The Wisconsin Nailbiter.

From Friday night, John Nichols and Ed Schultz on the latest Wisconsin election news:

Tommy Thompson gets his News from Sean Hannity!!!

Sean Hannity is Tommy Thompson's go to guy for news and idiocy. The interviewers reactions to Tommy's answers are priceless.

From Hannity's positions on so many important wedge issues, to the latest news and fictions about liberals and Obama. Thanks to Sly in the Morning for capturing this wonderful moment:



Just for fun, here are a few forgettable moments of "Hannity outrage" over the most petty things, like children singing/free speech:



Here Hannity gets help from nut case paranoid David Horowitz to argue against limiting free speech, by advocating limiting free speech...really:



Hannity freaks out over Michael Moore's funny ad featuring seniors actually...swearing. Do they do that? Not in Hannity's world.

Will Wisconsin Really Send a Right-Wing Kook to the U.S. Senate?

Do you trust this crazy, out of control right wing tea party fanatic with your life? This ranting tea party lunatic, Tommy Thompson, will destroy America.

Okay, I may be joking, kinda, to make a point about the screen captured headline below, but seriously, they're kooks. Just more conservative projection, from a party too intolerant to allow an opposition party to exist in the U.S.!! I think they call it a dictatorship. The story below passes as news:  

Wagner shows off his incredible attention to detail and political acumen with this sharp biting observation:

Next Tuesday, we find out whether Wisconsin voters will really send an extreme Left-wing hardcore Madison nut job to the U.S. Senate? Can a State that elected Scott Walker(and overwhelmingly rejected an effort to recall him last June) really elect kooky Tammy Baldwin?

Wow, TMJ is a showcase of radio genius' like this.

Really, the Journal Sentinel is willing to pimp Thompson's Empty "Tammy missed a 9/11 Vote?"

How desperate is Tommy Thompson?

Thompson has been resorting to one last desperate ploy; in the words of Samuel Johnson, "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel." Tommy is questioning Tammy Baldwin's patriotism. This "patriotic" horse and pony show in congress over symbolic resolutions that have nothing to do with a representatives real job, is all Tommy has left sling.

It also seems odd jsonline's Dan Bice is writing this useless trash too? The headline blames Tammy for missing a vote on one isolated 9/11 resolution, but down a few lines Tammy explains she was sick that day. So...no story right? Wrong. It calls into question Tammy's patriotism. Pathetic.

I just came across this phrase in Bob Dylan's great song "Sweetheart Like You," with a few extra lyrics that describe Romney to a T:

New Marquette Law School Poll; Obama up by 8%, Baldwin up by 4%

Marquette Law School Poll: October 25-28 2012

Baldwin 47%, Thompson 43%

Obama-Biden  51%, Romney-Ryan  43%

The Tea Party? Favorable 30%, unfavorable 43%, haven't heard enough 20%

The tax cuts should; Continue for all 35%; Continue for those earning less than $250,000 42%;

Expire for all 12%

This was an interesting take on Wisconsinites hope for Medicare:

Medicare in the future:  Option A: Medicare should continue as it is today, with the government guaranteeing seniors health insurance and making sure that everyone gets the same defined set of benefits.

Option B:  Medicare should be changes to a system in which the government would guarantee each senior a fixed amount of money to put toward health insurance.  Seniors would purchase that coverage either from traditional Medicare or from a list of private health plans.

Option A  64%, Option B 28%

A few odds and ends: 

Gay couples should be allowed to legally marry?  Or, Gay couples should be allowed to form civil unions but not legally marry?  Or, There should be no legal recognition of a gay couple’s relationship.

Allowed to legally marry 44%, Civil unions 29%, No legal recognition 22%

Abortion: Legal in all cases 29%, Legal in most cases 32%, Illegal in most cases 23%, Illegal in all cases 12%

No Romney Plan: Do you think Romney as or has not provided enough details about the policies he would pursue as president? Has provided enough 39%, Has not provided enough 57%

WKOW:

Rasmussen has Thompson slightly ahead, as Tommy exploits 9/11. Sleazy.

