Thompson Criticizes Federal Intervention In Schiavo Case
Fred Thompson may have just stepped into some serious trouble with the Christian right. During an interview in Florida, Thompson was critical of the federal government's attempted intervention into the Terri Schiavo case in 2005. "Local matters, generally speaking, should be left to the locals," Thompson said. "I think Congress has got an awful lot to keep up with."
Thompson also went beyond mere talk about proper jurisdiction in the case, and declined to give any opinion on the actual moral details of the case. "I can't pass judgment on it. I know that good people were doing what they thought was best," he said. "That's going back in history. I don't remember the details of it."
Over on the right, David Brody is not impressed: "I think it goes without saying that if you want to be the candidate for social conservatives you need to do your homework on Terri Schiavo. Nobody is saying you have to go chapter and verse on it but to go generic isn't enough."
As for the details, ABC News notes that Thompson did an episode of Law & Order loosely based on the case.
Comments (5)
hadenough wrote on September 14, 2007 9:43 AM:More from abc news:
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."
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=3600744&page=1
First the thompson camp tells ap how to report? Must be nice.
Second is this the thompson standard? If he wasn't in the senate when something came up he won't comment on it? Somehow I doubt it.
Daniel wrote on September 14, 2007 9:44 AM:Thompson is starting to play with fire. Yes, he is benefiting from the Law and Order factor. And yes, he is getting a massive bounce. But he can't just appear conservative on the strenght of his Law and Order convictions.
jsh1120 wrote on September 14, 2007 9:58 AM:Interesting response on Thompson's part. It seems to parallel his response with regard to gay marriage where he advocated a Constitutional amendment to prevent states from having to recognize marriages performed in another state. It also parallels the only "principle" Thompson mentions on his website, "Federalism."
All in all, Thompson seems to be blissfully unaware of substantive policy issues, preferring to focus instead on what must appear to voters to be obscure structural issues about power sharing between the federal and state and local governments.
Frankly, this doesn't seem to be a winning strategy either for the Republican nomination or for the general election.
POed Lib wrote on September 14, 2007 10:20 AM:The Repukeliscum are backing off from all the "principles" they have held for 20 years. Anti-abortion? Rudy gets a pass. Gay rights opposition? Rudy gets a pass, Fred gets a pass, Larry gets a pass.
What is the sole remaining "principle" espoused by the Repukeliscum? It's a simple one: "IT'S OK IF YOU ARE A REPUKELISCUM." Other people call this "EVERYTHING GOES" or "GIVE ME THE MONEY". It's a good principle, because it's very very difficult to find a situation in which it does not work.
bob wrote on September 14, 2007 2:00 PM:How many details were there to remember?
When Mary Matalin says jump, the AP jumps.
