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Saturday, March 31, 2007
posted by Justin Hart | 8:13 AM | permalink
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Friday, March 30, 2007
posted by Anonymous | 5:48 PM | permalink
In recent months, we have heard a slew of news stories geared toward telling us how disatisfied we are all with the Republican field of potential Presidential candidates. Recently, there was a poll that seemingly confirmed this pessimism.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm tired of the media trying to tell the rest of the country that no matter who the Republican nominee is, that person is unacceptable. This was the same lie they told about Bob Dole. They said he was just the next in line and not the best choice. They told us how unexciting he is. Well, we all learned after the election how funny and charming the guy is. Some people thought this just showed his inability to campaign. In fact, it was the Clinton media machine laying off the guy now that they had quashed him.

So, let me just stand up and say no matter what happens in our Republican Primary, I am proud of our party and I will be delighted to call any of the top notch Republican Candiates President.

Just how fine are the Republican candidates? Well, consider this, Mitt Romney, clearly an extremely competent and intelligent leader, is in the pack of candidates. He is a tremendous person with solid values who respects others and leads with conviction tempered by flexibility. He is working hard. He is gaining momentum. He is slowly, but surely, inching his way toward the finish line. This is no sunshine candidate we have in Mitt. No weekly love-child (is that appropriate to say) of the pollsters. This is the candidate who is going the distance. Yet, he remains just one of several "front-runners" at this point. Why is that? Because Romney's competition is formidable. He is running against two national heros, as he describes them. And while both of them drive me crazy from time-to-time on some single issue, I respect both of them and am proud to have them in my party.

So, while I know that Romney is the best person to lead us in facing a new generation of challenges, I am done listening to the media tell us we are unhappy with the choices available.
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posted by Justin Hart | 1:17 PM | permalink
One of MMM's readers sent us a fantastically cute video of their daughter at a Romney fundraiser giving Mitt a Webkinz!

My kids are crazy for these things! Looks like Mitt's caught the fever as well.

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OK honestly these clips get me 'cause they show the human side. What sweeties, both of them.

By Anonymous Anonymous, at March 30, 2007 at 9:59 PM  



posted by jason | 10:59 AM | permalink
Romney picks up another Iowa Christian Alliance Board Member:
Keith Hunter Serves As A Member Of The Board Of Directors With The Iowa Christian Alliance (Formerly The Iowa Christian Coalition), A Position He Has Held Since 2002. He served as Communications Director for the Christian Coalition of Iowa from 2003-2005. He has been a member of the Polk County (Des Moines) Republican Central Committee since 1994, serving on the executive committee from 1995 to 1996, and 2004-present. He resides in Des Moines with wife, Ann, and his son who is currently serving in the United States Marine Corps and has done two tours of duty in Iraq.
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posted by jason | 9:26 AM | permalink
As obtained by Hotline:

To: National Finance Director Spencer Zwick, National Finance Co-Chairs and the National Finance Committee
From: Benjamin L. Ginsberg, Romney for President National Counsel
Katie Biber Chen, Romney for President General Counsel
Date: March 30, 2007
Subject: A Guide to First Quarter FEC Reports

With Saturday’s close of the first quarter FEC reporting period, Romney for President and the other campaigns will be releasing the totals of the amounts they’ve raised. There are sure to be a lot of articles appearing, and it’s important to know whether reporters are measuring apples to apples. Here’s a guide of what to look for.

First, Governor Romney’s totals will be indicative of our extraordinary success in building an organization and stirring excitement among grassroots activists. The number will be quite a tribute to Governor Romney and all of you since the other leading candidates enjoy universal name identification, existing networks of contributors and clear advantages in the national polls.

Second, be aware that some campaigns’ totals will include monies raised for the general election. This money will artificially inflate totals, but it is meaningless in gauging current strength since not one penny of a campaign’s general election funds can be used in the primary. Reports that don’t separate primary and general election contributions will be misleading. As you know, Romney for President has raised only primary funds, but the McCain, Giuliani, Clinton and Obama campaigns have raised both. (While there may be some advantages in raising both kinds of money now, know there are also disadvantages – for example, 100 percent of general election monies raised must be returned if the candidate is not the nominee. This means that all the costs of general election fundraising, including fundraisers’ commissions and event costs must be paid for with primary funds.)

Third, reporters should be telling readers if candidates are planning on taking federal matching funds for the primary. Governor Romney has decided against using the primary matching funds, as have the McCain, Giuliani, Clinton, Obama and Edwards campaigns. Candidates who take matching funds will receive up to a $20 million check from the U.S. Treasury next January – but in return will be limited to spending about $40 - $50 million through the Conventions in late August. By contrast, President Bush and Senator Kerry each raised and spent more than $250 million through their parties’ conventions in 2004. Thus, it’s difficult to see how any GOP candidate taking the primary matching funds can remain competitive against the Democratic candidate from the time the nominee is decided through late August. (Those who remember Bob Dole’s 1996 campaign struggling against the Clinton machine have a taste for what this is like.) In other words, look for the GOP field to start to split between a top tier that can be competitive against the Democratic nominee and a second tier that will be tethered to the federal match and its spending limit.

In summary, we hope this Memorandum gives you a better understanding of what you’re reading in the news reporting this weekend and early next week about the first quarter FEC reports.
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posted by Ben Wren | 8:32 AM | permalink
Governor Romney will be on Your World with Neil Cavuto on the Fox News Channel. The show airs at 4pm.

The advertisement indicates he will be discussing the crisis with Iran.


Be sure to tune in!!
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posted by Justin Hart | 6:28 AM | permalink
Mitt Romney on taxesThe recent meeting hosted by the "Club for Growth" (the same event that someone panned McCain for dissing) proved to be a very successful event for Mitt.

Momentum is his according the WSJ (actual excerpts can be found here):
The guy with the momentum is former entrepreneur and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. He's signed an anti-tax pledge, bemoaned excessive regulation, called for cheaper energy with domestic drilling, and laid out (in detailed Power Point presentations) the coming fiscal disasters that are Social Security and Medicare. He took another plunge yesterday, unveiling a broad-strokes tax agenda.

