Sign the Fred Thompson for President Petiton
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Posted on 03/17/2007 6:59:35 AM PDT by shrinkermd
Fred Dalton Thompson's flirtation with a presidential run has conservatives hopeful for a white knight in a field of compromise candidates in the GOP. The man whose career has spanned both Washington and Hollywood, and who has championed both conservatism and clean government, has a resumé that would make for compelling political theater. However, one issue in particular dogs every mention of his potential, and that is his support for the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, or McCain-Feingold -- the main reason conservatives distrust John McCain and have not supported his own presidential campaign.
That may be changing. John Fund interviewed Thompson for the Wall Street Journal, and Thompson acknowledged the futility of the BCRA's approach:
On issues, he addresses head-on the major complaints conservatives have about his record. He was largely stymied in his 1997 investigation of both Clinton-Gore and GOP campaign fund-raising abuses: Key witnesses declined to testify or fled the country, though evidence eventually surfaced of a Chinese plan to influence U.S. politics. He won't argue with those who say he showed "naiveté" about how he would be stonewalled in his investigation. He says he's wiser now.
Many on the right remain angry he supported the campaign finance law sponsored by his friend John McCain. "There are problems with people giving politicians large sums of money and then asking them to pass legislation," Mr. Thompson says. Still, he notes he proposed the amendment to raise the $1,000 per person "hard money" federal contribution limit.
Conceding that McCain-Feingold hasn't worked as intended, and is being riddled with new loopholes, he throws his hands open in exasperation. "I'm not prepared to go there yet, but I wonder if we shouldn't just take off the limits and have full disclosure with harsh penalties for not reporting everything on the Internet immediately."
If Thompson rejects the BCRA, the implications could be significant. None of the sponsors or supporters of the bill would have the national reach Thompson will if he runs, with the exception of McCain himself. Thompson's change of heart would put immediate pressure on McCain and perhaps even jump-start the effort to repeal the law altogether. If Thompson makes it a campaign issue, he could immediately siphon off conservative support for other campaigns. (Romney pledged to repeal the BCRA at CPAC earlier this month.)
That would not be the entirety of Thompson's attractiveness, either. He spoke with Fund about cleaning up the CIA, one topic that never seems to go away despite all of the post-9/11 efforts to reform the agency and the intel community as a whole. He wants to promote federalism, ending programs that should be handled by the states and curtailing the overreach of the national government. Thompson also supports the extension of the Bush tax cuts, telling Fund that the Kennedy, Reagan, and Bush administrations have proven that lowering taxes creates long-term economic growth, and that "millionaires serving in the Senate learned not to overly tax other people trying to get wealthy."
All of this puts Thompson squarely in the Reagan mold, along with a track record of real reform. If Thompson grabs the anti-BCRA banner, he could carry it all the way to the White House
With a delicate pat on the hand for not getting your contributions up on the internet for a year or two? Phooey.
There's got to be immediate and meaningful penalties for failure to comply, or the whole thing is a joke.
The best part of that interview with Fund is that Thompson clearly gets it when it comes to federalism. The Senate voted 99-1 to impose a federal BAC of .08 when driving and Thompson was the one to vote against it because it's a state issue, not a federal one. Common sense really, but apparently it went over the head of the other 99 senators who were more worried about "voting for drunk driving" than respecting federalism. He also voted against a ton of other bills that were clear abuses of the interstate commerce clause. I could really get behind this guy.
...Giuliani told Wolf Blitzer that he was a "very, very strong supporter of Campaign Finance Reform," adding that he'd been "a very strong supporter of McCain-Feingold for a long, long time now."
Sign the Fred Thompson for President Petiton
Join the Draft Fred Thompson Bandwagon
If you'd like to be added to the Fred Thompson list, let Howlin or me know.
"telling Fund that the Kennedy, Reagan, and Bush administrations have proven that lowering taxes creates long-term economic growth,"
Ouch thats going to hurt Liberals, they hate when someone brings up similarities between Kennedy, Reagan and Bush.
Thompson in fact said this:
"Conceding that McCain-Feingold hasn't worked as intended, and is being riddled with new loopholes, he throws his hands open in exasperation. "I'm not prepared to go there yet, but I wonder if we shouldn't just take off the limits and have full disclosure with harsh penalties for not reporting everything on the Internet immediately..."
I like Duncan Hunter because I think he is more conservative but he can't win the general election. I know DH's fans don't like to hear this but we have to be realistic. I'm in with Fred Thompson.
But the Rudy people tell me I should oppose Thompson because he supported McCain Feingold.
And they tell me I should oppose Romney because he used to be pro-choice.
And they tell me I should oppose Gingrich because he had an affair while he was married and he is divorced.
I think the nice thing about Rudy is that there are so many flaws that you can't focus on them all.
I remember the U-Boat Commander nearly having a stroke in '91 when Dubya reminded the entire nation that JFK advocated tax cuts to stimulate the economy. One of the funniest things I've ever seen...
I'd appreciate it if he distanced himself from CFR with some reference to 1A, but it isn't a dealkiller for me.
As to his track record against the Clinton machine, hey, let's not lay all of it on Fred's shoulders. Moreover, whatever Clinton got away with, it served to vaccinate us against further Democrat rule; just as Carter's abominable performance led to a Reagan presidency in reaction.
In retrospect, I am relieved that Clinton was not removed from office. We'd be reading about President Gore right now.
The Rudybots are starting to remind me of the Hunterbots. They're both reminding me of the Brigadiers in 2000...
"I think the nice thing about Rudy is that there are so many flaws that you can't focus on them all."
Now THAT would make a great tag-line!..lol
In '91, so that would be Dubya's dad right?
that is funny though LOL
"I'm not prepared to go there yet, but I wonder if we shouldn't just take off the limits and have full disclosure with harsh penalties for not reporting everything on the Internet immediately."
Wow, interesting ideal.
Hey, let's call it "free speech" and let's amend the Constitution to protect it. We should have an amendment which says that "Congress shall make no law which prohibits free speech". Then, we'd be good to go!
Let's make this thing happen....
man, I would think this thread would have sky rocketed with post by now...
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