Democracy For the Heart of America

Is Fred Thompson just trying out for another acting job as President? This lobbyist-turned-actor would have no trouble learning the lines and appearing presidential, but would he have “we the people” at heart and in mind when leading our country? .

* During the 1980s he represented the energy firm Westinghouse in a failed attempt to win billions in federal subsidies. Over the past few years, he has lobbied on behalf of Equitas, a London company seeking to limit liability claims for asbestos-related illnesses. That project has earned him $760,000. The Washington Post even dubbed Thompson the "access man."

* Thompson has hosted fundraisers for the Scooter Libby Legal Defense Fund. When Sean Hannity asked if he would pardon Libby, he said, “Absolutely.”

* In an interview last week, Thompson charged that the Roe v. Wade decision "was fabricated out of whole cloth," and that it was the worst court ruling in the past 40 years. He went on to equate so-called "late-term" abortions with infanticide, implying that women who undergo the procedure are criminals.

These facts might endear a Thompson candidacy to a rigid right, but they are very alarming to most of us. We do not need another actor turned President, or one who would continue to serve special interests and claim that corporate benefits would “trickle down” to the citizens.