March 18, 2007

Thompson Eyes Internet For Big Campaign Role

Former Tennessee Sen. Al Gore may have invented the Internet, but it is the Republican who took his place in the United States Senate who apparently is considering harnessing the 'Net to run a very different kind of presidential campaign.

In John Fund's thought-provoking interview with Fred Thompson at OpinionJournal.com regarding a possible presidential run by former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, this section jumped out at me:

So how would a possible Thompson campaign be distinctive? "Politics is now one big 24-hour news cycle, but we seem to spend less time than ever on real substance," he muses. "What if someone harnessed the Internet and other technologies and insisted in talking about real issues in more depth than consultants would advise? What if they took risks with their race in hopes that the risks to our children could be reduced through building a mandate for good policy?"

Thompson also addressed conservative dislike of his past support for the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform law, which is an afront to freedom of speech:

"There are problems with people giving politicians large sums of money and then asking them to pass legislation," Mr. Thompson says. Still, he notes he proposed the amendment to raise the $1,000 per person "hard money" federal contribution limit.

Conceding that McCain-Feingold hasn't worked as intended, and is being riddled with new loopholes, he throws his hands open in exasperation. "I'm not prepared to go there yet, but I wonder if we shouldn't just take off the limits and have full disclosure with harsh penalties for not reporting everything on the Internet immediately."

In Fund's article, Thompson also discusses tort reform, taxes, terrorism, the Iranian nuclear threat and a variety of other issues. Read the whole thing.

Meanwhile, Thompson is kicking butt in the online poll at GOPNation.com.