Teaching the Pig to Dance: Fred Thompson Opens Up About Life, Politics, and ‘Law and Order’
by Larry O'ConnorEarlier this week, Rene Balcer, the Executive Producer of “Law and Order,” had some obnoxious and demeaning things to say about one of the show’s former stars, Sen. Fred Thompson:
I wasn’t on the show when he was on the show. In fact, when they brought me back on the show I said I’m not coming back as long as that guy is on the show. I didn’t think much of his acting or the character.
Never mind the fact that a simple IMDB search shows that Balcer and Sen. Thompson share credit on a handful of “Law and Order” episodes, facts like this get in the way of a good, bitchy attack like that.
Sen. Thompson, for his part, has always maintained a level of discretion whenever discussing any behind-the-scenes conflicts with the notoriously left-leaning creative staff. He has never referred to any individuals by name and only that “one writer in particular” was always butting heads with him over storylines and bias injected into the show. But, now that Balcer has shown himself to be so classless and obnoxious, Thompson confirmed with me that indeed, Balcer was the writer.
“He was the guy who I busted on several different occasions and made him change his scriptm” he told me during our one-on0one interview this week in Los Angeles. “So, I think it’s fair to say he’s not very happy.”
When discussing his time at “Law and Order,” he told me that he had an understanding with the show’s creator, Dick Wolf, that “as long as we had an exchange of ideas and it wasn’t skewed to the other side, is all I wanted. To have an opportunity to make some conservative points along with the ever-present liberal points. And I think for the most part we balanced it.” Thompson was quick to assert that Wolf lived up to his word.
When the subject turned to the last few seasons of the show and its decidedly leftward slant, Thompson got quite animated and passionate. “I do think it has changed somewhat since I left. I noticed a year or so ago, there was one episode about a lawyer who signed off on the so-called torture memos and Cheney and all that. And it was really, really rough and skewed. I didn’t think I saw anything like that when I was there.”
When he did come across skewed storylines, he made his opinion known to the writers and producers. Balcer, he says, “was fixated on Iraq and it was all about oil or it was a pre-meditated deal. In one script, “Somebody came back to New York from Iraq and because of what ‘Blackwater’ did to him he lost his head and killed somebody and that was his defense. And it was treated as a plausible defense. But in most cases, we were able to make it better in my estimation and it was one of the things I tried to insist on.”
Rough and tumble ideological debates in Hollywood are not the kind of stories you’ll find in Sen. Thompson’s new book, Teaching the Pig to Dance. The memoir of his days in Tennessee is full of his recollections of the events of his youth that most formed his adult life and value system. His devotion to his parents and his grandmother are evident as he tells how they helped him know when it was time to be a man and all the things a man is supposed to be.
The quirky and delightful porcine title does not have anything to do with a new spin-off of “Dancing With the Stars” and “The Biggest Loser.” Thompson says that it is an allusion to an old saying from his youth. “When you’re engaged In a totally fruitless activity, it’s like teaching a pig to dance. It’s a waste of your time and it irritates the pig.” And with a twinkle he adds “Either that, or the pork on Capitol Hill.”
Thompson, looking fit and more slender than when he ran for the Republican Nomination for President in 2008, chomped on an unlit cigar and easily let his Tennessee drawl flow through his deep bass voice. It’s the voice that gained him a loyal following with his time on the Paul Harvey radio show and has carried him to his own nationally syndicated program, “The Fred Thompson Show.”
The book, the radio show, and a astounding three films in the can scheduled for release over the next six months keeps the peripatetic Senator busy and productive. For a man whose career took him from country lawyer to Sen. Howard Baker’s counsel during the Watergate Hearings to Hollywood to the Senate to a run for the White House, this kind of pace is par for the course, and he seems to thrive on it.
Teaching the Democrats how NOT to over-spend and teaching the Obama Administration how NOT to offend our best international allies and teaching left-wing writers how NOT to enrage their audience may be tougher than Teaching the Pig to Dance. But it sure is fun to see Sen. Fred Thompson continue to try.
To hear the entire interview with Sen. Fred Thompson, click over to The Stage Right Show, at 9:00 PM PT this Friday, May 28, or anytime thereafter.
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124 Comments
Thanks Larry! Thompson’s a great guy, and I’m sure a folksy homespun book, example the title of the book. It will be part of the summer read!
“So, I think it’s fair to say he’s not very happy.”
This could be said of most any liberal. They tend to be very unhappy.
