Fred Thompson is in, now it's time to see if he is really a conservative.

According to this article in the New York Times Thompson was hired by the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association as part of the group’s effort to overturn a ban on federally financed family planning clinics giving women information about abortion. To be fair, he always voted pro-life in the Senate. Guess this makes him about as good a flip-flopper as Romney.

The McCain-Feingold campaign finance bill was championed by Fred Thompson. It is the only important piece of legislation where he played a major role. And that is not an accomplishment to be proud of as a conservative.

Some Fred Thompson votes:
*Voted YES on allowing more foreign workers into the US for farm work. (Jul 1998)
*Voted to allow firms to lay off Americans to make room for foreign workers in 1998
*Voted to grant amnesty to close to one million illegal aliens from Nicaragua and Cuba in 1997
*In 1996, removed higher fines for businesses which hire illegal aliens

And look at this from NewsMax:

Combing through Thompson's archive, Newsweek found several files on his campaign strategy on abortion that could roil his 2008 bid. On a 1994 Eagle Forum survey, Thompson said he opposed criminalizing abortion. Two years later, on a Christian Coalition questionnaire, he checked "opposed" to a proposed constitutional amendment protecting the sanctity of human life. In a campaign policy statement filed in the archives, he also said he believes "the decision to have an early term abortion is a moral issue and should not be a legal one subject to the dictates of the government." During an interview with the Conservative Spectator, a Tennessee newspaper, he claimed to be pro-life but also said that, "The ultimate decision on abortion should be left with the woman and not the government."

We're not trying to say Thompson is bad, we're simply saying you should do some research before jumping on his bandwagon.

There are others who are more conservative but, unfortunately, second tier. Brownback and Hunter come to mind.

Not that it matters because we'll be supporting the GOP nominee no matter who it is.