AmSpec Breaks News on Thompson and the Life Issue
Thompson Was Always Pro-life in TN
By Hunter Baker Posted in 2008 — Comments (16) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
According to information from the American Spectator Blog's Philip Klein, the co-director of the National Right to Life Committee spoke to Fred Thompson when he originally ran for Senate in Tennessee. Her determination at the time was that Thompson was pro-life.
Here's a clip:
"I interviewed him and on all of the questions I asked him, he opposed abortion," St. Martin (currently NRLC co-director) said. She told me that the group went on to support him in that election, and his record reinforced for her that their determination was correct.
"He has a consistent voting record that is pro-life," she said.
*parenthetical added by me
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AmSpec Breaks News on Thompson and the Life Issue 16 Comments (0 topical, 16 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
Nothing against Fred Thompson, but...
Before you get too impressed by the NRTLC giving him a thumbs-up, recall that, in primaries for the 2000 election, when Gary Bauer and Steve Forbes were hitting George W. Bush for being partly pro-abortion (he supported legal abortion in cases of rape and incest, and he still does), the National Right to Life Committee issued a news release on the subject, faulting Bauer and Keyes for being too critical of Bush!
The fact is, Keyes and Bauer were doing what the NRTLC should have been doing. Instead, a prolife organization came to the defense of a partly pro-abortion candidate, against those who had pledged 100% support of prolife.
One of the reasons abortion is still legal nationwide (ie: Roe is still law), is that people like Bauer and Keyes are unwilling to accept the 98% solution while holding out for the perfect.
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Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't.
At least based on this thread.
I have to admit I get better vibes from Fred than from anybody else, but I really don't know much about him, other than he seems like a stand-up guy, something we sorely need again.
I know some large groups of people are one-issue voters, and insist on a clear pro-life stance. I'm not among 'em, I just agree that it's a medical/ethical issue to be decided by legislatures, not courts.
Our one-issue voters need to wake up to that fact that any Republican and any Conservative is far more likely to be amenable to their arguments than is a Democrat/Liberal, and they need to remember that on voting day.
I don't agree with all my Redstate friends on anything, but I'm a lot closer to them than to the wackos at Daily Kos.
A Thompson-Romney ticket might work, holding Condi Rice for another time.
Democrats on Iraq: "We don't want to win. We just want to quit."
The Spectator article refered to the source of this report as "".
It was actually from an AP writer in Nashville at the time and published in the 11-Nov 96 Memphis Commercial Appeal, which I've referenced here:
http://draftfredthompson.com/pix/11-4-96.pdf (Adobe Reader req)
There is a casual comment thrown in by the reporter(columnist??) stating that Thompson was "generally pro-choice", but this is not sourced anywhere in the article. The article goes on to say that (in the 2 years he had served to that point) he had voted AGAINST federal funding and FOR PBA Ban.
Political FUD... Hang it up Mitt "Kerry" Romney folks. You can't hang this on FDT... esp with well publicised items like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9IJUkYUbvI
Jeff Mitchell
draftfredthompson.com
The 1994 post-election edition of National Right to Life News has a list of newly minted pro-life Senators, Senator Thompson was listed with a small cross as he supported first trimester abortions.
Also, Bush wasn't attacked for favoring abortion for rape and incest, but rather signing a bill naming a highway after abortion and his refusal to promise to appoint pro-life judges.
Well someone needs to break the Guliani\McCain hyjacking of the
GOP. No sane conservative would vote for those two.
"Political FUD... Hang it up Mitt "Kerry" Romney folks. You can't hang this on FDT... esp with well publicised items like this:"
So how long does McCain hang on when his fundraising is drying up? He's got to know he's burned too many bridges and this thing's almost over for him. I say he quits the race in early to mid-April and Fred jumps in.
At that point you can stick a fork in Romney too. Conservatives like me who have been lukewarm to Rudy and Mitt will flock to Thompson in droves. Mitt will simply be squeezed out of the race. It'll come down to a Giuliani-Thompson matchup.
I like Fred's chances.
P.S. ABC's Washington affliate, WMAL, has started playing "Hail to the Chief" each day before Thompson starts his Paul Harvey spot. LOL
Go Fred go!
He is currently dropping like a rock in the national polls, which is surprising given his name recognition and favorable press clippings. He could be gone before it gets hot in Phoenix.
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Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't.
"During my lifetime, all our problems have come from mainland Europe, and all the solutions from the English-speaking nations across the world." - Thatcher
from month to month in national polls. He also didn't have the same sort of name recognition and media fawning that McCain gets.
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Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't.
Right now I am a Romney supporter because he the best available right now in my opinion, but I would jump ship to Fred in a blink of an eye.
Wubbies World - The odds of hitting your target go up dramatically when you actually aim for it!
The fact that the pro/anti-abortion issue for Thompson is so vague probably means that he never publicly said anything that could be interpreted as pro-abortion. His voting record doesn't indicate it. His current statements are certainly anti-.
Romney's problems with his abortion stance were identified almost immediately. Old speeches were quoted, so on and so forth. If Thompson actually made similar statements, we would have specifics right now. Do we have them? I thought not.
For many of us, the attraction to Thompson is based on
1. No large-scale public criticism of the President, on and one and on and ... (McCain)
2. No public support for every immoral issue that Republicans care about (abortion, gay rights. I don't specifically put gun control in this category, but we care about it, too: Giluiani)
3. No very recent conversion to causes that Republicans care about (see list above: Romney)
The man has consistently supported conservative, Republican causes. For those concerned about McCain-Feingold, a lot of Republicans signed on, including the President. Big mistake, but the hickey is universal among those Republicans with a chance. At least Thompson is willing to discuss repeal of the BCRA.
"The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'" ~Ronald Reagan