Thompson and the 'Laziness' Issue (MSM Bias Alert)

Newsweek ^ | June 2, 2007 | Holly Bailey

[Zakeet]

Does Fred Thompson have what it takes to be president? The former senator turned "Law & Order" actor, who launched an exploratory committee last week, has been dogged by rumors that he doesn't have the work ethic for a long campaign. "The book on him is he's lazy," David Keene, president of the American Conservative Union, said last week. The criticism seems fed by Thompson's time in the Senate, where he maintained a less rigorous schedule than his colleagues and was known to duck out of late-night debates. Of the 90 bills he introduced during his eight years in the Senate, only four became law.

Thompson has never denied being irritated with the pace of Senate life and cited it as one of the reasons he opted out of a 2002 re-election bid. "I don't like spending 14- and 16-hour days voting on 'sense of the Senate' resolutions on irrelevant matters," he said in 1998. "There are some important things we really need to get on with—and on a daily basis, it's very frustrating." His 2008 competitors have privately questioned his endurance, with one rival consultant (anonymous so as not to reflect badly on his own man) telling NEWSWEEK, "I doubt he has the fire in the belly to compete."

[Beagle8U]

“if they fail to delete enough in any single year, laws would be deleted at random”

LMAO! Wouldn’t that be a hoot. Just number all the laws and throw them in a hat and draw some out.

You could watch the RATS have a stroke as they drew out laws on special taxes etc.

[prairiebreeze]

Well, we all know how studious, industrious, hard-working, ethical and above board our own media is.

(snort!)

[Inspectorette]

"I don't like spending 14- and 16-hour days voting on 'sense of the Senate' resolutions on irrelevant matters," he said in 1998. "There are some important things we really need to get on with—and on a daily basis, it's very frustrating."

Can you imagine having to sit hour after hour listening to blowhards like "Sheets" Byrd and Teddy the Swimmer droning on and on! It's like sitting in a staff meeting listening to the usual blah, blah, blah, yak, yak, yak, while important issues get shoved to the back of the bus. No wonder Fred got out.

[word_warrior_bob]

Fred has written position papers and given radio addresses as to where he stands on just about every issue.

The media is too lazy to read and report about it, isn’t that what’s SUPPOSED to be important, where a candidate stands on the issues.

Not to the “geniuses” in the media, arent’ you supposed to REPORT about a candidate? There is no reporting anymore, just opinion, endless navel gazing, every article is a contest as to who can be the most clever, or nasty, or witty.

Fred Thompson is light years smarter than anyone who will be “reporting” on him, just like Reagan. Reagan left a paper trail a mile long about where he stood and the “reporters” still called him a “puppet” and an “actor”.

[ClarenceThomasfan]

While I don’t think Fred is lazy, I do think his health problems are a factor. He doesn’t look well. Have you seen the bags under his eyes?

We need a strong candidate with stamina who can work 24/7 if we want to beat Hill/Obama next year.

[Volunteer]

If this is an example of what the MSN and their masters in the DNC have planned for Fred, I think it is clear that they are afraid... very, very afraid of Fred.

Run Fred, RUN!

[JennysCool]

"The book on him is he's lazy"

PRECISELY what the Drive-By Media said about Reagan. They even spin their 20-year-old spin.

[OldPossum]

"The book on him is he's lazy," David Keene, president of the American Conservative Union, said last week.

Here's a fellow who won't be getting any White House invitations during 2009-2016.

[perfect_rovian_storm]

I actually don’t think that’s a sign of bad health. I think it’s the sign of a guy who’s always been a little on the chunky side that decided to lose a bunch of weight for this campaign, which he obviously did.

Of course, trolls can say that he lost weight because of the lymphoma, but according to him, he’s never actually had any symptoms from it and until Fred gives me a reason to disbelieve him, I’ll be taking him at his word.

I do wish he’d had a bit of tightening done under those eyes though.

He has been looking better than he did in March on Fox. That was particularly awful lightning for him.

