I really do not want this topic to go into another day. So let me address where I’m coming from on “Phoneygate” to clear up any misconceptions on what I was trying to say on this subject.
Q: Do I believe that Mitt Romney or any of the folks employed by his presidential campaign had any knowledge or involvement in the “PhoneyFred” website?
A: Absolutely, without a doubt, emphatically, NO! No way Team Romney would approve of this kind of tactic. This I truly believe.
Q: So why brings this up at all?
A: Two things.
First, I regret the way I wrote the story this morning. I wrote, “The site was apparently the work of top Romney advisor and lead SC consultant Warren Tompkins.”
I should have written, “The site was apparently the work of top Romney advisor and lead SC consultant Warren Tompkins’ firm.” I have corrected it now, and I regret stating it otherwise.
Secondly, my friend Matt did call me out a little bit this morning 
. So I want to address why it is not “foolish” to believe there is some fire with this smoke when it comes to who’s really responsible. Here is the Washington Post on the subject:
Nowhere on the site does it indicate who is responsible for it. But a series of inquiries leads directly to the website of Under the Power Lines, the political consulting firm of Warren Tompkins, Romney’s lead consultant in South Carolina.
The website is hosted by a company called bluehost.com, a firm based in Orem, Utah. An inquiry of that website about phoneyfred.org returns the following statement: “Domain phoneyfred.org is still attached to your politicalnetroots.com account as Addon,” the site states. “For security reasons, you must remove it BEFORE you can continue. After detaching phoneyfred.org from politicalnetroots.com, you should experience some brief downtime on phoneyfred.org while its DNS propagates to your new account.”
The site www.politicalnetroots.com brings up the homepage for “Under the Power Lines,” which lists Tompkins as “Partner, Consultant,” along with Terry Sullivan and Welsley Donehue.
I will leave it to each of you to judge the foolishness of having suspicions in this regard.
Q: Bottom line… What were you trying to say?
A: My point was that it would have been smart for Mitt to simply say the site was the unauthorized work of someone at a consulting firm that is employed by his campaign; and although he had no involvement or foreknowledge of it, offer an apology. Because at the end of the day, he is responsible for whatever comes out from the campaign itself or any of it’s paid consultants.
So there we are…
September 11th, 2007 at 7:19 pm
Edit: Listen… I put up with an awful lot here. But even I have my limits.-KWN
September 11th, 2007 at 7:22 pm
Kavon, let me be the first one to say thank you for your explanation. I do hope that
we, as conservatives, can agree to disagree and not attack each other or each other’s
preferred candidate.
Enough said, and thanks again.
September 11th, 2007 at 7:28 pm
I’m more than happy to drop it. I usually don’t harp on things about other candidates. However, Romney would’ve been a lot better off if he had cleaned this mess up in the first place, exactly the way Kavon stated it.
September 11th, 2007 at 7:28 pm
I meant ‘harp on things for an extended period of time’
September 11th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
I must have missed the part where it mentions that Mitt has absolutely nothing to apologize for.
September 11th, 2007 at 7:41 pm
Kavon: ‘Edit: Listen… I put up with an awful lot here. But even I have my limits.-KWN’
My apologies if you took it personally, because I didn’t mean it that way. I just don’t understand how people can get so worked up over a silly little website that has already been taken down. Never mind.
September 11th, 2007 at 8:34 pm
Kavon,
Why don’t you tell me again what Mitt should have said. I’m sure a guy like you knows much more than a half a billionaire. I have been putting up with for 12 months now, posters that keep telling everyone “what Mitt should have said.” He should have apologized here, he shoould have told that poor Marines father he was sorry here. Just so thrilled you are keeping him in line with what he should be doing, even though he isn’t responsible for anything. And if he is, he will throw the guy under the bus, like he did Larry Craig, and we will start all over again, what he should have done. Give it a rest already. And BTW earth to Fred…….Welcome to the presidential race, how about a little spine. Mitt has been putting up with crap about his religion for more than a few days.
September 11th, 2007 at 8:40 pm
Kavon,
You really didn’t have to clear anything up.
Do I believe that Mitt Romney or any of the folks employed by his presidential campaign had any knowledge or involvement in the “PhoneyFred†website?
Flap says yes and so does the Thompson campaign.
http://flapsblog.com/?p=5570
The Romney campaign has NOT satisfactorily answered the questions about Wesley Donehue and his involvement with Warren Thompkins.
Mitt needs to sign a pledge to refrain from this “dark side” of new media and grow some stones and take responsibility.
