Republicans in Legislature want Thompson to run

[stephanie]

:thumb:
By John Rodgers, jrodgers@nashvillecitypaper.com
March 16, 2007

Republicans in the state Legislature have sent former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson a letter urging him to run for president, saying he would be the “right candidate’ to unite the GOP and “lead this nation into a new era.”

The letter, which 60 of the 62 Republicans in the state Legislature signed, praised Thompson’s work as a U.S. Senator on the domestic and international fronts, as well as his time as a prosecutor and counsel during the Watergate investigation.

“We know you as a staunch conservative, a man of his word with good commonsense values, and a deep appreciation for those from all walks of life,” wrote the Republicans in the March 13 letter that was released Thursday. “It is for that reason, along with those listed above and many more, that we ask you to take the “red pickup truck” across America to do what you have always done so well – win elections.

Thank you for your outstanding service to Tennessee and our nation. We hope you will continue that service as the next President of the United States of America.”

Thompson has recently said in an interview on Fox News Sunday that he was “going to leave the door open” to running for president in 2008.

With the letter, the legislative Republicans have joined a list of GOP members in the state encouraging Thompson to run, a list that includes former U.S. Sens. Howard Baker and Bill Frist as well as U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp (R-Chattanooga).

The rest of article at.....
http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?section=9&screen=news&news_id=55179

[glockmail]

Laura Ingrahm interviewed him today. I thought he was not interested in running, but he didn't exactly say no. He seems to say it straight and would make a good candidate.

[glockmail]

WASHINGTON Fred Thompson might try to follow in the footsteps of Ronald Reagan.

The actor -- and former senator -- is mulling a run for the White House.

Thompson tells "Fox News Sunday" he's "giving some thought" to seeking the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. He says he'll decide in the coming months.

Thompson, who plays district attorney Arthur Branch on N-B-C's "Law and Order," has a law background in real life. He was the minority counsel in the Watergate investigation.

He was elected to the Senate in 1994 to fill the unexpired term of Vice President Al Gore. He left the Senate in 2003 to resume his acting career.

Thompson had roles in such films as "The Hunt for Red October" and "Cape Fear." http://knva.com/Global/story.asp?S=6210239&nav=menu73_2_11

[glockmail]

Republicans face a paradox coming into 2008. Our strongest candidates, polling-wise, are men that don't always represent the core values of the Republican Party. Republicans need to be careful, because spending too much time looking for the perfect candidate might distract us from finding a good one. Democrats who voted for Ralph Nader in 2000 found that out the hard way. That being said, the idea of former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson running for president is appealing on many levels. First off, he is not a career politician and has lived a full and succesfull life as a lawyer, politician, and actor. The comparisons to Reagan are obvious (though Thompson probably is a much better actor). I've done some quick research (i.e. Wikipedia) and here are his stats:

- Assistant US Attorney, 1969-1972
- Campaign Manager for Howard Baker, 1972

- Co-Cheif Council for Senate Watergate Committee, 1973-1974

- Toppled Tennesse Gov. Roy Blanton by exposing his corruption of selling pardons, 1977

- Actor in such movies as "Cape Fear," "In The Line of Fire," & "Hunt For Red October" (IMDB here)

- Elected United States senator from Tennessee, filling the term of Vice-President Al Gore by defeating six-term Rep. Jim Cooper, 1994

- Re-elected to US Senate, defeating attorney Houston Gordon, 1996

- Chairman, Senate Committe on Governmental Affairs

- National Co-Chairman, John McCain For President 2000

- Actor, playing D.A. Arthur Branch on the NBC hit "Law & Order," 2002-present

- Unofficial shepard of the nomination of Judge John Roberts to the US Supreme Court
http://masonconservative.typepad.com/the_mason_conservative/2007/03/fred_thompson_f.html

[gabosaurus]

Why not convince that "Bridge To Nowhere" senator to run? Obviously there is no bottom to the GOP barrel.

[avatar4321]

Why not convince that "Bridge To Nowhere" senator to run? Obviously there is no bottom to the GOP barrel.

Yeah, it's actually nice being part of a party with numerous qualified candidates to choose from. Far better than a party where the two frontrunners are unqualified even for the positions they currently hold.

[theHawk]

Wow I hope Thompson does run. He would be a fresh face yet recognizable and without all the skeletons in the closet that other GOP candidates have.

[avatar4321]

Asked this a dozen times but what qualifications does Thompson really have? Yeah he sounds good. Does that really make him Presidential?

Should we be more concerned about what he says or what he can do?

Oh and I think McCain Feingold is a skeleton. he cosponsored the bill.

[glockmail]

Asked this a dozen times but what qualifications does Thompson really have? Yeah he sounds good. Does that really make him Presidential?

Should we be more concerned about what he says or what he can do?

