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Fred Thompson obvious choice for the SC

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KellyW Donating Member (539 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-16-05 01:32 AM
Original message
Fred Thompson obvious choice for the SC
He would be Bush’s perfect choice. He is conservative enough to keep the right-wingers happy. He is a former senator, which will make confirmation easy (the senate will not reject one of there own).

He has a solid legal background.

He is not incendiary enough for the left to make a serious challenge (he is certainly not the wacko the 10 commandments Moore is).

What’s more he is known to the public. That gives him a massive lead over anyone else who could be defined by the opposition. In our twisted infotainment world, most people would think that Bush had picked New York District Attorney Arthur Branch.

You heard it here first !


His Watergate role:
….as an aide to former senator Howard H. Baker Jr. (R-Tenn.) and served as Republican counsel during the Watergate hearings. He played a key role in revelation of the tapes that led to the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon.

His bio from NBC


Fred Thompson, former United States Senator, prosecutor and accomplished film and television actor, recently joined the cast of the Emmy Award-winning drama series “Law & Order” as the newly-elected District Attorney, Arthur Branch.

Of the character’s election to the D.A.’s office, Executive Producer Michael Chernuchin explains, “The election of the new District Attorney is definitely a reaction to 9/11. His political leanings are a little more to the right than former D.A.s on the show. He is a ‘strict constructionist,’ that is, for him, the Constitution is what it says it is and nothing more.”

Fred Thompson’s service in the United States Senate was a continuation of a distinguished career across both the public and private arenas. In his first campaign for public office, Thompson was elected by the people of Tennessee in 1994 to the remaining two years of an unexpired Senate term. When he was returned for a full term in 1996, he received more votes than any previous candidate for any office in Tennessee history. In 1997, Thompson was elected Chairman of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, making him among the most junior senators in history to serve as Chairman of a major Senate Committee.

Prior to his election to the U.S. Senate, Thompson maintained law offices in Nashville and Washington and served as Special Counsel to both the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. He is also the author of the Watergate memoir, “At That Point in Time.”

Having grown up in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, Thompson attended Memphis State University, where he earned an undergraduate degree in philosophy and political science. He went on to receive a law degree from Vanderbilt University. Two years later, Thompson was named an Assistant United States Attorney and, at the age of 30, was appointed Minority Counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee, where he served in 1973 and 1974.

In 1977, Thompson took on the case of a Tennessee Parole Board chairman under suspicious circumstances. Thompson’s work helped to expose a cash-for-clemency scheme that ultimately toppled the governor. The scandal became the subject of a best-selling book and later a film, “Marie,” in which Thompson portrayed himself. He went on to appear in 18 motion pictures, including feature roles in “Cape Fear,” “In the Line of Fire,” “Die Hard II,” and “The Hunt for Red October.” He has also guest starred on the television series, “China Beach,” “Wiseguy,” and “Matlock.”

In 1994, Thompson was elected to the United States Senate, reelected in 1996 and chose not to run for reelection in 2002. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Thompson and his wife Jeri live in Nashville, Tennessee and Washington, D.C. He has two sons and five grandchildren.
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SoCalDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-16-05 01:34 AM
Response to Original message
1. Oh the HORROR in the HEARTLAND..movie star on the bench?
oh wait.. republican movie stars are peachy keen :)
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WCGreen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-16-05 02:01 AM
Response to Reply #1
7. Tossing the word "star" around for good old Fred
is kinda diminishing the likes ofSony Bono and Fred Grandy
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SoCalDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-16-05 02:06 AM
Response to Reply #7
8. Don't leave out Cooter & Arnold:)
:)
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WCGreen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-16-05 02:10 AM
Response to Reply #8
9. Yea but cooter, love that name, was a dem.....
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SoCalDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-16-05 02:11 AM
Response to Reply #9
10. but he was still a STAR :):)
Just ask him:)

and there are dems and then there are dems..
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WCGreen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-16-05 02:20 AM
Response to Reply #10
12. Well at least he "warned" us against the
Dukes of Hazard Movie....

Like we needed a warning....
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ISUGRADIA Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-16-05 01:35 AM
Response to Original message
2. He's heading the SC search. Cheney led the VP search.
It could happen.
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aquart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-16-05 01:37 AM
Response to Original message
3. And he's a really good, obedient soldier.
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shance Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-16-05 01:40 AM
Response to Reply #3
4. Absolutely. He will tow the Neocon extremist line all the while
having media pundits state how he is a moderate.



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delhurgo Donating Member (500 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-16-05 01:58 AM
Response to Original message
5. I hope youre right, but I doubt it.
He'd be a decent justice I think. I think he is anti-abortion, but I have a feeling he might be good on other civil liberties, specifically on 1st Amend issues.

It won't happen though, the Religious nuts would raise holy jihad about it. He's not what you would call a 'strict constructionist'. He's more of a moderate, or a libertarian. He's too old too, the conservatives want Bush to nominate someone who will stay on the court for decades.

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merwin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-16-05 03:55 AM
Response to Reply #5
13. I don't think he would vote to overturn roe v wade though.
He's one of the few honest republicans out there, who I have respect for... which really suprised me since Bush isn't known for picking the most honest people to help him.

I wouldn't mind having him as a SCOTUS judge. I think he would be a wonderful choice in fact.
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punpirate Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-16-05 01:59 AM
Response to Original message
6. All well and good...
... except that he's 62 or so. The right wing is looking for someone that can serve for 30 years or more. That's why they go bonkers over people like Miguel Estrada.
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proud2BlibKansan Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-16-05 02:15 AM
Response to Original message
11. If it gets him off of Law and Order
I am all for it.

I can't stand him. And I pay a lot more attention to Law and Order than I do to the Supreme Court.
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Tennessee Gal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-16-05 04:00 AM
Response to Reply #11
14. Good point!
I love that show and it would be even better if Fred were not on it any more!
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Must_B_Free Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jul-16-05 04:10 AM
Response to Original message
15. Supreme Court Nominee - Judge Roy Moore?
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