Tommy Thompson | |
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19th Secretary of Health and Human Services | |
In office February 2, 2001 – January 26, 2005 |
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President | George W. Bush |
Preceded by | Donna Shalala |
Succeeded by | Mike Leavitt |
42nd Governor of Wisconsin | |
In office January 5, 1987 – February 1, 2001 |
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Lieutenant | Scott McCallum |
Preceded by | Tony Earl |
Succeeded by | Scott McCallum |
Personal details | |
Born | Thomas George Thompson November 19, 1941 Elroy, Wisconsin |
Political party | Republican |
Alma mater | University of Wisconsin–Madison |
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Military service | |
Service/branch | United States Army |
Rank | Captain |
Thomas George "Tommy" Thompson (born November 19, 1941), a United States Republican politician, was the 42nd Governor of Wisconsin, after which he served as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. Thompson was a candidate for the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election, but dropped out early after a poor performance in polls such as the Iowa Straw Poll.[1] In 2011, Politico reported that he would run for the U.S Senate in 2012. [2]
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Thompson was born in Elroy, Wisconsin, where his father, Allan, owned and ran a gas station and country grocery store, and his mother, Julia, was a teacher.[3] He is a former captain in the United States Army and United States Army Reserve, and holds a law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School.
Thompson was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1966; he became the Assembly's assistant minority leader in 1973 and minority leader in 1981.[3] He was famous for aggressively utilizing parliamentary procedure to give his minority party some limited say in the legislative process. Since this use of procedure was invariably one of delay and obstruction, he soon received the nickname "Dr. No" by the frustrated majority.
From 1987 to 2001, Thompson served as the 42nd Governor of Wisconsin, having been elected to an unprecedented four terms. While serving as governor, he was elected Chairman of the Midwestern Governors Association in 1989 and 1990.
Thompson's initiatives during his 14 years as governor of Wisconsin were his Wisconsin Works welfare reform and school choice programs.[4] In 1990 Thompson pushed for the creation of the country's first parental school-choice program, allowing low-income Milwaukee families to send children to the private or public school of their choice at taxpayer expense. He created the BadgerCare program, designed to provide health coverage to those families whose employers don't provide health insurance but make too much money to qualify for Medicaid. Through the federal waiver program, Thompson helped replicate this program in several states when he became Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Thompson left office when he was appointed by President George W. Bush as HHS Secretary. He was a member of the Amtrak Board of Directors and had an Amtrak locomotive named for him.[5][6][7]
Thompson announced his resignation from HHS on December 3, 2004, and served until January 26, 2005, when the Senate confirmed his successor, Michael O. Leavitt.
After first announcing the formation of an exploratory committee in late 2006, Thompson announced his candidacy for the 2008 presidential election on April 1, 2007.[8]
During a May 3, 2007, presidential debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Thompson said in response to a question from moderator Chris Matthews that a private employer opposed to homosexuality should have the right to fire a gay worker.[9] He said, "I think that is left up to the individual business. I really sincerely believe that that is an issue that business people have got to make their own determination as to whether or not they should be." He called CNN the following morning to say he didn't hear the question correctly. He apologized, saying, "It's not my position. There should be no discrimination in the workplace."
Thompson had stated he would drop out of the race if he did not finish either first or second in the Ames straw poll on August 11, 2007. Thompson finished sixth, with just 7% of the vote, despite the fact that some major contenders were not competing in the poll. On August 12, Thompson officially announced he would drop out of the race.
In October 2007, Thompson endorsed Rudy Giuliani. Thompson told the Associated Press in a statement that "Rudy Giuliani has shown that he is a true leader. He can and will win the nomination and the presidency. He is America's mayor, and during a period of time of great stress for this country he showed tremendous leadership." He then endorsed Senator John McCain after Giuliani's withdrawal from the presidential race.[10] However, in a New York Times article published October 11, 2008, Thompson is quoted in response to a question regarding whether he was happy with McCain's campaign as saying, "No. I don't know who is."[11]
Thompson announced on April 30, 2009 that he was considering a run for Governor of Wisconsin as a Republican in 2010 against the then current governor, Democrat Jim Doyle.[12] This was just two days after Republican Scott Walker announced his run.[13] Another Republican former Congressman, Mark Neumann, had also announced he would run. The incumbent, Democrat Jim Doyle, announced in August 2009 that he would not seek re-election for a third term.
