The son of a grocer and a school teacher stressed his small town values while speaking at the Iowa Straw Poll in Hilton Coliseum on Saturday.

“I am an individual who believes in the Republican party,” said presidential candidate and former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson. “Our political party needs to get back to it’s basics.”

Thomspon discussed his plans for health care, immigration and the American military.

He plans to strengthen the Medicare and Medicaid programs to ensure they are there in the future for the people who depend on them.

Thompson has close family members who have suffered from cancer.

“I don’t want any women in America to suffer from this disease anymore,” he said. “Let us marshal our forces as Republicans and lets defeat cancer.”

Thompson pointed out that in 1986 America made a law that said “no more illegal immigrants.” He discussed his stance on building a wall to keep illegal immigrants from coming into America.

“I commit to you, I will build that barrier in the first six months of my presidency,” he said.

According to his Web site, www.tommy2008.com, Thompson believes that America needs to enforce immigration policies to the fullest extent.

He suggested that every American should have a passport so they can prove to their employer that they are an American citizen.

“If your going to come to our country legally, you should learn the American language,” Thompson said.

He also plans to rebuild the American military to keep America safe.

According to his Web site, Thompson would made the military bigger because he thinks they are stretched too thin to be able to protect overseas and in the country.

Thompson also supports the second amendment and considers himself pro-life.