Fred Thompson News

Fred to speak May 1 in Ashland, Ohio

2009-04-02T09:49:00.001-04:00

Actor and former United States senator Fred Thompson will speak May 1 at Ashland University as the keynote speaker for the 24th annual John M. Ashbrook Memorial Dinner.

Sponsored by the John M. Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs, the event has hosted many political leaders including Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Colin Powell and Margaret Thatcher.

Fred on Cavuto yesterday

2009-03-25T14:03:00.001-04:00

Fred Thompson on CNN American Morning today

2009-03-25T14:01:00.003-04:00

Fred starts strong out of the gate on this one from this morning:

Fred on CNN tomorrow morning

2009-03-24T12:22:00.001-04:00

According to FredThompsonShow.com:

Senator Thompson will appear on CNN's American Morning with John Roberts on Wednesday morning at 8:30am EDT to respond to President Obama's press conference, which takes place tonight.

Video of Fred Thompson on Hannity last night

2009-03-20T15:00:00.004-04:00

Fred comes on about 3 minutes in the video.

My favorite part is Fred saying that Geithner and Dodd have been caught in a blown cover-up:

Not only did they agree to it and pass on it, they got with Dodd, as you pointed out, and figured out a way to save it in that last bill, and then feigning outrage when it all came to light. You know, it is — it was a blown cover-up. I hold Chris no animosity. I feel badly about this, but he got caught in a flat-out lie, and just at a time when you think the American people can't get any more cynical, I think they are.

As an aside, this would have been much better with Alan Colmes trying to defend Obama and Dodd, and Fred embarrassing him as usual....

Fred's endorsement of Jim Tedisco

2009-03-20T09:35:00.002-04:00

TO: Fred PAC Supporters

FROM: Fred Thompson

On March 31, you and I have an opportunity to advance the cause of freedom and Founding Principles. I’m writing to you to ask for your help in achieving this important victory.

Here is the situation. A Special Election will be held on Tuesday, March 31 to fill the vacant U.S. House seat in New York 20th District. The Republican candidate, Jim Tedisco is a solid conservative. He is being opposed by a Wall Street Democrat, Scott Murphy.

Every leftwing group and union in the country is pouring money and manpower into the 20th District. From ACORN to the AFL-CIO, every one of the organizations that oppose common sense solutions based on principle is working to keep control of this seat.

And it is easy to see why these radicals are fighting so hard.

America is waking up to the flawed thinking and outright dangerous schemes of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid’s Congress and the Obama Administration. Opposition is building every day. If Jim Tedisco wins this seat, it will be a very public repudiation. A Tedisco victory will start the process of building an effective opposition to the Obama-Pelosi agenda, and send a clear message: conservatives aren’t going to let the extremist left in Washington strip us of our rights and freedoms.

Please, take a few minutes and take two very important actions.

1.) Go to www.jimtedisco.com and make a donation to Jim’s campaign. You can learn all about the campaign.

2.) Make a donation to FredPAC https://fredpac.com/Contribute.aspx Whatever you can afford will be greatly appreciated. FredPAC intends to be aggressive in promoting those candidates that stand for individual liberty and the Founding First Principles of our nation. But all we have is what you and other dedicated supporters send. I know times are tough. I know you will do what you can.

With only a few short days remaining, it is vital that we act fast. So, please act today.

And thank you for your continuing support and trust. I deeply appreciate all that you do.

Sincerely,

Fred

Fred Thompson on cover of Cigar Aficionado

2009-03-10T15:48:00.003-04:00

I can' find the feature story online, but here's the tease from cigaraficionado.com:

Fred Thompson, the gentleman from Tennessee, may best be defined by the word reinvention. Always looking for his next challenge, Thompson has established an impressive resumé includes time as a U.S. attorney, Watergate prosecutor, U.S. senator, presidential candidate and part-time TV and movie actor. We speak with the man as he readies himself for his next adventure as a talk-radio host.

Updates to FredThompsonShow.com

2009-03-10T15:42:00.002-04:00

Fred Thompson's radio show website continues to improve, with an audio archive page and a podcasting page unvieled today. Also, there's no link to it yet, but it looks like the blog will be a permanent feature in the near future, and will feature entries from both Fred and Jeri.

Fred gets "gold" sponsor

2009-03-09T16:32:00.003-04:00

Well, I guess our friend Fred has officially "made it" in conservative talk radio. I know this because there's a press release going around today that the Fred Thompson Show is now sponsored by Goldline, who also sponsors the shows of Glenn Beck and Laura Ingraham. Goldline should not be confused with Goldcentral.com, who sponsors Rush, or Stanford Coin & Bullion, who used to sponsor Hannity. Those gold companies have certainly figured out their target market, haven't they?

From the release:

Former U.S. senator and 2008 presidential candidate Fred Thompson has selected Goldline International, Inc. as his exclusive gold dealer and will be endorsing Goldline on his new radio show, The Fred Thompson Show.

“We are happy to welcome Goldline as one of our first sponsors of The Fred Thompson Show,” said Thompson. “Jeri [Thompson] and I chose Goldline as our source for gold and precious metals. Like many investors, we believe that gold is an important part of a diversified portfolio, especially in these troubled economic times. That’s why we tell our friends and listeners to call Goldline to learn more about acquiring gold.”

Fred Thompson Show Audio Archives

2009-03-07T08:51:00.003-05:00

Thanks to some very smart truck drivers, I can now tell you that past episodes of the Fred Thompson Show are available for download in their entirety. To access episodes, type in the following URL: http://fetch.noxsolutions.com/ft/mp3/ft_20090306_low.mp3. This URL is for yesterday's show. Just change the date to get earlier episodes.

The commercial time has all been cut, so the two-hour show is only 70 minutes.

Jeri's new Spectator article

2009-03-06T13:24:00.002-05:00

Jeri Thompson takes on the Obama administration for taking on Rush Limbaugh in her latest American Spectator post. Here's a sample:

Good thing Rush Limbaugh has big shoulders. He'll need them now that Barack Obama and his Clintonista reunion band have put the full weight of the Unites States government on top of him.  

It's great that maestros of slime like Begala, Carville and Greenberg (What? Did Sidney Blumenthal miss the reunion lunch?) are able to get their young Bartlebys in the press to trumpet in breathless tones their genius for having President Obama and the House and Senate Democrats target Rush as the centerpiece of their "distract America campaign." But like their "Vast Right Wing Conspiracy" campaign back in 1993-1994, "Rush is the Republican Party" will backfire by ultimately re-booting the conservative movement. 

Here's the whole article.

"Fred Says" feature added to radio show website

2009-03-06T09:51:00.003-05:00

The FredThompsonShow.com site is slowly but surely getting better. They've finally gotten rid of all the pictures 10 years old or older, have gotten the station finder up to date, and have a bio page for Fred, Jeri, and producer Greg Tantum.

And today, they've added a front page feature called "Fred Says," which reminds me a lot of the Fred File on fredpac.com. (I actually went over there expecting to see today's entry cross-posted.)

In today's entry, Fred has some advice for President Obama, including:

> Don't look the American people in the eye and say that your spending proposals do not contain pork or earmarks. Even your supporters are having a hard time keeping a straight face.

> Don't say that your administration is going to be the epitome of transparency and then go back on your promise to put important legislation on the internet and give citizens a change to examine it before you sign it

> Don't say you are going to call for shared sacrifice, then tell 95% of the people you are going to send them a check, and suggest that you are showing courage by standing up to the other 5%.

> Don't claim that you are going to inform entitlements by creating more of them as you have proposed.

> Don't tell us the world is coming to an end in order to get your stimulus package passed, then immediately after that have your people say that we may be coming out of the recession by the end of the year. We might conclude that you're toying with our emotions for improper purposes. A gentleman does not do that.

A side note for anybody who works on the radio show site: please give us a permalink to the Fred Says feature so we can link to specific entries.

Fred's Op-Ed on Paul Harvey

2009-03-04T10:07:00.001-05:00

From the Washington Times:

There's no question that I owe a debt to Paul Harvey. In fact, I think all Americans are beholden to the man, whether they know it or not.

On a personal level, I had the privilege of guest-hosting for him on occasion. That opportunity to converse with America twice a day, connecting with more than 20 million loyal Paul Harvey listeners, led some folks to give me my own shot in talk radio today.

Most radio listeners knew that the most successful radio program in history was coming up at noon. Paul Harvey would make us feel at home. He made it clear that he understood who we were, where we came from, and he didn't think we were hicks or rubes for believing in America.