Gee, who couldn't see this coming a mile away?

The fierce election fight between Tommy Thompson and Tammy Baldwin may be destined to go down as one of the most negative US Senate races in recent political history.

In a 30-day period ending Friday, 99% of the ads aired on broadcast television were negative, the highest percentage of any Senate contest in the nation, according to data provided by Kantar Media CMAG, which tracks campaign advertising.

While I’ve heard pundits lament the horrors of negative campaigning, it been working wonderfully for Republicans for years, at the expense of weak kneed Democrats.

Not anymore. In fact, what the Republicans have been doing is "defining their opposition first.” It’s an old advertising ploy the Democrats never picked up on, until now.

That’s what Rep. Tammy Baldwin did in her campaign. It worked! According to Craig Gilbert of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, that means Tammy's playing dirty?:

But Thompson has been coming up with every pathetic way to use the tragedy of 9/11 to vilify Baldwin. I know what you're thinking...still? But Republicans are throwing everything against the wall hoping something sticks or people just give up on Tammy.

Dan Bice: Four times in the past, Baldwin was listed as a co-sponsor for legislation that would allow peace-loving taxpayers to get a conscientious objector exemption from the Internal Revenue Service to stipulate that their income taxes wouldn't be used for war. Their taxes would go into a "peace tax fund," with the money being divvied out for non-military items. Baldwin most recently backed the bill three years ago.

 Media Trackers - a conservative group that digs up dirt on Democrats - was the first to suggest that Baldwin's support for this measure meant she favored "denying body armor and medical supplies to U.S. military personnel" fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. From there, the story took off. It was picked up by Breitbart, a conservative online news site, and plugged by talk show hosts Jerry Bader and Charlie Sykes.
 

Thompson Voters willing to Exploit 9/11 to win Senate Seat.

After the last debate, it was clear Tommy Thompson was getting the dumb Ron Johnson treatment; no withering criticism for outrageous behavior, misstatements or lying.

No criticism...none at all, except here. With no media accountability or public blowback, Thompson took the next logical step. Exploiting 9/11 with a lie and partial headline that completely misleads; the yellow highlighted print was not included in Thompson's ad:

Desperate and so typically Republican. Here's the ad:

The Thompson campaign stated: “Wisconsin voters need to know that Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin put her extreme views above honoring the men and women who were murdered by the terrorists in the Sept. 11 attacks on our nation.”

But this is what Tammy Baldwin said on the House floor when she cast her vote: “Rather than offering a bipartisan resolution that unites us on this solemn occasion, the Republican leadership converted the bill into an endorsement of the PATRIOT Act, punitive immigration bills, and other highly controversial measures, which many of my constituents oppose.”

According to Factcheck.org., who isn't prone to hyperbole, they found it "false and vicious."

Ed Schultz trashed Thompson:



The people in the ad deserver whatever comments their neighbors level off at them. 

New Medicare Facts Trash Thompson/Ryan plans!!!

Forget the senate race for a moment. I want to highlight two facts revealed in a recent article about that race pitting Rep. Tammy Baldwin against former Gov. Tommy Thompson.

Thompson just released his irresponsible plan to remake Medicare into something similar to the federal employee plan. Not a good idea! According to the article, he didn't know whether his latest plan will save recipients or the federal government money. Is he senile?

Right off the bat Tommy crushes seniors with higher costs. Brilliant. Here's what would happen:

WSJ: The organization reported that the data analysis and interviews with experts showed the federal employee plan "had not held down costs per enrollee as efficiently as Medicare during the past decade."

A side-by-side evaluation of Medicare and the federal employee health insurance program done in September found the federal plan grew by an average of 7.1 percent per enrollee per year compared to a 5.8 percent average growth rate for traditional Medicare.

According to Thompson: "This is a plan by Paul Ryan, I've modified it. I think my plan is better." Great plan Tommy.

The graphs and additional costs discussed below are all based on Ryan's premium support model, and NOT the current system. Private bidding will affect both traditional and private plans.

