Fred Thompson backs off lobbying denial

Fred Thompson is backing off his flat denial that he once lobbied for an abortion-rights group. He now says he doesn’t remember it, but does not dispute evidence to the contrary.

The climb-down could be a significant embarrassment for a prospective candidate with a plain-spoken appeal and who has courted the GOP’s anti-abortion base, although Thompson and his advisers had signaled for several days that it was coming.

Realizing that opponents in both parties are mining his legal career for damaging ammunition, Thompson also is engaging in a bit of preemption. He writes in a column posted Wednesday by the conservative Power Line blog: “[I]f a client has a legal and ethical right to take a position, then you may appropriately represent him as long as he does not lie or otherwise conduct himself improperly while you are representing him. In almost 30 years of practicing law I must have had hundreds of clients and thousands of conversations about legal matters. Like any good lawyer, I would always try to give my best, objective and professional opinion on any legal question presented to me.”

The abortion-rights issue arose when the Los Angeles Times reported last week that Thompson had “accepted a lobbying assignment” from the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, which wanted the administration of President George H.W. Bush to relax a restriction on federal payments to clinics that offered abortion counseling.

Thompson spokesman Mark Corallo told the Times in an e-mail: “Fred Thompson did not lobby for this group, period.” The Times said minutes from a board meeting of the group suggested otherwise.

On Thursday, Corallo offered a less sweeping comment about Thompson and the group: “He has no recollection of doing any work for this group. And since he was of counsel and not a member of the firm, it was not unusual for the firm’s partners to trot their clients in to meet him, get his views and even some advice.”

So the difference may boil down to how you define “lobbying.” It has been clear for several days that Thompson was not going to stick with a complete denial. When an Associated Press reporter asked him about the matter this weekend at the Young Republicans National Convention, he deflected with one of his folksy observations: “I’d just say the flies get bigger in the summertime. I guess the flies are buzzing.”

Then in an interview with Sean Hannity that was reported by Thomas B. Edsall of The Huffington Post, Thompson was even more evasive: “You need to separate a lawyer who is advocating a position from the position itself.”

The former “Law and Order” actor has an anti-abortion voting record as a U.S. senator from Tennessee, but some statements he made early in his political career have led some conservatives to question whether he once had favored abortion rights.

The lobbying controversy illustrates the harsh scrutiny that awaits Thompson when he formally kicks off his campaign, and shows the difficulty of trying to answer high-stakes questions without a full campaign infrastructure.

Thompson aides say they do not believe the brouhaha has hurt him with Republican voters. “Consider the source,” said one Thompson adviser. “Conservatives don’t pay much attention to liberal groups that say they want to help, and tell them why their guy isn’t as great as they think.”

The lobbying story is one of several recent pieces criticizing Thompson, and advisers are now considering pushing back his announcement even further. They had planned to schedule the announcement before an Aug. 5 debate in Des Moines, Iowa, but now are considering jumping in even later than that.

The advisers say they realize how searing the scrutiny will be and want to be ready. And they want to have more of their staff in place. Thompson has to convince skeptics he’s ready for the race and ready for the job, and hopes that a top-flight campaign operation will help make that case. The announcement date will be based on factors that include IRS regulations governing when Thompson will have to disclose the millions of dollars he has already raised.

Thompson says in the Power Line column that he had “half dozen or so lobbying clients.” His column concludes: ‘I’m certainly not surprised that such a diverse career is being mined by others. As we get further into this political season we will undoubtedly see the further intersection of law, politics and the mainstream media.”

Email from the National Right to Life Committee (Fred alert!)
National Right to Life Committee | July 8, 2007 | Karen Cross

Posted on 07/13/2007 12:23:28 PM CDT by Sturm Ruger

It appears that there is an attempt to create confusion regarding former Senator Fred Thompson’s pro-life position.

You can go to National Right to Life’s website to see Senator Thompson’s voting record against abortion, euthanasia, and experimentation on unborn babies’ bodies. As you can see, Senator Thompson had an excellent pro-life voting record while in the U.S. Senate.

I am concerned that someone may be misleading you about his record. Regardless, I assure you it was not from National Right to Life. National Right to Life PAC supported Senator Thompson for the U.S. Senate in 1994 and 1996, and considered him to be a very pro-life Senator.

Senator Thompson has since reaffirmed his pro-life position. I am attaching a link to the statement he made to the National Right to Life Convention:

Fred Thompson’s statement to the National Right to Life Convention

Thank you for your interest and concern on this critical issue.

Sincerely,
Karen Cross
Political Director
National Right to Life Committee
512 10th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20004

Soon to be 50-50

Good luck..... Seems its been stuck on 3 - 2 for the past few weeks when compared to Thompson....... Remember Keyes, Buchanan won every FR poll back in 99-00.

When compared to the entire field it changes to the following.......

Member Opinion
Fred Thompson	50.9%	1,405
Duncan Hunter	18.5%	511
Mitt Romney	6.7%	185
Ron Paul	6.4%	177
Rudy Giuliani	5.8%	161
Undecided/pass	4.7%	131
Tom Tancredo	4.3%	120
Other	1.1%	30
Mike Huckabee	1.0%	27
John McCain	0.4%	12
	99.8%	2,759

Good luck but 50-50 isn't the general populace out there in the fruited plains either..... More like a - among the national polls and state polls. But that's the beauty of the primaries as even wanabes can play for a while.