Paul Harvey made the radio waves a comfortable place for people made to feel unwelcome just about everywhere else. He created a sense of community that helped others, like Rush Limbaugh, come into their own.

Click here for the rest of the story....

Rado station finder for Fred Thompson Show

2009-03-02T10:33:00.000-05:00

You can check out http://fredthompsonshow.com/stationfinder to see the official Fred Thompson Show radio station finder. It's up and a few stations are listed, but the list seems to be incomplete (no Tennessee stations, for instance).

Mark Sanford and John McCain to be Fred's first radio guests

2009-03-02T10:30:00.001-05:00

From FredThompsonShow.com:

Hour 1: Gov. Mark Sanford (R-SC) Will talk about the economic stimulus package and his refusal to accept some government funds from his state.
Hour 2: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) Will talk about the top issues of the day, including President Obama's budget, the economic stimulus bill, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Fred & Jeri @ CPAC

2009-03-02T10:27:00.003-05:00

From the Pajamas Media web site, it's an interview at CPAC with Fred Thompson. Notice that wife Jeri is on the panel....

(You'll have to choose the Fred Thompson segment once you follow the link.)

Fred Thompson Radio Show station update

2009-02-27T12:15:00.002-05:00

While I have not been successful in getting a complete list of stations that will be carrying The Fred Thompson Show, stations are slowly releasing that information. We already knew about 99.7 in Nashville, and now this from the Fresno Bee:

Lineup change: The radio show hosted by actor/politician Fred Thompson launches at 3 p.m. Monday on KYNO (AM 1300). It is the time slot previously held by Bill O'Reilly before he decided to get out of radio. Thompson's show will air weekdays following Dr. Laura.

And this from the Topeka Capital-Journal:

O'Reilly is ending his radio show Friday. Santee said it would be replaced on KMAJ by "The Fred Thompson Show" hosted by the former Tennessee senator, actor and Republican presidential candidate.

Fred Thompson show only on one Tennessee station?

2009-02-26T10:08:00.002-05:00

That's the word coming from the Knoxville Metro Pulse. As I noted in an earlier post, Fred is going to be on 99.7 in Nashville.

I highly recommend that some of you FredHeads get busy calling and/or emailing progam directors at your local talk radio station. Sure, it's not too likely that a station would dump Rush for Fred, but we could at least lobby for a 6pm air time. Imagine Rush, Hannity, then Fred....

If you live in the Chattanooga area, you can contact WGOW's program director at bill.lockhart@citcomm.com. Feel free to post contact info for stations in your area in the comments.

Jeri Thompson Radio Show?

2009-02-24T00:03:00.003-05:00

Will Jeri Thompson have a one-hour radio show. That seems to be the indication of this post from a Nashville-based blogger.

Fred's radio show to be on 125 stations

2009-02-23T23:55:00.001-05:00

Westwood One will launch "The Fred Thompson Show" into syndication on March 2 on more than 125 affiliates including market clearances in Washington, DC, Dallas, Houston and Minneapolis. The two-hour daily talk show hosted by the former senator, commentator and actor will air live from noon-2pm, weekdays from the WWI's studios in Washington.

"Of all the radio talkers out there, how many can say they've debated in the Senate; campaigned for President of the United States; had a successful TV career on Law and Order and shared the screen with Morgan Freeman, Bruce Willis, Robert De Niro and Sissy Spacek?" said Executive VP/News & Talk Programming Bart Tessler. "Thompson is as unique as they come and that will make for exceptional radio."

"This will be the biggest talk radio launch since Bill O'Reilly," added Exective VP Affiliate Sales Dennis Green. "We have not even hit the air and radio stations from coast to coast are ready for Fred Thompson to speak to their audiences about the issues that matter."

More

Kleinheider reports that Fred will be on 99.7 in Nashville.

Updated FredThompsonShow.com

2009-02-19T08:39:00.002-05:00

Below is a screen grab (taken a few minutes ago)of the official web site for the Fred Thompson show. If anybody has any luck finding a list of stations, please let me know.

Audio demo of Fred Thompson Radio Show

2009-02-18T11:36:00.005-05:00

Westwood One has posted a demo of Fred's upcoming show on a site for their affiliates. The demo is about a minute and a half introduction to Fred with audio clips from the campaign trail, Law & Order, Watergate hearings, and elsewhere. There's also a lot of Fred introducing himself to the listeners.

Download Fred D T - Demo

Fred Thompson Show debut postponed

2009-02-18T11:17:00.004-05:00

According to the countdown ticker at the top of FredThompsonShow.com, the show's debut has been postponed from March 2 to March 4 at noon.

UPDATE: The countdown is now once again headed for zero on March 2 at noon. Either there was some glitch, or I'm losing my mind. Stay tuned to see more evidence of my loss of mental acumen.

UPDATE2: The image on fredthompsonshow.com has been edited just to disprove this post. It now says "Tune in live for our first show on March 2nd." This is certainly welcome news to me. My apologies for the confusion.

Fred's "Mars" Episode set for Feb 25

2009-02-18T11:05:00.000-05:00

NEW YORK, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- Actor and former U.S. presidential candidate Fred D. Thompson is set to make his return to television in an episode of "Life on Mars," ABC announced.

Thompson, 66, is to portray Police Chief Harry Woolf in the Feb. 25 installment of the1970s-set cop drama, which stars Jason O'Mara, Harvey Keitel, Michael Imperioli, Gretchen Mol and Jonathan Murphy.

Fred Thompson talks corruption with Glenn Beck

2009-01-30T22:34:00.001-05:00

Fred endorses Wasinger in Kansas

2009-01-30T22:30:00.000-05:00

Fred Thompson is not afraid to pick sides in a Republican primary:

TOPEKA, Kan. | Two Republican candidates for the congressional seat being vacated by Kansas Rep. Jerry Moran are picking up endorsements.

Rob Wasinger, who's from Hays and former chief-of-staff for Sen. Sam Brownback, announced Friday that he was endorsed by former GOP presidential hopeful Fred Thompson.

Fred Thompson show website

2009-01-16T15:02:00.002-05:00

FredThompsonShow.com has gone live, so far with just a general announcement from Westwood One:

Thanks to FredPAC commenter Trey for the tip!

Video of Fred on CNN American Morning

2009-01-16T14:46:00.002-05:00

Anybody else want to punch John Roberts when he laughs at "The Fred Thompson Radio Program"????

My favorite part (about Obama):

"This reaching across the aisle is overblown. It doesn't amount to anything."

Fred Thompson on Hannity

2009-01-15T13:23:00.002-05:00

I think that what Republicans need to do is to remember why they're supposed to be Republicans. That is basic conservative principles that have to do with free enterprise, that has to do with free markets, has to do with trade with our neighbors, a strong national defense.

Those things that -- not only made us a great party, but a great nation. The nations that have followed that template have become successful, we have, for sure, and we will again if we'll adhere to those principles, and even when it's tough doing so and learn how to articulate them in the process.

Full transcript here.

Let me know if you find video of this, or of Jeri on the panel later in the show.

FredPAC passed out $50,000 to conservative candidates in 2008

2008-12-30T00:22:00.007-05:00

According to FEC records, Fred Thompson's FredPAC passed out $50,859 for the 2008 elections, as of 11/24/08. Here's where the money went:

Lamar Alexander.....$2300
Gresham Barrett.....$1500
Steve Buyer.....$1500
Saxby Chambliss.....$1000
Thad Cochran.....$2300
Norm Coleman.....$2300
John Cornyn.....$1000
Elizabeth Dole.....$2300
Mark Ellmore.....$2000
Richard Goddard.....$1500
Lindsey Graham.....$2300
Christopher Hackett.....$1500
Steve King.....$1500
Donald Manzullo.....$1500
Tom McClintock.....$1500
Thad McCotter.....$1500
Jeff Miller.....$1500
Pete Olson.....$1500
Adam Putnam.....$1500
William Russell.....$2000
John Sununu.....$1500
Roger Wicker.....$2300

Susan B. Anthony Candidate List.....$5000

Also according to the FEC, the Susan B. Anthony Candidate List spent money in support of John McCain and contributed to several conservatives' campaigns, including those of John Sununu and Tennessean Marsha Blackburn.

The Fred Thompson Show: official announcement

2008-12-22T10:20:00.001-05:00

NEW YORK, Dec. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Westwood One is pleased to announce the debut of The Fred Thompson Show on March 2, 2009. The show will replace The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly when the program ends its successful six-year run on February 27, 2009. Former U.S. senator and 2008 presidential candidate, Fred Thompson will share his views on politics, topical issues, pop culture and water cooler stories, as well as welcome guest interviews and take listener calls. The Fred Thompson Show will be a two-hour daily talk show and will air live Noon-2pm, Monday - Friday from the Westwood One studios in Washington DC.

