…Or this could be headlined: Hugh Hewitt’s Shameless Apologia For Mitt Romney
Hugh Hewitt, nationally syndicated talker, eminent blogger and author, wrote a book on why Mitt Romney would be the perfect presidential candidate for the GOP nomination for 2008. Yet, he claims not to be in the bag for Romney and claims he is remaining impartial, ready to support any GOP candidate. This impartiality, however, is impossible to square with reality when Hewitt’s every post on his own blog is flogging the Romney candidacy.
Now, I have no problem with Hewitt’s being a cheerleader for his man Mitt. If Hewitt wants Mitt above all others, then he should just say so and quit with the false pretension that he is not sold to the Romney camp. His claims to the contrary are disingenuous, to say the least. But, this contest is just beginning and if Hewitt wants Mitt, then he should go full bore. It is fair and honest of him to do so. (Romney’s the wrong choice, of course, but, hey, we are all entitled to our choices!)
But, yesterday Hewitt went further than just cheerleading and moved into damage control and apologia for his man who was MIA on a currently hot talk-radio/blogosphere issue. Hewitt has moved beyond mere tacit support and should be counted officially as a member of Romney’s campaign team at this point.
Many times, Hewitt has claimed that Romney is uniquely tuned in to the new media, but the fact that Hewitt had to come to Romney’s rescue on this issue reveals that Romney’s campaign is not as plugged into the internet scene, or hot button conservative issues as Hewitt claims that it is.
We are all aware of the controversy over Congressional Democrats who have made up a pack of lies that radio icon Rush Limbaugh said that our troops are “phoney solders.” This issue has been the hot topic on the blogs and talk radio for several days now.
But Romney was MIA on the issue.
Candidate Fred Thompson, on the other hand, had a statement out right away on the issue. On his website Fred08.com, Thompson personally wrote the following:
“Congressional Democrats are trying to divert attention from insulting our military leader in Iraq and pandering to the loony left by attacking Rush Limbaugh. He is one of the strongest supporters of our troops, yet Democrats claim he is not being strong enough. I wonder who General Petraeus and his troops think is most supportive?”
This shows that Fred truly IS plugged in! The speed with which he identified and commented on this issue shows he is on top of the new media.
Still, Romney was MIA.
So, quick rides Hewitt to the rescue on his white horse to save team Romney some embarrassment. And Hewitt is ready to spin his heart out to make it seem that Romney is somehow informed on the new media. On his website and radio show, Hewitt jumps to help Mitt out:
The New News Cycle: Romney and Thompson Defend Rush
As the phoney “phoney soldier” controversy swirled today –and Rush is in no hurry to end it as it reflects well on him and poorly on Senate Democrats– Fred Thompson released a statemnt blasting the attack on Rush. Rush was discussing it today, and e-in-box began to fill up with complaints that Mitt Romney had abandoned Rush. I shot off a query to the Romney campaign: What is this all about?
Not only did the campaign respond immediately, Governor Romney called the show to discuss the controversy and state that Rush has “got a long record of supporting our soldiers. There’s no question that this is a man who has been very much on the side of our fighting men and women.” (Transcript here.)
Romney went on to blast HillaryCradleCare, the $5,000 per baby grant, as did Rudy in new Hampshire today.
What the Thompson/Romney reactions to the Senate Democrat attacks on Rush and the Giuliani/Romney blast at Hillary’s boondoggle both demonstrate is that the campaigns are on continual alert to the ever smaller news cycle. They do not intend to allow any story that might impact the race to go unremarked upon, especially those that might reflect ont heir standing with the GOP base. An attack on Rush is an attack on the GOP base, and I will be shocked if Rudy doesn’t weigh in by COB tonight as well.
“Not only did the campaign respond immediately??” No, Hugh, the “campaign” did NOT “respond immediately.” Team Romney had no clue what was going on until YOU helpfully alerted them to it. And Romney’s replies to Hewitt’s questions about it on the air were somewhat embarrassing for Mitt.
I heard that interview between Hewitt and Romney. Romney was off balance and uninformed. Each time he answered Hewitt his answer consisted mostly of re-stating Hewitt’s question and re-stating the issue with very little actual commentary on his part added to show he was truly informed and had formed a firm opinion on the matter. Romney used classic stalling tactics to filibuster the answer while he desperately tried to work out something in his head to say to Hewitt’s questions.
