Hodgepodge

A special Thanksgiving Weekend edition of what we've missed.

• Robert Novak confirms what we already knew. Senator John McCain is playing in Iowa. He also writes that it appears Michigan will be an "open" Primary which will benefit McCain.
  
• Kay Henderson with Radio Iowa notes that Victory Enterprises CEO Steve Grubbs will be entering the 2008 fray. Grubbs was instrumental in Steve Forbes suprising finishes in Iowa. He would be a nice pick-up for any Prezzy wannabee
• And Hattip to Race42008.com for pointing us to the fact that conservative talk show host/blogger Hugh Hewitt will be supporting Massachusettes Governor Mitt Romney in 2008. Hewitt will be writing a book about Romney's chances.
  

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from the Cooler staff. Thank you very much for visiting us over the past 4 months.

Line Change!

The strong organization Gov. Pataki put together in Iowa is falling apart at the seams. Ringleader Ed Failor Jr., head of Iowans for Tax Relief and one of the most prominent members of the Iowa GOP left yesterday as reported below.

Word this morning from Tom Beaumont at the Des Moines Register is that Loras Schulte has also left team Pataki. Loras is involved with Iowans for Tax Relief as well as various pro-life groups across the state. He is chair of the Benton County GOP and on the State Central Committee.

For team Pataki that leaves Stew Iverson (close to ITR), Erik Helland (worked for ITR), Craig Schoenfeld (recruited by Failor), Diane Crookham-Johnson, and Jo-Ellen Hill (wife to Polk County GOP Chair Ted Sporer).

It seems to us at the Cooler that it would make a lot of sense for Schoenfeld and Helland to leave with Ed. Who knows what to expect from Stew. Diane will probably stay for a while.

Throughout the existence of this blog we've had Pataki artificially high on the line based on the strength of his local organization. Well not so much anymore. So we hope Alicia Preston doesn't get mad at us when we say:

Pataki drops from 13-2 to 18-1.

Ouch.

Huckabee and the field bet get moved up slightly to help make the math work.

BREAKING- FAILOR JR LEAVES PATAKI

Mike Glover has the scoop.

A key adviser to New York Governor George Pataki's political action committee in Iowa has resigned. Ed Failor Junior, a prominent conservative activist, is a top leader of Iowans for Tax Relief, a conservative anti-tax group.
Pataki is considering a bid for the Republican presidential nomination. Failor caused a stir when he joined a list of prominent conservatives who went to work for Pataki's PAC. They made it clear that they were committed only though this year's midterm elections, and the defections began today.
Failor says he'll look over the field of G-O-P candidates and could pick a favorite at some point.

Failor brought an enormous amount of credibility to Pataki. Frankly, Pataki's surge in Iowa was due almost entirely to the respect Failor garners amongst Iowa Republicans and more importantly conservatives. This is a devastating blow to Pataki's campaign.

We'll keep you posted on Failor's motives as this big Iowa story continues to develop.

What's disingenuous

The big news in the sphere today is Romney's attack on McCain that we posted on earlier.

“That’s his position, and in my opinion, it’s disingenuous,” he said. “Look, if somebody says they’re in favor of gay marriage, I respect that view. If someone says — like I do — that I oppose same–sex marriage, I respect that view. But those who try and pretend to have it both ways, I find it to be disingenuous.”

To us in the Cooler it seems like Romney lives in a glass house on this one. While his point that McCain's position is disingenuous has merit, is Romney really the most credible attacker? Here are some of his past statements with regards to marriage.
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Mr. Romney yesterday told TV news stations that he would support a Vermont-style civil union law in Massachusetts, but reiterated his support for a constitutional amendment that would clarify that "marriage is an institution between a man and a woman."

- Washington Times, 11/20/2003

In 2002, before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court declared same-sex marriage protected by the Constitution, Romney denounced as "too extreme" the effort by pro-family groups to enact a preemptive state Marriage Protection Amendment prohibiting homosexual marriage, civil unions and same-sex public employee benefits.

