Fred Thompson...let's not forget

[SHRED]

Raising money to defend Libby

http://www.scooterlibby.com/committee/




Changing laws to favor the corporate wealthy at the expense of working Americans

1975 to 1992

Over about two decades of lobbying, Fred Thompson represented clients including Haitian Presidente Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Canadian-owned cable companies and a British reinsurance company.<14>

From 1975 to 1992 Thompson worked as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C. representing such clients as Westinghouse, General Electric (the current corporate owner of the NBC Universal-NBC television network), and the Tennessee Savings and Loan League.<10><15>

In 1982, Thompson lobbied the U.S. Congress for deregulation of the Savings and Loan (S&L) industry. His recommendations were incorporated in the Garn - St Germain Depository Institutions Act of 1982,<10> which allowed thrifts to invest in potentially more profitable, but riskier, ventures; eliminated interest-rate ceilings on new accounts; and granted additional government support to ailing S&Ls. This Act was a contributing factor to the Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s.

In 1991, Thompson began work with the Washington, D.C. firm of Arent, Fox, Kintner, Plotkin, & Kahn, representing overseas business entities as a registered foreign agent.<10> These included a German mining company and Toyota Motors of Japan.<13>

2004 to 2007

Between 2004 and 2007, Thompson worked part-time for London-based Equitas Ltd. He was paid $760,000 to keep in touch with his former Senate colleagues to learn the latest about bills that Equitas cared about. Equitas held billions of dollars to pay off claims from people with asbestos-related health problems. Thompson and other lobbyists helped remove a provision in a 2005 bill that would have made Equitas pay a very large portion of a proposed asbestos settlement. In June 2007, Thompson spokesman Mark Corrallo said that Thompson was proud to have been a lobbyist and believed in Equitas's cause.<16>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Thompson#Lobbyist

[Clark2008]

1. While this is important and certainly worthy of discussion, I

have to ask what I can do with this information.

Here's my dilemma: Most people I know probably will vote for him simply because he's from our home state and I live on the conservative end of that state. While my particular neighborhood is left-to-liberal, the same is not true for most of my business contacts. Since I believe Fred will be the Republican nominee, how do I convince fence sitters to overcome the feelings the media will install about Thompson - that he's a "man's man," that he's "strong," that he's not wimpy, etc. - and get them to see the real reason they shouldn't vote for a Republican this time around?

Isn't that the crux of it all? How do we overcome the media's inability to make presidential races nothing short of horse races? How do we get people to choose to vote for their own best interests instead of those the media finds compelling.

I am so deflated at this point because I fear that if it comes down to a Thompson versus Clinton, Obama or Edwards, the Dems have lost simply because we don't, on the front end, have a candidate that seems, well, likable, as well as strong on foreign policy and national security, while still capable of running domestic issues.

[SHRED]

2. please read: "AUTHORITARIANS HAVE TAKEN CONTROL"

Here is part, if not all, of what we are up against:

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20070905.html


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[cali]

3. Cheer up!

Voter ID statistics are against the repukes, scandals are damaging them, they're strongly identified with a failed and widely disliked war. The repukes are the ones who ALWAYS fare less well on domestic issues, not the dems. Fred Thompson has plenty of vulerabilities both within the primary season, and if he emerges as the nominee, in the general: His lobbying career, the persistant rumors that he was lazy as a Senator and, though it may be unfair, he has cancer. Yeah, it's in remission, but that's still going to be a concern.

Any of the leading dems can beat Thompson.

[ccpup]

5. a man's man?

simply respond "does a man's man wear Gucci loafers to the Iowa State Fair?" Simple, concise and just begging for an answer. If they respond, you then have the opportunity to engage them in a conversation with other info they may not know about. I think representing Aristide is a whopper, but that's just me.

[melody]

4. Thompson has more baggage than Rudy

That's one reason he has waited so long to announce.

[fencesitter]

6. I wouldn't worry about Thompson,

The people of the US would never consider electing an actor president, no no.

[Vickers]

8. lol!

I don't mind actors as politicians *in theory* as I feel that politics should include a broad cross-section of the population.

What I don't understand is why the Repukes insist on getting the WORST fucking actors around...I mean, how about Kevin Spacey, HELLO?

:P

[Netbeavis]

7. Everyone needs to remind the GOP voters

as much as they like to bash Edwards for being a "high priced slick attorney" before entering politics, Fred "McGruff" Thompson was a high priced slick attorney before AND after he was in politics.