It seems Fred Thompson is the choice for a number of Freepers

[Quixote1818]

What do we know about Thompson?



Link: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1806607/posts

[sammythecat]

1. As an actor he's able to project that image of stability and competence

If he doesn't have scary skeletons in the closet I imagine he'd be attractive to the republicans just based on physical presence.

Other than that I really don't know much more about him. He's republican of course, and that pretty much settles things for me.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. Has a young lovely wife

I believe he divorced his first wife. Don't know of any Newt-like scandal from the divorce, though.

[Postman]

6. Maybe so, but as a real-life politician - he's nuttier than a fruitcake..

his agenda fits perfectly well for the 19th century..

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. He has been a lawyer and an actor,

and is presently playing the Manhattan NY DA on "Law & Order". There's a thread on a L&O discussion board about his possible run, which includes links to articles about his political positions. What I found interesting was that even the conservatives on the board (which is apolitical--and no political flame wars allowed) say they don't trust him because they feel he hasn't made a commitment to serving in government because he keeps going off and doing acting gigs! They went on to say they didn't want another actor in the WH.

Copying my own response on that thread will give you some idea of his stands on things:

ayeshahaqqiqa:
FDT is anti-choice. He's pro-gun and pro-Scooter Libby, having raised money for Scooter's defense fund. So he holds opinions popular with the GOP people in power. He has said he'll wait until summer to decide. But on all the talk shows I listened to today, everyone mentioned him and his possible run.

[BeyondThePale]

4. Maybe Sam Waterson will be the new Attorney General!

and Dennis Farina can head the FBI

[Robbien]

5. First thing out of Fred's mouth is that we have to kill SS/Medicare programs

"these entitlement programs are just too expensive for our system" says Fred.

I've heard him say it at least four different times so far, and he hasn't even said he's running yet.

[Vexatious Ape]

7. That's right. That money going to all those programs

needs to be funneled to Blackwater, Halliburton, Boeing, KBR, Bechtel the list goes on.

[skipos]

8. Fred Thompson (R) 44% vs. Hillary Clinton (D) 43%

Fred Thompson (R) 37%
Barack Obama (D) 49%

http://rasmussenreports.com/Political%20Tracking/Presidential%20Match-Ups/March%202007/Thompsonvs.ObamaClinton20070323.htm

I'd prefer a Newt or Mitt nomination. They are much more beatable.

[Forkboy]

9. He's the only one they got who can at least fake sanity.

[pretzel4gore]

10. he fills in paul harvey, he despises Gandhi

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MTM1NTg1YjFhMGE5MzZjZDUzNzNhNzdkMjE2YmEyNTY=

he dislikes John Lennon etc, taken from James Wolcott's blog:
>snip
It smacks of desperation, as does the hyping of an emigre's inane natterings about John, Paul, and Yoko, which Roy Edroso tidily disposes of here. I've noticed a lot of Lennon-bashing in the right blogosphere lately, as if he and "Imagine" were somehow responsible for the antiwar sentiment that has infected an entire nation. I don't know why they're holding such a long grudge, given that Lennon died in 1980; or playing him off against Paul at this late date in history. It's not as if Paul has blessed the Iraq war: "Now it's all got completely ugly--the whole Iraq thing, rushing in without the second resolution. It's all gone very wrong ... It is crazy that they haven't found any weapons. I think the whole world is just puzzled by that. So it's ugly. It's now Vietnam." Anti-Lennonism is part of the right's ongoing, culturally reflexive piss-contempt for the Sixties, never mind that the Sixties made possible so many of the personal liberties and loosened constraints that conservatives take for granted. When TV host Tom Snyder joked about the funny-looking Beatles haircuts the Beatles made popular, John Lennon tartly observed, "The kind of haircut you have now."
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/blogs/wolcott
<snip

iow thompson is a nazipooh, a liar and a goof. if he was a brave and honest man he would not devote himself to advancing the priviledges of the rich powerful few, and fortify the foxnews agenda. compare him to Jane Fonda, or Jeanne Garafolo, who both get death threats almost daily: thompson feels confortable guarded by million man, nuke equipped armies that consume 1/2 the entire globe's military budget. And, being a bushevik when the truth about bush is dribbling out, and not re examining his views says thompson is stupid, as stupid as bill oreilly...

[ben_meyers]

11. He's a b-list actor

Kind of like Reagan. Married twice, again like Reagan. Not hollywood handsome, like Reagan. Conservative, can deliver a pretty good speech and read a script like Reagan, the GOP would love Him, and I think he would be a formidable candidate.
He also dated Lorrie Morgan for a while which would help him with the Nascar C/W crowd.