"There is no prerequisite for a great talk show host, but if I were going to make one up, senator, presidential candidate, federal prosecutor, radio commentator, film and TV star would be a pretty good start," said Bart Tessler, EVP Westwood One News & Talk Programming.

"When folks listen to a radio show, they make an appointment with it. It is the ideal way for me to continue my dialog with America about the issues we all face each day," said Thompson.

"Senator Thompson is a perfect fit for radio," said Gary Schonfeld, President of Westwood One Networks. "His unique set of qualifications will make him a huge hit with both listeners and advertisers."

Fred Thompson to get syndicated radio show

2008-12-22T00:09:00.004-05:00

TVNewser founder turned NY Times reporter Brian Stelter reports:

Several of the supporting actors in this year’s Republican primary are showing interest in the medium, too. Fred Thompson, the “Law & Order” star turned presidential candidate, will begin hosting a two-hour show in March, as the syndicator Westwood One is expected to announce this week. Mr. Thompson’s show would take the place of Mr. O’Reilly’s.

Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City and a Republican presidential candidate, had been in negotiations with Westwood One for Mr. O’Reilly’s time slot, according to two people with knowledge of the talks who spoke on the condition of anonymity because a deal was not struck.

This should be fantastic! I'm pretty pumped to see where this goes. Fred has a stunning intellect and a unique style that should be a good fit. A few questions:
> What does this mean for FredPAC?
> Will the show include long-form essay-style content like when Fred filled in for Paul Harvey?
> Will Chattanooga radio pick this up so I don't have to get Sirius/XM?!?!

Fred on Cavuto; makes cowbell joke

2008-12-05T16:42:00.003-05:00

A few points:
> Says he's not running again
> Doesn't have a favorite for 2012
> References the Mars show with Harvey Keitel
> Says he can make his videos any time he feels like it!

Fred Thompson back on teevee in 2009

2008-12-04T11:17:00.001-05:00

From Entertainment Weekly:

Fred Thompson is making good on his... promise to return to acting. The former U.S. senator, whose presidential dreams went up in smoke earlier this year, has landed a guest stint on ABC's out-of-this-world drama Life on Mars, sources confirm to me exclusively. He'll play the NYPD's chief of detectives in a February episode.

Fred Thompson explains the economic crisis

2008-12-02T12:51:00.002-05:00

Fred should have conducted his entire presidential campaign with the cigar in his hand. He's definitely at his best with a Cuban in his hand. And I agree with Ed Morrissey that this is an instant classic:

My favorite is the "Yes we can!" line.

Clippard: Fred not interested in RNC job, wants to act

2008-11-21T09:46:00.001-05:00

From the Memphis Commercial Appeal:

“He called me yesterday and said it’s not in the cards,” said Nashville businessman B.C. “Scooter” Clippard, a close Thompson associate who headed fundraising for Thompson’s presidential campaign. Clippard said Thompson chose to remain in the private sector, working to resume his television acting career.

“He said he had spent the last two years of his life trying to be president and helping John McCain be president and during that time, he didn’t have much income. He has a family” and needs to earn an income, Clippard said.

Fred sends email in support of Chambliss

2008-11-20T10:43:00.001-05:00

I just got this email from FredPAC:

First, ...please read Senator Thompson’s most recent column on Townhall. We must not become dispirited with the elections or be fearful for the future. But Senator Thompson says it best when we writes:

“We have the formula—a conservative formula—that has worked before and will surely work again. It is grounded in our first principles. It’s time we moved past the recriminations and seven stages of grief. It’s time to look ahead, to stay united and to defend the values that we know must endure if our nation is to do the same.”

Good advice. And timely, too, given the critical election that is quickly looming.

On December 2, just a few short days away, Georgians will vote in a run-off election for the U.S. Senate. If we thought the stakes were high on November 4th, this run-off just raised them a bit more.

Consider: re-electing Senator Saxby Chambliss could be the difference between stopping the union chieftains in their drive to eliminate secret ballot elections for union representation – or not. Holding the Georgia seat could very well be the difference in blocking the Obama administration's most radical social policies. And winning in Georgia could mean stopping ever higher taxes on the "Average Joe."

Senator Thompson endorses Senator Chambliss and urges you and all Fred PAC supporters to do whatever they can to help him get re-elected.

The Georgia seat is key to all of these battles and many more. Barack Obama is going to Atlanta to drum up support for his Democrat candidate. The unions and ACORN and every other left-wing group is on the ground working night and day.

But they can be stopped, if you and enough of our fellow ,concerned citizens act now. Please click here to make a donation to Senator Saxby Chambliss. It is vital that he has the resources to fight the Obama machine.

Thank you for your continuing support of Fred PAC and the values of First Principles.

Fred's new TownHall post

2008-11-20T10:39:00.002-05:00

Fred Thompson has a new column at Townhall.com today. He starts off with a blunt assessment of the state of our national government:

We are now living in a nation controlled by a Democratic Party committed to cutting the budget for our national defense, raising taxes and nibbling around the edges of our personal freedoms in the hopes none of us notices. Democrats will do it through regulation in the executive branch, legislation in Congress and rulings from the judiciary.

This activity will be taking place during a time when we know that somewhere in the world our worst enemies either have, or are trying to get their hands on, the most dangerous weapons known to man. Small rogue nations are developing nuclear weapons to threaten us and our allies. Some large nations are engaged in massive military buildups, while others seek to take advantage of our weakened financial condition to wage a kind of economic warfare that is only now possible because of our global economy. And all the while the greatest economic threat of our lifetime and our children’s lifetime—the bankrupting of our entitlements systems—will be ignored.

It’s not a pretty picture, is it?

He then moves on to a part that may or may not be designed as a campaign spot for RNC Chairman that includes Fred's prescription to fix conservative woes:

But now, we should admit that we didn’t do a good enough job of holding our elected officials accountable over the past few years when spending got out of control, and we seemed to lose sight of the policies grounded in our first principles. It’s going to be a high price we pay, but we must not lose sight of what we must be doing now: fighting for conservative change we want today—and tomorrow.

We are going to have to use every tool we have—grassroots organizations, think tanks, magazines, talk radio, the Internet—while building new institutions to blunt the efforts of a left-wing establishment that appears willing to use uncertainty to impose an agenda that would never see the light of day in normal times.

We have the formula—a conservative formula—that has worked before and will surely work again. It is grounded in our first principles. It’s time we moved past the recriminations and seven stages of grief. It’s time to look ahead, to stay united and to defend the values that we know must endure if our nation is to do the same.

Huckabee disses Fred

2008-11-20T08:18:00.003-05:00

For a guy that didn't win the nomination, Mike Huckabee has an awful lot of off-base analysis about the race. His harshest (and most populist) words are saved for Mitt Romney, but he manages to get a few digs in at Fred:

"Fred Thompson never did grasp the dynamics of the race or the country, and his amazingly lackluster campaign reflected just how disconnected he was with the people, despite the anticipation and expectation that greeted his candidacy," Huckabee writes.

This quote from the book appears, ironically, in an article called "Huckabee says he's not settling scores."

I know there's lots of talk about searching for the soul of the Republican Party right now. I hope to God nobody looks to the nanny-stater Mike Huckabee. We must embrace the live-and-let-live Republicanism that Fred Thompson articulates so well.

Thompson AND Yob for GOP Chair?

2008-11-14T08:25:00.000-05:00

From today's Boston Herald:

In a new twist today former Presidential candidate and United States Senator Fred Thompson is poised to enter the race with a partner, Michigan National Committeeman Chuck Yob, as his co-chairman. Thompson would be the public face/spokesman of the RNC while Yob run the Party’s operations.

This partnership of Thompson and Yob could be the winning combination. Already they seem to be gaining momentum. As of tonight Oklahoma Republican Chairman Gary Jones has endorsed the ticket. “We have an extremely large task ahead of us and Senator Thompson has the art of message. When he speaks people listen,” stated Jones. “Chuck Yob is a strong grassroots organizer. As a businessman Chuck will be able to manage the resources of the Party. It is an attractive combination.”

FredPAC passed out $43k before Oct 15

2008-11-13T10:52:00.003-05:00

According to the pre-general report at the FEC's website, the Fred Thompson Political Action Committee disbursed $43,600 to candidates and their committees before October 15 of this year. We only know the details of the $4000 passed out in September: $2000 each for Bill Russell and Mark Ellmore.

I'll let you know when the final numbers are available.