This is true. And misery does, indeed, like company. (Their misery manifests itself in the forms of 'healthcare' and 're-distribution of wealth').
Everybody loved Fred Thompson until he opened his mouth on the national stage. Just like Sarah Palin, he proved he was not ready for prime time. I hope he runs again in 2012. He's always good for a laugh. Thompson/Palin 2012.
Fred Thompson is awesome. I would have loved to see him in the White House. But I think he knew his chances were next to zero because the GOP leadership insisted on McCain as their flopper–I mean, man. McCain's being a war hero does not negate his spinning moral compass.
… "Teach Liberals how to dance"… no need to code work it… LOL
And they will be unhappy until they have made our lives as miserable as theirs.
Excellent article. BTW, is there anyone here who does not doubt the leftist slant that is Hollywood? I surely hope not. I watched "Avatar" and truly enjoyed the graphics and action. Later, after watching it for a second and third time, I caught the subliminal message that a bunch of military types from an ecologically destroyed planet, came to Pandora to utterly transform it into a similar wreck.
Well, folks, there is a real analogy in that story. We currently have the same problem here where a bunch of wacko progressives wish to destroy the US, our Constitution, and our way of life. We can do the same as the Pandorians did. However, where they used guns, arrows, and nature to win; we can use our voting strength to defeat those similar, greedy socialists(public and public service unions) from destroying our country. November 3rd is now save the US day. Our battle cry to regain our country and sanity in government is "Vote these suckers out".
The same will be necessary in 2012 and every day after. We can never again let our guard down. Freedom is too precious to lose.
Quite the master baiter aren't you? More rant from resident troll sycophant.
Why don't you run for office, Mik? Or do anything useful with your life, for that matter.
and since we can never be as miserable as them, they sink further and further, trying desperately to drag us into their spiral of misery.
Can't wait to see the libs marched out of Washington.
You took the bait.
I'm a die-hard L&O fan, and I hated those episodes that had in-your-face political posturing. It was like listening to my 11th grade English teacher whine about the Gulf war in the middle of a vocabulary lesson.
Self-righteous pontification from Hollywood is such a contradiction in terms I don't know where to begin.
I spent 25 years of my life serving my country. What have you done with yours?
And still you tune in every night. Hollywood must be doing something right.
I wanted Fred to win the GOP primary so bad. But I knew he couldn't. He would've been a good president. Unlike McCain and Zero.
A lot of what I've done I can't talk about because of the security clearance involved. I've also done a lot of work in the medical industry (improving ultrasound) and telecommunications. Since I work upwards of 60 hours a week, I have also paid a lot of taxes.
Mr. Thompson saved us from Mike Huckaby. Bless you Mr. Thompson for your heroic efforts!
You have no idea what I do, mikatrollah.
But so that your vapid curiosity doesn't go unsatisfied, I stopped tuning in to L&O original because of the stupid leftist preaching about 6-7 years ago (isn't that when Jerry Orbach left? Dunno). Love the show, but there are better alternatives.
So it took you three times to get James Cameron's message? I thought is was pretty obvious the first time. But then I don't hate Hollywood.
I guess if you are shooting for 2012, you might get the message around 2016 or 2020… see you at the polls.
Very mysterious. Are you a double-knot spy? We all pay a lot of taxes (if we're lucky). It's part of our civic duty as good Americans.
Well be careful… many of those alternatives might involve watching talented people and that can lead you back to Hollywood.
How many times does it take you getting slammed on BigGov for you to get that your leftist blather is insipid, mikatrollah?
No, I'm not a spy. I just answered your question honestly. Maybe that was what confused you.
Not everyone pays a lot of taxes. Approximately 50% of the country pays no income taxes.
I measure the effectiveness of my arguments by the number of negative comments I receive… the more the merrier. It's a twofer when some blogger asks me to leave the list, or better yet the country. Then I really know I've struck gold.
Some of you people are easily fooled by a hoaky demeaner. Fred Thompson is a globalist loon. http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55...
which country was that? I was in the US Army for twenty years.
They need government to survive – we do not. They need government to prove their version of reality – we have the truth. They now must face a motivated numerically superior force armed with the truth and a megaphone. When we win, and we will win in November, we had better move fast, and not waste time prosecuting Obama and his mob. They are like animals who act without reason, treat them as such, give them pity and love, but not money, and certainly not power. They also have mikeattolah to provide us a shining example of the usefulness of the liberal lie. We have Cowboylogic! How can we lose with a guy like Cowboylogic on our side!
