Fred Thompson’s lobbying for Aristide not likely to help his image
Posted on June 27th, 2007 at 1:34 pm by Contributor ArchiveFor a wrinkled guy, Fred Thompson has that rosy, fresh scent, if for no other reason than he is not yet actually running for president. Once the reality of his entering the race hits, all those people that want Thompson in the race are likely to suddenly become disillusioned. Good press (as reporters search for ever more candidates in the already overflowing field) will often follow an unofficial candidate right up until he/she officially declares, at which point the attacks begin. Clearly then, the smart thing for Thompson to do would be to hold off declaring until late October of next year, at which point he might stand a chance of winning.
Unfortunately for Fred, that can’t happen, so when he announces his presidential run in a couple weeks, he’ll have to answer hard questions about his years of work as a lobbyist. Right now none of Thompson’s past lobbying efforts are in the forefront of the minds of voters, but once his past becomes common knowledge, Fred is going to have some serious problems. Lobbying for a billion-dollar failed nuclear project and for a saving-and-loan bill that helped collapse the industry are, granted, not something most voters cast ballots based on, but on top of those misguided efforts, Thompson was a lobbyist for the horrific Haitian President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
To refresh unpleasant memories, Aristide, ousted among protests of corruption (among other things), was globally despised for endorsing a sick form of execution where tires, soaked with gasoline, were thrown around a victim’s neck and set on fire. This practice, called “necklacing” was, quite disturbingly, praised by Aristide, who stated, “The burning tire, what a beautiful tool! … It smells good. And wherever you go, you want to smell it.” Even more disturbing, perhaps, is one presidential candidate to-be’s lobbying the White House on Aristide’s behalf.
If Rudy and Romney are having a tough time answering questions of social liberalism and flip-flopping, respectively, the cross-examination of Fred Thompson should be the stuff of movies, and without a script, Thompson is going to be faced with the nearly impossible task of maintaining his likable facade.
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All I care about is where Fred stands on the issues. If everyone just stuck to the issues then maybe we would have a more qualified list of canidates from which to choose.
This guy scares the sh!t out of me. He’s fun to watch on Law and Order, but I never saw an episode that said to me “this guy should be President some day”. The fact that he supported, freakin’ lobbied for, that sick butcher Aristide (not to mention the S&L thing that furthered the destruction of the middle class we see today) further skews my view of this guy towards anti-Christ. I can’t wait to see all the bad press in a few months.
In the meantime, Ron Paul keeps on selling the Constitution, and it seems the American people are willing buyers. And why wouldn’t we be? There much less of a chance of experiencing buyer’s remorse when you know you’re getting a tried and true product. And the Constitution has been proving to be an invaluable product of human society for the last two hundred plus years. This country never would have avoided the slide into tyranny for nearly a hundred years after we sold our government in 1913 without the solid foundation we were given with the US Constitution. Perhaps we can hit reset on this thing next year, go back to what we know will work, and finally be done with all this bullsh!t we’ve had to deal with the last century.
“All I care about is where Fred stands on the issues.”
That’ the problem with Fredheads. They really don’t know where Fred stands on all the issues or what kind of candidate he will be. More importantly, does Fred have the ability to win?
Just wait until Fred has to speak without a script. Are we going to see Ronald Reagan or a tired old man?
From what I have seen so far, I think we will see a tired old man with no chance of defeating anyone.
If you looked at any of the videos available on the internet you would begin to see where Fred stands on issues. Videos that were cut before there was talk of Fred running.
I don’t fully endorse what Fred has to say about the illegals (because I think you should deport as many as possible) but I do think he speaks to many Americans that are fed up with the BS we have been shoveled for the last few years. A lil common sense goes a long way with most folks.
How bout Thompson/Paul 08′?
I think Troy La Mana has been smoking something.
Fred Thompson=Bush=28% of the vote
Ron Paul=1% of the vote
Split the difference and that ticket would get about 15% of the vote in the general election.
Sounds like a recipe for success.
