Words: Thompson’s position on abortion has changed over the years, but he opposes a constitutional amendment or federal legislation criminalizing abortion. He also believes that Roe v. Wade was a bad decision. “I believe that government should not interfere (more…)

Words: Thompson is vague on civil rights and neither supports not opposes affirmative action.

Actions: Thompson voted AGAINST banning affirmative action (more…)

Words: Thompson advocates serious deregulation of industry and commerce.

Actions: Thompson voted FOR restricting rules on personal bankruptcy (2001). (more…)

Words: Thompson believes that crime has been over-federalized. He supports the death penalty and advocates “truth in sentencing” (serving full sentences with no parole) for violent crimes.
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Words: Thompson feels that the DEA has no meaningful goals or performance measures. He believes there should be harsh penalties for all drug offenses.

Actions: Thompson voted FOR spending (more…)

Words: Thompson advocates voucher programs and charter schools and supports the right of parents to choose schools. He feels that education reform should take place on the local level. “The federal government can assist state and localities through grants with fewer strings (more…)

Words: Thompson feels we should increase our energy independence through investment in renewable and alternative sources, reducing demand for fossil fuels, but increasing domestic supplies and drilling in ANWR. “While we don’t know for certain how or why climate change is occurring (more…)

Words: Thompson believes that families are the foundation of our nation and our culture. “To counter coarseness in today’s culture that oftentimes victimizes our children and undermines the traditional values parents want to instill, we must not only protect but strengthen (more…)

Words: Thompson mistrusts the UN’s effectiveness and feels that technology is the key to spreading freedom. “We’re not doing nearly enough to get communications in there and let those people communicate with one another. (more…)

Words: Thompson strongly supports the individual right to bear arms, concealed carry rights, and semi-automatic weapons, but also believes in restricting gun ownership on the basis of criminal records, especially domestic violence. (more…)

Words: Thompson believes that competition and personal responsibility will lower health care costs in a free market. He believes that Medicare’s drug payment policy is flawed and costs billions annually due to error and fraud. “Every American should be able to get health insurance (more…)

Words: Thompson believes we should secure our borders and eliminate “sanctuary cities”. He opposes amnesty in any form and argues that we must eliminate welfare incentives for illegal aliens. “A sovereign nation loses that status if it cannot secure its own borders (more…)

Words: Thompson believes we were right to invade Iraq and would continue President Bush’s policy there. He also advocates a preemptive attack on Iran, should they get close to developing nuclear weapons. “Let’s not minimize the challenges. Our nation faces a formidable enemy (more…)

Words: Thompson is opposed to the minimum wage. He believes that tax cuts will lead to growth and therefore more jobs.

Actions: Thompson voted FOR replacing farm price supports (more…)

Words: Thompson personally opposes gay marriage and civil unions, but feels the decision should be left to the states. “I think that we ought to be a tolerant nation. I think we ought to be tolerant people. But we shouldn’t set up special categories for anybody. (more…)

Words: Thompson believes that Afghanistan and Iraq are “the central fronts” in the “war on terror” and that we need “a larger, more capable, and more modern military that can defeat terrorists, deter adversaries, and defend the US and our interests”. (more…)

Words: Thompson is a supporter of states rights and feels that strong states work much better than central planning and federalization. He opposes “soft money” contributions, but advocates more hard money donations. He supports term limits (more…)

Words: Thompson supports a partial privatization of Social Security and feels we should explore current recipients sacrificing some of their benefits for future generations. He supports raising the eligibility age and employing means testing for Medicare deductibles. (more…)

Words: Thompson is opposed to embryonic stem cell research. “On stem cell research, I’m for adult stem cell research, not stem cell research where embryos of unborn children are destroyed.”
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Words: Thompson believes that tax cuts mean growth. He supports replacing income tax (which he feels is “inefficient, maddeningly complex, and expensive to comply with”), with a consumption tax, similar to the FairTax proposal. He argues that the progressive tax (more…)

Words: Thompson feels we need stricter computer security. He believes that the internet has contributed to the democratization of political debate. He opposes the fairness Doctrine and would not want to see it reinstated. (more…)

Words: Thompson believes in reducing the national debt through serious budgetary reform. “We need market-based approaches to budgetary reform that guarantee benefits for those who need them and embrace personal responsibility and cost-effectiveness without raising taxes.” (more…)

Words: Thompson is skeptical that global warming is caused primarily by human behavior and suggests that Earth’s warming is the result of solar activity. He vaguely supports conservation. “Each of us is put on Earth for a limited period of time. (more…)

Words: Thompson feels that protectionist policies are defensive and defeatist. “We’re not afraid of globalization. It works to our benefit. We innovate more and invest in that innovation better than anywhere else in the world. Same thing goes for services.” (more…)

Words: Thompson believes that welfare reform empowers the states.

Actions: Thompson voted FOR the welfare overhaul (1995), FOR allowing states welfare waivers (1996) (more…)