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How do we get Fred Thompson to run for President in 2008? I was living in Tennessee when Fred was first elected to Congress and it was not until later that I learned that he was an actor. I have liked his politics and acting ever since. I would love to see him run in 2008! [22:18, 8 November 2006 Tmpafford]
We absolutely need to get Mr. Thompson to run for the Presidency in 2008. Time is running out, and we need a viable candidate which can take on the "big tent" ideals of Reagan and Lincoln.
Senator Thompson, please run. [18:55, 23 January 2007 66.28.212.34]
Senator Fred Thompson, your time has come, and your country needs you now! you are the only person that can do the job, and do it right. So PLEASE will you run for the President of our country, PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SAR-Ranch [14:14, March 27, 2007 ]
Guys, I'd like to see him run as well but this is probably not the right place. Instead, I'd suggest contacting Mr. Thompson's office directly (preferably, in writing to make more of an impact), adding your name to one of the countless petitions (if you so desire) or using one of the many websites (like, for exameple, draftfredthompson.com or Fred08.com) dedicated to this very subject. --Seed 2.0 20:40, 26 March 2007 (UTC)
What are the man's politics
This page doesn't seem to actually talk about the man's politics besides the fact that he's a republican. What are his views on abortion, gun control, stem-cell research, tax reform? Do they fall in-line with the party platform? What was his voting record while acting as a Senator? etc 66.36.131.177 23:32, 28 January 2007 (UTC)
I agree, not much about his politics. Not much about him besides he is an actor and a bio with none of his agenda. Doesn't even say he is a conservative. I think he always says that hisself within a few minutes of interviews. Oh well, if you visit Al Gore's page it doesn't even say anything about gun control even though the issue cost him Tennessee and the election: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Gore
That is why you have to remember history as it happens cause those that write either lie or unintentially leave huge things out. [16:44, 3 February 2007 Coked]
Well, unless he re-enters politics I wouldn't worry about it. He supported John McCain in 2000 which to me is a strike against him. McGehee 14:23, 28 February 2007 (UTC)
Had it occurred to you, Coked, that maybe the rest of the world doesn't believe that the issue is that important, and that no historians or political analysts think it cost him the election? --Orange Mike 15:17, 16 March 2007 (UTC) (Tennessee born & bred; preferred Al Sr.)
Orangemike, I hope that you (and other liberals) sincerely believe that gun control is not an important issue. Not only did it lose Tennessee for Al Gore Jr. (I'd like to see your list of historians and political analysts who disagree), but it also cost Democrats the House in 1994, thanks to the "assault" weapons ban. Why don't you ask your favorite Democrat about his or her position? You won't be able to find it, because it's the third rail of Democrat elections, for one reason: because the issue IS important. Did you notice how remarks from Democrat candidates about increasing gun control were conspicuously absent after the Virginia Tech shootings? User:crcjfc1982
A great place to learn about Thompson's conservative politics is on the National Review website. He seems to be a fairly strong Republican and conservative, espousing traditionally conservative views about federalism, in particular. User:crcjfc1982
My first reaction on reading the Thompson page was that it should say something about his politics. After reading this Talk section, I looked at a couple of other candidates' (Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney) pages. They both have Political Positions of so-and-so sections (linked from the main page). I think there should be a Political Positions of Fred Thompson page, linked from the main page. Sbowers3 14:59, 12 May 2007 (UTC)
RICH LOWRY: It's extraordinary. You know, he does a couple of media appearances, and he's third place in the Republican race, basically, which speaks to how fluid and dynamic the race is, and the discontent, especially among conservatives, with the current candidates...
JIM LEHRER: With the front-runners.
RICH LOWRY: Sure, and he seems to be taking votes from all of them, potentially. But if he gets in, it really hurts Mitt Romney, and may make it impossible for Mitt Romney to win. And, you know, three weeks ago, I agreed with the conventional wisdom that, you know, he's playing with this, it's good for his name I.D., it's nice to be out there. But, you know, I was talking to people today in a position to know who now put it at about 50-50 that he may get in, because those polls have caught his eye.
I leave it to the regular editors of this page to determine if it merits inclusion in the main article.--Wowaconia 04:40, 2 April 2007 (UTC)
College names
Thompson's two first colleges have undergone name changes since he attended. The old names, piped to the articles under the new, are how we have it listed now. Another editor added information about school name changes to this article, which to me seems like a lot of irrelevant clutter: so, I reverted. But I'm putting this in here now in case anyone wants to discuss it. --Orange Mike 15:15, 16 March 2007 (UTC)
Actors in politics
I thought that a bad idea BEFORE Reagan. Afterwards, I knew it for a fact.
