Posted on 11/05/2008 4:34:48 PM PST by TitansAFC
Today, Red State ran an article on the origination of nasty lies from within the McCain/Palin camp. They report, Romney staffers now working on the McPalin campaign have been spreading the stories of Palin’s “ineptitude” to the press. Red State and other reporters accuse Romney staffers, including Kevin Madden (former Romney press-man) of pushing reporters into “Troopergate” stories and other possible negative Palin story angles. Palin provides a threat to Romney for a presidential run, but now is not the time for in-party fighting.
American Girl has been very critical of long-time Romney supporter Kathleen Parker (see here and here), a “Republican,” from the National Review for her consistent ridicule of Palin instead of criticising the Democrat ticket. Parker has proven to be a putrid, vile opportunist in this election. Parker has only proven to me that she would stab my dog if it helped her personal interests.
Mitt Romney has an obligation to his party and beliefs to publicly hog-tie Madden, Parker, and his surrogates (I have a list). If Romney fails to reign them in and rehires them for another WH bid, he can count on American Girl fighting hard against his nomination.
This is no threat, but a promise. I will take my money, my volunteers, my time, this blog, and more - and back another candidate. Guaranteed.
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When I was in St. Paul for the Republican Convention, more than a dozen people told me acolytes of Mitt Romney were feeding all the stories to the media portraying Palin in a negative light.
In fact, I heard that one of the biggest pushers of anti-Palin stories, including encouraging reporters to pursue the "Trooper-gate" story was Romney spokesman Kevin Madden.
I did not blog on it at the time because I perceived it to be people trying to finish off Romney. It likewise seemed clear to me that if this was going on, it was people loyal to Romney who were still hoping for his come back and not Romney himself.
These days it is hard to miss Kathleen Parker's savage attacks on Sarah Palin. She, along with several others listed here attacking Sarah Palin were also some of the first pundits in bed with the Romney campaign in 2007/8.
Again, it is hard for me to place the finger on Romney. It seems to me that these are people who are still convinced he's the better nominee and don't want Palin to be in any position to challenge him in 2012.
At this moment, however, it is absolutely clear -- there is an effort, organized or not, by supporters of Mitt Romney to harm the reputation of Governor Sarah Palin.
The American Spectator documented it yesterday.
Former Mitt Romney presidential campaign staffers, some of whom are currently working for Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin's bid for the White House, have been involved in spreading anti-Palin spin to reporters, seeking to diminish her standing after the election. "Sarah Palin is a lightweight, she won't be the first, not even the third, person people will think of when it comes to 2012," says one former Romney aide, now working for McCain-Palin. "The only serious candidate ready to challenge to lead the Republican Party is Mitt Romney. He's in charge on November 5th."
Though I initially dismissed the Kevin Madden rumors, Amanda Carpenter has Kevin in his own words going after Sarah Palin.
And it is not just Madden. It may be hard for you to believe, but there are Romney supporters now working on John McCain's campaign who are, in fact, indisputably out to damage Sarah Palin's reputation. I am not just convinced of it. I know it to be fact. That there are "conservative pundits" echoing the same talking points makes me deeply suspicious.
I agree with Matt Lewis. I doubt Mitt Romney is responsible or encouraging it. In fact, I suspect he'd be extremely disappointed to find this out. Nonetheless, whether organic or organized, it is happening and it deeply worries me that these people now undermining Sarah Palin view Romney as the logical choice to lead the RNC or be the front runner in 2012. You don't get to sabotage your own side and then have your guy be the front runner.
We must remember this. Contrary to the quote in the American Spectator, if November 5th ushers in President-elect Obama, I stand with Sarah.
Bravo.
Besides all of Romney’s other obvious flaws, after the Stock Market scandal does ANYONE remotely believe he could elected?
No way. He would have been MONDALED if he had been the nominee.
McCain should come out and denounce this crap, but I bet he doesn’t.
So sorry to disagree with you, but Huckabee helped to get us McCain in the first place! I am never going to forgive him for that one. He is nothing more than a populist syncophant. Let him have his little show on Fox, play his guitar. That’s where he belongs right now.
Over the next few years the conservative movement needs to rebuild. Palin or Romney? Who will draw people to fundraisers, conventions, etc?
It is true! I know personally some of the backstabbing of the other candidates by Romney’s people. I don’t think for a minute that he did not know what was happening.
The Romney/Bush people from Jeb and GW have been leaking against Palin from Day One. There was a meeting in June with Bush/Cheney/Romney to try and put pressure on McCain to pick Romney as VP. I was told by a reliable source that never was going to happen. For months the Romney surrogates pushed for him to be the VP candidate and you can bet money he would have undermined McCain.
Remember that Romney was in the meeting of economic people that suggested McCain suspend his campaign and fly back to DC and ask the President to have a meeting which McCain and Boehner were backstabbed by Paulson/Bush when they let Obama run the meeting and Paulson made sure Obama had the House GOP plan which he proceeded to tear apart.
Connect the dots!
Yeah, I’m sure conservatives would have turned out in droveeds for the socialist Romney, especially after they started running all the videos of his advocating abortion, homosexual rights, gun control etc.
If you believe Romney is a conservative, you probably believe that Obama had no idea Rev Wright was a racist.
This is second hand or third hand information. Kind of like someone saying to you "you should have heard what they were saying about you" because they want to start an argument. The person who wrote this should have kept it to themselves, they are being played in my opinion.
I never liked Romney, and not just because of “Romney Care” in Massachusetts.
I believe she is.
You've got to be joking. Palin was one of the ONLY things McCain got right in this campaign. Name ONE VP pick who could have raked in the votes like Palin did. It wasn't enough to win, sure, but she generated enthusiasm that we haven't seen since Reagan. No one was going to get fired up about the Maverick/Helmet ticket, face it.
Palin will be back. McCain is history. Romney has crapped his pants with this backstabbing nonsense.
Agree with all you say Owen except what happened in the primary sealed our doom. We just had the wrong guy forced on us.
The real question is, will we figure it out?
Nina’s husband was part of Romney’s national campaign.
I do believe his staffers were/are doing this however, I seriously doubt he is behind it.
One of the big reasons Romney didn’t make it was because of the MSM. They took him out early. The MSM then promoted 0 to such a degree that now he IS POTUS.
Do I really have to say it? Don’t believe everything you read.
This election wasn’t about who won the debates or who had the experience. The press saw to that. Honest reporting would have given both to McCain hands down.
It was about who had the curb appeal, who was a novelty, who could make the world love America again, and who was perceived as more like the middle clas than an elitist new englander like George Bush.
Romney loses on all counts. Plus many Americans think of Mormonism as a cult. Unfortunate but true. 20,000 people at a time in middle America wouldn’t have turned out to see and hear Romney give a speech.
Romney will never win a national election. Never.
Even if Romney is behind these attacks on Palin, its nice to have a Republican who will not pull punches and can fight (no matter how "swarmy") unlike Bush I, Bush II, Dole and McCain.
If Mitt ever runs, I will stay home.
Noob ... are you sure you know who you are responding to?
Go back and read #61 again ... the easily grasped point of citing Murphy's Globe gotcha is that Romney ... has proven incapable of hiring nothing more than double-crossing Hessian mercenaries to run his national political aspirations ... something we can do without in the next conservative candidate ...
I still do. But not the Romney campaign or Mitt himself. (Methinks George would be ashamed.)
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