Fred considering RNC Chairmanship?

2008-11-13T09:48:00.003-05:00

In an article that is contrary to what Kathrine Jean Lopez says, the Gannett News Service is reporting that the Fred is seriously considering a run for RNC Chair. If true, this would pit Fred vs his friend Michael Steele, and possibly Newt Gingrich.

Thompson's appeal, his supporters say, is that he has no future presidential ambitions for himself — only for his party. The former actor is also an able communicator — once famously described as a "southern-fried Reagan" — in a party sorely in need of a new message and a new direction.

"The party's going to be looking for a messenger. Here's a guy who's looking toward the future of the country, not looking to pad his resume," former Thompson campaign staffer Bob Davis of Nashville said.

Thompson has not said anything about the RNC chairmanship publicly, but the prospect has his supporters intrigued. Even former Republican presidential nominee John McCain is in on the speculation.

"I was talking with John McCain today … Fred Thompson's name came up, and we both talked about whether he would run for the chairmanship," Clippard said.

Source, via Hot Air

Fred news from the NR cruise

2008-11-10T16:23:00.002-05:00

Fred Thompson is on the National Review Cruise right now, and K-Lo is breaking some news from there:

The bad news from USS NR this morning: Both Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney turned down the RNC chair job when I offered it to each this morning. (Aren't you glad to know it's mine to give away?) The good news: Mike Steele seems to be a frontrunner in the hearts of the crowd here.

The Conservative Language of 2010 and Beyond

2008-11-05T09:54:00.006-05:00

DISCLAIMER: This is not exactly Fred Thompson news, but my favorite former senator is welcome to take my advice (no charge)!

As Frank Luntz explained to a PBS Frontline crew in 2004*, calling for the abolition of an "estate tax" was not effective; calling for the abolition of a "death tax" resonated much better and made the issue a winning one for the Republicans.

It is my opinion that one of the reasons Barack Obama won last night is that his language was better-tested and better-suited for the United States of 2008. This is not meant as a slight on Senator Obama, but rather a compliment. I believe that there is nothing wrong with couching an argument in your own terms. In this election, Republicans were blindsided by the tsunami of hope and change, and were never able to break through with competing language that made Republican ideas sound good to our increasingly post-modern electorate.

On an intellectual level we saw through the empty hope and change rhetoric and mocked it like the intellectual snobs we so despise on the other side. What we discounted was the emotional reaction to it. Once some people bought in to the emotion, they were convinced that the details and proposals would fit the "hope and change" metanarrative.

What Republicans have to do now is search for a way to present our ideas to this different electorate. This is no longer 1994, and we're not talking like that anymore anyway.

So here's my first stab at a Republican metanarrative for 2010: Increasing Individual Freedom.

Here's why I think it works: As I said earlier, this is an increasingly post-modern country. A growing number of the electorate believe that "what is true for you, may not be true for me." This is inherently troublesome for a party that has become increasingly aligned with evangelical Christians, who have a reputation of being "dogmatic" and "judgmental" (and who believe that there is only one truth). However, "increasing individual freedom" will sound good to evangelicals, who really just want to be left alone to worship in the way they see fit. It is my experience that most evangelicals are also fans of small government.

That brings me to another point-- we have to stop saying we want smaller government and that we want to shrink government. For many, there is a visceral reaction that "smaller" and "shrink" equate with reduced social security benefits and reduced protection.

Here are my recommendations for particular issues that fit the "increased individual freedom" meme:

>Lower taxes: we are increasing your freedom to spend on what is important to you.

>Gun rights: we are increasing your freedom to hunt and/or protect yourself in the way you see fit.

>Abortion: Increasing the freedom of those who cannot (and I know this isn't going to convince anybody).

>Health care: we're going to give you a choice of plans, not mandate a government plan.

>Social Security: we want to give you the freedom to choose if you want to opt out, or if you want to stay in.

>National seccurity: we're going to keep you safe to protect your individual freedoms.

>Education: we support vouchers, which increase your individual choice of how to educate your child.

>And we have to hone on in any bill passed over the next two years as an encroachment on our individual freedoms. This should be easy enough, since that's about all Obama's proposed. Let's see them push the fairness doctrine, socialized healthcare, gun control, and higher taxes. The American people won't stand for it, if only we tell them what's happening in terms that appeal to their emotion.

*To see Luntz in the Frontline episode described, click here and choose chapter 5.

Cross posted at RedState.com

Results of the FredPAC slate

2008-11-05T09:18:00.003-05:00

On October 21 Fred Thompson announced the slate of FredPAC-endorsed candidates. Many of them were safe (Lamar!), some were long-shots running against incumbents (Goddard, Bee), and some were in super-close races (Coleman, McClintock). Anyway, here's how they fared:

SENATE: 7 winners out of 9, with both losses being really devasting. Elizabeth Dole and John Sununu both lost hard-fought contests. (The 7 assumes that Norm Coleman holds on to his slim lead over Al Franken.)

HOUSE: 11 winners out of 17. The good news is that Tom Rooney and Pete Olson picked up seats that had been held by Democrats. Jay Love lost a formerly Republican seat to Bobby Bright by a few hundred votes; all other losses were to Democrat incumbents.

GOVERNORS: Mitch Daniels handily won re-election in Indiana; Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory fell to Bev Perdue, who will be NC's first female governor.

Fred on living in Virginia

2008-11-04T14:00:00.000-05:00

Thompson, who made a brief run for the GOP presidential nomination, said living in Democrat-rich Northern Virginia is like "doing missionary work. It's a lonely job, I'll tell you."

Yesterday, however, he was among friends. If Obama wins and gains a strong Democratic majority in Congress, "they will take us down a left-wing, liberal road this country has never been down before," he said.

"We will be facing a country we don't recognize in the years to follow."

Source

Sammy for McCain

2008-11-03T14:05:00.003-05:00

This picture of Fred Thompson's son Sammy was posted to Fred's Flickr page on Halloween. Click on the picture to go to the Flickr site.

Video of Fred Thompson on Meet the Press

2008-11-02T16:18:00.000-05:00

Fred vs John Kerry Sunday on MTP

2008-11-01T10:34:00.001-04:00

This should be really fun:

U.S. Sen. John Kerry is slated to appear on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday. Kerry, a frequent surrogate for Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, will appear with former senator and 2008 presidential contender Fred Thompson.

Thompson, it is worth noting, recently recorded a robo-call on behalf of Kerry's Republican challenger, Jeff Beatty.

Source

Fred: ACORN trying to steal this election

2008-10-31T11:23:00.002-04:00

From Columbus, Ohio:

Former Republican presidential candidate and Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson told 10TV News on Thursday that he thinks threats to the system are clear. Thomson [sic] said the Association of Community Organizations For Reform Now poses a threat to Ohio's election process.

"ACORN apparently is perpetrating voter registration fraud all over this country in unprecedented numbers," Thompson said. "They've targeted Ohio. They're trying to steal this election."

Ohio Democratic Chairman Chris Redfern denied the claims.

Source

Fred on Meet the Press this Sunday

2008-10-30T16:09:00.002-04:00

An email from FredPAC:

Dear FredPAC Supporters,

Senator Fred Thompson will appear on Meet the Press this Sunday morning. We urge you to watch the program. And, if there are any undecided voters in your household or neighborhood, do what you can to get them to watch too.

In a campaign that has been more intensely fought than any in a generation, Senator Thompson has consistently cut through the haze of diversions and clearly defined what is at stake. His video released last week has been viewed by over 50,000 and forwarded to many times that many more people.It has received rave reviews.

When the video was released last Friday, the response was so overwhelming our server crashed three separate times! Capacity has been greatly expanded.So, if you were unable to view the video, I strongly urge you to view it now at www.fredpac.com.

Send the video to everyone in your address book. We have a good bit of evidence that the video changes minds, that it gets people to think about what is really on the line this year.

And if at all possible, please send a donation to Fred PAC by going to https://www.fredpac.com/Contribute.aspx Fred PAC only has what dedicated, concerned citizens like you send. We have been working as hard as we can to elect solid, conservative candidates to Congress and advance First Principles at all levels of government. So please, be as generous as you can in these final days.

Please tune in to Meet the Press this Sunday to see Senator Thompson’s closing arguments in support of liberty and First Principles.

Sincerely,

Will Andrews

Fred PAC

And, if you will be in church this Sunday morning (which I highly recommend), you can catch the replay anytime you like at the Meet the Press page on Hulu.

Fred headed to Ohio to campaign for McCain

2008-10-30T15:09:00.001-04:00

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) will be returning to Ohio on Friday to campaign for Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama in Kirtland and Ironton.

