Posted on 03/08/2007 7:43:28 PM PST by West Coast Conservative
Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson is facing increased calls to get into the 2008 GOP nomination race.
Sources told FOX News that Thompson, 62, now one of the stars of the popular NBC prime time series "Law & Order," has not ruled out a presidential bid, and has authorized advisers and supporters to continue to gauge support.
Advisers are holding regular strategy sessions, investigating fundraising avenues and private polling to measure enthusiasm. Perhaps pre-eminent among a number of prominent Thompson backers working behind the scenes is former Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker.
Baker has been a mentor to Thompson since before the Senate's Watergate hearings, for which Baker hired Thompson as majority counsel and for which Thompson earned fame for having Baker ask the key question that led to President Richard Nixon's downfall: "What did the president know and when did he know it?"
Baker ran for president himself in 1980. Thompson eyed the White House in the 1990s.
While Thompson, who also helped raise money and advise I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's legal defense fund, continues to mull a bid, sources said he has been inundated with calls from GOP donors and supporters urging him to run.
Thompson has a solid and consistently conservative voting record that his supporters said makes a stark contrast to Republican frontrunners Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney.
This week, he told radio news host Mark Levin that he would have something to say about his plans, but not yet.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
It'll be a long time before I get that sexy.
BLITZER: Now you were a supporter of John McCain during the primaries, and of course immediately after he lost, you went and supported Governor Bush.
Can these two wings of the Republican Party -- the Bush majority, obviously, but the McCain supporters, the independents -- can they get together and forge a coalition that will really be united?
FRED THOMPSON: I don't think there's any question about it. And first of all, John McCain has started that process himself. I mean, he's here in full support of the ticket and really their support comes from a common ground. I think in both cases there's a concern about what's going on in Washington. There's concern about the tenor of politics, there's concern about what's been going on the last several years both substantively and in terms of behavior in the White House and all that, and all that kind of melds together in peoples' minds.
John [McCain] thinks in terms more of legislative solutions such as campaign finance reform, which I think is a good one. . . .
BLITZER: Campaign finance reform -- the signature issue of John McCain. You were one of the few Republicans that joined him. You supported him on that. There are a few more now that are coming aboard. Is there momentum moving toward McCain's position among Republicans?
THOMPSON: I think there's more than there has been. I think it's an idea whose time is in the process of coming. I don't think that our current system can last. But it's going to have to be equalized. Both parties are going to have to conclude that it's in the interest of the American people and that the American people are going to demand it, probably before they'll act. One side can't do it without the other.
It does me as well. It's a pretty sobering when dreaming about the perfect candidate.
South Park is always worth watching. I think it's gotten better overall, but I don't like the evolution of the Cartman character.
I stand corrected. He also had a few whining, spoiled kids that spent a great deal of time trying to undermine him.
Geesh, this sounds like something I posted on another thread today about another guy who wants to president.
I don't support that guy for president yet, but was incensed at some of the comments about him.
If Fred Thompson becomes president, he will be among a list of many from Tennessee. This state has a tendency to produce scoundrels and statesmen, sometimes wrapped up in one package.
Except apparently in 2000, he took the time to have someone tell NR he was pro-life.
I know! I know! I know! Pick me!
Same as 2000; even after GWB had the nomination, Keyes stayed in the race until after the convetion, up into the fall.
Keep those cards and letters coming, folks.
No reason to think it won't be different this time.
No one's trashing Thompson. Thompson's a great guy who'd be a good President IMHO. Exposing Fred's weaknesses is indicative of how shell shocked some of us are by the unrealistic perfection demanded by some of the ninnies here.
We might as well toss the dirt out and see if this guy can pass the ninny test.
No reflection on Fred, more of a reflection of some here.
Lovely.
Ugh, vegan. Still, I've always liked the guy. I'll check out the show.
The Keyes campaign supported the nominee from the convention on. Nice parsing of words there though.
I really think that Nancy spoiled their children badly. I think he probably had trouble putting his foot down with her.
South Park is a very good measure of what's going on in the world; it's one of the only shows that makes me think -- and keeps me "hip!" :-)
"I better stop now. There are a few on this thread that take this stuff VERY seriously this far out—and here I am being shallow and irreverent. :-D"
I hate to tell you this but the "serious folk" can probably read your tiny copy. Oh, well. ;0)
Politics is important, but we are a ways out from this election, so I think you can goof around a bit.
I been kicked around by the thought police a few times in this forum. When the "very serious" lurk about I unfortuantely don't take them all that seriously, neither should you.
But if he wants to, I have a ready-made issue for him. Obama used the verb "jigger". I joked that it sounded like a slur. Guess what? It is!
The right really needs to learn how to feign outrage and I think Keyes could do it!
You said it.
The only weaknesses as far I can tell, from my point of view, are his past support of CFR and the tort lawyer lobby.
Everybody else dropped out in the first of February, but Keyes had to drag it out to keep those donations coming in until a few days before the convention; he didn't drop out until Bush named Cheney as VP nominee.
It sucked.
The Keyes campaign supported the nominee from the convention on.
What the hell else choice did you have?
Even National Review wasn't buying it.
From your link:
The latest issue of NR includes a rundown of possible Bush running mates. In passing, it mentions that Senator Fred Thompson, the Tennessee Republican, has the drawback of being pro-choice. His office called today to say that Thompson is actually pro-life.
Thompson has certainly voted with pro-lifers almost all the time. The National Right to Life Committee counts votes for John McCain-style campaign-finance reform, which Thompson supports, as anti-pro-life votes, but otherwise he's been solid. The senator voted against the Harkin amendment, which put the Senate on record favoring Roe v. Wade. But when Thompson ran for Senate in 1994, he did so as a supporter of legal abortion, as several press clips from the time pointed out. NR has also obtained a copy of a letter Thompson sent to a constituent in 1997, which notes that Thompson supports various restrictions on abortion but also includes the line, "I believe that government should not interfere with individual convictions and actions in this area."
The upshot: Thompson is an ally of pro-lifers in all the actual fights that come up, but he's not one of them on the core issue. Unless, that is, he has changed his mind, as suggested by his current self-description as a pro-lifer. In that case, NR would be more than happy to print a correction — and welcome him aboard.
I'm a Rudy supporter. If Thompson enters the race I would very likely jump to his side.
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