'Law and Order' president? (Bill Frist e-mail about Fred Thompson)

The Chicago Tribune ^ | 3/17/06 | Michael Tackett

[LdSentinal]

Bill Frist, former senate majority leader, former presidential aspirant, and current promoter of the idea of Fred Thompson as president of the United States, sends out an email this morning.

Thompson, current actor on 'Law and Order' and former Tennessee senator himself, is mulling a run for the White House, or so Frist would have us believe.

Here's what Frist is telling supporters:

Three things I need to share this morning:

I talked to Fred Thompson last night, really just to share with him the tremendous support that he has received from all of you who have blogged on the Volpac web site over the past 4 days. In your messages many of you have given specific suggestions, and I passed them on to him. If there are messages, or ideas that you'd like to get to Fred, write them below, to stimulate others with your ideas, and I will share them with Fred. Now is the time for big ideas ... big, true conservative ideas that rise above the fray. Fred is listening. He will carefully consider running over the next several weeks. His public statements exactly reflect what he is thinking inside.

[Emmett McCarthy]

It's been a number of years so I can't recall the details the way I'd like, but maybe some of you others can. An acquaintance of mine (actually my ex-wife's now ex-husband) had a son killed in the 1st Gulf War. The circumstances were called into question and Thompson picked up the ball to get to the bottom of it. It turns out that it was a tragic "friendly fire" incident, but the officers and some of the troops involved not only covered it up but got medals and promotions out of it. If I remember correctly, there were Senate hearings and the commendations were revoked, some individuals may have been demoted or even dismissed from the service. It might not have happened without Thompson and I don't guess it made him real popular with some, but it was the right thing to do and he did it. I'd like to see a person of his character in the White House and representing a conservative agenda.

[Mojave]

Nobody actively supports baby killing.

Rudy does. And he wants to force us to pay for it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALDfwXIYUX0

[Mojave]

"...Thompson initiated a Congressional investigation into a friendly fire incident during the Gulf War which claimed the life of Sgt. Lance Fielder of Nashville..."

[Emmett McCarthy]

Yes, I knew the names obviously since the young man's father was married to my ex at the time, but I don't claim to remember all the details. Does anybody else?

[Graymatter]

Giuliani endorses taxpayer funding of abortions. It doesn't get more active than that. Making you and me pay for it or face legal penalties.

[Mojave]

http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA293803

[tioga]

Nobody actively supports baby killing.

now THAT is one naive statement...care to restate your opinion?

[Mojave]

Owing to Giuliani’s support for abortion, NARAL head Kate Michelman anticipated sitting out a Hillary Clinton–Rudy Giuliani Senate match-up. She explained that NARAL wouldn’t “take sides in the race because both likely candidates are abortion-rights advocates.”

http://levin.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NWVhNzkzNDI1NWM0Y2IwZjUzYWUzMjAwZjkzODRjMWY=

[tkathy]

What did GWB or Reagan do about "baby killing"? National politics is less and less about this unsolveable problem, which belongs in the states.

[Mojave]

"As we continue to work to overturn Roe v. Wade, we must also continue to lay the groundwork for a society in which abortion is not the accepted answer to unwanted pregnancy. Pro-life people have already taken heroic steps, often at great personal sacrifice, to provide for unwed mothers. I recently spoke about a young pregnant woman named Victoria, who said, "In this society we save whales, we save timber wolves and bald eagles and Coke bottles. Yet, everyone wanted me to throw away my baby." She has been helped by Save-a-Life, a group in Dallas, which provides a way for unwed mothers to preserve the human life within them when they might otherwise be tempted to resort to abortion. I think also of House of His Creation in Catesville, Pennsylvania, where a loving couple has taken in almost 200 young women in the past ten years. They have seen, as a fact of life, that the girls are not better off having abortions than saving their babies. I am also reminded of the remarkable Rossow family of Ellington, Connecticut, who have opened their hearts and their home to nine handicapped adopted and foster children." --Ronald Reagan

By contrast:

Owing to Giuliani’s support for abortion, NARAL head Kate Michelman anticipated sitting out a Hillary Clinton–Rudy Giuliani Senate match-up. She explained that NARAL wouldn’t “take sides in the race because both likely candidates are abortion-rights advocates.”

[Emmett McCarthy]

Thanks for the reference.

[Josh Painter]

tkathy wrote: "What did GWB or Reagan do about "baby killing"? National politics is less and less about this unsolveable problem, which belongs in the states."

But to get it to the states, you have to have a conservative Supreme Court. GWB appointed two good conservatives to the Court.

Fred Thompson would in all liklihood have the opportunity to appoint two more, as JP Stevens and RB Ginsburg are both in poor health and hanging on for dear life in hopes that a liberal will win the presidency next year.

[tioga]

-GW signed an a partial birth abortin law. He named two SC justices who are pro-life. -and I see someone already responded in Reagan's defense.

I NEVER vote for a abortion supported candidate.

[Mojave]

Fred Thompson would in all liklihood have the opportunity to appoint two more, as JP Stevens and RB Ginsburg

Good point! Plus, Rudy is a big fan of Ginsburg.

[AuntB]

http://mpa.utk.edu/thompson/biography.htm

[Mojave]

"Additionally, in 2005, Bush assigned Thompson the task of guiding Supreme Court nominee John Roberts through the Senate confirmation process."

That's impressive!

[WOSG]

The reason Rudy's getting support is he's a butt kicker, not because he's being pushed by anyone or anything."

Wrong, he's getting celebrity support that's an inch deep because he hasnt taken any really tough stands. What is Rudy's plan to win in Iraq?

It's absolutely shameful that supposedly smart Republican people are willing to support Rudy without demanding answers on tough issues like Iraq, abortion, spending plans, energy, etc. He's mouthing platitudes only. This is a recipe for disaster later.

[AuntB]

That's impressive!

In the same article, the not so impressive....

"During his first years in the Senate, Thompson also began his fight for campaign finance reform. In September 1995, he introduced bipartisan legislation, along with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI),"

[WOSG]

"actively supports baby killing???

Nobody actively supports baby killing."

But he joined the pro-abort extremists in opposing partial birth abortion legislation.

Count me as someone who would prefer any of Thompson, Romney or Gingrich or Hunter over Rudy as our nominee.

[Mojave]

What is Rudy's plan to win in Iraq?

Good question.

However, as a February 2007 New York Times article pointed out, "Mr. Giuliani has been alone [among Republican candidates] in saying that such a strategy may not succeed, potentially providing him cover should the situation in Iraq deteriorate further. And he has put the strategy in a broader context that plays down the importance of Iraq."