Fredipedia: The Definitive Fred Thompson Quick Reference
Fred Thompson FAQ: THE Fred Thompson Web Resource
Posted on 07/29/2007 8:27:48 AM PDT by Josh Painter
Appearing before a national conservative convention here yesterday, former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee delivered a dry dissertation on federalism in America... But that didn't stop dozens of members of the American Legislative Exchange Council from surrounding him when he was done, each of them eager for a word, an autograph or a photo with the Republican presidential candidate.
"He has that Hollywood image, but at the same time, he comes across as sincere," Danny Nixon, a lobbyist from Oklahoma, said of Thompson, who is a movie and television actor as well as a politician. "That Hollywood draw is important to getting elected."
Some of Thompson's admirers said they even considered his willingness to lecture them on federalism a plus.
"It wasn't a rousing speech, but it takes courage to do something more thoughtful and philosophical in this sound-bite culture," said Jim Troyer, chief of staff for the Republicans in the Washington state senate. "He's a strong and serious person. He has the gravitas to be president, the presence we need in a commander-in-chief."
... The 64-year-old Tennessean, seen as a would-be champion of some of the more conservative elements in the Republican Party, has been running no worse than second (to former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani) in recent polls of GOP primary voters.
In his speech, Thompson criticized the Bush administration in several respects without referring directly to the president.
He said that the administration's signature education program, No Child Left Behind, has created huge compliance burdens for states without producing great results in the classroom.
And he blasted the White House-backed immigration bill that died in Congress a month ago, saying "it failed for good reason. The federal government simply had no credibility on this issue." The priority, he said, ought to be border security.
(Excerpt) Read more at philly.com ...
FRed Dawn--Nov. 5th 2007!
Outstanding post Sturm.
These are the kind of encounters that people will flock to and look forward to.
Fred is so connected with the American people it will be a pleasure to watch the competition try and co-opt his tactics.
Can anyone imagine Hillary lecturing the People on federalism? Or trying to discount it?
His recent essay on Federalism is outstanding.
I'd be willing to back him 100% if he'd state in no uncertain terms that he is totally opposed to:
Illegal immigration
The North American Union
The Security and Prosperity Partnership Of North America
20 second sound bites will not do the job for me. I need sentences, paragraphs, etc. Something like his wonderful essay on Federalism but on the entire illegal immigration/open borders issue.
We've had all these problems with President Bush. I need some solid assurance this nation destroying nonsense will end if Fred is elected POTUS.
Good points, good post!
I’m really sick and tired of immigration laws being ignored and the invading horde dragging our country into the sewer.
I’m ready for someone with the cojones to say, “NO! You will NOT invade my country. And if you try you will find the welcome most unpleasant!”
BORDER SECURITY!!!! - Fred Thompson
Obama calls Hazelton ruling ‘a victory for all Americans’ - same as all Democrats
Border security is a winner for our side!!!! We’ll get plenty of Democrats and independents voting for Fred over that alone.
Fred is the best game in town, requiring the least amount of compromises (from my perspective), and he can win. I would have preferred Duncan Hunter, but that isn’t going to happen, so, ...Go Fred, and do it soon.
Be sure to check out some of Sturm Ruger’s excellent links. I think many, if not all of your questions will be answered within them.
Congratulations !You are the first Duncan Hunter supporter( that I know of ) to state the obvious. Maybe with luck Fred might pick him for VP or another cabinet position.
I think Hunter would be excellent for a cabinet position, like Homeland Security!
Sad.. but I'm afraid you're correct. The last poll I saw, had him at 0%... down from his previous 1%. He's the best on what I consider the primary issues
...but, so much for what I think.
Hostage wrote: “Can anyone imagine Hillary lecturing the People on federalism? Or trying to discount it?”
Since she’s a socialist, no, I can’t imagine her lecturing on federalism. And since she’s faking right, I can’t imagine her actually admitting to her socialist views and defending them.
WOW! pissant’s gonna be devastated.
