Posted on 10/07/2007 8:48:39 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson is currently meeting Republican presidential candidates with the purpose of determining who will earn his endorsement.
Most of the candidates know Thompson well, as he was one of their number until voters in the Iowa Republican straw poll helped him decide to exit the competition in August. And Thompson should know them well as he spent a year trying to figure out how to beat them.
As he considers which Republican to endorse, we hope Thompson will think most about himself, not the other candidates.
No, we are not counseling self-absorption on the part of the man who -- as a former state legislative leader, governor and Cabinet member -- was arguably the most qualified contender for the GOP nod. Rather, we are suggesting that Thompson ought to look for a Republican who understands what he understood best during his 14-year tenure as the chief executive of a state where the partisan divisions roughly paralleled those of the nation.
Thompson's greatest strength as a candidate and as a top state official was his recognition of the fact that he needed to find common ground with ideological and partisan foes. He had plenty of clashes with Democrats in the Legislature, but he kept meeting with, negotiating with and compromising with them. And he got a good deal done.
At the same time, Thompson reached across partisan lines to forge relationships with union leaders, representatives of minority communities, and others who were not traditional Republican allies. He even kept a steady, if sometimes testy, conversation going with The Capital Times -- a newspaper that never endorsed him for governor and frequently opposed his initiatives. In the course of that conversation, we came to respect Thompson, as we appreciated those instances where he bowed to pressure from Wisconsin progressives.
The Republican Party of Wisconsin has lost two gubernatorial races, as well as most other statewide contests, since Thompson left Madison to join George W. Bush's Cabinet in 2001. It has lost much of its legislative authority and influence as well. That ought to confirm for Thompson the value of his approach.
Similarly, at the federal level, the Republican Party is in a bad place politically. During the Bush/Cheney years, the GOP has become nastier and more brutish. The result has been a dramatic decline in its fortunes. Thompson will do his party no favors if he endorses a rough authoritarian like Rudy Giuliani or a crude partisan like Fred Thompson.
Thompson's endorsement will have meaning if he looks to candidates who might actually try to govern as he did in Wisconsin -- particularly former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a conservative who has tried hard to break down ideological and partisan barriers, and Arizona Sen. John McCain, who despite having an absurd stance on the war in Iraq has a decent record of embracing bipartisan approaches and seems to be on the rise.
Tommy Thompson can still influence the 2008 race for the Republican nomination. He can make an endorsement that matters. But this will only happen if he chooses a candidate who is in tune with his approach to governing and if, in announcing his selection, he explains his selection in the context of his own service.
If, on the other hand, Thompson simply goes with one of the front-runners, then his choice will be seen as cynical -- and it will be of no more consequence than his own campaign for the GOP nod.
Fits in nicely with my tagline.
So Fred’s a crude partisan......Bwhahahahahahahaha
Spoken like a true whiney idiot liberal. And as far as mean and nasty goes, the pubbies have been complete milquetoasts....its the dems that have been the meanest nastiest most repulsive slimeballers during the Bush years. What a moronic article...yes a real barforama!
Yes, although an ‘unreadable article alert’ could have gone with it.
What a load of crap. Don’t they teach these kids journalism in journalism school anymore?
What makes you think this fool ever sat foot inside a college of any kind? This is probably the editor’s son who lives in the basement and works as a barista at Starbucks.
Tancredo and Hunter have taken solid stands against turning this country into another third world cesspool. Ditto for Romney, who has the backing of Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona. Fred Thompson also seems to be okay on this issue. The race needs to be pared down to these four a.s.a.p. My apologies if I've forgotten anyone else who will put America's interests ahead of Mexico's, but at this point, these are the only four candidates I will consider.
Jeez, then if that’s the case, I’d definitely expect him to write a much better article! I could pull homeless people in off the street to do a better job! :)
Tommy who?
I used to work helping homeless veterans and many of them DO have college degrees.
Another man sought common ground with the Democrats as governor of his own state. He brought that same idea to Washington. That man was George W. Bush. How’d seeking common ground with national Democrats work for him? I want someone who will fight back against every smear the Left launches at him. What are the chances of getting Rush to run?
Yes, definite barfer ...
“In the course of that conversation, we came to respect Thompson, as we appreciated those instances where he bowed to pressure from Wisconsin progressives.”
Somehow the metric of “Who can best defang the socialist liberals?” never jumps to the top of the media’s wish-list of nominee character traits. “Who is spineless and can sing Kumbaya with the Nancy Democrats?” Is not on my list of what is needed in a GOP nominee.
I think he’ll endorse Paul. :)
This is an editorial, not a news article.
Because he attacked Rudy Giuliani? :-)
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