[Teacher317]

My guess: he doesn’t spend enough time sucking up to those who are accustomed to it... thus, he must be “too lazy” to do it. No one in their right mind would refuse to brown-nose the proper elites! How dare a man rely on the grass-roots vermin in fly-over country to get him elected! Such tomfoolery cannot stand!

[SE Mom]

GNATS! They’re everywhere:)

[papasmurf]

Of the 90 bills he introduced during his eight years in the Senate, only four became law.

In 20+ years as a Representative, Ron Paul sponsored 320 bills. 315 didn't make it out of committee, 1 was withdrawn, 4 failed to pass.

OTOH, Dr. Paul voted "No!" more than 1700 times! Even casting votes against the safety of our troops actively engaged in battle against our enemies.

Stylin19c wrote: in 22 years John f'n Kerry wrote 56 "measures" that passed the Senate, including 11 that became law.

Anti-Bubba182 asked:How many of HRC's or Obama's became law?

Sen. H. Clinton 78 Resolutions and Amendements to House bills.
3 Resolutions passed.

S.RES.21 : A resolution recognizing the uncommon valor of Wesley Autrey of New York, New York.
S.RES.92 : A resolution calling for the immediate and unconditional release of soldiers of Israel held captive by Hamas and Hezbollah.
S.RES.141 : A resolution urging all member countries of the International Commission of the International Tracing Service who have yet to ratify the May 2006 amendments to the 1955 Bonn Accords to expedite the ratification process to allow for open access to the Holocaust archives located at Bad Arolsen, Germany.

0 Amendments passed.



Sen. B. Obama

54 Resolution, Amendments, and Concurrent Amendments to House Bills.

0 (of all types) passed.

The stats in this story are incomplete and errouneous. FRed submitted 30 TOTAL Resolutions, Amendments to House bills, and Amendments to Senate Joint Resolutions. NOTE: Green indicates passage.

His very fisrt one, S.J. Res.21, was for Congressional term limits. Returned to calendar. LOL

1. S.J.RES.21 : A joint resolution proposing a constitutional amendment to limit congressional terms. Sponsor: Sen Thompson, Fred [TN] (introduced 1/19/1995) Cosponsors (20) Committees: Senate Judiciary Senate Reports: 104-158
Latest Major Action: 4/23/1996 Senate floor actions. Status: Returned to the Calendar. Calendar No. 201.

2. S.1358 : A bill to authorize the Secretary of Transportation to issue a certificate of documentation with appropriate endorsement for employment in the coastwise trade for the vessel CAROLYN, and for other purposes.
Latest Major Action: 7/30/1996 Held at the desk.

3. S.1388 : A bill to designate the United States courthouse located at 800 Market Street in Knoxville, Tennessee, as the "Howard H. Baker, Jr. United States Courthouse".
Latest Major Action: 12/21/1995 Senate floor actions. Status: Indefinitely postponed by Senate by Unanimous Consent.

4. S.1536 : A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to permit Federal firearms licensees to conduct firearms business with other such licensees at out-of-State gun shows.
Latest Major Action: 1/26/1996 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

5. S.1584 : A bill to authorize appropriations for the preservation and restoration of historic buildings at historically black colleges and universities.
Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources.

6. S.1931 : An Act to provide that the United States Post Office and Courthouse building located at 9 East Broad Street, Cookeville, Tennessee, shall be known and designated as the "L. Clure Morton United States Post Office Courthouse".
Latest Major Action: Became Public Law No: 104-277 [GPO: Text, PDF]

7. S.1952 : A bill to amend the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, and for other purposes.
Latest Major Action: 9/16/1996 By Senator Hatch from Committee on Judiciary filed written report. Report No. 104-369. Additional views filed.



8. S.2049 : A bill to reform the budget and oversight processes of the Congress.
Latest Major Action: 9/3/1996 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred jointly to the Committees on Budget; Governmental Affairs pursuant to the order of August 4, 1977, with instructions that if one Committee reports, the other Committee have thirty days to report or be discharged.

9. S.AMDT.618 to H.R.956 To limit the applicability of the uniform product liability provisions to actions brought in a Federal court under diversity jurisdiction.
Latest Major Action: 5/3/1995 Motion to table SP 618 agreed to in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 58-41. Record Vote No: 147.