Paul Ryan's plan crushes seniors too: Ryan's plan includes the option to stay in the traditional plan, or take premium support. He's used that change to confuse and avoid the real numbers. Sorry Paul, the numbers came out last week:

click picture to enlarge

Last week, a Kaiser Family Foundation study concluded that under Ryan's plan, 59 percent of retirees and the disabled on Medicare would pay more for health care, ranging from hundreds to thousands more per year, depending on where they live. In Wisconsin, 10 percent of Medicare recipients would pay at least $100 more per month, the study predicted.

The simple question reporters never ask: "If Medicare is going broke; is too expensive now; and doesn't pay out enough to retain health care providers, how can reducing government premiums save the program, without costing more for seniors and shedding even more providers?"

Magic? A bidding war between providers to take on very high risk seniors?

Sadly, the huge number of conservative low information voters will "all be surprised" when they finally realize what Medicare reform really means.

Tommy Thompson Unhinged, Incoherent!!! Baldwin only Adult in Room.

Republicans love bullies, that's why they had Gov. Chris Christie stump for Thompson recently.

Christie must have inspired Tommy Thompson to batter his debate victim bloody, in the most reckless, incoherent drunken way tonight.

In this clip, Rep. Tammy Baldwin reminded Tommy he endorsed Paul Ryan's plan in speeches and radio ads. He also forgot he signed the Grover Norquist no tax pledge. He denied it at first...but then didn't. And best of all, he bashed Baldwin for heading up the Democratic Progressive Caucus' budget plan that, unbeknownst to Tommy, bested Obama's and Ryan's plan to balance the budget sooner, and without draconian cuts. Tommy didn't even know that the tax increases he whined about in her budget were ten year projections, not one year:



Here Thompson bullies his way into Tammy's time to speak, and when she corrects his endless lunacy:

Thompson: "You want to interupt me Joe Biden, just give me a chance." 

The silent studio crowd let out a loud grown. It sounded to me like "What an asshole." Just saying.

But Tommy insisted Tammy received $60,000 in a campaign contribution, which if done all at once, is not even legally possible. Again, Tommy mistakenly thought the whole $60,000 contribution from a group mentioned in the Journal Sentinel came all at once, and not through multiple legal avenues over 1 1/2 years. The group is anti-nuke, and also anti-sanctions. When Tammy accused Tommy of owning stock in a company that deals with Iran, Tommy got a big uncomfortable laugh from the crowd when he declared..."I sold it, I sold it today." Oops, that didn't come out right?:

Finally, Tammy and Tommy got to Medicare. Under Thompson's watch as head of the HHS, he brought Medicare 9 years closer to bankruptcy. Nice huh? Tommy also blamed the non-negotiable drug plan on Clinton and other Democrats, even though Thompson often calls himself the "quarterback and mastermind" of the unfunded Medicare part D plan. Then after claiming he had nothing to do with the law:

Tommy: "I tell the seniors out there, if you go to the drug store and buy your drugs, remember it was Tommy Thompson that past part D to allow you to do that." 

Huh? But you just said you had nothing to do with...never mind:

Jason Thompson makes a Great Tommy Spokesman.

Jason has offered us a glimpse at what is said in the backrooms of the Tommy Thompson campaign about our black president.

Jason Thompson said he wanted to send Obama back to Kenya. A big time attorney for the corrupt conservative lawyers at Michael Best and Friedrich, who are under investigation for defying a whole bunch of judges orders to turn over redistricting emails, Jason Thompson was caught at a previous event agreeing with an audience member who suggested Obama go back to Kenya.


Here's Lawrence O'Donnell's well deserved observation, and jab at Tommy and Jason:



And despite Jason's strong perfomance, voters love the "no where to be found" Tommy apparently, by putting him ahead slightly in a new poll. Can't these guys ever do wrong?

Republican Tommy Thompson had 46% and Democrat Tammy Baldwin had 45%, according to the poll by the Marquette University Law School conducted Thursday through Sunday.