September 11th, 2007 at 8:43 pm
I’m sure a guy like you knows much more than a half a billionaire.
I’m going to refrain from commenting on comparing wealth to knowledge. Bush is a multi-millionaire, by the way.
September 11th, 2007 at 8:46 pm
yeah, and he’s served 2 terms as POTUS.
September 11th, 2007 at 8:53 pm
Oh yeah and let’s have him sign a pledge. Right Flapper. A cute little pledge. Ridiculous!
September 11th, 2007 at 8:55 pm
Let’s keep this expectation for apologies from candidates in perspective. If we really expect candidates to apologize every time an overzealous supporter does something the campaign disagrees with then we run the risk of the l-o-n-g general election campaign being filled with reporters pressing candidates for apologies to this, that, and the other. I don’t think any of us really wants that. This is the kind of episode that, with a few variables, is probably going to play out more than once after both nominees are decided.
September 11th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
Well if it is a cute pledge then why not sign it?
Romney is ankle deep in this guano and about ready to take a larger plunge after Thompson investigates this guy Wesley Donehue.
Mitt should apologize now and save his skin.
But, he won’t. He cut Donehue loose just like Jay Garrity.
September 11th, 2007 at 9:20 pm
If he has cut him loose, then why does he need to apologize? I don’t quite get where you are coming from? If Donehue has no ties to the campaign, then why is Mitt responsible? He made a statement saying he thought the website was innappropriate, now let’s move on!
September 11th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
Maybe Mitt knew maybe he didn’t.
But, it is the pattern of throwing someone else over the cliff that is the principle here. Do you see the pattern? Failure to take responsibility….like in blaming others.
Sounds like his gardner and the illegals, doesn’t it?
Move on?
Tell that to Pimp Fred.
I don’t think so.
September 11th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
Hey Flapper,
Are you gonna eat turkey for Thanksgiving? If so, you better check, cause most likely an illegal is gonna stuff it. Oh but if you do, that’s racial profiling. So ya can’t. Just like Mitt couldn’t ask those guys who were mowing his lawn if they were illegals. I have a lawn company mow my lawn, and I’m sure every Mexican out there mowing it is illegal. But I can’t check. Just like Mitt. Or yell in at the window at McDonalds tonight when you get your Big Mac if any illegals touched your food. I dare ya. Mitt hired a company, that hired illegals, you idiot!
September 11th, 2007 at 9:52 pm
M.t you are a real class act and resort to name calling.
You don’t get it about taking responsibility for one’s actions do you?
September 11th, 2007 at 9:57 pm
I want you to apologize to me tomorrow when you find out that you’re eating a big mac that an illegal cooked up for ya. Mitt doesn’t have to take responsibility for every idiot that does something wrong that he knows, or every illegal that mows his lawn. He doesn’t need to say he’s sorry like a little girl. Let’s compare Mitt & Fred. Mitt has SPINE. Fred doesn’t. I’m sick of the attacks on Mitt, I’ve stayed quiet long enough
And there we have it………
September 11th, 2007 at 9:59 pm
And BTW, what actions does Mitt have to take responsibility for. A guy that knows a guy that was on his server. He commented. So he didn’t say he’s sorry. Too bad fo you.
September 11th, 2007 at 10:05 pm
Fred plays the victim card well. He’s trying to beat Romney do death with it. It might be his new campaign theme since he doesn’t have one yet.
September 11th, 2007 at 10:25 pm
The connection between Romney and the website is closer than what you portray.
So spin away. That is what Mitt is paying you for.
BTW I doubt McDonalds hires illegal aliens.
Mitt Romney, now, he hires illegals, waves to them as he gets into his limo and he is running for President.
Fancy that…..
September 11th, 2007 at 10:29 pm
Flap, go ahead and spin away. Mitt did not hire the illegals. The company he hired did. And you must live in a state that doesn’t have a mexican population if you think McDonalds doesn’t hire illegals.
Good night.
September 11th, 2007 at 11:48 pm
Before I say good-night, I have to ask this one thing: why are so many people so
obsessed with Mitt Romney?
September 12th, 2007 at 12:35 am
This is a very unfortunate event…. like several others that have happened to many of the candidates. The one that really owes the apology is the person who built the website. He needs to publicly apolgize to Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney. Mitt should express regret that this happened to Fred. An apology from Mitt might look like guilt, but sorrow that it happened is responsible.
We, the public(especially the political junkies) know that candidates can only be held responsible to a certain extent for what their supporters do. So lets get real and quit pointing fingers and fostering bad will. And now back to the real issues at hand……