Mark My Words - commentary on news, politics, religion, philosophy, science and social issues

And to farmers no less - in Iowa! Asking a politician what they will do to help farmers inevitably leads to some sort of pandering support for agricultural subsidies. But not with Fred Thompson.

AKD: What will you do for the farmers of Bremer County?
FT: (laughs)
AKD: You knew this was coming, right?
FT: I would continue to enjoy the fruits of their labor. I’ve been looking all over Iowa for a bad steak and I can’t find it. Been trying my best. It’s not a matter of what I would do for the farmers. Farmers are not looking for a president to hand them something. Farmers want fair treatment and a chance to prosper in a free economy and that’s what I would help ensure. There’s a lot of programs we’ve got out there, some of which are good programs, some of which are not. And I think that we need to work our way through that and make sure we’re doing what’s good for the country, not just the farmers, not just the people of Iowa, not just the people of Tennessee. But good for the country. A sound policy that makes sense. I think there’s a lot more that we could do for the working farmer in terms of ecological programs and environmental programs - land conservation, soil conservation - that would be fair and it would be beneficial to the nation and to Iowa and to our country. We’re going to have to phase out the corporate welfare system we’ve got, however. There are extremely rich people living in skyscrapers in Manhattan that are receiving subsidy payments. I think that’s wrong. I’d put a stop to that if it was within my power. That still continues in this latest Farm Bill and it’s not right. There ought to be a cutoff at some level and it’s not right [to] have millionaires receiving farm subsidies. (source, thanks to Ace)

Be sure to read the entire article as other matters were covered, however this one obviously stands out. We all know the third rail of national politics is social security, but agricultural subsidies in Iowa most certainly qualifies as a dangerous subject as well. Kudos to Fred Thompson for saying what needs to be said. That takes courage and leadership. And concerning that third rail, social security, be sure to see Fred Thompson's white paper here, where he lays out his plan to protect and save social security.

Our country needs a President who will stand on principle, rather than pander when the tough questions are asked. Fred Thompson is showing us that he is that man. He deserves whatever support you can give him.

Fred Thompson's campaign site -- donate to Fred Thompson's campaign

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