While short on details, he laid out a marker for the field, calling for lower marginal tax rates, a more competitive corporate tax and the end of the death tax. This isn't necessarily a surprise, given Mr. Romney's economic team is largely made up of the Bush tax-cut brain trust, including former Council of Economic Advisers chief Glenn Hubbard, his successor, Greg Mankiw, and Brian Reardon. Mr. Romney also scored a coup with economist John Cogan, who knows budgets inside-out, and is a tax-cutter to boot.

What attracted many of these economists to the Romney team was the former governor's success, in a liberal state, of beating back big-tax proposals and instead choosing to erase deficits by hacking away at spending. Mr. Romney's challenge will now be in convincing economic conservatives that his tax plan, and other pro-growth talk, is more than just election rhetoric. In particular, he'll need to do some explaining about his Massachusetts health-care plan, which Mr. Romney touted as a market-based reform, but was more about new government regulation.

The team least happy with this early Romney tax marker is surely John McCain's. The super-senator has been unable to get much traction with this second bid for the White House, thanks in part to conservatives' distrust of his economic credentials. The maverick was born out of the old austerity wing of the GOP, tough on spending, big on balanced budgets, grave about the need for entitlement reform. These were the traits Mr. McCain stressed in his last run, and by the look of his new team, little will change this time around.
Ramesh at NRO's The Corner had this to say:
Almost everything is off the record at the Club for Growth's "winter" conference, but I can say that the dozen or so attendees to whom I spoke after Mitt Romney's speech were impressed.

Since the campaign issued a press release about the speech, I can also comment a little about its contents. Romney hit every one of the club's buttons. He came out against most trade barriers, for reductions in marginal tax rates, against the "death tax," for cuts in corporate tax rates to make our rates comparable to those of other countries, for federal tort reform, and for scaling back Sarbanes-Oxley. He repeated his call for federal spending to shrink by one percent in real terms every year.

A few attendees complained about the vagueness of Romney's proposals. While he has come out for more detailed and substantial tax cuts than Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, or Fred Thompson, he didn't say what corporate and personal income tax rates he wanted, or offer an estimate of the budget impact of his tax cuts. On Social Security, he spoke against tax cuts but otherwise merely offered a list of options—with personal accounts the last one on the list.

All in all, it seems like a perfectly fine economic plan if you're looking for a conventional conservative platform and a smart businessman to sell it. I don't think it is a great tax plan for the general election, however, and Republicans need one.

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Go to the straw poll at the site below and vote for Mitt!

http://www.gopbloggers.org/

(scroll down to the straw poll)

By Anonymous Anonymous, at March 30, 2007 at 3:12 PM  



Thursday, March 29, 2007
posted by jason | 1:49 PM | permalink
Two things:

(1) Thanks so much for supporting our effort over here. When it comes down to it, we're all on the same team, and none of us benefit from letting disagreements blow up into bigger problems. We at RS are extremely grateful to y'all for endorsing our effort to get the Iraq story straight from the source, and I'd like to extend you a personal "thank you" for that, as well as to thank you on behalf of our community.

(2) I'm sorry that it seems that we're 100% anti-Romney at RS. However, I think that the perception is worse than the reality. The above commenter asserted that "[Erick] Erickson has come out as an arrogant, disrespectful hack w/regard to Romney." In truth, though, while Erick is sticking with his principles and refusing to sway from them (something we try always to do at RS), he has repeatedly said - this week included - that, were the primary held today, he would vote for Romney.

That's not being an anti-Romney hack, in my opinion; however, the unwillingness to let what he sees as a weak and obfuscatory argument from Mr. Hewitt about the illegitimacy of even considering Mr. Romney's religion as being a part of him is simply Erick doing what he feels is right, and taking a stand on his principles, regardless of who might be the person going astray.

As I said above, at the end of the day, we're all on the same team here. I'm from Georgia, where last year a GOP primary (in which a religious body was a large participant) tore the state GOP apart and left it in tatters. Let's not allow differences or disagrements over candidates do that on the national level in '07-'08, please.

Again, thanks so much for supporting our Iraq effort, and best of luck to the Romney campaign in the future. We're all on the same side, and if we make sure that we don't lose sight of that - as Justin has demostrated with this post - we can make sure that we are successful.

-Jeff Emanuel, RedState.com
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Thanks for posting this. I'd been getting the impression that Redstate was a Romney hate site so I'm glad to know that's not true. Hopefully they'll have some positive coverage at some point in the future.

By Anonymous Anonymous, at March 29, 2007 at 3:19 PM  


Redstate is staying OFF my favorites list and WE are most assuredly not on the same team.

They attack Romney based on feelings and assumptions and heresay.

All candidates should be judged on their RECORD, that includes the Mormon.

By Anonymous Anonymous, at March 29, 2007 at 4:47 PM  


I understand where you're coming from, Georgia Mom. Mr. Emmanuel probably believes what he is saying, but until I see some actual evidence that RedState isn't a Hate Romney site I'm not sending them a dime. I was thinking of donating $50 but then I thought I could probably donate the money somewhere else that was open to all Republicans.

Erickson says he's a Romney supporter but just today he admitted that he's really pulling for Fred Thompson. All he ever posts about Romney is that its OK to attack Romney based on his Mormonism. That's all the other major contributors do too. I sent an email asking for anything positive that the major contributors had ever posted and RedState never responded. And after I respectfully took Erickson to task on one of his posts, RedState stripped me of my commenting rights.

By Anonymous Anonymous, at March 30, 2007 at 9:26 AM  


My wife and I attended the Romney fundraiser in Houston last Monday. We were very impressed with Mitt and his supporters. Mitt answered some tough questions, particularly one about his ability to become the Commander-in-Chief. The answer impressed many of the attendees. Intelligent, articulate, imposing, accomplished...the list goes on and on.




posted by jason | 12:40 PM | permalink
Rumorville has it that Romney's big Media Consultant Alex Castellanos and Fred Thompson were spotted having dinner:


Lamar Alexander and Fred Thompson are close ... really close. If anything disqualifies Thompson from running for President, it's Lamar's soft committment to Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney's campaign. The prescence of Alexander staffers at Romney events in Tennessee before talk of Thompson entering the fray popped up signaled his soft support. So there may be something big to this tidbit that Thompson was spotted at dinner with Romney strategist Alex Castellanos. Can we say most valuable Vice Presidential candiate? (Link- bottom of page)


Now what does this mean?

