Mitt Romney for President My Man Mitt

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Please remove your tinfoil hats now!

posted by Justin Hart | 12:00 PM | permalink

Listen to my appearance on Hugh Hewitt last night here.

In the past 12 hours I have had to deal with and debunk yet one more crazy theory that Romney is really behind all this push polling.

After RedState publishes their non-apology, non-recanted post about yesterday's egregious "push poll" theory, Erick Erickson couldn't help but delve once more into the fever swamp and pull out a self-admitted "off-the-wall theory", that only Romney people are the ones complaining about the poll. On top of this Soren Dayton implies that Romney planted the people who reacted negatively to the Mormon poll from his own paid staffers.

You see, in a few press accounts, Marshan Roth and Rose Kramer told their stories of receiving the anti-Mormon polls. But wait! ALERT! Roth and Kramer have been paid by the Romney campaign. It seems they might be staffers! It's true.

So, I pull out my arsenal of exclusive tools and skills (my forefinger, a phone and a brain) and I look up said Marshan and Rose and find them at home (I woke them both up, sorry ladies).

I conjured up my own theory as I read the Erick's post. I'm thinking these ladies actually received the bad polls, called their local Romney office (which they knew well) and told their stories. The Romney office made a note of it. When the press comes calling looking for people who got the phone calls the Iowa office point them to Marshan and Rose.

Shocker! I was right. Marshan and Rose, who are both seemingly retired, roused enough to confirm my story.

Please remove your tinfoil hats! There will be no more conspiracy theories!

UPDATE: Lots of complaints now. "Why didn't they reveal their status with the campaign?" I asked Marshan that last night. Her reply: "What? Why? What do you mean? Why do they want to know that?" Folks, these are non-political septuagenarians. They just were answering a phone call and telling their story to someone in the press. My guess is they went to Ames and they help out at the local office stuffing letters.

Labels: Alex Gage, iowa, marshan, mitt romney push poll, push poll, redstate, rose, target point consulting, targetpoint, western wats

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	4 Comments: Also . . . Wouldn't a lefty 527 want to purposefully "stir the pot" on a controversy like this by making sure such calls went to Romney staffers (making sure it got plenty of exposure to people who would complain)? By Jeff Fuller, at November 21, 2007 at 1:51 AM It seems to me that these calls would not just be made randomly because the total impact of them would seem to be negligible, and basically a waste of time. So, whomever did this obviously called specific people who they knew would report this....they wanted this all to hit the news, for whatever reason, perhaps because they thought it would look like Romney people. By Anonymous, at November 21, 2007 at 9:50 AM Justin, FYI: This post is going around Free Republic: --- Blogger in contact with Western Wats resigns from Romney campaign November 21, 2007 – 2:52 pm Justin Hart has notified me that he has resigned from his position as a Vice Chair of the Romney campaign’s Faith and Values Steering Committee after I challenged him for not disclosing that he was an official in the Romney campaign. Justin had been, until today, the only person who Western Wats would speak with. This afternoon Liz Mair wrote about a discussion she had with Jeffery Welch, a senior Western Wats executive and Romney donor. He appears to have resigned soon after contacting the Romney Iowa staffers who the Romney campaign has now admitted to misrepresenting to the press. --- So, what's the real story so I can cram this BS down their throats? Any indication if this is a strategy from one of the rival campaigns? By Unknown, at November 21, 2007 at 4:03 PM While not foolproof, (and that would seem to be what is required given the nonsense that has transpired) wouldn't the simplest explanation have the greatest chance of being correct? At least, it would seem to be the razor you would want to start with. Since thankfully pundits occur infrequently in the general population, at least far less frequently than Romney supporters, the callers contacted more Romney supporters than fair-minded pundits (which is a smaller subset of the whole set of pundits). Romney supporters would be far more likely to be offended and thus far more likely to let someone know. And if they knew where the local Romney office was, that might be your first contact. This was a large calling effort. It can't be that tough to hit a Romney supporter with that much buckshot. But if you need a conspiracy, I suggest you check into the foaming-at-the-mouth Bill Keller-type ministries. After all, they are engaged in the work of saving the world from Mormonism, even as it dies of secularism. By Anonymous, at November 21, 2007 at 4:41 PM Post a Comment