Tommy "Fat Cat" Thompson just a farmer in Wisconsin.

Tommy Thompson talked briefly with Journal Sentinel reporter Dan Bice after appearing at the Milwaukee Press Club, and revealed a few interesting topics and responses. Thompson has no recollection about repacking ALEC legislation as his own. Did Thompson live in Wisconsin? Sure, if you don't count his new house in Florida and past nine condo's in Washington, or his residency in Alexandria Virginia. He got all that from the few Shekels he got for speaking. He did come back to Wisconsin on weekends...because it was close?

Thompson can't get any respect...

So how do many conservatives see Tommy Thompson, as he bungles his way through his senate campaign?

Red State's Erick Erickson wrote: “This year, the NRSC will have only itself to blame again, but this time really without any conservatives to pin the blame on. Tommy Thompson is flailing about in Wisconsin as the senile old grandfather with his various assorted women issues ... Tommy Thompson in Wisconsin is getting NRSC dollars after campaigning to end the filibuster and Todd Akin? Nothing.”

Thompson's Uplifting Message to Voters? "People are just petrified as to what's going to take place next." We are?

WPT's Here and Now asked the question:

"If the Bush tax cuts on the highest earners expire, they'll go back to where they were during the Clinton era,  which was also one of the most prosperous times in recent history, those tax rates didn't prevent businesses from growing then, so why would they now?" 

Honest answer: Because back then Republicans hadn't come up with their fanciful scare tactic involving "uncertainty" and the fear of tax increases (but Clinton increase taxes...oh, never mind).

Dishonest answer: According to Tommy, rules and regulations in place for decades are now a "tremendous hardship" on business. Regulation that contributes the health and well being of the communities and people they serve is now too heavy a burden for businesses to bear.

It's funny in a sad way, that Republican candidates never talk about ways they would try to make life better for people. It's always about making life better for business.



One more thing; isn't it time we tell Republicans enough with the "temporary" extensions. This is beyond incompetence, it's utter bullshit. Pass legislation one time and move on....

I thought this little headline was funny. He says he won't kill Medicare, like he said in a video!!!:

Tommy Thompson Loves those Lobbyists and Special Interests...oh, and you too.

Tammy Baldwin warned you!

Who would Tommy Thompson pick to represent us in a discussion about jobs? After so many years of lobbying and rubbing shoulders with special interests, would he pick a business owner to appear on WPT's Here and Now to speak for the people? No.

While Tammy Baldwin recommended the owner of farm equipment manufacturing business with 265 employees, Thompson recommended a business lobbyist. He's Steve Baas, the VP of governmental affairs for the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, a group pushing conservative business policies.

They’re proudest moment:

Recent advocacy wins: Successfully appealed Milwaukee’s Mandated Sick Leave Ordinance.

Host Frederika Freyberg asked Baas about Thompson's "border adjusting" plan; Tommy wants to get rid of export taxes for American companies. Baas answered that any law helping business is good. Baldwin's suggested guest, business owner John Miller of Miller St-Nazianz Incorporated, never heard of the export tax. He said in fact, there is no export tax, and as an exporter he would know. Miller trashed every Republican talking point about the horrors of big government and job killing regulations.

This is a must see:

Here's more on the kind of guy (lobbyist) Thompson represents:

Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce: Every business needs someone to advance its interests in the halls of government. The MMAC advocates for policy changes … to connect with elected officials and staff … A scorecard to track if your legislators are supporting policies that strengthen the business environment. Simple, effective vehicles to make political contributions.

Tommy Thompson’s backer will help you outsource to cheap labor countries:

Through our International Business Division, you will join companies and individuals on the leading edge of globalization.  The China Business Council and India Business Network are dedicated to those companies who are doing business in or wish to explore business relationships in China and India.  

Tommy Thompson has some Explaining to do.

Here's the latest polling on the Baldwin/Thompson race:

jsonline: Marquette University Law School's latest poll shows that Democrat Tammy Baldwin has a 4-point lead over Republican Tommy Thompson in the U.S. Senate race … Baldwin leading by 48% to 44%. That compares to Baldwin's 50% to 41% lead in the last poll released on Sept. 19.

