I saw a whole different speech.
And why is there always a religious connotation implied when it comes to conservatives?
SIGH!
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Fred Thompson taking conservative message to Orange County faithful
The former senator and actor sounds an awful lot like a presidential candidate in prepared remarks for a Lincoln Club dinner.
By Scott Martelle, Times Staff Writer
6:03 PM PDT, May 4, 2007
Actor and former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson — whose potential candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination has drawn more attention than some of the declared candidates — plans to stake out a wide swath of traditional conservative turf for himself in a speech tonight before the influential Lincoln Club of Orange County.
In prepared remarks posted on his blog at ABCRadio.com, where he is an occasional commentator, Thompson offered no specific take on the war in Iraq, which has dominated the political debate in both parties.
But he identified the war as a key issue facing the nation and a "large part" of the "concern for the future" shared by many Americans looking at increased globalization and uncertainty in the face of what he called "one of the best economies we've ever had."
"Of course Iraq is a large part of it," Thompson said. "Not only is it tough going, but the effort is besieged on all sides. From those playing the most crass kind of politics with it at home to criticism from around the world."
Thompson prepared the remarks for delivery Friday evening before about 400 expected guests at the 45th annual meeting of the Lincoln Club, which played a crucial role in Ronald Reagan's gubernatorial and presidential campaigns and remains a much-sought audience for national Republican candidates.
The appearance comes a day after 10 current Republican candidates took part in a nationally televised debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library near Simi Valley.
That Thompson and not one of the current candidates was the featured speaker at Friday's dinner at the Balboa Bay Club & Resort had more to do with timing — and money — than anything else, said Lincoln Club President Richard K. Wagner. The dinner, he said, is not a fundraiser.
"A lot of them are going through fundraisers right now, and money is king," Wagner said, adding that he expected the major Republican contenders to eventually speak before the club.
Thompson, best-known for his role as Dist. Atty. Arthur Branch on television's "Law & Order," won election to Al Gore's unexpired Senate seat from Tennessee in 1994, and was reelected to a full term in 1996. He did not seek reelection. A lawyer, he also served as minority counsel on the Senate Watergate Committee in 1973 and 1974.
Arguing that "how we react ... is more important than the challenges themselves," Thompson said the solution to the nation's ills did not lie in "withdraw[ing] from the world that presents us with so many problems," increased taxes or "protectionist trade policies."
"These are defensive, defeatist policies that have consistently been proven wrong," Thompson said. "They are not what America is all about."
He went on to endorse a smaller and more decentralized federal government, lower taxes and secured national borders.
And he said looming financial crises in the Social Security and Medicare programs were key domestic problems that had not been resolved because Congress lacked the will to do so.
"Sometimes I think that I'm the last guy around who still thinks term limits is a good idea," Thompson said, arguing that "the professionalization of politics saps people's courage. Their desire to keep their job and not upset anybody overrides all else — even if it hurts the country."
Thompson suggested that the solution to the Social Security and Medicare problems might rest in cutting benefits.
"If Grandmom and Granddad think that a little sacrifice will help their grandchildren when they get married, try to buy a home or have children, they will respond to a credible call to make that sacrifice — if they don't think that the sacrifice is going down some government black hole," Thompson said.
scott.martelle@latimes.com
latimes.com |