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Audio: Justin Hart on the Hugh Hewitt Show

posted by Justin Hart | 9:57 PM | permalink

Here is the audio from the Hugh Hewitt show. Don't adjust your browser. I really do speak that fast:

QUICK IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION. In the audio it sounded like I confirmed that Mormons believe the Book of Mormon to be more important than the Bible. The audio actually cut out. I said "this is UNtrue". Just to be clear :)

So, lets review.

1) There is ZERO evidence linking TargetPoint the anti-Mormon calls
2) TargetPoint VEHEMENTLY denies they are behind the calls
3) As I indicated on Hugh’s show… I asked my source about Gage’s denial. His response: “Yeah, we knew it wasn’t them already.”

Today. Mark Hemingway attempted to apologize and wiggle out of a untenable corner defending a theory that has been refuted on every side you turn to.

Late tonight, and to their credit, Kathryn Lopez from NRO admits: "Mark noted some interesting publicly available connections Monday but there is no real evidence I've read that the Romney campaign had anything to do with it."

Then, RedState issues a non-retraction, failing to apologize to Gage & Company for maligning their integrity. To boot, they add another theory to the pot.

Here's the quote of the day from RedState: "we should not be afraid to ask a very plausible question based on, if nothing else, real world experience in politics: did a friend of the candidate hit him in a well meaning but misguided effort to help him?"

So, we can dismiss any evidence that's not there and instead rely on RedState's "real world experience". What?

Labels: Alex Gage, Anti-mormon, anti-romney, mark hemingway, mitt romney push poll, nro, push poll, redstate, target point consulting, targetpoint, western wats

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	2 Comments: Heard you on Hugh Hewitt! Great job!! This is my first time visiting this site (After hearing about in Hugh Hewitt). I'm glad you clarified the comment about Mormonism and the Bible. You're right, it did sound like you said "true." You had me a little concerned, but I'm glad you clarified. I'll be back. Keep up the great work. By Marie Poindexter, at November 21, 2007 at 11:14 AM Fantastic job, I'm glad you were able to articulate the issues at play so well. It will be interesting if anyone does eventually own up to this. I won't hold my breath. This story is getting a little play over at CNN. Again, Thanks for the work you do. By Stephen Hampton, at November 21, 2007 at 1:21 PM Post a Comment

A Good Schadenfreude Spoiled

posted by Justin Hart | 10:00 AM | permalink

Ahhh schadenfreude, the fine rhetorical art of kicking someone while they're down; sticking it to "the man" when "the man" just got stuck; pulling out the gloat as he goes down with the boat.

I really hate to spoil the fun... but there will be no schadenfreude today! (Except for me rhetorically sticking to those who REALLY, REALLY wanted Mitt Romney to push poll his own candidacy?!)

Let's review some of the rhetoric leading up to the brick wall that Alex Gage & Co. dropped on National Review Online and the notion of a Romney self-push-poll. These are taken from comments on the post at Race42008 entitled: "Let's Be Clear of the Stakes":

1:25 PM "It’s either complete absolution or utter destruction now for Mitt Romney’s candidacy."

1:33 PM "I have the champagne chilling again."

1:50 PM "ROMNEY-IS-TOAST"

1:51 PM "If on the other hand, it was ordered by an *official* of the Romney campaign, then this indeed may be the week history will assess as the death of the Romney campaign."

