Lobbyist Fred Thompson makes corporate greed his No. 1 priority

Remember, Fred Thompson has a real shot at winning the Presidency in 2008 because he’s

Reaganesque. And by Reaganesque, we mean that, if you aren’t rich already, Thompson could truly care less about you. He’s spent a good chunk of his life as a lobbyist, after all, and lobbyists don’t earn their keep by caring about people.

Thompson, who never met a fact he couldn’t fix in order to make rich people appear victimized, had this to say as he makes it clear – during his term, corporations won’t be coddled like they are now. They’ll have it much, much better than that.

“We have, you know—if you include state taxes—the highest corporate tax rate in the world. That makes us less competitive. All those things have to be looked at. And all those—especially as far as the corporate tax rate is concerned, need to be clearly reduced, I think,” said Thompson.

Aside from the fact that everything Thompson said was a lie, it’s somewhat humorous that his need to fight back for the victimized corporations comes around the same time an Associated Press report once again shows how CEOs are raping thier companies, and customers.

AP research: CEO compensation skyrockets

NEW YORK – A new Associated Press calculation shows that compensation for America’s top CEOs has skyrocketed into the stratospheric heights of pro athletes and movie stars: Half make more than $8.3 million a year, and some make much, much more.

CEOs of companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 that filed proxy information in the first half of this year received a combined $4.16 billion in 2006, according to AP’s formula.

The high cost of chief executive pay has drawn criticism in recent years as salaries rose, stock options paid off like lottery jackpots, and perks like chauffeured cars and private jets spread. Still, there are few signs of any investor backlash.

David Sirota puts it well:

“But then, why should we expect a lifelong corporate lobbyist like Thompson to push anything other than more corporate tax breaks? That’s what he’s been getting paid a nice fat paycheck to do most of his life. And no record-setting deficit or lack of funds for protective equipment for our soldiers in harms way is going to stop him from pushing to get his corporate cronies as many giveaways as possible.”