A letter to the editor by Sheikh Malek el Khazen.

Dear Editor: What inspires me most about Tommy Thompson’s campaign for U.S. Senate is that I believe if we send him to the Senate to represent us, he will actually get the job done. Remaining true to his conservative principles brought great success to the state of Wisconsin. From his education reforms to his welfare reforms, he remained true to our state’s motto: “Forward!” When you mark your ballots, ask yourself these questions: Which candidate has been fighting for conservative values the past 16 years? Which candidate has raised a family here? Which candidate has best represented our state?

Tommy is the kind of principled conservative Wisconsin and the nation needs right now to bring our country back from the brink. I hope you will join me in supporting Tommy Thompson for U.S. Senate. [Link]

Tommy Thompson Profile:

Tommy George 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.[1] He is currently running for the United States Senate election in 2012.[2]

Hard work. Honesty. The value of a dollar. 

Those are the Wisconsin values Tommy Thompson learned growing up in the Midwest Wisconsin, the second of four children born to a grocery store owner and a teacher. His first job – at the age of six – was polishing eggs at the grocery store and on the family farm he still operates today, learning first hand why those values matter. Those values are what drove Tommy to serve in the Wisconsin National Guard for six years and the U.S. Army Reserve for four more, and they laid the groundwork for the person Tommy became by helping form the conservative principles that shaped his personal and professional lives.

Tommy was an underdog to win the Republican nomination when he first ran for governor. Some in his party thought he was too conservative to win a statewide election due to his well-earned nickname “Dr. No” for thwarting government-expanding proposals pitched by Democrats when he served as Republican Minority Leader in the State Assembly. But Tommy proved the doubters wrong. He won the Republican nomination and then the general election, becoming Wisconsin’s 42nd Governor. And Wisconsin hasn’t been the same since.

The Reformer

During his tenure as governor of Wisconsin, Tommy’s Elroy common sense brought great change to Wisconsin – and the entire nation. Tommy championed innovative, conservative reforms to solve some of the biggest problems facing the state: entrenched unemployment, entitlement spending and inadequate public education. Tommy ended welfare, dramatically cut taxes, reduced unemployment to record lows and instituted a first-of-its-kind School Choice program. His compelling leadership enabled these reforms to take hold despite working with a Democrat-controlled Legislature for much of his 14 years in office.

Tommy turned Wisconsin into America’s laboratory of reform, and his innovative policies became landmark victories for conservatives in the state and across the entire country. His record is one of innovation, limited government, protection of life and liberty, and living within our means. They represent not just his conservative political philosophy but they encompass what he stands for and what he was taught at an early age. After serving as President George W. Bush’s Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tommy took his wealth of experience to the private sector, helping to create jobs and drive innovation in the healthcare industry. The values and lessons learned working on the family farm in Elroy and in his father’s grocery store still drive Tommy today. And Elroy still calls him back frequently. Tommy and his wife Sue Ann recently built a home in the Elroy area on the family farm, where they often spend time with their three children, Tommi, Kelli and Jason, and eight grandchildren.