Fred Thompson: The Clueless Candidate
Here are a few of Thompson clueless remarks:
War: Washington Post; Fact Check with full breakdown
“If you look back over our history, it will not take you long to realize that our people have shed more blood for other people’s liberty than any other combination of nations in the history of the world.” – Fred Thompson, stump speech in Iowa, September 6, 2007.
The Facts :
A grandiose claim that is hard to justify no matter how you define “other people’s liberty.”
Judicial: You think he would know this one since he is a licensed attorney and plays one on TV: FRANKLIN, Tenn., Sept. 27, 2007
Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson said Thursday he was unaware that a federal judge had ruled last week that lethal injection procedures in his home state were unconstitutional.
Thompson also told reporters he was unaware that the U.S. Supreme Court agreed this week to consider a Kentucky case about whether lethal injection violates the Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
Environment and Energy: TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Sept. 18, 2007
Republican presidential hopeful Fred Thompson seemed taken by surprise when asked Tuesday about oil drilling in the Everglades, apparently unaware it’s been a major Florida issue.
“Gosh, no one has told me that there’s any major reserves in the Everglades, but maybe that’s one of the things I need to learn while I’m down here,” Thompson said after talking over state issues with Gov. Charlie Crist.
Really Fred no one told you? I guess when Fred was a Senator, he slept through this:
In 2002, when Thompson was a Tennessee senator, President Bush announced plans to spend $120 million to buy oil and gas rights on 390,396 acres of federally protected land in the Everglades to safeguard them from drilling.
Social Issues: September 13th -15, 2007
This one has the Christian social conservatives scratching their heads.
Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson said Thursday he doesn’t know enough about efforts by President Bush and Congress to keep Terri Schiavo alive to have an opinion on the right-to-die case that stirred national debate.
Thompson was asked in an interview for Bay News 9’s “Political Connections” program if he thought Congress’ intervention to save the life of the brain-dead woman two years ago was appropriate.
“I can’t pass judgment on it. I know that good people were doing what they thought was best,” Thompson said. “That’s going back in history. I don’t remember the details of it.”
I think this falls into the “I’m a complete liar” category.
NY Daily News ; September 15th 2007
GOP presidential hopeful Fred Thompson said he doesn’t remember much about the Terri Schiavo case that commanded the nation’s attention in 2005 – though he appeared in a “Law & Order” episode ripped from those headlines.
In November 2005, Thompson’s NBC show even aired an episode called “Age of Innocence” about a husband trying to disconnect his wife’s feeding tube over the objections of her family.
Thompson helped prep Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts for his Supreme Court confirmation hearings that summer and discussed the case then.
Here’s a clueless if not sloppy point. Thompson who grew up in Tennessee, represented Tennessee in the U.S. Senate and now running as a presidential candidate from Tennessee, he could at least get his state history correct. On his website, Thompson compares himself to Daniel Boone of Tennessee. Maybe they meant Crockett since Bone was from Pennsylvania.
They confused Tennessee-born frontiersman and politician Davy Crockett with Daniel Boone, the trailblazer who was born in Pennsylvania, raised in North Carolina, and served in the Virginia legislature.
In the tradition of Daniel Boone of Tennessee and President George Washington, citizen-legislators and leaders Thompson had admired growing up, he walked away from an easy reelection victory to seek new challenges.
On the other hand, Davy Crockett was born in Tennessee, and later represented the state in the U.S. House. But Crockett did not walk away from an easy reelection victory.
Of course, what may be confusing the campaign team — which is said to include non-Tennesseans like Mary Matalan, Lawrence Lindsey, Ken Khachigian, Dave Bossie and Victoria Toensing — is the fact that Crockett and Boone were both played by Fess Parker on television 40 years ago.
Now I get it, Fess Parker screwed them up. It must be the raccoon hat.
So there you have it, clueless, unaware or liar? I think all of the above. This is just September by Christmas Thompson will be unaware of where he has been all year.
Sphere: Related Content
September 28th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
Fred may be clueless about some things but has been smart about getting Newsweek to commit to covering his campaign –even before it was a campaign.
