The Fred Thompson Thread

Off Topic Politics & World Issues
21

[quote]LIFTICVSMAXIMVS wrote:
Zap Branigan wrote:
And who did they take it from?

No one. It was supposedly uninhabited when they emigrated from Asia.[/quote]

Wow,

they lived 15000-30000 years, side by side, in harmony with nature until the white man came and slaughtered them.

Sniff.

Are you sure they were not human and didn?t constantly fight wars against each other, invented religions that required massive amounts of human sacrifices, finished off allmost any species of large land mammal and were then killed by germs they were not prepared to deal with?

22

[quote]Brad61 wrote:
What exactly is the appeal of Fred Thompson? Here’s a chance for the Fred fans to toot their horn.
[/quote]
He’s a celebrity, sort of…but in order to be a real celebrity you have to have an entourage of paparazzi, an addiction, and or be featured on E! in your own special.

Didn’t he play a politician on a TV show once?

23

[quote]orion wrote:
Are you sure they were not human and didn?t constantly fight wars against each other, invented religions that required massive amounts of human sacrifices, finished off allmost any species of large land mammal and were then killed by germs they were not prepared to deal with? [/quote]

Typically, I am sure they behaved as human are wont to behave. I am not sure that we can expect otherwise. They fought wars I am sure but no one tribe sought to push all native peoples off the land until the white man came.

Besides this, history has no bearing on what is right and good for the present day and age. For example, “doctors” used to drill holes in a patient’s head to exercise demons–we no longer consider this acceptable.

24

Here goes.

  1. He has been both inside and outside DC, and he has the advantages of each.

  2. He has gravitas - he is articulate, versatile on policy, blunt, and he has “the voice”. Doesn’t hurt that he is around 6-5 and can furrow his brow.

  3. Has conservative credentials, but in a common sense, less ideological way. He has mainstream appeal and a populist streak.

  4. He actually talks about how how government should be run. He mentions federalism and limiting government. Along with what should be done, he is interested in how it gets done - and that is refreshing in a day and age of two parties who essentially think there should be no responsibility in government.

  5. He is exactly the kind of executive you want sitting across from the table of the enemies of the US.

  6. He doesn’t lust for the office. He thinks he can do a better job than anyone else, but he isn’t desparate for it (see Hillary Clinton). If you need further proof, see Barack Obama’s wife getting out into the public and trying to make the case Obama really doesn’t want the job, but feels a sense of duty to the job. Imitation. flattery, and so forth.

  7. He has a good personal story.

25

[quote]thunderbolt23 wrote:

  1. He has been both inside and outside DC, and he has the advantages of each.
    [/quote]Such as?

[quote]
2. Doesn’t hurt that he is around 6-5 and can furrow his brow.
[/quote]Irrelevant.

[quote]
5. He is exactly the kind of executive you want sitting across from the table of the enemies of the US.
[/quote]In what way?

[quote]
7. He has a good personal story.[/quote]
Irrelevant.

The other examples I might agree with you on.

26

[quote]LIFTICVSMAXIMVS wrote:

Such as?[/quote]

He has served in the Senate and in DC circles in law and public policy. He has also worked outside of DC, having a law practice in Tennessee and an acting career in Hollywood.

[quote]2. Doesn’t hurt that he is around 6-5 and can furrow his brow.
Irrelevant.[/quote]

Nonsense - people react to this. It may not win or lose an election, but it doesn’t hurt. You might prefer it not to matter - maybe you are short - but it does.

[quote]5. He is exactly the kind of executive you want sitting across from the table of the enemies of the US.
In what way?[/quote]

He would be taken seriously, moreso than, say, a naive and vacant Obama or a plastic Edwards. Enemies are likely to get the correct impression Thompson wouldn’t suffer fools gladly - an attitude our enemies should experience.

[quote]7. He has a good personal story.
Irrelevant.[/quote]

Nonsense, again - but why am I not surprised - American voters can appreciate a self-made type who earned his spurs. And, a little real world experience would go a long way in the Beltway. Will it win an election? Dunno - but again, as I said, it doesn’t hurt.

Super.

27

Here’s why he’ll probably be elected:

[edit] Notable current Council members
Dick Cheney
Jonothan S. Bush - George W. Bush’s First Cousin. [2]
Fred Thompson
Condoleezza Rice
Paul Wolfowitz
Robert M. Gates
John D. Negroponte
Leslie Gelb
Colin Powell

These are some of the members of the CFR.