They may not pay income taxes, but if they have a job they pay payroll taxes…
???
Whatever passes as a response in your vacuum of thought, 'trollah.
So, you're like one of those behaviourally challenged children who thrive off of negative attention. Probably because it's the only kind you merit and dare aspire to.
No, that wasn't it at all !
Fred was ill, very ill and being treated, but his wife talked him into running and he just wasn't physically nor mentally ( due to the nonHodgekins Lymphoma ) capable and THAT is why he showed so poorly. His time came and went before '08 and now, he shouldn't try to run again.
I served the same country as you.
Right you are and let's all do everything we can, to keep the Huckster out of D.C. !
Well, folks, there is a real analogy in that story. We currently have the same problem here…..
You mean in the gulf? LOL!!!!!!! Oooops. Gonna be a while before you can wipe that egg off your face – but unfortunately not as long as it will take for the oceans to recover.
BTW, liberty will never be gained at the ballot box – certainly not under our system. It will ONLY be lost.
Also, Avatar had a very conservative message. Conserve the environment. SMALL governement, not huge fascistic governments in bed with corporations. Seems pretty conservative to me.
Glad I'm not the only guy who knows how to play chess.
No, I speak out against evil and injustice. And sometimes feelings get hurt.
I do tend to get on the nerves of the less fortunate.
Oh there are some of us, here, who know what's what.
Nobody who knew what he was about loved him…..except maybe his fellow CFR members and elite parasite bankers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo5CZvD3-QM
Rubes who sit at home watching insipid court-dramas might love him. Those who have no depth and discernment. Those who get taken in with some fake country accent.
Joe Don Baker for President – gu-huck!
World NUT Daily? That's your source? ROTFLMSO
Your tinfoil hat is on too tightly, please remove it and replace with a looser model.
Listen to Fred Thompson's "gee, golly, shucks" answer when confronted on CFR, SPP, NAU, etc…… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXevDajb2lo
I must admit That the first two times were for the enjoyment of the graphics. The third was to analyze the message.
How about from his own mouth? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXevDajb2lo
Looks like they are making the hats tighter, can't risk having an original thought creeping in!
Yikes! I didn't realize Fred was ill. I wondered why he seemed rather listless during his campaign. But if he's back to good health, why shouldn't he give it a go in 2012?
McCain is a war hero? Why? Being a liability makes you a hero now? Standards sure have dropped.
All true Joe, but you gotta add many others to your list of those here who KNOW what the hell is going on!
1redcent, Missy8, Sunshine, Lorben, Galtfan etc etc – our numbers are great
Don't feed the troll. Let him eat his young instead.
which they are "supposed to" get back in social security payments (at the investment rate of approximately 1.2%! What a deal!)
If memory serves, the Gulf spill happened under the saviour's watch and his MMS had not been doing its job.
Yes, we can win at the voting box unless of course you desire a bloody revolution. I for one do not. I have already seen too much bloodshed.
Small government? If you are referring to tribalism, I agree. If you are referring to the incompetent monstrosity currently in place and growing daily, I am opposed to their continued socialistic interference.
No doubt my friend. We are all, all in, in our pursuit. The "Cowboylogic" moniker induces the image of one man against the elements, kind of like how we all stand alone together against liberalism, on Nov. 2 there will be many of us standing up to be counted against this modern version of a smiling dictator.
How about he's NOT gonna run again, so you and World NUT Daily are spinning your wheels olver less than nothing?
From my vantage point they dance quite well around issues. It's education they need and a sense of caring for the oath they supposedly took.
Looks like there are more and more people, here, who swallow all kinds of KOOL-Aid, and who wear really funny, very tight fitting hats! ;^)
I agree.
I wish all of the L&O franchises would go away as well. they are boring, redundant, and wallow in moral relativism.
As to Fred, I hope he never goes away. He has a knack for keeping both sides honest. Too bad he entered the race so late because he would of been president. His wife rocks as well.
If memory serves, the Gulf spill happened under the saviour's watch and his MMS had not been doing its job.
So, you are still fooled by the shell game of who the leader-for-appearance-sake is? A convenient scape-goat that the real people in power can use to keep buoying up the hopes of the easily fooled?
Yes, we can win at the voting box unless of course you desire a bloody revolution.
"Win"? "We" can "win"? Who is "we" and we can win WHAT exactly?
I was very clear. You can not win liberty at the ballot box. Name me a time it has happened.
And you append on some foppish charge of "wanting" a violent revolution. Being an adult is not always about doing what you "want."
