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'''Ronald John Thompson''', known as '''Ronnie Thompson''' or ''''Machine Gun Ronnie' Thompson''' (born July 21, 1934), is a former [[Georgia]] [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[politician]] who was the first member of his party to have been elected [[mayor]] of [[Macon, Georgia|Macon]], his state's sixth largest city. Thompson served two controversial terms from 1967-1975. He is also a former [[gospel]] and [[Country music]] [[singer]] known for his highly [[Conservative (politics)|conservative]] views on issues.

[[Image:Ronnie Thompson of GA.jpg|250px|right|thumb|Mayor and gubernatorial candidate Ronnie Thompson]]

In 1972, Thompson was a [[Republican Party (United States)|GOP]] candidate for the [[United States House of Representatives]], but he was defeated by the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] [[incumbent]] [[W.S. Stuckey, Jr.]], [[scion]] of a wealthy Georgia family. In 1974, as his party's [[gubernatorial]] nominee, Thompson was trounced by Democrat [[George Busbee]]. A [[populist]] in political philosophy, Thompson was often at odds with his state and national moderate Republican leadership. However, during [[Watergate]] he was a staunch defender of embattled [[U.S. President]] [[Richard M. Nixon]], no particular favorite of many conservative Republicans.

 

 

In 1972, Thompson was a [[Republican Party|GOP]] candidate for the [[United States House of Representatives]], but he was defeated by the [[Democratic Party |Democratic]] [[incumbent]] W. S. Stuckey, Jr., scion of a wealthy Georgia family. In 1974, as his party's [[gubernatorial]] nominee, Thompson was trounced by Democrat [[George Busbee]]. A [[populist]] in political philosophy, Thompson was often at odds with his state and national moderate Republican leadership. However, during [[Watergate]] he was a staunch defender of embattled [[U.S. President]] [[Richard M. Nixon]], no particular favorite of many conservative Republicans.

Buddy Kelly Moore (1951-1998),<ref name=ssdi>http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi</ref> who completed a [[master of arts]] [[thesis]] on Thompson's career in 1976 at [[Georgia College & State University]] in [[Milledgeville, Georgia|Milledgeville]], determined that the Maconite "shocked and fascinated observers with hard-line approaches to law-and-order, [[municipal]] [[organized labor|unionism]], and race relations." Moore defined Thompson's career in terms of a "predilection for the flamboyant."<ref>Buddy Kelly Moore, '''Machine Gun Ronnie' Thompson" A Political Biography'', Georgia College at Milledgeville, Master's thesis, August 1976, p. vi</ref> Unconventional [[author]] Will D. Campbell called Thompson "a harbinger of the [[New Right]]", a movement which emerged in the late [[1970s]] to help to elect Republican [[Ronald W. Reagan]] of [[California]] as [[U.S. President]].<ref>https://books.google.com/books?id=su2g0MFHfpgC&pg=RA1-PA191&lpg=RA1-PA191&dq=Ronnie+Thompson+(Macon,+Georgia)+&source=web&ots=5ttPFo0eCj&sig=JwKBOrK4ZnE27_NX2uOT9IjfSjw&hl=en#PRA1-PA140,M1</ref>

Buddy Kelly Moore (1951-1998),<ref name=ssdi>http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi</ref> who completed a [[master of arts]] [[thesis]] on Thompson's career in 1976 at [[Georgia College & State University]] in [[Milledgeville, Georgia|Milledgeville]], determined that the Maconite "shocked and fascinated observers with hard-line approaches to law-and-order, [[municipal]] [[organized labor|unionism]], and race relations." Moore defined Thompson's career in terms of a "predilection for the flamboyant."<ref>Buddy Kelly Moore, '''Machine Gun Ronnie' Thompson" A Political Biography'', Georgia College at Milledgeville, Master's thesis, August 1976, p. vi</ref> Unconventional [[author]] Will D. Campbell called Thompson "a harbinger of the [[New Right]]", a movement which emerged in the late [[1970s]] to help to elect Republican [[Ronald W. Reagan]] of [[California]] as [[U.S. President]].<ref>https://books.google.com/books?id=su2g0MFHfpgC&pg=RA1-PA191&lpg=RA1-PA191&dq=Ronnie+Thompson+(Macon,+Georgia)+&source=web&ots=5ttPFo0eCj&sig=JwKBOrK4ZnE27_NX2uOT9IjfSjw&hl=en#PRA1-PA140,M1</ref>

