Thompson Warns of Welfare State

[951-Riverside]

Source: Associated Press

LAGUNA WOODS, Calif. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson said Saturday that election of a Democrat to the White House in 2008 would open the way for a welfare state where bigger government, higher taxes and defense cutbacks sap the country's economic and military strength.

"Our country is at a crossroads," Thompson told several hundred people at a rally at a community clubhouse.

"We know that the most liberal element of the Democratic Party has taken control of the Democratic Party, and if they win this next election we're going to go down the road of a welfare state," he said.

After warning of a government that gets "bigger and bigger," he said "I don't think the American people are going to turn the keys to this country over to the most left-wing part of a left-wing party next year."

"We've got to make sure that doesn't happen," he said.

Read more: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5izzjL5Cbj-xYMuFI59wANSVJEbewD8T918MO0

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:eyes:

[Lithos]

1. That is so 1980

Definitely in denial about what is going on in the world.

[sarcasmo]

21. Come to Michigan and tell me we don't have a Welfare State.

I bet forty percent get some kind of assistance. We have eight percent unemployment,on the books, which is more like twenty percent in reality.

On edit: I am in no way defending Thompson, just pointing out facts.

[boricua79]

26. The nature of an economy

where the focus is on defense and the bottom line.

No energy independence investment and creation of jobs
No investment on national infrastructure, and creation of jobs.
No serious attempt to reform the education system and fund it as it should be funded, and less educated candidates to compete in the new globalized world.

We are tasting the consequence of supporting so many Republican administrations who had no interest in pursuing the economic agenda of the working person in America. And thus, life is hard and many fall by the wayside.

[Lorien]

28. Yours is a case in point; no one creates "welfare states" like the GOP.

by giving tax breaks to corporations who ship American jobs outside the US. By encouraging downsizing while discouraging the development of fuel efficient technology (why Detroit has fallen so far behind Japan) and alternative fuels, by spending like drunken sailors on crack on their wars of choice, and yes, BIGGER GOVERNMENT, by encouraging Health "insurers" (profiteers) to make a buck at the expense of any life, leaving families with only one parent, or disabled citizens who can no longer work because their HMO wouldn't pay for preventative exams, treatments, etc. By not giving returning soldiers adequate care for mental and physical health issues, by sucking away money for education and raising State tuitions to unaffordable levels for most Americans.Sorry Fred, but nobody creates welfare states like Republicans!

[OKthatsIT]

32. LEFT of LEFT ? Progressives aren't socialists.

Progressives don't want more welfare, nor do we want government involvement in our lives.

This smells like Rove and Gingrich...shaming and guilt tripping the public again.

WE, THE PEOPLE, AREN'T FALLING FOR THIS CRAP ANYMORE.

[Honeycombe8]

34. Most are not. But the truth is that some are. Judging by some of the posts I've read...

where they basically are pulling for a general spread the wealth, caps on salaries, raise the cap on Social Security even though those people will never receive those benefits, guarantees of jobs and jobs with certain pay, universal health care. Even though some of these things in theory are good ideas, some of them are clearly socialistic programs. But then "socialism" isn't necessarily a bad word. It depends on your point of view.

[LSK]

58. point of view

Americans who have been brainwashed for 50 years by cold war propaganda.

vs

Europeans/Canadians/Australians/New Zealanders/Japanese who currently ENJOY the benefits of socialism.

[Lithos]

46. Self-fulfilling prophecy

Create the conditions and it will come. The conditions being no educational opportunities, no health-care, no worker's rights, creating a government of and for the rich, etc.

L-

[hollowdweller]

22. That's the GOP's problem. No new ideas. They act like the last 27 years didn't happen.

Taxes ARE lower. People HAVE been cut off of social programs. We've HAD free trade.

I think that we've gone about as far as we can to let a totally unregulated market and social darwinisim solve our problems.

Now problems remain that must be addressed, and the GOP has nothing to offer.

[momster]

23. Leg-Warmers, Hair Gel and Fred

all recycled from the 1980's. He's stuck in a time warp. First 'The Soviet Union' and now the 'welfare state.' Will he be reviling Murphy Brown for her out of wedlock baby? Maybe he'll be wishing Prince Charles and Lady Diana good luck on their wedding. Or will he just rock out to 'Thriller'?

Nighty-night, Fred.

[Odin2005]

40. And DISCO!!! Don't forget Disco!

:rofl:

[momster]

42. God Knows I've Tried

n/t

[Joe Bacon]

2. Wow, didn't FREDERICK OF HOLLYWOOD® forget something??????

Fred, What about...

. all those corporate tax breaks?
. all those bailouts, er, incentives that the wealthy get?, AND
. all those bribes, er, "Faith based inititives" money going into the hands of crooked preachers?

FREDERICK OF HOLLYWOOD® is like every other Leo Strauss disciple. He will lie any lie to protect the rich!

