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GOP presidential hopeful Ron Paul has been excluded from an upcoming political forum in Iowa on the grounds that he is not a "credible” candidate. The event, sponsored by Iowans for Tax Relief and the Iowa Christian Alliance, is set for June 30 in Des Moines. GOP candidates who will speak at the forum include Mitt Romney, Sam Brownback, Duncan Hunter, Mike Huckabee, Tommy Thompson and Tom Tancredo. But Paul, a Texas congressman, was left out because the invitation went only to those candidates who are "credible,” said Ed Failor Jr., vice president of Iowans for Tax Relief. "To plan...

Thompson: Iraqi Violence Increasing, My Plan Must Be Implemented QuicklyCalls on Romney to get off the fence and support the Thompson plan.(Washington, D.C.) – Saying the bombings this week of the Shiite shrine and the three Sunni Mosques is evidence that a military solution is not in sight, former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson called on the Bush Administration and Iraqi leaders to move aggressively to divide the country into eighteen regional governments with democratically-elected leaders and autonomous decision making. “The sectarian violence in Iraq is threatening to completely destabilize the country. It's becoming increasingly clear that a military solution is...

Former Sen. Fred Thompson still hasn't formally entered the presidential race, but he's already posing a serious threat to some of his potential GOP rivals. The Washington Post reports the likelihood of a Thompson candidacy is pulling major donors away from Sen. John McCain's already struggling campaign. While Thompson is trying to woo conservatives who may be unsatisfied with GOP triumvirate of Giuliani, Romney and McCain, he "appears to present the most challenges for McCain," says the Post. As Thompson "builds his team of major fundraisers … the challenge for McCain will be to collect the millions of dollars necessary...

Republican Presidential Candidate Debate #3 - Manchester, New Hampshire 06/05/07 - Official Discussion Thread WMUR-TV, CNN, and the New Hampshire Union Leader will host a Republican debate in Manchester, New Hampshire on the campus of Saint Anselm College. Moderated by Wolf Blitzer. Debate begins at 7 p.m. EDT (4 p.m. PDT) and will last two hours. Sam Brownback Jim Gilmore Rudy Giuliani Mike Huckabee Duncan Hunter John McCain Mitt Romney Ron Paul Tom Tancredo Tommy Thompson Watch live video including complete coverage of the Republican debate on CNN.com

Governor Thompson Denounces Senate Immigration Compromise For Immediate Release May 18, 2007 Contact: Tony Jewell, 202-530-4510 media@tommy2008.com Statement by Governor Tommy G. Thompson on Immigration Compromise in the Senate: “Any legislation that provides amnesty to the estimated 12 million illegal aliens currently living in the United States is the wrong path for our country. You can call it anything you want, but this compromise has the look and feel of amnesty. The Senate should set this compromise aside and start by recognizing that there will be NO amnesty or benefit to anyone who broke our laws to enter this...

Two shadows loomed over last night's Republican debate in South Carolina — the missing ex-Sen. Fred Thompson and former Speaker Newt Gingrich. Both Thompson and Gingrich are reviewing their astrological charts to determine if the time is right for their presidential candidacies. These rites of introspection make it much harder for the conservative wing of the Republican Party to settle on a candidate. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani's pro-choice position and his backing for gun control and gay civil unions disqualify him from support by much of the Christian right. Sen. John McCain, good on social issues by righty lights, has...

Three top Republican presidential contenders took fire from their second-tier rivals and traded digs on Tuesday, with Rudolph Giuliani defending his abortion rights support and John McCain and Mitt Romney trying to burnish their conservative credentials. In the second debate in two weeks between the 10 men vying for the 2008 Republican nomination, Giuliani, McCain and Romney -- "Rudy McRomney" to their detractors -- tried to ease doubts among conservatives about their records. The 90-minute session in conservative South Carolina featured a sharp exchange between front-runner Giuliani and longshot Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, who said America's Middle East policies...

Republican Presidential Candidate Debate #2 – Columbia, South Carolina 05/15/07 - Official Discussion Thread Watch live coverage of the First-in-the-South Republican Party Presidential Candidate debate on FOX News Channel and FOXNews.com on Tuesday, May 15, at 9 p.m. EDT (6 p.m. PDT). Sam Brownback Jim Gilmore Rudy Giuliani Mike Huckabee Duncan Hunter John McCain Mitt Romney Ron Paul Tom Tancredo Tommy Thompson The 90-minute debate will air from 9 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. ET (6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.) and will be moderated by "Special Report" anchor Brit Hume. Questions will be posed by two panelists — "FOX News Sunday"...

Ten Republican presidential candidates will gather in South Carolina tonight for their second debate of the month, with much of the focus likely to be on former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and his continuing effort to extricate himself from a controversy over his position on abortion. Giuliani, the putative front-runner for the GOP nomination, has struggled for the past two weeks after declaring at the first GOP debate in California that it would be "okay" if the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationwide, but then added that it would also be...