He is a bit of a blank slate with regard to many issues, but I think that only helps as it would allow him to tailor his message without a lot of history to trip him up.

It's not just the freepers that like him either. I think the entire RW noise machine would get behind this guy.

[mcscajun]

12. Quite a lot, actually...

He's not just an actor turned Senator turned actor. He has a long history in politics.

He was one of the counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee; you'll see him in archival footage that was used in the film "JFK". He also asked one of the key questions during those hearings: "Mr. Butterfield, were you aware of the existence of any listening devices in the Oval Office of the President?" Thompson's acting career started by playing himself in a minor film "Marie" based on actual incidents in a case he brought against the Tennessee Parole Board and the Governor of Tennessee (the producers couldn't find anyone to play him convincingly). He served in the US Senate for nine years before resuming his acting career, and at one point was ranking minority member.

More recently, he was one of those introducing Bush at the Republican National Convention in 2004. He'll be a serious contender if he decides to run; a lightweight he is Not.

His wife's position is rather interesting for a spouse with Presidential ambitions:

Worked as a shoe salesman, truck driver, and even a factory worker prior to becoming a lawyer.

When he joined the cast of "Law & Order" (1990) in the fall of 2002, Thompson (District Attorney Arthur Branch) became the first serving U.S. Senator to take a regular TV acting job. His term did not end until January 2003.

2nd wife Jeri, 35, is a political media consultant at Verner Liipfert law firm in Washington, who once worked for Senate Republican Conference and Republican National Committee.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000669/bio

More here: http://www.ocala.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070325/OPINION/203250337/1030/OPINION

[CoffeeCat]

13. He'll be the Republican nominee....

Thompson will win the nomination, hands down.

The radical Christian right is searching for their "golden boy" and he will fit the bill.

He's an arch conservative, and the same neocon cabal that ushered Junior into office will
want Thompson. Just like they did with Junior, the neocons will instruct Thompson on the
Christofascist talking points--and he'll sail into the nomination.

Once again, the Republican nominee will be a neocon warmonger, parading as a holy man.

I also predict that if Thompson wins the pResidency--that's when the real Fascism kicks in.
This country will implode into a scene from "V For Vendetta". The earlier scenes, that is--
not the uplifting scene at the end.

[ben_meyers]

15. I have to agree

The GOP has been waiting for the second coming of Reagan for some time now.

Rudi or Newt? Too much personal baggage. Mitt? Too Morman. McCain? Too old and mean. Thompson? Comes riding on his white horse to save the party.

But who to beat him? Clinton or Obama? That'll get the Republicans out to vote. Al Gore? Maybe.
Wes Clark? I think that would be a good race and I think Wes could pull it off.

[stevedeshazer]

18. I don't agree, but you make a good point

The extremist faux-religious base wants a "golden boy" who represents their evil agenda, no question about it.

I just don't think Fred is that guy.

That guy is Duncan Hunter. All those wrinkled-up old Reagan lovers won't get behind Fred Thompson just because he is an actor (okay, just kidding.)

Seriously, I want a guy who is in favor of agriculture. Duncan Hunter reveals his support of food growers when he says he believes even "enemy combatants" at Gitmo should receive good meals.

"This is what Osama bin Laden's bodyguards will eat several times a week. Lemon chicken, rice, broccoli, carrots, bread and two types of fruit", he said on June 13, 2005. If only America's public school students had it so good!

When they round up all us lefties, I at least expect decent food, dammit.

[tritsofme]

21. Duncan Hunter has as much of a chance at getting the GOP nod

as Kucinich does getting the Democratic one.

He's a vanity candidate, and if Thompson gets in the race he instantly becomes the "conservative" alternative to Giuliani.

[stevedeshazer]

22. I think Hunter has just as much chance as Thompson!

But hey, I'm no expert at judging "conservative" alternatives, that's fer sure.

:)

[Roon]

14. He appeared on Roseanne once

as a mean supervisor at Rosie's job.

[TwilightGardener]

16. Is a Fellow at AEI--all you need to know about his Neocon credentials...

And a lazy-ass in the Senate, from what I've read.

[Booster]

17. Dull as a box of rocks.

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

19. I can never watch "Red October" again after this thread.

I don't care if it's based on a Tom Clancy novel. I liked that movie, dammit!

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

20. They like him because they know their crop of candidates are losers, and Fred is at least a star.

[AllieB]

23. That was my theory also. Look at the competition-they're ALL pathetic

Even a right-wing, compliant media can't paint and powder the pig enough to make most people want to vote for them.

[TwilightGardener]

24. I don't know about that. Rudy still beats our candidates in most polls. EOM

[treestar]

25. No More Actors!

Damn Freepers.

[aikoaiko]

26. He is their best hope.