[Demeter]

7. Not To Mention Our Reduced Military Capacity Under the Pretender

who has managed to "unman" the Superpower of the world.

[laylah]

12. Don't be a fool!

Why on earth would Deputy Dog address the real issues! :sarcasm:

[Joe Bacon]

38. And here I thought he was Arnold Ziffle's brother...

:rofl:

[SKKY]

50. Please refrain from using "FREDERICK OF HOLLYWOOD" ever again...

... when talking about Fred Thompson. It invokes an image that I simply cannot tolerate. Ewwwwww!

:hi:

[Syrinx]

3. what a jerk

The government always gets bigger under Republican-controlled government. It's a fact.

Republicans are the ones who want to control private behavior -- to get on the peoples "back." It's a fact.

I had much rather my taxes go to help some needy people somewhere, than to build some defense contractor his fifth vacation home. It's a fact.

Why aren't the Democrats better able to point out what utter BS these age-old Republican talking-points are? Anyone with a sixth-grade education should be able to see through them, yet they continue to work.

[rucognizant]

14. You better believe it!

Tale of two old ladies............entrepreneurs both. We are working very hard 8-10/7 to run our VERY SMALL businesses.....earning enough for a modest living, in addition to our too small SS incomes.
For the past 4 years Liheap funding has been enough to provide me with oil through the winter to heat my house.
The Government SAVES money, by cutting the SS income amount and supplimenting with heat assistance & food stamps
because NOT EVERY SS recipient requests, or qualifies for those benefits. With the price of oil DOUBLE (50%) what it was last year,( and the SS income increased only .3%) the benefit has shrunk..........As a consequence, I will have 164 gallons to get through this winter. It TAKES about 600 gallons to do the job!
SO how do I stay in my house ( 5/6ths of it dedicated workspace for the IRS) and continue to run my business, which isn't NOW bringing in that much additional income but has the potential if I work very hard!
The alternative: get a job at the local Home Depot or Walmart,with the 65 mile round trip commute, in my 24 year old car, over, at times black ice? What will the cost of another car be a year from now when this one is worn out??
What would this gain me? After the cost of the commute, extra money for food because I don't have time to bake bread at home or make cheap nourishing dishes..............clothes, ( as artist at home I can wear old recycled jeans and shabby sweaters...) So my efforts would get me 100 gallons of heating oil a month plus $18.00 "mad money"! YOU BET I WOULD BE MAD! And the time to do speculative New Yorker covers, or a children's book would be lost!
Also lost, some children learning to paint & draw, and by proxy, an enlightened value system and heightened ability see and think!
Or will we two spend the winter in a shelter, she with her sheep, shearer, spinning wheel and me with my paints easel etc.?
In other words fiercely independant we are being PUSHED into being WELFARE RECIPIENTS NOT BY CHOICE! BY DESIGN!

[rucognizant]

15. Additionally..

Fred Thompson seems to be securely unreachable! I called 411 last week looking for his campaign headquarters so I could directly protest his ideology. NONE! NOT THERE FOR CITIZENS..........

[Kutjara]

4. Better a Welfare State than the Don't Care State we have now. n/t

[Syrinx]

5. amen

And the "get it while you can" state.

The Repug party is an organized criminal conspiracy that should be nailed under RICO, if not for treason.

[scarletwoman]

6. Ah. The classics never go out of style. (nt)

[Breeze54]

8. He's really a tiresome, shitty, actor, isn't he?

Give it a rest already, Thompson, you old fart! You suck as an 'actor'

and you really suck as a politician... except for the lies.

You bore me. Enough already!

[Prophet 451]

9. And that's a bad thing because....?

Here, the words "welfare state" are usually a positive thing. What is it about Republicans that the idea of a society taking care of it's unfortunate is such anathema to them? And why is it, when they claim to want smaller givernment, they only ever mean business regulation, health and social services, they never mean the hopelessly bloated military or intelligence services?

Y'know, Fred, you were great in In The Line Of Fire but this "presidential hopeful" role really isn't your best work.

[sss1977]

10. I wish that were true...

Then I'd be seeing Dennis Kucinich leading the polls as frontrunner and by a large margin.

[thepurpose]

11. Thompson's real msg: Let's keep those keys to the country in big business hands where they belong

[LeftishBrit]

13. Oh horror, horror, horror!

You might get a government that gives people a social safety net almost as strong as that which would be routinely supported by Conservative governments in most Europaean countries.

Thompson sounds revolting. Ronnie the Second, or something.

[hatrack]

54. He's Reagan, but without the intelligence, empathy or hair

He also has the campaign persona of a bowl of cold oatmeal.

He's going nowhere.

[Zorra]

16. The republicans sure are running a bunch of kooks this time around.

Can you imagine any one of them running the country after the Chimpy disaster?

We'd be going Road Warrior within 2 years of the first term.

