From AP we learn that Tommy Thompson, former Bush HHS secretary, and former governor of Wisconsin, is no longer conservative enough for today's GOP. He's considering a run for Herb Kohl's Senate seat, against Tammy Baldwin (she's the only declared Dem candidate so far), but the far-right Republicans running the state and national GOP no longer consider Thompson a "real" Republican.
This story is far more than just Tommy Thompson and Wisconsin. It's about how the GOP let itself be taken over by religious zealots and political anarchists, neither of whom exists for any purpose other than dismantling government and banning abortion (and the gay).
For more than a decade, Tommy Thompson was the face of the Republican Party in Wisconsin. He was elected governor four times. Word that he was considering a political comeback seemed to offer the GOP the prospect of a high-profile contender for a Democratic-held Senate seat and a better shot at winning control of the chamber in 2012.
But as Thompson weighs a possible bid, Republicans here find themselves with surprisingly mixed feelings about their most famous living politician and where he fits into the party these days.
Some Republicans clearly want more candidates who will continue to press a hard ideological line. Conservative groups like Club for Growth are already working against Thompson. In August the group aired a statewide television ad attacking him. South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, a conservative kingmaker, recently took a thinly veiled swipe at Thompson, claiming he supported President Barack Obama's health care plan - a charge Thompson denies.
Meanwhile, the National Republican Senatorial Campaign, which courted Thompson as a candidate in 2010, isn't calling this time.
A number of other Republicans are considering making the race. One is Jeff Fitzgerald, who said he respects the former governor but thinks the party has moved on.
