A Different Tommy
By Ryan Alexander
Wisconsin voters might have fond memories of a popular Governor who once upon a time wasn't afraid to break from strict conservative ideology.
But sadly, after leaving Wisconsin Tommy Thompson admitted that Washington changed him. And just last week, while speaking to right-wing Republican spokesman Charlie Sykes, Tommy proclaimed, "I'm a different Tommy."
He wasn't kidding.
Tommy Thompson's positions are like the Wisconsin weather. If you don't like them, just wait a few hours.
As our new research shows, health care reform is just one of many examples of how Tommy's position shifted depending on the changing political winds or whatever special interest group Tommy happens to be talking to on a particular day.
Under pressure to fall in line with Tea Party extremists, Tommy told wealthy GOP donors in Washington, D.C., that President Obama's health care reform law, "has got to be repealed and replaced and re-written."
But in 2006, Tommy Thompson said that "it would be better" if the federal government passed a law mandating that individuals purchase health care coverage. In 2007, Tommy doubled down on his support for individual mandates by saying, "I for one believe the mandates for health insurance is alright." And in op-ed he urged Republican governors to take advantage of state-based health care exchanges.
Tommy Thompson was even "a different Tommy" when he announced his run for the U.S. Senate. In 2010, while speaking at a Tea Party rally, Tommy criticized Russ Feingold's support of the stimulus act by shouting, "He [Russ Feingold] said, 'Oh, but I vote against earmarks.' Well, he voted, ladies and gentlemen, for the stimulus package that had 8,000 earmarks in it!""
The problem? The company that Tommy announced his run for the U.S. Senate received $300,000 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. When questioned about his blatant hypocrisy, Thompson said, "If the stimulus money is there, wouldn't it better go to a successful Wisconsin business than going someplace else? This is one area where the stimulus money actually worked."
If Tommy can't trust himself to be consistent on the issues, how can Wisconsin trust him to be our next U.S. Senator?
To learn more about "A Different Tommy," take a look at this new eye-opening fact sheet from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin:
You'll see that Tommy has changed positions on so many issues for pure political gain, he is indeed "A Different Tommy."
