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Fred Thompson Wants “Due Process” for Osama Bin Laden
Republican presidential hopeful Fred Thompson poses for a photo during a campaign stop in Greenville, S.C., Monday, Sept. 10, 2007.
Are Champagne corks popping in Rudy Giuliani’s campaign office?
You betcha………
Flap cannot believe such a GAFFE…….
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Fred Thompson Watch: NO to Ice Cream But YES to Huckabee Debate?
Fred Thompson’s Past Support for Campaign Finance Reform Scrutinized
Fred Thompson Watch: Jim Mills Quote of the Day
Fred Thompson Watch: ANOTHER Campaign Aide OUTFred Thompson Scores “Direct Hit on Romneyâ€
Fred Thompson Watch: Thompson to Announce September 6 – Ducks GOP Debate
Fred Thompson to Announce for the Presidency Today
Fred Thompson to Announce an Announcement Date Today?
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Fred Thompson Watch: NO to Ice Cream But YES to Huckabee Debate?
Republican Presidential candidate and former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson (R-TN) speaks with patrons at Bob’s Drive Inn in Le Mars, Iowa, September 7 2007.
Fred Thompson campaigning in Iowa today refused ice cream and a Bob Dog but will he refuse Mike Huckabee’s challenge to debate?
Who can refuse ice cream in the “ice cream capital of the world?”
And, who can DUCK another GOP debate?
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Fred Thompson’s Past Support for Campaign Finance Reform Scrutinized
Fred Thompson Watch: Jim Mills Quote of the Day
Fred Thompson Watch: ANOTHER Campaign Aide OUTFred Thompson Scores “Direct Hit on Romneyâ€
Fred Thompson Watch: Thompson to Announce September 6 – Ducks GOP Debate
Fred Thompson to Announce for the Presidency Today
Fred Thompson to Announce an Announcement Date Today?
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Fred Thompson’s Past Support for Campaign Finance Reform Scrutinized
Republican Presidential candidate and former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson (R-TN) looks at his daughter Hayden, 4, as his wife Jeri looks on during a campaign stop at Bayliss Park in Council Bluffs, Iowa, September 6, 2007.
Now that Fred Thompson is a formal candidate for the Presidency among other issues being scrutinized is his position on campaign finance reform, most notably the John McCain-Russ Feingold initiated legislation that resulted in the passage of the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act.
His position is a problem for conservatives.
“It all gets back to pretty basic stuff for me,†Thompson said in 1997. “I think the American people look at a system where we spend so much time with our hand out for so much money from so many people who do so much business with the federal government who we are basically regulating and legislating on, and they look at that system and the amounts of money that are involved nowadays, and they don’t have much confidence in it.â€
This is a position that directly conflicts with the views of many conservatives, according to Brian Darling, director of Senate relations at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C. “Most conservatives think McCain-Feingold is an assault on the First Amendment and also did not forward the cause of making government more ethical,†said Darling, using the common shorthand for the 2002 campaign finance law.
And these activists haven’t forgotten Thompson’s role as an active proponent of that legislation.
“In the meetings that I have attended . . . where he’s been speaking to conservatives, it has come up,†said David A. Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union. “I think that is one area that a lot of conservatives have a lot of difficulty with him.â€
Here is Fred Thompson today on the Laura Ingraham Show:
INGRAHAM: One of the things that also happened in the Senate was McCain-Feingold and it was initially called McCain-Feingold-Thompson. And of course that’s campaign finance reform. As you know Senator Thompson, the Supreme Court struck down part of that as unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds. You know, issue ads that you can’t run before a general election or a primary contest, which for conservatives like me, are just an anathema to the First Amendment. And you now say that you’ve seen unintended consequences resulting from campaign finance. Would you today tell us that you made a mistake in supporting campaign finance reform?
FRED THOMPSON: Laura, ironically enough, all those things you said about Congress I added one more to. And that was the idea of people and companies and corporations, labor unions if they were allowed the way they were once upon a time, giving large sums of money to individual politicians. I don’t think it’s a good idea and then—
INGRAHAM: Well what about the issue ads?