Were starting to see more articles on federalism - albeit only among largely conservative audiences - but so glad to the the Phili Inquirer at least mention the word. It's a start.
His supporters really need to start using the word a LOT - then explaining to anyone interested what it is.
With his knowledge of defense and military issues, Hunter would be a natural for SECDEF. That’s an extemely important cabinet-level position, and one he could use as a springboard for another presidential run.
I truly like the man (DH) - met him once - and he has all the right positions ....... but .... I would like to see him LEAD his campaign out the ‘also rans’ .. DoD surely needs LEADERSHIP, not just knowledge.
I’ll be supporting the Republican nomination for President!!!
I like Fred, his essays, and his speeches. But I don't like some of the people he's hired, and I question what his economic policy is going to be.
Fredipedia: The Definitive Fred Thompson Reference
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I'll guess you might be thinking of Abraham for one. If so, you've been lied to and bought it from the MSM. He's not a 'campaign manager' - I believe he was hired to be a beltway liaison.
If they aren't setting the policy (which they aren't) all it matters is that they are effective in doing what FRed needs them to do. He tells them what to do - they don't tell him what to think.
I would REALLY love to hear Fred discuss Federalism often and loudly:) And ...the very thought of Hillary trying to debate on the principles of Federalism...makes me smile.
Interesting the writer of this piece characterizes Fred’s speech as “dry”.....I guess the writer isn’t accustomed to hearing politicians speak ABOUT THE CONSTITUTION in terms of how it applies to POLICY...
I've been slacking off a the mouse the last few days. Has anyone from the Fred virtualcampaign tried to ease the sudden chill generated by the Abraham hiring?
Hillary has already come out against the “go it alone society”. I guess she forgot about family, friends, local community and self-initiative.
My own sister is quite liberal and agrees that the government is supposed to take care of us. She’s the youngest kid in the family, I’m the oldest and I keep thinking this has something to do with our politics.
Notice the reference to “dry dissertation” on federalism by the author of this piece. Journalists have GOT to be the laziest thinkers on the planet! I didn’t read further into the article, but I did read a transcript of his essay...Thompson is the ONLY candidate in the top tier so far who is giving substantative points of view. Journalists are more interested in talking about Hillary’s cleavage or Fred’s wife’s age than in accurately reporting what the candidates really believe. Of course, in the Democrats case, their beliefs change with the polls and have no substance. Most journalists of today are not only liberal, they’re just too stupid.
The ONLY correct answer!
I was really just trying to rass pissant. He’s so loyal to Duncan .
It’s not a matter of loyalty... if by the time you vote in the primary... the candidate you prefer has no delegates. Then it comes down to your second pick... or if not even that... basic damage-control.
Let me know what you think.
Agreed!
HE IS DOOMED!
On these sorts of demands for statements, if one cannot extrapolate from his “first principles” what his position is regarding the NAU fever dream, why would they believe his words? Since it’s all a huge conspiracy, we know that anything that tends to disprove it is automatically part of the conspiracy. I would prefer that he not even directly address this drek as it only lends it credibility by his speaking the words no matter what he says about it.
What is a .ram file?
My husband only gets on the internet to check out things related to his work, he doesn’t get the news from the internet. Just watches the local news for the weather. I keep him updated on events [the headline version]. I printed out the federalism essay for him to read when he had time.
He read it and his reaction was that Fred should be the next president, that he understood what was important. That his writings were presidential, showed intelligence. My husband was very enthusiastic.
I was too, we haven’t had many Republicans saying anything about federalism or limited government since Reagan. It is a big reason for complaints about Bush #41 and Bush #43. I can’t think of another candidate who “gets it” about limited government the way Fred does or who has a voting history that I like as Fred does.
Things are likely to be rocky about the campaign for the month of August because Congress goes on vacation, President Bush goes to Crawford and doesn’t do much to generate news, and the reporters have little to do except stir things up. Fred’s going to be busy getting ready to announce so I guess he has a big red target on his back for August. Be strong Fred, and run Fred run!
