Posted on 09/24/2007 2:10:01 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The following is a summary of Thompson’s views on the issues of National Security, Federal Budget and Spending/Budgetary Reform, Tax Reform, Healthcare, Government Effectiveness, Building Strong Families, Immigration, Education, Appointment of Judges, Energy Security, and the Second Amendment.
National Security
In a post 9/11 world, Thompson recognizes the need for America to increase its ability to defeat its terrorist enemies. Therefore, his plans include upscaling the military, improving the missile defense system, enhancing the intelligence community, making homeland security robust enough to protect America from terrorists worldwide, giving backbone the judicial system so it will face the reality of terrorism and unlawful enemy combatants.
Federal Budget and Spending/Budgetary Reform
To ease the burden that threatens future generations of Americans, Thompson plans to make the government’s fiscal records transparent so everyone can understand clearly the impending crisis, devise a comprehensive plan including all political views to help solve the crisis, cut wasteful spending, “to safeguard our security, promote our prosperity, and protect our children and grandchildren from fiscal calamity.”
Tax Reform
Thompson anticipates a full renovation the U.S. Tax code by dissolving the IRS “as we know it.” He wants to devise a “[f]undamental tax reform built on the principles of simplicity, fairness, and growth.” He envisions a tax code that lightens the tax burden on U.S. citizens while at the same time boosts U.S. competitiveness worldwide.
Healthcare
Even though American healthcare is the world’s best, some Americans opt not to have medical insurance, and others cannot afford it. Thompson believes that everyone who wants it should be able to acquire appropriate medical coverage. He realizes that there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution to healthcare and insurance coverage. He offers a five part solution to the problem: make available information and opportunities that allow individuals to choose the medical care options that best suit them and their families, create a system that actually improves the health of every American by bolstering “cost-effective prevention, chronic-care management, and personal responsibility,” update current administration and delivery by fostering “best practices,” emphasize free-market solutions, support and promote more research in medicine and life-science.
Government Effectiveness
Thompson realizes that current government practices are inefficient and wasteful. He plans to correct this deficiency by placing only the best qualified people in place and then allowing him proper “authority and resources” to their jobs, repair government accounting, making it more transparent, holding agencies accountable, and securing information technologies.
Building Strong Families
Fred Thompson believes that families are the “bedrock of our nation and our culture.” He wants to strengthen the institutions of family and marriage by encouraging policies that promote “a culture of life” and “advance the freedom of religion,” return to state governments authority for protecting families to eliminate intrusion by the federal government and the judiciary, fight obscenity in the media by allowing parents better control and the ability to “exercise their responsibilities.”
Immigration
In a post 9/11 world, immigration has become a security issue. Thompson believes a nation has the responsibility to determine who enters. He therefore plans to secure the borders and enforce immigration laws and end “sanctuary cities,” make sure that existing immigration laws actually benefit our national interest, promote unity by welcoming legal immigration, promoting the English language, encouraging assimilation so that legal immigrants may become productive citizens.
Education
Thompson recognizes the importance of education for a democracy and despite the fact that billions of dollars has been poured in the education systems, our schools are not performing well enough. He wants to lessen the bureaucracy and give parents more choices of schools, reduce federal mandates and return moneys to the state, encourage vouchers, charter schools, and foster competition and choice to improve schools, encourage teachers and students to study science, technology, engineering, and math, because these fields are crucial not only for prosperity but also for security in a post 9/11 world; he is also committed to “Promoting transparency to assess performance, promote accountability, and share innovations in education at all levels.”
Appointing Judges Faithful To Our Constitution
Because activist judges have been responsible for bringing about a “culture of abortion” and have been attempting to redefine and weaken marriage, which undermines families, Thompson intends to appoint only “strict constructionist judges who will interpret the law, not impose their views on us by legislating from the bench.”
Energy Security
Because dependence on foreign energy sources threatens our national and economic security, Thompson plans to seek a “balanced approach to energy security that increases domestic supplies, reduces demand for oil and gas, and promotes alternative fuels and other diverse energy sources,” encourage non-fossil fuel research, promote policies that enhance energy efficiency, and encourage research and development to improve the environment and lower C02 levels.
Second Amendment
Thompson strongly supports the protection of an individual’s right to keep and bear arms as guaranteed by the second amendment of the Constitution. He therefore is committed to protecting the individual’s right while “strictly enforcing existing laws and severely punishing violent criminals.”
For more information, please visit: Fred ’08
So you post a bunch of platitudes that we can all agree on and that’s the sales job for Fred? Where are the details? How is he going to enforce the immigrant laws? What will he do differently? What kind of tax is he talking about that gets rid of the IRS and makes US products more competitive? Details, details, details!
More "bipartisanship". Just great.
I'm sure Teddy Kennedy, Charlie Rangel, Nancy Pelosi, et al, are going to be highly cooperative!
/s
A lame comment. If someone had made it a "security issue" BEFORE 9-11, there might not have BEEN a 9-11.
How does legal immigration "promote unity"? There are lots of things legal immigration does, but this doesn't seem like one of them.
promoting the English language
Weak words with no teeth and dang little in the way of specifics throughout this document.
This IS a bit unclear.....
