Fred Thompson: MoveOn, Reid Are Taking ‘Extremist Positions And Doing Extremist Things’

[babylonsister]

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/05/02/thompson-iraq-moveon/

Fred Thompson: MoveOn, Reid Are Taking ‘Extremist Positions And Doing Extremist Things’

Last night on Hannity & Colmes, former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-TN) claimed that congressional leaders are “adhering, to the extent they can, to the most left-wing element of their base. You know, MoveOn.org and those folks are running the Democratic Party. And they’re taking extremist positions and doing extremist things.” He added: “Harry Reid is doing things that I think the American people are going to reject.” Watch it at link~

Thompson has been out of politics for some time and apparently hasn’t been following U.S. public opinion very closely. A few things he should note:

– 64 percent favor setting a timetable for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq sometime in 2008
– By a 57-35 margin, the public favors Congress over Bush in having the final say on troop levels
– The public’s fear is not that Congress will go too far (31 percent), but rather, that Bush won’t make enough changes (61 percent)

In the interview, Thompson also said war critics are “as near to investing in defeat of their own country as anything I’ve ever seen.” Maybe Thompson hasn’t been paying attention to the Iraq war either. Bush’s management over the entire Iraq adventure has been an investment in one failure after another, and has forced Congress to demand accountability and change course. But Thompson was too busy criticizing war critics to note any of Bush’s failures.

(HT: NewsHounds)

Transcript:

HANNITY: Well, let’s deal with the people that — your immediate competition. You talked about Senator McCain. Rudy Giuliani is tops in most of the polls we read now, although you’re doing well for somebody that’s not in the race. I’m sure you’re probably following some of these.

THOMPSON: You know, I’d be more likely to talk about the Democrats than I would the Republicans.

HANNITY: Oh, so you’re striking me out on that one?

THOMPSON: Let me try to be responsive to your question. As far as the Democrats, they are adhering, to the extent they can, to the most left- wing element of their base. You know, MoveOn.org and those folks are running the Democratic Party. And they’re taking extremist positions and doing extremist things. Harry Reid is doing things that I think the American people are going to reject.

They’re as near to investing in defeat of their own country as anything I’ve ever seen. And I don’t think the American people will forgive them for that.

So they’re going through that exercise. And let’s just let them go. Let’s just give them a little rope and see what they do. Our name-calling and carping on them right now is kind of wasted effort, as far as I’m concerned.

[AlCzervik]

1. oh look at Fred using all the buzz words to raise money.

must be a real pain in the ass lugging that red meat catapult around.

[Cha]

12. Yeah, like trying to win a civil

War In Iraq after you bombed the shite outta Iraq based on LIES from bush and the mediawhores isn't EXTREME TO THE MAX. Like sending Soldiers to die and be Maimed In Iraq and killing humdreds of thousands of Iraqis because you want their oil isn't EXTREME.

Thowing trillions of our tax $$$$$$$$ down the Iraqi Hellhole isn't EXTREME!!!~

Like having a fucking COMMANDER GUY who slurs his words and can't put two thoughts together without reading them isn't EXTREME!!

[RobertSeattle]

2. Oh go bang one of your geezer groupies, Fred

[gratuitous]

3. 64% of the American people support that "extremist" position, Fred

So, what does that make your position, which represents less than a third, and probably less than a quarter of public opinion? Too bad you were on Faux, so no real journalists were around to call you on your delusional recitation.

[TwilightGardener]

4. "Investing in defeat"--Jesus, he's as bad or worse than Delay and Lieberman.

[Catchawave]

5. Didn't Jon Stewart make fun of this last night?

Harry Reid an extremist... :rofl:

It might have been Colbert, but it was a funny bit alluding to the non-fact that Reid's some sort of radical lefty.

And MoveOn has incredible power in grassroots "activist" numbers (2 million members now?) that the GOP will trash every chance they get.

[w4rma]

6. ... and stuff... What? (nt)

[PATRICK]

7. I take it they don't

want to put on the air real extreme leftists(intelligent, not the equivalent of Aryan Nation) or at least very aggressive communists/socialists and let them begin to see what an extrme left really looks like. Because at this point it would look damn good, that's why, at least more attractive than the bloody, impoverishing failures of the 'moderate" Bush dynasty.

Cripes we can't even get good liberal and "far" liberals on the air for mere scale!

Extreme? We can show them some extreme policy decisions and most people would still prefer them to Bush.

[melody]

8. When will "not mainstream" crop up in his spewage? n/t

[jcrew2001]

9. Fred beats Hillary according to Rassmussen

Good news for fred!

[More Than A Feeling]

10. and when will he be taking his shopping trip to Baghdad?

Seriously, he's just McCain with better packaging for the far right base. He can be taken apart on the war just like McCain has been.

I'm starting to wonder why we are supposed to be so scared of this joker.

[Clark2008]

14. Because all across talk radio in the Heartland today it was

a Fred Thompson lovefest.

I live in an area (admittedly in Tennessee) in which there IS no liberal talk radio - only conservative garbage and that's ALL that anyone around here - and in places throughout the "red" states - is going to hear.

Thompson's beloved by the conservatives and held up as a "moderate" to the swing voters.

That's why we should be scared of him.

[BlueStater]

11. Clearly this putz has no business being president of anything n/t

[sampsonblk]

13. Good! - nt

nt