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Tommy Thompson

Tommy Thompson

Tommy Thompson, a Republican, was a 2012 candidate for the U.S. Senate from Wisconsin. He served as governor of Wisconsin from 1987 until 2001, when he left office to become President George W. Bush's secretary of health and human services. He previously spent 20 years in the Wisconsin Assembly. Thompson briefly ran for president, withdrawing in 2007.

Tommy Thompson Website

Scorecard

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0% 3 Checks
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0% 2 Checks
mostly false
0% 6 Checks
false
0% 8 Checks
Pants on Fire
0% 3 Checks
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Latest Fact-Checks By Tommy Thompson

Clear
Tommy Thompson
Tommy Thompson
stated on September 25, 2013 an interview
"Wisconsin is not as obese as the national average is. The national average, 35.7 percent of the population is obese. In Wisconsin, it's closer to 26 percent."
Mostly False
October 24, 2013
Tommy Thompson
Tommy Thompson
stated on October 26, 2012 debate comments
On support for U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan’s Medicare reform plan  
Half Flip
By Dave Umhoefer • November 1, 2012
Tommy Thompson
Tommy Thompson
stated on October 18, 2012 a debate
Says Democrats first proposed prohibiting the government from negotiating prices for prescription drugs in Medicare Part D and he "had nothing to do with" that provision in the law.
Mostly False
October 30, 2012
Tommy Thompson
Tommy Thompson
stated on October 18, 2012 debate comments
Says when he was governor, "most of the Democrats" voted for his billion-dollar property-tax cuts, but U.S. Senate rival Tammy Baldwin "voted against it."  
Mostly False
By Dave Umhoefer • October 26, 2012
Tommy Thompson
Tommy Thompson
stated on October 23, 2012 a television ad
Says "Tammy Baldwin had the opportunity to vote to honor the victims of 9/11 and she voted against it."
Mostly False
By James B. Nelson • October 26, 2012
Tommy Thompson
Tommy Thompson
stated on October 8, 2012 a TV ad
Says U.S. Senate rival Tammy Baldwin supports a "tax increase that President Obama says" would cost middle-class families $3,000 per year.  
Mostly False
October 24, 2012
Tommy Thompson
Tommy Thompson
stated on October 16, 2012 a TV ad
Says Tammy Baldwin "voted to gut Medicare for seniors."
False
By Dave Umhoefer • October 21, 2012
Tommy Thompson
Tommy Thompson
stated on October 5, 2012 a Milwaukee Press Club appearance
Says opponent Tammy Baldwin ‘has had not one positive ad’ in the campaign for U.S. Senate.
Half-True
By James B. Nelson • October 15, 2012
Tommy Thompson
Tommy Thompson
stated on September 27, 2012 an interview
Says Tammy Baldwin supports a law "in which government will take over your decisions on medicine, on doctors and on hospitals."
False
October 10, 2012
Tommy Thompson
Tommy Thompson
stated on October 27, 2012 an interview
Says U.S. Senate opponent Tammy Baldwin supported a federal budget "that spent trillions -- not billions, trillions -- more money than the Obama budget."
False
October 5, 2012
Tommy Thompson
Tommy Thompson
stated on September 11, 2012 a speech
"We have more natural gas than Saudi Arabia has oil."
Mostly False
September 24, 2012
Tommy Thompson
Tommy Thompson
stated on September 6, 2012 an email
An aide "acted on his own" and "was not representing the Thompson campaign" when he sent an email criticizing the sexual orientation of U.S. Senate candidate Tammy Baldwin.
Pants on Fire!
By James B. Nelson • September 17, 2012
Tommy Thompson
Tommy Thompson
stated on August 15, 2012 an interview
Says U.S. Senate rival Tammy Baldwin wants a "completely government-controlled" health care system that goes "far beyond 'Obamacare'" and is "a Medicare system for all."
Mostly True
August 26, 2012
Tommy Thompson
Tommy Thompson
stated on July 22, 2012 an interview
 "I have voted every year in Wisconsin."
False
August 10, 2012
Tommy Thompson
Tommy Thompson
stated on August 3, 2012 a TV ad
Says U.S. Senate rival Eric Hovde "refused to pay his property taxes until he was taken to court."
Mostly True
August 10, 2012
Tommy Thompson
Tommy Thompson
stated on June 4, 2012 a speech
"Donna Shalala left me with 12 million doses" of smallpox vaccine and "I created enough" to vaccinate "every man, woman and child against smallpox in America."
True
By Dave Umhoefer • July 30, 2012
Tommy Thompson
Tommy Thompson
stated on June 13, 2012 tweets
Says he "never supported" federal health care individual mandate.
False
July 15, 2012
Tommy Thompson
Tommy Thompson
stated on June 4, 2012 a speech
By eliminating the public intervenor’s office, "I was the first one to fire Kathleen Falk."
Half-True
By Dave Umhoefer • July 5, 2012
Tommy Thompson
Tommy Thompson
stated on June 7, 2012 a television ad
Federal health care reforms amounted to ‘the government takeover of health care.’
Pants on Fire!
By James B. Nelson • June 24, 2012
Tommy Thompson
Tommy Thompson
stated on March 23, 2012 a campaign speech
Every time the price of gasoline rises 1 cent, "it's a billion dollars out of our economy that goes to Saudi Arabia."
False
April 19, 2012
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Latest Fact-Checks About Tommy Thompson