2:02 PM "Time to check temp on the champagne, while Justin searches for comfort food…"

2:05 PM "The Mitt Romney count down clock has begun……..tick tock……"

2:19 PM "Mitt Romney will not matter in a couple of hours anyway so dont worry people"

Sunday night, I received an email from a fellow blogger, generously tipping me off about a story that could potentially knock Romney off his game in a big way. The story, set to publish in a major news rag Monday morning: a top Romney adviser would be implicated as the source of anti-Mormon "push-poll" surveys conducted across Iowa and New Hampshire.

I was stunned. I had followed the story (and even been part of it) for about three days and after interviewing individuals at the alleged firm that conducted the survey. I was convinced that the Romney campaign was not behind it.

I set my plate overnight to devour a whole flock of crow when the story hit.

The article, written by Mark Hemingway and published at NRO, gathered all the details of the story in one narrative and added to the mix, supposed evidence from an online bulletin board linking Alex Gage and his firm TargetPoint Consulting to the data collection firm, Western Wats, implicated as the company that conducted the survey.

As I read over the piece the blood went rushing back into my face. This was nothing! The evidence was scant, the connection pithy and the rest of the article --- yawn, I probably wrote half of it myself! The meme that "bulletin-board-post-proves-Romney-push-polled-own-campaign" was weak at best.

But still, Gage & Co. had to answer the charges. Conversations with top bloggers Monday morning indicated that a press release was forthcoming from TargetPoint. I sat on pins and needles the entire day with a constant finger on the refresh button.

Then it came. How do you spell relief?

Just to prove it... here's a snapshot of the two posts I had ready to go. Even with my "high status" with the campaign (joke) I had no insight into what was going to happen:

My head was on the chopping block in the blogosphere being one of the primary debunkers of the "Mitt-did-it!" conspiracy theories. I braced myself for the worst. If the Romney campaign were truly the source of the push poll... the club fashioned by opponents is too big to imagine.

I'm also a bit perturbed. How did NRO not wait 4 hours to talk to TargetPoint? How does RedState have the gaul to publish what they did requisite to the thin evidence from Hemingway? And don't get me started on Mark's refusal to let it go.

To be fair, I think Hemingway got caught up in a a whirlwind of Mormon connections. You see, he thinks the force of his evidence are the coincidences taken as a whole. The Lindorfs, Amanda, the contributors, based in Utah...

Among Mormons there's an inside joke that the 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon become the 4 degrees of Mormonism. To wit: you can find any other Mormon within a breadth of 4 LDS members.

For example, how many ways do you know the candidate you support? How many degrees of separation does it take you to get to John McCain or Rudy? Personally, I know Mitt from when I was an infant (my Mom and Ann were in the same maternity ward when I was born in Boston). I also know him through a long time family friend. And my best friend's uncle is married to someone who works closely with Romney. Is there some super secret community of Mormons that plans to take over the country by getting Romney elected? No. Its just that Mormons marry other Mormons, marry early in life, and have lots of kids. (Did I mention I'm 35 with 3 kids, and my oldest is 12?)

The fact that the firm was in Utah? Moot. Utah perfected the art of the call center from innovators like WordPerfect and the large group of health drinks in the state. (Also, apparently, Utahns have neutral accents which helps in cold calls).
The fact that the firm was owned by the Lindorfs? Moot. They divested of their assets years ago.
The fact that the firm employs people who donated to Mitt? Moot. A LOT of people have donated to Mitt in Utah. (In fact, I'm surprised that out of 1500 employees only a handful have donated to the campaign).
The fact that TippingPoint and other "affiliated" Romney campaigns have used Western Wats? Moot. Its the single largest data collection firm in the world. They handle all sorts of 3rd party work and all sorts of campaigns using them including firms employed by Romney competitors. They handle over 7000 projects every year.
The Mormon factor? Do I really have to answer this? The Mormon cabal is not out to submarine the other candidates by conducting a push poll against their chosen one. And he isn't even their chosen one! I can't tell you how many Mormon Ron Paul supporters there are.... every other day I get some note berating me for not supporting the "true" constitution guy in the race. (Mormons are big on the Constitution)

The relief I feel is only tempered by the fact that we still don't know WHO did it. (More on this later).

