February 22, 2007
Draft Fred Thompson? Probably Not Gonna Happen
The WH Bulletin (subscription required) reported this morning on growing efforts to draft Fred Thompson, the Law and Order actor, former Senator, and current Paul Harvey replacement on ABC Radio. The report notes slyly that Thompson has yet to endorse any '08 candidate and hasn't disclaimed an interest in the '08 race.
Thompson, the former Tennessee Republican senator who’s now a Law & Order prosecutor and regular replacement for radio host Paul Harvey, is being urged by supporters to consider entering the presidential race, according to associates. “The draft Fred movement is growing,” says one ally. They say that Thompson is flattered by the suggestions, but it is unclear if he is turning away their appeals. The effort is growing among conservative blogs, where several boards are pushing the folksy straight-talker to get in.
Well, for one thing, Mr. Thompson's ABC News contract probably prohibits him from saying anything in public about ongoing political campaigns. Also, while Thompson is conservative and has a record to back it up, he's not and never has been a member of the conservative intellectual elite. He's about as right-leaning as the old Mitt Romney + Mike Huckabee divided by two.
Most importantly, Sen. John McCain is one of Thompson's best friends. They talk regularly. A source close to Thompson said that Thompson will not run for president, period.
And that's the rest of the story. [MARC AMBINDER]
Posted at 12:38 PM
Comments
I would support Fred Thompson for President, Senator Thompson has a good chance being from the State of TN. You have friends in KY that would support you.
I support the Southern Neighbor Fred D. Thompson sorry for running into you at the UT, Vandy Football game in 1996.
James A. Muncy, Jr. | 03.08.07 10:57 PM
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Fred Thompson should get in this race. He would be formidible and has solid conservative creditials. I wholeheartedly support him. Just give him a chance. Listen to him. He can do this and represent conservative voters unlike Rudy.
Terry Blackwood | 03.10.07 06:13 PM
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I just heard Mr. Thompson or should I say "future" President Thompson on Fox News. Finally a true canidate for President, with true American views.
Bruce Randermann | 03.11.07 09:22 AM
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Fred Thompson would be a breath of fresh air to this horribly stagnant and worn-out line-up of wannabees. He appears to be a man of principal, honor with high ethics. I would support him and attempt to persude others to do so.
Roger Yerger | 03.11.07 01:00 PM
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Does anyone know where Thompson stands on securing our borders?
Lee J Kelly | 03.11.07 02:26 PM
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This guy looks very good as a candidate for president. It is a shame that public image is more important than political position these days but we need to face the facts. He is articulate, (the English language has never befrended George Bush),and has created for himself a positive image because of his role in Law and Order. He has face recognition (They won't remember his name but - "Oh look, he's that guy who plays the District Attourney on Law and Order") all of which beats problem-solving ideas these days. If he has some new ideas he might be what we need in the White House.
Calaban | 03.11.07 03:43 PM
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Fred Thompson is the first potential candidate who can appeal to the Republican base.
He would be a worthy successor to Ronald Reagan.
If he chooses to runs, he can win the Republican nomination and he can win the election.
George Hill | 03.13.07 08:26 AM
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Fred Thompson is a leader and our country surely needs one. I certainly hope he throws his hat into the ring. You have my backing. He tells it like it is!!
Pete Echevarria | 03.13.07 09:00 PM
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Only Duncan Hunter, Ron Paul and Tom Tancredo have the conservative and moral credentials to win in Texas. It is unlikely any Republican can win without Texas. Right now, I am not comfortable Texas's favorites can win nation wide. Fred Thompson can win Texas and Nation wide. We must get the true conservative into the race.
Larry YOungblood | 03.13.07 11:30 PM
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I agree with Larry and think that Fred Thompson can carry the nation. I have been impressed with his work in Watergate, the Tennessee parole board, Marie Raghianti, the early inauguration of Lamar Alexander, and his service in the Senate. I think that his honest and forthright nature can lead the US during this troublesome time. I would strongly support his candidacy. Fred, I hope that you throw your hat in the ring.
mimico12 | 03.14.07 10:34 PM
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Mr. Kelly,
Sen. Thompson addresses the issue of border security on his interview on Fox News.