Thompson considered a run for the United States Senate seat held by Russ Feingold. A poll by Rasmussen Reports showed Thompson leading 47% to 43% over the Democratic Senator.[14] A poll by Public Policy Polling put Feingold ahead, 47-44.[15] On April 15, 2010, Thompson announced that he would not run for the United States Senate seat while delivering his keynote speech at the Tax Day Tea Party Rally in Madison.[16]
On September 19, 2011, Thompson officially launched his campaign to run for the Wisconsin senate seat vacated by Sen. Herb Kohl[2] On December 1, 2011, He formally announced his candidacy for that important seat.
Thompson is the President of Logistics Health Incorporated. He is senior partner at Akin Gump, a Washington, D.C., law firm, and is a senior adviser at the consulting firm Deloitte and the chairman of the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions.[17] Thompson taught a class in the fall of 2005 at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government on medical diplomacy.[18]
Shortly after leaving his Bush Cabinet post, Thompson joined and served for two years on the board of directors of Applied Digital Solutions, makers of the controversial VeriChip: a glass-encapsulated RFID chip that can be injected into human flesh for various database-driven identification purposes.
Thompson currently serves on the Board of Directors for Accordia Global Health Foundation [19] and the board of Directors for Pure Bioscience Inc. (PURE.OB) and serves on the Board of Trustees of the non-profit, Medical Missions for Children and is the co-host for their television series, Plain Talk About Health.[20]
Thompson serves as a Senior Advisor of Capital Partners of McKinley Reserve,[21] a Wisconsin corporation with ties to both Hilbert, Wisconsin and Dubai.[22][23]
After leaving office, Thompson promoted changes to Medicare that some complained would benefit companies Thompson has a financial stake in (including Centene and the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions).[24]
Additionally, while in office, Thompson was involved in a dispute over whether the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services had to share cost estimates to Congress for legislation that would create a prescription drug benefit. Critics accused HHS of downplaying the true cost of the law by $150 billion. CMS Administrator Tom Scully threatened to fire the actuary if he revealed to Congress his estimate. Investigators determined that the data was improperly hidden from Congress, but did not conclude whether laws had been broken.[25]
During his 1986 gubernatorial campaign, Thompson suggested abrogating the right of Wisconsin's Ojibwa tribe to engage in traditional spearfishing.[26] Once in office, Thompson called on the tribe to sell their rights to spearfish in off-reservation lakes and streams, which is guaranteed by treaties with the United States, for $42 million dollars to the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and $10 million to the Mole Lake Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.[26] Thompson and anti-spearfishing organizations Protect Americans' Rights and Resources and Stop Treaty Abuse-Wisconsin tried unsuccessfully to challenge the 1983 "Voigt Decision" of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals—which prohibited Wisconsin from regulating fishing on Ojibwe land.[26] The decision was upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1983.[26][27] Thompson claimed that Native Americans' lives were in danger from protesters associated with PARR and STA if they continued spearfishing. In 1989, federal judge Barbara Crabb refused the request and chastised the state for attempting to avoid violence by punishing the Ojibwa, who had broken no laws, since it was violence by non-Native American protesters that was threatening.[27] Crabb issued an injunction against violent anti-spearfishing protests in 1991, and made it permanent in 1992.[28] On May 20, 1991, the Thompson administration declared it would no longer attempt to appeal the 1983 Voight Decision.[26]
In April 2007, Thompson was compelled to apologize for remarks he made about Jews and Israel during an address to an assembled crowd of Jewish social activists in Washington, D.C.[29] On April 18, 2007, appearing before a conference organized by the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, Thompson made reference to his lucrative transition from public service to the private sector by stating: "You know that's sort of part of the Jewish tradition and I do not find anything wrong with that."[30] After the conclusion of his address, Thompson was reportedly pulled aside privately by the RAC's Rabbi David Saperstein, and then returned to the podium to issue a clarification,[31] adding: "I just want to clarify something because I didn't (by) any means want to infer or imply anything about Jews and finances and things. What I was referring to, ladies and gentlemen, is the accomplishments of the Jewish religion. You've been outstanding business people and I compliment you for that."[30]