All politicians are actors -- but electing one who has engaged in professional acting is, in my opinion, extremely dangerous, foolhardy and ill-advised -- and equally so for ALL political persuasions.
Electing a politician is "buying a pig in a poke". Electing an actor entails doubled pokes or worse. Allenwoll 02:30, 18 March 2007 (UTC)
And your point in bringing all of this up here is? 207.69.139.162 22:47, 28 March 2007 (UTC)
I had no opinion of actors as politicians before President Reagan and still don't. A nonsense criteria. Should say that in my opinion Ronald Reagan was the best President of my lifetime (68 years) and that that will also be close to history's judgement, although FDR had all the hoopla of WWII going for him...and he didn't do badly as a wartime leader. [user jrumbaugh 8:30, 2 Apr 2007]
Thanks for telling us, I for one was dying to know. Next time though, you might want to think about making a personal website for this sort of thing. Cheers! Just Another Fat Guy 06:12, 13 May 2007 (UTC)
Rush Limbaugh says that politcs is (are?) a stage for bad acting and bad actors. Some people say politics is pure BS, but BS makes good soil amendment for infertile ground. RR was neither a great actor nor a bad actor, but his acting ability really had nothing to do with his commitment to conservative ideals, whatever anyone thinks of them or him. Acting is just a skill, the ability to handle one's self in front of the camera. —The preceding
It is reasonably arguable that Fred Dalton Thompson, the former Senator from Tenn., not Frederick A.Thompson (Broadway Writer) or Fred Thompson (Silent Movie Actor) is who people are looking for when they search within Wikipedia for "Fred Thompson." I know this sounds a bit silly, but could the search go straight to his page with links for Disambiguations of Fred Thompson beneath the name, like exists on many other Wiki entries with common titles? Thoughts or opinions on this?
Fred Thompson is a common name; this is how Wikipedia normally handles such situations. The lawyer/actor/politician is temporarily trendy, but that may not last, so a dab page is the standard procedure. --Orange Mike 16:38, 21 March 2007 (UTC)
That makes sense. It's a petty topic, and I wasn't sure what the SOP was. Thanks for the info.
External Links
The "Draft Fred Thompson" external link should remain, as it is a larger and more active/significant external link than the unofficial external link that was not deleted. —The preceding
If you think that is so, then make the change. I deleted the one that looked like a BBS/forum, rather than an actual organizational website; but I haven't got a dog in this hunt, so if you believe the wrong one got deleted, go for it; "Be bold!". --Orange Mike 23:39, 16 March 2007 (UTC)
I'll add it back in, but keep in mind that I am very biased in favor of the Senator, and if others feel the link is inwarranted and "too gushy", the issue should be discussed without my biased in the mix.
The site's bias is inherent in the name; none of us would be misled that the site in question is neutral on the FDT issue! Thank you for your effort to maintain proper neutrality here, whoever you are. --Orange Mike 20:41, 19 March 2007 (UTC) (left Tennessee years ago because of politicians like Thompson, Beard, Dunn, etc.)
Lobbyist Changes
I am going to delete all the references to Thompson's lobbying work unless sources are added. These appear to have been inserted by an individual looking to make the biography appear less favorable.
Whoever you are, that's a bit excessive. The editor in question is probably not a Thompson fan, but his lobbying activities are a part of his life history, as they would be for somebody from the other side of the aisle. --Orange Mike 02:08, 29 March 2007 (UTC)
Right, but it seems like the person went through his entry and systematically removed favorable biographical materials and replaced them with unfavorable material. Note that there are no longer any references to his work as a special counsel to two Senate committees and the Governor of Tennessee in the 1980s. Now its just all his work as a lobbyist, again unsourced. It seems very suspicious. —The preceding
Then the thing to do is to leave the lobbying data, but restore that material that was lost. BE BOLD! --Orange Mike 20:18, 29 March 2007 (UTC)
Ibagli cutting information pertaining to two separate Senate bills
If you follow the reference links, you will find a complete listing of ALL the legislative bills that Thompson voted for as a U.S. Senator and as indicated by the full text below, you have deleted referenced information (full legislative description, bill numbers, and dates follows):
Current revision (02:54, 1 April 2007)
Ibagli (Talk | contribs)
(→U.S. Senate Votes By Fred Thompson - duplication)
NO on prohibiting job discrimination by sexual orientation: Strongly Opposes topic 3
Would have prohibited job discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Status: Bill Defeated Y)49; N)50; NV)1
Reference: Employment Non-Discrimination Act; Bill S. 2056 ; vote number 1996-281 on Sep 10, 1996
NO on expanding hate crimes to include sexual orientation: Opposes topic 3
Voted NO on adding sexual orientation to definition of hate crimes.