On Aug. 22 showed the opposite: Former governor Thompson was leading Baldwin by a 50% to 41% advantage. The latest poll was taken Thursday through Sunday before Friday's first debate between the Baldwin and Thompson.

But where is Tommy, and why has he decided to hide after his comment about doing away with Medicare and Medicaid? There’s a whole separate story line surrounding his public disappearance:

Yesterday, Washington, D.C. insider Tommy Thompson made a rare public appearance on the campaign trail in Wisconsin but as Milwaukee’s Fox 6 reported, “A Thompson staff member told reporters the former governor would not take questions from the media Tuesday.” The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel also reported, “He did not take any questions from the media.”

Check out the Politiscoop video: 

Tommy's comments about Medicare and Medicaid were instantly made into an ad by Majority PAC:


Thompson is on the losing side of convincing the public Baldwin is too liberal, and more:

Poll respondents were split - 45% to 45% - on whether they believed Baldwin was too liberal for Wisconsin. 49 percent said they believed Thompson was not working for them anymore; 42% disagreed with that statement. 49% to 35% believed that Baldwin would fight unfair foreign competition, as she says in her ads. But just 40% believed Thompson's claim that he would fight wasteful spending; 52% didn't believe that.

Thompson admits he Lifted ALEC Legislation and Deceptively Made it His Own!!!

This is just an amazing admission by U.S. Senate candidate Tommy Thompson, how back in 2002, he disguised ALEC legislation as his own when he served as a state representative. I'm sure it looked good to the voters. It should tell you all you need to know  about our smoke and mirrors Tommy, and how little work is performed by our freeloading anti-government Republicans. Here's the isolated comment as presented on Bill Moyers and Company's feature, "United States of ALEC" :

  

The Moyers video clip is already mentioned on Wikipedia:

ALEC was the subject of the September 29, 2012 edition of Moyers & Company[8] hosted by Bill Moyers.[9] In the report, Moyers reported on Thompson's long ties to the organization.

The American Chemistry Council – that’s the trade group for the chemical industry – has used ALEC to press for changes in health and safety rules on toxic chemicals. Earlier this fall the council poured nearly 650,000 dollars into supporting Wisconsin republican Tommy Thompson’s bid for the U.S. Senate this November. By now it won’t surprise you to learn that Wisconsin’s former governor has been a friend of ALEC going all the way back to his days as a state legislator, when he himself was an ALEC member. Take a listen to a speech Thompson made at an ALEC conference in 2002.

"I always loved going to those meetings because I always found new ideas. Then I’d take them back to Wisconsin, disguise them a little bit, and declare that’s mine."—Tommy Thompson[9]

Here's the full clip:

Tommy Thompson wants the "State Government" to make Health Care Decisions.

What is it about, "My opponent is ranked as the number one liberal"...blah, blah, blah that makes so much sense to Republicans?

In a debate that stunningly passed over Thompson's comments to a group of tea party voters about "doing away with Medicare and Medicaid," Tommy clearly advocated the state get in between a persons medical decisions and their doctor.

Thompson: "I want you the individual, and the state government, to be able to determine who is going to able to be the arbitrators and the referees of health care. Huge difference. You want the federal government to make the determination of who your doctor and hospital is, or do you want the state and the individual? I'm with the state and individual, my opponent wants the federal government." 

First, the false premise: Of course the federal government would only be the insurer, like in Medicare, and not the one who decides who you'll see in the medical community.

But did the news coverage miss Thompson's push to get state government involved in a persons medical decisions? Thompson never even mentioned "doctors." State or federal, what's the difference Tommy? Wow. Big mistake.

A few comments about the debate: Tammy never once referred to any previous comments made by Thompson, which most of us see as a treasure trove of blunders. Every answer could have started with reminding voters what Tommy said about the issue. It was frustrating to say the least.

