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Fred Thompson
- Filed under: Uncategorized
- Date: Jan 18,2008
Early years:
Born Aug. 19, 1942 in Sheffield, Ala.
Education Bachelor’s degree, Memphis State University, 1964; law degree, Vanderbilt University, 1967
Career:
1969-72 Assistant U.S. attorney
1973-74 Minority counsel, Senate Watergate Committee
1975-93 Lobbyist, lawyer
1977 Took on a Tennessee Parole Board case that exposed a cash-for-clemency scheme that toppled the governor and became the subject of a book and the film Marie, in which Thompson played himself (1985)
1987-present Actor; appeared in 18 films, including as the district attorney since 2002 on the TV series Law & Order
Political career:
1994-2002 U.S. senator from Tennessee
2007 Announces candidacy to run for president in 2008
Views:
Iraq: Maintain U.S. mission in Iraq as central to U.S. war against Islamoterrorism, greatly expand military.
Economy: Support freemarket, free-trade policies. Limit influence of labor unions. Cut federal spending. Reduce growth of Social Security benefits.
Health Care: Opposes national health care. Favors easing regulations to promote cheaper private coverage. Floats idea of cutting Medicare benefits for the wealthy
Immigration: Opposes allowing illegal immigrants to stay while trying to become citizens. Wants to make English the official language.
Taxes: Supports choice of filing under current system or paying a flat tax of 10 percent on incomes up to $50,000 and 25 percent on individual incomes above that. Make Bush tax cuts permanent.
Global Warming: Do more research to determine human impact. Says it may be economically unfeasible for United States to adopt global warming restrictions unless China and India participate.
Energy: Supports increased domestic oil exploration and production. Supports alternative energy research and nuclear power. Opposes mandatory higher fuel standards.
