Thompson gains among social conservativesBy Scott Helman, Globe Staff | July 25, 2007
Some of the nation's most influential social conservatives say
their movement is quickly coalescing around Fred Thompson,
the former senator from Tennessee, for the Republican
presidential nomination, a decision that would bolster his
expected campaign with money and grass-roots support.
Dissatisfied with the current crop of GOP contenders, these
conservative leaders say Thompson, despite new questions
about his record on abortion, possesses the right
combination of electability and conservative values -- the
two ingredients they believe are necessary to energize
evangelical voters and keep the White House in Republican
hands in 2008.
-snip-One signal that conservatives are flocking to Thompson has
come in the last few weeks in the response to reports in the
Los Angeles Times and The New York Times that he once
lobbied the administration of George H. W. Bush on behalf
of an abortion-rights group.
Influential figures such as Gary Bauer, a former presidential
candidate who now leads American Values, a conservative
public policy organization, and Tony Perkins, head of the
Family Research Council, an evangelical Christian group, have
been noticeably forgiving of Thompson on the issue. They have
questioned the accuracy of the newspaper reports, defended
any work he may have done as merely a lawyer working for a
client, or pointed instead to what they say is his impeccable
eight-year Senate record on "life" issues.
-snip-