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Line 12: − + − He is currently considering a run for [[President]] in 2008 and on June 1, 2007, he filed papers with the Tennessee Secretary of State creating "Friends of Fred Thompson," a state-based corporation that will raise and spend money to gauge interest and support for a possible presidential candidacy <ref>http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/06/01/fred-thompson-takes-formal-step-towards-%e2%80%9908-bid/</ref>. <ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/30/AR2007053000583.html</ref> A March 23, 2007 Rasmussen Reports poll had him beating Senator [[Hillary Clinton]] with 44 percent to Clinton's 43 percent<ref>http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/thompson_tied_with_clinton_trails_obama</ref>.+ + − He is also an actor of note with more than 30 roles according to the International Movie Database including "The Hunt for Red October" and "Die Hard 2". He was a co-star of the popular television series ''Law and Order'' from 2002 to 2007.+ − + − + − {{cquote|"We must push back and push back hard"... "Remember how we won in the 1980. We stuck to our conservative principles."}}<ref>[http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/5/25/73456.shtml?s=ic Fred Thompson: Stick to 'Conservative Principles'] </ref>+ + + + + − ==Marriage==+ − *Fred Thompson endorsed an amendment to the Constitution that would prevent state judges from altering the definition of marriage without the direction of their states' legislatures. [http://www.latestpolitics.com/blog/2007/09/fred-thompson-proposes-marriage.html]+ + + + + + + + + + + + + Line 47:
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[[Image:FredThompson.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Fred Thompson]]
[[Image:FredThompson.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Fred Thompson]]
'''Fred Dalton Thompson''' (born August 19, 1942 in Sheffield, [[Alabama]]) is an [[United States of America|American]] lawyer, actor and former [[Republican Party|Republican]] [[U.S. Senate|senator]] from [[Tennessee]]. He is married to attorney Jeri Kehn, a political and media consultant, with whom he has two children.
'''Fred Dalton Thompson''' (born August 19, 1942 in Sheffield, [[Alabama]]) is an [[United States of America|American]] lawyer, actor and former [[Republican Party|Republican]] [[U.S. Senate|senator]] from [[Tennessee]]. He is married to attorney Jeri Kehn, a political and media consultant, with whom he has two children.
Thompson was elected as a Republican to the [[United States Senate]] in the November 8, 1994, special election to fill the unexpired term (Ending January 3, 1997) of [[Al Gore|Albert Gore, Jr.]] vacant by resignation upon Gore's election as [[Vice President]]. Thompson was re-elected in 1996 for a full 6 year term, ending January 3, 2003. He decided not to be a candidate for reelection in 2002, resuming his acting career.
Thompson was elected as a Republican to the [[United States Senate]] in the November 8, 1994, special election to fill the unexpired term (Ending January 3, 1997) of [[Al Gore|Albert Gore, Jr.]] vacant by resignation upon Gore's election as [[Vice President]]. Thompson was re-elected in 1996 for a full 6 year term, ending January 3, 2003. He decided not to be a candidate for reelection in 2002, resuming his acting career.
==Post Senate==
==Political Views==
===Abortion===
Thompson describes himself as [[pro-life]]. During an interview in 2007 on Fox News' Hannity and Colmes, he said the following:
I've always thought that [[Roe v. Wade]] was a wrong decision, that they usurped what had been the law in this country for 200 years, that it was a matter that should go back to the states. When you get back to the states, I think the states should have some leeway. I might vote against one approach, but I think the state ought to have it. And I would not be and never have been for a law that says, on the state level, if I were back in Tennessee voting on this...to criminalize a young woman....
Thompson announced April 11, 2007 that he's in remission from lymphoma (a type of cancer).
However, when Fred Thompson first ran for the Senate in 1994, he said on the abortion issue,
"I have had no illness from it, or even any symptoms. My life expectancy should not be affected. I am in remission, and it is very treatable with drugs if treatment is needed in the future—and with no debilitating side effects,". <ref>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,265271,00.html</ref>
"Government should stay out of it... The ultimate decision must be made by the women... Government should treat its citizens as adults capable of making moral decisions on their own."
Also in 1994, Thompson told a Tennessee newspaper (the Conservative Spectator): "I’m not willing to support laws that prohibit early term abortions....It comes down to whether life begins at conception. I don’t know in my own mind if that is the case so I don’t feel the law ought to impose that standard on other people." In 1991 and 1992, Thompson was paid for about 20 hours of work on behalf of an abortion rights group.
===Campaign Finance Reform===
Thompson was one of only ten Senate Republicans to vote for the 2002 McCain-Feingold campaign finance legislation, which has drown him a lot of criticism for [[conservative]]s. However, he has since changed his position, saying that some parts of the bill should be repealed.
===Gun Rights===
Thompson is opposed to most [[gun control]] laws. Speaking of the Virginia Tech massacre, he said:
"Whenever I've seen one of those 'Gun-free Zone' signs, especially outside of a school filled with our youngest and most vulnerable citizens, I've always wondered exactly who these signs are directed at. Obviously, they don't mean much to the sort of man who murdered 32 people just a few days ago."
Although his record in the Senate on guns is generally mixed. Thompson voted pro-gun 19 times and anti-gun 14 times. Additionally, Thompson voted for the Domestic Violence Offender Gun Ban, which restricts ownership and use of guns or ammunition by individuals convicted of misdemeanor or felony domestic violence.
===[[Immigration]]===
Thompson believes that U.S. borders should be secured before considering comprehensive immigration reform:
"The government could start by securing our nation's borders. A sovereign nation that can't do that is not a sovereign nation. This is secondarily an immigration issue. It's primarily a national security issue. We were told twenty years ago if we produced a comprehensive solution, we'd solve the illegal immigration problem. Twelve million illegals later, we're being told that same thing again."
Fred Thompson received an average career grade of "C" from the group Americans for Better Immigration. They rated him A+ on border security and an F on visas for foreign workers.
===Marriage===
Fred Thompson endorsed an amendment to the Constitution that would prevent state judges from altering the definition of marriage without the direction of their states' legislatures. [http://www.latestpolitics.com/blog/2007/09/fred-thompson-proposes-marriage.html]
==2008 Presidential Campaign==
Fred Thompson's name has been managed as a possible candidate for President sine early 2007. In response, grassroots political movement began on the [[internet]], trying to draft Thompson to run. He formed a presidential exploratory committee on June 1, 2007. On September 5, 2007, Thompson made his candidacy official, announcing on [[The Tonight Show]]: "I'm running for president of the United States."
== See also ==
== See also ==
{{DEFAULTSORT: Thompson, Fred}}
{{DEFAULTSORT: Thompson, Fred}}
[[category:political people]]
[[Category:Political people]]
[[Category:2008 Presidential Candidates]]