unspun wrote: “May they take the time to find out if he is a conservative, by now.”
I took the time to find out. Fred Thompson IS a conservative:
*
Bill Kirkland, a university friend who studied law with Thompson, recalled... “He was a very conservative Republican even then. He was a huge supporter of Barry Goldwater in the 1964 presidential election.”
- Sarah Baxter, Times Online, April 15, 2007
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article1654837.ece
*
In 2000, Thompson got a 92 percent favorable rating from the American Conservative Union and a zero from the liberal Americans for Democratic Action.
- Mike Allen, The Politico, March 12, 2007
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0307/3074.html
*
“I like Fred Thompson. He was a capable senator. He is a good communicator. I disagree with him on some things, but in our ratings — I don’t have the exact number in front of me, but I think during his career in the Senate he was in the mid to upper ‘80s, which we consider solidly conservative.”
- CBS interview with ACU Leader David Keene, April 20, 2007
http://www.conservative.org/pressroom/thisweek/070420cbs.htm
*
While he was never a leading social conservative voice in the Senate, Thompson’s voting record during his eight years in Washington should be acceptable to anyone to the ideological right. Thompson was rated highly by conservative groups during his time in office, and surely won loyalty from conservatives when he squired Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts around Capitol Hill during his 2005 confirmation process.
- Chris Cillizza, washingtonpost.com’s Politics Blog, March 19, 2007
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/03/the_case_for_fred_thompson.html
*
A political analyst and former Democrat insider says actor and former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson is a solid conservative who would be a formidable candidate for president in 2008, should he choose to run.
Political analyst Keith Thompson says his namesake reminds him of Ronald Reagan. “He has a solid conservative voting record on issues of life, on issues of international security and national defense, the terrorism issue, the war,” says the analyst, concluding with the observation: “I don’t know of an issue that he has fallen short of in the broadly defined sort of ‘Reaganesque’ conservative mantle.”
- Chad Groening, AgapePress, March 20, 2007
http://www.gopusa.com/news/2007/march/0320_fred_thompson.shtml
*
Thompson may very well be the only true Conservative candidate if he chooses to run for the Presidency. The former Senator is pro-life, anti-gun control, pro-traditional marriage (between a man and woman), against activist judges, does not condone “special” rights for certain groups, such as gay rights, and is a firm believer in State’s rights.
- Liberally Conservative blog, March 11, 2007
http://www.liberallyconservative.com/?p=1744
*
Fred Thompson is the very candidate for whom the Conservative Movement has been searching. No other candidate projects the charisma and charm, as well as the name recognition and conservative credentials to which Fred Thompson can lay claim. Like President Reagan in 1980, Fred Thompson is the true conservative leader that can take the Party forward in the 21st Century.
- Dave Hinz, The Hinz Report, March 6, 2007
http://www.hinzsightreport.com/dave/dave-030607-1.html
*
No my friends, the man who you should start supporting now, as in today, is a man of character, a man of true Conservative values...
That man, my fellow Conservatives, is Tennessee’s Fred Thompson!
- Doug Hagin, The New Media Journal, March 23, 2007
http://therant.us/staff/hagin/03232007.htm
*
Thank you for the quotes. What I read here corroborates what I’ve understood about Fred Thompson, which in turn recommends others of the candidates for support, at this time.
Romney, Hunter and Tancredo come across as more conservative in their positions and emphases.
Potentially, Brownback and Huckabee, too.
And Romney is much, much more dynamic and charismatic.