Let's take a quick look at the career of conservative savior-in-the-wings, Heir-of-the-Living-Reagan Fred Thompson (or as I call him, "Undead Fred"), shall we?
First, a brief Wikipedia bio:
From 1975 to 1992 Thompson worked as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C. He represented such clients as Westinghouse, General Electric (the current corporate owner of the NBC Universal-NBC television network), and the Tennessee Savings and Loan League. By 1982, Thompson was lobbying the U.S. Congress for passage of the Savings and Loan deregulation legislation... In 1991, he began work with the Washington, D.C. firm of Arent, Fox, Kintner, Plotkin, & Kahn, representing overseas business entities as a registered foreign agent.
Obviously, he is a completely bought and paid for by corporate America. Lobbyist. Deregulator. Foreign agent for overseas business. If conservatives can hound John Edwards for being a trial lawyer, progressives can certainly go after Thompson as a 17-year career corporate lobbyist. (He only spent 1 1/3 terms as a Senator.)
This is the first message that we should get out if he gets into the presidential race. Let's ask Americans if they want a career lobbyist to be running the government. That should be interesting!
Now for his voting record:
Thanks to the handy site On the Issues, here are some highlights:
Abortion:
Voted YES on banning partial birth abortions. (Oct 1999)
Budget & Economy:
Voted YES on prioritizing national debt reduction below tax cuts. (Apr 2000)
Civil rights:
Voted NO on adding sexual orientation to definition of hate crimes. (Jun 2002)
Voted YES on prohibiting same-sex marriage. (Sep 1996)
Voted NO on prohibiting job discrimination by sexual orientation. (Sep 1996)
Voted YES on Amendment to prohibit flag burning. (Dec 1995)
Education:
Voted YES on education savings accounts. (Jun 1998)
Voted YES on school vouchers in DC. (Sep 1997)
Voted YES on $75M for abstinence education. (Jul 1996)
Energy:
Voted YES on drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (Apr 2002)
Voted YES on terminating CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards within 15 months. (Mar 2002)
Voted YES on defunding renewable and solar energy. (Jun 1999)
Voted YES on approving a nuclear waste repository. (Apr 1997)
Guns:
Voted NO on background checks at gun shows. (May 1999)
Voted NO on more penalties for gun & drug violations. (May 1999)
Voted YES on loosening license & background checks at gun shows. (May 1999)
Health Care:
Voted NO on allowing reimportation of Rx drugs from Canada. (Jul 2002)
Jobs:
Voted YES on killing an increase in the minimum wage. (Nov 1999)
War:
Voted YES on authorizing use of military force against Iraq. (Oct 2002)
Overall, the site summarizes his views as:
- Strongly Opposes: Abortion is a woman's right
- Strongly Opposes: Sexual orientation protected by civil rights laws
- Strongly Favors: Parents choose schools via vouchers
- Strongly Favors: Absolute right to gun ownership
- Favors: Privatize Social Security
- Opposes: Replace coal & oil with alternatives
These are all reasons that hardcore conservatives will love him. And they are exactly the facts that we will need to publicize if he gets into the Presidential race.
Are these positions - especially, I think, on abortion, civil rights and energy - the direction that Americans want their country to go?
(Of course, he also divorced his wife of 25 years and married a woman 25 years younger - the age of his own children - but we're talking about issues here, right?)