Free Republic

Border Security and Immigration Reform PlanIn the post-9/11 world, immigration is much more of a national security issue. A government that cannot secure its borders and determine who may enter and who may not, fails in a fundamental responsibility. As we take steps to secure our borders and enforce our laws, we must also ensure that our immigration laws and policies advance our national interests in a variety of areas, and that the immigration process itself is as fair, efficient, and effective as possible. Securing the Border and Enforcing the Law A fundamental responsibility of the federal government is to...

(CNSNews.com) - On Tuesday, the day Fred Thompson made his debate debut in the 2008 presidential race, two conservative commentators criticized how the former Tennessee senator handled the 1990s Senate probe into Clinton campaign fundraising corruption. Thompson was chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee in 1997, when the committee probed Chinese money that allegedly poured into the 1996 re-election campaign of President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore. "Had there been a legitimate investigation of Chinese money laundering, the results would have been very different from the results of Monica Lewinsky," said John Gizzi, political editor for Human...

Former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) appears to be enjoying a bump in both national and state polls following his announcement tour, despite some comments that could cost him with conservative voters in the long run. Following a tour of the early-voting states, the Thompson campaign “leaked” what looked like an internal memo from campaign pollsters McLaughlin and Associates showing the former senator making gains on front-runner and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R).

At 7:57 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, while taping "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" for broadcast later in the evening, Fred Thompson finally said: "I'm running for president of the United States." The studio audience responded with thunderous applause. Thompson rejected the notion that he has waited too long to get into the race for the White House. "People treat politicians sort of like the dentist -- they don't have anything to do with them till they have to," he said. "A lot of people have been, of course, running for some time. Everybody kind of changed the rules. "...

Fred Thompson does not want to meet the Butter Princess. Everywhere he turns at this morning's meet-and-greet at the Minnesota State Fair, he is surrounded by hundreds of star-struck onlookers, many of them "Law & Order" fans who line up three-dozen deep for a close-up with the actor who would be president. Thompson, a sometimes reluctant campaigner, is in full movie-star mode, and has his good-ole-boy charm set on high. All the women he meets are "honey" and the men "buddy." Even dressed down in khakis and a blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up, he is hard to miss....

Sources close to the Thompson campaign have passed along the following first-day results for ImWithFred.com: Averaged close to 1,500 people per hour signing up as friends Averaged $12,000 per hour in contributions Raised more than $220,000 dollars via the website Seen just under half of the Friends send a message to others asking them to sign up or give. We'll see what traffic measuring services like Alexa say in a day or so, but this has to be considered a powerful shot across the bow.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson has created a fundraising committee that will allow him to begin raising money for a possible presidential campaign, according to Tennessee officials. Thompson filed papers Friday with the Tennessee Secretary of State creating “Friends of Fred Thompson,” a state-based corporation that will raise and spend money to gauge interest and support for a possible Thompson White House bid. Under federal law, prospective candidates are allowed to raise and spend money to “test the waters” for a bid for federal office without having to create a federal campaign committee. However, once a candidate...