Tommy Thompson forgot how many mansions he owned in an interview recently with a Milwaukee paper. Now critics are asking, with a memory like that, how will he remember to fight for our community?
The shocking mistake, which shows just how out-of-touch Thompson has become from average families and people in the community, came as Thompson continued to refuse to release state and federal tax returns or describe the work he’s done for a powerful Washington lobbying firm.
Following 14 years as governor, Thompson went to Washington to work in the Bush administration and peddle his influence for the powerhouse Akin Gump lobbying firm in DC, fighting for special interests like Big Oil and Big Drug — not for us.
He wrote the Medicare Party D plan that was a windfall for pharmaceutical companies because it forbid the Medicare program for negotiating for lower drug prices. Think about that: Thompson refused to let Medicare negotiate lower drug prices seniors – including many right here in the community.
After he left the Bush administration, Thompson cashed in-working for the very same companies that he helped make record profits.
Thompson, who is now running for the U.S. Senate against Democrat Tammy Baldwin, has kept an air of secrecy over how rich he became from multiple Wall Street, pharmaceutical and medical supply companies, but recent reports estimated his worth at $13 million.
With all this money, Thompson bought a 10,800-squarefoot mansion in Florida in Disney World; he “flipped” 9 pricey condos in the Washington area, making more than $500,000 in profits; and he bought a $1.3 million condo on Lake Wisconsin, to add to homes in Elroy and Madison.
Doesn’t sound like someone who will put our community first, does it?
Yet Thompson continues to attack hypocritically Tammy Baldwin, even though he doesn’t own her record for standing up for the middle class.
But when he was asked last week by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Thompson said he only owned three houses, when the correct answer was four.
State Democrats have said this mistake showed just how much Thompson has lost touch with Wisconsin.
“If you can forget how many mansions you own, how in the heck are you going to remember the problems that average folks are going through in this tough economy?” asked Democratic party officials “Tommy Thompson is asking for a big tax cut for multimillionaires like him and for the corporations that have made him a very rich man, but it’s not just how many mansions he owns that he’s forgetting. He’s forgetting the real needs for quality education, good jobs and good health care for our seniors that are the REAL needs of our middle class. He’s just not for us anymore
