Posted on 11/14/2007 8:45:14 AM PST by jaybeegee
I feel comfortable saying, based on conversations with NRLC members, that Jim Bopp's attack on Sam Brownback did not help the Romney team with the NRLC.
Paul Weyrich coming unglued and accusing Thompson of bribing NRLC for their endorsement is really not going to help Romney at the grassroots level.
Weyrich can say what he wants, but (a) it's not true and (b) it's not helpful. I would suggest that if they don't think Thompson is a threat, the Romney camp might not want to get bogged down on this. The latest poll numbers in Iowa and South Carolina are certainly not painting a pretty picture for the Thompson camp. But, this endorsement just might help.
[UPDATED:] I just got this punch thrown from the Thompson campaign into my inbox:
"Gov. Romney is new to the pro-life movement and his campaign clearly has a few things to learn about it. First, they should understand that despite their campaign's every effort, groups like the National Right to Life Committee's PAC (NLRC-PAC) cannot be bought. NLRC-PAC is supporting Fred Thompson because of Fred's 100% pro-life voting record. They know he stood with them yesterday, he stands with them today, and he will stand with them tomorrow. It is unseemly for the Romney campaign and its supporters to suggest that NLRC-PAC's coveted endorsement is based on a bribe. Second, this unfounded accusation is as outrageou s as it is ironic, given the Romney campaign's long history of spreading money around to anyone who will take it."
----end article----
FredThompsonNews
(Excerpt) Read more at redstate.com ...
Paul Weyrich has also jumped the shark.
Pro-life voters will make up their own minds on who to support - and any of them can come up with reasons to support any R who is running. And they will. Endorsements from a faceless group like this (albiet a very helpful group to The Cause) do not carry much weight with voters as much as, say, an endorsement from an actual person who is a leader in the movement (like Henry Hyde or Schlafly or something like that).
Weyrich came unglued 8 years ago, when he counseled defeatism to conservatives. I was there, I heard him say it. Since that time, I pay no attention to him.
Wow, you can tell an election is in the air, things are getting a little nutty.
True, but inaccurately sliming another candidate’s endorsement by implying it was bought isn’t going to help Romney.
Yes that's more or less how I see it, minus the part about being there. I keep hoping he will return to his former self because I used to enjoy listening to him.
Endorsements such as this can have a significant affect on voters especially when someone from one of the 3000 local organizations comes to his neighbors front door to urge support of Thompson, the endorsed pro-life candidate. This often carries much more weight than the endorsement of a "celebrity" figure.
I think you’re underestimating the importance of the NRLC endorsement. The support for individual candidates in the Primary race is still very fluid at this time, and there are still about 20% undecided nationally. In this fluid environment, what the candidates are looking for at this point is anything that will cause voters to give them another look. This endorsement couldn’t have come at a better time for Thompson, whose numbers lately have been steadily eroding.
Every campaign has supporters saying nutty things. If we want to play the game that way, I'd rather have Wyrich throwing words around carelessly tied to Romney than a DRUG DEALER and SCAM ARTIST tied to the FDT campaign.
See what I did there?
That would be great for FDT, except the IA organization endorsed Romney.
How many millions did Romney give them?
Sure, I'll give you that - but very few people that would be influenced by that kind of press are paying attention right now.
Besides, the state organization in IA endorsed Willard. If anything makes a voter give someone a second look, winning IA, NH, MI, NV, and SC certainly will.
The Romney campaign resorting to underhanded, sleazy tactics. What a surprise.
My previous personal interaction with Mr. Weyrich was consistent with this virulent attitude he is showing. One interaction was enough to last me a lifetime.
Are you saying that the NRLC is just some little dinky outfit? They are to conservatives what the labor unions is to liberals.
This is politics and Romney right now is Thompson’s closest competitor. If Thompson sees an opening, he’d be foolish not to take it. And Weyrich has given him a perfect opening.
The solution is for Romney to ask Weyrich to apologize or, if he refuses, to cut him loose, as Thompson did his drug dealer.
[V]ery few people that would be influenced by that kind of press are paying attention right now.You can bet the right-to-life voters are paying attention.
Paul Weyrich is doing no favors for himself, Romney, the unborn, or conservatism writ large with this acute public outburst of derangement. I hope this is a case of mouth working faster than brain.
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