Motion to Invoke Cloture on S. 625; Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act of 2001. The bill would expand the definition of hate crimes to incorporate acts committed because of a victim's sex, sexual orientation or disability and permit the federal government to help states prosecute hate crimes even if no federally protected action was implicated. If the cloture motion is agreed to, debate will be limited and a vote will occur. If the cloture motion is rejected debate could continue indefinitely and instead the bill is usually set aside. Hence a Yes vote supports the expansion of the definition of hate crimes, and a No vote keeps the existing definition. Three-fifths of the Senate, or 60 members, is required to invoke cloture.
Reference: Bill S.625 ; vote number 2002-147 on Jun 11, 2002
Voted NO on expanding hate crimes to include sexual orientation.
Vote on an amendment that would expand the definition of hate crimes to include gender, sexual orientation and disability. The previous definition included only racial, religious or ethnic bias.
Reference: Bill S.2549 ; vote number 2000-136 on Jun 20, 2000
4.129.64.186 04:58, 1 April 2007 (UTC)
The wiki link on Florence State College already pulls up the wiki page for the University of North Alabama, so why is this duplication needed?
4.129.64.186 05:22, 1 April 2007 (UTC)
Fred Thompson: listed religion
I followed the link for Thompson's listed, but it does not link to any statement directly from Thompson pertaining to his religion (if any) or from his official U.S. Senate biography --- in this case, the extremely weak reference to Thompson being "baptized in the Church of Christ" is only attributed to a Thompson "spokesman"...
I do know that Thompson married the second time around at his wife's "Church of Christ" in Naiperville, IL (or some such place)...but being married in a particular church does not make a member of that church, etc. and in any case, until Thompson is actually quoted in the media specifically commenting about his religion, this entry needs to be omitted.
4.129.64.186 05:42, 1 April 2007 (UTC)
You are correct. The church that they were married in and the one that Thompson was baptised in are actually two completly different places with similar names. The Church of Christ has a large following in middle/west Tennessee, especially in FDT's childhood. I took the statement by his spokesperson as Thompson's view of his religion. The safer choice here would be to wait for an official statement. I'm sure it will get lots of talk if/when he becomes an official candidate. CJC47 15:37, 2 April 2007 (UTC)
I wonder what the official position of the Church of Christ is toward a man baptized in the church divorcing his first wife...?
4.129.65.106
Being a member of The Church of Christ myself I can say that, as a rule, that is to say a "scriptural divorce", can only occur when adultry is committed.
The Wikepedia biography of thompson actually states that "Thompson married Jeri Kehn, twenty five years his junior, on June 29, 2002 at First Congregational United Church of Christ, Naperville, Illinois, having first met her on July 4, 1996.[16]". The United Church of Christ organization has little New Testament doctrinal similarity to the Churches of Christ.
U.S. Senator Fred Dalton Thompson and Lorrie Morgan (1994-1996)
User:71.104.186.134 is vandalizing significant material pertaining to the two year (1994-1996) romantic relationship between U.S. Senator Fred Thompson and country music recording artist Lorrie Morgan:
71.104.186.134 (removed the Lorrie Morgan website under external links)
71.104.186.134 Are Thompson's girlfriends really worth mentioning under his senate career?)
Yes, particularly for the references pertaining to the brief Morgan material as Thompson had Morgan in tow as his date for many of the GOP fundraising and other political events that he attended while he was a U.S. Senator, and as mentioned in the material vandalized by User:71.104.186.134, Morgan stated in her own book that she had given some measure of serious consideration towards marrying Thompson:
As a U.S. Senator, Thompson gained considerably more media attention for his active D.C. social night life with much younger girlfriends, and the Tennessee senator had been linked to a variety of women, including pundit-pollster Kellyanne Fitzpatrick, Time magazine writer Margaret Carlson, Nathans restaurant owner Carol Joynt and Washington PR executive Sydney Ferguson. Thompson also had a two year relationship (1994-1996) with county music recording artist Lorrie Morgan of Hendersonville, Tennessee. In her book Forever Yours, Faithfully: My Love Story, Morgan states that "For a while, I wanted to marry Fred, but I knew that he could not accept me as I am." (p.263)
and there are valid reasons for posting the other previously news-media reported Thompson gal pals, including a reference not even posted to the FDT wikipage:
[...]
