Fred Thompson is launching a lengthy Iowa tour and stopped by for a local talk radio appearance. I joined the proceedings at the Iowa River Power Company.
10:53 and things are a bit behind schedule, but the radio folks are in place. Fred Thompson is appearing at the highly scenic Iowa River Power Company. We're overlooking a dam and literally hundreds of geese.
It's a little harder to get pledges of commitment out of Republicans than Democrats. "We've got a secret ballot, the right of every American," says county party co-chair Deb Thornton, teasing me about the differences between parties in caucus procedure.
Outgoing Iowa City council member Dee Vanderhoef is also uncommitted, and says there would be more registered independents and Republicans in Johnson County if the primary system for local offices were different. Democratic primaries in Johnson County tend to be decisive for local offices.
State Rep. Sandy Greiner, whose district runs into Johnson County, is here. "People are going to be stunned" by Thompson's showing in eastern Iowa, she says. She was the first legislator to endorse Thompson. "He's consistent," she says, without naming names.
"He didn't wait until he was 50 years old to decide what his opinions were. And he didn't wait until he was running for office."
"I understand as a public official that sometimes it's necessary to change your position. New information becomes available. But I challenge anybody to tell me what new information has become available on the 2nd Amendment or on life."
"I'm glad to have them in the fold," Greiner says, again naming no names, "but I wonder how long they'll be in the fold."
11:13 and it seems Fred has stolen John Cougar Edwards' Mellencamp CD. Proceedings are beginning. The introducer cites the Register debate ("He won it 'hands down'", he says, stretching the joke) and the Steve King endorsement.
The radio host starts with a horse race question and Fred instead says "what's most important is for me to be myself" and hitting the same consistency theme. He moves on to his Senate work , with a couple brief jokes about the acting. "I never had an acting lesson, which you an tell from my work." "I'm not going to have any new wrinkles in terms of who I am and what I've done."
"If we can't make our country safe, nothing else counts. With our worst enemies sitting across the table, who do we want representing us. The answer to that question is who you want to elect President."
Asked about his late entry, he says "I wasn't late, everybody else was early" and draws applause, and adds that was the traditional time to announce.
A photographer from the campaign is wearing a button with the "Hands Down" slogan. Fred continues with discussion of how the campaign season is too long. Says he's never lost an election, "most of my opponents have, and most of the pundits have never run."
The radio host is asking about the leapfrogging states. FDT: "An awful lot of folks have got things going on, they've got lives to live" and large numbers of people are still undecided.
"The job of the president is to be a leader and communicator, and to bring the American people along with his knowledge and information." Cites his work on the Intelligence Committee. "There's only two issues that are important: peace and prosperity." But then he goes on to cite the importance of appointing conservative judges. "We're bankrupt in the next generation and spending the Soc Sec surplus. You can't have everything all the time."
"People who are serious about choosing a leader of the free world will not make their choice based on how many times someone visited Iowa. That's not what it's all about. Remember that we're electing that person on our side of the table."
Q and A from the audience. National Right to Life endorsement: Fred is "gratified" and talks at more length about the Steve King endorsement. Jeri Thompson wasn't introduced but she's here. "The RTL endorsement is very special to me, they've been watching me for a long time." Says he put term limits on himself when he went to the Senate. "I was 100% the entire time I was there on a pro-life basis."
Small business owner about taxes: "what can you do to help?" Fred: "Cut Taxes." Applause. He elaborates, but the two word version sums it up. "The Democrats want the gov't to gradually turn itself into a welfare state to transfer wealth." Says the depreciation schedule is "hopelessly outmoded." Says we need to fight to keep the Bush tax cuts.
Questioner, a med student: "the last thing I want to see is Hillary-care." Fred: "You've come to one good conclusion." (sustained applause.) "We have a health care cost problem, but we have the best heath care in the world." SO we can't "throw the baby out." Turns the question to foreign policy, says we're a victim of our blessings: "We're a target because we're number one."
Back to health care: citing the importance of free markets. "We need to rely on the market economy and make it more efficient and more open." Says health care has gotten to be a national problem (an unnamed dig at Romney's state plan).
The slogan on the lit is "Consistent Conservative," so both Fred and his supporters are sticking on message. "Opening up the market will bring the prices down, and that'll make it easier for more people to get insurance" (applause)
Crowd looks to be about 60. "I don't like mandates of any kind. I don't like people telling me what to do, unless they've got some real good reason for it."
"With all due respect, sir" -- Fred interrupts: "I hate when a question starts like that." It's national debt. His first response: "Limit the bills Hillary Clinton could reduce to maybe one a year." That goes over well. He gets more serious. "It all gets back to one fundamental problem - the level of spending. In all democracies, the number one problem is getting people to restrain themselves when they realize they've got the keys to their own treasury." Someone has to draw the line. "It's a moral issue as well as an economic issue." Says cutting defense spending would be irresponsible, and entitlements are unsustainable.
Social Security: he's for private accounts with a government match. "Let's let the govt's part be something that's sustainable."
11:52. Last question, they say. Guy in a cowboy hat asks about Native American issues. Fred turns it around: "where do you think we're falling short?" Questioner talks again at some length.
Fred says he's glad his consciousness has been raised and he'll look into it. The questioner must have mentioned Leonard Peltier because Thompson said Peltier was "guilty as charged."
One more question, to move past the taste of the last one. Energy independence. Fred says we need to use the resources we have: oil and natural gas (without specifically saying ANWR), clean coal, and nukes.
Chad Murphy of Iowa City came to the event as a Fred backer. "When it's time to do the right thing, you can count on Fred to do the right thing" even if it's unpopular.
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