I will repeat: it is not a valid criticism to say he was an avid supporter of CFR. There was nothing wrong in his support of CFR. He wanted to drive corruption out of politics and CFR was his vehicle to do so. That others added amendments that restricted ads in a certain timeframe before election is something that fell out of his control.
That others added amendments that restricted ads in a certain timeframe before election is something that fell out of his control.
Sorry, don't buy that. It's like saying gun registration laws are a vehicle to drive gun violence out of the ghettos. CFR was fundamentally flawed from the start, and there was no lack of conservatives pointing out the flaws while he was sponsoring it in the Senate. It was a bad and unconstitutional approach to a problem that originates, not with the public using money to fund points of view, but with the politicians themselves, who hide the source of cash and are easily influenced. Essentially, Thompson and McCain wrote a law that restricted MY free speech because THEY couldn't trust themselves and their fellow congressmen to remain honest.
Moreover, the ban on issue ads was a direct assault on political speech, which was INCLUDED IN THE ORIGINAL BILL that Thompson sponsored. To say now that those parts were added by others, and that he had no say, doesn't wash. He personally filed an amicus brief to the USSC defending the provisions only four years ago, as a private citizen out of the Senate, so clearly he thought they were still a good idea in 2003.
Thompson needs to own up on this and either clarify his continued support or repudiate it unambiguously. Vague "it didn't work out quite right" statements are not sufficient.