I am opposed to their continued socialistic interference.
The hypocricy comes in when you and others like you think that foreigners want an even larger presence of OUR same government….the one whose presence you yourself oppose….in THEIR lives. They don't even get to participate in the charade of voting for it. So, taxation without representation is an outrage, but having your family murdered without representation is just fine and if you oppose it you are called an "insurgent." Do you really think neoconism is compatible with the real American tradition?
That might be true if the payroll taxes paid only social security and medicare. But we all know they go into the general fund and are used to meet all of government's obligations.
we all know that the gov't is stealing from the social security fund to meet all of gov'ts entitlement programs and social engineering.
Fixed that for ya.
What the government is doing is obeying the letter of the law. If you don't like the law then vote to change it. But it's not stealing if no laws are being broken.
it's not stealing because they make the rules and they say it's not stealing. They could also say you're a brain surgeon. That doesn't make you a brain surgeon and it doesn't make what they are doing right.
"They" is us. Our government is chosen by the people and if we don't like it we can vote to change it. So go try and win an election.
I agree on that point and have often said that we get exactly the kind of gov't we deserve. Unfortunately, you seem to think that we deserve this. Many of us deserve better and are sick of people like you dragging us down.
I don't know how to change American politics unless you are willing to throw out the Constitution and start over. I'm not willing to do that. It will change when the voters demand it.
I'm with you on a lot of things, but this is truly naive. Those ALLOWED to run are not average Americans. The whole thing is a farce. The process is controlled and controlled by those who hold power over those running. Why is it that "our" so called politicians make such efforts to say they are friends of a FOREIGN COUNTRY? Why do they place this foreign country's welfare above those of Americans?
Any country that can produce a Fred Thompson is a country that is going to survive in the long run. I still remember his excellent introduction of Sarah Palin for her speech at the Republican National Convention.
With the publishing of his book I have heard him interviewed by Ricochet, Dennis Miller and Laura Ingraham. Listening to him never gets old. He has such a decent and common sense way about him. It's the voice of the reasonable American, a people that is already tired of Obama's progressive agenda and will remember this not only in the November elections, but for a long time whenever Liberal Progressives come calling.
How did you manage to miss that Fred was so ill? He looked terrible, he sounded worse, and it was all over the papers and T.V. news.
But Fred's time has passed and no, he shouldn't try to run again. He's too old, too Southern, and can't beat Barry. And please don't bring up Reagan; that doesn't fit today's scenario at all and besides which, Fred is n o Reagan.
…and go light on the salt whilst doing so.
I'd have to agree with you on that one.
During the 08 campaign, I was in the middle of a very-much-unwanted move across the country due to job loss, and mourning the deaths of my father, stepfather, and grandmother within a 6-month span. So I didn't pay as much attention as I otherwise would have.
Okay, all is forgiven……..that kind of life intrusion can be overwhelming.
Yep, it surely sucked. But now I'm mad as hell and doing what I can to help unseat the idiots in DC.
Enlighten me as to whom the real leader is.
We won with Reagen. And the conservatives, independents, dems, etc can do it again. It's our Republic on the line, and I don't favor socialism or a cradle to grave form of government. I do believe in a government of, by, and for the legal citizenry of this country.
I am opposed to violence. But I do support getting both the conservatives, independents, dims, and libertarians out to vote. The "we" are the American people.
What is your philosophy on these matters?
Better late than never and we all must band together, now, get the GOP back in the majority, in both Houses, even if it means we have to have several RINOS ! It's a numbers game and we can't afford to be dumb/foolish/unappeasable !
I see your point and I agree
Logic is the key here -
Makes sense to me. It'll be easier to herd the RINOs in the "right" direction if they are surrounded with real conservatives.
Thanks, Canuck. It's nice to know some of our northern neighbors haven't been lobotomized by socialism.
He would be so much better than what we are stuck with now.
You mean to say that the useless nations, China Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Europe would not relish the idea of controlling the US both politically and economically. FYI, China already does control us financially.
We are being taxed now without representation.
The following you need to clarify with the who, what, where, when, and why.
"…but having your family murdered without representation is just fine and if you oppose it you are called an "insurgent." Do you really think neoconism is compatible with the real American tradition? "
If Reagan wasn't "with the program" he was shortly after the assassination attempt very early in his career. Who was his VP, hmmmmmm? You ever look in to past of GHW Bush?
( And how many assassination attempts were there on Ford? Who was his VP? Rockefeller.)
