Fred Thompson's Papers Draw New Interest

(AP)  Republican Fred Thompson's previously little-noticed personal papers from his eight years in the U.S. Senate are suddenly in demand as the "Law & Order" TV star nears a decision on a 2008 presidential run.

Even though he has not declared himself a candidate, recent polls show the well-known actor in the top tier of Republican candidates, placing in the top two or three in some states. Already, he is a favorite of U.S. conservatives who are underwhelmed with the current candidates.

Thompson's papers — donated to the University of Tennessee four years ago when he gave up his political career in favor of acting — reveal a candidate whose record on public issues is sometimes inconsistent, often nuanced and occasionally surprising.

Some examples:

Thompson recently said he was opposed to abortion rights and noted that National Right to Life endorsed him in his 1994 Senate race. But for a 1996 questionnaire he said, "I will not set a litmus test for any U.S. Supreme court nominee who has shown an understanding of the principles set forth by the Constitution."

As a senator, Thompson voted for legislation to ban so-called partial-birth abortion and to prohibit federal funding of abortions except in cases of rape, incest or when the life of the mother is in danger.

But he also told a 1994 questionnaire, "I do not believe abortion should be criminalized. This battle will be won in the hearts and souls of the American people."

In a candidate survey the same year for The Tennessean newspaper, Thompson said states should have the right to impose "reasonable restrictions on abortions such as parental notification." But he said, "The ultimate decision on abortion should be left with the woman and not the government."

He told the National Rifle Association he supported every suggested reason to own a firearm — from constitutional right to personal protection — and "no prohibition" on their manufacture, sale or transfer.

Although Thompson has appeared in some 20 movies and in the NBC series "Law & Order," he wrote Tennesseans for the Arts: "And while I support funding for the arts, I will have no choice but to support reduced funding to the National Endowment of the Arts" without "suitable guidelines."

Thompson said no material deemed unfit for broadcast by the Federal Communications Commission, works that desecrated the U.S. flag or those containing "any part of the human embryo or fetus" should get federal money.

He told the Concord Coalition he would back a balanced federal budget — and later voted for such a measure — but not the group's deficit-reduction plan because "it calls for higher taxes."

Thompson, 64, represented Tennessee in the Senate from 1994 to 2002.

"There is nothing in there that I can say is going to be earth-shattering or reveals something that people don't already know," Thompson said as he formally presented the papers to the university in 2005.

Chief archivist Bobby Holt said the papers are on loan and the former senator could recall any of the files at any time, but so far Thompson has left them alone.

[saraxyz]

I think Fred Thompson is just a big ol' phony. He's been ensconced in the DC beltway for over 20 years lobbying for "unusual" clients and having a less than stellar Senate career while pretending to be a good ol' boy from Tennessee with his aw shucks attitude pulling one over on the sheeple in the south. He seems sort of slow and plodding. Not really a go-getter or especially bright either.

Kind of shocking that so many conservatives seem willing to settle for someone so ordinary without even determining if he can perform under pressure in a debate against Hillary or answer any tough questions not delivered by Sean Hannity. He's not even that conservative!

I like Giuliani and Romney much better. They both seem more qualified and have a lot more enthusiasm and energy for the job. They provide the badly needed CHANGE we need in Washington. Obama, Clinton, Edwards and Fred just offer more of the same, status quo, DC political mess.

[realpatriot1]

NavyRetired2,

Ditto! I usually don't think much of the whining about CBS having a liberal bias since I'm a liberal and I generally don't see it. This article, however, is an exception-it's clearly biased.

I read the statements regarding his views anticipating the advertised inconsistencies and found none. As a matter of fact, I generally agree with him in most of these instances.

If there were any inconsistencies in his stated positions, it was on abortion but even there I wouldn't characterize it as inconsistent. Like most Americans, his views are conflicted and nuanced, that's far different than the Gulianis & Romney's who switch back and forth between pandering to the left and pandering to the right.

I have other reasons for not supporting him but his positions here seem reasonable(except opposing taxes as a means to balance the budget, along with spending cuts).

[red164]

Neil Bush and Silverado Savings and Loan
Frederick Dalton "Fred" Thompson (born August 19, 1942) is an American lawyer, lobbyist, and character actor. He represented Tennessee as a Republican in the U.S. Senate from 1995 thru 2002. Thompson resides in McLean, Virginia near Washington D.C.[1]

He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Visiting Fellow with the American Enterprise Institute, specializing in national security and intelligence.[2] [3]

For example, in 1982, on behalf of the Tennessee Savings and Loan League, Thompson lobbied the U.S. Congress to pass the Garn - St Germain Depository Institutions Act of 1982 which deregulated the Savings and Loan (S&L) industry.[24] This Act was supported by President Reagan and a large congressional majority, but it turned out to be one of many contributing factors that led to the savings and loan crisis of the late 1980s.[32] Thompson received $1600 for communicating with some congressional staffers on this issue.[31]




Neil Bush was director of Silverado Savings and Loan when the institution collapsed in 1988, costing taxpayers $1.6 billion. Neil Bush was accused of giving himself a loan from Silverado with the cooperation of Ken Good, of Good International, although Bush stated it was not a conflict of interest. Neil Bush is a brother of President George W. Bush.

[navyretired2]

AP news quote from above story: "He told the National Rifle Association he supported every suggested reason to own a firearm %u2014 from constitutional right to personal protection %u2014 and "no prohibition" on their manufacture, sale or transfer."

Look up the definition of "prohibition" in the dictionary there Mr. News Reporter.

Nevermind, I did it for ya:

1. the act of prohibiting.
2. the legal prohibiting of the manufacture and sale of alcoholic drinks for common consumption.
3. (often initial capital letter) the period (1920%u201333) when the Eighteenth Amendment was in force and alcoholic beverages could not legally be manufactured, transported, or sold in the U.S.
4. a law or decree that forbids.

So you're basically saying that this man is inconsistent because on one hand he agrees with all of these reasons somebody should be allowed to own a gun, and further states the sales of firearms should not be "prohibited", meaning outlawed or forbidden. Nowhere did he state or imply that there shouldn't be controls on the proper sales and customer screening. Schmuck. I'm sure he stated something to that effect at some point...where's that quote?

I'm not a republican nor do I support this man's possible run to the presidency, but this kind of stuff just gets SO old.

[rfield9]

As Colin Powell and Ross Perot found out,
running as a blank slate only takes you so
far. Sooner or later you have to take positions,
each of which cause some to leave the tent, and
reporters start gathering what is in the public
record on you.

It appears that the ever more marginal GOP -
with their NeoFacist money base that supported
the corrupt actions, unconstitutional policies
and general incompetence of BushCo from Day 1,
without fail or hesitation - will be reduced
to choosing between flip-floppers on their
beloved social-wedge issues. ***!

...what has the world come to, when you can't
find a good dictator anymore?

;-)

In the case of Thompson, the guy was a Senatorial
light-weight whom rubberstamped the failed BushCo
regime at every opportunity in which he had his
chance to oppose it. What a joke.

Run Fred, Run!

[cfin5]

Whoa! Inconsistency is a BAD THING in someone who talks well, and very well indeed! I will be watching Fred a bit closer.....For now, I'm sticking with Ron Paul. He's not confused about "consistency" and with a VOTING RECORD to prove it. We dont need anymore "same'ole, same'ole!