"Although Mr Thompson's film career could add glamour to Mr Bush's campaign, leading Republicans fear that his romantic exploits would lead to unseemly speculation about who might replace Tipper Gore as "Second Lady".
Earlier this year [2000], the New York Post reported a "catfight" on Capitol Hill with Jeri Kehn, a 33-year-old blonde who is communications director of the Senate Republican Conference, denouncing "all these women" who were pursuing him. "They won't leave him alone," she was quoted as saying. "I can't get up to get a cocktail at a party without coming back and finding some girl sitting in my chair."[1]
By Toby Harnden in Washington Telegraph.co.uk
Last Updated: 2:07pm BST 19/06/2001
If you honestly think that having dated a completely unknown non-entity for two years warrants mention under his senate career (how dating = senate career I have no idea) AND a headshot of his former date, then you need to step back and realize you are being completely biased. Seems like you're a pumper for Lorrie Morgan (whoever the heck she is), and you are trying to use Thompson's current buzz as a way to promote Lorrie Morgan. I'm not vandalizing, I'm cleaning up irrelevent BS you feel compelled to litter the site with. It will be removed every time you put it up. Sorry, it's not worth a mention here.
Wow..after reading all of this by 71.104.186.134, I cannot believe that you failed to delete all of the "Draft Fred '08" external links by your same logic.
4.88.154.250 03:21, 2 April 2007 (UTC)
And how do you figure that Lorrie Morgan is, in your words, "...a completely unknown non-entity for two years" as Lorrie Morgan was near or at the very top of the country music billboard charts throughout 1989 to 1999 --- particularly during 1995 with her singles "I Didn't Know My Own Strength" (#1) and "Back in Your Arms Again" (#4) all while she was romantically involved with U.S. Senator Fred Thompson...
Need more conformation about the 1994-1996 Lorrie Morgan-Fred Thompson connection? Check out the following excerpt from Lorrie Morgans' book Forever Yours, Faithfully: My Love Story:
[...]
It was great to go out with an older man [U.S. Senator Fred Thompson] who was very successful on his own. I felt very secure with him, and he became a wonderful friend, a caring, inspirational man who would encourage me not to doubt myself (which, maybe you can tell by now, is one of my best things).
Fred is an extremely generous man. He wined and dined me and bought me presents --- furs, earrings, Chanel shoes with real high heels.
For a while, I enjoyed my first exposure to politics. It was interesting to hear about political conversations, and people even began talking about Fred as a potential president. It was inevitable that I would be sitting at a glamorous party and would have the flickering thought, So, this is what it's like to be a First Lady. Hell, I could handle that. Then I would say, "Oops, better drop the 'hell'"
[...]
I put myself to the task of being a great companion to a stimulating and important man, and as a result I become boring. I lost my spunk, my spontaneity, I had to stop and think about the political implications of everything before I uttered a word in public. Was this a Democratic issue? Was this a Republican issue? I could not trust my best asset, my gut instincts. In other words, I could not be myself.
Fred let me know that it was important how I dressed. Sedate was in. Even if I felt like a little flair that night, forget it --- we might be with men who had big wallets and insecure wives, wives who were a little older than I was. So get that basic black dress out of the closet. And no cleavage, baby.
Fred's senator buddies loved me, and some of my friends said that they never seen me happier. For a while, I wanted to marry Fred, but I knew he could not accept me as I am.
[...]
Forever Yours, Faithfully: My Love Story. pp. 262-263. Lorrie Morgan with George Vecsey. 1997. Ballantine Books.
The fact that Thompson dated Lorrie Morgan for two years might be worth a one-sentence mention in a "personal life" section, if this article had one. But it definitely does not merit an entire section and a multiple-paragraph block quote. Eseymour 20:27, 5 April 2007 (UTC)
Are you kidding Eseymour --- is not only was Lorrie Morgan and Fred Thompson in a two year relationship, but that Lorrie Morgan was also active on the Tennessee campaign trail for Thompson in both the 1994 and 1996 U.S. Senator elections!!!4.88.55.227 21:17, 7 May 2007 (UTC)
Writing style
{{shortcut|WP:BLP#STYLE}}
Biographies of living people should be written responsibly, conservatively, and in a neutral, encyclopedic tone.
[...]
The article should document, in a non-partisan manner, what reliable
in some circumstances, what the subject may have published about themselves. The writing style should be neutral, factual, and understated, avoiding both a sympathetic point of view and an advocacy journalism [e.g. Draft Fred Thompson '08] point of view.4.88.154.7