In the US Senate race here in Wisconsin, there are two competing philosophies between the two candidates.
Tammy Baldwin knows as a member of the Senate she must work with President Obama to move this country forward, strengthen the middle class and create more jobs and grow the economy for all American families.
Tommy Thompson, on the other hand, wants to stand with the Republican party bosses and do everything in his power to block President Obama’s agenda at every opportunity.
In fact, support for Obama is one of the starkest contrasts in the campaign for US Senate.
Baldwin has already proven her partnership with President Obama. Baldwin strongly supported Obama’s landmark Affordable Care Act. In fact, Baldwin wrote an amendment in committee that proved to be one of the cornerstone pieces of reform in Obama’s bill. The provision that young people can stay on their parents’ health insurance until age 26 was one that Baldwin strongly backed.
Baldwin also supports President Obama’s tax plans – including backing tax relief for the middle class, and the Buffett Rule, which calls for millionaires and billionaires to pay the same tax rate as working and middle class families.
And Baldwin has embraced President Obama’s commitment to ‘winning the future’ by out-building, out-educating and out-innovating the rest of the world. This is to be achieved with investments in education, worker training and jobs skills development, and infrastructure improvements.
Tommy Thompson offers a fundamentally different approach. His candidacy is marked by a point-by-point opposition to the entire Obama agenda.
While Tammy Baldwin voices loud support for Obamacare, Thompson declares he will repeal the president’s largest and most significant achievement.
While Baldwin and Obama see eye-to-eye on tax fairness, Thompson offers a tax plan that would actually cut taxes by an average of $265,000 for millionaires and billionaires, and increase taxes on middle class people by an average of $1300.
And as Thompson opposed new investments in the economy, in schools, and in infrastructure – investments that will spark economic growth and new job opportunities – Baldwin and Obama have worked together to ensure these critical areas remain top priorities.
Baldwin and Thompson have different visions on virtually every issue, but nowhere are there differing views more stark than in their embrace, or rejection, of President Obama. As a member of the US Senate, Tammy Baldwin will be a reliable partner for President Obama, and they will no doubt work together often and energetically to move the country forward – as they have already done throughout the president’s first term.
Thompson, conversely, will no doubt assume the obstructionist, hyper-partisan approach of the Senate Republican leadership, which has identified its top goal as blocking and thwarting the president’s legislative agenda.
For voters casting ballots for US Senate on November 6th, the contrast is stark – Tammy Baldwin will partner with Barack Obama to get things done; Tommy Thompson will try to undermine and hinder the president at every turn.
