"Tenn. Sen . Thompson won't seek re-election"

dow jones news | 03/08/02 | dow jones

[ElRushbo]

"Tenn. Sen . Thompson won't seek re-election

[Devereaux]

If Ed changes his mind and runs for the Senate instead of Gov, does this mean we get stuck with Tax and Spend Jim Henry for our GOP canidate? I'm NOT voting for Henry, NO WAY NO HOW!

Gail, you have your Republican congressmen confused. It is Van Hilleary, not Ed Bryant, who is running for governor.

[wardaddy]

Clement has serious old Nashville yellow dog Democrat big money behind him no doubt but I still don't think a Dem can take TN statewide except in the governor's race which Taxquist has handed them on a silver platter. Folks think of governors locally and senators nationally.

[Hacksaw]

Glenn walked away from the hearings with everything but Thompsons shorts. Fred should have been ashamed of himself.

It was not his fault. Even I (as cynical as I am) was amazed at how low Glenn (and Dash-hole pulling the strings) were willing to go. And then Glenn got a free ride on the NASA shuttle. But I am sure that was just a coincidence. I wonder how that former hero can sleep at night. He literally put his party above national security.

I lived in Ohio when Glenn was a Senator, and I was so happy when DeWine was elected. It's kind of funny, too - because DeWine had the reputation of being this real right wing bastard, but turned out to be a moderate. Maybe the reputation came from his bare knuckle style of campaigning. In his first attempt at the Senate, he ran against Glenn and alsmost got sued by Energizer Battery for a parody ad he ran against Glenn. Glenn was outraged that anyone would dare question his integrity.

And for those who complain about DeWine and Voinovich, just ask yourself if you would rather have the men they replaced - 2 of the most pro-abort senators I have ever seen.

If anyone was to blame, it was the GOP for not putting a more ruthless person in charge of the hearings.

[wardaddy]

TennCare is what is killing us here....nothing else even comes close.

[BlackElk]

RINO Alexander was the prtime pusher of Goals 2000 to do a better job of turning government schooled children into absolute mindless drones. He is, in the immortal words of Dr. Samuel Johnson: a ass a idiot. He is a spoiled little ruch brat. He hasn't a principle to his name and if he weren't Skipper, he would be Muffy! You are made sick by people calling a RINO a RINO. We are made sick by having these left fluffballs continually inflicted on the party. Thompson was a fine man. LAMAR!!!! is a rank imbecile and southern fried Jeffords. Tennessee owes a lot more to America than LAMAR!!! Draft Marsha Blackburn, the State Senator who has stood up to Sunsquish and nominate Bryant for Governor and deport Sunsquish and LAMAR!!!

[Hacksaw]

You're kidding right? Sen. Shelby and Nighthorse Campbell both switched without giving the voters a shot at voting them out.

The switch they made did not have the affect that Jeffords did. The GOP was already in control of the Senate before they switched.

[wardaddy]

Yes....all the Fords are Memphis high society mulattos.

[JDGreen123]

Agreed. Bob Clement wants to serve a few more years, collect his pension, and retire.

[JDGreen123]

If Bredesen wins, get ready for major taxes. We in Nashville are still living under his opression.

[babble-on]

I take it you don't "test well"?

[wardaddy]

I have a conservative friend whose dad is one of Nashville's largest private real estate holders and his dad simply loves Clement as do a number of the Nashville elite who actually consider themselves "conservative". Obviously my buddy and his dad don't talk politics much...LOL.

[rdavis84]

"I could have sworn I heard Thompson on C-SPAN a couple of months ago announcing that he was running for reelection, despite earlier doubts and largely because of 9/11. If it is true that he changed his mind after that public announcement, I wonder what made him do it."

By The Associated PressNASHVILLE - U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson's daughter died Wednesday at the age of 38, his office said.

Elizabeth "Betsy" Thompson Panici died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center of a "severe brain injury resulting from cardiac arrest," the senator's office said. Press secretary Harvey Valentine said Panici had been sick, but he declined to discuss details.

Thompson was in Nashville at the time of his daughter's death to be with her. He released a statement saying the family wished "to express their gratitude to friends who have kept Betsy in their prayers."

Besides her father, Panici is survived by her mother, Sarah Knestrick; husband, Ronald Panici; son, Antonio; and brothers, Dan and Tony Thompson.

Visitation was set for Friday at Woodlawn Funeral Home from 2 to 4 p.m. CST and from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. CST. A funeral was planned for Saturday at Brentwood United Methodist Church at 11:30 a.m. CST. A private burial was planned at Mimosa Cemetery in Lawrenceburg.

Thompson, a Republican, has been in the Senate since 1994. Prior to that he was an actor and lawyer, and was minority counsel for the old Senate Watergate Committee in the 1970s.

January 31, 2002

[Hacksaw]

Yes....all the Fords are Memphis high society mulattos.

Hmmm. I couldn't tell whether he was white or black. Not that it really matters, I am just curious. It seems mixed race people turn out to be very attractive people - look at Vanessa Williams or Mariah Carey. Ford seems like a handsome guy.

[wardaddy]

We ??? Homeboy!!.....Forest Hills resident here. I work in Old Hicory mostly....34 miles each way crosstown ...6 days a week.

Phil came out against the state income tax a few days ago. But you're right he'd find a way to get it somehow...what's a little tax to a guy worth 2-400 million right. Anyhow...even if Phil were Tom Delay in drag I wouldn't want a Dem guv because of the strategical implications if for no other reason but I fear it's Phil's to lose ..so far.

Regards

[jackbill]

He's nice-looking, articulate, and sounds reasonable.

Sure, he sounds reasonable but then so does Dasshole. Ford is just another Lying, Stinking DemocRAT, just a bit more subtle than most.

[JDGreen123]

Most of you probably remember this from the 2000 election. It is a good story of how corrupt Tennessee politics can be. Its about Gore but has major sections on the Ford machine. Tennessee Underworld

No man can be held responsible for his relative's actions but doe the acron fall far from the tree?

Other Ford family info:

TennCare deal paid Ford $1.6 million

Casting Stones

[jdub]

I don't give a damn who died and or if he felt like he was half-dead himself. Run, win, and then resign.

What happens if Bredesen wins the Governors race? Then we have a Dem Senator.

[JDGreen123]

Yes. Bob's dad was as conservative as they come on most things while Governor. In those days you could not be a Republican in the South and have any chance. Governor Clement probably would have been a Republican or Zell Miller type Democrat if he were around today.

[Theodore R.]

Me too, drc43, TN Republicans always seem to disappoint us, though there is a very good congressman from the Knoxville area named John Duncan, who seems principled and reliable. I did not know that Senator Thompson had lost a grown daughter. It does seem a little late for him to announce that he is stepping down. I presume that the Democrat Harold Ford, Jr., of Memphis will have the inside advantage to this seat. I imagine TN is ready to return to its liberal Democrat roots, a la Gore, Kefauver, Hull, Cooper, etc.

[SuziQ]

This is big news. I know he stopped fundraising after his daughter passed away last month. I wonder if her death was a factor in his decision.

Good Grief! I didn't know anything about his daughter's death! How old was she and what happened?

I liked Fred Thompson, but it sure would be nice to get a real good conservative in that slot!

You reckon he's going back to acting? I LOVED his part in the movie 'Clear and Present Danger': "The Russians don't take a dump, son, without a plan!"