You can find the Fox interview here:
part 1
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Snw7_6mJf5c
part 2
http://youtube.com/watch?v=cN3z4mqRn7I
Tom Whitfield | 03.20.07 08:52 AM
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Fred Thompson is our best hope for holding the White House. He will be a much more articulate spokesman for the ideals of conservativism and a common sense problem solver. At this time, we need Fred Thompson and our blog is happy to add ours to the voices calling for him to run.
A Newt One | 03.21.07 07:05 AM
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Senator Fred D. Thompson for president, 2008. The South is his for the asking.
The presidency is his for the taking.
Furhermore, in my heart, I know he's right.
Sarah Sawyer | 03.22.07 07:00 PM
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Fred Thompson is our candidate for the presidency in 2008 if he tosses his hat in the ring and we hope he does. He is a real Republican who will defend the USA against all comers, support our armed forces, address the problems both foreign and domestic and understands the ideals of loyal Americans. He stands head and shoulders above any of those hopefuls that we are seeing today. OK Fred, now is the time, we need a real American in the Oval Office
Sumner Thompson | 03.24.07 09:56 PM
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So far over 10,100 people have signed petition asking Mr. Thompson to run for President.
(soon Mr. President I hope) see link below.
http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?FDT_08
Hal Davidson | 03.25.07 01:52 PM
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My concern with Fred Thompson is his stand on national sovereignty. He has been a free trade advocate in the past but I do not know his position on NAFTA, CAFTA, and most importantly the FTA. Howard Baker, a globalist and CFR member, is backing him, which makes me nervous. Globalism is behind the current border problems we are having and is behind Bush's unwillingness to close the border.
Kris Anderson | 03.28.07 11:49 AM
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To our future president, Fred D. Thompson.
Those who have ears to hear will soon be
marching to the drum roll that started
early this month, and as they listen and start
to move out, they will climb aboard the Senator's bandwagon, joining the thousands
already aboard. Those with eyes to see,
will soon see our future president answer his country's call,leaving our Republican
frontrunners waiting in the wings, wondering what in the world has happened to the predictable politics of the Grand Old Party!
Here's what happened:
NG cannot win the election;
RG cannot win the election;
JM cannot win the election;
MR is almost out of the running.
Why? Because . . .
FDT and only FDT will garner enough southern votes to carry the South while at the same time
drawing in undecideds and Independents who will
gladly join the growing throng of Conservatives,
Republicans, and Christians,marching together all the way to the White House, Victoriously,in 2008.
Sarah Sawyer | 03.29.07 06:36 PM
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Actually the FEC is stopping Fred from saying that he is running, if he is running. From the moment that he annouces, NBC can't have him on any new show, without giving all the other canidates equal time.
Just like back in 1968, when Comedian Pat Paulson annouced as a joke that he is running for President. As of that moment, he could no longer be on the show, unless equal time was given to all the others running.
Reruns don't matter!
So the question is, is Fred Contract for another year, or does it expire this coming Friday on the last new episode of this year?
Just imagine if the last line on this coming Friday's show, is that he is leaving for another job? He didn't say, so he could probably get away with it.
Dave | 05.12.07 06:42 PM
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Run Mr. Thompson and we will vote for you!
A North Carolina native,
Gary Young | 05.14.07 12:27 AM
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Fred Thompson still has not signed a contract for next year, unlike the other stars of the show.
Dave | 05.16.07 12:08 PM
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Fred Thompson speaks like the rest of the bunch..."we can't deport 12 million illegal aliens." Sounds like amnesty to me!!!
We don't have to deport all of them...
Attrition through enforcement is the answer.
No Amnesty! No Guestworker!
Jill | 05.30.07 06:10 PM
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Fred Thompson is not the conservative you think he is. Al Gore has a better record on immigration than Thompson.
gary | 06.03.07 01:53 AM
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I'm a strong conservative and I am against Fred Thompson. Fred D. Thompson is a member of the Ted Kennedy wing of the Republican party as evidenced by his contributions to the immigration problem we have here in California. Liberal democrats have a better record on immigration than Thompson. Example: Which of the following has a better record on immigration? Fred Thompson or Al Gore? Americans for Better Immigration gave Thompson a "C" grade while Gore has an "A". While Californians were fighting for Prop 187 in 1994-1998, Thompson was in the Senate contributing to the immigration problem we have today. The fact that Al Gore and 32 Congressional Democrats have a better record on fighting immigration than Thompson warrants his inclusion in the Kennedy wing. I support Duncan Hunter for President.
gchuggins | 06.10.07 03:52 PM
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Is Fred going to do anything about all the businesses moving overseas and outsourcing?