Oh and I think McCain Feingold is a skeleton. he cosponsored the bill.
He was a senator for 8 years. About the same level of qualifications as Reagan had.

[Gaffer]

It will be interesting to see who the media pushes.

[avatar4321]

He was a senator for 8 years. About the same level of qualifications as Reagan had.

Reagan had executive experience as governor of California. The senate doesnt give a person executive or even any sort of leadership experience.

[stephanie]

A little tidbit I ran across..I like Fred Thompson but I haven't made up my mind on anyone yet..

Fred Thompson’s resume
One thing that lefties seem to be continually arguing is that conservatives who want to see Fred Thompson as the GOP nominee for President are hypocrites because he lacks experience even more so then any of the Democratic frontrunners - Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards.

Well, they’re all attorneys, right? So it should be easy to compare their resumes. Lets take a look:

Barack Obama: Two years as a US Senator. No leadership positions in the Senate. Eight years as a state senator. Ran unsuccessfully for congress in 2000. Private practice attorney, law professor. Top quality education (Harvard)

Hillary Clinton: Six years as a US Senator. No leadership positions in the Senate. Eight years as First Lady of the US. Twelve years as First Lady of Arkansas. House Judiciary committee staffer, private practice attorney, law professor. Top quality education (Yale)

John Edwards: Six years as a US Senator. No leadership positions in the Senate. Democratic nominee for Vice-President in 2004. Private practice attorney. Top quality education (North Carolina)

Fred Thompson: Eight years as a US Senator. Four years as Chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee. Assistant US Attorney. Co-Chief Senate Watergate Council. Special counsel to the Governor of Tennessee (1980), Special Counsel to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (1980-81), Special Counsel to the Senate Intelligence Committee (1982), Private practice attorney. Actor, Radio show personality, research fellow with the American Enterprise Institute. Top quality education (Vanderbilt).

So, basically here we have four politicians, all attorneys, all with law degrees from top institutions, all with eight years or fewer in the Senate, all without long careers in public office. But from a legal perspective, Fred Thompson’s resume is clearly far more impressive. If we were sitting and examining each of these resumes for, say, an appellate court appointment none would dispute that Thompson’s is superior to the other three.

Now granted, we’re looking for a President here, not a judge. One could argue that Hillary’s experience as first lady was very valuable. Perhaps. But Fred Thompson - despite only serving a few years longer then the others in the Senate, held a tremendously important Committee Chairmanship while there. Combined with his work in a US Attorneys office, leading the Watergate investigation, and as an attorney advising Senate committees, he has enormous experience dealing with government reform issues and an understanding of the workings of the highest levels of government. Experience that the three Democrats simply don’t have. Each of them came to the US Senate already hungry for the Presidency, and have spent most of their time as Senators working toward that goal.

Fred Thompson’s resume is far superior. Arguing otherwise is ludicrous.
http://www.savethegop.com/2007/03/28/fred-thompsons-resume/

[glockmail]

Reagan had executive experience as governor of California. The senate doesnt give a person executive or even any sort of leadership experience. True, which is why govenors usually make the best Presidents. But leadership positions within the senate would give him at least some aspect of that experience.

[theHawk]

Asked this a dozen times but what qualifications does Thompson really have? Yeah he sounds good. Does that really make him Presidential?

He has a good record of busting corrupt politicians and he isn't a flamming liberal. So between him and any Dim candidate its pretty much a no brainer.

[Kathianne]

He has a good record of busting corrupt politicians and he isn't a flamming liberal. So between him and any Dim candidate its pretty much a no brainer.

He served 2 years of Gore's term in the Senate and one of his own.

[avatar4321]

He has a good record of busting corrupt politicians and he isn't a flamming liberal. So between him and any Dim candidate its pretty much a no brainer.

oh i agree with that much. im just saying why support him in the primary.

[glockmail]

oh i agree with that much. im just saying why support him in the primary. Because he could beat Hillary.

[avatar4321]

Because he could beat Hillary.

A thimble could be Hillary.

[glockmail]

He's getting closer to making it official:
Former Sen. Fred Thompson has begun assembling the core of a campaign team in preparation for a possible run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008.


While the "Law & Order” actor has not decided whether he will run or not, "he is getting more serious every day,” an adviser told The Politico.



"He is now starting to talk to people to really calibrate what it would take to run a successful campaign. He’s talking to some of the top unaligned strategists and fund-raisers.”


Thompson – who did not seek re-election as a senator from Tennessee in 2002 – has also met with major Republican players who work for other presidential campaigns, sources told The Politico.


Thompson placed third among Republicans in a recent USA Today/Gallup poll, garnering 12 percent of the vote behind former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Sen. John McCain from Arizona.
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/4/9/131646.shtml?s=al&promo_code=320E-1