During a stop today in Le Mars, Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson warned the country would take a leftward tilt if Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards are elected. "But whoever it is, it is going to move us more and more towards weakness in terms of nation defense and more and more toward a big, big welfare state like we’ve seen in Europe which is not where this country wants to go," Thompson said. "I simply don’t think that we can afford to turn the keys over to the most left-wing bunch of a left-wing party, which is what they’re becoming."
The Iowa Right to Life Committee announced this week it would remain neutral and would not endorse a candidate. That announcement followed last week’s National Right to Life endorsement of Thompson and Thompson highlighted the issue during his stop in the part of the state where conservative Republicans dominate the local political landscape.
"If there’s one thing that I want said about me it’s that I was a consistent, common-sense conservative with a 100 percent pro-life voting record my entire career. That’s where I’ve been. That’s where I am today and that’s where I’ll be tomorrow," Thompson said in Le Mars. "What you see is what you get with me and that’s the way it will always be. Where I stand does not depend upon on where I’m standing or what particular office I’m running for."
A recent survey found about one-quarter of likely Iowa Republican Caucus-goers consider health care their top-most concern, above Iraq, taxes and immigration. According to Thompson, the country doesn’t have a health care crisis — it has a problem with health care costs. "I think the tax system needs to be reformed. The individuals need to get the tax break to buy their own politicies to fit their own needs so that they can carry them with them from job to job," Thompson said. "I think the market needs to be opened up."
Thompson spent today in western Iowa and he plans to make a mid-morning stop Wednesday in Ames.