vote for Rudy Giuliani in Florida later this month. Voting in each state, especially in a drawn-out nomination battle, involves particularly local considerations as well as national ones.

In other words, Duncan Hunter fans don’t give up hope on a special caucus exclusive to California’s 52nd district, where your guy just might have a shot!

Hillyer also tries to argue that by choosing a different winner than IA or NH voters, SC could boost its prominence in future primary elections. That logic is a little sketchy, but the points about Thompson’s conservative platform and cultural ties to the region are solid, winning praise over at The Corner.

Meanwhile, Red State’s Erik Erickson follows Thompson on the SC trail where it is snowing and Thompson is apparently winning over audiences.

And Matt Continetti looks into Romney’s lowered SC expectations despite his Mighigan win.