Reagan said he would make government smaller and he enlarged it. So who won?
Who is the leader? You can always tell. Who can you not question?
"So go try and win an election. "
Funny, you taunt me when I propose doing just that. If I do win, I'll post here under my real name and pic, with a shout-out just for you to let you know it's me.
EXACTLY !
This is what we must all work for and worry about getting rid of RINOs later; though, truth to tell, there are some places like Maine, Mass., and N.Y., where there is NO chance of EVER getting a conservative elected. As I said, this is a NUMBERS GAME and if we want to stop Obama, cold, we need the numbers ! It really is as simple as that.
I guess I would be satisfied if they just started following the Constitution.
It is a numbers game. Congress passes the same legislation no matter what. They get together and decide who will vote for it and who against depending on who will be the scapegoat this time around. Sometimes they even have some members voting against closture but then FOR the bill so they go back to their constituents and can say they opposed the bad legislation or vice versa.
Take a step back. When has Congress passed legislation that was good for America and Americans? Regardless of who control congress NOMINALLY, the same agenda goes through: fealty to Israel and advancement of global government.
Anytime, T. I was scheduled for a lobotomy, but with the waiting lists caused by our Universal Health Care system, it won't happen until I'm 145 years old. On the flip side, I doubt the system can keep me alive that long.
Cheers,
BC
I got it now. That is, if you are referring to the behind the curtain world movers and shakers who manipulate people and governments to war, social and economic bankruptcy, etc only for money and power. If that be the case, let's hope we can resolve this at the poles.
I do believe the TEA party( real disgruntled Americans) can effect change in Nov, and hopefully again 2012. Guess we'll just have to wait.
Oh great, yet another damned anti-Semite, but you are also a conspiracy lunatic.
Look, wysoumible, you aren't the expert on what goes on, inside our government, though you imagine that only you understand it all. The fact of the matter is, you don't get it at all; no worse than that………………you see boogeymen under the bed, in the closet, and lurking in every nook and cranny. GROW UP !
I bet you vote for fringe party garbage, none of whom ever have the slightest chance of winning, but that vote make you "feel" superior. All THAT does, is prove that you are an idiot and you might as well vote for the worst of the lot ( i.e. Obama and others just like him ), because that IS what you're actually doing anyway.
What's next………….the same old canards about the TriLats, Buildyourownburgers, the nonexistant Illuminatti, the Masons, and more about the Jooooooooooooooos ?
Take a hike, bozo !
What I described was perfect. Our government bombs people then claim they hate us for no reason. What part of that is confusing?
I am not a fan of Thompson as a candidate and the only thing I can think of that would be worse is
A. What we have now
B. Anything your tribe could put up
Try focusing on the present. I know it's a downer with the way things are going for your tribe but eventually you will have to move on.
Your tribe had its glory days between Nov-3-2008 and Jan-20-2009, then it was all downhill, keep looking back instead of forward and it actually can get much worse for you guys, I guarantee it.
We follow the Constitution to the letter. And when there is a dispute, it is settled by the courts… just as prescribed in the Constitution and decided in Marbury v. Madison.
Thompson is not at the top of my list but you could pull a random homeles man off the street and put him in Obama's chair and we would all be better off.
Unfortunately for you, this thread is about Fred Thompson.
Your post didn't look anything like what showed up on my e-mail box. How did you do that?
Americans aren't going to vote for a guy with a wife young enough to be his grand daughter.
What good has the useless nations(UN) done except try to take over the world as the first real world government. Nothing else that I can tell unless you consider that this organization is great at writing sanctions, but like a paper sack has no real strength to enforce itsbehind the bluster.
China is not useless. it now controls us economically. I have ranted about China and deficit spending ever since I read the Chinese Communist Manifesto in 1971.
Unbalanced trade is another area that I have spoken out, but it was like talking to a rock.
And yes, we have lost our industrial base due to bad government decisions and greed on the part of unions and big bossiness. A great chunk of the blame can be laid at the feet of our tax greedy congress raising corporate taxes to 34%. Another to unions for demanding higher salaries and super retirement and health plans.
One government agency which a lot of blame is USAID which enticed and entices American businesses to relocate overseas in order to improve the economic of "poor" nations as the story goes..
That's not the way our Constitution works. If you want to govern, you must first win an election.
They could….if given a choice. They won't be given a choice. They will be given "Sarah Palin." Sadly, most of them are too far gone to even see what is happening and buy it.
What a childish reaction.
Talking to and about yourself, I see. ;^)
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