Difference between revisions of "Fred Thompson"
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'''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. | ||
| − | He | + | In 2002, he joined the prestigious Council on Foreign Relations, a non-partisan organization that promotes improved understanding of international affairs through public and private discussion. He is also a former member of the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission and a Visiting Fellow with the American Enterprise Institute, researching national security and intelligence. Thompson also serves as a public speaker with the Washington Speakers Bureau and is a special program host and senior analyst for ABC News Radio. He publishes a daily blog and podcast on the ABC Radio web site. |
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| + | Thompson also is the chair of the International Security Advisory Board, a bipartisan advisory panel that reports to the Secretary of State and focuses on emerging strategic threats. | ||
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| + | Thompson grew up in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, where he attended public school. He received his undergraduate degree in philosophy and political science from Memphis State University in 1964 and his law degree from Vanderbilt University in 1967, working his way through school. He was admitted to the Tennessee bar that same year. | ||
Thompson was an assistant U.S. attorney from 1969 to 1972; minority counsel, then to the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities ("Watergate Committee") from 1973 to 1974. He became special counsel to Tennessee Governor [[Lamar Alexander]] in 1980, special counsel, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations 1980-1981, Special counsel to the Senate Intelligence Committee 1982. He became a member of the Tennessee Appellate Court Nominating Commission 1985-1987. | Thompson was an assistant U.S. attorney from 1969 to 1972; minority counsel, then to the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities ("Watergate Committee") from 1973 to 1974. He became special counsel to Tennessee Governor [[Lamar Alexander]] in 1980, special counsel, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations 1980-1981, Special counsel to the Senate Intelligence Committee 1982. He became a member of the Tennessee Appellate Court Nominating Commission 1985-1987. | ||
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From 1975 to 1992 Thompson worked as a corporate lobbyist in Washington, D.C. He represented firms such as General Electric, Westinghouse and the Tennessee Savings and Loan League. In 1982, Thompson lobbyed the U.S. Congress for passage of the Savings and Loan deregulation legislation. Thompson contributed to the the Garn - St Germain Depository Institutions Act of 1982. In 1991, he worked with the Washington, D.C. firm of Arent, Fox, Kintner, Plotkin, & Kahn, representing overseas business entities as a registered foreign agent. | From 1975 to 1992 Thompson worked as a corporate lobbyist in Washington, D.C. He represented firms such as General Electric, Westinghouse and the Tennessee Savings and Loan League. In 1982, Thompson lobbyed the U.S. Congress for passage of the Savings and Loan deregulation legislation. Thompson contributed to the the Garn - St Germain Depository Institutions Act of 1982. In 1991, he worked with the Washington, D.C. firm of Arent, Fox, Kintner, Plotkin, & Kahn, representing overseas business entities as a registered foreign agent. | ||
| − | Thompson was elected | + | In 1977 Thompson took on the case of a Tennessee Parole Board chairman fired under suspicious circumstances. Thompson's work helped to expose a cash-for-clemency scheme that ultimately toppled the governor. The scandal became the subject of a best-selling book and later a film, ''Marie'', in which Thompson portrayed himself. He is 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. He has frequently portrayed governmental figures; in the 1993 film adaptation of ''Born Yesterday'', Thompson played the character of a United States senator prior to his election to the real-life United States Senate. He portrayed President Ulysses S. Grant in the HBO 2007 original movie ''Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee''. |
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| + | Prior to his election to the U.S. Senate, Fred Thompson maintained law offices in Nashville and Washington and served as Special Counsel to both the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. | ||
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| + | In his first campaign for public office, Thompson was elected by the people of Tennessee on November 8, 1994 to the remaining two years of [[Al Gore]]'s unexpired [[United States Senate|Senate]] term. When he was returned for a full term in 1996, he received more votes than any previous candidate for any office in Tennessee history. He won two elections in two years by more than twenty points each. | ||
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| + | While in the Senate, Thompson was a member of the powerful Senate Committee on Finance, which has jurisdiction over taxes, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, welfare reform, and international trade. From this position, he focused on reducing taxes, reforming the U.S. tax code to make it simpler and fairer, and restoring the Social Security and Medicare programs to long-term solvency. | ||
| + | |||
| + | While a strong supporter of free trade, Thompson advocated a balanced approach to trade and national security. He pushed for an export control policy that protects America's national security without unnecessarily burdening American industry with bureaucratic red tape. He also proposed legislation to curb the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by the People's Republic of China and other countries and to strengthen the United States' response to such activities. | ||
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| + | Thompson also served as a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the National Security Working Group, which observes and monitors executive branch negotiations with foreign governments. | ||
