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Brody File Exclusive: Fred Thompson Abortion Questionnaire
CBN News ^ | June 14, 2007 | David Brody

Posted on 06/17/2007 9:14:40 PM PDT by monomaniac

The Brody File has in its' possession a Tennesseans for Choice questionnaire filled out by Fred Thompson. It was provided to The Brody File by a rival campaign. In it, he answers "no" when asked if he favors criminalizing abortion. This form was filled out by Thompson around 1996 though the exact date is unknown.

I know there are other questionnaires out there which Thompson filled out and which have already been reported. But this one is new.

Here's a key part:

Question: Please summarize your personal philosophy on the issue of reproductive choice

Thompson: The Supreme Court has attempted to delineate the constitutionally appropriate roles for individual and governmental decision-making on the issue of abortion. Beyond that, I believe that the federal government should not interfere with individual convictions and actions in this area

I would make an exception to this general rule of governmental non-interference in a very limited number of cases where government has a compelling interest in promoting the public welfare. For instance, I believe that states should be allowed to impose various restrictions if they so choose.

Click here

( http://www.cbn.com/images4/cbnnews/blogs/TennesseansForChoiceQuestionnaire.pdf )

to view the whole questionnaire in Adobe Acrobat format.

The person from the rival campaign who furnished the document told me, "It's notable that in the entire questionnaire he never once says he's pro-life or says what he thinks about Roe."

It's an interesting point. Fred Thompson may have a perfect Senate score with the National Right to Life but when he enters the race, he'll need to explain questionnaires like this one and others. Where was the fervent pro-life talk? He will be challenged on this just like Romney was for his pro-choice comments in the 1990's. I'm not saying they are the same. I'm just saying that it'll be important for Thompson to show some passion for the pro-life cause in 2008. In the 1990's you don't see it.

He looks to be treating the pro-life cause as a federalism type issue rather than a deeply held conviction. That may not be the case but the questionnaire raises the question: Just how much of a priority will the life issue be for a President Fred Thompson? Or is it just another Federalism issue? Comments?


TOPICS: News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Tennessee
KEYWORDS: 2008; abortion; elections; fredthompson; prolife
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1 posted on 06/17/2007 9:14:44 PM PDT by monomaniac
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To: monomaniac

probalby a Rudi forgery.


2 posted on 06/17/2007 9:16:21 PM PDT by balch3
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To: monomaniac

WOW! Let’s try to make something out of nothing!

What were his votes like in this area?


3 posted on 06/17/2007 9:17:38 PM PDT by Hazcat (Live to party, work to afford it.)
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To: monomaniac
He looks to be treating the pro-life cause as a federalism type issue rather than a deeply held conviction.

The SCOTUS made it a federalism issue in Roe v. Wade, regardless of any personal convictions. That has to be overcome before any progress can be made in the battle to eliminate abortion.
4 posted on 06/17/2007 9:19:07 PM PDT by wolfpat (If you don't like the Patriot Act, you're really gonna hate Sharia Law.)
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To: balch3

Uh, oh someone’s trying to dig up dirt on ole fred.

IMO—his voting senate record supercedes this questionnaire,,,right??


5 posted on 06/17/2007 9:20:27 PM PDT by DrewsMum (In AMERICA--For English: please stay on the line. All others: hang up, learn English, then call back)
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To: monomaniac
I think Roe was a mistake precisely because it federalized a contentious issue. My view is it ought to be overturned and each state should decide whether it wants to keep or eliminate abortion. Its not a perfect arrangement but we're not going get one in as diverse a nation as ours.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

6 posted on 06/17/2007 9:21:17 PM PDT by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
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To: monomaniac

IBFZ


7 posted on 06/17/2007 9:26:56 PM PDT by rockrr (09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0)
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To: monomaniac
This form was filled out by Thompson around 1996 though the exact date is unknown. I know there are other questionnaires out there which Thompson filled out and which have already been reported. But this one is new.

This looks like the same crap that has been posted numerous times for weeks. Thompson has explained his current views on abortion in multiple venues. It would seem the people most concerned about abortion would know what his views were in the mid 1990s.

" Darla St. Martin, co-executive director of National Right to Life Committee, said she came to Tennessee in 1994 to meet with Thompson. "I eyeballed him and listened" and came away satisfied he was anti-abortion, St. Martin said."

8 posted on 06/17/2007 9:28:11 PM PDT by Prokopton
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To: monomaniac
Fred's answer as reported above is completely consistent with his well-known positions on the abortion issue, which are:
  1. The Federal government has no Consitutional authority to criminalize abortion. Lacking such Constitutional authority, the Federal government cannot legally criminalize abortion.
  2. The Federal government has no Consitutional authority to prevent States from criminalizing abortion. Lacking such Constitutional authority, the Federal government cannot legally prevent States from criminalizing abortion.

9 posted on 06/17/2007 9:30:14 PM PDT by sourcery (Double Feature: "The Amnestyville Horror" and "Kill the Bill, Vol. 2")
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To: sourcery
The Federal government has no Consitutional authority to criminalize abortion.

