Posted on 11/09/2008 3:27:03 PM PST by GVnana
Aides blast accusations, not from Mitt camp
By Dave Wedge
Saturday, November 8, 2008 -
Mitt Romney’s camp is firing back at reports his foot soldiers are behind a brutal smear campaign against Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in a backdoor strategy to position the former Bay State governor for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination.
“It’s a completely absurd allegation that is totally divorced from the truth,” Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said.
Fox News, the New York Times [NYT] and Newsweek have reported on a host of criticisms of Palin, including that she threw tantrums that made staffers cry and didn’t know Africa was a continent. Several media outlets reported some of the leaks came from within the McCain campaign. But the political blog, The Palmetto Scoop, citing “very good sources,” said it was Romney loyalists working for McCain who were behind the “premeditated last minute sabotage” of Palin.
Fehrnstrom took issue with the Scoop’s claim that as much as 80 percent of Romney’s campaign staff went to work for Sen. John McCain’s team after the GOP primary. Only “a handful” of Romney operatives joined the Arizona senator’s campaign, he said.
“The truth is, there are no former Romney staffers in senior roles at the McCain campaign,” Fehrnstrom said. “I can think of a handful of people, maybe three or four, who went over, all in junior positions.”
However, Romney’s former campaign spokesman Kevin Madden was among the ex-Romney staffers to bash Palin. In an interview on CNN just a week before the election, Madden called Palin “unseasoned” and questioned whether she should have been McCain’s pick.
“When you put out an unknown and you give them 70 days with which to go through a vetting process, both by voters and the national press corps, ugly things can tend to happen,” Madden said.
Since McCain’s loss, Palin has been accused of dragging down the ticket in what her spokeswoman Meg Stapleton reportedly called “a circling firing squad.”
GOP strategist Holly Robichaud, who writes the “Lone Republican” blog for the Herald, said: “It’s definitely Romney’s people. They’ve been doing it for a while. Romney is thinking about running again in 2012 and he needs to kill off Sarah Palin in order to get there.”
Romney himself has defended Palin, calling her a “positive addition to the ticket” in an appearance on CBS’ “Early Show” a week before the election.
“For a first-time candidate on the national stage . . . you’re subject to the national spotlight. It’s more like a national torch,” Romney said. “She has been able to keep cool under the pressure.”
Meanwhile, a new Rasmussen poll shows that 64 percent of Republicans want Palin to be the GOP presidential candidate in 2012 while 11 percent prefer Romney.
Outside of Romney being a RINO , I must say that I appreciate the other qaulities that you listed... lol !
We are going to need a take no prisoners fighter for our next nominee .
Who will it be ?
Good post.
If this infighting keeps up, some bright donk is gonna start FReeper Funnies.
Carl Cameron and Nina Easton...nuff said.
You are quite disingenuous, attempting to defend the indefensible.
Frankly, conservative FReepers dont care if you had
menage a trois with Romney and Seamus.
Just no reasoning with the ignorant, so I wont. I stand by my comment. I know the man and he is not a flaming lib.
Let’s stop this game of fratricide. It only helps the Democrats. Palin and Romney are the good guys. 2012 is a long way off and it is likely that neither will be the nominee at that time. we’ve got better things to think, IMO.
That original 13% was easily attributed to some of his bloggers, his religious peers and the star struck
Geez, they do scream when you poke ‘em in the right spot, no?
He has a chance to prove himself over the next four years and attacking Palin by proxy is not a good start.
Why not?
He says he had nothing to do with it and then a campaign spokesman trashes Palin. Pi$$ off willard.
LLS
Pervert!!You have already had some of your stuff taken down today. Maybe next it will be you.
bump
The problem is that Romney is not a good guy. He and his supporters caused a great deal of strife during the primaries. They persist in trying to push him for EVERY job that comes up, even head of the RNC. (Can you imagine? LOL)
Kevin Madden doesn’t take a bathroom break without Mitt’s approval, so all these people saying it wasn’t Mitt doing the back stabbing are full of beans.
There ya go believing the MSM’s grist. They are intent on instilling disaffection within the party and they seem to be doing a right fine job of it.
Exactly! This going after Sarah Palin is as low as I have seen in years of politics. Definitely add Kevin Madden to THE LIST!
Carl Cameron and Nina Easton, Palin bashers extraordinaire....who do they work for? Follow the money or the road to the Ivy league butt kissers?
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