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| + | In 1997 Thompson was elected Chairman of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, making him among the most junior senators in history to serve as Chairman of a major Senate Committee. He served as Chairman until June of 2001. The Governmental Affairs Committee is charged with overseeing the management of the federal government. During his Chairmanship, Thompson's committee actively pursued an agenda aimed at producing a smaller, more efficient, and more accountable government. Of his efforts, the Kingsport Times-News wrote, "Sen. Thompson is to be applauded for keeping a watchful eye over Washington fiscal matters. There should be more like him." | ||
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| + | Thompson held hearings on topics such as improving the federal regulatory process; reforming the Internal Revenue Service; exploring ways to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse; and a number of national security issues, including the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and missile technologies. He also investigated and successfully enacted solutions to information management problems such as computer security. | ||
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| + | Additionally, the committee was chosen by the Senate leadership in 1997 to conduct an investigation into alleged improper or illegal activities associated with the 1996 federal election campaigns. The Wall Street Journal's Phil Kuntz observed, "Republican Senator Fred Thompson of Tennessee and his Governmental Affairs Committee have offered the public a rare peek at the underside of American politics." | ||
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| + | Thompson was not a candidate for re-election in 2002. He had publicly stated his unwillingness to have the Senate become a long-term career. Although he announced in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks his intention to seek re-election ("Now is not the time for me to leave," said Thompson at the time), upon further reflection he decided against it. The decision seems to have been prompted in large part by the death of his daughter (Elizabeth "Betsy" Thompson Panici) on January 30, 2002, from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs. | ||
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| + | Thompson married Jeri Kehn on June 29, 2002, at First Congregational United Church of Christ, Naperville, Illinois, having first met her on July 4, 1996. Kehn (born January, 1967) is an attorney and a political media consultant at the Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, and McPherson law firm in Washington, D.C. She had formerly worked for the Senate Republican Conference and the Republican National Committee. | ||
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| + | In the final months of his U.S. Senate term in 2002, Thompson joined the cast of the long-running NBC television series ''Law & Order'', playing district attorney Arthur Branch. On May 30, 2007, he asked to be released from the show, potentially in preparation for a presidential bid. | ||
| + | |||
| + | In October 2003, Fred and Jeri Thompson had their first child, Hayden Victoria Thompson. A second child was born to them in November, 2006. Thompson also has two grown children and five grandchildren from his previous marriage, which ended amicably in divorce after 25 years. Thompson has said that his former wife, Sara Lindsey, indicated she would campaign for Thompson if he did run for president. | ||
| + | |||
| + | After the retirement of Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in 2005, Thompson was appointed to an informal position by President George W. Bush to help guide the nomination of John Roberts through the United States Senate confirmation process. | ||
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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 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>. | ||
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Thompson announced April 11, 2007 that he's in remission from lymphoma (a type of cancer). | Thompson announced April 11, 2007 that he's in remission from lymphoma (a type of cancer). | ||
Revision as of 18:10, June 2, 2007
Fred Dalton Thompson (born August 19, 1942 in Sheffield, Alabama) is an American lawyer, actor and former Republican senator from Tennessee. He is married to attorney Jeri Kehn, a political and media consultant, with whom he has two children.
In 2002, he joined the prestigious Council on Foreign Relations, a non-partisan organization that promotes improved understanding of international affairs through public and private discussion. He is also a former member of the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission and a Visiting Fellow with the American Enterprise Institute, researching national security and intelligence. Thompson also serves as a public speaker with the Washington Speakers Bureau and is a special program host and senior analyst for ABC News Radio. He publishes a daily blog and podcast on the ABC Radio web site.
Thompson also is the chair of the International Security Advisory Board, a bipartisan advisory panel that reports to the Secretary of State and focuses on emerging strategic threats.
Thompson grew up in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, where he attended public school. He received his undergraduate degree in philosophy and political science from Memphis State University in 1964 and his law degree from Vanderbilt University in 1967, working his way through school. He was admitted to the Tennessee bar that same year.
Thompson was an assistant U.S. attorney from 1969 to 1972; minority counsel, then to the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities ("Watergate Committee") from 1973 to 1974. He became special counsel to Tennessee Governor Lamar Alexander in 1980, special counsel, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations 1980-1981, Special counsel to the Senate Intelligence Committee 1982. He became a member of the Tennessee Appellate Court Nominating Commission 1985-1987.
From 1975 to 1992 Thompson worked as a corporate lobbyist in Washington, D.C. He represented firms such as General Electric, Westinghouse and the Tennessee Savings and Loan League. In 1982, Thompson lobbyed the U.S. Congress for passage of the Savings and Loan deregulation legislation. Thompson contributed to the the Garn - St Germain Depository Institutions Act of 1982. In 1991, he worked with the Washington, D.C. firm of Arent, Fox, Kintner, Plotkin, & Kahn, representing overseas business entities as a registered foreign agent.