The former first lady is one of many surrogates coming to Ohio in the final days before the 2008 Election. Former President Bill Clinton is in Ohio today for events in the Toledo and Youngstown areas.

Meanwhile, former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) is campaigning for Republican presidential nominee John McCain in Lancaster and Rio Grande.

Also, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.) is coming to Columbus on Friday to campaign with McCain on Halloween.

Source

Fred on the trail for McCain

2008-10-30T13:07:00.002-04:00

Yesterday in York, Pennsylvania:

Fred Thompson, former U.S. senator from Tennessee, told a local crowd Wednesday that the chance to talk about guns and God is his kind of event.

But though the title of the rally was "Guns & Religion," the politician/actor spent more time talking about the economy.

He urged the crowd to stick with Republican presidential candidate John McCain and "the principles that got us where we are" and not follow candidate Barack Obama "down the road of radical liberalism."

"We've had depressions. . . . We've had recessions," Thompson said. "At the end of the day, we've all stuck by our principles and come out OK."

Source

And in Exeter Township, Pennsylvania:

Thompson also worried that, if Obama is elected and Democrats control Congress, the country will be in for what he called unfettered liberalism.

As an example, he pointed to a 2001 National Public Radio interview when, he said, Obama wished there were language in the Constitution allowing the government to redistribute wealth.

But Thompson said the real Obama is not being portrayed in the media.

"The mainstream media is so deep in his pocket, they'll never dig themselves out," he said.

Source

Fred appeared with actor Robert Davi, who I only remember as Jake Fratelli from The Goonies:

Fred Thompson helps Bill Russell

2008-10-28T16:39:00.005-04:00

He may not be part of Fred's official FredPAC slate, but Bill Russell is still getting some help from our favorite former Senator. Russell is running against incumbent John Murtha (who has called his constituents racist rednecks and accused Marines of purposely killing innocent civilians).

Former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson (R-TN) is appearing in a new :60 radio spot that begins airing throughout the 12th Congressional District today.

The following is Senator Thompson’s portion of the just released commercial:

“This is Fred Thompson. Whether it’s condemning Marines or insulting his own constituents, John Murtha has apparently forgotten who he works for.

This year folks in the 12th District have a choice.

Retired Lieutenant Colonel Bill Russell will be a strong, outspoken voice for families, fiscal responsibility and our values.

Bill Russell will serve in Congress with honor as he served his country before.”

Source

Click on the link for audio of the spot.

Jeri Thompson on Hannity & Colmes talking about Team Sarah

2008-10-24T12:34:00.004-04:00

Jeri has definitely been taking lessons from Fred on how to handle Colmes. She does a great job of taking well-deserved jabs at Joe Biden. Click on the Alan Colmes tag below for about 30 minutes worth of Fred shutting down our favorite liberal.

If you're interested, here's the home page of Team Sarah.

Video: Fred Thompson makes the case for John McCain

2008-10-24T09:44:00.005-04:00

Fred is back behind the desk (without the cigar) for a little serious talk about the direction of this country:

I wish John McCain would make the Clinton "tax break" comparison. That's good stuff.

Otherwise, (and I'm a huge Fred fan) I don't see the point of this RNC-sponsored video. I don't think undecided independents are asking themselves, "I wonder how Fred Thompson is voting?". And it's not like Tennessee needs some shoring up for McCain (he's up 13 as of two weeks ago).

Maybe the point is, despite what Fred said in Arizona yesterday, to remind conservatives what could have been. For all his cons (and Jon Stewart's hilarious Foghorn Leghorn jokes) we could have nominated a guy who talks about principles, not policies, and who does a surprisingly effective job talking about this election with historical context that is simplified, but not simplistic.

But I still have faith in the process, if not all of its participants. I think the party nominated a great man and a decent candidate, and I hope and pray that he wins on November 4.

(And then makes Fred the AG.)

Cross posted at RedState

Fred Thompson's FredPAC slate: how they're doing

2008-10-22T11:53:00.003-04:00

Below is the slate that FredPAC has endorsed, with added poll goodness, mostly from RCP and CQ.

I'd rather Fred Thompson be President,

2008-10-21T15:40:00.001-04:00

But this is also an interesting idea.

What do you think?

Fred Thompson's FredPAC Slate

2008-10-21T10:04:00.007-04:00

It's here! Fred's slate is up on his FredPAC site:

Fred's Slate
Thanks to your generous support of FredPAC, we are able to support the following candidates for the US House, Senate and selected races for Governor. To learn more about them, or to give them additional support, please visit their websites. You may also donate to FredPAC by clicking here.

US Senators

Lamar Alexander www.lamaralexander.com
Thad Cochran www.thadforsenate.com
Norm Coleman www.colemanforsenate.com
Elizabeth Dole www.elizabethdole.org
John Sununu www.teamsununu.org
Lindsay Graham www.lindseygraham.com
Roger Wicker www.wickerforsenate.com
John Cornyn www.johncornyn.com
Saxby Chambliss www.saxby.org

US Representatives

Steve King (IA-5) www.kingforcongress.com
Thad McCotter (MI-11) www.mccotterforcongress.com
Steve Buyer (IN-4) www.stevebuyer.org
Gresham Barrett (SC-3) www.barrettforcongress.com
Adam Putnam (FL-12) www.putnamforcongress.com
Chris Lee (NY-26) www.chrisleeforcongress.com
Jay Love (AL-2) www.jayloveforcongress.com
Allen West (FL-22) www.allenwestforcongress.com
David Schweikert (AZ-5) www.david08.com
Tim Bee (AZ-8) www.timbee.com
Tom Rooney (FL-16) www.tomrooney.com
Pete Olsen (TX-22) www.olsonforcongress.com
Chris Hackett (PA-10) www.chrishackettforcongress.com
Tom McClintock (CA-4) www.tommcclintock.com
Don Manzullo (IL-16) www.manzullo.org
Rick Goddard (GA-8) www.goddardforcongress.com
Jeff Miller (FL-1) www.jeffmillerforcongress.com

Governors

Bob McDonnell (Virginia) www.bobmcdonnell.com
Mitch Daniels (Indiana) www.mymanmitch.com
Pat McCrory (North Carolina) www.patmccrory.com

FredHeads will recognize Steve King and Adam Putnam as congressmen who actively campaigned for Fred during the primary. Also, Lamar Alexander from Tennessee (who will win in a cake-walk) was an active Fred supporter, as is required by Tennessee state law.

Fred has campaigned for Allen West over the past few months, as well.

Overall, I'm pleased with the slate. I'm not the biggest Lindsey Graham fan, but I understand the need for the Republicans to hold that seat. It's good to see Tom Rooney on the slate; he is running against Tim Mahoney, who is fighting a scandal that includes paying his mistress from congressional office funds. This seat should be a pick-up for the Republicans, but I know Rooney can use the financial help.

The only omission I'm sad to see is Bill Russell, who is running against the somewhat-vulnerable John Murtha, who believes that Marines are intentially killing civilians and that his constituents are racists rednecks. I don't know much about Russell, but I like his "issues page" and I like that he is not John Murtha.

Fred says not to count McCain out

2008-10-11T10:56:00.001-04:00

Former Republican presidential hopeful Fred Thompson, in town to raise money for congressional hopeful Allen West, was asked if he ever watches the general election race and thinks about how he would handle things if he were still running.

“About every four hours,” Thompson deadpanned.

“This primary, I and others counted him out. And we were wrong at every turn counting John McCain out too early. When the going gets tough, he gets going. And I think he’s in the process of doing that one more time,” Thompson said.

Source

Fred on Hannity & Colmes after last night's debate

2008-10-08T21:38:00.001-04:00

Of course, Fred agrees that the Ayers and Wright associations are relevant:

THOMPSON: Well, you came up with a bunch of things there. I'm not sure how Bill Ayers relates to that. All I know is that Bill Ayers kind of gave him a start in politics. He had a function for him, you know, when — kind of his kickoff in politics.

COLMES: Is that relevant to the campaign and should that have come up tonight?

THOMPSON: It has to do with the choices that a person makes and it has to do with Obama's tolerance level for radicals. You said...

COLMES: Tolerance level for radicals?

THOMPSON: Yes. Father Pfleger, Reverend Wright.

COLMES: He has nothing to do with Pfleger.

THOMPSON: Or Jim Ayers.

COLMES: He's left to right.

THOMPSON: All of those people are — they basically, you know, spew hatred and that's how American rhetoric...

COLMES: But Senator...

THOMPSON: And — he does not disavow them until it's politically required for him to do so.