Is Fred Thompson going to unfreeze the government jobs? At this time all the good government positions are frozen unless you are currently a Dept of Defense Employee. Especially the Meps!
Kathy | 06.30.07 09:34 PM
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FDT is not going to enter this race
merely to enter the race;; he is entering
the race to win; otherwise, he will not
enter the race. It is just that simple.
FDT is a winner; always has been; always
will be. He will win the GOP nomination and
he will win the election in 2008.
sarah sawyer | 07.19.07 12:54 PM
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Mr. Thompson sure looked like a viable choice in this current crop of lackluster GOP candidates.
It's only when you discover that he and his family members are paid lobbyists that you know this is the last person in the world you want to represent this country. 110% of this country's problems can be traced back to some lobby or other. Our current president and his handler are two great examples of selling out the american public to a powerful lobby. (Halliburton anyone?) Just buy another politician. They're cheap! (Except for the taxpayers who have to pay for their unwanted legislations.)
Sorry Fred, go back to acting please. We have enough sharks "representing" us now.
Dan W | 07.29.07 11:23 PM
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Benito has about as much chance of getting the GOP nomination as Fred Thompson does--zilch!! Baldheaded men cannot win The White House, not since war hero Ike. This favors Romney getting the nomination, but he's a liar just like Benito and FT are. Conservatives have had a belly full of RINO liars! Many conservatives have already left the GOP and they will ask themselves next year, "Why should I vote for one of two liberals?". Giuliani is no different from Hillary. Many of Bush's people are in the Romney and FT campaigns...And all three are members of anti-nationalist CFR--the one world kabal whose members seek to take over the world led by traitors like George Schultz, H. Kissinger, Robert Pastor (who helped the Peanut Farmer give away the Panama Canal to the little Red Devils) et al. Neither Tancredo, Paul nor Hunter are members of the CFR. They are the ONLY ones acceptable to true conservatives. And don't fergit, FT lovers--many conservatives are going to vote The CP this go 'round if FT is nominated. You can count on that. Do you seriously think that FT can win WITHOUT conservatives flocking to his side? FT, Benito and The Man Tan are "poster boys" of the MNM and the RINOs running the GOP. It's people like them who caused many of us to bolt in '96 (I did) during the Dole-Kemp fiasco. Does FT remind some of you of Bob Dole? I think so.
Whether you Thompsonites know it or not, a lot of conservatives left the GOP, tore up their cards and aren't going back and certainly not for a RINO CFR member like Thompson! I'm not saying Thompson hasn't done some smart things as early as 2000 or so to "prep" for this day:
-He quit the Senate prematurely (smart move)
-He married a trophy wife (possibly a smart move)
The latter might help him in the Northeast where evangelists don't have a hold on conservative politics. But the latter doesn't help him in the South among conservatives. And his hiring open borders loser Spencer Abraham (one of the biggest pro-Saudi/pro-Arab pols ever to grace Washington) is a major "negative". Will Jewish American conservatives vote for FT as a result? I doubt it. Scratch the Jewish conservative vote. But then, his trophy wife is "handling" his campaign, so we shouldn't worry, right? Polls don't mean much, now, and certainly not for an unannounced candidate. Once Republicans see him for what he is--an empty suit--they'll bolt.
Five things hurt FT that the public at large isn't yet aware of (and thus his high poll numbers) assuming he doesn't properly answer them publicly:
-His stance on the 30 million illegal aliens here in the U.S. and whether he would boost the effort to build the Fence (which is the law). Anti-Invasion conservatives are deeply suspicious that he might continue Bush's push for amnesty for these many millions given his clear unwillingness to "round them up". There is no "middle ground" on this issue. Either you're for legalizing them, or you're for mass deportation. What Thompson DOESN'T say in the Chris Wallace interview is what he will do as President--would he push to legalize them as Bush is doing? Or will he finally take the reins off of ICE and rid the country of those who don't belong here? What he also fails to mention in the interview is how sky high housing costs would plummet if the 30-plus million were to begin to leave. Apartments and homes would be vacant, and rents would drop precipitously, favoring low-wage Americans. Thompson says he's "afraid of what mass deportation would mean to the economy". It would be A BOON!! Instead of the slave labor we now have, employers would have to pay a reasonable wage (as they did prior to the Invasion) and many out-of-work Americans would be lined up for those jobs! It's already been proven time and time again after the raids on the meat-packing plants in the Midwest.
