Missouri House Speaker Rod Jetton is boosting Mitt Romney's electability credentials and questioning Fred Thompson's commitment in an e-mail to Romney supporters in Missouri.
Jetton, who serves as Romney's political director in Missouri, highlights the former Massachusetts Governor's recent victory in the Ames, Iowa straw poll and other polls around the country in the e-mail.
Jetton also takes aim at Fred Thompson's candidacy, just days before Thompson is scheduled to officially throw his hat in the ring.
"The polls are clear that as Romney is gaining ground, Fred Thompson is losing it," Jetton writes. "After three campaign managers, delay after delay in even making a decision to run and a long history of ties to Washington D.C. trial attorneys, Thompson is obviously an unreliable candidate," Jetton goes on.
"His decisiveness and poor judgement makes me question his ability to win the race. Mitt's superior ability to raise more money than any other Republican candidate and maintain the largest cash-on-hand figures creates a fantastic opportunity for Missourians to join a winning campaign."
Jetton says the Missourians For Mitt team is looking for county coordinators "to give us the strongest ground presence in the state." "Romney is the only candidate implementing a 'boots on the ground' strategy in our state,'" Jetton says.
Oddly enough, no mention of Rudy Giuliani in Jetton's lit piece. Apparently, the Romney camp here is more concerned about Thompson's entrance than Giuliani's campaign.
2 comments:
You took the words right out of my mouth Dave. Why does Jetton single out Thompson? Why doesn't he mention Rudy or Huckabee, a conservative neighbor to the south? Unless there is something in Fred Thompson's candidacy which scares the life out of the Romney camp. To me, Romney stands the most to lose from Thompson's entry into the race because Romney is not the only "first-tier" anti-Rudy. In Thompson they see someone with more authentic conservative credentials than their own candidate. Fred Thompson's conservatism dates back to Goldwater in the 1960s whereas Romney has been a late comer to conservatism.
The "Fred Factor" looms large for Romney, and that's why he raises the ire of Romney's surrogates.
Romney's campaign has no credibility in Missouri if Jetton is his political director. Jetton is the man who blasted his own Republican colleague, Rep. Scott Lipke, for trying to keep state laws in line with the U.S. Constitution. Last year the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states could not ban sex between consenting adults of the same sex. This rendered unenforceable the laws on the books in dozens of states, including Missouri. Representative Lipke, in correctly doing his constitutional duty, including a repeal of Missouri's illegal anti-gay sex laws in a comprehensive crime bill. This bill passed overwhelmingly, with Speaker Jetton in support. Suddenly, for some unknown reason, Jetton, months later, claimed Lipke "deceived" him, and apparently every other Republican legislator, into voting for the bill. Jetton said if he had really known what was in the bill he would have voted against it. By making these public statements, if he was in fact telling the truth, which is doubtful considering his legislative position, Jetton did two things--he admitted that he is not aware of the significant impacts of the legislation on which he votes, and he is also admitting that it is okay to flout the U.S. Constitution by keeping illegal laws on the books.
Those who will be casting ballots in Missouri's Republican Primary next year don't care who a candidate's political director is. That is good for Romney, because Missouri Republicans believe in upholding the U.S. Constitution, especially as interpreted by the conservative justices now sitting on the Supreme Court of the United States. If we vote on a candidate's statewide political director, Romney is toast in this state.
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