COLMES: But Senator, they have tried to throw the stuff at Barack Obama. They did it during the primaries. It come up from month after month.

THOMPSON: Well, I didn't bring it up. You brought it up. And since...

COLMES: Well, Sean asked you whether that was — should have been the tenor of this debate and whether those things should have come up. They didn't come up. Do you think it would have been appropriate to bring those things up in this particular format tonight?

THOMPSON: Yes, it's relevant. Yes, I think it's relevant.

Fred Thompson makes radio ad for Tom McClintock

2008-10-03T16:18:00.003-04:00

Click To Play

There is a new radio ad posted on FredPAC's Blip page. The ad is Fred's strong endorsement of California State Senator Tom McClintock. McClintock is running against Democrat Charlie Brown for the seat of the retiring John Doolittle (R).

So how does McClintock's rhetoric match up with Fred's? McClintock's "issues" page follows this outline:
I. Bring fiscal sanity back to the federal government
II. Securing our borders and enforcing our immigration laws
III. Protecting our homes from unnecessary wildfires
IV. Improving our national defense
V. Returning local control to our children’s education
VI. Reducing the burden of taxes on our families and businesses is the way to spur growth in our economy

While I've never heard Fred speak on wildfires, the rest of the list sounds like it was copied and pasted from Fred08.com (and I don't mean that in a bad way)!

Fred Thompson with Chris Wallace on FOX

2008-10-03T10:47:00.004-04:00

Fred Thompson after the debate

2008-10-03T10:39:00.000-04:00

“One of the reasons I feel so good for her, just as a human being,” said former Sen. Fred Thompson, “is I have never seen anybody undergo the ridicule, the slanders and the lies, and the blogosphere and what they’re doing, and breaking into her private e-mail, rumors and things about her, and now, most recently, belittling her, taking little snippets of interviews and laughing at her and satirizing her. Those people ought to be ashamed of themselves, if they’re capable of shame, because they’ve proven that what they were doing does not represent who she was and who she is. Thank goodness, just as she said, that this was an unfiltered event for an hour and a half. She could stand toe-to-toe with Joe Biden, who’s been around for all these many, many years, and basically take him to the woodshed.”

Source

Fred Thompson defends Sarah Palin (again)

2008-10-02T16:16:00.000-04:00

Fred Thompson will be acting as a surrogate for the McCain/Palin ticket tonight. Video below of an earlier interview with CBS; look for him to be all over cable news tonight.

Watch CBS Videos Online
Via Hot Air

Fred to raise money for Congressional candidate in South Florida

2008-09-22T00:03:00.001-04:00

Former Republican prez hopeful Fred Thompson and one of the GOP's most prominent black figures, former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, will be in South Florida in coming weeks to raise money for Republican congressional hopeful Allen West, who's challenging freshman Democratic U.S. Rep. Ron Klein.

Source

Jeri Thompson stumps for McCain

2008-09-20T13:32:00.000-04:00

The McCain campaign countered Biden's rally with a "Women for McCain" press conference a few miles down the road. Susan Allen, wife of former U.S. Sen. George Allen, R-Va., and Jeri Thompson, wife of former GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson, criticized Biden for remarks they characterized as linking higher taxes to patriotism.

"I don't want Joe Biden in my pocketbook. I'm patriotic enough," Allen said.

Allen called Biden "the gift that keeps on giving" and said he is prone to gaffes.

Source

Fred Thompson stumping in Missouri

2008-09-18T16:03:00.000-04:00

JOPLIN, Mo. -- Former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson says he supports Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder's bid for re-election because Kinder has strong conservative values.

Thompson was in Joplin on Wednesday to attend a fundraiser for Kinder, who is seeking a second term as lieutenant governor.

Kinder had endorsed Thompson during the former actor's brief run for president earlier this year.

Thompson says Kinder's conservative values are needed because important issues are often decided at the state level.

Thompson also says he'll spend most of the rest of the election season campaigning for John McCain's presidential bid.

Source

Fred Thompson in Farifax, VA (video)

2008-09-11T10:44:00.000-04:00

This video is from Fred's stop in Fairfax yesterday, where he introduced Sarah Palin and got in some good digs at Barack Obama.

Fred stumps with McCain/Palin in Va

2008-09-10T16:28:00.002-04:00

Fred Thompson was on the stump in Fairfax, Virginia, today with Sarah Palin and John McCain. His job was to introduce Palin, but he made some time to address the Senator from Illinois.

CBS reports:

Attacking your opponent is traditionally a role for the vice presidential hopeful on the ticket, not the person introducing the vice president. But at the largest rally yet for John McCain and Sarah Palin, it was former Republican presidential contender Fred Thompson who had some of the strongest language so far about Barack Obama.

“Frankly, I think Rev. [Jeremiah] Wright was correct when he says he's just doing what politicians do,” Thompson said about Obama. “That's not the kind of change this country needs.”

Saying Obama “has changed his position on every issue” that’s important, Thompson also accused Obama of not having the requisite experience to be president.

“Barack Obama must be the first fellow in the history of presidential politics who thinks that running for president is a qualification for being president,” Thompson said.

And from FOX News:

East Coast media says, ‘but we don’t know her.’ She hasn’t been on the talk shows on Sunday. She hasn’t been on the cover of time magazine. And I say to them, ‘you may not know her but whose fault is that?’ She hadn’t been hiding anywhere.”
…

“Now after the initial line of attack they have regrouped. They are now parachuting in dozens of lawyers and investigators and scandal mongerers and representatives of cable networks all into Alaska to turn over every rock they can find in Alaska. I hope they brought their own brie and chablis with them. But after all that is done and said, maybe they will take a plane-load or maybe a half a plane-load to Chicago for a few days. They have had 2 years. This woman is undergoing the most vicious assault that anybody has ever seen in public life. They’re absolutely in a state of panic. They are pulling out all the stops. They are saying things about people that I never thought I would hear in a presidential race all because she is a threat to the power that they expected to inherit, they think that they’re entitled to. They got another thing coming.”

Fred Thompson blogs at (gasp!) Politico.com

2008-09-10T10:08:00.004-04:00

I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around all of this!

Fredheads will remember that Politico.com is the site where the undeniably misleading "silly hat rule" article was published in December, and is the site that falsely reported the day before the Iowa caucuses that Fred was dropping out of the race immediately post-caucus. This false report may very well have cost Fred important votes and momentum in Iowa.

Anyway, there Fred is, burying the hatchet and, I hope, collecting a paycheck. In the new post, Fred talks about the experience and readiness of his friend John McCain, while getting some Fred-style digs in on The One:

Here McCain makes his own vivid impression. His record shows that, early on, he understood the ominous intentions of Russia’s leaders, made the Iranian mullahs fear him and foresaw the need for a troop surge in Iraq, which, along with his own military service and longtime Armed Services Committee membership, add up to real national security experience.

By contrast, voters struggle with his opponent’s virtually nonexistent record on these issues. It comes down to a common sense decision that says: With national security traffic so heavy, this is not the moment to turn the car keys over to a teenage driver. Presidents don’t have time for drivers ed.

He also manages to tell us more about his role in the McCain campaign:

Finally, an issue McCain has asked me to help his campaign with — the federal judiciary — is one that disturbs voters to the point of having enormous electoral possibilities. The federal judiciary is the Democratic Party’s vehicle of choice to enact policies that could never see the light of day if they were required to go through the democratic process.

That, of course, makes me even more optimistic that Fred will be Attorney General in a McCain administration.

UPDATE: The article is cross-posted at FredPAC.com.

Fred Thompson on H&C talking Sarah Palin

2008-09-09T16:06:00.004-04:00

Watch it all, but the best part is the first question:

Colmes: "Do you think you're more qualified to be Vice-President than [Palin] is?"

Fred: "I think I'm more qualified to be President than any of them."

Fred Thompson on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

2008-09-08T14:41:00.001-04:00

Fred Thompson has a new column up at Townhall.com that explains the mortgage crisis mess, in particular the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. As Fred is known to do, he breaks the problem down to its roots which, in this case, is the role of government in citizens' lives. Read the whole thing.

Lost in this immense, complex mess is the root problem most people are missing: the government is gradually becoming the guarantor of seemingly every important aspect of American secular life, creating incentives and bureaucracies that cause failure and invite fraud.

In Fan and Fred’s case, it was in no one’s interest to turn off the bubble machine. Just the opposite. The system induced borrowers to take on financial obligations they could not afford and lenders to lower lending standards. Fannie and Freddie went along because their managers’ compensation depended on the firms’ short term financial performance. And investors continued to buy complex security packages they didn’t understand, because the securities were viewed as government-backed.

