[Fred]Thompson Preaches GOP Values

STAMFORD -- Fred Dalton Thompson took his undeclared presidential campaign before Connecticut Republicans on Thursday, helping draw a full house of 600 to the party's annual fundraising dinner - and gathering a few political IOUs.

Panned by conservative commentators for an unfocused speech weeks ago before Republicans in the GOP stronghold of Orange County, Calif., Thompson delivered a well-received call Thursday for the party to stand firm in Iraq and demand secure borders at home.

Thompson said Republicans did not lose Congress last fall over Iraq, nor should they listen to Democrats about setting a deadline for withdrawing troops.

"I think it had to do more with pork barrel spending and corruption than Iraq," Thompson said of the 2006 election results. "And yet we are talking about deadlines, short deadlines."

Thompson said the path back to power will require Republicans to re-embrace the values of Ronald Reagan: smaller government, fewer federal entitlements, a secure border and a strong defense.

He also praised Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, the Democrat-turned-independent, as an example of a leader with deeply held values. "I was proud to contribute to his election," he said.

Thompson, 64, is an actor, lawyer and former U.S. senator from Tennessee whose name floated across the Fox airwaves as a potential presidential candidate in March, when the party was less than pleased with the contenders.

Best known as district attorney Arthur Branch in the television drama "Law & Order," Thompson teased his audience about his presidential intentions.

"All right, let's get the announcement out of the way - `Law & Order' will return for an 18th season," he said.

Thompson said Republicans must be the party of defense - against terrorists, against unguarded borders and against Democrats who would reverse the Bush tax cuts.

"The Democrats are waiting to attack those tax cuts, and the Republicans must push back and push back hard," Thompson said.

Thompson read from prepared remarks, frequently pulling on reading glasses. But he won better reviews in Stamford than in Orange County.

"I think he really spoke to this crowd very well, invoking Reagan," said Dean Pagani, a public-relations consultant who was former Gov. John G. Rowland's chief spokesman. "In terms of style, he is a candidate in training."

In some locales, Thompson is auditioning as The Great Right Hope, the candidate who might satisfy conservatives uncertain with the early front-runners, Arizona Sen. John McCain, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

But in Connecticut, where the only statewide Republican officeholder is Gov. M. Jodi Rell, a supporter of abortion rights who signed a same-sex civil union bill into law, the party generally looks for centrists.

Thompson, even as an undeclared candidate, ran third in a CNN poll this month with 13 percent, placing him behind McCain and Giuliani. But several Republicans said privately Thursday they are rooting for Giuliani, reasoning that the New Yorker would generate a huge Republican turnout in 2008 in Connecticut, helping GOP candidates across the ticket.

Republicans said privately that Thompson was accompanied by key political operatives, including Bob Davis, the Tennessee GOP chairman. Their presence signaled to Connecticut activists that Thompson was ready to run. Their mission was to meet major Connecticut donors. They left with the names of GOP fundraisers who are ready to help, a party operative said.

Thompson largely avoided the press, barely pausing on his way in and out of the Stamford Sheraton.

"Nope," he said with a broad smile. He paused at the door and said, "I'm 10 minutes late, and I haven't been to the bathroom yet."

Inside waited hundreds of party donors at the Prescott Bush Dinner, where attendees paid $250 for dinner and a smaller group paid $1,000 to have their picture taken with Thompson at a private cocktail party.

On his way out the door, he was asked about the chances he would run for president.

Liar.

- While in the Senate, he waged total war against government waste and fraud. Just one of many glowing reports from Citizens Against Government Waste:

CAGW PRAISES THOMPSON REPORT ON FEDERAL MISMANAGEMENT

Key excerpt: “Once again, Chairman Thompson deserves great credit for exposing the pervasive problems in the federal government,” CAGW President Tom Schatz said. “As CAGW has documented repeatedly, many federal agencies and programs are duplicative, unaccountable, nontransparent, get poor results, lose money, are mismanaged, and outdated. These problems have persisted for decades, and as this report indicates, are growing worse and require rapid action.”

http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=news_NewsRelease_06052001b

-He also ferreted out and brought to light federal abuses of power:

KEEPING BIG BROTHER FROM WATCHING YOU: PRIVACY IN THE INTERNET AGE

Key excerpt: This report brings to light one of Orwell’s worst fears—not only are government agencies sharing private, personal information about individual citizens and failing to inform them, but they are also overstepping checks and balances designed to prevent such abuses from occurring. Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) emphasized that the government was technologically challenged when he said that “the Administration is not enforcing the laws that Congress passed” and that the federal government’s underlying infrastructure is “riddled with vulnerabilities which represent severe security flaws and risks to our national security, public safety, and personal privacy.”