Just about every president since WWII has been a member. They basically choose who wants a turn implementing the CFR’s policy and subverting American nationalism and sovereignty.

28

Damn, this shouldn’t be a tax debate, per se, but some of you folks should get a bit less idealistic concerning some of these things.

While social programs can be done wrong, and they can be expensive, they can also have very important positive impacts on society and economy.

They should be treated as investments in citizens and they should be run in a way to help people to realize a path out of poverty.

Why? Poverty breeds crime, drugs, and plenty of other social ills that people like to bitch about. It costs a lot of money to deal with these problems.

I’m not saying government knows best or that people deserve handouts. Shit, if a liberal is running on handouts and entitlements, then I’d be against that too. Just don’t assume it is as black and white as ideologies dictate.

As for Thompson, if he’s an intelligent man who isn’t bent on assuming a Kingship that let’s him do whatever the hell he feels like, and if he understands the fact that world affairs are complex, and if he is fiscally conservative, and if he can resist the fundamentalists (the equivalent of the ridiculous wing of the left), and if he understands that cronyism is bad policy, then he might make a good president.

Maybe, for good measure, he’ll want to actually secure the goddamn border…

Some republicans are as guilty as the democrats they chastise. Don’t accept whatever you can get that calls itself a republican simply because of some blind ideology.

29

[quote]thunderbolt23 wrote:
5. He is exactly the kind of executive you want sitting across from the table of the enemies of the US.
In what way?

He would be taken seriously, moreso than, say, a naive and vacant Obama or a plastic Edwards. Enemies are likely to get the correct impression Thompson wouldn’t suffer fools gladly - an attitude our enemies should experience.
[/quote]

Case in point: FDR. In a wheelchair, berating Churchhill, of all people, in front of Stalin. This helped Stalin by showing a fractured non communist front between the other two superpowers.

FDR also thought Stalin wasn’t as dangerous as Churchhill suggested… and to top it off, FDR thought he could take care of Stalin in time. All from a wheelchair. A physical position of weakness. Stalin played this President as he was a fool. But maybe, FDR was a sympathetic socialist himself.

As for Thompson, I’m interested in what he has to say. It can’t be any worse than any of the current hopefuls.

30

[quote]thunderbolt23 wrote:
Here goes.

  1. He has been both inside and outside DC, and he has the advantages of each.

  2. He has gravitas - he is articulate, versatile on policy, blunt, and he has “the voice”. Doesn’t hurt that he is around 6-5 and can furrow his brow.

  3. Has conservative credentials, but in a common sense, less ideological way. He has mainstream appeal and a populist streak.

  4. He actually talks about how how government should be run. He mentions federalism and limiting government. Along with what should be done, he is interested in how it gets done - and that is refreshing in a day and age of two parties who essentially think there should be no responsibility in government.

  5. He is exactly the kind of executive you want sitting across from the table of the enemies of the US.

  6. He doesn’t lust for the office. He thinks he can do a better job than anyone else, but he isn’t desparate for it (see Hillary Clinton). If you need further proof, see Barack Obama’s wife getting out into the public and trying to make the case Obama really doesn’t want the job, but feels a sense of duty to the job. Imitation. flattery, and so forth.

  7. He has a good personal story.[/quote]

Well said.

Noting Thompson’s physical presence is interesting. Although some of the guys here without heads on their shoulders play that off, it certainly has a psychological effect on our enemies and other world leaders. You seriously think Edwards or Hillary would be respected(ie. feared) in the Middle East?

I also like the game of saying “Nobody knows what he stands for!!!” Thats crap.
Here are a list of quotes from a Fox News interview conducted with Thompson.

“I think Roe vs. Wade was bad law and bad medical science. And the way to address that is through good judges.”

“I think that we ought to be a tolerant nation. I think we ought to be tolerant people. But we shouldn’t set up special categories for anybody.”

“You know, marriage is between a man and a woman, and I don’t believe judges ought to come along and change that.”

“I’m against gun control generally. You know, you check my record. You’ll find I’m pretty consistent on that issue.”

“The court [by overturning the D.C. gun ban] basically said the Constitution means what it says, and I agree with that.”

“We’ve got a situation where people could give politicians huge sums of money, which is the soft money situation at that time, and then come before those same politicians and ask them to pass legislation for them. I mean, you get thrown in jail for stuff like that in the real world.”

“I’m concerned about the next 12 million or 20 million [illegal immigrants]. So that’s why enforcement, and enforcement at the border, has to be primary.”