After you count coverage in Newsweek from Sept’06-Sept ‘07, you suddenly see the weird special treatment of Thompson. We are a not for profit media ethics program that not only counted the numerous articles on Thompson in Newsweek, but compared their coverage to the other candidates.
We write: “Skim the last 12 months of news and you’ll see that no publication has followed Thompson’s political him-hawing like Newsweek. A total of 17 Newsweek articles – including a September cover story – feature Thompson. Meanwhile, the competition is suffering. John McCain’s got 10 articles. Rudy Giuliani’s got 7. The fading Mitt Romney has 6. Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul, a paltry 1. The rest of the major declared candidates Tom Tancredo, Sam Brownback and Duncan Hunter don’t even register on the Fred-philic pages of Newsweek.”
So is Thompson the Republican candidate or the NBC-Newsweek candidate?
Read more at http://www.stinkyjournalism.org/latest-journalism-news-updates-94.php.
We have also just posted a Thompson answer to the Obama Girl video on You Tube to highlight Newsweek’s Thompson crush . See “My Johnson is for Thompson” featuring the Thompson Twins.
September 28th, 2007 at 12:44 pm
the scarey part is that should this dunce be elected it would not be the first time the thugs elected a clueless, crooked actor (pun intended) Thompson is an empty shell, they seem to have a real fondness for those types.
September 28th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
I resent the manipulation. You might notice “gee, there seem to be lots of articles in Newsweek about Thompson..?” But who has the time to actually sit down and count. That’s exactly what we did. How can Newsweek,an objective, ahem, news magazine, totally ignore so many candidates (Mike Huckabee, Ron Paul, Tom Tancredo, Sam Brownback and Duncan Hunter — all declared -while they focus on Thompson? This is democracy? Why aren’t the other camps publicly complaining about Newsweek’s Thompson coverage?
We tried ar stinkyjournalism.org and they refuse to respond. That’s why we make the “The Thompson Twins (gay cowboys) music video for Thompson”. We want to draw attention to Newsweek’s crush on Thompson that is hidden in plain sight.
Go see “my Johnson is for Fred Thompson” at You Tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgtLrQijdxo
September 28th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
Your argument is SO ignorant its funny. Take a look at the polls big boy. Explain that with your awesome intelligence……have a nice day
September 28th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
Ben:
The argument is not ignorant, the fact that Thompson is leading Rudy in many polls does not mean that he has the wherewithal for the job. It means that Rudy can be replaced.
The post was not about who was leading the polls but how Thompson is unaware of many issues. Staying on point is helpful.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:01 pm
Rhonda:
Thank you for your link and the MSM statistics on Fred. However, I don’t believe that a presidential race is won on how many articles are written or how many times the MSM invokes a candidates name.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
The FCC regulates (supposedly) equal time among candidates for a very good reason. If the amount of coverage is unbalanced towards one candidate this gives certain candidates a big advantage and limits others who must then pay for advertise. How does a candidate get his messgage out? How is he or she recognized by the public? This depends on A. ads or B. media exposure.
What I trying to say is that it was unfair that Newsweek readers (the public) were kept focused on Thompson, when for most of the 17 articles he was not even a candidate. Responsible journalism reviews all the main candidates
A candidate wins or loses based upon the amount of public exposure. That’s why there is so much emphasis on money raised. It pays for ads and PR flacks to get the articles.
Take what you said to the extreme to see my point. What if MSM only covered one candidate? Could you still say
“I don’t believe that a presidential race is won on how many articles are written or how many times the MSM invokes a candidates name” ?
September 28th, 2007 at 5:50 pm
Rhonda:
I will agree with you on the unbalanced coverage. The MSM has focused at nausea on Hillary which irritates many democrats. The MS seems to be picking the candidate in both parties which is critically wrong.
It’s unfortunate that most votes get their information from the MSM and do not do further research. The MSM does more damage with their myopic coverage. It is time for all of us to put a stop to their one sided coverage. I do believe that this presidential cycle voters are far smarter.