Labels: Alex Gage, david brody mitt romney, mark hemingway, mitt romney push poll, mormons, national review, nro, push poll, redstate, tippingpoint, utah, western wats

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	3 Comments: Hemmingway's links between the Romney Campaign and the Western WATS calls are spurious at best. It would be like saying that Romney is responsible for a rival campaign's press releases because they were created in WordPerfect, which was founded by Mormons. By Jared Garner, at November 20, 2007 at 8:54 AM Jason, While I applaud your efforts to defend Romney, I think for now the best strategy is to just ignore the issue until the truth comes out. The theory of "Romney-Did-It" is getting entirely too much press and attention, and the Romney foes, including the real perpetrators, are getting a good laugh at us Romney supporters. Just turn the other cheek and forget about it until some actual truth comes out. Better yet, learn from Giuliani's ability to deflect attention from a sticky subject to something else entirely. It has been mentioned over at race42008 that attacks on Giuliani never stick, but attacks on Romney do. I believe that's because as Mormons we feel a huge sense of injustice and the need to defend our man when unjustly accused. Unfortunately, this only has the effect of encouraging the opposition. They love the rise they get out of us Mitt supporters. It must be delightfully fun for them. Our best strategy should be to move on and focus on the positive. To that end, here is nothing too important, but it does point out that Mitt is right that there are better ways than destroying embryos to get the benefits of embryonic cell research: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071120/ap_on_sc/stem_cells_3 By Anonymous, at November 20, 2007 at 10:07 AM Good work. You point out a fact that many of us Romney supporters know well. This campaign is very precariously perched even though our candidate is possibly the strongest candidate that has come along in a long time. That is the nature of the withering heat of media spotlight (as well as enemies like the Clinton's and Huckabees--I think Giuliani is mostly benign). We have no illusions that God will rapture our candidate to the Presidency (like those of Huckabee) or that decades of history will suddenly become irrelevant (as do those supporters of Giuliani). The more attention that is turned on Romney, however, the more he shines in the disinfecting light of media/public attention. . . as long as people refute these libelous, sometimes bigoted, and spurious attacks. By Joseph D. Walch, at November 20, 2007 at 1:15 PM Post a Comment

Monday, November 19, 2007

Latest updates

posted by Justin Hart | 10:23 AM | permalink

2:30 Update

Still awaiting TargetPoint press release
Everyone is getting antsy (see RedState and Race42008)

12:30 Update

K-Lo isn't impressed with Huckabee's denial
Soren gets upset about the wording of Madden's statement
Madden makes it crystal clear
Discussion heats up over at Race42008... join in the fun!
I'm enjoying California Tortilla's awesome Steak Quesadilla!

10:30 Update

Jim Geraghty comes to my defense
The Romney Campaign denies again, strongly
No one's followed up on this calling firm?
TargetPoint to issue press release later on
WeeklyStandard point to Huckabee as a possibility

Labels: Alex Gage, Anti-mormon, Justin Hart, mitt romney push poll, mymanmitt, MyManMitt.com, push poll, targetpoint, western wats

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	1 Comments: The nice thing about Mitt Romney is that he is someone you can trust, implicitly. He has a nice family, doesn't beat or cheat on his wife, does what he says he'll do, and so forth. He's shown time and time again in different areas of his life what kind of character he has. This appeals to lots of voters like me. I want someone I can trust will do what he or she says they'll do. I want someone, like Mitt, who will do everything in his power to prevent another war from starting, say, in Iran. Now, with every good thing there are always negatives. The negative is that if someone can prove (and make it appear) that Mitt is sneaky and under-handed, some of that support goes away. Such people have no problem turning a despicable act of religious bigotry into a nefarious plot by the victim. They might even repeat the religious bigotry, saying it is justified (I've seen that a few times on some of the comments sections on the links you've provided). The good side to all of this is that it reminds us of what kind of person Mitt is. Those of who familiar with conspiracy theories, spin doctors, and even just plain old propaganda, won't fall into the trap. We'll stick with Mitt and when the truth comes out it won't surprise us very much. By Anonymous, at November 19, 2007 at 2:56 PM Post a Comment