Our Founding Fathers knew more than a little bit about human nature. It is one reason why in the Constitution, the federal government was given certain delineated powers and no others. I hate to burst another bubble, but our government simply doesn’t have the authority or the capability to be the guarantor or insurer of our every need or desire. Isn’t it time we started sending that message loud and clear to the big enablers in Washington?

Fred's email on FredPAC

2008-09-05T14:25:00.002-04:00

I just got this from our old buddy Fred Thompson, regarding his new political action committee:

Dear Brad,

The stakes could not be higher. America is faced with challenges on every front. And at this most crucial time, it is imperative that we elect men and women of sound principle and dedication to the core values on which America was founded.

To help achieve this important goal, I have formed Fred PAC, a political action committee that will fight to elect individuals to Congress and statehouses across the country who will stand up for the values you and I share.

No one person can fight this battle alone. And I can tell you that being a candidate for public office can at times be a very lonely endeavor. It makes a huge difference when you know there are hundreds and thousands of people backing you up, willing to pitch in and lend a hand.

Will you stand up with me now at this critical point in America ’s history? Will you help me make Fred PAC a force for real change in Washington?

Please visit our website at www.FredPAC.com today. And when you do, please make a donation to Fred PAC. Whatever you can send, whether it is $25, $50, $100, or if at all possible as much as $1,000, will be a tremendous help at this time.

There are dozens of good, strong, committed conservative candidates doing battle every day in the trenches against the left-wing, redistribute-the-wealth, divide-the-people, protectionist, tax-and-spend crowd we’ve had to deal with for two generations. Will you help them by sending a donation to Fred PAC today?

I know you will do whatever you can. And, I deeply appreciate your continuing support and dedication to the cause of liberty. Please be as generous as you can.

Thank you and God Bless,

Fred Thompson

FredPAC web site looks familiar

2008-09-05T11:42:00.004-04:00

I'm just now getting around to checking out the new FredPAC.com. A few observations:

> It's obviously the same site as Fred08.com, but with minor changes.
> The FredFile is back!
> Your Fred08.com registration works on FredPAC.com.
> Somebody's working to keep the site maintained, as it already contains video of Fred's RNCC speech.
> The site is great. I always liked the look and ease of navigation at Fred08.com, and FredPAC.com is very, very similar. I look forward to seeing how the site grows, and if it's eventually changed into Fred12.com!

Video of Fred Thompson's entire speech to RNCC

2008-09-05T11:31:00.001-04:00

This was one masterful speech that really got the conservatives in the crowd excited and ready to see Sarah Palin the next night. Fred's jabs at Obama were classic and cutting!

Fred and Jeri Thompson talk about Michael Moore

2008-09-05T11:30:00.002-04:00

It's good to see Fred and Jeri having some fun at the expense of Michael Moore again!

Sean Hackbarth: Palin a "female Reagan"

2008-09-05T11:15:00.002-04:00

Sean Hackbarth, who blogs at The American Mind and (as all FredHeads know) ran the FredFiles on Fred08.com, has a very strong endorsement of our new VP nominee:

Tonight’s speech debuted the female Reagan. Her genuineness connects with her audience at an instinctual level–similar to what made Reagan a formidable force. I don’t like bringing out the Reagan analogy since he was a unique man of his time, but Palin has that “X” factor. Conservatives will go to war for her, and Palin drives the Left nuts. Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee don’t stand a chance.

Fred Thompson on Gustav and the convention

2008-09-04T09:35:00.000-04:00

"I don't think the disruption of the schedule has been harmful at all. One thing, it allowed them to show that they can turn on a dime, powers that be, the party, and campaign and all and go in a bit of a different direction. They were prepared to continue to go in a different direction had the hurricane been more severe than it was. Having got my speech in, I don't think there was any problem with any of it."

Joe Biden, socialist know-it-all, responds to Fred Thompson

2008-09-03T16:22:00.003-04:00

"He seemed quite keyed up, for instance, over the remarks at the GOP convention last night by thespian and former Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn.

I heard 'Red October' hunting for votes," Biden said at the Harborside Event Center in Fort Myers, Fla., "and Fred got up there and said, 'Well, the Democrats are going to raise your taxes, because they say they’re not going to raise taxes, but they’re going to raise taxes on business and that’s going to affect your food.'

"Let me tell you something," Biden said. "I don’t know why we need to give another tax break to Exxon Mobil. ... These guys made $600 billion. Six hundred billion in profit has been made by the oil companies since 2000, and John McCain wants to give them another $5 billion tax break."

"So, Fred," Biden said, addressing a man not in the room, "Fred, look at me. We’re gonna make sure you don’t get another tax break, because I’m going to give the tax break to the people right here in this room.”

Source

Let's see what all this Biden speech tells us about Joe Biden:

First, Joe Biden says he is smarter than we are: "he 'know(s) as much as anyone in government about' national security and foreign policy."

Second, Joe evidently thinks that Fred Thompson owns Exxon. As an aside, I have no idea if Fred owns Exxon stock, but I bet most of us have some of it in a mutual fund or 401(k).

Third, Joe "higher IQ than me" Biden has once again confused brigades and battallions.

Fourth, Joe thinks he's at the top of the ticket: “We’re stepping up to the ball here, the Biden -- excuse me, the Obama-Biden administration," Biden said.

Fifth: Joe is a class warfare guy who wants Fred to pay more taxes, but doesn't want his audience to pay more taxes. I had no idea Fort Myers, FL, was such a destitute place.

Sixth, Joe is very, very brave. One should not call out Fred Thompson and expect Fred Thompson not to respond. I've always thought Fred would have been particularly good at the "attack-dog" part of the V.P. candidate's job, and Joe Biden just invited him to take that role. Strong work, Joe.

Bonus: I wonder how close Ft Myers is to the Villages?

Red State update: Jackie and Dunlap review Fred Thompson's speech

2008-09-03T15:51:00.001-04:00

Language warning!

The line about Lieberman and the guy from Alf is spot-on!

Barone: Fred gave the best speech of the night

2008-09-03T15:11:00.001-04:00

The best delivered speech of the night came from Fred Thompson. He gave a hearty endorsement of Sarah Palin (the only candidate to know how to field-dress a moose, except maybe Theodore Roosevelt) and a salute to 96-year-old Roberta McCain. Then he launched into a beautifully delivered speech describing John McCain's life and, in excruciating detail, what he went through as a prisoner of war. This is familiar stuff, to me and surely to many voters, and yet as Thompson, sometimes loudly, sometimes softly, told the story I was moved, the audience was moved (it was about as silent a crowd as I have ever seen in a national convention) and I imagine many television viewers were as well.

More...

Video of Fred Thompson on CNN American Morning

2008-09-03T11:24:00.002-04:00

Fred defends Sarah Palin and previews her speech tonight. He doesn't frame it that way, but you can bet if Fred is being specific about what "she should say", he knows that's what she will be saying.

Best line is at the end: "(she's) not like a newborn babe out there that nobody knows anything about."

Full video of Fred Thompson's RNCC speech

2008-09-02T23:55:00.002-04:00

Via Hot Air

Highlight of Fred Thompson's Speech (with video)

2008-09-02T22:43:00.002-04:00

My friends, we need a leader who stands on principle.

We need a President, and Vice President, who will take the federal bureaucracy by the scruff of the neck and give it a good shaking.

And we need a President who doesn't think that the protection of the unborn or a newly born baby is above his pay grade.

The man who will be that President is John McCain.

Text of the whole thing is here.

Fred Thompson will save you money

2008-09-02T17:28:00.003-04:00

I just got this email from OfficialFred08Store.com:

Don't forget to watch the GOP Convention tonight featuring:
Fred Thompson as the Main Speaker.

Please also visit: www.McCainBlogetteStore.com for Offically
Licensed McCain Palin Merchandise designed by Meghan McCain
(John McCain's daughter), Creator of the www.McCainBlogette.com
the place for Musings & Pop Culture on the Political Trail.

Use Discount Code: "fred" for a 20% discount on all Official
products good through Sunday Sept. 7, 2008

Please also visit: www.McCainBlogette.com for great behind the
scenes pics you can't find anywhere else.

It would be nice to take advantage of the discount, but I can't buy a hat/shirt/whatever, that appears to say McLovin/McCain.

Fred Thompson: Sarah Palin a "masterstroke"

2008-09-02T17:11:00.001-04:00

Enjoy this video from Human Events. The Michael Moore reference makes me reminiscent of last summer.

