Posted on 07/23/2007 6:04:09 AM PDT by pissant
In the last six months or so, when my Democrat friends have engaged me in discussions about Hillary Clinton, at some point I usually ask them a simple question to gage their support, knowledge, and level of commitment to their candidate. The question is, “What has Senator Clinton accomplished in her life, in her career to qualify her to be President of the United States?”. And of course they know who I support and they generally know his amazing credentials and experience, so when I press them for answers to, “What has she actually done that sets her apart?”, I almost always get a totally blank stare, with no reply.
So I got to thinking about Fred Thompson. Many people are discussing Fred Thompson’s imminent entry into the Republican race for the nomination. More importantly, there are those who back him in that race. It is they to whom this blog post is directed; it is not directed to those visitors who are committed to Mitt Romney. I am only looking to the true Fred Thompson supporters for comments to be left on this post.
There are a number of questions that come to mind for any FT supporter to answer, such as:
– Why is Senator Thompson the superior candidate to be the Republican nominee in 2008? Specifics. – What specific leadership qualities make him superior to Mitt Romney? – What specific leadership experience qualifies Senator Thompson as superior to Mitt Romney? – We know the dozens of huge successes in Mitt’s career. What specific successes in Senator Thompson’s life or career are superior to those of Mitt Romney?
Please feel free to leave any comments you wish as long as they are specific. Your comments can be both objective (measurable) or subjective (qualitative).
To assist you in crafting your answers, here are some examples. An example of an objective answer to the above questions regarding Mitt Romney for instance is that “he has been an executive; a leader of large entities most of his career.” Another example of an objective answer is, “Thompson is an actor; Romney is not.” An example of a subjective answer, again referring to Mitt Romney, would be that “he is a better communicator than Senator Thompson”.
Poor or non-answers are things like, “Well, I just like him better!”. Though obviously subjective, that answer has no meaning except that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
This is a perfect opportunity and forum for all FT supporters to show the rest of us why their candidate is the best. Here is a forum in which many who visit this site either support Mitt Romney for President, or the visitors here are considering Mitt Romney’s strengths and attributes in relation to the possibility he might be the be the best candidate. So here is a perfect place for all supporters of Senator Thompson to come on over and give us all the specific reasons FT is more qualified than Governor Romney to be the chief executive of the largest entity in the world and in world history.
All I ask is that in your comments, you be very specific and provide facts where possible. You have obviously chosen to back, support, and promote Senator Thompson for President. You obviously believe Fred Thompson is superior to Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, and Mitt Romney and should be our (Republicans’) choice to run against the Democrat challenger. As you present your arguments, answers, and comments, please qualify them by answering the “why” question.
Your comments should be completely positive. What do I mean here? Your answers are about Senator Thompson and his superiority; this is not a forum to tear down and to be negative. If you would rather tear down or criticize any other candidates, including Mitt Romney, please go to another site. If you choose to leave comments of a negative nature, we may delete them. Please leave all the positive comments you wish in favor of Fred Thompson, but again, please be very specific and be clear as to how they are in fact superior by comparison and contrast. This is very simple.
Fred Thompson supporters: This is your opportunity to show us all why Fred Thompson the man, the leader, is superior to Mitt Romney.
~ Vic
From http://www.imwithfred.com/About.aspx:
“During his time in the Senate, Thompson focused on three key areas: lowering our taxes, strengthening national security, and what the American-Statesman called “the unglamorous work of trying to expose waste” and to change the federal government. All have taken on even greater importance today than they had back then. In each of these areas, Thompson accomplished a great deal.
Reforms
>As Chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, Thompson enacted a law that required federal agencies to calculate and report the cost of regulations on taxpayers and businesses.
>Press reports stated: “He put heat on federal agencies by holding hearings on mismanagement and by asking them to tote up the improper payments they made each year.” That added up to about $20 billion in taxpayer dollars. His efforts saved taxpayers more than $2 billion in 2005-06 along at the the Department of Health and Human Services.
>He published a two volume report, “Government on the Brink,” detailing the waste, fraud, and abuse of federal agencies as well as the management challenges facing the incoming Bush Administration. Paul Light, a New York University professor and leading expert on government, said, “I consider him to be one of the most dedicated overseers of the executive branch of the last 25 years.”