FRED THOMPSON: Well, that’s a different story. I’ll get to that in a minute. But my main motivation for campaign finance—the issue ad thing was wasn’t even being discussed as far as I remember when the first debates were had and the first bill was proposed. It was a matter of whether or not you wanted to get rid of soft money. Bill Clinton and Dick Morris showed that you could use soft money in ways that people thought you’d get put in jail for a short time ago. So they poured it in instead of having the agreed upon limitations that historically Democrats, Republicans, conservatives, liberals, and everybody else pretty much acknowledged were constitutional because it had to do with federal elections and the idea that you don’t want to give too much money to any individual member of Congress and then come and lobby him for a bill. I mean that’s called bribery in the real world. But they kind of came in with this soft money to do the same thing through the back door so we wanted to do away with that. Now they added on something that was a mistake and that is the issue ads that you are talking about and I voted for all of it. So I support the first part, but I don’t support that.
INGRAHAM: And do you think at this point then that full disclosure of campaign contributions, what sources they come from, and I would say that unions and companies also represent people and people have First Amendment rights Senator Thompson. Again, I’m talking from my listeners and speaking for what they believe and I think right now we have an incumbency protection program in place where it’s very difficult to raise money.
FRED THOMPSON: Well I don’t agree on the amounts there because on the incumbency issue it was my amendment that brought the $1,000 dollar contribution limitation up to $2,000.INGRAHAM: But why should the government set that amount, Senator Thompson?
FRED THOMPSON: I tried to get it higher.
INGRAHAM: Why should the government be in the business of telling me how much I can give to my favorite candidate? How is that conservative?
FRED THOMPSON: Well, why should the government tell a loan officer that he cannot accept money from someone trying to get a loan from him and then go ahead and give that person a loan? I mean it’s bribery in the real world. It is a legitimate function of government to tell a politician or for a people to decide that it’s a not a good idea for me to be able to give a Congressmen who I’m trying to influence a large sum of money right before my vote comes up. You can have a debate, but our country decided that was a bad idea. Historically, worldwide, you can go back to ancient Rome and you will see comments made that Barry Goldwater, conservative Republicans of times past, they’ve all agreed on a reasonable limitation. Limitations have been too low, and as I say I offered an amendment and fought to get that limitation higher. I think it’s still too low because the low limitation is an incumbent protection. Incumbents are going to get their money. You need a higher limitation …
INGRAHAM: Yeah, I just don’t like government telling me …
FRED THOMPSON: … in order for challengers to have a decent shot at getting elected.
**********
If Fred Thompson is the “CONSERVATIVE” rushing into the Presidential race to SAVE the GOP from the “LIBERAL” Rudy or John McCain or Mitt Romney then after these statements today, how could anyone believe that Fred Thompson is a conservative at all?
Fred Thompson is NOT a conservative on campaign finance reform. He is a TWIN of John McCain on this issue.
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Fred Thompson Watch: ANOTHER Campaign Aide OUTFred Thompson Scores “Direct Hit on Romneyâ€
Fred Thompson Watch: Thompson to Announce September 6 – Ducks GOP Debate
Fred Thompson to Announce for the Presidency Today
Fred Thompson to Announce an Announcement Date Today?
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Fred Thompson Watch: Jim Mills Quote of the Day
Fred Thompson campaigning in Iowa Today
Quote of the Day from Jim Mills, former Thompson campaign spokesman:
“About the only people who haven’t worked in the Thompson press shop this summer are Larry Craig and that woman astronaut who wore those diapers cross country.”
OUCH!
Thompson communications adviser Mark Corallo has also left the campaign.
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Fred Thompson Watch: ANOTHER Campaign Aide OUT
Fred Thompson Scores “Direct Hit on Romneyâ€
Fred Thompson Watch: Thompson to Announce September 6 – Ducks GOP Debate
Fred Thompson to Announce for the Presidency Today
Fred Thompson to Announce an Announcement Date Today?
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Giuliani Poll Watch: South Carolina – Rudy and Fred in Dead Heat
Mayor Giuliani visits with firefighters in South Carolina, August 30, 2007
The latest South Carolina polling has Rudy and Fred Thompson locked in a virtual tie:- Fred Thompson 19%
- Rudy 18%
- John McCain 15%
- Mitt Romney 11%
- Newt Gingrich 9%
- Mike Huckabee 6%
The poll surveyed 400 likely Democratic and 400 likely Republican voters who were selected from those who voted in at least one of the past four Republican or Democratic primaries. The margin of error for each is plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.
The Real Clear Politics poll averages are here.
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Will Governor Haley Barbour Be Rudy Giuliani’s Pick for Vice President?