Excerpts from Fred Thompson's speech to the RNCC tonight

2008-09-02T16:57:00.003-04:00

"He has been to Iraq eight times since 2003. He went seeking truth, not publicity. When he travels abroad, he prefers quietly speaking to the troops amidst the heat and hardship of their daily lives. And the same character that marked John McCain's military career has also marked his political career. This man, John McCain, is not intimidated by what the polls say or by what is politically safe or popular."

There are other excerpts at The Corner, but not the "red meat-y" ones we've been hearing about.

Fred Thompson: "We need some new media"

2008-09-02T16:19:00.001-04:00

Enjoy Fred's thoughts on the media from this morning's breakfast with bloggers, hosted by RedState.com.

About Fred's speech tonight

2008-09-02T16:11:00.003-04:00

While Fred Thompson's speech tonight will mostly be about John McCain, it will also include a defense of Sarah Palin and a strong rebuke of Barack Obama (particularly in the area of abortion).

The Weekly Standard has the details, but the best news is that the speech is being characterized as "red meat." Fred Thompson is the perfect guy to offer that red meat. In fact, I can absolutely see him filling the "attack dog" role that is usually reserved for V.P. candidates. It was great to see him on FOX yesterday. I hope this speech is the beginning of an increased role in the campaign.

Video of Fred talking about Sarah Palin

2008-09-02T14:22:00.004-04:00

Link: sevenload.com

Man, I enjoy watching Fred take over an interview. Once he starts answering a question, he does not allow any interviewer, including Bill Hemmer, derail him. I've missed this....

Via Hot Air

Fred to speak at convention tonight

2008-09-02T13:23:00.003-04:00

I haven't been able to find the exact schedule (it's not up at the official website yet, either), but Fred Thompson and Joe Lieberman will be speaking at the Republican National Convention tonight.

Fred on the media's treatment of the Palins

2008-09-02T13:10:00.000-04:00

ST. PAUL - Former Sen. Fred Thompson lambasted The New York Times for its coverage of Sarah Palin on Tuesday, claiming the newspaper is "trying their best to drag her down."

Thompson told Fox News that the Times has focused on Palin's children, saying, "I don't think they get it."

But Thompson also said the Times is not the only one who has had unfair coverage of Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) running mate, claiming liberal bloggers "are in a state of panic" about Palin.

More...

Fred to debate John Edwards in June

2008-03-04T20:25:00.001-05:00

Fred Thompson will emerge in June, and boy should he have an easy time in this appearance:

As usual, Ralph Pontillo, the president of the Manufacturers' Association of Northwest Pennsylvania, has lined up an outstanding program for the 103rd Annual Event on June 18 at the Bayfront Convention Center. The event has been sold out every year. The Bayfront Center can seat 2,000 people. For this year, former White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, who seems to be doing quite well fighting cancer, will be the moderator. The two speakers will be Fred Thompson, the former Tennessee senator who ran for the Republican presidential nomination, and John Edwards, who ran a strong race for the Democratic presidential nomination. Edwards is a very good speaker. As of now, he has not endorsed a candidate. Snow, Thompson and Edwards will be here right in the middle of campaigning for the general election in November. It will undoubtedly be another sellout. The proceeds benefit the Manufacturers' Association Technical Education Fund and supports the Patrick R. Locco Scholarship and the John Tramontano Jr. Education Foundation.

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Fred08.com is gone

2008-03-01T20:58:00.003-05:00

Yes, I still have a habit of checking Fred08.com, and as of Wednesday, the site has been taken down. According to the whois:

Administrative Contact :
Turk, Michael
ja6qs5gt6ce@networksolutionsprivateregistration.com
ATTN: FRED08.COM
c/o Network Solutions
P.O. Box 447
Herndon, VA 20172-0447
Phone: 570-708-8780

Technical Contact :
Mills, Mark
bw5s44r36zn@networksolutionsprivateregistration.com
ATTN: FRED08.COM
c/o Network Solutions
P.O. Box 447
Herndon, VA 20172-0447
Phone: 570-708-8780

Record expires on 27-Feb-2009
Record created on 27-Feb-2007
Database last updated on 05-Sep-2007

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More on Fred's $$$ in the final weeks

2008-02-22T19:31:00.001-05:00

From the Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle:

WASHINGTON -- Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson raised $2.05 million in the final weeks of his campaign, according to campaign finance reports released this week.

As of Jan. 31, Thompson had $1.7 million in cash and $387,296 in unpaid bills for travel, political consulting, automated phone calls and other campaign expenses.

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Fred Thompson still driving conversation

2008-02-14T08:10:00.003-05:00

I am on record several times saying that Fred Thompson's campaign served two important functions in this election: he made us think about the role of government, and he moved the entire party to the right. Behold, the power of Fred! This morning National Review has an article up about the role of government. The article, apparently, was inspired by some of Fred's super-straight talk on the trail:

This primary season has encouraged some serious soul searching about what it means to be a conservative. The discussion is important, not just as the party selects a nominee, but as we at long last move beyond the Bush era of “compassionate conservatism.”

An important part of this discussion began when then-candidate Fred Thompson was asked if, as a Christian and a conservative, he supported President Bush’s global AIDS initiative. Thompson responded: “Christ didn’t tell us to go to the government and pass a bill to get some of these social problems dealt with. He told us to do it.” President Bush’s former speechwriter, Michael Gerson, excoriated the candidate in a Washington Post oped, “Callous Conservatives.” Gerson argued that Thompson’s response revealed a “lack of moral seriousness” and failure to understand the strategic value of humanitarian efforts.

[Gerson] jibes at Thompson’s assertion that private charity can address major problems, “One wonders . . . if responding to the 2004 tsunami should also have been a private responsibility.” Yet as National Review’s Ramesh Ponnuru pointed out, private American donors gave twice as much as the U.S. government did to assist tsunami victims. And certainly the growing expectation that government will respond to crisis dampens private behavior. How many over-taxed Americans hesitate to support the local church’s food bank, because they know they are already forced to contribute to a food-stamp program and a government-run homeless shelter down the street?

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Fred endorses McCain

2008-02-09T08:29:00.000-05:00

From the Washington Post:

Fred Thompson, the one-time Republican presidential candidate, endorsed Sen. John McCain Friday, calling on the party to "close ranks" behind the presumed nominee.

"This is no longer about past preferences or differences. It is about what is best for our country and for me that means that Republican should close ranks behind John McCain," Thompson said in a statement reported by the Associated Press.

Thompson's endorsement was expected. The two men were colleagues for years in the Senate and shared what associates called a friendship. But while he was in the race, Thompson had bristled at the idea that he was going to drop out and endorse McCain.

The endorsement now may help McCain to coalesce the factions of the party around him. Thompson, who represented Tennessee in the Senate for eight years, is thought of well in the South, an area that McCain has not done well in.

I guess this shouldn't be surprising; after all, I sure didn't expect him to endorse Mike Huckabee!

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Communicating conservative economic policies

2008-02-06T15:44:00.000-05:00

Fred Thompson was, by far, the best communicator of economic policies in this election. He still wasn't good enough to win the nomination, but he deserves our admiration for being the first candidate to fight for a lower corporate tax rate and responsibility in entitlement spending.

I have further thoughts about what it's going to take for conservative economic policies to catch fire again over at FredThompsonConservative.com.

And while I'm shamelessly plugging my work at other sites, I should invite you all to join us at the new Fred Thompson News Forum. Come discuss Fred and Fred-style conservatism with us. We'd love to have you!

Zach Wamp voted for Fred

2008-02-05T16:32:00.000-05:00

Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., was out checking on turnout in his hometown of Chattanooga this morning, even though he’s not on the ballot, and he had already voted in today’s presidential primary.

“I voted for Fred (Thompson) two weeks ago,” Wamp said. “He was my horse, and since my horse decided not to cross the finish line, I didn’t jump to another horse.” Wamp voted before Thompson ended his candidacy

Wamp says he saw “pockets of intensity” this morning for candidates he doesn’t support – Ron Paul and Hillary Clinton.

“Tennessee is probably going to go for Clinton,” he predicted. “It’s kind of a jump ball for Republicans. We have an intensity problem.”

A lot of people voted early, Wamp said. He guessed Thompson, the Tennessee favorite son who dropped out of the presidential race two weeks ago, would still end up with 15 percent of the state’s GOP vote. The rest of the Republican candidates may split relatively evenly, Wamp said.

“I don’t think any Republican is going to run away with Tennessee,” he said. Wamp’s congressional district runs from Chattanooga in the south to Oak Ridge in the north, an area he said Mike Huckabee is likely to win.

Source

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