Transcript: Fred Thompson on 'FOX News Sunday'

Fox News ^ | Dec. 30, 2007 | Chris Wallace

[FocusNexus]

The following is a partial transcript of the Dec. 30, 2007, edition of "FOX News Sunday With Chris Wallace:

"FOX NEWS SUNDAY" HOST CHRIS WALLACE: After months of campaigning, Americans will actually start to vote this week Thursday night in the Iowa caucuses.

Joining us now from the campaign trail in Ames, Iowa is Republican presidential candidate and former senator Fred Thompson.

And, Senator, welcome back to "FOX News Sunday."

REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE FRED THOMPSON: Thank you, Chris. Good to be with you.

WALLACE: You're getting headlines in the morning papers for some comments you made on the campaign trail yesterday. Let's take a look. You said, "I'd like to say I'm only consumed by very, very few things, and politics is not one of them."

Then you went on to say, "I'm not sure in the world we live in today it's a terribly good thing that a president has too much fire in his belly." Senator, don't voters want someone who really wants to be president?

[FocusNexus]

I watched part of it. Fred came off pretty well -- read the transcript.

[wildwood]

this reminds me of plato’s republic. you don’t want leaders eager to be leaders. you want leaders who are reluctant to lead and will do the best for the country and then leave, without trying to remain in power year after year. i don’t really support thompson, but i respect his comments about this and don’t find them shocking at all.

[FredHead47]

Watching it.

Fred “gets it”.

Go Fred.

[CitizenUSA]

Fred “gets it”.

He sure does! GO FRED!

[glmjr]

Saving the Republican Party

Our party can not survive unless we adhere to our basic conservative principles and nominate a person whose values lie in those principles and one that all Republicans will support.   If we fail, history will record the death of the Republican party as occurring during the caucus primaries of 2008.  This is not speculation on my part, but the opinion of many other experts in political science.  Many republicans and independents would either vote for a democrat or abstain, rather than vote for anything less than a person with "true conservative" values.

Take a closer look at the candidates

         Rudy Giuliani is intelligent and has proven himself to be capable as mayor of New York City, however Rudy is a liberal in every sense of the word.  He is pro-abortion, pro-gay, and pro-gun control.  I just can't vote for someone who "cross dresses" and marches in gay pride parades.  He is liberal, no other way to put it.  He would not represent the values of the Republican party and would not garner the support of all Republicans by any stretch of the imagination. Death of the Republican Party as we know it would occur if he was the nominee.

           Mitt Romney is sharp, intelligent and on the face seems to be a good candidate to save the party.  If you look closer you will find that in the past few years he has supported sanctuary cities for illegal aliens, supported pro-choice on the abortion issue, supported gay marriages and was elected governor of the most liberal state in the union.  Mitt's Mormon religion is not a factor and should not be a factor in America.  Mitt may have made a real change as he has stated and may have come to embrace a conservative views on the issues, but he'll have to prove it to me AND that may take years.  Mitt might be make a good president for the republican party one day, but not in 2008.  Mitt should wait a few years and give us the proof we need that in fact he is a "real conservative" as he says he is. The Republican Party would not be united behind Mitt in 2008, due to  his religion.  This is a shame , but a fact.  We would loose to the Democrats in 2008 if Mitt was nominated.

            Mike Huckabee is a good speaker, probably a nice guy and I'm sure an excellent preacher.  Mike is conservative on only two issues, abortion and marriage. He is a populist liberal on all other important issues.  His popularity  base is evangelicals who can't seem to separate religion from electing the leader of the free world.  .  He was even endorsed by the Democratic governor of Ohio, who said that he reflected Democratic liberal views as well as the other Democratic candidates.  He has even went so far as to criticize  President Bush, calling his foreign policy "bunker mentality".  Huckabee is a Democrat running as a republican, no other way to put it.  He would divide the republican party and cause a division from which we could not recover.  He is more dangerous to the republican party than having a democrat elected.  Probably the most dangerous thing about Huckabee is his naivetie on how to deal  foreign policy and the threats facing our nation today.  To put it bluntly, he is ignorant on foreign affairs and the part the United States plays as being the premier world superpower and bastion of freedom.  Death of the Republican Party as we know it would occur if he was the nominee.

        John McCain is a true American hero and I honor and respect him for all he has given in the service of his country during the Viet Nam war.  John is a conservative on most issues, but John tends to flip -flop on the issues.  Last year he and the despicable Edward Kennedy were two of the main players in the Amnesty Bill that Pres. Bush was pushing down the throats of the American people.  Thank God the people spoke up and the bill was defeated.  If McCain was the nominated and elected I have no doubts that he would revive that very bill and the next time it may pass.  I don't trust him to stop illegal immigration and therefore he gets "thumbs down" from me.  He also tends to be a little "hot headed" at times.  I'm not sure we need an emotional "hot head" with his finger on the button, if you know what I mean.  The Republican party would not unite behind McCain due to a lack of trust.  We would  loose to the Democrats in 2008 .

         Ron Paul...can you say "nut case"....Ron has a libiterian view of what the world and the US should be like.  He is so far off having "true conservative" values, he is not worth discussion.  The fringe radicals seem to like his message , much the way people who bought in to Ross Perot did some years ago.  Ron's idea of US foreign policy is for the US to withdraw from everywhere and become an isolationist country and "everybody would leave us alone"  Total BS.  Ron could not unite the party, in fact he would cause a split.  Death of the Republican Party as we know it would occur if he was the nominee.

