Media Bias in Reporting Thompson Fundraising (Fred Alert!)

The mainstream media, relying on the skewed opinions of a few pundits with a vested interest in negative spin, have shown remarkable bias in reporting Fred Thompson's fundraising. The former U.S. Senator from Tennessee raised 3.5 million dollars in the month of June alone.

Yet Katie Couric and CBS News put a negative spin on the story, as did the pundits at Politico.com. Even Fox News reported the story with a negative slant.

Couric emphasized that Thompson did not reach the stated goal of 5 million in June. Fox pointed to supposed turmoil in the Thompson camp, leading to the failure to build on the momentum the Senator had originally exhibited. Politico said that the 3.5 million is an indication that Thompson's appeal is turning lackluster.

First, the goal of raising 5 million dollars in one month by a former Senator who has not even announced his candidacy admittedly was a lofty goal. Perhaps the rationale was to deliberately set the bar high so that everyone would try harder.

Second, the failure to reach that lofty goal is not the issue. The amount raised is the issue.

3.5 million in one month is no failure by anyone's estimation. It took Ron Paul, for example, two quarters (six months) to gather a warchest of 2.5 million in cash.

Thompson is now number four among the Republicans in total funds raised and number three in available cash, now that we know McCain has already spent most of his available funds.

Third, the thing that is entirely remarkable about these facts is that Thompson was able to accomplish this feat in only one month as compared to six months for everyone else. The pundits and talking heads of the mainstream media totally missed this point.

Fourth, it would appear that not only are the Democrats afraid of Thompson, but so is the mainstream media. Anyone who is viewed as the one candidate who can derail the Clinton-Obama bandwagon is to be viewed with fear and trembling as far as the socialists are concerned.

And thus, we can expect the media establishment and the Democrats to hurl mud and accusations at a frantic pace.

The Fox News spin is the one that is the most surprising of all. Fox pointed to grumbling among Thompson's campaign staff as an indication things are falling apart.

As it turns out, Thompson's wife, who is a political consultant and campaign expert, is the target of the staffers' grumbling. It is well-known among those who cover political campaigns that candidates' spouses are normally vilified by staffers for their intrusiveness. So this is nothing new.

The difference in Thompson's case is that the spouse is probably more qualified and skillful than 99% of the staff. Thompson's staff will either have to find a way to live with that fact, or else they will have to leave. This is the candidate's wife, and she is considered a formidable force when it comes to political strategy.

The bottom line? The story about Thompson's 'failure' at fundraising is pure spin and nothing more.

But then, what did you expect? Couric and all of the others at CBS, NBC, ABC, and CNN are in the hip-pockets of the Democrats. I suspect that Fox supports Rudy Giuliani.

Our opinion is that by the time this is all said and done, Fred Thompson will have some big surprises in store for Fox and the Democrats' mouthpieces at the other networks.

I wonder how much of the $52 million that the Obama/Clinton machine has raised came from the George Soros network. This is a tactic. You make the candidate look good with the appearance of accumulating a large warchest. This entices other contributers to go with the winning team. The machine grows.

Meanwhile, the Thompson fund raising effort is in stealth mode. When the contribution switches are pulled, there will be a flood of money that has never been seen in politics. I predict that this effort is all about timing. It will be timed so that the main stream media will be unable to spin the reality of Fred Thompson’s popularity. I will have my popcorn ready.

I just posted this at the Daily FReead:

Poll Update: Thompson and Giuliani running neck and neck
This post was written by Jason Easley on 31 July, 2007 (17:50)
According to the most recently released Rasmussen Reports weekly Republican poll results, Rudy Giuliani and still undeclared candidate Fred Thompson are engaged in a race for the GOP nomination that is a virtual dead heat. Thompson and Giuliani both have 25% support. John McCain and Mitt Romney have continued to battle it out for third. Romney has 12%, McCain 11%, and 17% are undecided. No other candidate in the Republican field pulls more than 4%. The real story here continues to be Fred Thompson. Rasmussen Reports also does a daily tracking poll, and Thompson has led Giuliani on every day but one for over two weeks now. In the daily tracking poll, Thompson led Giuliani 25%-24% on Monday and 26%-24% today. The biggest lead that Thompson has ever had in the daily poll was 5 points.
In the weekly polls, it has been two months since Giuliani last led Thompson. Giuliani has seen his support erode from a high of 37% in March to a low of 21% last week. It has been six weeks since Giuliani last broke 25%. It has been 13 weeks since he was last at 30% or higher. In the last three months, Giuliani’s support has been between 21%-25%. On the other hand, Fred Thompson has not been below 24% in two months. Out of all the Republicans, he is the one that can be described as on the up swing. While his competitors are trending down, Thompson has posted his best numbers in three of the last seven weeks. Much like Hillary Clinton on the Democratic side, Thompson has seen his numbers steadily climb.
Mitt Romney continues to struggle to gain ground on the top two. Romney has been stuck at 12% for four straight weeks, and has never registered more than 16% since the weekly poll began in January. This high water mark came on May 29, and he has stayed stuck at 11%-15% ever since. Romney needs to win in Iowa and New Hampshire in order to even have a chance at the nomination. Since January 23, John McCain’s support has been literally sliced in half. In January McCain was at 22%, now he is at 11%. McCain has spent ten consecutive weeks between 11%-14%. His campaign already looks like it is on life support.
The big question that the pundits are debating is will the Fred Thompson honeymoon last with GOP primary voters? My guess is that it probably won’t, but he will hold strong. Those who think Thompson will fade seem to be basing their conclusion on their evaluation of Thompson the candidate. The people who are thinking this way are missing the point. Fred Thompson doesn’t have to be a great candidate to win the nomination. All he needs to do is be more conservative than Giuliani, McCain, and Romney. GOP primary voters aren’t sold on any of the top current candidates and seem to be looking for a more traditional type of Republican. In other words, they are looking for the anti-Rudy. If Thompson can fill this role, he has a good chance to win the Republican nomination. Republicans appear to want an alternative, and Fred Thompson is in the best position to provide them with one.

Let the gnasties chew on that for a while. :)

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.