Thompson blows it- big time
I've been quite vocal about my support for Fred Thompson. But a remark he made yesterday disturbs me deeply- deeply enough to shake my support for him.
Thompson suggested that Congress overstepped itself when it intervened to try to prevent the court-ordered euthanasia-by-starvation of Terry Schaivo. He said that such matters are "best left to locals."
Balderdash. The issue here is whether the weakest and most vulnerable of human beings are to be vulnerable- on the basis of mere hearsay- to be killed (no, not "allowed to die") by those with a selfish interest in making them dead. If the Equal Protection clause of the Constitution is not a Federal matter, I don't know what is.
Murder is not something that can be left to local option, and Fred Thompson has some major explaining to do if he is going to retain my support.
Thompson suggested that Congress overstepped itself when it intervened to try to prevent the court-ordered euthanasia-by-starvation of Terry Schaivo. He said that such matters are "best left to locals."
Balderdash. The issue here is whether the weakest and most vulnerable of human beings are to be vulnerable- on the basis of mere hearsay- to be killed (no, not "allowed to die") by those with a selfish interest in making them dead. If the Equal Protection clause of the Constitution is not a Federal matter, I don't know what is.
Murder is not something that can be left to local option, and Fred Thompson has some major explaining to do if he is going to retain my support.
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Newt Gingrich is flawed in many ways. From what I understand, he has dealt with infidelity in consultation with a pastor, and admits the error of his ways. For a Baptist, that's as close to absolution as one can probably get. He is much clearer about the foundation for his conservative positions than most others. I have even noticed a change since his flawed Speaker of the House days. While he has baggage, he seems to offer more than sound bites. A Newt candidacy is probably not in the works, but someone with some thoughtfulness and commitment to convince and lead is much needed now. Maybe Newt can talk to Fred.
"I can't pass judgment on it. I know that good people were doing what they thought was best," Thompson said. "That's going back in history. I don't remember the details of it."
Thompson, a former Tennessee senator who left office in 2003, did say, "Local matters generally speaking should be left to the locals. I think Congress has got an awful lot to keep up with."
From that it would seem that for some reason Fred drew a total mental blank on the Terry Schiavo story. That's surprising given that in October, 2005, he was in a "Law and Order" episode, "Age of Innocence", adapted from the Terry Schiavo case; but then I've occasionally drawn mental blanks on persons or events I should have remembered.
However, the ABC news link had the headline, "Thompson Suggests Congress Overreached in Schiavo Case" and sub-headline, "Republican Presidential Candidate Says Right-to-Die Cases Should be 'Left to Locals'" (By JAKE TAPPER and CHRISTINE BYUN, Sept. 13, 2007).
The first line of the article stated: "Former Tennessee senator and presidential hopeful Fred Thompson ventured into hazardous terrain Thursday in Florida, where he suggested Congress had overstepped its bounds by involving itself in the Terri Schiavo case."
Fred's quotes, which are the same as in the AP article given above, support none of these ABC claims.
Later the ABC writers claim:
"The Associated Press originally characterized Thompson as having said he had no opinion, since Thompson said, "I don't remember the details of the case." But the Thompson campaign persuaded the wire service to change its language to suggest he didn't share his opinion — not that he didn't have one.
"Not being part of the situation, not being in the Senate at that point, he did not want to pass judgment," said Thompson campaign press secretary Jeff Sadosky. "He feels some decisions need to be made by families under state and local government."
If this part of the ABC article is true, I'd say it was Fred's campaign press secretary who put Fred's foot into his mouth with that spin. It's clear from Fred's quote above that he simply didn't remember any details of the case. Blame Fred for memory loss, but not for ABC's claim that Thompson "Says Right-to-Die Cases Should be 'Left to Locals'" and that he "suggested Congress had overstepped its bounds by involving itself in the Terri Schiavo case"; such ABC claims are unsupportable lies, which for ABC clymers is like breathing.