The pipeline was a big miss for Tammy. Just after the state experienced a ruptured pipeline in Adams County, she made no mention of that or the more corrosive nature of what is called "dirty crude." Just as big, Tommy's call for blindly going ahead with the pipeline would increase gas prices at the pump in Wisconsin, because it diverts oil away from Midwest refiners and sends it to exporters in the Gulf. Check out this Charles Osgood Report.

A note to Tammy; Remember, you were in the minority for all those years the Republicans were spending "like drunken sailors." The huge deficits Thompson said you created, were the fault of the Republicans. How hard was it to correct that statement?

Lastly, the panel of reporters stunk up the place. Boring and tedious, no one brought up recent comments by the candidates or their record. They asked generic talking point questions.

Not even a rebuttal. This was the worst debate format and list of questions I've ever seen. The stuffy introduction to the debate was enough for me to want to turn it off immediately. This was an embarrassing moment for the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association.

Tommy gets the Wrong kind of Press Promising to Do away with Medicare.

Rachel Maddow hit gold with Tommy Thompson's pledge to "do away with Medicare and Medicaid."

Tommy Thompson to Kill Medicare and Medicaid!!! See, We Told You.

Nothing says honesty like a cocky teabilly wannabe like Tommy Thompson. What an aging embarrassment.

Tommy said out loud what Democrats and liberals have known for years; Republicans wanna kill Medicare and Medicaid. Period. Killer video:



Tommy knows Ryan's policies will eventually bankrupt our safety nets, so...

...be able to take away the litigation that the trial lawyers are doing, so that doctors don't have to keep doing extra things to protect themselves from getting sued, which drives up our costs; change Medicare and Medicaid like I did welfare -- and who better than me, who's already finished one of the entitlement programs, to come up with programs to do away with Medicaid and Medicare?  Let's block-grant what the state has, and allow the states to determine what's going to go into Medicaid.

And Medicare, let's wait until everyone that's right now under 55 reaches 55 by age [sic] 2020, and give them a choice whether they want to purchase health insurance with a subsidy from the federal government, or stay on Medicare.  I'm here to tell you, when you look at the situation nobody's going to accept it, because Medicare's going broke by the year 2022.

Here's Ed Schultz with Howard Fineman's commentary, good stuff;

Thompson Supported "Obamacare!" Thompson runs from press for some reason.

It looks like Tommy Thompson may have some explaining to do. I say may because conservative low information voters don’t care much what their party does, just as long as they win.

Thompson as I recall did back the Affordable Care Act to some extent, because he knew something had to be done. That fading memory has been reaffirmed by a top White House adviser:

jsonline: A top White House adviser Tuesday put a new twist on an old charge - that Tommy Thompson supported Obamacare before he opposed it. Nancy-Ann DeParle, President Barack Obama's top adviser on health care, was present for a high-profile meeting two years ago on implementing the federal health care law that included Thompson. "He was, from what we could tell, working toward implementation," DeParle said. "I'm not going to say that he agreed with every single provision … But he was very helpful in implementation and we asked for his help and he said he would help us. DeParle said that the point of inviting Thompson to the meeting was that he was a supporter of the law - unlike many Republicans - Thompson at that time wanted to see it implemented rather than obstructed.

Thompson damage control went into action, but even conservative voters know Thompson a RINO. Oddly, Thompson was not available:

A Thompson spokesman immediately denied the assertion by DeParle, saying the longtime Wisconsin governor had never supported Obama's health law. Brian Nemoir said Thompson would not be available for an interview Tuesday and turned the conversation toward Thompson's Democratic opponent, U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin.

The conservative group Club for Growth also criticized Thompson's alleged support for the law during the GOP Senate primary Thompson won last month. The June 2010 meeting also isn't the only time Thompson worked with the White House on health care reform … On Oct. 4, 2009, the White House issued a joint statement by Thompson and Dick Gephardt, the former Democratic House majority leader from Missouri. That statement said that the health care bill then being considered by the Senate Finance Committee has "some issues that remain troublesome and unresolved," but that it was "another important step toward achieving the goal of health care reform this year."