On a path to citizenship: "[B]ecause we allowed ourselves to wait until we woke up one day and found 12 million illegals here, there's no easy solution. And I think that you have to realize that you're either going to drive 12 million people underground permanently, which is not a good solution. You're going to get them all together and get them out of the country, which is not going to happen. Or you're going to have to, in some way, work out a deal where they can have some aspirations of citizenship, but not make it so easy that it's unfair to the people waiting in line and abiding by the law." (Fox News Fred Thompson on "Hannity & Colmes," 4/3/06)
On the problems with cracking down on employers: "We haven't enforced the law, in terms of employers. … For 20 years, we've not enforced the law, and that's a part of the problem. You can't enforce it all on the backs of the employers. People falsify information that they give employers and all that. That's not a solution to the problem." (Fox News' "Hannity & Colmes," 4/3/06)
On his skepticism of a brick-and-mortar border fence: FOX's ALAN COLMES: "You don't put up a fence, either, do you? Is that bad neighbor policy, put a fence up?" THOMPSON: "If it would work. I mean, I don't know – that's a technical problem. In this day and age, I would not think you would have to use bricks and mortar to get that job done. But we ought to do everything that we can to get it done to the extent that we can and then, as I say, I think people would be willing to take a look at the rest of the problem, what we do with the problem that we created." (Fox News' "Hannity & Colmes," 4/3/06)
On enforcement first: "We woke up one day after years of neglect and apparently discovered that we have somewhere between 12 million and 20 million illegal aliens in this country. So it became an impossible situation to deal with. I mean, there's really no good solution. So what do you do? You have to start over. Well, I'm concerned about the next 12 million or 20 million. So that's why enforcement, and enforcement at the border, has to be primary." (Fox's "Fox News Sunday," 3/11/07)
On not rounding up illegal immigrants: "You know, if you have the right kind of policies, and you're not encouraging people to come here and encouraging them to stay once they're here, they'll go back, many of them, of their own volition, instead of having to, you know, load up moving vans and rounding people up. That's not going to happen." (Fox's "Fox News Sunday," 3/11/07)
Thompson anticipates a full renovation the U.S. Tax code by dissolving the IRS “as we know it.” He wants to devise a “[f]undamental tax reform built on the principles of simplicity, fairness, and growth.” He envisions a tax code that lightens the tax burden on U.S. citizens while at the same time boosts U.S. competitiveness worldwide.
We've heard these same sort of inspecific nothings from the current occupant of the WH and from the Gingrich/Armey wing of the party for years. What they're really telling you is that they're not going to do much of anything at all except tinker around the edges of the current system. Bleh.
Alan Keyes? What, was John Cox or Ron Paul too mainstream for you?
If you’re interested in bread and circuses, instead of getting down to the meat of how we restore and defend constitutional governance, I can see why you’d prefer this sort of cotton candy.
Are you aware of any specific proposal by Thompson to reduce the size of the federal government? What I saw in the post looks like he is proposing a more open, efficient socialism than what we have now.
Our country was founded by immigrants, and immigrants have helped this become a strong nation. I have no problem with allowing folks to come here, but only if they truly want to become AMERICANS, and not try to make America into their own homeland. That’s not to say that they shouldn’t be able to have their groups and neighborhoods, and food stores, but our laws and culture are our own, and they must assimilate, while maintaining their culture within their families, and neighborhoods if they so choose. Generations of immigrants have done just that, and America is stronger for it. We are not so much a melting pot as a stew, with disparate, but identifiable ingredients.
Why? Most people consider what we have a democracy. They know that our laws are not decided by direct vote but by their Representatives in their local towns, in their states and in the national Congress, but they think that is democracy. If you told folks that we are actually a representative Republic, they'd look at you like you had two heads!
Don't forget, Fred knows these folks. He's seen them up close.
If he comes up with some specifics, that's fine, but I'm more interested in what his beliefs and ideas are. That will give me a better idea of what his specifics will be when the time comes for them.
However, he is a very strong Federalist and that automatically means smaller government.
Perhaps he’ll give specifics later.
IMHO, he could start with the Dept of Education.
If you want to help Fred, click here: https://www.fred08.com/contribute.aspx?RefererID=c637caaa-315c-4b4c-9967-08d864cd0791
See, there's your problem. You don't understand that you can only know what his "beliefs and ideas" are if he gets specific.
I have no patience for weasel words.
I wonder who wrote these talking points, Mrs. James Carville, or one of his Schwarzenegger hacks.
Well, yeah. What do you expect when prominent politicians like Thompson can't even get it right. The people stay stupid.
Oh, Fred knows the difference, but he knows he's speaking to some folks who wouldn't know a constitutional republic if it bit them in the butt. He's speaking to folks exactly where they are, and they seem to like him.
Whoa ... Thompson has made general statements supportive of tax reform, you are claiming FAIR Tax fits the bill. (It does, but it has its own issues.)
Rather than assume Thompson supports Fair Tax, it would be better to have quotes of Thompson himself stating his position on the FAIR Tax. has he made a statement clearly on this?
“...and give parents more choices of schools, reduce federal mandates and return moneys to the state, encourage vouchers, charter schools, and foster competition and choice to improve schools, encourage teachers and students to study science, technology, engineering, and math, because these fields are crucial not only for prosperity but also for security in a post 9/11 world; he is also committed to “Promoting transparency to assess performance, promote accountability, and share innovations in education at all levels.”
More top-down statist nonsense, with the federal government firmly in control of all the power. “
Whoa. You were right on the federalist contradiction (not that we’ll get anywhere on getting rid of the Dept of Ed anyway, but it would be nice for the ‘federalist’ label to mean something) ... BUT ...
“give parents more choices of schools, reduce federal mandates and return moneys to the state, encourage vouchers, charter schools, and foster competition and choice to improve schools” ... ALL go away from the stalinist education model to the market/choice/freedom model.
The ultimate local control is parental control and the path to parental control is school choice via vouchers.
A clear “end NCLB, end bilingual education, abolish the Dept of Ed, end Federal red tape” would be best, but I’ll take a federal focus on school choice as a nice runner up.
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