Rudy Giuliani Wins California Straw Poll
Giuliani Poll Watch: Romney and Rudy Locked in Battle for Michigan
Rudy Giuliani Watch: Running with Rudy
Rudy Giuliani Watch: Rudy Leading Hillary 47% to 44% in Latest National Rasmussen Poll
Rudy Giuliani Watch: Today’s Presidential Polls
Rudy Giuliani Watch: National Review – Rudy Gets an “A†on Health Care
Rudy Giuliani Watch: The Florida Firewall
Rudy Giuliani Watch: Rudy Leads Thompson By 15 Points in Latest Fox News Poll
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Duncan Hunter, Fred Thompson, GOP, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, President 2008, Rudy Giuliani, Sam Brownback
GOP Debate Watch : Who Won Tonight’s New Hampshire Debate?
Republican presidential candidates former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) pose for photographers before their debate at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, New Hampshire September 5, 2007.
Winners:
John McCain reasserted himself in tonight’s debate as an experienced politician. Remember McCain beat George W Bush in New Hampshire in 2000.
Rudy held his own (despite Fox’s Frank Lunz’s New Hampshire focus groups) made NO errors and looked Presidential. He remains the national frontrunner. There is NO DOUBT that Rudy has the executive leadership that will keep America SAFE.
Mike Huckabee schooled Ron Paul on the Iraq War and American resolve.
Losers:
Mitt Romney looked befuddled and indecisive. The question about his sons not serving in the military was devastating. Flap will be surprised if the race doesn’t tighten and Romney loses his lead.
Fred Thompson for not being present.
This should be the last debate for the remaining candidates unless they poll more than 5% in any national poll.
What are others saying?
Marc Ambiner – The Atlantic: “My gut instinct: Mike Huckabee and Rudy Giuliani won. John McCain did very well, too.”
National Review’s Kate O’Beirne: “[G]iuliani scored a hit … by raising importance of executive experience.
National Review’s Rich Lowry: “[Giuliani] is so good in these debates.â€
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Fred Thompson Watch: ANOTHER Campaign Aide OUT
Former Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., addresses the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2007 in Kansas City, Mo. Thompson is airing a 30-second ad on Fox News Channel Wednesday Sept. 5, 2007,during the broadcast of a Republican presidential debate from New Hampshire encouraging viewers to visit his Web site Thursday when he will announce his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
Jim Mills is OUT and Karen Hanretty is IN.
A fair trade but will Thompson’s campaign FINALLY decide on their staff?
Flap says their campaign is unfocused and in disarray as it starts.
When McCain endorses Rudy put a fork in Thompson – he’s done.
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Fred Thompson Scores “Direct Hit on Romneyâ€
Fred Thompson Watch: Thompson to Announce September 6 – Ducks GOP Debate
Fred Thompson to Announce for the Presidency Today
Fred Thompson to Announce an Announcement Date Today?
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Fred Thompson Scores “Direct Hit on Romney”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loZ3EH1JZb4[/youtube]
Chris Matthews does the HONOR.
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Fred Thompson Watch: Thompson to Announce September 6 – Ducks GOP Debate
Fred Thompson to Announce for the Presidency Today
Fred Thompson to Announce an Announcement Date Today?
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Fred Thompson Watch: Thompson to Announce September 6 – Ducks GOP Debate
Former Senator Fred Thompson speaks during the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ 108th National Convention in Kansas City, Missouri August 21, 2007. Thompson will make his candidacy for the White House official next week and tour through the early 2008 voting states, his campaign said on Thursday.
Fred Thompson announced today that he will announce his candidacy for the Presidency on Thursday, September 6th.
In the meantime, it is being reported that Thompson will appear on the NBC Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Wednesday night, September 5th, thereby missing a Fox News sponsored GOP debate in New Hampshire.
Fred is entering the race late and then DUCKS his first chance to discuss the issues in a GOP debate.
Bad move because it reinforces the CW that Thompson is LAZY and doesn’t have the “fire in his belly” to run a Presidential campaign……..and his poll numbers are already declining.
Stay tuned……Previous:
Fred Thompson to Announce for the Presidency Today
Fred Thompson to Announce an Announcement Date Today?
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Fred Thompson to Announce for the Presidency Today
Republican presidential hopeful, former Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., speaks at the Midwest Republican Leadership Conference in Indianapolis, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2007.
According to Red State, Fred will announce and promptly get LOST in the slow Labor Day news traffic.
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Fred Thompson to Announce an Announcement Date Today?
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