1. Alex is jumping ship? I can confirm from 2 top sources that this is definitely not the case. Alex is very happy with his job and Romney. Also as a consultant, Castellanos knows that loyalty is number one in his business.

2. Two old pals having dinner? Alex worked for Fred in his Senate runs in TN. Could just be catching up?

3. Alex doing some recruiting for his boss and Thompson considering.

Alex has a lot of sway in all things political and an incredible amount with southern politics. Alex worked for Strom Thurmond and in case you missed it, yesterday Thurmond's son Paul joined Romney's South Carolina grassroots leadership team. Is this the work of Alex?

Thompson looking to for a top spot with Team Mitt (Future AG???) could easily be the case when you consider that as popular as Thompson is at the moment, he is not fond of politics in general and knows building a credible ground game at the moment is a momentous task with the most of the big players going to McCain, Giuliani and Romney already.
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Is it a possibility that Fred Thompson could become Mitt's running mate? If not, do we have any idea who is being considered as a running mate?



Is it a possibility that Fred Thompson could become Mitt's running mate? If not, do we have any idea who is being considered as a running mate?



Romney dropped some VP Names today that consisted of several conservative possibilities.

I tihnk this is more of Romney talking about people he respects in the potential VP field. While I think Thompson would make a great VP, he is not exactly a ticket balancer for Mitt's conservatism. Having said that, anything can happen.

By Anonymous Anonymous, at March 29, 2007 at 3:24 PM  


Well, the reality is that Mitt needs a Southern or a Superstar to overcome some of the institutional bias towards him in the South. Sorry guys, that is the biggest obstacle and it explains the wild fluctations in his polling (Whenever a national polling comes out and shows him below 5%, it is because they polled heavily in the South. Likewise, when the national polling hits other regions, he jumps up in the polls near or above double digits).

Now with Fred Thompson (or Condoleeza Rice!), he would get both. A Southern and a Star, literally!

At any rate, this is early in the game but given Mitt's unique situation may call for an usual manuveur. I would suggest to Mitt, to combine your religion speech with a promise of sorts to pick a like-minded Southern. It will be even more forceful if he said that Fred or Jeb or Condi will be his nominee.
--nowandlater---

By Anonymous Anonymous, at March 29, 2007 at 9:49 PM  


You make a good point and one that I hadn't really considered, which is that Mitt needs a conservative southerner to strengthen his position. I have taken it for granted, for the most part, that southern conservatives would ultimately recognize Romney as one of their own when it comes to the issues and would set aside any bias or misgivings they may otherwise have about him. I could be miscalculating.
Normally, I would say it is a bad idea to indicate something too concrete about who your running mate will be before the nomination. It may come across as counting your chickens early. In addition, I think a fresh assesment of strengths and weaknesses following the secural of the nomination before deciding is appropriate. Normally, the VP choice is geared toward winning the general election. You are sugeesting Romney may want to gear it toward winning both the primary and general election. I think that may be possible. Good comment.

By Anonymous Anonymous, at March 30, 2007 at 3:04 PM  



posted by jason | 10:40 AM | permalink
From Cincinnati.com:

Every four years, Republican presidential candidate compete for the support of Cincinnati's Lindner family, because having them on your side can draw millions in campaign contributions.

For the past 20 years or so, you had a leg up on the competition if your name happened to be George Bush -- father or son.

This time around, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney is the lucky winner.

Romney's campaign announced Wednesday that S. Craig Lindner, co-president of American Financial Group and CEO of Great American Financial Resources, will be co-chair of Romney's Ohio fundraising effort, along with Ames Travel Service president Nancy Donovan.

Not terribly surprising, since Lindner hosted a fundraising event for Romney at his Indian Hill home earlier this month.

The pater familias, Carl H. Lindner Jr., will serve as the honorary co-chair of the Ohio finance committee and the co-chair of the national finance committee.

Locking down the Lindners is a pretty big score for the Romney campaign, since there are untold numbers of other corporate-types in this part of the world who generally follow the Lindner family's lead when it comes to campaign contributions.
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Mitt Romney is a magnet as well as a magnate. People, especially successful people, are flocking to him in droves.




posted by Justin Hart | 8:30 AM | permalink
Today, The Hill notes that John McCain was "was close to leaving the Republican Party in 2001, weeks before then-Sen. Jim Jeffords (Vt.) famously announced his decision to become an Independent."

Ouch.

Listen we all know that John is a maverick, but I always considered his objections to the party to fall short of abandonment. My impression was that John's stints with the gang of 14, the McCain-Feingold bill, the fiasco at the end of 2006 and most recently the McCain-Kennedy bill were simply John... feeling his independent oats. I had no idea he had serious GOP misgivings and was ready to leap ship.

Dean Barnett believes that the Straight Talk express is now derailed. I'm not so sure. As we've noted in these pages... ground game is all important here and John still has that going for him.

But this is definately a blow to the gut in a campaign fraught with eagle-eye attention to every nuance.
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posted by Justin Hart | 7:42 AM | permalink
Apparently, my comments were keeping Philp Klein up at night. I apologize to Philip. He should not have been included with other bloggers who call people liars. Philip is too much of a professional to succumb to that.

Secondly, I'm glad to hear that Philip wasn't behind the shoddy work of The Prowler who go it "completely wrong". My suspicions were unfounded.

So, I indeed apologize.

I stand by my statement that Philip is not a fan of Romney (Anti-Romney-esque as I termed it). I think that was clear from our conversations at CPAC as Philip might recall. Cheers Philip. Get some sleep.

I've posted this at Red State
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Wednesday, March 28, 2007
posted by Justin Hart | 10:43 PM | permalink
Here's a message from our friends at RedState. We whole heartily endorse this cause!



What if somewhere in the world, there was something going on - something that was one of the most important stories of our lifetime?

What if you had the choice to send someone to tell you that story firsthand? Would you send someone like, say, Dan Rather?

Or would you send someone you trusted?

Today, you have the opportunity to help send two of our own, from right here at Redstate, to tell you the real story about what's happening on the ground in Iraq.

In a nutshell, RedState has been invited by the Pentagon to go to Iraq. We want to send Jeff and AcademicElephant, who henceforth insists on being known by her real name, Victoria Coates. They'll leave during the last part of April. But, we need your help to make it possible.