September 28th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
[...] here: Fred Thompson: The Clueless Candidate everglades, fred thompson, gop, lethal injection, nytexan, politics, republican, terri [...]
September 28th, 2007 at 6:02 pm
nytexan:
Very well said.
BTW. What do you think of our “Thompson twins” video? Did you have a chance to view it? ( Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgtLrQijdxo )
September 28th, 2007 at 6:10 pm
Rhonda:
LMAO… I’m sure the GOP will run as far away from this as they can.
Very clever. I truly love when everyone is involved in the process.
September 28th, 2007 at 6:15 pm
Lookie here !! : http://www.just6dollars.org/
This simple cheaper than dirt campaign would help to publically finance our elections. – we need electoral process reforms..desparately..more voices make for a real democracy. An even playing field where the message is more important than the money. The money in our electoral processes is corrupting to say the least.
h/t Betmo for finding this and having it on her blogrolls, find her writing at Sirens Chronicles as well.
wow, just 6 bucks and we could change the whole shabang. Someday the Fairness Doctrine will be reinstated, rehabilitating the MSM, so it gives us adult in depth discussions, not just infotainment fluff and sound bytes that currently pass as their legal obligation to provide some news and public affairs programming.
September 28th, 2007 at 6:22 pm
Just put my money where my mouth is and my T shirt is on the way. We can do this people. We need to will it, support it and get the job done.
September 28th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
Rhonda the video is great !!! i really liked it. Keep up the great work. Everything we all do, in whatever ways we can helps. Power to the people – And Hillary needs to know that there are plenty of folks out here..that do not care for the idea of B C B C dynasty for america. PS I love Blue bloggin – reality in progress.
Its a most informative non hyperbolic great place to discuss and connect. Thank you NY texan and Boss Kitty for all your hard informative work and gracious,kind management.
September 28th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
I am glad you brought this up. Campaign reform is the most important issue and the problem is the biggest threat to democracy (along with media wrong doing and conglomerates)
But notice..listen to the crickets? Elephants and donkeys don’t want anything to do with this mission in any serious way. Too much money involved giving corporations and high net worth donors too much control.
The fact the Republicans and Democrats are soul mates in their avoidance of campaign reform should tell the public a lot.
I have no idea what to do about this problem, hence why sticking to media ethics accountability is my thing. I can and do get tangible results.
Oh, nytexan, happy to hear you are LMAO about The Thompson Twin video. Everyday people really do have power due to the Internet.
September 28th, 2007 at 6:40 pm
Thanks a lot proudprogressive. So glad you are encouraging of our work. It’s a group effort.
September 28th, 2007 at 6:46 pm
Notice if you visit just 6 bucks site, they have FREE action kits..FREE !!! If not now, when ? A few clicks and we are on our way. And did i say the kit are FREE !
September 28th, 2007 at 9:05 pm
As some would say in New York…freckin morans.
It is just such people that will steal millions aways from good trusting people –6 bucks a pop–who want to make the world better. Nameless vultures.
Hey you forgot the other selling point the “snappy” T shirt.
September 28th, 2007 at 9:14 pm
Freddy Freeper must be the laziest SOB since St. Reagan ruined this country.
Shit, imagine 4 years of this clown.
September 28th, 2007 at 11:20 pm
Rhonda:
I am all for campaign reform and not these crap bloated reform bills that Congress passes. Public financed campaigns are the way to go. No more corporate donations, no more fund raisers, no more blind trust and no more BS from the Washington elite. The election season needs to be about a year shorter.
We no longer have a two party system, the republicans and democrats have formed a union of greed and personal agendas. They all pander to us for the donations and then ignore us when they get into office. We have a very dysfunctional relationship with our politicians.
September 28th, 2007 at 11:33 pm
ProudP:
Six dollars to change campaign finance. Interesting.
Thanks for the kudos, we try to bring interesting topics to create conversation. I went to the site and there seems to be many similarities to the current FEC Rules on Public Funding of Presidential elections. It is accomplished through the check box on the IRS 1040 form. It is unfortunate that the candidates do not use what’s already in effect.