10. S.AMDT.756 to S.534 Purpose will be available when the amendment is proposed for consideration. See Congressional Record for text.
Latest Major Action: 5/11/1995 Senate amendment submitted

11. S.AMDT.2086 to S.1026 To authorize a land conveyance, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Memphis, Tennessee.
Latest Major Action: 8/2/1995 Senate amendment agreed to. Status:

12. S.AMDT.2231 to H.R.2020 To provide that no increase in the rates of pay for Members of Congress shall be made in fiscal year 1996, and for other purposes.
Latest Major Action: 8/5/1995 Senate amendment agreed to. Status: Amendment SP 2231 agreed to in Senate by Voice Vote.

13. S.AMDT.3696 to S.J.RES.21 To amend the joint resolution to change the length of limits on congressional terms to 12 years in the House of Representatives and 12 years in the Senate.
Latest Major Action: 4/23/1996 Considered by Senate.

14. S.AMDT.3707 to S.J.RES.21 Purpose will be available when the amendment is proposed for consideration. See Congressional Record for text.
Latest Major Action: 4/23/1996 Senate amendment submitted

15. S.AMDT.3708 to S.J.RES.21 Purpose will be available when the amendment is proposed for consideration. See Congressional Record for text. Latest Major Action: 4/23/1996 Senate amendment submitted

16. S.AMDT.3709 to S.J.RES.21 Purpose will be available when the amendment is proposed for consideration. See Congressional Record for text.
Latest Major Action: 4/23/1996 Senate amendment submitted

17. S.AMDT.3710 to S.J.RES.21 Purpose will be available when the amendment is proposed for consideration. See Congressional Record for text.
Latest Major Action: 4/23/1996 Senate amendment submitted

18. S.AMDT.3711 to S.J.RES.21 Purpose will be available when the amendment is proposed for consideration. See Congressional Record for text.
Latest Major Action: 4/23/1996 Senate amendment submitted

19. S.AMDT.3712 to S.J.RES.21 Purpose will be available when the amendment is proposed for consideration. See Congressional Record for text.
Latest Major Action: 4/23/1996 Senate amendment submitted

20. S.AMDT.3713 to S.J.RES.21 Purpose will be available when the amendment is proposed for consideration. See Congressional Record for text.
Latest Major Action: 4/23/1996 Senate amendment submitted

21. S.AMDT.3714 to S.J.RES.21 Purpose will be available when the amendment is proposed for consideration. See Congressional Record for text.
Latest Major Action: 4/23/1996 Senate amendment submitted

22. S.AMDT.3715 to S.J.RES.21 Purpose will be available when the amendment is proposed for consideration. See Congressional Record for text.
Latest Major Action: 4/23/1996 Senate amendment submitted

23. S.AMDT.3716 to S.J.RES.21 Purpose will be available when the amendment is proposed for consideration. See Congressional Record for text.
Latest Major Action: 4/23/1996 Senate amendment submitted

24. S.AMDT.3717 to S.J.RES.21 Purpose will be available when the amendment is proposed for consideration. See Congressional Record for text.
Latest Major Action: 4/23/1996 Senate amendment submitted

25. S.AMDT.3718 to S.J.RES.21 Purpose will be available when the amendment is proposed for consideration. See Congressional Record for text.
Latest Major Action: 4/23/1996 Senate amendment submitted

26. S.AMDT.3719 to S.J.RES.21 Purpose will be available when the amendment is proposed for consideration. See Congressional Record for text.
Latest Major Action: 4/23/1996 Senate amendment submitted

27. S.AMDT.3720 to S.J.RES.21 Purpose will be available when the amendment is proposed for consideration. See Congressional Record for text.
Latest Major Action: 4/23/1996 Senate amendment submitted

28. S.AMDT.3981 to S.CON.RES.57 To express the sense of the Senate on the funding levels for the Presidential Election Campaign Fund.
Latest Major Action: 5/23/1996 Senate amendment agreed to. Status: Amendment SP 3981 agreed to in Senate by Voice Vote.