To send RedState to Iraq, we need to raise $7500.00. This presents a challenge to us now, one that it did not present last year. As you probably know, RedState is now owned by Eagle Publishing, Inc. A lot of you are probably asking why they don't just fork over the money. Well, frankly, there just isn't money budgeted for something like this right now, but the experience presents such an invaluable opportunity, we really want to do it. We need your help. Eagle is going to commit the first $2500.00 to the trip, which, given all the data the Pentagon has given us, will cost $10,000.00 total.

We want to make it worth your time and money, so here's the deal. If you will contribute $50.00, we'll make sure you get Victoria and Jeff's posts before everyone else -- from their videos to their writings. If you contribute $100.00 or more, we'll put you on an email list with Victoria and Jeff to correspond with them, ask questions, etc. while they are in Iraq.

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2 Comments:


Due to the mindless and ignorant bashing of Governor Romney at Redstate I will not support them in this or any other way.
I took the link off my favorites which makes me a little sad.

By Anonymous Anonymous, at March 29, 2007 at 5:59 AM  


I share GeorgiaMom's sentiment. I don't mind honest disagreement and lively banter on the ISSUES of the campaign. Frankly, however, Erickson has come out as an arrogant, disrespectful hack w/regard to Romney and a ranting adolescent w/regard to Hewitt's stance on the Mormon issue. Redstate has become more of a treehouse club than a quality forum for thoughtful dialogue.

By Anonymous Anonymous, at March 29, 2007 at 7:56 AM  



posted by Justin Hart | 10:23 PM | permalink

Florida

Governor Mitt Romney today announced the endorsement of former Secretary of State and former Mayor of Orlando Glenda Hood. She will serve as Co-Chair of his Florida Statewide Steering Committee and Chair of the Florida Municipal Elected Officials and Community Leaders Committee.

… “I am proud to support Governor Romney and will work hard to spread his fresh and optimistic vision for America to Floridians across the state,” said Glenda Hood. “He is the true conservative in this race, committed to strengthening our families, our military, our economy and our individual liberties. Our country is at a crossroads right now, and Governor Romney’s agenda of innovation and transformation is the right direction for America.”

Romney also named three Jacksonville area leaders to his team:


State Representative Dick Kravitz Has Represented Parts Of Duval, Clay And St. Johns Counties Since 2000. He currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Economic Expansion and Infrastructure Council. As a former Chair of the House Criminal Justice Council, Kravitz has sponsored many bills to strengthen victims’ rights in the state, especially for children. Prior to his election to the House, he was a member of the Jacksonville City Council from 1987-1999 and served as the President in 1995. Kravitz is a former Chairman of the Northeast Florida Regional Planning Council and the Duval County Tourist Development Council. Additionally, he serves on the Executive Committee of the Duval County Republican Party. Kravitz is currently an insurance agent and business consultant.

City Councilman Lake Ray Has Been The City Councilman For District 1 Since 1999. He is a native of Jacksonville and a graduate of the University in Florida. Ray is an engineer with Halcrow HPA. His community involvement includes the Parks and Recreation Board, Exchange Club, Greater Arlington Civic Council, Florida Engineering Society and the Boy Scouts. His focus as a city council member has been on combating crime, restoring decency and improving transportation, schools and the environment for the citizens of Jacksonville.

City Councilman Art Shad Was Elected To The Jacksonville City Council In July Of 2003. In recognition of his service, he received the 2004-2005 Charles D. Webb Award, the City Council’s most prestigious internal honor. Shad is a native of Jacksonville and veteran of the United States Marine Corps. Shad served in an elite reconnaissance unit and was decorated for service in Operation Desert Storm, receiving a Combat Promotion to Sergeant in Kuwait in 1991. Shad received his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of North Florida. Currently, Shad is a Certified Financial Planner and First Vice President-Investments for Wachovia Securities, helping more than 400 families in Jacksonville meet their financial goals.


Ohio

Romney announced the beginning of his Ohio Finance Committee:

Carl H. Lindner, Jr. – Honorary Ohio Co-Chair And National Finance Co-Chair: Founder and Chairman of the Board of American Financial Group, Inc., Mr. Lindner is prominent in the Cincinnati area for both his political and civic giving.

S. Craig Lindner – Ohio Co-Chair: Co-President of American Financial Group, Inc. and President and CEO of Great American Financial Resources, Inc., Mr. Lindner is Chairman of the Board of The Craig and Frances Lindner Center of HOPE.

Nancy Heffner Donovan – Ohio Co-Chair: President of Ames Travel Service and Chairwoman of the Cincinnati Institute of Fine Arts.

South Carolina

Romney adds three people in charge of Grassroots organizations:

Rick Adkins Is Chairman Of The Anderson County Republican Party. A real estate professional, Adkins is a veteran of South Carolina politics. He served as the 2002 County Chairman for Peeler for Governor, as the County Chairman for Bush-Cheney 2004 and as a delegate to the 2004 Republican National Convention. He chairs the Anderson County Republican Party as well as the Anderson Interfaith Ministries. He is also a member of the State Board of Education. A graduate of Clemson University, he and his wife, Teresa, have three children.

Kathy Bigham Is A Businesswoman And Trustee Of Winthrop University In Rock Hill. A graduate of Winthrop University, Bigham is president of Thursdays Too restaurant in Rock Hill. A member of the Clinton Junior College Advisory Board, she has served on the Winthrop Eagle Club’s Board of Directors, the Wachovia Bank Advisory Board and Rock Hill Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors. She has served as an executive committee member for the Carolinas Billy Graham Crusade, as co-chair for the Changing South Carolina to fight video poker, and as a member of the Bush for President South Carolina Steering Committee. She and her husband, Larry, have two children and three grandchildren.

Paul Thurmond Is An Attorney Who Serves On The Charleston County Council. A member of the County Council since 2007, Thurmond brings a fiscally conservative viewpoint to issues such as criminal justice, infrastructure improvement and planning for growth. A former Assistant Solicitor with the 9th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, he is a partner and shareholder at Thurmond Kirchner & Timbes, P.A. A graduate of the University of South Carolina Law School, he and his wife, Katie, have one son.


