My point was detractors would be saying the exact same thing no matter how he voted..
It is close to idiotic to think a vote to end the pervasive use of affirmative action set asides in Government contracting would be characterized reasonably as a ‘pro-affirmative action’ vote.
Analogy: If someone voted to change from a full abortion-on-demand situation to ban abortion except in cases of incest, would it be fair to call that a pro-abortion vote?
Thompson cast a vote for affirmative action preferences, and the opposite side of the vote was against affirmative action preferences. End of story.