==Early years, family, education, business==

==Early years, family, education, business==

Thompson was born in [[Augusta, Georgia|Augusta]] in eastern Georgia near the [[South Carolina]] state line to Remus Warren Thompson and the former Mattie Lou Watkins (1910-1997), a southern working-class couple. The family included two older brothers, Kenneth and William Thompson, and a younger sister, Janice. Remus Thompson worked (1) in a cotton mill, (2) for Friedman's [[Jewelry|Jewelers]] in Augusta, having risen to the rank of [[credit manager]], and (3) as a [[firefighter]] at the Daniel Field air base in Augusta. Mrs. Thompson and Ronnie, while he was still in elementary school, operated a [[restaurant]] near the military base.<ref>Moore, Thesis, pp. 1-2</ref>

Thompson was born in Augusta in eastern Georgia near the [[South Carolina]] state line to Remus Warren Thompson and the former Mattie Lou Watkins (1910-1997), a southern working-class couple. The family included two older brothers, Kenneth and William Thompson, and a younger sister, Janice. Remus Thompson worked (1) in a cotton mill, (2) for Friedman's Jewelers in Augusta, having risen to the rank of credit manager, and (3) as a [[firefighter]] at the Daniel Field air base in Augusta. Mrs. Thompson and Ronnie, while he was still in elementary school, operated a [[restaurant]] near the military base.<ref>Moore, Thesis, pp. 1-2.</ref>

Originally a [[segregationist]], Thompson said that he had been reared to "believe in separation of the races."<ref>Roger Williams, "What Makes Ronnie Run", ''Atlanta Magazine'', January 1971, p. 94</ref> He also developed a resentment of the dominant wealth and power [[elite]]. He once said that he could not fully evaluate the overall status of Macon because "I'm from the other side of the [[railroad]] tracks."<ref>Margaret Shannon, "Can a Gospel Singer Find Happiness as the First Republican Mayor of Macon?" ''Atlanta Journal and Constitution Magazine'', May 25, 1969, p. 16</ref>

Originally a [[segregationist]], Thompson said that he had been reared to "believe in separation of the races."<ref>Roger Williams, "What Makes Ronnie Run", ''Atlanta Magazine,'' January 1971, p. 94.</ref> He also developed a resentment of the dominant wealth and power [[elite]]. He once said that he could not fully evaluate the overall status of Macon because "I'm from the other side of the [[railroad]] tracks."<ref>Margaret Shannon, "Can a Gospel Singer Find Happiness as the First Republican Mayor of Macon?" ''Atlanta Journal and Constitution Magazine'', May 25, 1969, p. 16</ref>

Macon, situated near the geographic center of Georgia, was chartered in 1823 and named for the [[North Carolina]] statesman, [[Nathaniel Macon]]. The city contributed volunteers to the [[Texas Revolution]]. It was a temporary [[capital]] of Georgia after the sacking of Milledgeville in 1864 by the army of [[General]] [[William Tecumseh Sherman]].<ref>Ida Young, Julius Gholson, and Clara Nell Hargrove, ''History of Macon, Georgia'' (Macon: Lyon, Marshall, & Brooks, 1950), pp. 43, 48, 62, 88, 278</ref>

Macon, situated near the geographic center of Georgia, was chartered in 1823 and named for the [[North Carolina]] statesman, [[Nathaniel Macon]]. The city contributed volunteers to the [[Texas Revolution]]. It was a temporary [[capital]] of Georgia after the sacking of Milledgeville in 1864 by the army of [[General]] [[William Tecumseh Sherman]].<ref>Ida Young, Julius Gholson, and Clara Nell Hargrove, ''History of Macon, Georgia'' (Macon: Lyon, Marshall, & Brooks, 1950), pp. 43, 48, 62, 88, 278</ref>