Thompson toughens tactics on the campaign trail

(CNN) -- For months, much of the finger-pointing over negative campaigning in the Republican presidential race has been directed at Mitt Romney.

The former Massachusetts governor has tangled with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani over immigration, with Arizona Sen. John McCain over waterboarding and with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee over just about everything.

But another Republican has embraced the brass-knuckle school of presidential campaigning, with far less fanfare. Like Romney, he began to target each of the major contenders as his campaign struggled to right itself. But unlike Romney, who has drawn return fire from each of his targets, Fred Thompson has largely been able to avoid a campaign trail "hit man" reputation until now.

The South Carolina GOP debate Thursday threw a spotlight on Thompson's negative campaign style. But for months, the former Tennessee senator's campaign has been firing at just about every one of his major competitors through Web ads, press releases and direct mail -- using tough language that rivals some of Romney's harshest lines on the stump. Watch Thompson explain his campaign strategy »

The verbal warfare began months ago, following a major campaign shake-up. As Thompson's momentum stalled, some of his closest advisers, including his wife Jeri, and new campaign manager Bill Lacy, reportedly urged a fresh approach.

What emerged as Thompson's poll numbers continued to sag was a harder-edged campaign with a taste for the jugular. The former senator began hitting his opponents on policy, including their stands on taxes and abortion. Thompson's campaign also took aim at his rivals' character, issuing press releases with titles like "Yet Another Romney Flip-flop" and "Huckabee: Stick by Your Words (if You Can Remember Them)."

But most of Thompson's harshest attacks in the months before Iowa were over immigration -- a top issue among Republican primary voters this cycle.

In October, he told conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham that Giuliani's mild statements on illegal immigration as New York City mayor "pretty much gives you his thoughts on it. I don't think he's moved away from it to tell you the truth. He teamed up, apparently with MoveOn.org, under George Soros to oppose the anti-immigration forces, so-called, so I'm not sure what he would say about the future."

On "Meet the Press" in early November, he ripped Huckabee on the same issue. "People talk about sanctuary cities -- he apparently wanted a sanctuary state in Arkansas. He's very weak on immigration policy," adding that "he was one of the highest taxing governors that we had in this country, and rivaling Bill Clinton in terms of the CATO [Institute] ratings -- and getting a B when Clinton got a B and getting an F for part of his administration." Watch what Thompson says about Huckabee »

Romney was his most frequent target. "Gov. Romney certainly didn't say anything against sanctuary cities until recently," he told Georgia voters in October, according to the Associated Press. "I was walking the walk when others weren't even talking the talk, yet," he said, stressing his claim as the only true conservative in the field.

During November's Republican CNN/YouTube debate, Thompson was the only presidential contender to use the 30 seconds allotted for candidate introduction videos to air a clip that never mentioned his own name. Instead, it hammered Huckabee and Romney for their positions on tax increases and abortion. An extended version that aired on the Web highlighted Giuliani's endorsement of New York's former governor, Democrat Mario Cuomo, and his criticism of the National Rifle Association.

Now, Thompson has staked the future of his presidential run on the outcome in South Carolina -- a state known for its rough-and-tumble primary season, where negative campaigning often pays off at the polls. He's competing with Giuliani for a distant fourth in the state in most recent surveys, but if there's any terrain this cycle well-suited for Thompson's take-no-prisoners style, this should be it. E-mail to a friend

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