NRO: Did Romney Push Poll Himself?

posted by Justin Hart | 7:57 AM | permalink

UPDATE: I caught wind of this story last night and immediately called my source. He told me that he would be very surprised if it were connected to Romney & Co. Then he said: "our client is not political. At best we're a 3rd party vendor in this." So the question is this: Target Consulting does fit the 3rd party story but they are decidedly political. More to come... stay tuned.

National Review Online has a new article up by Mark Hemingway digging deeper into the notion of whether or not the Romney campaign itself conducted the recent surveys with apparently anti-Mormon messages. (I'm proud to say that he links to MMM quite a bit for his information).

Mark's article is pretty balanced but is obviously digging hard for a connection. There is only one or two more bits of information:

Hemingway makes a connection between Target Point Consulting, Alex Gage (Romney's number cruncher), and Western Wats (the company most closely connected to the recent calls). In short, the Romney campaign has paid Target Point Consulting $720,000 during this cycle. There is also evidence that Target Point has used Western Wats in the past.

Amanda Earnshaw, the caller who donated $2300, is part of a family that has been deeply involved in the Romney campaign. Mark tries to bring the connection between Amanda and a supposed caller in an August poll that someone complained about. This is periphery evidence at best.

First, the notion that a single link between Target Point and Western Wats exists is not surprising. My source tells me that they are frequently a 3rd party vendor in many of these efforts.

The rest of it is pretty much stuff you already know from yours truly and others.

I will say this. This connection is logically plausible but totally unproven and we need to get to the bottom of this very quickly.

Having re-read the article I'm not convinced. The evidence is pretty scant and stretching to accuse Romney as he does. Let's review:

Lindorfs - disproven

Amanda - irrelevant (highly coincidental if true)

Other donors - irrelevant

Target Consulting -> WW --> Gage --> Romney - plausible but the proof is a single entry from a bulletin board

Related Romney camps -they exist, but its the largest data collection firm in the world. Chances are a lot of campaigns use them

Labels: Alex Gage, nro, polling, target point consulting, western wats

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	2 Comments: Let's see, A "non-political" third party? That could be Ed Decker at work? Soros? Kos Kids? I suppose it depends on the definition of non-political doesn't it. Then there is the issue of who benefits and is not afraid of ultimate disclosure. By Anonymous, at November 19, 2007 at 1:09 PM Amanda Earnshaw has not worked for Western Wats for at least 6 months. She was a part-time dialer for the company. I spoke with her today, and there is absolutely no truth to this "connection" or the conclusion he draws from it. Two words: deductive LEAP. This is VERY bad journalism from NRO. I'm really shocked. By Horatio, at November 20, 2007 at 12:19 AM Post a Comment

Monday, April 9, 2007

WashPost: Romney's Inner Circle

posted by Justin Hart | 8:57 AM | permalink

The Washington Post has an excellent article today on Romney's inner circle. They have some quick pot-shots they take but for the most part this is great information.

As we noted last week about Spencer Zwick, Team Romney has a very distinct aura - a good one in our book.

* Beth Myers: The first among equals, Myers is Romney's campaign manager and closest aide. She was Romney's chief of staff during much of his term as governor, after having served a stint as a top adviser to Massachusetts Treasurer Joe Malone. Myers -- like many top GOP operatives in the '08 campaigns -- is an acolyte of Karl Rove, having served under him in the 1986 campaign of former Texas Gov. Bill Clements (R).

* Peter Flaherty: As director of Romney's outreach to conservatives, Flaherty may well hold the key to the governor's chances of winning the nomination. Prior to joining the campaign, Flaherty was Romney's deputy chief of staff in Boston. His background is in law, but Flaherty also served a stint at the movie production company Walden Media, which is run by his two brothers.