All that said should Hunter win the primary I'll support him in the general but I doubt he'll become my primary candidate.

THOMPSON WANTS DEBATE ON ABORTION DOWNPLAYED
Tennesee Commercial Appeal August 7, 1996, page A12

U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson says he seldom hears about abortion in campaign travels throughout Tennessee and hopes the issue is downplayed at the Republican National Convention.

The Tennessee Republican, an abortion-rights defender in a party with an anti-abortion tilt, is preparing for next week’s convention in San Diego. He said the party must avoid distracting issues and focus on electing Bob Dole as president.

‘’We need to concentrate on what brings us together and not what divides us,’’ Thompson said in an interview with The Tennessean published Tuesday.

Thompson said he opposes making early-term abortions a crime, as some Republicans would like to do with a constitutional amendment.

‘’But I don’t think you should bolt on one issue. I’m still not convinced platforms are a good idea. We know what we believe in and I don’t think we need to write it all down in a document,’’ Thompson said.

‘’We’re going to have to decide in this country whether we reduce the number of abortions or fight about the number of abortions. There are lots of things that we could do in terms of education and adoption to reduce the number of abortions. The two sides are so vigorous in opposing each other that they ignore the question of the number of abortions taking place.’’

Thompson, a lawyer and actor born in Lawrenceburg, is seeking to keep the Senate seat once held by Vice President Gore.

In 1994, an obscure opponent got 37 percent of the vote against Thompson in the Republican primary, which some observers attribute to an abortion backlash.

Last week Thompson got 96 percent of the Republican primary vote against another unknown opponent.

Abortion isn’t likely to emerge as an issue in Thompson’s 1996 general election campaign. His Democratic opponent, Covington lawyer Houston Gordon, favors abortion rights, said campaign manager Joyce McDaniel.

1996 Tenneseans for choice Questionaire:

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

THOMPSON EDGES CLOSER TO GOP RUN FOR SENATE

Tennessee Commercial Apeal, July 29, 1993, page B1

Tennessee's first seriously contested U.S. Senate election in 10 years came into focus Wednesday as Nashville lawyer Fred Thompson filed as a likely Republican candidate in 1994.

Thompson, 50, said his campaign for the seat vacated by Vice President Gore is still exploratory, but said ''the likelihood is great'' he'll formally enter the race early next year. Until then, he'll increase his public appearances across the state and build a warchest of campaign contributions.

His entry sets up a probable showdown with Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.), the early Democratic front-runner who has been campaigning for months and has $1 million in campaign contributions banked. Cooper's Fourth Congressional District stretches from Morristown in East Tennessee to Savannah in West Tennessee.

If Sen. Harlan Mathews (D-Tenn.) does not run for election to the seat to which he was appointed in January by Gov. Ned McWherter - and he is not expected to do so - it will be the first contest for an open Senate post in Tennessee since former Republican senator Howard Baker did not seek re- election in 1984. Senate elections since then have involved Gore and Sen. Jim Sasser as strong Democratic incumbents against underfunded and relatively unknown Republican challengers. Sasser is also up for re-election next year.

Thompson has never run for public office but has long been active in Republican politics, first as a protege of Baker. Baker appointed the Lawrenceburg native as the Republican counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee in 1973. Thompson maintains law practices in Nashville and Washington, where he also lobbies Congress.

Thompson may be better known outside politics as a part-time movie actor. Since he played himself in the Tennessee-filmed movie Marie in the mid-1980s, he has had supporting roles in nearly two dozen movies, including the current Clint Eastwood hit, In the Line of Fire.

In an interview Wednesday, Thompson depicted himself as a moderate Republican who will reach out to traditionally Democratic voters.

''I come from a middle class background in a rural county,'' he said. ''I worked and borrowed my way through school. I've met a small-firm payroll for over 20 years. I think I see eye to eye with most Tennesseans.

''I'm going to go hard for the middle class and working folks, and I'm going to be in the black community. I'm not conceding anything.''

Thompson took traditional Republican stands on several issues. He said he would oppose the labor-backed striker replacement bill awaiting Senate action that could make it illegal for business to permanently replace striking workers. Cooper voted against the bill when it passed the House of Representatives this year, saying it would hurt small business in his district.

Thompson said he supports the Supreme Court's Roe vs. Wade decision that established a constitutional right to abortion. He opposes federal funding for abortion and favors allowing states to impose limited restrictions on abortion, such as parental notification requirements for minors.

He also favors a constitutional amendment to limit congressional terms - including two six-year terms in the Senate.

Thompson is registered as a congressional lobbyist, currently for the Teamsters union's Central States Pension Fund, which has also been a law client of his for 10 years.

He has previously registered as a lobbyist for deposed Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide; Westinghouse Electric Corp., in support of the abandoned Clinch River Breeder Reactor nuclear power plant in Oak Ridge; and the U.S. subsidiary of a Canadian cable television company opposing legislation that would have blocked its entry into the U.S. market.

Thompson is an ''of-counsel'' attorney with the Washington law firm Arent Fox Kintner Plotkin & Kahn. His lobbyist registration forms show the firm's other foreign lobbying clients include Toyota Motor Corp., Perrier Group, Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan and International Computers Ltd.

Thompson said his law practice is general, including criminal defense, lobbying, wrongful death litigation, general business and corporate consulting. He serves on the board of directors of Boston-based Stone and Webster Engineering Inc.

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