by Author Name Withheld 96

Created on: January 01, 2008   Last Updated: March 19, 2008

Presidential candidate and former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson showed up to a full house at Alpha's Restaurant touting his "consistently conservative" credentials to a crowd of over three hundred. Thompson showed a lack of concern for the polls as he has throughout this recent bus tour throughout our fine state. This polling data that he refers to shows him third or fourth depending in advance of the Iowa caucuses; the latest Des Moines Register poll had him fourth behind Arizona Senator John McCain. Thompson proclaimed to the crowd that he wasn't worried about the speed of the campaign, saying he realized that the more people heard about him the more they would like. He admitted that having the responsibility of being President didn't really appeal to him, but he said he thought he would make a good one.

He expressed support for a flat tax as opposed to a fair tax which he says could actually increase taxes on those who are in the construction business due to a twenty three percent sales tax. Thompson spoke in generality and did not heap a ton of criticism on his Republican rivals. The majority of America's problems seem to be due to a Democratic majority in Congress who according to Thompson don't understand the threat to America's security a withdrawal from the Iraq theater would cause. Thompson expressed the view that he was the only major candidate who has always supported fierce border security. To boost these credentials Thompson has had Iowa's Congressman from the fifth district Steve King joining him on different legs of the tour. King was there for the chat at Alpha's. King has been an outspoken advocate for a crackdown on illegal immigration into this country. Being a former construction company owner he has received criticism from many corporate leaders in the Republican Party who say a guest worker program is necessary to meet the labor demands of the day.

Thompson went on to criticize Democrats, who he claims can't wait to get their paws on the federal budget in order to drag America further into a welfare state. He criticized a couple of his rivals for not supporting a line item veto when asked about it. Thompson said government should have a really good reason as to why they are more entitled to have part of your money as opposed to the earner of that dollar. The crowd seemed less skeptical and did not have as many tough questions for Thompson as they did for Mitt Romney when he appeared at Alpha's in November. Romney came under heat from spectators when he expressed support for partial privatization of social security. There did not appear to be as many from the group "Divided We Fall", a group of seniors from around the country who question presidential candidates in the crowd at this event. This was surprising given Fred Thompson's more detailed social security proposals which are detailed on his campaign website and in the Politico.

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