Belling Knifes Tommy

Right-wing radio squawker Mark Belling writes a column for The Freeman, the Waukesha daily, and in his April 25th commentary throws a knife into Tommy Thompson far deeper than any other tossed at our ex-Gov. after his recent anti-semitic blatherings at a Washington, DC event.

Belling first builds Tommy up a bit by saying that George Will calls Tommy extremely qualified as a presidential candidate.

Then suggests that some of the criticism launched after Tommy's DC blundering was unfair.

Then Belling launches the harpoon, showing just how far from grace Tommy has fallen, even among conservatives who found it convenient to prop him up when his opponents were Democrats, and GOP control of state government was first on the rightists' agenda:

"Things that were overlooked in Wisconsin won’t be ignored by opponents or the media. Thompson’s personal life, close ties to gas station magnate Darshwan Dhaliwal and his investments in ethanol plants will be dug into. Even more potentially damaging are his connections with Nick Hurtgen, his former close aide indicted in 2005 by a federal grand jury, and Hurtgen’s clone, Phil Prange. Even though the charges against Hurtgen have since been dropped, Thompson actually was still doing business with Hurtgen during the period in which Hurtgen was under indictment. Hillary Clinton may be able to get away with those kinds of relationships, but Republican voters will demand more in their candidate for president."

The gratuitous shot at Ms. Clinton aside, the spotlight Belling shines on Tommy could hurt him as much or more than his boorish DC remarks.