“If Saddam Hussein was still around today with his sons looking at Iran developing a nuclear capability, he undoubtedly would have reconstituted his nuclear capability. Things would be worse than what they are today.”

“Wars are full of mistakes. You rectify things. I think we’re doing that now.”

“I’d do it [pardon Scooter Libby] now. This is a trial that never would have been brought in any other part of the world. This is a miscarriage of justice.”

“We’ve got an entitlement program that’s bankrupting us. We’ve got things going on in Thailand, in Indonesia, in places that nobody ever talks about anymore that could impact on us.”

“They’re [the Red Chinese] still a totalitarian government that is building up their military tremendously and has 200 missiles pointed toward Taiwan.”

Very plain spoken. Compared to the current crop of snakes(mostly) running for pres, he seems to be what I am looking for.

If he throws his hat in the ring, Im with him.

31

[quote]JD430 wrote:
“I think Roe vs. Wade was bad law and bad medical science. And the way to address that is through good judges.”

“I think that we ought to be a tolerant nation. I think we ought to be tolerant people. But we shouldn’t set up special categories for anybody.”

“You know, marriage is between a man and a woman, and I don’t believe judges ought to come along and change that.”

“I’m against gun control generally. You know, you check my record. You’ll find I’m pretty consistent on that issue.”

“The court [by overturning the D.C. gun ban] basically said the Constitution means what it says, and I agree with that.”

“We’ve got a situation where people could give politicians huge sums of money, which is the soft money situation at that time, and then come before those same politicians and ask them to pass legislation for them. I mean, you get thrown in jail for stuff like that in the real world.”

“I’m concerned about the next 12 million or 20 million [illegal immigrants]. So that’s why enforcement, and enforcement at the border, has to be primary.”

“If Saddam Hussein was still around today with his sons looking at Iran developing a nuclear capability, he undoubtedly would have reconstituted his nuclear capability. Things would be worse than what they are today.”

“Wars are full of mistakes. You rectify things. I think we’re doing that now.”

“I’d do it [pardon Scooter Libby] now. This is a trial that never would have been brought in any other part of the world. This is a miscarriage of justice.”

“We’ve got an entitlement program that’s bankrupting us. We’ve got things going on in Thailand, in Indonesia, in places that nobody ever talks about anymore that could impact on us.”

“They’re [the Red Chinese] still a totalitarian government that is building up their military tremendously and has 200 missiles pointed toward Taiwan.”

Very plain spoken. Compared to the current crop of snakes(mostly) running for pres, he seems to be what I am looking for.

If he throws his hat in the ring, Im with him.[/quote]

Good stuff JD, thaks for posting it.

32

Definitely stuff that will get the “far right” riled up…

I’d prefer to hear a bit more depth on those types of issues. Oh well.

33

“The consensus seemed to be that he didn’t like to work real hard, but was good to have on your team,” said a Senate Republican aide. “People said the same thing about (former President) Ronald Reagan,” another one-time Hollywood star.

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyid=2007-06-01T164845Z_01_N01317970_RTRUKOC_0_US-USA-POLITICS-THOMPSON.xml

Great. lets get another lazy president like Bush in there.

Didn’t Thompson vote for the McCain Feingold campaign finance bill?

I’d say the appeal is less being pro-Thompson and more about the lack of enthusisastic support for the other GOP candidates. It would be Thompson by default.

34

[quote]Brad61 wrote:
“The consensus seemed to be that he didn’t like to work real hard, but was good to have on your team,” said a Senate Republican aide. “People said the same thing about (former President) Ronald Reagan,” another one-time Hollywood star.

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyid=2007-06-01T164845Z_01_N01317970_RTRUKOC_0_US-USA-POLITICS-THOMPSON.xml

Great. lets get another lazy president like Bush in there.

Didn’t Thompson vote for the McCain Feingold campaign finance bill?

I’d say the appeal is less being pro-Thompson and more about the lack of enthusisastic support for the other GOP candidates. It would be Thompson by default.[/quote]

Oh, I’d agree. I’m not genuinely enthusiastic about any republican candidate. It’s just that I’m far, far, far less enthusiastic about having a Democrat running things.

35

Hah, I just read an article about Fred’s old red Chevy pickup truck, which he used to drive around in while campaigning for his 1990 Senate campaign.

It was a rental.