Mitt also added some new county chairs:

· Larry Courtney, Chesterfield County

· Betty Cox, Florence County

· Orey Middleton, Hampton County

· Kathy Stedman, Marion County

All of this is pulled from press releases that can be found here.

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1 Comments:


Paul Thurmond is also the youngest son of the late Senator Strom Thurmond (R-SC).

By Anonymous Anonymous, at March 29, 2007 at 7:52 AM  



posted by jason | 8:33 AM | permalink
Don’t worry I won’t be lifting my shirt here- unless there is money in it.

The other day I was reading Redstate (as I do several times a day) and noticed this little diddy in the RedHot section. Well I thought it was kind of funny, and worthy of a short post on MyManMitt.

Little did I know the brouhaha that would result…

A little later Eye on 08’s Soren Dayton posted this:
People say that a picture is worth a thousand words. I would assume that a moving picture is worth even more. But that does not stop "My Man Mitt" Jason Bonham from dishonestly misquoting one of the YouTubes that I took of John McCain this weekend in New Hampshire…

Just dishonest. Shameful. And this is not the first time...

Well. It didn’t end there, a sort of email battle erupted between Soren and I that only served to strengthen each sides opinion. It definitely did nothing to serve anyone or any cause.

Well apparently Matt Lewis at Townhall took note and wrote a post in our defense:
In my view, Soren is being too hard on MyManMitt. Yes, technically McCain was misquoted -- but not misrepresented. It is clear that McCain agrees with the courts -- that's why he is quoting them. In my view, this is a matter of semantics (and not worth flaming somebody over).

But that's not the end of it. Soren goes on to add:

Just dishonest. Shameful. And this is not the first time. This is the way the Romney campaign — which MyManMitt (and Evangelicals for Mitt, also liars) is a talking mouth for — behaves.

Among other complaints, Soren also adds that Romney's team "lied about Sam Brownback."

But, as far as I can tell, Romney's team was correct about Brownback when they wrote: "When Brownback was elected to office that is when he also had a conversion and voted with the pro-life movement."

In fact, back in January, I wrote a piece detailing how Sam Brownback was once pro-Choice. My piece is well-sourced, and includes quotes from the former GOP Chairman, as well as the former director of development for Kansans for Life.

Thank you Matt. When I posted it I thought people would watch the short video and see it for what it is, a funny little thing, nothing to think too much about. I really don't think this is anything to deter someone from McCain who already likes him. And I don't think McCain is all bad, actually I think right now he has become my second choice, distant, but still second.

I offered to change the post to Soren’s liking if he was willing to fix his post that improperly implies James Bopp Jr. is paid by Romney. You see I have emailed several sources to Soren, including an email from Bopp himself, that clearly prove Bopp is an unpaid endorser/advisor. Soren to this day refuses to change his post or acknowledge that contrary information exists.

When he refused to bargain I almost considered putting a picture up of someone mooning the readers for Soren’s readers coming to our site. But I figured that would have been a little too much.

The moral of the story? Hat tip Amanda B. Carpenter next time. And us bloggers need to calm down a little (myself included).

Soren I am sorry, and hope after this we can get on a better footing.
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1 Comments:


All of this seems like a big distraction from the fact that McCain thinks people who believe strongly about something enough to spend a lot of money on it shouldn't be allowed to. As a libertarian when it comes to the war of ideas, I find this paternalism highly objectionable in whatever form the restrictions take.

In fact, I want people who believe in something strongly to be able to put money into it because I think it helps to ensure we place the proper value on their preferences; whether candidates or positions. For example, if two people are spending money on the issue of a marriage amendment, and the one against it spends four times as much as the one for the amendment, I think it helps us to know how strongly the opponent feels about the issue. Even if we all reject that position and supoprt the amendment, at least that person gets their fair shot to try and convince us of the superiority of their position.

Of course, I am assuming that people can sort through the amount of material coming at them and make decisions based on the content. But I prefer my confidence in the American people to confidence in the pollies.

By Anonymous Anonymous, at March 28, 2007 at 3:54 PM  



posted by Justin Hart | 6:34 AM | permalink
Here's the thing, no matter how popular the flavor of the month is (Gingrich, Giuliani, Thompson) the real question is "Who can win?" We answer this question by asking "Who's got game?"

You see, you cannot win simply by a popular vote a year out from Iowa. You have to show "game"!

The chart below ranks the GOP candidates based on all the elements of a ground game (or, at least, all the elements we could think of). This is essentially a "ranking" or "scoring" chart showing the "tier" rank for each candidate.

The lower score (higher rank) shows serious ground game.

election primary ground game 2008 mccain romney

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Tuesday, March 27, 2007
posted by Justin Hart | 8:50 PM | permalink
Try out the new grassroots engine behind the Romney campaign.

Email us at mittlink@mymanmitt.com to get an account.

mittlink
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1 Comments:


Great idea -- bad planning.

The site just doesn't work as it should.

From sending out 10 e-mails to each "recruited" member yesterday and this morning not even showing those recruited members in my contact manager anymore.

Time to find a better development company...




posted by jason | 7:00 PM | permalink
GOP Bloggers Poll:

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So how is he doing?




posted by Justin Hart | 1:54 PM | permalink


Classic hack. Simple. Legal and lethal

Note to readers (because I'm starting to get emails) it was not me! It was not me.

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posted by jason | 8:39 AM | permalink
[Update: WElCOME EYE ON 08'ers!!!! Did you know Soren refuses to correct the post that claims Bopp is paid, even when he been seen sent several correcting emails and knows fully it's a lie!?!]

[Update #2: Soren is sending me mean emails]

"Money is not free speech, money is property"

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2 Comments:


I must say that Eyeon08' is right this time. He doesn't say Bopp is paid. He asks if he is.

Smudging the facts will get Romney nowhere. Why even try it?



Seems to me like he meant this, no? Eyeon08 seems to think it's a "lie" but that makes no sense.




posted by Justin Hart | 7:13 AM | permalink

Erik Erikson, Hugh Hewitt and the Great Unwashed Mormon Missionaries

Hugh Hewitt’s Book, “A Mormon in the White House” hits the NY Times Best Sellers list this weekend. I’ve reviewed the book from several angles. This post however is a correction for both Hugh and Erik.

