The Candidates
A few days ago, I wrote this glowing comment about Tommy:
As (I think) the sole Wisconsinite on this site, let me wholeheartedly agree with this. Tommy is beloved in the state by everyone. This time last year, he was toying with running for Governor again against Gov. Doyle (D), he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that “If I run, I win.” To give you a picture of just how loved he is in the state: Gov. Doyle and his GOP challenger Mark Green were statistically tied 45%-43%. When they polled a Thompson vs. Doyle matchup, the results were amazing, 58% to 30%. For a Democratic incumbent to get 30% in a Democratic state is astounding. So, yes, Thompson as Emperor of Wisconsin would be great.
Out of everyone else, he’s definitely my second choice behind McCain. Granted, Thompson has almost no chance of being elected President, but he would be an amazing choice for Vice President. In a lot of ways, he’s the Republican version of Bill Richardson.
Little did I know that later that day, Thompson said this unbelievably cringe-worthy statement while speaking at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism:
“I’m in the private sector and for the first time in my life I’m earning money. You know that’s sort of part of the Jewish tradition and I do not find anything wrong with that.”
Even though he apologized, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote a strong editorial denouncing it. This is huge because the Journal had been one of the bigger boosters of a Thompson presidential campaign (to be fair, they were also big supporters of Feingold as well):
If Tommy Thompson’s presidential run isn’t over, it should be.
And this has nothing to do with his relatively light campaign chest. His remarks about Jewish people and tradition Monday revealed him simply to be ill-suited to the presidency.
Speaking to the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism in Washington, D.C., Thompson said, “I’m in the private sector, and for the first time in my life I’m earning money. You know, that’s sort of part of the Jewish tradition, and I do not find anything wrong with that.”
He later made a feeble attempt to explain the inexplicable. “I just want to clarify something because I didn’t (by) any means want to infer or imply anything about Jews and finances and things,” he said. “What I was referring to, ladies and gentlemen, is the accomplishments of the Jewish religion. You’ve been outstanding business people, and I compliment you for that.”
So an accomplishment of the Jewish religion is business acumen? Surely, a presidential candidate who would represent all Americans would know how hurtful stereotypes are. Surely, such a candidate would know, given this country’s experience with anti-Semitism, that Jews as fixated on money ranks up there among the most hurtful of them.
Gaffes are nothing new to Thompson. But this was said to give him the aura of the average Wisconsin guy. No. The average Wisconsin guy deserves more credit.
Ouch!
Oh Tommy, come on back to the state, we’ll still make you Emperor if you want.
April 19th, 2007 at 2:57 am
Well, it certainly wasn’t as bad as a ‘macaca’ but it’s worse than the ‘articulate’ phrase a few months back. These gaffes are rarely reversable. T Thompson is officially DOA in the campaign.
April 19th, 2007 at 3:20 am
Whoops.
Is it just me, or are campaigns increasingly become “make no errors and you’ll win” ? I guess thats part of being President though…
April 19th, 2007 at 6:56 am
This is absolutely ridiculous. The guy was simply trying to say that the Jews are great business-people and extremely successful. He may have used the wrong words, but he was simply understating it. Lay off him!
April 19th, 2007 at 7:10 am
Eugene Volokh has defended Thompson as doing absolutely nothing wrong with this statement and simply recognizing that the Jewish tradition doesn’t see money-making in itself as bad the way other traditions do. It’s an accurate and positive statement that relies on no negative stereotypes that are also related to money and Jews, and those who associate it with that are reading into it much more and much worse than what he actually said. Given that he was speaking to a specifically Jewish audience and was trying to court their support, it’s pretty insane to think that he was invoking a negative stereotype.
From his summary later on in a comment on that post: “Saying accurate, positive things about a group — even accurate, positive things about a group that match a stereotype that some hold for hostile reasons, especially when one is saying these things when courting the group, seems to be very poor evidence of hostility to the group.”
Then he summarizes what Thompson meant as: “I am now making money in the private sector — money beyond what one makes in Wisconsin state government service — and I agree with Jewish tradition that this is an honorable way to make money.”
April 19th, 2007 at 7:41 am
People are too hard on politicians. I loved this guys speech the other night, but….he is the verichip guy.
April 19th, 2007 at 7:48 am
Tommy Thomspon is the Dennis Kucinich of the Republican campaign. End of story.
