The lefties must be trembling a bit about Fred Thompson, since the "vast left-wing conspiracy" against him is kicking into high gear.

Classic smear politics; the first strike is to try to separate Candidate X from Candidate X's base. The lefties are trying hard to drive a wedge between Thompson and conservatives. Newsweek recently ran a story about Thompson in which they indicated that he was soft on core conservative issues, like abortion and campaign finance.

But as Andy Selepak points out for Accuracy In Media, it ain't necessarily so:

According to Newsweek, ... Thompson's answers to a number of surveys in office "could be viewed as supporting abortion rights."

What exactly were his pro-abortion responses he made on these surveys? According to Newsweek, "on a 1994 Eagle Forum survey, Thompson said he opposed criminalizing abortion."

You mean that Thompson doesn't want every woman who's had an abortion thrown in jail? GASP! Well, he just can't really be a conservative pro-lifer! I mean, EVERYBODY knows that all us conservative pro-lifers want every woman who's had an abortion thrown in jail!

Except that we don't. But, of course, since that's what the media says about us, that's what the lefties all believe ... and, of course, they think that Thompson's unwillingness to throw women who've already been through the heartbreak of abortion into prison simply must mean that he's at odds with the pro-life movement.

Nice try, Newsweek, but if you're going to try to imply that Thompson doesn't share our pro-life values, you oughta learn just what pro-life values actually are.

Selepak continues:

Thompson's view about when life begins has also evolved since 1994. Newsweek reported that in a recent Fox News interview he said "he's always been against abortion, but that the issue has 'meant a little more' since he saw the sonogram of his 3-year-old daughter." Thompson added in the interview, "I'll never feel that same way again. Not only is it in my head, it's in my heart now."

In the end, the article acknowledged that his Senate voting record included votes to block federal funding for abortions and in support of a partial-birth-abortion ban. The National Right to Life organization gave him a 100 percent rating.

Wow, accuracy from Newsweek. Wonders never cease.

The article attempts to tarnish his campaign before it even starts, in the eyes of Republican voters, by portraying him as anti-conservative. But Thompson isn't pro-abortion and never has been. He has expressed concerns about his vote on McCain-Feingold, and in refusing to play partisan politics in a corruption investigation, Thompson showed the signs of a fair and decent man―the qualities admired in a leader by both conservatives and liberals.

Thompson may not be a "southern-fried Reagan," but he is definitely not Newsweek's mis-portrayal of him either. Like all candidates, the American people still need to learn more to determine who should be the next president. But, what the American people don't need is a misinformation campaign by the media to take down a candidate because he could defeat the Democratic nominee.

Step one in the Thompson attack schedule is going to fail because conservatives know more about our own people than lefties do. Step two will be the usual scare tactics: "Thompson wants to take away all civil liberties, throw old people into a ditch to die and reinstate the draft!" You watch and see.

Labels: News, Politics, Thompson 08