Hugh is rightly upset with Erik over his recent review (as am I) mostly for this paragraph:

In another contradiction, Hewitt writes, in the chapter titled “Mitt Romney’s Advantages”: “Start with the Mormons. The basic unit of the LDS church is the ward, comparable to a Catholic parish. Wards are collected into ‘stakes,’ again, comparable to a Catholic diocese. There are eight stakes in Iowa, which include 85 wards. . . . And in those 85 wards will be an incredible not-so-secret weapon--a core of young people . . . not to mention experienced missionaries.” So “the Romney campaign will certainly attract hundreds of thousands of Mormons. . . . This is a standard feature of American politics, and much to be celebrated.” But this begs the question: If we can expect heavy participation by Mormon missionaries as grassroots activists for an American presidential campaign, why can we not ask questions about Romney’s Mormon beliefs and why can Americans not be concerned? After all, contrary to the popular perception of the left and media, there were no organized platoons of Presbyterian missionaries knocking on doors for Reagan, brigades of Baptists for Bill Clinton, nor marauding packs of Methodists for George W. Bush. This is something relatively unseen and new to most Americans --including many deeply evangelical Americans who believe Mormonism to be a cult, or at best a religion that has some shared roots, but is fundamentally grounded in heresies.

Hugh’s reaction was the same as mine: The Increased Participation Of A Minority In Political Activism Does Not Excuse Bigotry Directed At Them”. Hugh’s point is absolutely valid. I have enough experience with Mormon / con-Mormon dialogues to know what is really at play. I would ask the following question to Erik: “Does the increased participation of co-religionists give you a right to BASH the Mormon Church?” I’ll leave that discussion to another post… here’s the correction for Hugh and Erik.

When you read the above post you envision the white-shirted pair of Elders suddenly taking off their badges and picking up a poster for Mitt. This is a false impression. Let me explain.

In most every “Ward” building there is a map of the world showing the location of Missionaries who are serving from local families. On our board (in the highly populous Ashburn, VA area) there are all of 6 pictures on the board. When you get back from a mission you are sometimes referred to as an “RM”, a “Returned Missionary”. Currently, we have perhaps 3 recent “RMs” who actually live in my ward. “But wait… you say…” you ask, “where do the 60,000 missionaries go?” Where do all the recent “RMs” go? Why, to school.

BYU is the largest private institute in the United States with almost 38,000 students. Then, there’s BYU-Idaho, and BYU-Hawaii. Beyond that a lot of Mormons will attend the University of Utah, Dixie College in St. George, or UVSC (a community college next to BYU). Most missionaries, when they return home, will head back to school within weeks. Hence the local ward unit (with the exception of the BYU campus) will have a minority of fresh “RMs” on hand. During the summer months their numbers swell in the local ward units… but if you recall, the elections in February and November.

So who’s left? Let me answer that this way. As an official unpaid fundraiser for the campaign let me give you the sampling of friends (who are Mormon) who have contributed from my local Stake through me.

  • A local 40+ year old business executive for a large manufacturing company (served a mission 20 years ago to Korea)
  • A mother of 3 in her 30s (who never went on a mission)
  • A 40-year old father of 5 competitive intelligence guru for a telecom company
  • 60-year old PhD. Running for local office
  • 50-year old father of 4 (with just 2 kids left at home)
  • Couple in their late 50s, own their own software business, he’s a ER doctor

Across all of the local Mormon donors there are probably a dozen “RMs” under 22. None of them reside in the area.

In short, who are the co-religionists who will be vying for Mitt and stomping the pavement? The majority will probably be adults, ages 26-60, who are politically savvy, most likely with kids who have settled into an area of the country.

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2 Comments:


Justin -

Kudos for putting out a much needed response. I hope Erik will take a moment to review the words he used and reach a better understanding of their meaning, and his misunderstanding and misuse of them. Bigotry may not be the word, but he committed an egregious error by choosing to convey and define the efforts of a religious minority with careless disregard and ignorance. The unmistakable result is that he totally mischaracterized the grassroots efforts of the LDS in a very negative and untruthful way. That he chose to engage with Hugh in a tit-for-tat on the definition of bigotry and the broader issue of whether religious beliefs are fair game in the campaign is really a shame. He still fails to acknowledge the damage and misinformation that he spread. Note to Erik - the issue in this instance is not whether religion is fair game. it is whether you will insist on defining the efforts of LDS church members for them or allow them to speak for themselves. We already deal with a legiono of naysayers and antis as it is. WE surely don't need to take additional hits from your "friendly" fire. If you want to describe our efforts and discuss our religion in connection with the Romney campaign, fine. But as a fellow conservative and an attorney who should know the importance of doing your homework and using terminology correctly, please don't go flapping your gums without understanding the impact of your words, and be gracious enough to apologize for and backstep from the occasional gaffe. End of note.

By Anonymous Anonymous, at March 27, 2007 at 9:38 AM  


"The Passion of Mitt Romney", (HumanEvents.com, 3/26/07), has a few problems. Full disclosure - I am not an official spokesman for the LDS Church. I am LDS (35 yrs) and a graduate of LDS Church owned Brigham Young University (BYU). Class of 93' - Go Cougars.

1) The first mis-conception is that currently serving missionaries will work in the Romney Campaign. I don't think Hewitt meant his writing to be taken that way, but that was Erickson's take. Hewitt wrote:

" . . an incredible not-so-secret weapon-a core of young people . . . not to mention experienced missionaries."

Currently serving missionaries in the LDS Church are prohibited from engaging in ANY political activities while serving an LDS mission. They are directed to avoid ANY political conversations. Young missionaries give 2 years of life to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to offer service for fellow-man. Nothing more, nothing less.

But what about political involvement for the average citizen, which, amazingly enough includes former missionaries? The LDS Church encourages all people to get involved in our government, to be informed voters. Individuals are counseled to use correct principles as a guide, which includes the LDS belief that the U.S. Constitution is a divinely inspired document, to seek out good and honorable men and women who will promote good government and support such persons for public office.

Former missionaries often have developed valuable communication skills from their PAST missionary service. What is wrong with using those skills after a mission, throughout your life, in constructive ways? Are former missionaries barred from participation in the political process because they made an individual choice to serve a religious mission for 2 years? I think not.

