From CNN:
Health and Human Services secretary Tommy Thompson has resigned, official says.

Let's see, bobbie. He stated in March of this year that he was leaving. Could it be because his daughter was diagnosed with breast cancer? She was the third generation of women in his family to come down with this disease. He also stated that he could make more money in the private sector than in government, something many other ex-cabinet officials in every presidential administration have done.

Of course, you somehow conveniently fail to grasp this simple concept.

Why so worked up MIB?
Unless I missed some cryptic message in Bobby's posting, all he said was that he resigned.
No commentary added.

MIB is just being Mr. Judge-mental, again. Must be "that time of the month".

From thread title: "Changes in Bush Cabinet Never End". Yeah, no commentary or suggestion there.

Good for Tommy. After 4 terms as WI governor and 4 years in Washington, he deserves some time off.

Maybe they ought to install a revolving door into the Oval Office. Don't hit your head on the way out now. wink

Hitting the booze a bit early this Friday, Puckman? This so doesn't make sense on so many levels...

No doubt. This was a job he really didn't want -- he wanted Transportation badly -- well, actually, he really wanted to be V.P. back in 2000. Good guy ... well, for a GOPer!

Rumors are he might go back to Wisconsin and run yet again for Governor or take on Herb Kohl in 2006 -- I don't think he'll do either.

Again, more misunderstood history and not-so-subtle innuendo from our friends on the left. What part about "new administration" don't you people understand?

William said


hitting the booze early this Friday, Puckman? This so doesn't make sense on so many levels.
Kinda of like how we feel about the current administration! wink

Puckman, we agree! I've never been able to fathom the feelings of the left and how so much of what they say makes so little sense!

Okay, so the "revolving door on the Oval Office" is just too flawed to even analyze - that would mean that we have a lot of Presidents coming and going, not Cabinet officials, because even if they all went to the Oval Office to resign they would be just a few of many people with whom Bush presumably meets in the Oval Office for a variety of reasons (thank goodness I decided not to analyze that one) - but did you mean "don't let the door hit your ass on the way out" - i.e., do you not know your head from your ass, or are you trying to be funny interchanging the two? Is Tommy Thompson like really tall or something? Is there some leftist conspiracy theory of which I'm blissfully unaware that involves head injuries in the Oval Office during the Bush Administration? This is like one of those high school math equations. Ass=head/doorxresignation to the nth power. Or something. Whatever.

I am looking forward to seeing a friend of mine to discuss the Thompson resignation. I know he voted for him 4 times for Wisconsin Gov. Thompson has spent the last 38 years in state and federal government. This friend of mine blasted Kerry during the presidential campaign for being a "career politian". He added that at least Bush "worked" in the private sector and was only a short term politian. To make myself clear, I don't think Thompson is a bad person. But there is a clear double standard, a Republican long-time office holder is good and a Democrat is a public money sucking scum.

Thompson's career in state government (which followed a brief, unsuccessful business career) was indeed long but hardly distinguished.

As a legislator, he was a hack known mainly for currying favor with lobbyists and getting an abandoned railroad in his district turned into a bike trail ("nawt that theh's anything wrawng with thaht" ). He was also called "Dr. No" for his talent, as minority leader, for blocking bills he didn't like.

As governor, after unseating a Democrat he dubbed "Tony the Taxer" (because Earl increased taxes to get the state out of a deficit and ended up with a surplus), Tommy presided over historic increases in both the size of state government (so much for "limited government") and in state spending, especially on roadbuilding contracts, many of which conveniently went to his cronies. So I'm sure he would've loved the Transportation post at the federal level.

His grasp of the English language is also about as good as W's, but at least it's better than Daley's dad's was. eek!

Anyway, if recent corruption scandals in Wisconsin's traditionally clean state government are, as some say, the product of too many career pols and not enough of the "citizen legislators" of old, I think the wheeling and dealing and logrolling of the Thompson years deserve at least some of the blame. I call it the Illinoisization of Wisconsin. frown

Well, I guess we know how danimal feels about Tommy.

Having been too young to know anything about his career as a legislator, I can't comment on that. As a governor, he certainly had his distractors, but who doesn't? I have to imagine he was one of the more moderate voices in the Cabinet, and as such, I wish he would've stuck around. Someone in Washington needs to occupy the middle ground.

I can't imagine he'd run for governor again - seems his time has come and gone. As for the Senate, it'll be awfully tough to unseat Herb. He's about as entrenched as Tommy used to be.

That's a first--and a welcome one at that.

danimal
I agree with you on Tommy's and Scott's years in office. Gov Doyle is now dealing with the problems and cutting state workers, cars, planes and anything he can get this hands on to balance the budget. I have the Wisconsin Blue Book in front of me to Tommy's biography. He graduated from college in 1966, he was elected to the state legislature in 1966, he was elected governor in 1986 and he was named Sec of HHS in 2001. He has never been in the private sector.

Milmill

Doyle's problems with the state budget are not unique to WI, nor can they all be blamed on previous administrations. It was widely reported that state governments across the country started having budget problems when the economy slowed down. It's pretty simple to figure out - as unemployment increased, the amount of money the state takes in from taxes decreases. Plus, the number of people needing assistance (welfare, etc.) increased. More people asking for less money means major cutbacks.

MN's governor (a Republican) has endured a lot of criticism for cutting way back on state spending, but it's something that has to be done when the tax rolls are diminished.You can blame Tommy for not saving up a surplus when he was in office and times were good, but you can't blame him for the budget cutting now - that's all a function of the economy. If the economy wouldn't have sputtered out, everyone (regardless of party) would have just kept on spending and spending.

According to Thompson, "We import a lot of food from the Middle East."

What food do we import from the Middle East?

Weaselman
I understand how changes in the economy affect tax collection and the demand on government. I don't think I said it was all his fault, lets make it clear he ran for office telling people he was going to cut government. The truth is state payrolls and budgets exploded under Thompson. He had the luxury of better economic times. My grip is this Republicans stand in front of voters saying I will give you less government. The people eat it up, but the truth is they spend, spend & spend more. I would rather be a "Tax and Spend Liberal" than a "Barrow and Spend Conservative" at least I have the guts to ask for money.
In other Thompson news, the State of Wisconsin is asking him to pay back $17,000 in campaign related travel he did on state airplanes while in office.

Yeah, weaselman, he was one of the more moderate voices in W's cabinet ... but that's not saying much. And it was less from any moderate beliefs on his part than from a lack of belief in anything other than feeding from the public trough.

That's my gripe too. :mad:

Gee, maybe he and Whatserface from Florida could fly off to some island together. Preferably with just enough fuel for a one-way trip and a safe landing.