Fred Thompson Did Work for Pro-Abortion Group
The NY Times dims the glow surrounding Fred Thompson. They report he did do work for a pro-abortion group:
According to records from Arent Fox, the law firm based in Washington where Mr. Thompson worked part-time from 1991 to 1994, he charged the organization, the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, about $5,000 for work he did in 1991 and 1992. The records show that Mr. Thompson, a probable Republican candidate for president in 2008, spent much of that time in telephone conferences with the president of the group, and on three occasions he reported lobbying administration officials on its behalf.
Lying and politicians go together like holes and swiss cheese. That’s the state of our (justifiably) cynical politics.
The brand image of Thompson as something different than the current crop of candidates has been damaged. It didn’t have to be. When the LA Times story came out a Thompson spokesman said, “Fred Thompson did not lobby for this group, period” and “There’s no documents to prove it, there’s no billing records, and Thompson says he has no recollection of it, says it didn’t happen.”
There are now billing records.
A few days later Thompson argued that lawyers shouldn’t be tarnished by their clients. The implication being he did do something for the pro-abortion group.
While Thompson has a solid pro-life voting record he’s talked more about federalism for dealing with abortion instead of national bans. It’s also possible Thompson’s view on abortion has “evolved.” He would have been much better off saying he did lobby for the pro-abortion group. Or if he didn’t remember he could have said there was a possibility. Thompson made a mistake of letting his spokesman issue a firm denial. That strikes at his credibility. It’s not good when your first instinct is to deny a story when there’s a good possibility it’s true. Kill the story with facts. Nineteen hours of work over 14 months isn’t much. It fits the story that Thompson was consulted by other lawyers. But Thompson’s first move was to deny.
It was a mistake, but no where close to being damaging unless it’s part of a pattern.
Steven Taylor wonder about Thompson’s fandom. Thompson’s unofficial campaign success so far is partly due to the current crop of Republican candidates and the outsider image he’s developed. But much of the swooning is Thompson’s communication skills. He says things in a way that gets people excited. Look at the Michael Moore smack down. In a few minutes he made instant fans. Many don’t know a lot about Thompson but they know he has charisma.
“Records Show Ex-Senator’s Work for Family Planning Unit”
“Fred’s Billing Records Found!”