- He doggedly held the line on taxes; as one example, he was one of only 36 congress members and only 9 senators to receive the coveted “Taxpayers’ Friend” award from the National Taxpayers Union:

CITIZEN GROUP SALUTES “TAXPAYERS’ FRIENDS” IN CONGRESS: JUST 36 LAWMAKERS RECEIVE AWARDS FOR SCORES ON NTU’S 2002 RATING

Key excerpt: “Not all Members of Congress fought day in and day out during 2002 for the principle of limited government that is the cornerstone of our country’s greatness,” said NTU President John Berthoud. “Fortunately, at least 36 allies in Congress demonstrated an unwavering commitment to taxpayers. We are proud to honor this fiscal ‘coalition of the willing.’”

http://www.ntu.org/main/press_release.php?PressID=113&org_name=NTU

- He has been a tireless champion of federalism/states’ rights:

THOMPSON EARNS “RESTORING THE BALANCE” AWARD FROM NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF STATE LEGISLATURES

Key excerpt: WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Fred Thompson (R-TN), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, has been selected to receive the 2000 “Restoring the Balance Award,” presented by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). The award, given annually to national policymakers committed to federalism and its impact on issues involving state legislators, was presented to Thompson last night at the NCSL’s Leader to Leader Dinner in Washington.

-snip of complimentary quote about Fred just for brevity’s sake-

Thompson’s dedication to the principles of federalism and sound government policy has resulted in the Committee’s advancement of the Federalism Accountability Act, and Senate passage of the Regulatory Right to Know Act, the Federal Financial Information Assistance Management Improvement Act, the Truth in Regulating Act, and revision of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

******

In the Senate, Thompson also led the charge to rein in the unelected bureaucracy and stop them from making laws (which are Constitutionally legislative powers).

As Chair of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Thompson sponsored the Regulatory Right-to-Know Act. S.59 was a bill to provide Government-wide accounting of regulatory costs and benefits.

Thompson’s remarks upon introducing the bill:
Mr. THOMPSON. Mr. President, today I am introducing the ``Regulatory Right-to-Know Act of 1999.’’ I am pleased that Senator BREAUX and Majority Leader LOTT have joined me in this effort. Our goals are to promote the public’s right to know about the benefits and costs of regulatory programs; to increase the accountability of government to the people it serves; and ultimately, to improve the quality of our regulatory programs. This legislation will help us assess what benefits our regulatory programs are delivering, at what cost, and help us understand what we need to do to improve them.

By any measure, the burdens of Federal regulation are enormous. By some estimates, Federal regulation costs about $700 billion per year, or $7,000 for the average American household. I hear concerns about unnecessary regulatory burdens and red tape from people all across the country and from all walks of life-small business owners, governors and local officials, farmers, corporate leaders, government reformers, school board members and parents.

There is strong public support for sensible regulations that can help ensure cleaner water, quality products, safer workplaces, reliable economic markets, and the like. But there is substantial evidence that the current regulatory system is missing important opportunities to deliver greater benefits at less cost. The depth of this problem is not appreciated fully because the costs of regulation are not as apparent as other costs of government, such as taxes, and the benefits of regulation often are diffuse. The bottom line is that the American people deserve better results from the vast resources and time spent on regulation. We’ve got to be smarter.

We often spend a lot of time debating on-budget programs, but we are just breaking ground on creating a system to scrutinize Federal regulation. This legislation does not change any regulatory standards; it simply will provide better information to help us answer some important questions: How much do regulatory programs cost each year? Are we spending the right amount, particularly compared to on-budget spending and private initiatives? Are we setting sensible priorities among different regulatory programs? As the Office of Management and Budget stated in its first ``Report to Congress on the Costs and Benefits of Federal Regulations’’:

[R]egulations (like other instruments of government policy) have enormous potential for both good and harm....... The only way we know how to distinguish between the regulations that do good and those that cause harm is through careful assessment and evaluation of their benefits and costs. Such analysis can also often be used to redesign harmful regulations so they produce more good than harm and redesign good regulations so they produce even more net benefits.