Meanwhile, there’s a new poll out that shows some changes in the GOP field. And it’s not TT moving up…
http://political-buzz.com/?p=149
April 19th, 2007 at 8:23 am
“I’m in the private sector and for the first time in my life I’m earning money.”
Honestly, I think it is a part of every “religion” to make money regardless if one cares to admits it. It is a shame that he mentioned the Jewish religion which shows a stereotype. However, I don’t agree with this:
“If Tommy Thompson’s presidential run isn’t over, it should be.” (…as a result of the above quote)
Consider what Joe Biden said about Obama very recently:
“I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and **clean** and a nice-looking guy…” (Inferring that many African-Americans are not clean)
I would view the African American race as a “more holy sacred cow” to the liberals than their Jewish constituency, yet Joe is still in the race (although going nowhere). But then again, he is a liberal therefore he can say and get away with such things.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:46 am
Thompson should have run for Senate or Governor in ‘06 (preferably Senator) but instead chose to forego it for a longshot chance at the White House. He will now drop out in August and his campaign will come to nothing - and meanwhile we have a Democrat controlled Senate in Washington…
April 19th, 2007 at 9:24 am
Can you imagine Tommy Thompson speaking in front of a black audience and saying, ‘I gotta hand it to you people…you make the best basketball players and rap artists on the planet…keep up the good work!’
And, in response to the immediate backlash for that statement, saying, ‘Oh, I didn’t mean to infer that that’s all that you black people are capable of…I was just pointing out your greatest accomplishments.’
LJ and BarkTwiggs, you’ve got it right…
Ouch! As DOA as George “Macaca” Allen.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:29 am
Jeremy Pierce (#5), Volokh is uninformed. It is not accurate and positive, there is nothing “Jewish” about it. It’s simple: lack of condemnation of money making does not equal endorsement of money making. In fact, Volokh comes across as an idiot, despite his status as a law professor.
I don’t think Thompson is anti-semitic, but this was surely a critical blunder on his part.
April 19th, 2007 at 10:03 am
I am Jewish. I find Tommy Thompson’s comments to be inartful but certainly not offensive. The fact that Jewish people have faced some discrimination in this country but still achieved considerable financial success is indeed admirable, and I don’t see what’s wrong with a gentile like Thompson saying so. To be offended by what he said would be embracing hypersensitivity and political correctness.
Does anyone remember what Hillary Clinton said about Indians (South Asia) working at 7-11s or some such place? That was much, much worse, but of course she gets away with it with nobody questioning her suitability to be president.
April 19th, 2007 at 11:22 am
“Does anyone remember what Hillary Clinton said about Indians (South Asia) working at 7-11s or some such place?”
Wasn’t that Joe Biden? Of course, Hillary could have something along those line as well.
April 19th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
It was Biden. Look how well he’s doing. Was Thompson trying to make a joke or was he being serious? This statement sounds really bad.
April 19th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
[...] Filed under: Election 2008, Republicans — Psycheout @ 11:08 am From Race 4 2008 comes this: Little did I know that later that day, Thompson said this unbelievably cringe-worthy statement [...]
April 19th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
marksal,
It’s understandable why you mixed up Hillary and Biden’s similar cracks against Indians. If either of them were Republicans, rest assured this would have been their “Macaca” moment:
Here’s what Biden said:
“In Delaware, the largest growth of population is Indian Americans, moving from India. You cannot go to a 7/11 or a Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I’m not joking.”
Here’s what Hillary said:
“He [Mahatma Gandhi] ran a gas station down in St. Louis for a couple of years…”
You can watch it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1Mq8kOXV_E
April 19th, 2007 at 3:15 pm
I am also Jewish and saw nothing offensive in what Thompson said. It would be one thing if he was giving a speech in, say, Alabama to a mostly if not all non-Jewish crowd and used the occasion to deride Jews for being rich and other stereotypical comments. But he was speaking to a Jewish organization and was praising Jews for their business ethics. Trust me when I say this is far from the worst thing Jews have ever heard. Thompson has never once done or said anything that even remotely hinted at antisemetic in the past, and I think it’s said that this story has gotten so much press. As I said with the Imus events. . .one needs to look at the whole person, at his background and actions, before accusing him of racist or antisemetic acts. One can mis-speak without being a racist.