Thompson on Thompson, tacking to the base:
Thompson Pitches Right
Fred Thompson is flooding a network of conservative web sites with op-eds in an attempt to soothe the right about his past support for campaign finance reform and his opposition to malpractice lawsuit limits.
As he prepares to launch a bid for the GOP presidential nomination, Thompson has penned articles on a broad swath of conservative touchstones, everything from illegal immigration to global warming to gun control. On the latter topic, the former Senator wrote in the wake of the mass shootings at Virgina Tech that he challenged the university's "decision to deny Americans the right to protect themselves on their campuses -- and then proudly advertise that fact to any and all."
Thompson's recent musings have graced several of the favorite Web hangouts for conservatives: the National Review online edition, Human Events and the Townhall.com blog to name a few. Essentially, he's creating a 21st century version of fellow actor Ronald Reagan's radio show that helped the Gipper lay out his policy positions before he ran for president back in 1980.
Thompson writes his own pieces, often borrowing from his commentaries on the Paul Harvey radio show. Here's a sampling:
On the failed immigration bill in Congress: "No matter how much lipstick Washington tries to slap onto this legislative pig, it's not going to win any beauty contests. We should scrap this 'comprehensive' immigration bill and the whole debate until the government can show the American people that we have secured the borders -- or at least made great headway."
On efforts to ban legal guns on college campuses after the Virginia Tech shootings: "Many other universities have been swayed by an anti-gun, anti-self defense ideology. I respect their right to hold those views, but I challenge their decision to deny Americans the right to protect themselves on their campuses -- and then proudly advertise that fact to any and all."
On concerns about global warming: "It seems scientists have noticed recently that quite a few planets in our solar system seem to be heating up a bit, including Pluto. This has led some people, not necessarily scientists, to wonder if Mars and Jupiter, non-signatories to the Kyoto Treaty, are actually inhabited by alien SUV-driving industrialists who run their air-conditioning at 60 degrees and refuse to recycle."
On the Palestinian crisis: "Let me ask you a hypothetical question. What do you think America would do if Canadian soldiers were firing dozens of missiles every day into Buffalo, N.Y.? What do you think our response would be if Mexican troops for two years had launched daily rocket attacks on San Diego ? and bragged about it? I can tell you, our response would look nothing like Israel's restrained and pinpoint reactions to daily missile attacks from Gaza."
One of Thompson recent blog postings was directly aimed at addressing conservative concerns about his past work as a trial lawyer and his opposition to federal limits on medical malpractice lawsuits and attorney fees. To read the Post's front page story this morning on Thompson's lengthy record as a trial lawyer and how he is dealing with it now, click here.
--John Solomon
Posted at 2:37 PM ET on Jul 26, 2007 |