-His ties to Bush and the RINOCRACY. Bush operatives are in his inner circle.
-His vowing to continue the war in Iraq which the American public is tired of and against.
-His supposed "conservative record" as a Senator which is anything but conservative.
-His refusing to kill any SPP/NAU efforts made by Bush. Americans want their sovereignty preserved and want the Invasion fr. Mexico stopped!
Conservatives have been "had" by RINOs Pappa Bush and GW. They aren't coming back to the nest (the GOP) just to cast a vote again for "the lesser of two evils"--not enough of us this time around! Many of us, like myself, will support a true conservative like Hunter or Tancredo until or unless he drops out. At that point, many of us will vote for The CP candidate.
Here are Thompson's remarks to Chris Wallace on the Invasion fr. Mexico in that interview earlier this year:
WALLACE: You also favor comprehensive immigration reform. I want to...
THOMPSON: No, no, no, no.
WALLACE: Well, let me put up on the screen something that you said last year about illegals, and let's take a look at it. "You're going to have to, in some way, work out a deal where they can have some aspirations of citizenship but not make it so easy that it's unfair to the people waiting in line and abiding by the law."
Now, you said, "Look, it's just not realistic that we're going to round up 12 million people and ship them all out of the country."
THOMPSON: Well, that's true, as a general statement. We woke up one day after years of neglect and apparently discovered that we have somewhere between 12 million and 20 million illegal aliens in this country. So it became an impossible situation to deal with [Not true! We knew it was happening, screamed blood hell but weren't heard until Rep. Tancredo and the Minutemen Project came along].
"I mean, there's really no good solution. So what do you do? You have to start over. Well, I'm concerned about the next 12 million or 20 million. So that's why enforcement, and enforcement at the border, has to be primary [Well, Mr. Thompson, WE THE PEOPLE are concerned about THE CURRENT 30 million here who are killing, raping, maiming, molesting and committing fraud on U.S. taxpayers!]."
"I think most people feel disillusioned after 1986 when we had this deal offered to them before, and now we're insisting that, you know, we solve the security problem first, and then we'll talk about what to do with regard to other things — certainly no amnesty or nothing blanket like that."
"But figure out some way to make some differentiation between the kind of people that we have here [Huh? Amnesty? What's he talking about?]."
"You know, if you have the right kind of policies, and you're not encouraging people to come here and encouraging them to stay once they're here, they'll go back, many of them, of their own volition, instead of having to, you know, load up moving vans and rounding people up. That's not going to happen." [We'll only encourage them to go back if the jobs dry up. And that will only happen when the Feds crack down on the millions of lawbreaking employers here! Will Thompson do this? Not the way he tells it. No mention of "employers" in his response]
**************************************************
In other words, he's against blanket amnesty--but would "want to figure out some way to make some differentiation..." sounds like another amnesty to me!! There are only two possibilities--either you're for laissez les tranquille (leaving them alone or giving them some form of amnesty) OR you're for arresting and deporting them. There IS no "middle ground" on this issue. Since he didn't mention employer sanctions or ENFORCING the Fed. laws on the books against employers hiring illegals, that indicates to me that Thompson would CONTINUE what Bush is doing--a little enforcement here, and none everywhere else, continued "catch and release" and the continued deaths of Americans at the hands of illegal aliens will continue. I don't think that is acceptable to most Americans. If you read americanpatrol.com, you'd know that we lose 13 Americans a day to drunk driving illegals and another 12 Americans to murder/rape by illegals. Here's what admired Rep. Steve King of Iowa reports:
U.S. Representative Steve King reported that we lose 13 Americans per day to drunken and/or unlicensed illegal aliens. He also reported that we lose an additional 12 Americans per day to murder by illegal aliens, and that 8 American children per day are molested by illegal aliens.
This cannot continue. And conservatives will not rally around a candidate who is not on our side. The LAST thing we need is another RINO in The White House. 8 years of the present one is enough, given the damage he's done.
levotb | 09.01.07 09:00 PM
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I like what I have seen from Mr. Thompson. He is a true Republican with true conservative beliefs and values. He will not back down on these values just because he is the president. I believe that his true advisor will be his Father in heaven. How can we go wrong with a man like that.
marcia | 09.08.07 10:50 PM
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