Posted on 08/12/2007 9:24:03 PM PDT by byteback
Fred Thompson is backing off his flat denial that he once lobbied for an abortion-rights group. He now says he doesnt remember it, but does not dispute evidence to the contrary.
The climb-down could be a significant embarrassment for a prospective candidate with a plain-spoken appeal and who has courted the GOPs anti-abortion base, although Thompson and his advisers had signaled for several days that it was coming.
Realizing that opponents in both parties are mining his legal career for damaging ammunition, Thompson also is engaging in a bit of preemption. He writes in a column posted Wednesday by the conservative Power Line blog: [I]f a client has a legal and ethical right to take a position, then you may appropriately represent him as long as he does not lie or otherwise conduct himself improperly while you are representing him. In almost 30 years of practicing law I must have had hundreds of clients and thousands of conversations about legal matters. Like any good lawyer, I would always try to give my best, objective and professional opinion on any legal question presented to me.
The abortion-rights issue arose when the Los Angeles Times reported last week that Thompson had accepted a lobbying assignment from the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, which wanted the administration of President George H.W. Bush to relax a restriction on federal payments to clinics that offered abortion counseling.
Thompson spokesman Mark Corallo told the Times in an e-mail: Fred Thompson did not lobby for this group, period. The Times said minutes from a board meeting of the group suggested otherwise.
So the difference may boil down to how you define lobbying.
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
I love how Thompson's stupid denial makes him somehow more pro-abortion than someone who, say, was pro-abortion until this election cycle.
This is what he said months ago when this first came up.
Oh boy...
Never mind....I was going to say we should look at Hillary's billing records, but the last time we suggested that a suicide followed.
FredT`s 100% pro-life, anti-abortion voting record in the Senate is all the proof I need. There is really no story here. But the media will make sure its reported, over and over, again and again. The RudyBoosters will make an issue out of it, so will others. BFD
>Depends what the meaning of “is” is.<
How about this denial?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmKUMuPAMSE
Correct! Contrary to what RootyMcRomney clan wishes, this ain’t going anywhere. Oh, did I forget the ronpaulistas?
I agree and my reason for posting this was because so many CFRedheads are holier than thou on the other candidates. Let's just admit that this is a tough political issue because by the constitution this is really falls to the states if it weren't for Roe v Wade.
Ping!
I should have been more clear, though--by "making an issue of this" I don't mean we don't discuss abortion, but Thompson's stupid handling of this lobbying thing. He should admit he did it and move on. I'll take his prolife record over that of some other candidates any day.
Thanks for posting that, because I know we were discussing his backing off from that denial some time ago, but this article suggests he's JUST denied it, and it's "dragging on".
Don’t worry, Rudy will save the day.....
This story is as old as the syphilis attacking the cerebral cortex of Bill Clinton.
Just noticed, this is not a new story! This article was posted on The Politico back on July 12, 2007. Its a month old. It was posted on Free Republic on July.13, 2007.
You posted wrong information concerning the date of this story.
I think the whole thing says more about the typical shady billing practices of lawfirms. FT probably sat in on some meetings or conference calls and got his negligible time billed out by the firm for something he doesn’t remember, because lawyers do it all day every day. It’s all about the billable hours.
COulda sworn Romney was running.
OH, right--he didn't say he was pro-abortion, he just said he supported the right to an abortion. HUGE diff, sorry.
...ping to mark this for later on.
Fredipedia: The Definitive Fred Thompson Reference
WARNING: If you want to join, please be aware that this ping list is EXTREMELY active.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.