Media Matters - Fred Thompson

Media Matters - Fred Thompson http://mediamatters.org/tools/syndication/tag_rss/fred_thompson This link is for use by RSS-enabled software to retrieve Media Matters items matching the term: Fred Thompson en-US Copyright 2008, Media Matters for America Matthews cited Zogby Interactive poll without noting criticism of methodology http://mediamatters.org/items/200711280004 On Hardball, citing "a new Zogby poll," Chris Matthews stated: "Tonight, our Big Number is the number five. That's the number of Republican presidential candidates that [Sen.] Hillary Clinton trails in the November matchups." However, Matthews did not note that the poll was an online Zogby Interactive poll in which participants were chosen from a database of volunteers. Matthews omitted this fact despite statements by the American Association for Public Opinion Research and Democratic pollster Mark Blumenthal -- who appeared earlier in the day on MSNBC -- that such polls are unreliable. http://mediamatters.org/items/200711280004 Wed, 28 Nov 2007 15:44:01 EST MSNBC's O'Donnell aired Thompson ad without challenging its claim that Thompson helped "expose the truth during Watergate" http://mediamatters.org/items/200711280001 MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell aired a clip of a television ad by the Fred Thompson campaign, in which Thompson is described as a "courageous reformer, fighting corruption in both parties" who "[h]elp[ed] to expose the truth during Watergate." But rather than address the content of Thompson's ad -- contrary to the ad's claims, Thompson leaked key information to the office of then-President Richard Nixon about the Watergate investigation and reportedly canceled his 1997 Senate hearings on allegations of improper campaign fundraising before Democrats were able to present evidence of Republican wrongdoing -- O'Donnell went on to ask Thompson supporter Liz Cheney, "How well does Fred Thompson have to do in Iowa?" http://mediamatters.org/items/200711280001 Wed, 28 Nov 2007 12:49:34 EST Stephanopoulos, Politico allowed Thompson's claims about his abortion record to go unchallenged http://mediamatters.org/items/200711190007 In an interview on This Week, George Stephanopoulos did not challenge Fred Thompson's assertions that "I think ... that Roe versus Wade should be overturned" and that "I've had a pro-life voting record my entire career on every conceivable issue that came up before us for almost a decade." Similarly the Politico reported that Thompson "trumpeted his own anti-abortion credentials after receiving the endorsement of the National Right to Life Committee." Neither Stephanopoulos nor the Politico noted that Thompson has reportedly expressed support for abortion rights, as well as for Roe v. Wade. http://mediamatters.org/items/200711190007 Mon, 19 Nov 2007 17:57:20 EST Ignoring polls, NY Times reported that calls to Thompson's office "showed" that most Tennesseans backed Clinton impeachment http://mediamatters.org/items/200709300002 A New York Times article on Fred Thompson claimed that "the calls flooding" Thompson's Senate office "in the winter of 1999 showed that his Tennessee constituents overwhelmingly favored removing President Bill Clinton from office." In fact, polls conducted in Tennessee around that time period showed that Tennesseans largely disapproved of removing Clinton from office. http://mediamatters.org/items/200709300002 Sun, 30 Sep 2007 17:53:02 EST CNN again failed to report on Thompson's inconsistent abortion record http://mediamatters.org/items/200709120004 http://mediamatters.org/items/200709120004 Wed, 12 Sep 2007 13:59:27 EST On Chris Matthews Show, columnist Parker asserted Thompson "ahead of the game" because of high name recognition -- but many haven't heard of him http://mediamatters.org/items/200709090005 Columnist Kathleen Parker asserted on The Chris Matthews Show that Fred Thompson "didn't have to come in early" to the presidential race because "[h]e already has that name recognition, so he's way ahead of the game. All these other people have had to spend millions of dollars to get their names known." But recent polling indicates that roughly a third of the American public have not heard of Thompson -- a figure higher than that of other leading presidential candidates. http://mediamatters.org/items/200709090005 Sun, 9 Sep 2007 16:48:55 EST Newsweek ignored evidence that Thompson overlooked GOP wrongdoing in Senate inquiry http://mediamatters.org/items/200709060008 An article in the latest issue of Newsweek reported on Fred Thompson's leadership of a 1997 investigation into campaign finance irregularities, asserting that "Thompson wound up losing control of the investigation, and the support of his own party," and that "Thompson has said he wanted to make sure the inquiry was fair, and not just a Republican hunting party that would be viewed with suspicion by the public." But Thompson reportedly shut down the investigation before Democrats were able to introduce evidence linking Republican lawmakers to a fundraising group that was found to have skirted campaign finance laws. http://mediamatters.org/items/200709060008 Thu, 6 Sep 2007 17:33:34 EST Media figures tout Thompson's "presidential" appearance http://mediamatters.org/items/200709060007 http://mediamatters.org/items/200709060007 Thu, 6 Sep 2007 17:29:58 EST NPR's Cornish reinforces myth of Thompson as Watergate hero http://mediamatters.org/items/200709040002 Reporting on Fred Thompson's Republican presidential campaign, National Public Radio's Audie Cornish cited the"renown[]" Thompson acquired for his role as Republican counsel on the Senate Watergate committee during Watergate, but her report did not mention Thompson's own admission that he provided crucial information to President Nixon's lawyer without authorization. http://mediamatters.org/items/200709040002 Tue, 4 Sep 2007 11:24:36 EST NY Times ignored evidence that Thompson overlooked GOP wrongdoing in Senate inquiry http://mediamatters.org/items/200708270004 A New York Times article, which reported on Fred Thompson's leadership of a 1997 Governmental Affairs Committee investigation into campaign finance irregularities, uncritically quoted Thompson saying of the hearings, "[T]here was no way that I was going to shield any obvious problems that our side had." However, according to a New York Times article published at the time, Republicans shut down the hearings before Democrats were able to introduce evidence linking Republican lawmakers to Triad Management, a fundraising group that Democrats claimed had skirted campaign finance laws. http://mediamatters.org/items/200708270004 Mon, 27 Aug 2007 14:47:57 EST CNN's King failed to challenge Thompson on his apparent abortion flip-flop http://mediamatters.org/items/200708190002 http://mediamatters.org/items/200708190002 Sun, 19 Aug 2007 14:11:26 EST Novak lauded Thompson's "cool reaction to crises" as Watergate counsel -- but he was Nixon mole http://mediamatters.org/items/200708020009 http://mediamatters.org/items/200708020009 Thu, 2 Aug 2007 18:35:33 EST Wash. Post failed to report that Thompson fell short of fundraising goals http://mediamatters.org/items/200708020001 http://mediamatters.org/items/200708020001 Thu, 2 Aug 2007 11:25:10 EST Wash. Post's Solomon uncritically quoted Thompson "mocking global warming" http://mediamatters.org/items/200707270006 http://mediamatters.org/items/200707270006 Fri, 27 Jul 2007 15:43:17 EST CNN's King reported social conservative support for Thompson, but not his inconsistent abortion stance http://mediamatters.org/items/200707260009 http://mediamatters.org/items/200707260009 Thu, 26 Jul 2007 19:51:45 EST