I am pleased that John Edwards has stated that he will use these funds for the general election if he gets the nomination. You can be Hillary won’t.
September 28th, 2007 at 11:41 pm
Christopher:
Fred is truly not the type to hit the books and figure out how to get us out of our current mess. He is obviously very lazy if he can’t even do his homework on the campaign trail.
I agree with you on Reagan. All his deregulation and union busting, we are finally getting to see all of the monsters and problems it has created. Of course we can’t forget that Bush has expanded our problems from several more decades. No more Republicans in the White House.
September 29th, 2007 at 7:04 am
One thing is true about Freddie Freeper: he likes raping teenage girls. Especially, while he’s still married. What a sterling conservative!
September 29th, 2007 at 7:10 am
Why is Freddie Freeper is afraid to debate? Is he so unsure of his opinions and beliefs? Is he afraid someone might ask him a difficult question like, “how many states are in the USA?” Or, “what year was the UN established and in what city?”
September 29th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
well they may be nameless vultures..and it may be similiar to what is already in place. My concern and support is to forward the meme of publically financed elections. How many of our clueless country do not know what that 1040 box really means. what checking it could do ? We need to forward the question…so i do not regret my support nor my action kit which is on the way as well as my snappy T shirt…maybe it will provoke conversation and education.
As for Thompson what i gleen from my clicking through the MSM is that he is caught with his drawers down on a regular basis..just in the dark about current events – I do not see this guy being elected ..just don’t see it happening…
September 29th, 2007 at 12:20 pm
ProudP:
Hmmmm…I guess the 1040 check box is worthless because I may people use the EZ Form and I don’t think it’s on there. SO the alternative would be an organization to collect for public finance.
I am not knocking your idea, which I do think is good, I just thought it was a redo of what was already in existence. Now that you made me think about the IRS form check box, it does not seem to cover a complete audience. So Just six buck would fill that void.
September 29th, 2007 at 12:24 pm
Christopher:
Fred won’t debate because he doesn’t know what;as going on. If the Law & Order writers prepare his debate answers he might show.
I’m with Proud, I don’t see Fred going very far. I think he will be gone between the New Hampshire and S. Carolina primaries.
September 29th, 2007 at 12:27 pm
well no doubt on some level just 6 bucks may be re inventing the wheel..there are other groups out there no doubt..that are trying to bring about campaign finance reform.. It all about educating the public ..seems to me..and we have to educate the public about what a National Single Payer health Care program could be like.
Our corporations, the lobbiests, and all the politician BUT for Kucinich will keep this killing cycle going..Visualize Kucinich ! He is the ONLY ONE who truly gets it. Lets make him electable..
September 29th, 2007 at 7:00 pm
Hey proudprogressive,
I was not knocking your idea. I really thought you were kidding (pointing out an irony) when you pointed out that they asked to be sent $6 before they send “free” kit –which means the kit is not free at all because you essentially paid $6 for it.
The idea is sound but just tax everyone $6 and let the government control the billions– not a private foundation (a 501 3 c that they say it is)that does not have the same accountability or transparency . Who decides how this money is spend in this private foundation collecting $6 each from donors? Let’s say billions are raised by this foundation. That is a lot of power as to who decides how money is distributed or invested before its spent.
But the money is not the only problem. It is going to take governmental control to set and then enforce equal time rules, amount of advertising etc.
Another way to deal with this is to define limits on amount of ads which then, by definition, limits the spending. But this means nothing if donations to the party are still allowed as a tricky way to circumvent campaign donation limits to individual candidates.
September 29th, 2007 at 10:51 pm
Conservatives are 99.9% against gay marriage equity but, they look the other way when it comes to a child rapist like Freddie Freeper.
Can a Freddie Freeper fan step up and explain this?
Be prepared because anyone who knows me knows I don’t suffer rightwingers and I always win a debate with one of them.
So bring it on.
October 1st, 2007 at 10:02 am
[...] Friday, I did a post Fred Thompson: The Clueless Candidate , in the comment section was a YouTube link for a campaign video for Thompson. I’m sure that [...]