What's this? Fred Thompson once lobbied for a pro-choice organization? Apparently, it's true.
Hannity: "They have attacked you, they have attacked your family, and now, they come out in the Los Angeles Times with a piece that says you lobbied for abortion rights. You say that's absolutely not true."Thompson has a valid point; however, we're talking about abortion - the great boogyman of the right. Will this weaken his position among conservatives?
Thompson: "You need to separate a lawyer who is advocating a position from the position itself."
Comments (2)
No, they don't care about anything but winning. They aren't like us.
I'd argue that he *doesn't* have a valid point. He's trying to confuse his audience by introducing the lawyer analogy.
The statement Thompson makes is something that we can all agree on - after all, criminal defense lawyers are not themselves advocates of crime. It just doesn't apply to his circumstances.
A lawyer, in representing even the worst criminal, is upholding a recognized legal right, and protecting an individual from possible government excesses. The lawyer has a necessary role to play to see that justice is served, even though a lawyer may have to make arguments that go against principles.
In contrast, there's no right to representation by a lobbyist on Capitol Hill that Thompson can point to and claim that he was upholding a larger principle. He either doesn't have a principled stance against abortion rights, or is willing to sacrifice his principles to make money. Probably both; any way, he's definitely a hypocrite.