LAKE GENEVA, Wis. - Tommy Thompson cited a dead hearing aid and an urgent need to use the bathroom in explaining on Saturday why he said at a GOP presidential debate that an employer should be allowed to fire a gay worker. Speaking to reporters after giving an address at the state GOP convention, Thompson also said he was suffering from the flu and bronchitis and had been admitted to a hospital emergency room three days prior to the May 3 debate. "Nobody knows that," Thompson said. "I've been very sick. ... I was very sick the day of the...

John McCain bounced back in the first Republican presidential debate and breathed new life into his faltering candidacy. His answers were strong: he faced the camera squarely, and scored big with his circa-2000 attacks on pork spending and special interests. He was both passionate and articulate. His sole bad moment came with his fumbling answer about why he opposed the Bush tax cuts. But for a candidate who seemed to have lost his way, McCain did very, very well. That said, there was a major bias in the debate. MSNBC and Politico deliberately marginalized Giuliani and steered far too many...

Republican Presidential Candidate Debate #1 – Reagan Library 05/03/07 - Official Discussion Thread Sam Brownback Jim Gilmore Rudy Giuliani Mike Huckabee Duncan Hunter John McCain Mitt Romney Ron Paul Tom Tancredo Tommy Thompson The debate will take place at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, and will air live on MSNBC from 8:00 to 9:30 pm (ET) and stream live on MSNBC.com and politico.com and will include audience questions gathered on politico.com.

A Saturday fundraising banquet that attracted about 1,000 Republican Party faithful served as a sort of appetizer for what will happen when thousands more in the GOP swarm inside and outside of a campus sports arena for the Iowa Straw Poll in August. "It's a Straw Poll warm-up," Chuck Laudner, executive director of the Republican Party of Iowa, said of Saturday's festivities in Des Moines. Nine Republican presidential hopefuls spoke to Saturday's crowd, each of whom paid $75 for a pork loin dinner and the chance to sit and listen to the candidates speak. Nine months from now, the 2008...

WASHINGTON - Former Wisconsin governor and Republican presidential hopeful Tommy Thompson told Jewish activists Monday that making money is "part of the Jewish tradition," and something that he applauded. Speaking to an audience at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism in Washington D.C., Thompson said that, "I'm in the private sector and for the first time in my life I'm earning money. You know that's sort of part of the Jewish tradition and I do not find anything wrong with that."

Presidential candidate Tommy Thompson said Wednesday that he wants the Iraqi government to vote on whether the U.S. should keep its troops there. "I'm confident they will, but . . . if they do vote no - they don't want us there - we should get out," Thompson said, drawing applause. Thompson, who was health and human services secretary during President Bush's first term, made the comment during his first formal presidential campaign stop in his home state. He formally announced Sunday on "This Week" on ABC that he is seeking the Republican nomination for president. Thompson described himself as...

The big problem in finding a conservative challenger to run for the GOP nomination is not the absence of a genuine constituency, nor is it even enthusiasm for ex-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Right-wingers who would pass the litmus test — guys like former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo, California Rep. Duncan Hunter, former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, or even ex-Tennessee Sen. and famous actor Fred Thompson — face the need to climb over the political corpses of former Speaker New Gingrich (Ga.) and ex-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney to...

Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, who also served as secretary of Health and Human Services under President George W. Bush, has filed presidential exploratory papers with the Federal Election Committee, according to an aide to Thompson. Thompson, whose welfare-to-work legislation in Wisconsin served as a model for national welfare reform, has also recruited Steve Grubbs, an Iowa political strategist, to help with his budding presidential campaign, the aide said.

(AP) WASHINGTON -- Former Gov. Tommy Thompson said Monday he will not run for U.S. Senate this year, leaving Republicans with no clear major challenger to Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis. "Governor Thompson will not run for the United States Senate in 2006," Thompson's office said in a brief statement Monday. "He is enjoying his work in the private sector and decided against a return to public office at this time." Thompson, 64, who served as governor from 1987 until 2001, had toyed recently with a run for governor or for senator. Last month, he announced he would not run for...

APPLETON, WI – GOP activists voting in the annual WisPolitics.com Straw Poll this weekend favored JB Van Hollen for attorney general, Tommy Thompson for U.S. Senate and George Allen for president. Van Hollen and Thompson were heavily favored by official convention attendees as the picks to represent Republicans on the November ballot, while Allen, with 61 votes, narrowly edged Rudy Giuliani (60), Newt Gingrich (53) and Condi Rice (50) as the current choice for the GOP presidential nomination in 2008. Last year in Sheboygan, Secretary of State Rice won the presidential preference straw poll. And gubernatorial candidate Mark Green, lieutenant...

Day one of GTC week began with the "C-Level Summit" at a downtown Sacramento hotel. State CIO Clark Kelso set the tone by outlining a few "global population demographics and their approaching impact on government and society," while preparing the audience for the keynote by former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy G. Thompson. We are growing older as a population, Said Kelso, and that trend will continue through the 21st Century. "The number of people over 65 will more than double by mid century, and the number of those over 85 will quadruple." As a result,...