Topic: Tommy Thompson

Thomas George "Tommy" Thompson (born November 19, 1941), a United States Republican politician, was the 42nd Governor of Wisconsin, after which he served as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. Thompson was a candidate for the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election, but dropped out early after a poor performance in polls such as the Iowa Straw Poll. In 2011, Politico reported that he would run for the U.S Senate in 2012.

Thompson was born in Elroy, Wisconsin, where his father, Allan, owned and ran a gas station and country grocery store, and his mother, Julia, was a teacher. He is a former captain in the United States Army and United States Army Reserve, and holds a law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School.

Thompson was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1966; he became the Assembly's assistant minority leader in 1973 and minority leader in 1981. He was famous for aggressively utilizing parliamentary procedure to give his minority party some limited say in the legislative process. Since this use of procedure was invariably one of delay and obstruction, he soon received the nickname "Dr. No" by the frustrated majority.