Is Tommy Thompson Really A Serious Contender For Kohl's Seat? Donut Hole Tommy???

Long before he joined the Bush team that saddled American seniors with Medicare Part D (and the infamous Donut Hole), Tommy Thompson was a relatively popular mainstream conservative governor of Wisconsin. That was a long, long time ago; George Michael's Faith was #1 on the charts. Yesterday Paul Ryan conveniently used Thompson's silly entrance into the GOP Senate primary to back out of the race he had always longed for. Wisconsin Democratic Party chair Mike Tate laughed at him yesterday:

"When it came time to prance before the New York media and onto Fox News programs, Paul Ryan never hesitated a moment. But when it came time to be judged by the voters of Wisconsin, Paul Ryan cowered. He knew his plans to end Medicare and hand Social Security over to Wall Street, while cutting benefits for working families and giving tax cuts to billionaires, was both morally and politically indefensible in the Badger State. No matter how well his snake oil might sell in Washington, there was no chance it would fly in Waterford, Washburn and Wautoma. Now will candidates like Tommy G. Thompson and any other Republican nominee share Paul Ryan's "courage" when it comes time to defend ending Medicare? Will they put their names behind Ryan's toxic plan?"

 

It would be very hard for Thompson to put his name behind Ryan's toxic plan-- even if anyone not doing so is being read out of the conservative movement. The American people may hate Ryan's plan to gut Medicare and Medicaid-- and they're offended at his attempt to label these programs as "welfare"-- but among GOP insiders, Ryan's nihilistic "cause" is still the party's cri de coeur. How untenable is Thompson's position-- especially if a more extreme right Republican, like neo-fascist brothers state Senate Majority LeaderScott Fitzgerald or state Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald, or, perhaps ex-Congressman Mark Neumann-- jumps into the race? Well... ThinkProgress summed up some of the positions he's taken that don't sit all that well with contemporary Republican insiders.

– SUPPORTED THE INDIVIDUAL HEALTH MANDATE: During a symposium in Orlando in September 2008, Thompson said, “Just like people are required to have car insurance, they could be required to have health insurance.” In 2009, he walked back his support saying, “I’m not opposed to it, I just don’t think it’s the most practical way.” [Miami Herald, 3/23/2010; YouTube, 2/03/2009]

– SAID GOP SHOULDN’T PURSUE REPEALING HEALTH LAW: “When it’s all said and done, you’re not going to be able to repeal health care because President Obama is not going to sign it,” Thompson said during an appearance on CNBC in 2010. “And they don’t have enough votes to override a veto, so why push a cart uphill when you know it’s not going to be able to get to the top?” [CNBC, 11/02/2010]

– PROMOTES SECTIONS OF HEALTH LAW: “The Affordable Care Act gives great discretion to the CMS Administrator to experiment with alternative payment systems. CMS has created an “innovation center” and is looking for ideas,” Thompson wrote just last month. [Huffington Post, 4/20/2011]

– OPPOSES REP. PAUL RYAN’S (R-WI) MEDICARE PLAN: “Simply cutting Medicare isn’t the answer by any means. Instead, let’s focus on the most effective fiscal path forward with the least amount of impact on millions of seniors, their families and our broader economy. In other words, reform Medicare, don’t cut it,” Thompson wrote in April. [Huffington Post, 4/20/2011]

– DEVELOPED STATE’S MEDICAID PROGRAM: As governor in the 1990s, Thompson helped develop BadgerCare into one of the country’s most innovative and generous Medicaid program. [NPR, 2/23/2011]

Wisconsin Democrats wonder where Thompson has been all this year while Scott Walker was destroying the state he used to be governor of. Actually they know where he's been-- living in DC and making millions as a corporate lobbyist for pharmaceutical companies, the insurance industry and Big Oil. They're still asking where was Thompson when:

-Scott Walker killed the high-speed rail-line that Thompson first proposed

-Walker proposed massive cuts to the BadgerCare program for working families created by Thompson

-Ryan proposed ending Medicare and turning it into vouchers of diminishing value

-Walker proposed ending five decades of labor peace by stripping collective bargaining rights from unions that previously backed Thompson

-Walker supported ending conservation and environmental regulations signed into law by Thompson.

"Tommy Thompson has been too busy taking lobbying cash from Big Oil and Wall Street to stand up to the divisive, anti-Wisconsin agenda of Paul Ryan and Scott Walker. Does anyone believe he will stand up for Wisconsin's working families?" Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Mike Tate asked Tuesday.

I'm betting Tommy Thompson is going to turn into this cycle's Fred Thompson... and fast. Not many people remember that Thompson tried to run for president, briefly. No one took that seriously and he backed away without more than a whimper but not before making it clear that he hates gay people... or at least that if an employer hates gay people that's enough of a reason to permit them to be fired. In fairness to Thompson, once he realized what a boo-boo he made, he went crying to CNN and claimed he had terrible diarrhea and that's what made him do it; no really:

“I’ve been very sick... I was very sick the day of the debate. I had all of the problems with the flu and bronchitis that you have, including running to the bathroom. I was just hanging on. I could not wait until the debate got off so I could go to the bathroom.”

He told Bill Maher it was a hearing-aid malfunction:



UPDATE: Club For Growth Welcomes Thompson To The Race With A Short Ad

Time for popcorn. Can they go back to Ryan? Today state Senator Dan Kapanke, desperate to raise money to stave off an all-but-certain recall, cancelled a scheduled appearance by Ryan at a fundraiser tonight. Ryan's even too toxic for Kapanke! So, no he won't be running for Herb Kohl's seat.