(Ex-WI-Governor) Thompson Takes Steps Toward Presidential Run

Madison.com via AP ^ | December 16, 2006 | James Carlson

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Iowans, if they take the time to talk with Tommy, will be impressed as heck! He is one down-to-Earth kind of guy.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

"Tiny Article of Great Importance Buried on a Saturday" Ping!

[brewcrew]

Tommy Thompson - just another RINO, consistently seduced by the prospect of spending other people's money.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Some factors working against Thompson:

(1) He was inept as HHS Secretary

(2) He works for a firm that wants to implant devices into humans

[IOWAfan]

this could be bad news for Romney.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Much less of a RINO than many others in the ring right now.

Not that that's necessarily a GOOD thing, LOL!

[nothingnew]

All well and good, but are there any possibles out there that aren't in their 60's?

Names please...

FMCDH(BITS)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

He did a lot to get dead weight off the welfare rolls and back out into the workforce in our state.

He did more in that area than many other Governors across the country. Saved me a buck or two...though it was siphoned out of my pocket elsewhere.

Whadda ya gonna do? He's better than some, not as good as others.

[USS Alaska]

The pubbies are starting to remind me of the germans, start a war, come in second place. Other than Rudy {and he's no gem} the bench looks very weak. We may end up with demonRats all around. Buy extra ammo.

[streetpreacher]

He has no chance.

[Gideon Reader]

I am not incandescently excited over Gov Thompson, but, I do not have any sick feeling in my stomach either. He may be the *exact* candidate needed to fill the position of an experienced executive who can get things done, within the very difficult restrictions of satisfying ALL of the factions of the economic and social conservatives as well as the mainstream or centerist Republicans.

I will have to research his record to determine my final stance vis a vis his candidacy, and to make myself sure that he does not have any baggage of personal or economic corruption, nor a moral sword of Damocles hanging over his candidacy. With a vibrant VPOTUS running mate such as a Duncan Hunter, or a Michael Steel, or a Lincoln Diaz-Balart; that is a strong personality or has the potential to continue a conservative political philosophical line, I may be more comfortable than I have been with the chances of a Republican victory in a very, VERY long while.

[Tall_Texan]

I still hold Thompson in high regard and he might just be the guy who can unite the RINOs and the conservatives - far more so than Rudy, Romney or Traitor John.

He's not everything we want but he is still well-regarded in an important swing state/swing region. We could do a lot worse (and probably will).

[Diana in Wisconsin]

People liked him in our left-leaning state:

Electoral history

* 1998 Race for Governor
o Tommy Thompson (R) (inc.), 60%
o Ed Garvey (D), 39%

* 1994 Race for Governor
o Tommy Thompson (R) (inc.), 67%
o Chuck Chvala (D), 31%

* 1990 Race for Governor
o Tommy Thompson (R) (inc.), 58%
o Tom Loftus (D), 42%

* 1986 Race for Governor
o Tommy Thompson (R), 53%
o Tony Earl (D) (inc.), 46%

[Diana in Wisconsin]

He certainly knows how to run a campaign. He was elected here for FOUR terms. Unheard of in many places for a Governor.

[Prokopton]

"Iowans, if they take the time to talk with Tommy, will be impressed as heck! He is one down-to-Earth kind of guy."

Have you ever sat down and talked with him? My experience with him, and his governors office, which he really didn't even run, left me quite a ways away from "impressed".

[Wally_Kalbacken]

I'd like to think so. But then again I said the same thing when he announced for governor in 1986, then he went on to be the first 4 term governor in Wisconsin history. I think he doesn't get very far this time - but he has fooled a lot of people in the past. On a state level.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Ditto to # 3. I also blame Tommy for McCallum's loss in 2002. We didn't need Ed in the mix.

When Tommy announced to the world that our food supply would be easy to sabotage and he "didn't know why the terrorists hadn't tried it," on his last day in office in 2004 as Sec. of Health and Human Welfare, he lost any remnant of confidence I ever had in him.

Don't waste your money, Tommy.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Did you think about what you just wrote? "People LIKED him in our left leaning state." Just what does that say?

He's certainly not conservative. He rides the fence, playing both sides, until he suffers from crotchrot. My neighborhood (including one of his best friends) was engaged in a 10 year battle to prevent a high speed highway from cutting through our neighborhoods. NOBODY wanted it, there was NO NEED for it, the State had NO MONEY for it, he could have stopped it with a stroke of a pen, but he came to a stupid compromise that just put off the widening for 10 years because the DOT wanted to do it. Well, the 10 years is almost done and the State has gobbled up all of the right of way. We still don't need it, or want it, but it looks like we're going to get it.

[Alter Kaker]

Out of curiosity, are there any RINOs who aren't running for President in 2008? Between Giuliani, McLame, Romney and the longshots Pataki, Bloomberg (not even a RINO!), Chuck Hagel, etc. I think there can be no more than a dozen or so RINOs in the country who haven't at least flirted with running for President. Thompson just adds to the list.

[Alter Kaker]

People liked him in our left-leaning state:

That's because Tommy Thompson is a far-left socialist. If you want a candidate who will give you universal state-funded healthcare, why not just vote for Hillary?