* Alex Castellanos: A well-regarded Republican media consultant, Castellanos has already been hard at work crafting Romney's image with a series of television ads aimed at introducing the governor to voters in early states like Iowa and New Hampshire. Castellanos comes to the campaign with a reputation for pointed (and effective) ad-making on behalf of a bevy of candidates, including President George W. Bush, former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-Fla.) and former Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.).

* Jan van Lohuizen: If you don't know who van Lohuizen is, that's just how he likes it. One of the lowest-profile pollsters in politics, van Lohuizen is also one of the most highly regarded. He was a key member of the Bush polling team in 2004 and has had a hand in any number of major GOP victories, including victories by Govs. Charlie Crist (R-Fla.) and Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R-Calif.) last November.

* Alex Gage: Microtargeting -- the process of collecting vast amounts of information on potential voters and then using the gathered data to tailor messages to them -- became all the rage in 2004 after President Bush found thousands of new supporters using it. And Gage, the founder of TargetPoint Consulting, is widely seen as a microtargeting guru. Bush paid $3 million to Gage's firm in 2004 and reaped huge rewards; Romney hopes to follow that blueprint in '08.

* Spencer Zwick: No one (besides Romney) deserves more credit for the candidate's $21 million first-quarter fundraising haul than Zwick. A wunderkind in his late 20s, Zwick is Romney's national finance director and a past deputy chief of staff in Romney gubernatorial office. Zwick, who met Romney while he was a student at Brigham Young University, enjoys such a close personal relationship with the candidate that he is often referred to as Romney's sixth son, according to the New York Times. (If you're a subscriber to National Journal, check out Shira Toeplitz's recent profile of Zwick.)

* Carl Forti: Forti, the campaign's political director, is a newcomer to Romney's universe, having spent the last several cycles as communications director at the National Republican Congressional Committee. Forti also headed up the NRCC's independent expenditure program -- directing tens of millions of dollars in television and radio ads as well as direct mail into districts across the country.

* Matt Rhoades: Rhoades isn't as well-known to the wider world as some of his counterparts on other campaigns, but he is regarded very highly by political professionals. Rhoades served as research director and deputy communications director at the Republican National Committee in the 2006 cycle and research director for the Bush-Cheney reelection campaign in 2004. Rhoades also enjoys a friendly relationship with Matt Drudge -- founder of the Drudge Report -- an indispensable connection in the modern "freak show" world of politics.

* Kevin Madden: The telegenic Madden was a staple of Capitol Hill in recent years as the public face for former Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) and current Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio). Madden has brought his friendly demeanor to Romney's operation, sending out a daily rundown of key clips and appearances by the former governor. Don't let the smile fool you though -- Madden is a New York native not unfamiliar with the rough and tumble of politics.

* Barbara Comstock: Comstock is a household name inside the Beltway as a former head of the Justice Department's Office of Public Affairs and research director at the Republican National Committee. Comstock rose to prominence as a master of the art of opposition research; in a 2001 profile of Comstock, Post reporter John Mintz wrote that Comstock had "done more than any other GOP operative to skewer Bill Clinton, Al Gore and their congressional allies."

* Eric Fehrnstrom: Fehrnstrom, as Romney's traveling press secretary, probably spends more time with the candidate than any other member of the Inner Circle. Prior to joining the campaign, Fehrnstrom was Romney's gubernatorial spokesman and deputy campaign manager for Romney's 2002 governor's race. Fehrnstrom, like Myers, has ties to former state Treasurer Joe Malone, for whom he served as a press fla

Labels: Alex Castellanos, Alex Gage, Barbara Comstock, beth myers, Carl Forti, Eric Fehrnstrom, Jan van Lohuizen, Kevin Madden, Matt Rhoades, Peter Flaherty:, spencer zwick, team romney, washingont post