36

[quote]thunderbolt23 wrote:
He has served in the Senate and in DC circles in law and public policy. [/quote]

Right, Fred Thompson was a DC lobbyist for 20 years. Or as you would say, he “served” in “DC circles” in “public policy”.

Why can’t you just say he was a Lobbyist? Why try to dress it up and pretend it was something else?

37

[quote]JD430 wrote:
thunderbolt23 wrote:
Here goes.

  1. He has been both inside and outside DC, and he has the advantages of each.

  2. He has gravitas - he is articulate, versatile on policy, blunt, and he has “the voice”. Doesn’t hurt that he is around 6-5 and can furrow his brow.

  3. Has conservative credentials, but in a common sense, less ideological way. He has mainstream appeal and a populist streak.

  4. He actually talks about how how government should be run. He mentions federalism and limiting government. Along with what should be done, he is interested in how it gets done - and that is refreshing in a day and age of two parties who essentially think there should be no responsibility in government.

  5. He is exactly the kind of executive you want sitting across from the table of the enemies of the US.

  6. He doesn’t lust for the office. He thinks he can do a better job than anyone else, but he isn’t desparate for it (see Hillary Clinton). If you need further proof, see Barack Obama’s wife getting out into the public and trying to make the case Obama really doesn’t want the job, but feels a sense of duty to the job. Imitation. flattery, and so forth.

  7. He has a good personal story.

Well said.

Noting Thompson’s physical presence is interesting. Although some of the guys here without heads on their shoulders play that off, it certainly has a psychological effect on our enemies and other world leaders. You seriously think Edwards or Hillary would be respected(ie. feared) in the Middle East?

I also like the game of saying “Nobody knows what he stands for!!!” Thats crap.
Here are a list of quotes from a Fox News interview conducted with Thompson.

“I think Roe vs. Wade was bad law and bad medical science. And the way to address that is through good judges.”

“I think that we ought to be a tolerant nation. I think we ought to be tolerant people. But we shouldn’t set up special categories for anybody.”

“You know, marriage is between a man and a woman, and I don’t believe judges ought to come along and change that.”

“I’m against gun control generally. You know, you check my record. You’ll find I’m pretty consistent on that issue.”

“The court [by overturning the D.C. gun ban] basically said the Constitution means what it says, and I agree with that.”

“We’ve got a situation where people could give politicians huge sums of money, which is the soft money situation at that time, and then come before those same politicians and ask them to pass legislation for them. I mean, you get thrown in jail for stuff like that in the real world.”

“I’m concerned about the next 12 million or 20 million [illegal immigrants]. So that’s why enforcement, and enforcement at the border, has to be primary.”

“If Saddam Hussein was still around today with his sons looking at Iran developing a nuclear capability, he undoubtedly would have reconstituted his nuclear capability. Things would be worse than what they are today.”

“Wars are full of mistakes. You rectify things. I think we’re doing that now.”

“I’d do it [pardon Scooter Libby] now. This is a trial that never would have been brought in any other part of the world. This is a miscarriage of justice.”

“We’ve got an entitlement program that’s bankrupting us. We’ve got things going on in Thailand, in Indonesia, in places that nobody ever talks about anymore that could impact on us.”

“They’re [the Red Chinese] still a totalitarian government that is building up their military tremendously and has 200 missiles pointed toward Taiwan.”

Very plain spoken. Compared to the current crop of snakes(mostly) running for pres, he seems to be what I am looking for.

If he throws his hat in the ring, Im with him.[/quote]

JD,

Good stuff. Did you by any chance watch him speaking in Richmond, Virginia?

I watched it on CSPAN and thought he did well.

Plain spoken. Employed humor. Strong presence.

I liked the border enforcement emphasis.

I think Rudy is stronger and would have more cross-over appeal.

However, if F.T. is the nominee, we certainly could do worse.

JeffR

38

[quote]Brad61 wrote:
“The consensus seemed to be that he didn’t like to work real hard, but was good to have on your team,” said a Senate Republican aide. “People said the same thing about (former President) Ronald Reagan,” another one-time Hollywood star.

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyid=2007-06-01T164845Z_01_N01317970_RTRUKOC_0_US-USA-POLITICS-THOMPSON.xml

Great. lets get another lazy president like Bush in there.

Didn’t Thompson vote for the McCain Feingold campaign finance bill?

I’d say the appeal is less being pro-Thompson and more about the lack of enthusisastic support for the other GOP candidates. It would be Thompson by default.[/quote]

Great source there, buddy. An anonymous Senate Aid said these things about Thompson huh? From my experiences with the media, beware of the anonymous source like this…usually just a way for the author to get his personal beliefs or attacks out and try to give them legitimacy.