2) The second troubling quote, Erickson wrote:

"If we can expect heavy participation by Mormon missionaries as grassroots activists for an American presidential campaign, why can we not ask questions about Romney's Mormon beliefs and why can Americans not be concerned?"

What is Erickson really asking? Will the LDS Church organize former or current missionaries to campaign for Mitt? Or, heaven forbid, will like minded former missionaries organize as grassroots activists? Then there is the accusation that Mormon beliefs are an issue, and the ever-present unspoken accusation that LDS beliefs would be imposed on the U.S. by a President Romney, so Americans should be concerned.

Some Answers:
a) Many FORMER missionaries will fulfill their individual responsibility as citizens to seek out and support good and honorable men and women for public office, but the LDS Church will remain politically neutral.

b) What's wrong with grassroots activism? I always thought like minded people, organized as grassroots activists, was expected and hoped for by the Founders to sustain a vibrant and diverse political landscape. Try reading the Federalist papers and look for concepts like "factions", which was considered to be a good thing, "minorities", "tyranny of the majority", "rule of law", "no religious test".

c) But, the real Erickson boogey man is this question - Would a President Romney and those pesky Mormons impose LDS religious beliefs on America? Consider this: Members of the LDS church have been driven and persecuted, their homes burned, LDS members killed, because of religious intolerance and bigotry. The LDS were despised in the late 1830's in Missouri because of LDS opposition to slavery. At that time, southern slave owners were paying poor people from the south to move to Missouri and push for Missouri to be a slave state. LDS opposition to slavery was one more "offensive religious belief" that justified persecution of Mormons. Given this history, LDS culture is resolutely dedicated to individual religious freedom. LDS doctrine is that our Government is based on a divinely inspired document - the U.S. Constitution. The business of government is to preserve the rule of law, not to take away the agency of man by forcing religion upon any person. Agency, the antithesis of imposing beliefs on others, is a big word in LDS doctrine.

This fundamental truth has been put front and center by Romney when he quoted Abraham Lincoln describing the Constitution as America's political religion.

Care to look a little deeper to understand? Mitt Romney and I are both graduates of BYU (owned by the LDS Church). BYU is sometimes referred to as an educational nursery for future LDS church leaders. So, what exactly is taught at BYU, under the watchful eye of LDS Church leaders?

American Heritage 100 is a required general education class. You will be hard pressed to find a similar class at one of today's public, PC universities. What PC heresy was taught in this class? It is a study of the origins of our system of government, the historical context, and a good look at our Constitution. We heard perspectives of how different people view the Constitution today. As I recall, the Professor had quotes from Judge Robert Bork illustrating one point of view, and quotes from Senator Joe Biden representing another view. Can you say balance? Most students I knew ageed with Judge Bork, but everyone was free to make their own choice.

The course also had an overview of our economic system of free markets. Subject matter included the Enlightenment, the Federalist Papers, writings of C.S. Lewis, Solzhenitsyn, Tocqueville to name a few. Classic films illustrating course subject matter were shown as an innovative way to hold the interest of young skulls full of mush like: To Kill a Mockingbird, High Noon, A Man For All Seasons, etc. My friends and I joked the movies were cheap dates for the really desperate. But in all seriousness, it was one of the best college courses I ever took ( I got an A and an offer to work as a Teacher's Assistant).

I wrote the following in my term paper. The 1837 Lincoln speech I quoted was included in it's entirety in the class syllabus:

" If there was a loss of respect for the constitution and the rule of law the nation would fall. Lincoln's solution was to teach the constitution as a political religion:

" . . . .to the support of the Constitution and Laws, let every American pledge . . . his sacred honor . . . let reverence for the laws, be breathed by every American mother, to go to the lisping babe . . . taught in schools, in seminaries, in colleges . . . preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice. And in short, let it become the political religion of the nation . . ."
( Lincoln Jan 27, 1838, Springfield, Illinois)

Clearly, Lincoln saw the need for a constitution held in reverence . . . and not changed for light and transient reasons"

These ideals are at the core of American values. This is what is taught at BYU under the watchful eye of LDS Church leaders, our American Heritage, the U.S. Constitution. Respect for rule of law. A nation of tolerance, free from imposed religion. Americans have nothing to fear from Mitt Romney's religion. To the contrary, the LDS religion celebrates America's freedom.

Dan Tobar

By Anonymous Anonymous, at March 27, 2007 at 1:06 PM  



Monday, March 26, 2007
posted by jason | 10:11 AM | permalink

The Claim

Believe it or not Romney will not be raising 40 Million in one quarter. First lets look at who is making the claim Romney will raise 40 Million:

1. P. Hynes (Works for McCain)
Make no mistake, John McCain is no frontrunner. He is the underdog. Mayor Rudy Giuliani is enjoying a tremendous and well-earned surge is popularity because of the courageous way he guided Americans through those terrible days in September of 2001. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has stumbled, but sources tell me he will have raised upwards of a whopping $40 million by March 31st. Several other worthy candidates are making attractive appeals to voters. And some potential candidates are still thinking about getting into the mix. The race is wide open.


2. Liz A. Mair ( A McCain supporter)
Email from a top source...

..."Romney's going to show $40 million raised come March 31st."
That's quite a lot of money. The question is, can he translate all that money into real support by real live voters, as opposed to big money donors?




3. Eye on 08’s Soren Dayton (who is running around with the McCain camp in NH.)
Not good for the last week or so. A big FL donor jumps ship, perhaps to Rudy. (H/T: Kavon) My money is still on $35-$40m for Romney Q1.

4. The McCain camp itself:
"We're going to pay a price for it because we got a late start," McCain told reporters in New Hampshire. "We're not going to meet the goals we had." He later said he did not know whether Romney would outpace him, but his advisers did not downplay that possibility. They also did not rule out finishing first.

The Math

Now let’s look at the veracity of the claim:

So far, Mitt has had in the neighbor hood of 50 fundraisers in the 1Q. Subtract the 6.5 million from 40 million and you are left with 33.5 million dollars in 50 fundraisers. The math would average out to $670,000 per fundraiser. When the most that could be charged is $2300 per person you are left with an average attendance of 378 at each function each paying the full amount. Many of the fundraisers are $1000 a plate and a lot of them only had a a couple hundred people there. At a thousand a plate you would need 670 people there…every time.

