Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, with his company (Global Renewable, L.L.C.) is unveiling its plans for renewable energy plants that will open (conveniently for Thompson’s presidential prospects) in 2008.? Most significantly, he will be cutting the ribbon on a brand new ethanol plant in Sharon, WI in two years, which will be situated right on the Wisconsin-Illinois border and within short distance of both the Iowa and Indiana borders.? These four states are high-corn production areas (especially Iowa) where the disappearing private-farming industry has turned increasing focus onto the use of corn as an alternative energy source (ethanol).
This may not seem like a big deal, but many farmers in the I-strip (Iowa, Illinois, Indiana) see ethanol as their golden hope, and might just respond favorably to Thompson in ’08 as a result.? After all, if your Midwestern family business is on the verge of failing, you’re probably going to vote for the guy who’s directly addressing your local issue above the guy who’s talking about these overarching issues like terrorism or education.
I think Thompson, for being the underdog candidate he is, is playing a very smart game here in regards to the presidential election.? He has layed very low all throughout the “bloggers primary” (which began the day after the 2004 election and lasted until the 2006 election was over), allowing him to quietly make preparations, all the while escaping the scrutiny of the online political junkies whose power was arguably displayed in full force when a minor slip of the tongue that would have otherwise gone unnoticed brought down the man who was considered the Republicans’ insider frontrunner (you know who I’m talking about).? As soon as other candidates begin announcing, Thompson pops up and says he’s about to create an exploratory committee.? Then, instead of being hazy about what his specific issue(s) is(are) going to be or trying to wage an all-around general-issue campaign, he picks a couple of issues (healthcare and alternative energy–what other GOP candidate would dare touch those issues?) that can make him stand out above the crowd, which, while it probably won’t get him all the way through the primaries, is an ingenious tactic that helps him gain national attention despite his name recognition deficit (look what the immigration issue did for Tancredo).
All in all, while Thompson is keeping a low profile, he really does seem to be starting out on the right foot.? Not so good for the immediate future, but the start of a great plan for the long run.
November 26th, 2006 at 3:33 pm
Is it too soon to say Thompson is the leading candidate for a VP slot? Especially against Edwards he would provide some regional stabilization to a Republican ticket.
November 26th, 2006 at 3:46 pm
Hmm, I’m not so sure about that. If Romney doesn’t win the nomination, and assuming he hasn’t burned too many bridges with the supporters of whoever does get the nomination, I’d say Romney would be the leading candidate for the VP slot.
But, you’re right. I think Thompson is a leading candidate for the VP slot. Probably #2, behind Romney, in my opinion.
I don’t think we’ll see Giuliani or McCain in a VP slot (unless they’re both on the same ticket) because they’re both such big personalities that they would overwhelm and overpower whoever else was on the stage with them. That, and both Rudy and (much much moreso) McCain are getting up there in years, and I’m beginning to think it’s all-or-nothing for these two guys in 2008.
November 26th, 2006 at 5:17 pm
President Tommy? Ugh…
November 26th, 2006 at 5:57 pm
John,
That may be where Thompson envisions himself ending up.
I’ll say one thing for T.T., he will end up being much bigger of a player than people can imagine right now. He is a four-term Governor of a critical swing state in a critical electoral region of the US. His issues are tailor-made for the 2008 race. He is extremely popular in Wisconsin (he could probably be elected Emperor there) and would likley bring the entire upper-midwest with him. This is the guy who invented welfare reform and school vouchers.
He is a sleeper candidate in the general, as he will likely keep all of the states that Dubya carried in 2004 while adding WI, MN, & maybe MI while keeping IA and OH red. Winning the GOP nomination will be the hard part for him because of his low national name ID.
November 26th, 2006 at 6:21 pm
Is there a particular reason why Thomspon is not on the power rankings?
November 26th, 2006 at 6:25 pm
“Is there a particular reason why Thomspon is not on the power rankings?”
I haven’t been able to get to it yet. I am planning a big update to the Power Rankings (some candidates will be going bye-bye, others will be moving up or down, some will be making an appearance for the first time). I just want to make sure that the new rankings will not need to be updated for a while. Basically, I want to stay in the good graces of my Webmaster by not bothering him too much
.Â
November 26th, 2006 at 8:07 pm
Here is the thing with Thompson… Can Rudy win NY or CA (Debatable), Can McCain win over enough indies with his Iraq stance (Debatable), Can Romney Make plays in Mich and Mass (Maybe), But There is not doubt Tommy Brings Wisconsin.
November 26th, 2006 at 8:43 pm
Yes, but the problem is that Thompson is still a candidate who must live within the blue-red state divide. Wisconsin is definitely acquirable in the 2000/2004 map for the Republicans. Rudy opens up whole new areas to the GOP, including the Midwest, the Northeast, and the Northwest, something that Thompson is quite incapable of doing.
November 26th, 2006 at 9:14 pm
I know things aren’t this simple, but is there any way to increase the transparency of the rankings by quantifying things? You know, +1 for funding strength, -1 because too liberal … Just a thought.
November 26th, 2006 at 10:00 pm
If I could add my input on how the new power rankings might go, my suggestion would probably be:
First – Rudy Giuliani (tie)
First – John McCain (tie)
Third – Mitt Romney
Fourth – Newt Gingrich
Fifth – Tommy Thompson
Sixth – Mike Huckabee
Seventh – Bill Frist
Eighth – George Pataki
Ninth – Sam Brownback
Tenth – Tom Tancredo
Eleventh – Duncan Hunter
Twelfth – Chuck Hagel
Unranked – Condoleezza Rice
Also, to Tony, I did a ranking system like the one you mentioned on my old blog, http://www.Gop2008blog.com It’s nice, but the only thing is that it takes FOREVER to (first of all) figure out what categories you’re going to use and (second of all) try to quantify each candidate’s strength in each category and provide sufficient evidence to back it up.
November 26th, 2006 at 11:02 pm
Woody,
Regarding your Power Rankings, let’s just say “Great minds think alike”
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November 26th, 2006 at 11:04 pm
Thanks Woodrow, the statistics section with explanation for http://www.GOP2008Blog.com is fascinating though.
November 26th, 2006 at 11:14 pm
Woo! A whole thread devoted to Tommy Thompson, how cool. Kavon is right that he is particularly deified in Wisconsin and could definitely be made emperor here if he wanted too. He’s one of the most popular politicians in Wisconsin history. There was a poll taken in 2000 after he resigned as Governo in order to serve as Bush’s HHS Secretary has 94% of Republicans approved of him and 69% of Democrats did too. When Thompson was speculating on running for Governor again this year, the first polls showed him an amazing 30 points ahead of our incumbent governor, Jim Doyle. Unfortunately, he opted out of running because he had his eye of a higher job.
With that said, I’ve been mulling over his presidential bid a lot in the past two days. I think that while he might be mulling a veep slot, I think he’s more likely angling for a top Cabinet post in a future GOP administration. Thompson had a lukewarm relationship with Bush for most of the first term primarily because Bush passed him over for the Secretary of Education job that he really coveted and stuck him at HHS. I think in a future administration, Thompson would really want the Education spot or failing that, to be the Secretary of Transportation.