Fred Thompson's connection with tobacco industry

[angsexton]

Fred Thompson: The Philip Morris Candidate

Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/06/2 ... 53736.html

If Fred Thompson is elected president, he will be the first federally registered lobbyist to become Commander in Chief since his days as top minority counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee, Thompson has collected over $1 million in lobbying fees. In return, he has provided exceptional access to those in power. Thompson's prospective presidential bid stands out in another respect: No campaign has been so dominated by staffers and advisers who have worked on behalf of Philip Morris, one of the world's leading tobacco conglomerates and a leading force in promoting cigarette smoking. Thompson's lobbying career demonstrates his striking skill in capitalizing on his own government service and on the success of his friends in public office. In 1981, when the Republicans took control of the Senate, Thompson's employer and mentor, Senator Howard Baker, became Majority LeaderWith Baker's rise to power, Thompson's lobbying fees from Westinghouse and other clients shot up from a paltry $2,575 in 1980 to $100,438 in 1981 -- then a considerable sum. That was peanuts compared to the fees Thompson got from just one lobbying client 23 years later, after another Tennessee friend, Bill Frist, was elected Senate Majority Leader. Equitas, a British firm seeking to minimize the cost of damages to Lloyds of London under pending legislation governing asbestos liability (asbestos is a known cause of respiratory diseases and of mesothelioma, a lethal lung cancer) in 2004 hired Thompson as part of a massive, $7.88 million lobbying drive. For two years' work, which consisted primarily in guaranteeing Equitas access to Senator Frist, Thompson was paid $760,000 ... Read the rest at HuffingtonPost.com

[Larry]

Have only to say....AL GORE Tobacco farm's and Coal, Hillary Clinton Rose Law Firm White Water, Harry Reed has 2 son's Lobbying and i could go on and on.And talk about a radical nut well that is my impression of one Mrs.Huffington who has been caught in so much misinformation oh well.......