Former Tennessee senator and soon to be presidential candidate Fred Thompson (R) wooed Virginia Republicans this week at the Republican Party of Virginias 2007 Commonwealth Gala.
 
Thompson earned a standing ovation from the approximately 450 in attendance by attacking the immigration bill currently being debated in the Senate and Democrats on the Iraq War.
 
We’ve got to secure the border first, Thompson said. This is our house, and we get to decide who gets to come into our house.
 
Thompson, who served in the Senate from 1994 to 2002 and who recently resigned from his role as D.A. Arthur Branch on Law and Order, said the immigration bill represents a disconnect between the people of this country and Congress like I’ve never seen before.
 
The former senator also took a jab at congressional Democrats for their recent failed attempts to end the Iraq War. This is what passes today for policy in the Democratic Party, he said.
 
Though he has yet to officially enter the race, Thompson confirmed last week that he expects to formally announce his candidacy at the beginning of July. He is not the first GOP presidential candidate to court Virginia Republicans but, judging from the reception he received at the Gala, he may prove to be the most effective. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has visited the Commonwealth earlier this spring, as did former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. Former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore clearly has ties to the state party but his campaign has yet to gain traction both nationally and in Virginia.