Today’s Washington Times has a bit of an eye-opening comment, high in its story of the reaction to the National Right to Life Committee’s endorsement of Fred Thompson.
Paul M. Weyrich, president of the Free Congress Foundation, said the endorsement “makes no sense,” and speculated that it had been motivated by money.
“I think in all probability the Thompson people were engaged with the National Right to Life people in financial dealing,” said Mr. Weyrich, who has endorsed former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination.
“In the past, the Republican Party has funded National Right to Life, and while the committee can raise money on its own, it needs funding” from outside sources.
I like the Washington Times, I have friends who work there, and think they’re usually a fine journalistic institution – but I wince at letting a guy make an accusation like that without any evidence in the news pages. They include the denials from Team Fred and from NRTL, and so without anything to back up the accusation, it just makes Weyrich look bitter and intemperate. He should have thought this through before making the accusation.
(Once again, Romney doesn’t control what his endorsers say, but he probably would be well-served by an effort to make sure any sour grapes statements in his crowd don’t cross the line.)
I spoke to one of the Thompson Associates about his reaction:
“These folks [at NRTL] have a good reputation, they’re not going to get bought off… I’m surprised how ugly this has gotten. I don’t know what this means. I guess their concern is that this endorsement would have a domino effect [in terms of endorsements]. Where do these guys go next? We’ll have to wait to see what happens. I don’t know if this makes it easier for [Tony] Perkins and [Gary] Bauer to formally ally themselves with us. [The endorsement] has certainly given us better week than we’ve had about a month or so.”
UPDATE: The official Team Fred response below the fold:
#more#
“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.
“If the Romney campaign is looking for the reason they did not receive the NLRC-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.”