           Duncan Hunter..... A "true conservative" in every sense of the word.  Duncan is strong on all conservative issues, especially illegal immigration.  Duncan could unite the party behind him.  Our party would have someone that all republicans could support.  The liberal media has failed to get behind Duncan, which is what should be expected.  They would prefer a republican candidate , like Huckabee, which would divide our party and be easier for the democrats to defeat next November.  Duncan gets a   "thumbs up" from me.

       Fred Thompson.  Fred is the only candidate that is conservative on all issues.  He is a Federalist, meaning that he is a supporter of states rights and less government.  Fred is the candidate that there are absolutely no negatives.  He has never flipped his position on any issue.  Fred is the one candidate that would appeal to every Republican.  Ron Paul supporters might be the exception, but most of them are libertarian and nothing short of a revolutionary would please them anyway.  Fred is for lower taxes, stronger military, anti abortion, anti gay-marriage, stopping illegal immigration and less government involvement in our lives, all main stay issues of the Republican Party.  Fred is the only candidate in the list that could unite the party and defeat the democrats in 2008.

 

Just the Facts... check them out for yourself.  America awaits your decision.

[glmjr]

Democratic Governor Endorses Mike Huckabee

Instead we have conservatives lining up behind Mike Huckabee because he agrees with them on two issues - gay marriage and abortion - neither of which the president can do much about. And all the while they ignore his liberal history as governor of Arkansas. If Huckabee is a real conservative, explain this: Since he's running in the Republican primaries for president, don't expect Mike Huckabee to be advertising the strong endorsement he just got from Ted Strickland, Ohio's Democratic governor.

It seems Mr. Strickland, who typically racked up a 95% rating from the liberal Americans for Democratic Action during his 16 years in Congress, has discovered a kindred spirit in Mr. Huckabee. He told the Cincinnati Enquirer last Sunday that Mr. Huckabee is a "combination of conservative views in some ways, but very, almost liberal views in other ways." Mr. Strickland concluded: "Of all the Republican candidates, Mr. Huckabee would be my personal choice."

NOW,,, THERE SHOULD BE NOT DOUBT IN YOUR MIND....HUCKABEE IS LOVED BY DEMOCRATS.

God save us if he is actually nominated by the Republican party, or should I say "former" Republican party ..if that actually occurs. 

YOUR CHOICE                           This                         OR                                   This. 

                                                        

NEITHER IS A PRETTY PICTURE

[papasmurf]

Your lead in is spot on and accurate. I came to the same conclusion last December, and posted so here on FR.

I said then, if a RINO was nominated, I’d sit out or write in. I believe even stronger in that statement today, one year later.

If our Country is to be ravaged, torn apart, and turned into a socialist state, if we are to give away our sovereignty, sell off our infrastructure, and mortgage our future, and if we are to support, no...encourage abortions by law ... let that person doing so wear a D on their chest, not an R. I want no part of it.

I truly wish more freepers, and all Americans, had your clarity. Very, very, good insight on your part, kudos to you, my FRiend!

[johnthebaptistmoore]

You forgot to mention Senator John McCain’s other “negatives” including: the ongoing “campaign finance reform mess”, thanks to McCain’s legislation; all of McCain’s votes against tax cuts; McCain’s problems with the “Keating Five”, which he keeps ignoring; McCain’s maverick ways on all of the issues, which have upset many conservatives for many years; McCain’s belief in man-made global warming and in the creation of carbon credits for both people and businesses; and McCain’s continued “cozying up” to the mainstream media on every issue every chance that he gets.

[dvan]

Question Please! How can Duncan Hunter be a "true connservative" and yet you rate Fred Thompson as the "only 100% Conservative" on all of the issues?

Duncan Hunter has scored 100% on his conservative score. Thompson scores around 89%.

[papasmurf]

Answer: I didn’t and never have. Duncan is a true Conservative, and so is FRed.

[upsdriver]

When you have an opposition party as evil and underhanded as the Democrats, you better have a whole belly full of fire. Reluctant leaders won’t get the job done.

IF? Fred Thompson really means this conservative rhetoric he has been spewing, he is in a fight of his life to get anything done against the Dems.

But then again, maybe he is reluctant because he really doesn’t believe the statements of conservatism he is making.

[Conservativegreatgrandma]

Read this. This shows a man who is at comfort with himself. My respect for him this week has only been enhanced. His command of the situation in Pakistan is reassuring and this interview shows he has his head screwed on right. Go, Fred. http://www.freerepublic.com:80/focus/f-news/1945742/posts

[JennysCool]

Fred’s not a “reluctant leader,” he just rejects the conventional wisdom of the past 15 years or so that a Presidential candidate has to be a maniac about being President.

He recognizes this is an office in service to America, not a goal to be lusted after.

[onedoug]

The stripes may seem appropriate.

[jesseam]

You are so right! God help the USA.

[IGOTMINE]

bump

[kaycee]

Fox gave him all of 15 minutes. The panel didn’t even mention his name. Well...maybe once.

[the Real fifi]

Fred’s closing argument to Iowans—gets rave review on NRO:
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YmUzZjIyNTBhOGE4ZGRkNzhmYzU3NTcyZjZhN2ZiOTE=

[MotleyGirl70]

I only caught the last few minutes of his interview this morning, so thank you for posting the transcripts.

[glmjr]

I know I’m right. I’m 60 and I’ve seen this type of thing before. I’ve been suckered into Jimmy Carter and Perot. I’ve learned a lot. The most important thing is to never, never comprimise your principles for the sake of winning.
george