Charlie to Tommy: Pack it in

Republican radio's Charlie Sykes on Tommy Thompson's itch to run for governor again:

Republicans desperately need a candidate to run against Sen. Herb Kohl this fall and they would like it to be Thompson. Instead, he’s apparently dreaming of putting his feet up on his old desk in the Capitol. Tommy doesn’t realize he’s the political version of ‘80s retro-pop, without the big hair. So he’s reportedly on the phone to insiders, trying to reignite the old passions.

As gently as they can, they are trying to tell Tommy that the bus has left, the ship has sailed, the train has left the station, the parade was last week, we just sold the last ticket to that show, the ants got into the picnic basket, and Elvis has definitely left the building.

But they have to be careful. Like Willy Loman, attention must be paid. Maybe it would help if we named something really big after Thompson, like the newly reconstructed Marquette Interchange in Milwaukee. This seems only fitting, since Tommy liked building stuff so much. Plus, he’d be immortalized in every morning traffic report: “Smooth ride across the Tommy Thompson Interchange today” or “We have reports of a rollover on the Tommy Thompson.”

Hell, I’d throw in the airport too, so people coming to town would land at the Tommy G. Thompson International Airport and have to take the Tommy G. Thompson Interchange to get anyplace worth going – such as Tommy G. Thompson Park (formerly Miller Park). Robert Byrd would be green with envy and maybe Tommy would drop the whole governor thing.

If this doesn’t fly, we might need an intervention. Because Thompson is probably the last Republican in the state who doesn’t understand how completely the mantle of leadership has passed to Mark Green...

There’s been a changing of the guard, even if Tommy hasn’t yet gotten the memo