Posted on 07/19/2007 5:51:44 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Americans best know Fred Thompson, who is soon to jump into the Republican presidential contest, as an actor. But he is also a former lobbyist and served eight years in the Senate.
Candidacy Status: Formed exploratory committee June 1, 2007.
For someone who has yet to formally get into the race, former Sen. Fred Thompson has stood out for his ability to command attention in national polls. Some surveys show the Tennessee Republican in second or third place — despite the months of campaigning by the other GOP hopefuls.
Thompson's focus right now is raising enough money to show he can mount a viable campaign for the nomination. He has not appeared on stage with any of his fellow Republicans during the debates. But from the beginning, he has operated on a different stage. Thompson has acted in more than 30 films, including The Hunt for Red October, and he is well-known for playing the character Arthur Branch on the highly rated Law and Order television program. Thompson has played up his on-camera charisma by waging much of his early campaign on the Web through blogs, podcasts and video.
Thompson was first elected to the Senate in 1994, winning the seat vacated by Vice President Al Gore. He ran as a Washington outsider, a common-sense economic conservative, traveling the state in a red pickup and wearing a flannel shirt — all the while underplaying his background as a Washington lobbyist. He won a second term with more than 60 percent of the vote in 1996.
Thompson quickly vaulted to chair the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, where he later led the investigations into allegations of improper fundraising by the Clinton-Gore campaign. His interest in overhauling the campaign-finance system continued with his support of the McCain-Feingold Senate bill, which introduced bans on soft money to national parties.
While Thompson may have strayed from the party line on that issue, he is generally regarded as a mainstream conservative. Thompson says he's pro-life, calling the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision "bad law and bad medical science." He often touts the fact that he was tapped by President Bush to usher John Roberts, now the U.S. chief justice, through the Supreme Court nomination process. Thompson also says that he is against embryonic stem-cell research, and he has a 100 percent rating from National Right to Life.
Thompson has described the stalled immigration legislation backed by Sen. John McCain as a "legislative pig," and he is against proposals that grant what he says would be amnesty to illegal immigrants. He speaks of immigration issues in terms of national security, demanding secure borders. On foreign policy, he supports the president's decision to increase the number of U.S. troops in Iraq.
Thompson, 64, is the father of a 3-year-old daughter and 7-month-old son with his second wife, Jeri Kehn. He has a son from a previous marriage. His oldest daughter, Elizabeth Thompson, died in 2002; her death is widely believed to have contributed to his decision not to seek another Senate term that year.
Oh good grief.....they are pushing Ron Paul.
If the Clinton-Chinagate thing is the best they can come up with on Thompson, the Dems are in big trouble.
The key to a Dem victory will be splitting the conservative vote, and hopefully provoking a third party idiot vote, like Perot.
Perot voters can claim ultimate responsibility for every result of the Clinton years.
Already debunked.
You need to consider Fred, for these reasons:
(1) He's a strong proponent of state's rights and federalism
(2) Is the only candidate to address the coming entitlement implosion
(3) Has name recognition, solid conservative record in the Senate, and knows the inside and outs of Washington
(4) Can reach out to independents and moderates without sacrificing the conservative base
Hunter, Tancredo, and Paul - God bless them, but they're Congressmen. Rudy and Romney are too liberal. It's time to consider Fred.
I see a Fred Thompson/John Bolton or Michael Steele ticket
Also: John Bolton or Joe Lieberman as Sec. of State
Duncan Hunter—Sec. of Defense
Tom Tancredo-Sec. of Homeland Security
etc...
When they have a convention, Reynold's stock will double... I do love the site though, "all Republican's suck, except Ron Paul..."
“I see a Fred Thompson/John Bolton or Michael Steele ticket
Also: John Bolton or Joe Lieberman as Sec. of State
Duncan Hunter—Sec. of Defense
Tom Tancredo-Sec. of Homeland Security
etc...”
Yes, and Rudy and Romney can be just plain old “secretaries” typing away down in some dingy Washington basement... where they can do no real harm.
RTO
“Some surveys show the Tennessee Republican in second or third place”
I wish the perfect candidate existed, but regardless of what your gut feeling might be, I don't think FDT is another Dole. But who knows, he might not even announce.
Please tell me how they were debunked, and please stop shilling Thomspon on this board.
Transparent, you are.
Read history, or remember it if you are old enough. Thompson was on that committee that let Clinton skate.
For the record, I'd vote for Thompson over Clinton too; I just don't think he's a good candidate. We can do better.
Figures you're from the UP...
This is just fodder written for the primary voters and those of us who pay attention to this stuff at this stage.
Guiliani is still Hillary Lite.
Romney is off attacking video games
R.Paul is busy being republican kucinich without the hot wife.
McCain is just plain finished
Everyone else is not a viable winner.
This leaves FDT, who is conveniently actually very palatable as a candidate. Worthy of my $$$ and time.
You're in a river in Egypt, and as for your derogatory and purile comment about the UP, GFY!
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