This from blogsforfredthompson:
Over the last few days, some conservatives have started to worry about Fred bringing aboard former Senator Spencer Abraham. They are worried that Abraham will be the campaign manager, and that his views on Immigration(open borders)and support for groups like CAIR, could be a bad move on Fred's part.
In today's NY Post, Charles Hurt reports about this subject via a discussion with a Thompson adviser.
One Thompson adviser dismissed the notion that somehow Abraham will slow down the nascent campaign.
"Spence is not going to be the campaign manager," the adviser said. "He won't be running anything."
That job will be in the hands of Randy Enwright, a veteran Florida Republican who is widely respected and also once ran the GOP in Iowa.
Hopefully this will calm some people down. Fred has been very strong in his support for securing our borders, so it doesn't make sense that he'd let Abraham walk in and change those views.
Hope that helps.
say what ????
I guess I must be missing something serious about the current economy .... please elaborate why that should be a negative.
I'm not that familiar with Lindsay, so checked out his resume:
Lawrence B. Lindsey is Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Director of the National Economic Council at the White House. From 1997 to January of 2001, Dr. Lindsey was a Resident Scholar and holder of the Arthur F. Burns Chair in Economics at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC. He was also Managing Director of Economic Strategies, an economic advisory service based in New York City. During late 1999 and throughout 2000 he served as then-Governor George W. Bush's chief economic advisor for his presidential campaign.
Dr. Lindsey served as a Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System for five years from November 1991 to February 1997. Additionally, Dr. Lindsey was Chairman of the Board of the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, a national public/private community redevelopment organization, from 1993 until his departure from the Federal Reserve. Prior to joining the Board, Dr. Lindsey was a Special Assistant to the President for Policy Development during the Bush Administration. He is a former professor of Economics at Harvard University. Dr. Lindsey also served three years on the staff of the Council of Economic Advisers during the Reagan Administration where he was Senior Staff Economist for Tax Policy.
Dr. Lindsey was born on July 18, 1954 in Peekskill, New York. He received his A.B. magna cum laude from Bowdoin College and his Masters and Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University. He is the author of The Growth Experiment: How the New Tax Policy is Transforming the U.S. Economy (Basic Books, New York, 1990) and Economic Puppetmasters: Lessons from the Halls of Power (AEI Press, Washington, DC, 1999),
Sounds like a reasonable background to get a candidate up to speed on ins & outs .. From what I've gleaned about FRed, let alone his maturity - somehow I doubt he's going to have his principles turned by anyone.
Thanks. It do.
Well, we don’t wont you to vote for any of the people he has hired. Just be sure and vote for him.
The only good tax cut was done in 2003 mostly by Bill Thomas, the chairman of the Ways and Means committee. I hope Fred knows that, but I doubt it since he hired Lindsey.
I was at that meeting in Philly and got to hear Fred speak.
I don’t know about that, the 2001 tax cuts were cuts on marginal rates across the board. And it was about as good as Bush could do at the time with a Democratic Senate. And they did blunt the damage to the economy caused by 9/11.
The 911 attacks did very little economic damage compared to what Alan Greenspan had already done. If anything they prompted Greenspan to end his war on the economy and add badly needed liquidity. If anything the 911 attacks probably did more positive for the economy than negative. Specific damage from 911 was limited to certain industries such as the airlines.
W is pretty much an economic idiot. What else can be said about a guy who was always against a capital gains tax cut, and someone who thinks uneducated, illegal labor is the growth engine of our economy?
The difference with Thompson is that he has a strong record on cutting taxes AND spending (he fought for meaningful balanced budget enforcement and against against entitlement spending, government waste and federal government expansion overall). One of the things that dismays me about a lot of GOP candidates is that they believe in cutting taxes but spending like drunken frat boys (under the misapprehension that growth will somehow fix all the out-of-control spending).
As far as I can tell, only Thompson, Paul, Tancredo and possibly Romney understand that you have to cut spending as well as taxes (and I’m not certain about Romney).
Excellent post.
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