It’s not that same as being a lawyer, explains Jonathan Chait: “The National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA) didn’t hire him as a lawyer, it hired him as a lobbyist, and, while there’s a constitutional right to the former, it doesn’t extend (thank goodness) to the latter. Thompson’s job wasn’t to defend family planners charged with breaking the law that prohibits federally funded clinics from offering abortion counseling. His job was to persuade the Bush administration to change the law. His value had nothing to do with his legal skills and everything to do with his being the rare prominent Republican willing to represent a pro-choice group.”
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