Posted on 03/18/2012 11:15:10 AM PDT by bkopto
Thompson, 70, is the biggest Republican name in the race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Herb Kohl. If this election were taking place a decade ago, he would likely win the primary going away.
But the new GOP is a party of strong partisans, where dealmakers like Thompson are no longer in vogue. So, if he is going to win over a new generation of Republican voters, Thompson will have to shake his image as a big-government Republican and Washington insider.
"Is Tommy nimble enough to pivot to the right and position himself as a staunch conservative?" said Charles Franklin, Marquette University Law School political scientist. "That's what we're waiting to see."
SNIP
But Thompson's campaign has repeatedly pointed out that he has never been a registered lobbyist.
"He has resigned all his day-to-day responsibilities in the private sector in order to focus on his U.S. Senate campaign, and he'll resign his board leadership roles once elected to the Senate," Schmitz said.
Liberal and conservative critics in turn accuse Thompson of simply being a lobbyist by another name. Unlike Neumann, who made his money as a Nashotah homebuilder, and Hovde, who made his millions as a Washington, D.C.-based hedge fund manager, Thompson has been accused of using his prominent government positions and ties to the private sector to make money after leaving public office.
"The money he's made and the interests he's represented will raise some red flags," said Mike McCabe, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, which tracks money in politics. "There's a coziness there that's troubling."
(Excerpt) Read more at host.madison.com ...
Tommy Thompson was a very successful governor. His welfare reform applied conservative principles to the problem of dependency and became a model for the nation.
True. And if this author knew anything about rural Wisconsin (or rural America, for that matter), he would know that people outside Madistan and Milwaukee love Tommy. Elections are more about the person you trust than ideology (though one would never know that based on internet postings)
That bears repeating. RINO's do not cut back on welfare benefits.
He isn’t my frist choice but I’ll take him over any one the Demorats put up.
But the new GOP is a party of strong partisans, where dealmakers like Thompson are no longer in vogue.Y'know, because partisan media shills have changed so much.
Good night! A hedge fund manager running for the Senate in a northern state in this climate...now THAT's an uphill climb.
Sounds like he's wondering if he's two old to be a ballet dancer.
Hey, we don't want pivoting and positioning for the cameras. We want real action.
Wisconsin Tommy Thompson ping
FReep Mail me if you want on, or off, this Wisconsin interest ping list.
Tommy is a RINO
There are far more conservative candidates in the race, including Hovde, Neumann, and Fitzgerald. Hovde may well prove to be the Ron Johnson of 2012.
“Tommy Thompson was a very successful governor”
I admire Tommy’s breaking the mold to support a Negro Assemblywoman from Milwaukee in her efforts to get a charter school established, which in turn lent encouragement to like-minded folk in other states wanting to at least begin to break the union stranglehold on childhood education.
As I recall,that happened after I moved out of Wisconsin in ‘87.
“Thompson embodies everything that is wrong...”
Agree totally. Having lived through his terms as gov, he is exactly what the problem is with old school RINOs. My taxes went up just as fast under him, as with Doyle.
I cringe at his ads on local radio.
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