There is broad support for making our government more open, efficient, and accountable. This legislation continues the efforts of my precedessors. Regulatory accounting was a part of a regulatory reform bill that unanimously passed out of the Governmental Affairs Committee in 1995 when BILL ROTH was our chairman. In 1996, when TED STEVENS became our chairman, he passed a one-time regulatory accounting amendment on the Omnibus Appropriations Act. I supported Senator STEVENS’ effort when it passed again in 1997, and I sponsored a similar measure last year, with the support of Senators LOTT, BREAUX, ROBB and SHELBY. There also is a broad bipartisan coalition in the House that supports regulatory accounting.

This legislation will continue the requirement that OMB report to Congress on the costs and benefits of regulatory programs, which began with the Stevens amendment. This legislation also adds to previous initiatives in several respects. First, it will finally make regulatory accounting a permanent statutory requirement. Regulatory accounting will become a regular exercise to help ensure that regulatory programs are cost-effective, sensible, and fair. Second, this legislation will require OMB to provide a more complete picture of the regulatory system, including the incremental costs and benefits of particular programs and regulations, as well as an analysis of regulatory impacts on small business, governments, the private sector, wages and economic growth. OMB also will look back at the annual regulatory costs and benefits for the preceding 4 fiscal years, building on information generated under the Stevens amendment. Finally, this legislation will help ensure that OMB provides better information as time goes on. Requirements for OMB guidelines and independent peer review should improve future regulatory accounting reports.

Government has an obligation to think carefully and be accountable for requirements that impose costs on people and limit their freedom. We should pull together to contribute to the success of responsible government programs the public values, while enhancing the economic security and well-being of our families and communities.

*******

After being in the Senate for less than a week, Thompson was tapped to give the Republican response to President Bill Clinton’s “Middle-Class Tax Cut” address on December 15, 1994 . The speech and response were televised nationally. A photo caption in the next day’s Washington Post read: “Sen. Fred Thompson: His charismatic delivery of the GOP response was reminiscent of Ronald Reagan.” During his first years in office, the new Senator continued building his political resume by serving on the Senate Judiciary Committee and as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Youth Violence.

Additionally, Thompson initiated a Congressional investigation into a friendly fire incident during the Gulf War which claimed the life of Sgt. Lance Fielder of Nashville . The Army had covered up the fact that Fielder was killed by friendly fire, and then bestowed medals on the higher-ranking officials who made the decision to fire upon Fielder in an area where they knew that American forces were operating. The investigation ultimately resulted in the forced retirement of the commanding officer of the unit that fired shots at Sgt. Fielder and others, and the revocation by the Army of the medals that had been awarded to those responsible for the incident.

Thompson also made history as the first Senator since World War II to become a major standing committee chairman after only two years in office, earning appointment as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs. As Chairman of this committee, which is charged with overseeing the efficiency of the federal government, Thompson worked with the General Accounting Office to unveil the first-ever audit of the federal government, held hearings to spotlight government waste, fraud, and abuse in federal agencies, worked with government agencies to ensure computer security, and introduced the Regulatory Improvement Act, which increased government accountability to the public.

The defining moment of the Senator’s time as Chairman, however, came in 1997, when the Governmental Affairs Committee was tapped by the Senate leadership to conduct an investigation into alleged improper or illegal activities growing out of the 1996 federal campaigns. At the center of the investigation was a fundraiser attended by Vice President Gore at a Buddhist temple. The Committee exposed a campaign finance system rife with abuse and open to foreign influence, and produced a 9,600-page report that led to several indictments and criminal investigations.

Thompson served as Chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee until June 6, 2001 , when Senator Jim Jeffords’ resignation from the Republican Party changed the control of the Senate from Republican to Democratic hands. Thompson then became the committee’s Ranking Minority Member.

In 1998, Thompson was chosen by Senate leadership to serve on the special Senate task force to examine whether the Chinese governmental improperly obtained American satellite and missile technology. In addition to a review by six federal agencies of the entire dual-use and munitions export licensing process, Thompson also proposed legislation to curb the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by China and other countries and to strengthen the United States’ response to such activities.

During his second term in the Senate, Thompson also served on the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over a number of major issues, including taxes, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, welfare reform, and international trade.

Source: MPA: The Fred Thompson Papers, 1993 - 2002

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1811693/posts?page=22#22

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