Patrick Ruffini has a must-read post on how Republican candidates are being outspent 3-1 on new media. Commenting on a report from the National Journal’s Shira Toeplitz, Ruffini notes the disparity:

Looking closely at the list, I noticed another trend, and it’s a disturbing one that ties depressingly into the issues by the YouTube debate. While Republicans and Democrats are spending almost equally on their Web efforts, Democrats are spending dramatically more on in-house staff. Approximately 36% of the Democrats’ Web budgets are dedicated to staff, while less than 8% of the Republican budgets are. Overall, the Democratic candidates have 39 people working in the Web departments while Republicans have 18, spread over 9 active candidates. That works out to an average of 5.6 staffers per candidate on the Democrat side, and just 2 on the Republican side, encompassing both frontrunners and also-rans. Obama alone has 10 people on his Web staff… and it shows.

As Ruffini notes, the story here is that “Republicans are largely outsourcing their Web operations to highly capable technical firms” but are failing the develop the human capital — the “boots on the ground” — needed to make the most of new media for driving message and generating enthusiasm. If Republicans were the first to grasp how to use direct mail, talk radio, and the 24-hour cable news cycle, they may finally be losing their innovative edge during the era of the internet.

On the Web | 1 Comment »

The Politico’s Jonathan Martin reports that former undersecretary of Defense Doug Feith, officially the “fucking stupidest guy on the face of the earth,” donated to Fred Thompson’s presidential organization. Feith apparently gave the $2,300 max donation.

It was John Stuart Mill who defined the difference between the “Stupid Party” and the “Evil Party.” Between Feith and Giuliani advisor Norman “Bomb Iran” Podhoretz, can we posit that the modern GOP has finally managed to unite the two factions?

Fred Thompson | 2 Comments »

ABC News:

Former Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., appears to have flip flopped on his pledge to sign federal legislation replacing all federal taxes with a 23 percent sales tax, according to an unedited FairTax.org video reviewed by ABC News.

“He has not taken this pledge,” Thompson spokesperson Linda Rozett told ABC News.

The Thompson camp’s denial appears to be contradicted, however, by an unedited FairTax.org video in which Thompson is asked, “Senator, if the House and Senate pass the ‘Fair Tax’ bill do you feel right now that you would sign it?”

Thompson replies to the question by saying, “Yeah, absolutely.”

“Fred Thompson may have spoken without thinking. But the tape is accurate,” said FairTax.org spokesman Ken Hoagland.

Fred Thompson | 1 Comment »

Vanity Fair takes a look at the third Mrs. Rudy Giuliani, Judith Nathan.

It seemed that she had gone to Pennsylvania State nursing school, as The New York Times once reported, but she had not. She completed two years of nursing school, but left hospital work before a year was up. Nonetheless, Giuliani has publicly referred to her “expertise” in “biological and chemical” disasters, and believes she would be a help in the event of an anthrax attack.

Rudy Giuliani | 10 Comments »

When there’s not much media, there’s not much need for media people.

–Fred Davis
Commenting on why he is leaving the McCain campaign
(Washington Post, 07/27/07)

The McCain Campaign Death Watch continues.

John McCain | No Comments »

The Democratic National Committee sent Fred Thompson’s “testing the waters” non-campaign campaign a life jacket out of consideration to the stormy seas he’s encountered this week. Very creative stuff, so kudos to the DNC.

Fred Thompson | 3 Comments »

Former Governor Mitt Romney (R-Massachusetts), while playing G.I. Joe “under supervision,” discovered firing automatic weapons is hard! Somewhere in this rambling he comes to the conclusion that he would not make automatic weapons illegal.

If my calculations are correct, Mitt Romney has now fired a weapon one time more than the number of marriages for Rudy Giuliani. (Though he still hasn’t actually hunted more than the total number of Giuliani marriages, so no need to modify your joke, James Carville.)

Mitt Romney | 2 Comments »

At the Iowans for Tax Relief/Iowa Christian Alliance candidate forum last month, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney dodged the question of whether he would support the so-called Fair Tax, eliciting a “cool response” from the crowd. In an interview today with Iowa Independent, Romney spokesman Tim Albrecht declined to comment on the Fair Tax. But grassroots conservatives in Iowa have flocked to the issue, and Romney’s apparent opposition could become an obstacle for the state’s current front-runner. (more…)

Fred Thompson, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney | 1 Comment »

In an e-mail sent to supporters, Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-Littleton, Colo.) attacked Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) as “in the pockets” of business and “one of the most reliable pro-amnesty votes” in the U.S. Senate but campaigning against amnesty.

Tancredo’s team also alleges that Brownback is behind a series of “push calls” attacking him. In response, the Tancredo campaign is seeking money from supporters to launch radio advertisements:

In fact we are going to take our message to another level—to the airwaves! Today we are going to begin radio ads (not below-the-radar push calls) that tell the truth about the Senator’s extensive voting record in support of open borders, social security and tuition benefits for illegal aliens, and amnesty.

The money, top campaign adviser Bay Buchanan writes, will go towards “smoking out this pro-amnesty fraud.”

Tom Tancredo, Sam Brownback | 4 Comments »

Jonathan Martin of The Politico reported yesterday that Newt Gingrich filed FEC forms for his group, American Solutions for Winning the Future. That doesn’t mean he’s running for president–he’s required to do so. But it’s interesting what those forms displayed. He raised $113,800 last month, including some big dollars from some conservative heavy hitters. He also spent $412,792 last month “on travel, lists, polling and salaries for seven staffers – including director of Internet strategy David Kralik, who helped create the Draft Newt website. … Sound a lot like a campaign?” Martin asks. Indeed.

Newt wouldn’t be able to transfer the actual organization into a campaign since it’s a 527 but he’s obviously using it as a platform to launch him into the race if he decides to enter. He’ll announce his decision after September 27, the day of his big “Solutions Day” conference, which should garner a lot of media coverage and could act as a policy announcement of sorts. He’s also big on symbolism–that day is the 13th anniversary of the unveiling of his Contract for America.

So why wouldn’t Newt run? I read one pundit somewhere suggest that Newt would jump in if Fred Thompson flames out, arguing that there is not enough room for two outsiders. I disagree. Newt thinks very highly of himself, to say the least, and he wouldn’t deprive the American people if he thought he could win. Thompson also plans to announce just after Labor Day, just a few weeks before Newt’s conference, so there won’t be enough time to judge the Thompson candidacy at that point. Perhaps Newt will delay the announcement.

In the end, I don’t think Newt will run. He’s an egomaniac and wants to be relevant again. But he doesn’t want to damage his reputation by losing the nomination, which he likely would. By stringing out his decision, he gets more media focus on himself and his issues (similar to Al Gore, though I don’t think he’s an egomaniac). The instant Newt, and for that matter Gore, announces he’s not running for president, he loses the limelight. One of Newt’s top informal advisers, interestingly enough, has signed on with Thompson, leading Mark Ambinder to predict that Newt “probably… won’t run for president this year.” I’d add “or any year.”

Fred Thompson, Newt Gingrich | No Comments »