In 1977 Thompson took on the case of a Tennessee Parole Board chairman fired under suspicious circumstances. Thompson's work helped to expose a cash-for-clemency scheme that ultimately toppled the governor. The scandal became the subject of a best-selling book and later a film, Marie, in which Thompson portrayed himself. He is 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. He has frequently portrayed governmental figures; in the 1993 film adaptation of Born Yesterday, Thompson played the character of a United States senator prior to his election to the real-life United States Senate. He portrayed President Ulysses S. Grant in the HBO 2007 original movie Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee.
Prior to his election to the U.S. Senate, Fred Thompson maintained law offices in Nashville and Washington and served as Special Counsel to both the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
In his first campaign for public office, Thompson was elected by the people of Tennessee on November 8, 1994 to the remaining two years of Al Gore's unexpired Senate term. When he was returned for a full term in 1996, he received more votes than any previous candidate for any office in Tennessee history. He won two elections in two years by more than twenty points each.
While in the Senate, Thompson was a member of the powerful Senate Committee on Finance, which has jurisdiction over taxes, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, welfare reform, and international trade. From this position, he focused on reducing taxes, reforming the U.S. tax code to make it simpler and fairer, and restoring the Social Security and Medicare programs to long-term solvency.
While a strong supporter of free trade, Thompson advocated a balanced approach to trade and national security. He pushed for an export control policy that protects America's national security without unnecessarily burdening American industry with bureaucratic red tape. He also proposed legislation to curb the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by the People's Republic of China and other countries and to strengthen the United States' response to such activities.
Thompson also served as a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the National Security Working Group, which observes and monitors executive branch negotiations with foreign governments.
In 1997 Thompson was elected Chairman of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, making him among the most junior senators in history to serve as Chairman of a major Senate Committee. He served as Chairman until June of 2001. The Governmental Affairs Committee is charged with overseeing the management of the federal government. During his Chairmanship, Thompson's committee actively pursued an agenda aimed at producing a smaller, more efficient, and more accountable government. Of his efforts, the Kingsport Times-News wrote, "Sen. Thompson is to be applauded for keeping a watchful eye over Washington fiscal matters. There should be more like him."
Thompson held hearings on topics such as improving the federal regulatory process; reforming the Internal Revenue Service; exploring ways to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse; and a number of national security issues, including the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and missile technologies. He also investigated and successfully enacted solutions to information management problems such as computer security.
Additionally, the committee was chosen by the Senate leadership in 1997 to conduct an investigation into alleged improper or illegal activities associated with the 1996 federal election campaigns. The Wall Street Journal's Phil Kuntz observed, "Republican Senator Fred Thompson of Tennessee and his Governmental Affairs Committee have offered the public a rare peek at the underside of American politics."
Thompson was not a candidate for re-election in 2002. He had publicly stated his unwillingness to have the Senate become a long-term career. Although he announced in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks his intention to seek re-election ("Now is not the time for me to leave," said Thompson at the time), upon further reflection he decided against it. The decision seems to have been prompted in large part by the death of his daughter (Elizabeth "Betsy" Thompson Panici) on January 30, 2002, from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs.
Thompson married Jeri Kehn on June 29, 2002, at First Congregational United Church of Christ, Naperville, Illinois, having first met her on July 4, 1996. Kehn (born January, 1967) is an attorney and a political media consultant at the Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, and McPherson law firm in Washington, D.C. She had formerly worked for the Senate Republican Conference and the Republican National Committee.
In the final months of his U.S. Senate term in 2002, Thompson joined the cast of the long-running NBC television series Law & Order, playing district attorney Arthur Branch. On May 30, 2007, he asked to be released from the show, potentially in preparation for a presidential bid.
In October 2003, Fred and Jeri Thompson had their first child, Hayden Victoria Thompson. A second child was born to them in November, 2006. Thompson also has two grown children and five grandchildren from his previous marriage, which ended amicably in divorce after 25 years. Thompson has said that his former wife, Sara Lindsey, indicated she would campaign for Thompson if he did run for president.
After the retirement of Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in 2005, Thompson was appointed to an informal position by President George W. Bush to help guide the nomination of John Roberts through the United States Senate confirmation process.
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 [1]. [2] A March 23, 2007 Rasmussen Reports poll had him beating Senator Hillary Clinton with 44 percent to Clinton's 43 percent[3].
Thompson announced April 11, 2007 that he's in remission from lymphoma (a type of cancer).
"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,". [4]
| “ | "We must push back and push back hard"... "Remember how we won in the 1980. We stuck to our conservative principles." | ” |
See also
External links
- FRED THOMPSON U. S. Congress.
- Fred Thompson The Washington Post.
References
- ↑ http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/06/01/fred-thompson-takes-formal-step-towards-%e2%80%9908-bid/
- ↑ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/30/AR2007053000583.html
- ↑ http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/thompson_tied_with_clinton_trails_obama
- ↑ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,265271,00.html
- ↑ Fred Thompson: Stick to 'Conservative Principles'