- Boston Phoenix, May 14-20, 2004

Eric Fehrnstrom, a Romney campaign spokesman, said Romney opposes gay marriage but also opposes the amendment, since he sees no reason to change the current laws, which allow for domestic-partner benefits to public employees.

- Boston Globe 3/22/2002

Romney was unaware his family members had signed the amendment petition said Fehrnstrom, and he does not support the "Protection of Marriage" amendment. "He is opposed to gay marriage but in the case of the 'defense of marriage' amendment Mitt believes it goes too far in that it would outlaw domestic partnerships for non-traditional couples. That is something he is not prepared to accept."

-Bay Windows 3/28/02

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Honestly there are a litany of other quotes Mitt has made about unions and gay adoption that would reinforce our point.

The criticism of McCain is a fair one. Murphy articulated why very well in the comments below. But it's kind of silly for the criticism to come from the Governor of Massachussetes who has signed over 150 1 day certificates to homosexual couples. It would be like McCain criticizing Romney for flip-flopping on ethanol. The disingenuous attack only works if the candidate is GENUINE.

Being Disingenuous

Bill Sammon wrote a strangely timed article this morning that essentially recapped this article he wrote months ago and we commented on here.

This follow-up piece is noteworthy because Drudge grabbed hold of it this morning and highlighted the line where Mitt calls McCain "disingenuous."

Romney was less charitable to McCain, who on Sunday told ABC News: “I believe that the issue of gay marriage should be decided by the states.” McCain also said, “I believe that gay marriage should not be legal.”

Romney seized on the remarks.

“That’s his position, and in my opinion, it’s disingenuous,” he said. “Look, if somebody says they’re in favor of gay marriage, I respect that view. If someone says — like I do — that I oppose same–sex marriage, I respect that view. But those who try and pretend to have it both ways, I find it to be disingenuous.”

Interestingly this position that Romney critiques McCain for seems to be the same as his opinion with regards to abortion (and McCain's as well). Both support judges that could overturn Roe v. Wade and send the abortion question back to the states- neither have expressly supported a Con. Amendment banning abortions. So in a sense they both believe that "abortion should be decided by the states" and that "abortion should not be legal."

Another interesting side note to this is that it seems that Matt Drudge is ready to pounce on McCain and Giuliani in a similar vein to what he did with Gore and Kerry in 2000 and 2004. Drudge clearly gave a boost to George Bush in those elections- if you don't understand how ask Mark Halperin. It is possible that Drudge's desire to highlight negatives about McCain and Giuliani could help Romney or another candidate in the GOP primary.

And so the sniping begins...

Poll

Our sidebar poll really wasn't timely any more so we took it out. For those that care about such things, George Allen made the racistest comment of the summer with 60% of the vote. Congratulations Former Senator Allen. You'll be receiving an official Caucus Cooler white pillow sheet as a parting gift.

Hodgepodge

We've had a little internet trouble at Cooler HQ, so we apologize for the light posting over the weekend. Here are a couple of the things we missed.

• McCain highlighting his agenda for the Presidential campaign... He calls for a return to "Commonsense Conservatism"
  
• A very interesting interview with McCain on "This Week"; Stephanopolis does a good job of getting McCain to articulate his position on social issues and how they differ from Rudy Giuliani's on one hand and Trent Lott on the other.
  
• A group committed to "Swift Boat Style Attacks" on Rudy Giuliani;
• A quiet end to the State Chair controversy in Michigan. (note: we have no relationship to the Michigan Cooler)

It will be interesting to see if the RPI State Chair race has any Presidential implications. Current Chair Ray Hoffman doesn't have a horse in that race and he is said to be running for re-election. Polk County GOP Chair Ted Sporer, who's wife supports Pataki and is involved with the 21st Century Freedom PAC, has been quite vocal about his interest in the position. Other names have been bandied about as well. We'll keep you posted as that race begins to develop.