Ethan says “Good press will often follow an unofficial candidate right up until he/she officially declares, at which point the attacks begin.” Gee, you sure could have fooled me. Why are the liberals so afraid of Fred Thompson?
Lisa,
Looking at the match up polls, I think most Liberals will be contributing to Fred’s campaign, because they know Fred will ensure a Hillary landslide.
And I would encourage them to do just that. Fred will appreciate their donation. They can get the ball rolling here:
https://www.imwithfred.com/Contribute.aspx
So would Hillary.
LOL
The uproar you hear is the Liberals running scared that Fred is running thus taking independent and Reagan Democrats away from Hitlery.
The only people who fear Fred are Republicans that actually want to win next year.
Speaking of Fred Thompson and fear:
* Fred Thompson has on multiple occasions pronounced “nuclear” correctly.
* Fred Thompson has blasted more people in the face with a shotgun than even Dick Cheney.
He’s Fred Thompson. You’re nothing.
* The masked executioner of Saddam Hussein: Fred Thompson.
* Not only does Fred Thompson cut taxes, he cuts tax collectors.
* Fred Thompson is the only person to have ever bested Miyamato Mushashi in a duel. The reason Musashi is so vague about the book of the void is because the fifth ring of combat is really Fred Thompson.
* The reason Fred Thompson didn’t want to stay in the Senate for long is because all the extra scrutiny kept him from doing his favorite hobby: Prowling the streets at night killing drug dealers.
* Every night before going to sleep, Osama bin Laden checks under his bed for Fred Thompson.
* Fred Thompson took over what was Al Gore’s Senate seat, thereby dramatically reducing the Senate’s carbon footprint. Fred Thompson then created carbon offset offsets by wastefully burning hippies.
* The Fremen consider “Fred Thompson” a killing word.
* Fred Thompson reconsidered running for reelection after 9/11 but later decided to handle things on his own. He was soon seen entering the Middle East with a bottle of tequila in one hand an a handgun in the other. They’re still counting the dead.
* Though Fred Thompson left the Senate in 2003, Harry Reid still hasn’t stopped wetting his pants.
You forgot the most important fact about Fred Thompson.
*Fred Thompson is unelectable
New Poll:
Giuliani +12%
FOX News conducted 06/26 - 06/27
Rudy, Rudy, Rudy!!!!!!!!!!
Real Clear Politics Poll
Republican Presidential Nomination
RCP Average
Giuliani 26.2%
Thompson 18.8%
McCain 16.5%
Romney 9.7%
Giuliani +7.4%
The gap is closing fast and Fred hasn’t even announced. Hizzhonor is in deep trouble.
The gap just got wider.
FOX News conducted 06/26 - 06/27 Giuliani +12%
CNN conducted 06/22 - 06/24 Giuliani +11%
More importantly, Rudy is the strongest candidate to defeat Hillary.
Vote Fred or Die Hard!
The Thompson campaign is going to Die Hard, once everyone sees Fred without a script.
Fred is no Ronald Reagan.
Fred reminds me of a tired old man.
If the GOP has any hope of surviving next year, It’s gotta be Rudy or Romney.
Yup, Stephen that was quite the endorsement. LOL
That’s the real problem with Fred, he really doesn’t excite anyone.
I take that back, Fred does excite Hillary.
She has to be very excited at the prospect of a landslide victory.
Are you going to say the same thing when Fred consistantly polls 2nd? What happens when he wins a few primarys?
Duh Troy! Obviously at that point, Fred’s popularity will have been whipped up by the “vast right wing conspiracy!”
Lisa I will agree with that, but I would say it’s more like desperation from the far right.
The bottom line: Fred is unelectable.
Yup, all we need now is a sequel to the Bush administration.
Fred=Bush=Hillary Landslide
You realize that the Power Rankings are going to be updated after Indepenece Day because that’s when Fred is announcing and they will have to rank him 2nd in the Derby.
I think the verdict is still out on Fred.
We will have to see how well old Fred does in the debates without a script.