Kagro X has a front-page post about Fred Thompson's recent visit to the Stepfordian sounding "The Villages" in which he suggests that Grampa Fred forgets his "history".
Forgets?
I don't think so.
I don't think Kagro X believes it. I don't think Fred's people believe it. I don't think anyone believes it.
And I know WE don't believe it.
When asked about the Terry Schiavo case, Fred said:
"I can't pass judgment on it. I know that good people were doing what they thought was best," Thompson said. "That's going back in history. I don't remember the details of it."
I'm gonna go out a teeny little limb here and say that Fred, despite all the ageist pejoratives, isn't forgetting a damned thing.
I say he remembers the details very keenly.
Especially the details about the "good people" involved.
Good people like Bill Frist.
Frist have made a ton of money from the healthcare and hospital industries in Tennessee. He made most of his millions from his ownership of stock in HCA, the Hospital Corporation of America, which eventually merged with the Columbia Hospital Corporation, paid a $1.7 billion (yes, billion!) fraud settlement, and then become known as TriStar. Fred has benefitted as a lobbyist and as a friend of Frist's.
Back in March of this year, Frist was rooting to Fred.
Frist Urges Thompson to Run for White House
March 12, 2007 5:24 PM
ABC News' David Chalian Reports: Former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., chose not to make the race for the White House in 2008. But that isn't stopping him from encouraging his former colleague-turned television star from running for president.
"I believe Fred Thompson should run for President," wrote Frist in an email to supporters of his political action committee.
"I've not talked with Fred personally about a potential run, so I am basing my thoughts simply on knowing him well, having worked with him in policy and politics everyday for 8 years, and knowing the people across America want a genuine leader who represents them. . . He has the experience of government service with a real appreciation for all three branches of government. He is a commonsense leader," added Frist.
Sen. Frist's encouragement may bring more than a top-tier endorsement to a Thompson candidacy. Frist proved to be a prodigious fundraiser when in public life and has a nationwide network of contributors he could hit up for campaign cash on Thompson's behalf, should he launch a campaign.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/...
A trip to Open Secrets will help you find 285 records for Tennessee physicians that have previously donated to Fred... and since Frist's HCA and Columbia/HCA are the Goliath of TN hospitals, we can be pretty sure that many of these physicians work for Frist's hospitals. Addition searches for HCA and Columbia/HCA turn up more donors.
Another Tennessean is backing Thompson for president. Zach Wamp, for cocaine addict-turned-devout Baptist:
Rep. Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.), who has joined Frist in actively backing a White House run by Thompson, a former senator from Tennessee, suggested Frist is done with politics and not interested in a gubernatorial bid. "He's more interested in philanthropic mission work," Wamp said.
Frist hasn't lost his taste for national politics, however, as his trumpeting of Thompson demonstrates. His web site actually boasts a large Thompson picture and only a tiny one of Frist. It includes regular blog posts supporting the actor-senator's potential bid.
If Thompson runs, some of Frist's own political activity could slow to a halt as his top advisers might sign up for the presidential campaign. His longtime fundraiser Linus Catignani is the main engine for VolPAC. A pair of $5,000 checks to the PAC came from Karyn Frist, his wife, and the ex-senator himself. [He listed his occupation as retired.]
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/...
And, as for longtime Frist fundraiser Linus Catignani - he is decribed as the "one big free agent in Tennessee GOP money circles" who may join Thompson's campaign.
So, Fred remembers the details that he needs to remember about the Schiavo case.
He remembers that Schiavo was Frist's crusade. It was the crusade of the stick-my-nose-in-your-private-life GOP crowd. And now that Frist and Zach Wamp and (maybe) Linus Catignani support Fred for President, it is beneficial for Fred to forget history. But to remember the details.
And he knows exactly what details he needs to remember.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Michael Moore remembers too.
On May 15, 2007 he wrote an Open Letter to Thompson:
(1) Your work as a lobbyist in light of the fact that the health care and insurance industries have maintained the current health care system through their effective control of the political establishment.
(2) The fact that you raised hundred of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the health care and insurance industries.
(3) Discuss the fact, highlighted in yet another conservative outlet The New York Sun, that you inexplicably wanted to cut funding for AIDS research.
(4) Your relationship with the Frist family and by extension HCA, one of the nation's largest for-profit hospital chains. It has been reported that former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (who was renowned for his over-the-television-screen Schiavo diagnosis) is serving as one of your confidantes on your potential presidential campaign. The Frist family has historically controlled HCA, which paid a record $1.7 billion in civil and criminal fines, including a $631 million penalty for Medicaid fraud – in other words, ripping off the taxpayers.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/...
I'll leave you with some final words from one of Fred's "good people", Bill Frist himself - from his VolPAC website:
05:15 PM - September 6, 2007
Issues: 2008 Elections • Fred Thompson
With Fred Thompson answering your enthusiastic calls for him to join the 2008 presidential race, this is a great day.
As someone who knows Fred well and has worked with him in the heat of political battles, I believe he’d be a tremendous president . . . one who would serve all our citizens well and deepen the pride we all feel as Americans.
Fred is a committed conservative, a strong and genuine leader who can connect with the American people through his clear, commonsense style. He has the diverse experience – and the vision - necessary to run the White House.
He’s already demonstrated an ability to think outside the box . . . to make great headway using the new media and utilize other non-traditional tactics often overlooked (and underestimated) by pundits inside the Beltway.
The excitement surrounding Fred’s potential candidacy drove him to the top of many polls, and now the hard work really begins. But Fred is more than ready to answer the challenge.
Take a few seconds to leave a comment and share your thoughts on the great news of Fred’s entry into the Republican field. I look forward to reading your comments.
Written by Bill Frist
http://www.volpac.org/...