How conservative is Fred Thompson?

Washington Times ^ | 06/23/2007 | Editiorial

[etradervic]

After John East, a stalwart conservative from North Carolina, entered the U.S. Senate in 1981, wags began referring to Jesse Helms as "the liberal senator from the Tar Heel state." We are reminded of this tale as Republican activists rush to encourage, if not yet fully embrace, the presidential candidacy of Fred Thompson, the former senator from Tennessee. The Republican base is evidently unimpressed or uninspired (or both) by the conservative credentials of the top three Republicans (John McCain, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani) seeking the 2008 presidential nomination. Mr. Thompson's most-oft-cited conservative credential is his 86.1 percent lifetime (1995-2002) Senate vote rating compiled by the American Conservative Union (ACU), the organization that many rightly consider a leading arbiter of conservatism. In the same relative sense that Mr. Helms could be considered North Carolina's "liberal senator," Mr. Thompson's ACU rating would qualify him to be "the liberal senator from Tennessee" during his eight-year stint. Bill Frist, who defeated Democratic incumbent Jim Sasser, was elected to the Senate from Tennessee the same year (1994) as Mr. Thompson, who won the seat vacated in 1993 by then-Vice President Gore. During the eight years they represented Tennessee together, Mr. Frist compiled an ACU rating of 89.3 percent, making Mr. Thompson "the liberal senator from the Volunteer state."

[crunk]

Duncan Hunter is the only conservative candidate that should be President

He should be the conservative's choice.

[Brices Crossroads]

Read the post. I did not say everyone that is opposed to it is inside the beltway. For intense activists, it is a very important issue, but I submit that a wrong vote on that issue should not per se brand that person as a liberal or unacceptable.

In 1967, Reagan signed an abortion bill in California that was presented to him as restricting abortion. In fact, it included a “health of the Mother exception” and turned out to be the most permissive in the nation. Reagan often mentioned it as a huge mistake. Yet no one labeled him pro-abortion in perpetuity because he made a mistake, although it was a very grave one, far graver than McCain Feingold which, after all, can be repealed.

[sasportas]

I will scrutinize each and every one of the major contenders, regardless of their party affiliation.

Good grief. The fact that you even consider ANY of the present field of Democrat contenders is scary. Name one of them that is better than the worst Republican contender.

Not counting Ron Paul, he’s the loony Kuchinich of the Republican field.

[The Ghost of FReepers Past]

Bunk. The race is not over. Just read freeper comments. You can find many who say they prefer Hunter but think he can't win so they are going with someone else. If all who like him actually stuck with him for a month of two, it might be different.

I am not a Hunterite. I have a list of acceptable candidates I am considering: Fred, Hunter, Brownback, Huckabee. We don't have to vote tomorrow. I am against choosing too early. Let's have a real contest.

[RasterMaster]

Glad to know that there are still some on FR who live by phony polls....do they have more faith in poll than they do their candidate?

I suppose you’d let RATSmussen select the next President? Hey, polls really helped Jean Kerry, didn’t they? Since you worship them, here’s a few poll links for you....

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/poll?poll=186;results=2

Maybe you have not been looking at these either:

Hunter beats McCain in his home state:
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/01/16/news/top_stories/1_03_321_15_07.txt

SC Straw Poll Makes it Clear:Duncan Hunter Has Emerged as Conservative Answer
http://schotlinepress.wordpress.com/2007/03/03/sc-straw-poll-makes-it-clearduncan-hunter-has-emerged-as-conservative-answer/

Must not even pay attention to FOX polls....
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,255999,00.html

Listening to a pollster makes as much sense as pulling the lever for (R) or (D) regardless of who the candidate is. Principle over party or paltry polls that I have never heard of.

[donna]

Having Mary Matalin on board doesn’t make feel all warm and fuzzy about Thompson. I equate Matalin with Bush the Elder’s failed moderate policies, not to mention that she sleeps and has spawned with the enemy.

How is Mary Matalin involved with Fred Thompson? I won't vote for anyone who is associated with her.

[Neu Pragmatist]

What I said remains a fact. Romney has said he would repeal CFR .
The two issues do go hand in hand , like it or not .
I’ve never said, nor implied, that it negates anything that Romney has or hasn’t done in the past . Was the NRA wrong in endorsing the legislation that Romney signed ?

CFR repeal is an important issue to gun owners and I have yet to hear if Thompson would repeal CFR . He has acknowledged that it was a bad bill, would he repeal it ?

I’m NOT satisfied with Romney’s answer regarding renewal of AWB . I also have not seen a definative answer stating Thomspon’s position on renewal of AWB .
It’s a far different issue than skeet shooting at a charity event .

[mdefranc]

The problem with your post: intrade contracts aren’t polls.

[RasterMaster]

So it’s a gambling site? Sounds as useful as a phony poll.

[DieselHoplite]

“Dude, that is from 1999!”

I think the video that he meant to post was this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkN2fYnMTBs

Note the part about giving aspirations of citizenship to illegals (ie. amnesty)

[RasterMaster]

Mary Matalin to Advise Fred Thompson

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/6/5/95641.shtml?s=ic

[RasterMaster]

Thanks....had copied the wrong link.

[calcowgirl]

Nicaraguans and Cubans are very different than most other illegal immigrants, because the majority of them are political refugees.

Refugees from what? Did they seek formal asylum? No! Did they even qualify for legal refugee admission? No! They were given permanent residence, not refugee status. And the law also allowed more than 250,000 Salvadorans, Guatemalans and certain East Europeans to not be deported. There was no threat of political persecution to these people after the civil wars ended, but they remain. The label of "refugee" to most of these instances was extremely liberal and severely distorted the meaning and intent of its use, IMO

[mdefranc]

Contracts are better predictors than polls.

But, clearly, you choose not to be rational in the political area, so, by all means, dedicate yourself to Duncan.

[Reagan Man]

>>>>>>... anything short of deportation is AMNESTY.

Probably the most irrational and illogical statement posted on FR in sometime. Quite delusional.

[TomGuy]

If you like being a GOP-bot, be a bot, but I’m not.

[RasterMaster]

Oh, so if I walk in the back door of your house, help myself to your groceries, you don’t mind if I invite a few friends for a sleep over?

[DieselHoplite]

“FACT: Romney, as governmor of MA, signed an assault weapons ban into law”

Correction: NOT FACT.

Quote from the NRA:

Despite the efforts of some (including The Boston Globe) to spin this bill as an extension of or creation of a new “Assault Weapons” ban, the bill makes no net changes to the Commonwealth`s laws regarding those types of firearms.

http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?ID=1149

Good’ol Fred voted for the Domestic Confiscation gun ban though:

http://www.gunowners.org/pres08/thompson2.htm

Nice try.

[RasterMaster]

It is irrational to look to a “trade” site rather than the voters themselves.

[Reagan Man]

You’re not helping yourself with more off the wall rhetoric that obfuscates the issue.

You are the first person on FR that I’ve seen who has ever equated any solution short of deportation, as being akin to amnesty.