29. S.AMDT.5208 to H.R.3756 To forbid any Member of the House of Representatives or the Senate from receiving a pay raise or cost of living adjustment in the fiscal year 1997.
Latest Major Action: 9/11/1996 The amendment (SP 5208) as previously agreed to was modified.

30. S.AMDT.5264 to H.R.3756 To authorize the Administrator of General Services to conduct a pilot program involving States' participation in the FTS2000 program.
Latest Major Action: 9/12/1996 Senate amendment agreed to. Status: Amendment SP 5264 agreed to in Senate by Voice Vote.



FRed's Bill's

:O)

P America. Together. Again Fred Thompson/JC Watts in '08

[ellery]

This is funny. They ignore the amendments Thompson introduced, the reining-in-government initiatives Thompson led that ultimately were folded into other laws, the bad programs he voted against, and even more to the point, the fact that the last thing we need are our federal government employees passing more laws and spending more of our money.

But hey, if they want to count that way, here are the two items Hillary Rodham Clinton has introduced that have become public law:

S.3613: A bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2951 New York Highway 43 in Averill Park, New York, as the “Major George Quamo Post Office Building”.
Sponsor: Sen Clinton, Hillary Rodham (introduced 6/29/2006)

S.1241: A bill to establish the Kate Mullany National Historic Site in the State of New York, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen Clinton, Hillary Rodham [NY] (introduced 6/11/2003)

Here is the one item Barack Obama introduced that became public law:

S.2125: A bill to promote relief, security, and democracy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Sponsor: Sen Obama, Barack (introduced 12/16/2005)

John Edwards introduced no bills that became public law.

[Josh Painter]

I think the drive-by media's perception of Fred as "lazy" is simply the result of a Senator who worked hard to keep the government from growing, was a good steward of the taxpayers' money, didn’t engage in social engineering and tried his best to keep the government out of the average American's private life. At a time when both major political parties are for big governnment, big immigration and big spending, it's no wonder that Fred is sparking a fire among conservatives, common-sense independents and Reagan Democrats.



Fredipedia v2.36: The Definitive Fred Thompson Quick Reference

[ellery]

I think they’re referring to “public laws” in this article. When I did a THOMAS search of public laws and flagged those that Thompson introduced, I came up with four (which is the number the article cited):

S.2712: A bill to amend chapter 35 of title 31, United States Code, to authorize the consolidation of certain financial and performance management reports required of Federal agencies, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen Thompson, Fred (introduced 6/12/2000)

S.1707: A bill to amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) to provide that certain designated Federal entities shall be establishments under such Act, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen Thompson, Fred (introduced 10/7/1999)

S.2071: A bill to extend a quarterly financial report program administered by the Secretary of Commerce.
Sponsor: Sen Thompson, Fred (introduced 5/13/1998)

S.1931: An Act to provide that the United States Post Office and Courthouse building located at 9 East Broad Street, Cookeville, Tennessee, shall be known and designated as the “L. Clure Morton United States Post Office Courthouse”.
Sponsor: Sen Thompson, Fred (introduced 7/8/1996)

The stat is definitely misleading, since there are so many other things that Thompson has done. However, even by this measure, Thompson vastly outperformed Clinton, Obama and Edwards (see my previous post).

[montag813]

Well George W. Bush is the polar opposite of “lazy”..he has rigorous work and workout ethics. And see where that got us.

[jveritas]

They will not succeed. Fred Thompson will win the nomination and the White House.

[dixiechick2000]

It’s interesting that this came out today.
Bill Press was on FNC saying that he’s lazy...no fire in the belly.

And, Press couldn’t say it enough!

Me thinks it’s THE talking point.

As Beckel said, FDT is the ‘Rats nightmare. LOL

[dixiechick2000]

"Personally- I find this attitude honest, refreshing, and sane. I notice they spend a lot of time on busy-work doing nothing...........AND YET- when it comes to whether or not THEY HAVE READ the damned immigration bill...."

GOOD post.
Bears repeating...

[California Patriot]

The issue of Ol’ Fred’s alleged laziness is a real one, and we should be looking for answers to this concern, not just denying that it’s a problem.