Far from “responding immediately,” Romney seemed caught unawares and unprepared.
Apparently, Romney didn’t have enough time to gather a “team” to write a “white paper” on the issue, so Romney was at a loss as to what to think about the whole thing!
This incident shows that Fred Thompson is really the best candidate for the modern era. He is smart enough to know what concerns his constituents, but has enough principles to have his own opinion well and firmly formed without some radio host to spin things for him.
Vote Thompson. Security, Unity, Prosperity!
(Yes, I am “in the bag” for Thompson, in case you couldn’t guess.)
7 users commented in " Fred Thompson Ahead of the Pack on Limbaugh ‘Phoney Soldier’ Row "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackHugh’s misinformation campaign is working! You are proof of that. In fact Mitt was not MIA. His campaign had issued a statement to the Huffington Post on 9/28 about the whole Rush/phony soldier thing. Here it is.
“Governor Romney would disagree with the negative characterization of those men and women who serve with honor and distinction in the United States Military. There may be disagreements with individual opinions, but no one would ever dispute the fact that those members of the military who disagree with the war have earned the right to express that opinion.”
Now Hugh never brought that statement up. He is clearly a huckster. That is why Rush slammed Romney on his show. Because of the first statement by his campaign.
The difference between Romney’s response (whether issued in a timely manner or not) and Thompson’s is quite clear, like night and day.
What’s even more clear is that Mitt can’t beat Hillary, Fred can.
Fred Thompson has the temperament and the knowledge to lead this nation.
But Fred Thompson has no leadership experience at all-
The President of the United States is not an internship for someone who has never been an executive at any level, whether it be private, public or non-profit. Being folksy will only get him so far-
If I had to choose someone to lead my organization, and my job and livelihood hinged on the organization being successful, it would not be Fred Thompson. He just doesn’t have the experience or motivation to the best job that is required for the position-
Actually, you missed it. The campaign did respond. I believe they even responded before Fred Thompson. The problem is that they weren’t prepared and showed their true Massachusetts liberal colors in their response.
In a statement to the Huffington Post,
Romney’s spokesman Kevin Madden
offered the following on Limbaugh:
“Governor Romney would disagree with the negative characterization of those men and women who serve with honor and distinction in the United States Military. There may be disagreements with individual opinions, but no one would ever dispute the fact that those members of the military who disagree with the war have earned the right to express that opinion.”
So, in other words, they don’t know enough about Rush Limbaugh to even question the story from the getgo. They are absolutely 100% clueless and were willing to throw Limbaugh under a bus to benefit their own campaign.
Mark,
A look at Fred Thompson’s extensive resume will shatter your claim of ‘no experience’ in about two seconds.
Frankly, however, I’ll take someone with no experience over someone with experience governing as a liberal. Slick Willard is a huckster who will say whatever it takes to get where he wants to go. We had a president like that for 8 years. I’m not itching to return to that.
Drew-
Enlighten me then, because when I look at his resume I see:
1-Watergate mole for Richard Nixon
2-Senator of Tennessee-nothing significant of note here except for McCain Feingold, and establishing a record of being lazy-
3-Law and Order-Fred Thompson is running for President, not Arthur Branch-
Look, Fred is a likeable guy here, no question, but this guy is not the most qualified for the position-just as GW Bush was not-, and by electing someone who will fall on his face as president the way GW has will only her the Republican/conservative movement further. McCain, Giuliani, Romney or Huckabee would be huge upgrades over what we have right now, but I am not sure about F. Thompson-
I seriously doubt that you’re capable of any enlightenment, especially with your disingenuous portrayal of Fred Thompson as a ‘mole’ for Nixon, which is asinine. I guess I shouldn’t expect more from someone who would buy the things Mitt Romney says.
Fred’s experience is available to anyone who bothers to look, so I’m not going to bother quoting it here.
Instead, I’ll give you the top 10 reasons why Fred Thompson should be the Republican nominee:
10. Because a review of Fred Dalton Thompson’s voting record shows that he consistently voted for gun owners (the NRA called him a “staunch supporter of the Second Amendment”), against abortion, for business, against higher taxes, for a balanced budget, for a strong defense, for ANWR drilling, for capping foreign aid, for free trade, for private property rights, for personal retirement accounts, for the Iraq War Resolution and for welfare reform.