Progressive Change Campaign Committee
Progressive Change Campaign Committee
stated on October 31, 2012 a TV ad
Says U.S. Senate candidate Tommy Thompson "says he’ll do away with Medicare."  
Half-True
By Dave Umhoefer • November 2, 2012
Majority PAC
Majority PAC
stated on October 31, 2012 a TV ad
"Tommy Thompson made millions from corporations who outsource American jobs and now he's trying to lavish huge tax breaks on them."  
Half-True
November 1, 2012
Tammy Baldwin
Tammy Baldwin
stated on October 18, 2012 a debate
Says U.S. Senate rival Tommy Thompson ran Medicare "into the ground" and "nine years closer to bankruptcy."
False
October 26, 2012
Tammy Baldwin
Tammy Baldwin
stated on October 24, 2012 a TV ad
Says U.S. Senate opponent Tommy Thompson "personally made over $3 million" from a federal contract granted to his healthcare company, but left  9/11 first responders "without the care they were promised."  
Mostly False
By Dave Umhoefer • October 26, 2012
Workers' Voice
Workers' Voice
stated on October 1, 2012 a campaign flier
Says U.S. Senate candidate Tommy Thompson supports a plan for "privatizing Social Security."
False
By Dave Umhoefer • October 25, 2012
Tammy Baldwin
Tammy Baldwin
stated on September 28, 2012 debate comments
Says U.S. Senate opponent Tommy Thompson favors raising taxes on small businesses.
Mostly False
By Dave Umhoefer • October 7, 2012
AFSCME
AFSCME
stated on September 4, 2012 a TV ad
Says Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tommy Thompson "supports massive tax cuts for corporations that outsource Wisconsin jobs."
Half-True
By Dave Umhoefer • September 26, 2012
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
stated on September 12, 2012 a TV ad
Says U.S. Senate candidate Tommy Thompson "admitted" that Washington, D.C., "changed" him into an insider selling his influence to make millions from powerful special interests.
False
By Dave Umhoefer • September 21, 2012
Tammy Baldwin
Tammy Baldwin
stated on August 15, 2012 an interview
Federal law adopted "under Tommy Thompson's watch" prohibits the government from negotiating for "better prices" on prescription drugs for senior citizens
True
September 4, 2012
Tammy Baldwin
Tammy Baldwin
stated on August 17, 2012 a television ad
Says U.S. Senate rival Tommy Thompson "wants to give a new $265,000 tax cut to millionaires like himself while raising taxes on the middle class."
Half-True
By Dave Umhoefer • August 27, 2012
stated on July 26, 2012 a radio ad
Says Tommy Thompson favors Obama's health care mandate, was publicly thanked by Obama for health reform support and that Thompson "says we can't repeal 'Obamacare.'"
False
August 10, 2012
stated on August 12, 2012 a radio appearance
Says U.S. Senate rival Tommy Thompson is "a big corporate lobbyist" and has been "lobbying during the middle of the campaign."  
Half-True
By Dave Umhoefer • August 10, 2012
Tammy Baldwin
Tammy Baldwin
stated on June 7, 2012 a speech
Says U.S. Senate rival Tommy Thompson said he wants to "do away with Medicare."
Half-True
By Dave Umhoefer • June 28, 2012
Tammy Baldwin
Tammy Baldwin
stated on May 30, 2012 a memo to the media
Says "Tommy Thompson's tax plan amounts to an average tax cut of almost $87,000 for the top 1 percent."
Mostly True
June 10, 2012
EMILY's List
EMILY's List
stated on September 19, 2011 a blog post
Says Tommy Thompson "pushed such strict laws that abortion providers faced potential life imprisonment and women were forced to cross state lines in order to receive attention for life-threatening issues."
Half-True
October 3, 2011
Club for Growth
Club for Growth
stated on August 23, 2011 a TV ad
Says potential GOP U.S. Senate candidate Tommy Thompson supported "Obamacare"
Half-True
August 31, 2011
Michael McAuliff
Michael McAuliff
stated on May 17, 2011 website article
"Tommy Thompson wanted to implant data chips in humans."
Mostly True
May 22, 2011
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