Small Town Tommy

[Valin]

Real Clear Religion:

Nicholas G. Hahn III

8/10/12

 

There's something about a small town that tends to inscribe men with certain principles. Work, faith, and honesty, among them. Tommy Thompson's hometown of Elroy, Wisconsin is one such small town.

 

Last week, I sat down with Thompson in Milwaukee -- a far cry from Elroy, but his small town story was oh so near.

 

Thompson's father ran the town's grocery store and at the age of five, Tommy polished eggs and worked on the family farm. Even though Tommy now finds himself in a tight race to be Wisconsin's next Senator, he still works that farm in Elroy.

 

(Snip)

 

There are some, especially those challenging Thompson for the Republican nomination, who might cringe upon hearing this story. With his first foray into politics in 1966 as a state legislator, then four terms as Governor, then Secretary of Health and Human Services, Thompson has spent most of his life in public service -- quite unpopular among Tea Party types.

 

Thompson fends off such criticism with an impressive record of accomplishment: "Who was the start of the conservative movement in Wisconsin? 91 tax cuts, school choice, welfare reform -- there are some looking around for somebody who's just going to replicate what I've already done."

 

(Snip)

 

ObamaCare isn't the only culprit for a sluggish economy, Thompson continued. "There's no reason our tax code should be longer than the Bible." In advocating for a flat tax option (admittedly unsure of a rate), Thompson asked "Can you imagine the excitement and stimulus that would create for jobs?"

 

At the conclusion of our chat I thanked Thompson by his first name, but immediately apologized.

 

"It's ok," he said. "People know me as Tommy. It's a brand that I hope people know, respect, and trust."

[Valin]

Power Line: Lessons from the latest Wisconsin Senate polls

Paul Mirengoff

8/10/12

 

Earlier this week, two sets of polling data regarding the Wisconsin Senate race were released, one from Quinnipiac, the other from Marquette University. These polls suggest the following: (1) Tommy Thompson has a good chance of defeating Democrat Tammy Baldwin, and should probably be considered the favorite in such a race and (2) two other Republicans, Mark Neumann and Eric Hovde, might also defeat Baldwin, but Baldwin would be favored in a race against either. (Full disclosure, Tommy Thompson was my law partner for a while, and was a team player – not all of them are, you know).

 

Quinnipiac has Thompson even with Baldwin, and Baldwin leading Neumann and Hovde by 3 and 4 points, respectively. Marquette gives Thompson a lead of 5 points over Baldwin. Neumann runs even with Baldwin in its polling, while Hovde trails by 3 points.

 

How should conservatives view respond to these results, assuming that, collectively, they are reliable? The Buckley rule holds that we should support the most conservative of the electable candidates.

 

Neumann and Hovde are considered more conservative than Thompson, although Hovde is a political newcomer and thus has no real political track record. The latest poll results do not show either Neumann or Hovde to be unelectable. Thus, the Buckley rule militates in favor of Neumann, I would think, followed by Hovde.

 

(Snip)

[Geee]

I will vote for Thompson if he wins the primary, but I will not like it. He is NOT small town Tommy. He has worked for several groups where he took advantage of his political past(shock) with liberal Democrats and as I have mentioned here before appeared with Gephardt during the healthcare debate on several shows standing up for the Healthcare bill. At the time he worked for a firm that would have benefited if it passed.

 

Mark Neumann was my congressman before Paul Ryan. He became a congressman during the Republican Contract with America. He promised when he ran that he would only stay in Congress for two terms because he believed in term limits. He kept his promise. He has done some thing since that I am not crazy about, but haven't they all. As of today, I think he will get my vote. I think any of the candidates, once they start running ads against Baldwin instead of each other, stand a good chance of beating her. Because she is gay she is getting a lot of money from those organizations, but I have not seen a lot of action from others YET.

[Valin]

@Geee

 

I was hoping to get your informed take on this. Thanks.

I could be wrong but I seem to recall him being Pro-Choice, or at least having leanings in that direction.

 

I am (being an ultra radical) of the opinion that there is a great need of fresh blood, fresh people in Washington. Say what you will good or bad about Tommy Thompson...he is not fresh blood.

[Geee]

Mark has been endrsed by Right to Life and is indeed very pro-life. The Tea Party came out and endorsed him last week. Many people are upset with him because they did not want him to run against Walker in the governors race and he did anyhow. He had many nasty ads against Walker running against him. But that is how the game is played nowadays I guess. Did we not just see this somewhere else recently