9. Because, among his interest group ratings, Sen. Thompson earned a perfect zero from National Abortion Reproductive Rights Action, a perfect 100% from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, only 11% from the ACLU, 85% from the American Conservative Union, 86% from the Center for Security Policy, a perfect zero from the American Federation of Teachers, 6% from the National Education Association, 90% from the League of Private Property Voters, 97% from the National Tax Limitation committee, 88% from the National Taxpayers Union and a perfect zero from the liberal ADA. In a 1995 analysis, Project Vote Smart listed Thompson as having supported Contract With America items 100% of the time. The Club for Growth has just released a a report in which Club President Pat Toomey concludes, “Fred Thompson’s eight-year record is generally pro-growth with an excellent record on entitlement reform and school choice and a very good record on taxes, regulation, and trade. His belief in a limited federal government is demonstrated by his numerous votes against government intrusion in the private sector and increased federal spending. His fondness for Tennessee pork aside, Thompson consistently voted against increased spending and new government projects, at times, one of only a handful of senators to do so.”
8. Because under his Chairmanship, Sen. Thompson’s Governmental Affairs Committee actively pursued an agenda aimed at producing a smaller, more efficient, and more accountable government. Of his efforts, the Kingsport Times-News wrote, “Sen. Thompson is to be applauded for keeping a watchful eye over Washington fiscal matters. There should be more like him.” Chairman Thompson held hearings on improving the federal regulatory process; reforming the IRS; exploring ways to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse; and a number of national security issues, including the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and missile technologies. Thompson also investigated and successfully enacted solutions to information management problems such as government computer security.
7. Because as a member of the powerful Senate Committee on Finance, Thompson focused on reducing taxes, reforming the tax code to make it simpler and fairer, and restoring the Social Security and Medicare programs to long-term solvency. He advocated a balanced approach to trade and national security and pushed for an export control policy that protects our country’s national security without unnecessarily burdening American industry with bureaucratic red tape. He also proposed legislation to curb the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by China and other countries and to strengthen the United States’ response to such activities.
6. Because when Thompson makes the rare mistake, he admits it and learns from it. Though he’s rightly still not comfortable with the idea of people giving large sums of money to legislators and then coming before their committees to ask for the government’s favor, FDT has owned up to the fact that that McCain Feingold was a poor attempt to solve the problem of influence peddling and just plain old bribery. He’s learned that full disclosure might just be the best way to deal with the probelm. Fred has also admitted that his vote for the immigration reform measure which President Reagan signed in 1986 created an additional 12 to 20 million illegals. He’s learned from that and has grown much tougher on the issue, advocating the securing of our borders before anything else is done and the deportation of illegals when they are captured.
5. Because Fred Thompson has been committed to federalist principles his entire political career and has brought federalism to the forefront of the current political dialogue. He has also been a voice in the wilderness speaking out about the coming entitlement and national debt crisis, calling for a frank discussion of how we must deal with it. Thompson stands apart from the other major Republican presidential candidates who have been for the most part silent on these issues.
4. Because Sen. Thompson has the admiration and respect of his former colleagues on the hill. As president, he would have the best chance of all the candidates to get the congressional cooperation required to advance his agenda. FDT has demonstrated this kind of leadership with his very successful shepherding of John Roberts through the political minefield that is the U.S. Senate.
3. Because he scares the devil out of leftists. Even the liberal Washington Monthly in a 1999 hit piece had to begrudgingly admit that as a Senator, Thompson worked hard to keep his campaign promises. Democratic strategist Bob Beckel revealed, in a discussion on Fox News’ Hannity & Colmes program, that Fred Thompson for president would be their “worst nightmare” because of his communications skills and ability to appeal to swing voters. Many backers of Fred’s GOP opponents attack him even more viciously than the Democrats do because he poses a major threat to their candidates now that he’s in the race.
2. Because he doesn’t scare independents and Reagan Democrats. Like Reagan, Thompson is that rare sort of conservative who can sell conservative ideas to moderates and independents. And again like Reagan, he may be the only potential candidate who can unite the factions of the Republican Party right now. No, Fred isn’t Ronald Reagan, and he’s the first one to say it. But he is one of Reagan’s smartest students and most consistent disciples who has the same kind of media-savvy and commanding presence. Also like Reagan, Fred Thompson is much more than “just an actor.”
1. Because he will beat Hillary Clinton like a rented mule.