Later, Thompson told Politico that his remarks could be blamed on fatigue and a persistent cold.[29]
Thompson made a variety of other lesser gaffes, including referring to the Anti Defamation League as the fringe Jewish Defense League, and to Israel bonds as "Jewish bonds".[32][33][34] He also discussed his connections to politically conservative Israeli and Jewish leaders while speaking to the mostly left-leaning activist group.[32]
Conference organizers avoided comment on the faux pas, instead praising Thompson's decision to appear before the group.[35]
In 2001, early in his term as Secretary of Health and Human Services, Thompson's office rejected 19 of 26 people recommended for seats on the advisory board for the NIH developing nations unit, including a Nobel laureate, by the unit's director.[36] In return, Thompson's office sent résumés for other scientists that Gerald Keusch, the director of the Fogarty International Center, described in an interview as "lightweights" with "no scientific credibility". Keusch relayed to the Nobel laureate, Torsten Wiesel, that he was rejected for having "signed too many full-page letters in The New York Times critical of President Bush." [37] This incident was cited by the advocacy group Union of Concerned Scientists as part of a report detailing their allegations of politicization of science under President George W. Bush's administration.[38][39]
Wisconsin Gubernatorial Election 1998 | |||||
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Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Republican | Tommy Thompson (incumbent) | 1,047,716 | 59.66 | ||
Democratic | Ed Garvey | 679,553 | 38.70 |
Wisconsin Gubernatorial Election 1994 | |||||
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Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Republican | Tommy Thompson (incumbent) | 1,051,326 | 67.23 | ||
Democratic | Chuck Chvala | 482,850 | 30.88 |
Wisconsin Gubernatorial Election 1990 | |||||
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Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Republican | Tommy Thompson (incumbent) | 802,321 | 58.15 | ||
Democratic | Thomas A. Loftus | 576,280 | 41.77 |
Wisconsin Gubernatorial Election 1986 | |||||
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Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Republican | Tommy Thompson | 805,090 | 52.74 | ||
Democratic | Tony Earl (incumbent) | 705,578 | 46.22 |
Wisconsin Gubernatorial Election 1986 - Republican Primary | |||||
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Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Republican | Tommy Thompson | 156,875 | 52.11 | ||
Republican | Jonathan Barry | 67,114 | 22.30 | ||
Republican | George Watts | 58,424 | 19.41 |
U.S. House Wisconsin 6th District Special Election 1979 - Republican Primary | |||||
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Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Republican | Thomas Petri | 22,293 | 35.25 | ||
Republican | Tommy Thompson | 11,850 | 18.74 | ||
Republican | Jack Steinhilber | 11,810 | 18.68 | ||
Republican | Kenneth Benson | 10,965 | 17.34 | ||
Republican | Donald Jones | 5,077 | 8.02 | ||
Republican | Richard Wright | 844 | 1.33 | ||
Republican | John Gregory | 395 | .62 |
Thompson was indirectly referenced in the 2001 South Park episode "How to Eat with Your Butt", in which Wisconsin couple Martha and Steven Thompson mistake Kenny McCormick for their son "Tommy" who due to "torsonic polarity syndrome" (TPS) has a butt where his face should be. Tommy turns out in the end to be Ben Affleck.[40]
Political offices | ||
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Preceded by Tony Earl |
Governor of Wisconsin 1987–2001 |
Succeeded by Scott McCallum |
Preceded by Howard Dean Vermont |
Chairman of the National Governors Association 1995–1996 |
Succeeded by Bob Miller Nevada |
Preceded by Donna Shalala |
United States Secretary of Health and Human Services Served under: George W. Bush 2001–2005 |
Succeeded by Michael O. Leavitt |
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