NationStates Jolt Archive

Fred Thompson is a former Senator from TN and is also an actor who plays the DA on one of the Law and Order series. Howard Baker has been trying to get him to run for President on the Republican ticket and this morning on FOX News Fred said he is exploring it.

Would you consider voting for Fred Thompson? Why or why not?

Poll on the way.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,258222,00.html

Biography; http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=T000457

Why not? Our last actor-turned-president worked out so great!

...except for running up a huge debt, dismantling an energy policy that could have had us independent of foreign oil by 1990, choosing a prick of a vice-president that would eventually lead to an even bigger prick of a president, and allegedly authorizing the selling of arms to Iran to finance terrorists in central america. ... Oh yeah, let's not forget the cancerous growth on his nose that was surgically removed and eventually gained sentience, started a radio show and named itself Rush Limbaugh.

Why don't we try a peanut farmer-turned-president next? :p

No. It's not as though he's done anything in particular to piss me off, not that I recall anyway; it's just that he's a conservative, and he's going to drag all that conservative crap I disagree with into the office. In order to win the Republican nomination, you have to at least acknowledge the power of certain single-issue voters inside the party--like the anti-abortion crowd--and promise them stuff like Supreme Court justices. And that's a deal-breaker for me.

Besides, the last time we elected an actor, it was Reagan, and I wasn't all that pleased with his time in office either.

Voted YES on maintaining ban on Military Base Abortions. (Jun 2000)
Voted YES on banning partial birth abortions. (Oct 1999)
Voted YES on banning human cloning. (Feb 1998)
Voted YES on prioritizing national debt reduction below tax cuts. (Apr 2000)
Voted NO on 1998 GOP budget. (May 1997)
Voted YES on Balanced-budget constitutional amendment. (Mar 1997)
Voted NO on adding sexual orientation to definition of hate crimes. (Jun 2002)
Voted NO on loosening restrictions on cell phone wiretapping. (Oct 2001)
Voted NO on expanding hate crimes to include sexual orientation. (Jun 2000)
Voted NO on setting aside 10% of highway funds for minorities & women. (Mar 1998)
Voted NO on ending special funding for minority & women-owned business. (Oct 1997)
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)
Voted NO on banning affirmative action hiring with federal funds. (Jul 1995)
Voted YES on restricting rules on personal bankruptcy. (Jul 2001)
Voted NO on $1.15 billion per year to continue the COPS program. (May 1999)
Voted YES on limiting death penalty appeals. (Apr 1996)
Voted YES on limiting product liability punitive damage awards. (Mar 1996)
Voted YES on restricting class-action lawsuits. (Dec 1995)
Voted YES on repealing federal speed limits. (Jun 1995)
Voted YES on increasing penalties for drug offenses. (Nov 1999)
Voted YES on spending international development funds on drug control. (Jul 1996)

and more:http://ontheissues.org/Senate/Fred_Thompson.htm

So, no. I wouldn't vote for him.

From what Desperate measures posted, I would say no as well.

Hell yeah. He was a great DA, that takes balls. Thompson in '08!

He's a republican politician so he's more likely than not an incompetent crook, plus he has a reprehensible voting record and wrong positions on most issues.

Given what he believes... No. Not ever.

Given what he believes... No. Not ever.
+1

:upyours: FT

I'll have to echo what others here are saying with a resounding HELL NO! I knew about some of his votes, but holy sh1t!! Thanks DM for posting that, that record is craptacular!

I would have to say it would depend on who he was up against. He probably wouldn't be my first choice, but if he was up against a mindless, party-all-the-way Democrat (or, to be fair, a mindless, party-all-the-way Republican) I'd probably prefer Thompson. He did a pretty good job as a Senator, and I feel he's nobody's puppet. I prefer leaders who have the guts to stand up for themselves.

Reading ontheissues.org sadly reminds me why I don't want to register as Dem or Republican...gah.

But on a lighter note, I found this quote to be hilarious:

Analysis: The environmental issue is the most lopsided issue on which the candidates sharply differ; this is a particularly sharp difference because the question is worded in terms of direct conservation. 59% agree with Kerry's stance that global warming is a serious threat, and 23% with Bush's stance drill for more oil.

ROFL.

Ron Paul!