[Vinca]

17. More of "I've got mine" from the "me" party.

Freddie's kids have healthcare and that's all that matters.

[izquierdista]

18. Attaboy Fred, go to it!

I knew there was a reason I wanted to see him win the Republican nomination. I think everyone here should help Fred get his message out. Help him say to the displaced worker "you know, that welfare state will want to keep business from operating efficiently with outsourced labor". Invite him to your town so he can tell seniors "If the Democrats win, they will want to get rid of that Medicare Part D that we worked so hard for." Let him address some wounded veterans with "If the Democrats get in, they will cut defense and your little brothers will not get to contribute to this country in the same way that you did."

Go Fred, go!! :bounce: Get your message out FAR and wide! :yourock:

[scarface2004]

19. ohhhh save me!!

hey fred asshole...why don't you just mail your shit in you effin prick?!?!?!?

[april]

20. Hell because of the Rep we all may end up on Welfare!! WTF

[Historic NY]

24. So the hands outs to big company's, corporations,.......

isn't. This administration has done more to foster corporate welfare than anything else.

[focusfan]

25. he is another Reagan or Bush

[Gormy Cuss]

27. Oh no! Not a welfare state!

Who'd want to live in a country that placed a high priority on the welfare of its people.?

[brentspeak]

29. Grandpa Fred apparently hasn't been awake for the past six years

Halliburton and Blackstone have been sucking the Treasury dry via corporate welfare, and the government has become more bloated than Rush Limbaugh's rear-end.

[pacalo]

30. I'm so sick of these liars. Blatant, in-your-face liars. Only idiots would believe their crap.

[Akoto]

31. Yeah, because the Republicans have been so fiscally responsible.

They've only thrown trillions down the toilet for a war that didn't need to be fought.

[acmavm]

33. OMG, this guy is channeling Raygun.

[Eurobabe]

35. Note to Foghorn

Go fondle your wife and shut your pie hole.

I cannot STAND this ugly old FART!! :puke:

[NorthernSpy]

36. Good. I'm tired of Free Market Hell.

I want something different.

[AX10]

37. Why is this outdated kook even running?

People like Thompson are the one's who are responsible for the brutal gang rape that the powerful have done to our nation.
Higher taxes are needed to pay down the debt and invest in infrastructure.

[The_Casual_Observer]

39. What about the Iraq welfare state??

Explain that motherfucker to me.

[Odin2005]

41. And a welfare state is bad WHY???

The welfare state was the main thing, IMO, that proved Marx wrong by showing that socialism was not incompatible with liberal democracy and free enterprise, indeed, it saved liberal democracy from being destroyed by Fascism and Communism.

[Mythsaje]

43. Idiot.

What, as opposed to engaging in unwinnable wars to sap our strength, granting free passes to corporations with regards to taxes, allowing them to outsource jobs and stealing money from our economy in ever-increasing numbers.

Shutup Fred. We already know what kind of idiocy you espouse. More of the same shit that's quite obviously destroying our country.

[KillCapitalism]

44. Thompson = the most repugnant repuke candidate.

I used to think it was Giuliani.

[ileus]

45. It's too late Fred...

[MissMillie]

47. that's right Fred,

we can feed people, educate people, and make sure people have health care....


OR


we can feed the military industrial complex


the first option betters all of society

the second option benefits stock holders of companies that donate to the GOP

[Unvanguard]

48. Haha... they don't have a clue what "left-wing" means. n/t

[Orsino]

61. Nope. The "liberal element" of the Democratic Party isn't in control.

Thompson is railing against the competition, not against his opposites.

[provis99]

49. what is it with this old goofball?

I mean, has he been asleep since 1980, and the kinfolk just poke him with a stick every now and then so he can wake up and grumble about "welfare bums" and the good ole days under Nixon? Go back to sleep, Fred.

[Skittles]

51. LOL.......PROVIS

:rofl:

[Anarcho-Socialist]

53. LOL!

[MilesColtrane]

52. The Great Metamucinator speaks!

What a man of principle.

I'm sure he'll be returning his Social Security checks to the Treasury with a little Post It on each one that says, "No Thanks, Uncle Pinko!".

[Javaman]

55. I see thompson just woke up from a long nap...

Apparently he fell asleep just after ray-gun was elected. I'm waiting for him to recycle the lie of the "welfare queen".

thompson should just go back to sleep, gum his bread and scream at matlock.

[BulletproofLandshark]

56. Whoa, did we go back to the 80's or something?

I seem to remember this same rhetoric from a senile old man who was popular back then. Time to go dig my skinny tie and Members Only jacket out of storage.

[LSK]

57. yes lets totally ignore Europe that is doing what he is afraid of

Hows that European economy doing btw?

[bullwinkle428]

59. The 1970s called - they want their wingnut campaign theme back!

[Megahurtz]

60. Corporate Welfare State?

No, we've got to make sure that does not continue to happen!