It's not that Tommy Thompson (l) or Charlie Crist (r)
are liberals. It's that GOP primary voters are nuts.
With Paul Ryan
skipping the race to fill retiring Senator Herb Kohl's seat and former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson
very close to jumping in, ThinkProgress takes a look at
Thompson's health care rap sheet:
– SUPPORTED THE INDIVIDUAL HEALTH MANDATE: During a symposium in Orlando in September 2008, Thompson said, “Just like people are required to have car insurance, they could be required to have health insurance.” In 2009, he walked back his support saying, “I’m not opposed to it, I just don’t think it’s the most practical way.” [Miami Herald, 3/23/2010; YouTube, 2/03/2009]
– SAID GOP SHOULDN’T PURSUE REPEALING HEALTH LAW: “When it’s all said and done, you’re not going to be able to repeal health care because President Obama is not going to sign it,” Thompson said during an appearance on CNBC in 2010. “And they don’t have enough votes to override a veto, so why push a cart uphill when you know it’s not going to be able to get to the top?” [CNBC, 11/02/2010]
– PROMOTES SECTIONS OF HEALTH LAW: “The Affordable Care Act gives great discretion to the CMS Administrator to experiment with alternative payment systems. CMS has created an “innovation center” and is looking for ideas,” Thompson wrote just last month. [Huffington Post, 4/20/2011]
– OPPOSES REP. PAUL RYAN’S (R-WI) MEDICARE PLAN: “Simply cutting Medicare isn’t the answer by any means. Instead, let’s focus on the most effective fiscal path forward with the least amount of impact on millions of seniors, their families and our broader economy. In other words, reform Medicare, don’t cut it,” Thompson wrote in April. [Huffington Post, 4/20/2011]
– DEVELOPED STATE’S MEDICAID PROGRAM: As governor in the 1990s, Thompson helped develop BadgerCare into one of the country’s most innovative and generous Medicaid program. [NPR, 2/23/2011]
With a record like that, Thompson is going to have to either reinvent himself as a right-wing lunatic or he's going to turn into the Cheesehead Charlie Crist. Whichever the case, it's popcorn time.