At this point, nobody can say for certain
what Fred Thompson is about, but the slander already coming out of guys like you is actually very encouraging to me.

39

[quote]JeffR wrote:
JD430 wrote:
thunderbolt23 wrote:
Here goes.

  1. He has been both inside and outside DC, and he has the advantages of each.

  2. He has gravitas - he is articulate, versatile on policy, blunt, and he has “the voice”. Doesn’t hurt that he is around 6-5 and can furrow his brow.

  3. Has conservative credentials, but in a common sense, less ideological way. He has mainstream appeal and a populist streak.

  4. He actually talks about how how government should be run. He mentions federalism and limiting government. Along with what should be done, he is interested in how it gets done - and that is refreshing in a day and age of two parties who essentially think there should be no responsibility in government.

  5. He is exactly the kind of executive you want sitting across from the table of the enemies of the US.

  6. He doesn’t lust for the office. He thinks he can do a better job than anyone else, but he isn’t desparate for it (see Hillary Clinton). If you need further proof, see Barack Obama’s wife getting out into the public and trying to make the case Obama really doesn’t want the job, but feels a sense of duty to the job. Imitation. flattery, and so forth.

  7. He has a good personal story.

Well said.

Noting Thompson’s physical presence is interesting. Although some of the guys here without heads on their shoulders play that off, it certainly has a psychological effect on our enemies and other world leaders. You seriously think Edwards or Hillary would be respected(ie. feared) in the Middle East?

I also like the game of saying “Nobody knows what he stands for!!!” Thats crap.
Here are a list of quotes from a Fox News interview conducted with Thompson.

“I think Roe vs. Wade was bad law and bad medical science. And the way to address that is through good judges.”

“I think that we ought to be a tolerant nation. I think we ought to be tolerant people. But we shouldn’t set up special categories for anybody.”

“You know, marriage is between a man and a woman, and I don’t believe judges ought to come along and change that.”

“I’m against gun control generally. You know, you check my record. You’ll find I’m pretty consistent on that issue.”

“The court [by overturning the D.C. gun ban] basically said the Constitution means what it says, and I agree with that.”

“We’ve got a situation where people could give politicians huge sums of money, which is the soft money situation at that time, and then come before those same politicians and ask them to pass legislation for them. I mean, you get thrown in jail for stuff like that in the real world.”

“I’m concerned about the next 12 million or 20 million [illegal immigrants]. So that’s why enforcement, and enforcement at the border, has to be primary.”

“If Saddam Hussein was still around today with his sons looking at Iran developing a nuclear capability, he undoubtedly would have reconstituted his nuclear capability. Things would be worse than what they are today.”

“Wars are full of mistakes. You rectify things. I think we’re doing that now.”

“I’d do it [pardon Scooter Libby] now. This is a trial that never would have been brought in any other part of the world. This is a miscarriage of justice.”

“We’ve got an entitlement program that’s bankrupting us. We’ve got things going on in Thailand, in Indonesia, in places that nobody ever talks about anymore that could impact on us.”

“They’re [the Red Chinese] still a totalitarian government that is building up their military tremendously and has 200 missiles pointed toward Taiwan.”

Very plain spoken. Compared to the current crop of snakes(mostly) running for pres, he seems to be what I am looking for.

If he throws his hat in the ring, Im with him.

JD,

Good stuff. Did you by any chance watch him speaking in Richmond, Virginia?

I watched it on CSPAN and thought he did well.

Plain spoken. Employed humor. Strong presence.

I liked the border enforcement emphasis.

I think Rudy is stronger and would have more cross-over appeal.

However, if F.T. is the nominee, we certainly could do worse.

JeffR
[/quote]

I didn’t see the speech.

Rudy may have stronger cross-over appeal,
certainly in the more liberal Northeast where I am from. He is generally revered as a hero in NYC. His potential to carry
NY and maybe even Cali must keep Hillary up at night.

However, he strays to far from some of my personal principles, especially gun rights. It looks like I prefer Thompson at this point. Regardless, who ever gets the nod, you can rest assured I won’t pull a lever for one of the socialists masquerading as Democrats.

40

Hmmm…let’s see…

Caucasian male, check. Says all the right conservative stuff about smaller gov’t, check. Well recognized and a good speaker, check.

CFR member in good standing, double check.

Freddy will win.