At the downtown Chicago Fundraiser the lady I know who attended estimated that there were 150 people in the crowd each paying $1000 to get in. That would alone would raise the remaining events averages to $685,000 per fundraiser, leaving Mitt having to have between 400-600 people at each fundraiser. In Saint George Utah Romney raised $200,000 in a fundraiser. That now ups things to Romney having to average $700,000 per event to hit the 40 million mark. I think you see where this is going.

What Are They Thinking?

A simple look at the math and those who make these claims would show to anyone with a common sense this is pure spin from the McCain camp to set Romney up for a fall. It is beyond me how otherwise smart people like Hynes, Dayton and Mair can all believe this 40 Million hype. Do they think before they type? Or are they all just on the same McCain email list? Hmmm....

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It would seem to me that instead of allowing McCain to set the perception framework for the announcement, he ought to put out his own word that sets reasonable expectations and casts his efforts in a favorable light. Right now, the only word we seem to be getting from the Romney camp is reactive statements in response to the McCain spin. Why let McCain win on both the dollars raised and public perception fronts?



You are incorrect in assuming that the most that can be charged is $2300/person. . . Remember, Romney is raising general election contributions right now and at least some of his top donors will give $4600--$2300 for the primary and $2300 for the general.

By Anonymous Anonymous, at March 26, 2007 at 4:51 PM  


I would've emailed this to you all but that function appears not to be working very well. . . Many recent articles in the MSM talk that about Romney note his past "flip-flopping" and his Mormonism as potential flaws--the consensus being that the biggest of the two flaws is the latter. . . I think that all of the negative pub/reaction from conservatives is ALL about Romney being a Mormon. Think about it--why are conservatives so vociferously complaining about a candidate who has changed positions by moving TOWARD them? It'd be one thing if he was originally in conservatives' camp and moved away from them. You'd think they'd welcome a "conversion" even if it is due to political expediency. After all, there is a long, proud history of Republican presidential candidates doing this (Reagan, G.H.W. Bush, George W. Bush). Conservatives also seem to be giving Giuliani a free pass on social issues despite his relatively modest concessions. Romney seems to be unfairly singled out for changing positions--something that EVERY politician does. WHY? Because conservative evangelicals are using their disgust over "flip-flopping" as a facade!!! They don't really care that Romney changed positions, they care that he is a MORMON!

Why is no one talking about this? It seems that everyone thinks that these problems are unrelated. SOMEONE needs to start talking about this now so that Romney is at least held to the same standard as every other Republican candidate for changing positions.

By Anonymous Anonymous, at March 26, 2007 at 5:07 PM  



posted by Justin Hart | 7:36 AM | permalink
(UPDATE: SEE APOLOGY TO PHILIP KLEIN HERE)

OK... taking a page from Dean Barnett I'm going to answer the gambit of questions I received from readers, friends and family.

Q. Where is Mitt going to be this week?

This week the focus is simple: fundraising:
  • Mitt starts out the week on Monday in Texas with fundraising events in Dallas an Houston
  • Tuesday, the campaign heads to California (which is proving very generous in their contributions) for fundraisers in Palm Desert and Los Angeles
  • Wednesday the Governor jets across the country for a luncheon in Baton Rouge and northward for a dinner in in Charleston, SC
  • Thursday the Romney camp awakens to the beautiful SC dawn for a luncheon in Greenville
  • Finally, Friday finds Mitt in Palm Beach for the final fundraiser of the 1st Quarter

Q. What's up with the fundraising for the various candidates?

Of course the real buzz around town is the anxious nail biting push for dollar donations which will probably be revealed at the end of the week. While the full reports won't be published by the FEC until April 15th, the campaigns will likely give a good weekend update just in time for the Sunday shows.

So, who will be the winner. I wouldn't count Mitt out but here's the reality of the contest:
  • Rudy is the rock star with wide (but shallow) support across the country
  • McCain is the long-timer maverick, loathed by many in the GOP base, but has built up the best mailing list in the business
  • Romney is the underdog who has hired the A-team but lacks the name recognition, relying instead on the ground game
  • What about the others... If they garner more than a few million each... i would be surprised
Q. OK spill it... What are the numbers?

Despite what McCain wants you to believe the no one (including the Romney camp) is going to raise $30 million. McCain's people are expectations spinners and it simply won't fly. Romney will probably come in under $20 million. McCain will top him and Rudy? Really I have no idea but it could top them both - I dunno.

Q. Did you hear about the Evangelicals for Mitt liars?

Frankly, this is silly. In my mind the folks at EFM have been maligned by Philp Klein and the AmSpec folk (who are inexplicable vehement in their opposition to Mitt Romney). Here's the short version: Nancy French (a native of Tennessee) opined that she thought Thompson was pro-choice in his original incarnation for the Senate. Philip Klein and (see apology here)other people in the blogosphere then accused them of being liars. EFM co-blogger comes to Nancy's defense:
This was, of course, in response to Nancy's very temperate post pointing out several news accounts that either refer to Senator Thompson as pro-choice during his Senate runs--or discuss Senator Thompson calling himself pro-choice. She didn't attack Senator Thompson--she said he'd be a "great candidate"--but she did continue to make the point David and I have also made, namely that the "True Conservative Watch" currently enveloping our movement is a bit much. She simply pointed out that he appears to be just as imperfect as Governor Romney.
David French (Nancy's husband) chimes in with his own response:
There's no doubt that Fred Thompson was less pro-choice than his Democratic opponent in 1994, but there is also little doubt that he was less pro-life than Bill Frist (the other Republican running for Senate at the time). I was practicing law in Nashville, and I have distinct memories of the race because Fred Thompson was the first pro-choice politician I ever voted for. In fact, I can remember having guilty pangs as I pulled the lever--breaking a vow I made in college to never vote for a pro-choice candidate.
Yesterday, I suspect that Philip Klein (who I gather to be Anti-Romney-esque) fed some items into the Prowler Column on Spectator.org. The gist of the article is confusing. They claim:
  • EFM is taking funds from the Romney campaign but isn't
  • Mark DeMoss was the guy who started the EFM website only he didn't.
  • EFM is using Romney research which the Prowler doesn't cite.
  • EFM is attacking Thompson using this research by quoting the opinions of other people?
In short, it's a pathetic attack with little evidence

more to come later today

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