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 Romney
Aide In Dirty Tricks Campaign
by The Associated Press
Posted: September 12, 2007 - 6:00 am ET
(Boston, Massachusetts) A spokesman for Republican Mitt Romney
says that the presidential candidate did not approve the creation of a Web
site severely critical of the personal and political life of his GOP rival, Fred
Thompson.
The Web site, PhoneyFred.org, was created by Wesley
Donehue, a business partner of Warren Tompkins, a South Carolina political
operative on the Romney payroll and Romney's top adviser in the early voting
state.
The site was created without the knowledge of Tompkins or
Romney, said Romney spokesman Kevin Madden. After the campaign received media
inquiries about it, Romney aides traced the site to Donehue and complained.
"We made it clear that we did not approve of the site
and asked for immediate action to make sure it was again in no way affiliated
with the campaign," Madden said. "The person responsible is not an
employee of ours, but we took immediate action to make sure it was clear the
site was not affiliated with the campaign."
The Web site attacked Thompsons conservative credentials.
It also labeled him Fancy Fred, Five O'Clock Fred, Flip-Flop Fred, McCain Fred,
Moron Fred, Playboy Fred, Pro-Choice Fred, Son-of-a-Fred and Trial Lawyer Fred.
It asked, "Once a Pro-Choice Skirt Chaser, Now
Standard Bearer of the Religious Right?"
Romney has said he welcomes Thompson to the race for the
GOP presidential nomination, which the former Tennessee senator and actor joined
last week. However, Romney has also questioned Thompson's leadership experience,
and aides to the former Massachusetts governor have highlighted the Tennessean's
lobbying record and his support for campaign finance reform legislation, as well
as suggestions he lacked legislative accomplishments.
The site made light of Thompson's acting career, saying of
the "Law and Order" star: "You're probably in the same boat: You
can't get the theme to 'Law and Order' out of your head, but can you name one
thing that Fred did during his eight years in the United States Senate?"
It went on to note that Thompson once provided legal
services to a family planning group, and also served as a lobbyist.
The Web site was hosted by a company called
bluehost.com,
based in Orem, Utah. It had links to Under the Power Lines, Tompkins' political
consulting firm.
Tompkins, a former executive director of the South
Carolina Republican Party, is a veteran of Palmetto State politics. He served as
President Bush's 2000 Southeast regional director at a time when Bush attacked
then-rival Sen. John McCain and defeated him in the state's GOP primary.
Tompkins has been paid $12,000 monthly to guide Romney's
effort in South Carolina, whose primary the campaign views as a pivotal test of
strength of support among conservative voters. It follows the leadoff states of
Iowa and New Hampshire, two other areas of concentration for Romney.
"Once we received inquiries about the site, we
discovered it was created by an individual who works at an Internet firm who
parked the site temporarily on the company server space of a firm whose
financial partner is a consultant to the campaign - Mr. Tompkins," said
Madden, who later identified the individual as Donehue. "Mr. Tompkins did
not know about the development of the site."
©365Gay.com 2007
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