Declaraciones de Thune al National Review

Robert Costa ha entrevistado al Senador John Thune para el National Review. A diferencia de lo que indican los rumores, leyendo sus palabras uno tiene la impresión de que está más inclinado a presentarse. Afirma no tener miedo, dice que solo contempla ganar si da el paso, y defiende su historial.

(...) The tall, rail-thin senator, who starred on the basketball court at Murdo High School, likes to frame the upcoming contest in sports terms. “If I run, I would be on offense,” he says with a grin. “I am not afraid of a fight. If I get into this, it’s something I get into with all of my heart.”

“As Republican voters think about who they want to nominate, it really ought to come down to which candidate can defeat President Obama,” he says.

“It really comes down to match-ups. Sometimes you have a very talented group of athletes. But at the end of the day, it comes down to who matches up best against your opponent."

(...) Thune thinks he would present a “great contrast” to Obama in terms of political philosophy. He also believes that in terms of temperament and drive, he would stack up nicely against his fellow hoops-loving (former) Midwestern senator. “When it comes to age and energy, all those sorts of things, I think it could be a great match-up.”

(...) Of course, Thune would have to win a primary first, and many of his past votes — he backed the Troubled Asset Relief Program and has carved out numerous earmarks for South Dakota — would come under scrutiny.

Thune, however, welcomes the debate about his record. “Look, I’ve got votes out there that the Tea Party is going to take issue with,” he says. “My conservative credentials are probably not going to be satisfactory to this particular crowd or that particular crowd. But if you look at the totality of my record, you’ve got someone who is an economic, national security, and social conservative.”

“There is an assumption that being from the Senate is a liability,” he continues. “I’m not going to overlook the fact that people hate Washington. But I also think, in this day and age, that people make their decisions very differently from how they did in the past. It is not always about who is up next or disqualifying someone because he happens to be from the Senate.”

In fact, Thune predicts that even in a primary season full of anti-Beltway fervor, a senator could rise. “There is an argument to be made that we need somebody who has been in the trenches, who has been in there fighting, who has been in there standing up to the Obama agenda,” he says. A senator who has earned his political battle stripes tangling with Obamacare and the stimulus “knows where all the bodies are buried.” (...)