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 ...
"Pro-life voters will make up their own minds on who to support" (mbraynard @ #3).Contradictory posts are less obvious when they appear on different threads ..."[R]ight-to-life voters cant make up their own mind on a candidate" (mbraynard @ #30).
Fredipedia: The Definitive Fred Thompson Reference
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>>This endorsement is really no big deal. It means they give Thompson no more than $5000 or so.
Pro-life voters will make up their own minds on who to support<<
It generated a lot press at a time when Fred has not seemed to be speaking as well as a lot of had hoped. So in that sense I think its a bigger than the money.
Never heard of him.
Weyrich has lost it. Time for a changing of the guard....
Exactly. And Romney is not responding here.
And note that a few weeks back Fred made the statement that Romney was attempting to ‘buy’ SC, and note more importantly that Romney did not respond.
I am inclined to believe that people in SC came forward to the Fred campaign and told them of Romney’s bribery attempts. Certainly the ARG poll of late September was bought and paid for.
(mbraynard)
“Besides, the state organization in IA endorsed Willard. “
“That would be great for FDT, except the IA organization endorsed Romney.”
Someone is making stuff up:
The Iowa Independent by: Lynda Waddington
Tuesday (11/13) at 11:25 AM
“National Right to Life became the first national grassroots organization to issue a formal endorsement in the Republican presidential contest Tuesday morning when they put their support behind former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson.”
“Iowa Right to Life and the other 49 state affiliate organizations now have a choice to make. They can either support the national organization’s endorsement of Thompson or they can remain neutral. Lehman said the decision from the Iowa group will be forthcoming in the next few weeks, but stopped short on speculating where the members might fall.
“I really think it will come down to a majority vote,” she said. “I have no idea because we live in a caucus state. In a caucus state, everyone is pretty active in politics and so, typically, board members work and volunteer for their choice of pro-life candidates on an individual basis. So, I don’t know where people are on their individual support of candidates.
“I think at this point — as close as we are to the caucuses — [the decision] is not going to be on a personal decision level. It’s going to be on a practical level on being able to take the executive branch in the final election. So, it’s going to be an interesting discussion.”
Haus said he was aware of the discussions that would now take place within the state organization, but rejected use of the word lobby when it came to how those decision makers would be approached.”
http://www.iowaindependent.com/showDiary.do;jsessionid=F8C7928414B74F04D305BFDE664837FC?diaryId=1452
Post 47 is very interesting!
Someone is making stuff upContradiction and fiction seem to be the Romney supporters' M.O. How apt.
Speaking of apt, who has that cartoon of Romney with the multiple mouths?
Talk about "whistling past the graveyard" with your comment. You say that an individual endorsement is more important than a group with chapters in ALL 50 states (3,000 to be exact) with MILLIONS of members and supporters. This will likely be the turning point in the race for the White House, but you say it doesn't carry much weight? I'll bet if Huckabee or Romney had garnered their support that you'd be singing a different tune!! LOL Where did you get the idea that they can only contribute $5,000, btw? Do you know how valuable it will be for all those volunteers to be working for Fred between now and the primaries?
99% of people don't know who the heck Fred Smith is. Everyone knows this organization.
The article left a lot of marks on Romney. He needs some first aid...
Any idea about the content of the Conversation between Jim Bopp and Mitt the day this broke. I am sure Mitt was a bit “let down” and the campaign never failed to use “James Bopp” and “National Right to Life” in a sentence. I mean he is/was a team member and all...
“There are thousands and thousands of Fed Ex employees.
Fred Smith is a national figure in case you didnt know.”
When I worked for Brown & Root and other giant corporations, I didn’t care who the CEO was or anything about his life.
To compare employees of giant businesses to dedicated volunteer activists, that join an organization to further a political or moral cause, s ridiculous.
OUCH!
Anyone got a cold compress for Gov. Romney...
Always consider the source in assessing all things...
If the Romney campaign is looking for the reason they did not receive the NRLC-PAC endorsement, they can start with the fact that Gov. Romney was pro-choice just two years ago. They should also consider the fact that Gov. Romney's own health care plan in Massachusetts offers taxpayer funded abortions for a mere $50 co-pay and requires by law that a representative from Planned Parenthood sit on the MassHealth advisory board. Tellingly, Gov. Romney made no such requirement for a representative from the pro-life movement.The Romney campaign was clearly hoping for this endorsement and are now clearly upset. But being denied an endorsement is no excuse to impugn the integrity of the very organization they were just days ago trying to woo.
Let's give Mitt Romney eight years to contemplate whether or not he wants to be pro-life. After President Thompson leaves office, if Mitt has managed not to flop-flip back to being a liberal on this issue, then he can be considered for the job.
Thank you sir. Great response to the dismissivness of this article. The campaign could not put a dollars amount on this endorsement, in that it involves volunteers from all 50 states.
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