Thompson finally decides

Tommy Thompson played the cheerleader in Madison at the Tea Party Movement Thursday afternoon, but he declined to take on incumbent Senator Russ Feingold.

“You can tell I want to run,” he said, “But it is time for new faces and new voices and we have a lot of candidates who have spoken and in the audience. This election is important, you need to talk to your neighbors and your relatives and get them all out to vote. If we can maintain this momentum we will have a new governor, a new legislature, a new congress that will listen to this state.”

Thompson was fiery and full of vigor, gaining strength from the crowd who chanted “Run Tommy Run,” but his announcement that he wouldn’t run for Feingold’s senate seat fulfilled what pundits had been saying for the past few days. Many have said Thompson had the fire to campaign, but his family didn’t have the will.

Thompson’s message was expected for the Tea Party attendees, one that demanded the people take their country back and that the Tea Party take the movement all the way to the halls of Washington D.C.

“Twenty-five years ago, I was standing in a crowd like this one,” Thompson said. “Businesses were leaving, unemployment was soaring, college graduates couldn’t find jobs and the governor of Illinois had the gall to place a sign at the border saying ‘The last business to leave Wisconsin, please turn out the lights.’”

“We started a movement then,” he continued, which led to Thompson’s election, welfare reform and unemployment figures that dropped to below 3 percent.  “For ten years we beat the national average for unemployment.”

He then skewered the Doyle administration, without mentioning the current governor, by pointing to law tax increases, changes to state regulations that have driven businesses to other states and an increase in statewide unemployment to early 1980’s levels. Every talking point elicited boos from the crowd and more chants for Thompson to run.

Thompson moved his speech to the national agenda, repeating the phrase “wrong for America and wrong for Wisconsin” as he blamed Senators Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Feingold and President Barack Obama for taking over the banks, taking over the auto manufacturers and foisting socialized medicine on the nation.

While announcing he won’t run against Feingold, Thompson promised to campaign vigorously for whoever the conservative candidate against the incumbent will be.

“I will be with you to take your message to where ever we can so we can elect conservatives who will listen to you the people,” Thompson said. “It is time to stand up and take our country back.”