>Twenty-five years after he’d gained national prominence as hard-charging counsel on the Watergate committee, Thompson again stepped into the investigation spotlight. In 1997, as chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, he opened an investigation into attempts by the Chinese government to influence America policies and elections through, among other means, financing election campaigns. The investigation identified at least six Democrat donors and fundraisers, with ties to the Clinton Administration, who had laundered or aided in the laundering and distribution of foreign money into Democrat political party coffers. The investigation also exposed two Democrat Party donors with “a long-term relationship with a Chinese intelligence agency,” according to the Senate committee’s report.
Taxes
>In his eight years, Thompson, who served on the Finance Committee, supported and worked to enact three major tax-cut bills, reducing the federal tax burden on all of us.
National Security
>As a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Thompson focused on the threat of nuclear proliferation and technology transfers that could damage American industrial and national security.
>While a vocal supporter of free trade, Thompson has also fought to link free trade to our national security interests. For example, when voting to grant full-trading status to China, Senator Thompson fought unsuccessfully to include an amendment in the bill that would have required the president to impose sanctions against China if it violated nuclear-nonproliferation agreements.
>Thompson also served on the Intelligence Committee at a time when it examined the failings in intelligence and analysis leading into the September 11th terrorist attacks, as well as the reforms needed to better prepare for future threats.
Yeah, I forgot to mention the lack of spine. LOL
Sure there’s ambiguity with Hunter. His record shows that he’s not very good at managing the checkbook. He voted for the balanced budget amendment, but then voted with the dems multiple times against GOP efforts to enforce it and rein in spending. He voted multiple times for the largest entitlement increase of our generation, Medicare prescription drugs, until it finally passed. Once enacted, entitlement spending is the hardest spending to cut, and poses a national security threat since massive congressional spending leaves more debt in foreign hands and puts us on the “butter” side of the “guns or butter” equation.
I haven’t yet heard any of this clearly explained.
Exactly. The greatest achievement of Reagan's, on a purely national level, was his ability to share and create enthusiasm for America and her ideals. The media tried their darnedest to portray him as dumb and jingoistic, but the turnout for his funeral, for example, showed the love The People had for him.
Fred's "Reaganesque-ness" comes from the same source -- a creating and honoring of enthusiasm for true American principles by clearly and with "common sense" putting what is currently seen as "right-wing" in the moderate slot where it actually belongs.
Nope, no ambiguity. You may not agree with his votes for something in particular, but Hunter has never tap danced around the issues or his votes. Find me an example of Fred-esque tapdancing and I’ll retract it.
Once again you pin sumthin on me when it is something in the darn article.
You saw my last set of questions regarding Fred. Simple. Should be easy to answer. LOL
How is Fred superior?
First of all,he doesn’t have to live with the first name of “Mitt”.
Second of all...Fred’s just better!! Period!!
The FREDeration has spoken.... :)
Nope, only fredheads are ducking and weaving.
“Fred’s “Reaganesque-ness” comes from the same source — a creating and honoring of enthusiasm for true American principles by clearly and with “common sense” putting what is currently seen as “right-wing” in the moderate slot where it actually belongs.”
Well stated!
Good tagline : )
No Problem!!
No candidate can be in office very long without having to hold his nose and vote yea at sometime, whether it be a compromise to get something he holds dear passed or the lesser of two evils that’s simply the facts of life in politics. That’s why I don’t pay to much attention to individual votes and more to general tendencies. There is no Republican running that I would prefer any Democrat for I’ll support my man to the end but I’m not going to lay down and let a damn Democrat have it in a cakewalk while I sit home and whimper, no offense to anyone.
Hunter has yet to be confronted in a widespread way on his inconsistent votes (as far as I know). I’ve certainly seen tippy-tapping from his supporters in the past when they’ve tried to justify his support of massive spending on domestic issues as somehow defense-related.
The more people learn about Rudy’s history, the more he falls in the polls. On Thompson, I don’t believe there is a Dim who could beat him.
No tippy tapping. If you want to confront it head on, you better have the text of the bills and amendments at your fingertips. Like I posted the illegal alien benefit amendment for everyone to examine.
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