They certainly do, if the child in the womb is a PERSON.

Do you think a child in the womb is a person?

10 posted on 06/17/2007 9:32:11 PM PDT by EternalVigilance ("You will have your bipartisanship." - Fred Thompson, May 4, 2007)
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To: Politicalmom

Worthy of the ping list?


11 posted on 06/17/2007 9:32:14 PM PDT by Theresawithanh (With an F, and an R, and an E, and a D, and an F-R-E-D...FRED!!!!!!!!)
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To: goldstategop
Its not a perfect arrangement but we're not going get one in as diverse a nation as ours.

So, some babies in America can be dismembered and killed in the womb, and some can't.

12 posted on 06/17/2007 9:33:19 PM PDT by EternalVigilance ("You will have your bipartisanship." - Fred Thompson, May 4, 2007)
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To: monomaniac

I do not believe that abortion is a major issue for Fred and that he will not be the champion so many pro-lifers like myself are looking for to be a leader of a culture of life. When I first heard Senator Thompson on the Sean Hannity Show, he made it very clear that he stands firmly against a national right to life amendment. Now, I know that some may argue that such an amendment is not realistic. Such an amendment may not be realistic, but I think a canidate’s position for or against it definitely shows that person’s commitment or noncommitment to the pro-life cause. Fred takes also stands against a marriage amendment and would have the courts decide.
I believe that social conservatives and particularly Christian conservatives should seriously question whether or not Senator Thompson may help their cause at all. In my opinion, Duncan Hunter is absolutely the best on social issues as well as a whole spectrum of other important issues America faces. He in fact is the only candidate who if elected President would choose judicial nominees who are pro-life as well as strict constructionists. By the way, Congressman Hunter also spoke the March for Life this year and reintroduced his Right to Life bill would effectively protect the life of every child from conception.


13 posted on 06/17/2007 9:40:08 PM PDT by c3heil (Duncan Hunter is the Answer for the Pro-Life Movement)
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To: monomaniac

Making abortion an issue in this Presidential Race is a dead end. The issue should be conservatism, and who has the vision, platform, and ability to expand the positive benefits of limited Federal Government in the broadest sense, while winning the war against Islamo-Fascism. Romney had made a good case. Duncan Hunter has made a good case. I think Fred is making the case, and I like what I hear, is he assembling the complete leadership team, can he recognize the talent that is poised to join his ranks? The Republican Party must show the Nation that we can lead the free world.


14 posted on 06/17/2007 9:41:58 PM PDT by mission9 (Be a citizen worth living for, in a Nation worth dying for...)
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To: mission9

Being pro-life is the core of conservatism. So your remarks are moot.


15 posted on 06/17/2007 9:43:27 PM PDT by EternalVigilance ("You will have your bipartisanship." - Fred Thompson, May 4, 2007)
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To: mission9
Romney had made a good case

Romney is a flat out liar.

16 posted on 06/17/2007 9:44:00 PM PDT by EternalVigilance ("You will have your bipartisanship." - Fred Thompson, May 4, 2007)
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To: c3heil

I think you nailed it.


17 posted on 06/17/2007 9:44:48 PM PDT by EternalVigilance ("You will have your bipartisanship." - Fred Thompson, May 4, 2007)
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To: monomaniac
Thompson: The Supreme Court has attempted to delineate the constitutionally appropriate roles for individual and governmental decision-making on the issue of abortion. Beyond that, I believe that the federal government should not interfere with individual convictions and actions in this area.

A masterpiece of doubletalk and misdirection.

He certainly doesn't openly dispute the legitimacy of Roe v. Wade. He seems to be in favor of allowing some state discretion in the matter. Beyond that, it's impossible to determine exactly what his position is.

FRedheads, your plain-spoken southerner seems to be speaking with a forked tongue.

18 posted on 06/17/2007 9:46:15 PM PDT by JCEccles
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To: EternalVigilance

Actually, they don’t. And this is the whole basis of the idea of state’s rights. The idea that, as this book that came out in the 80’s laid out, we’re not one nation per se, but rather a collection of nations united into the U.S.A.

The key principle of state’s rights is this, if you don’t like the laws in your state, you can move to a state where the laws and government fit your values. There can’t be a national standard because actually, we don’t have a national value other than patriotism. What we believe is usually determined by where we grow up and what culture we grow up in.

All repealing Roe does is send it back to the states. My state will outlaw abortion as soon as Roe is repealed. California probably won’t. That is what makes America work. We are 50 independent and self-governing states united together for common defense and economic policy.


19 posted on 06/17/2007 9:47:43 PM PDT by AzaleaCity5691
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To: EternalVigilance
They certainly do, if the child in the womb is a PERSON.

Except where there is no State (e.g, the District of Columbia,) it's State law that makes murder a crime, not Federal law. That's not an accident.

20 posted on 06/17/2007 9:50:53 PM PDT by sourcery (Double Feature: "The Amnestyville Horror" and "Kill the Bill, Vol. 2")
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