*** UPDATE *** King just announced that he’s supporting Thompson. Team Romney is in the back of the room looking bewildered. They were all here, leading all the press to conclude that it was an endorsement for Romney.
Why, Michael, would we downplay something that is clearly a good get? We’re not like the RomNots that find a grey cloud in every silver lining for Mitt. If you bothered to read any of the thread where Tommy asked for comments from Romney supporters as to why he should come over if Fred goes away, you’ll find (as cwpete said) that many of us like Fred as well.
Good for Fred, but he really doesn’t have a prayerof winning Iowa…though at this point a third place finish would be exceeding expectations.
The real question is this: Does this create at least a small boost in IA for Thompson, and if so, will the votes come out of Romney’s column or Huckabee’s? If there is any impact (emphasis on “if”), my guess is that any thompson gains are probably at Huck’s expense.
I’m glad that it’s Fred over Huck . . . but still disappointed.
However, this definitely will help relegate Rudy and Mccain outside of the top 3 in Iowa, and may hurt Huck’s western Iowa base more than Romney’s eastern Iowa base.
In an article in the leftist rag “the Nation”, Ned Lamont, the cable guy from CT who lost to Lieberman’s independent candidacy says “Al Jazeera’s most recent offspring, Al Jazeera English, is more like PBS on a slow day.
PBS is just like Al Jazeera. I couldn’t have said it better myself.
palin, it is clear that huck has stolen mostly from fred. i imagine any fred resurgence comes from huck not romnye. romney’s coreof support is pretty solid. it is those ‘unhappy’ with the current filed people that have been councing around from rudy, to fred, now to huck that will likely jump ship again.
This is great news because Mr. King could help Thompson regain part of the voters that he lose to Mike (Bush bashing) Nutskabee. A vote for Thompson is a vote for Romney.
#12, The comment was sarcastic because of the comments on the previous post. Most were saying that Huck supporters would downplay the endorsemnet of King to Romney.
Even if Huck got the nomination, I still don’t think it is that significant. It will probably help Fred a little, but it is too late for him in that state. The endorsement will not matter past state lines.
Great news for Fred. I do hope though that given Huckabee’s strength in western Iowa, that Fred pulls from him. But, who knows at this point. I confess, I’m at a loss about this entire race at this point. Part of me thinks this seals the deal for Huck in Iowa. In a real three way race, the guy with the strongest support almost always wins. But, another part of me wonders if this isn’t a bigger slap in the face to Huck who, after all, has been seeking to represent the same people King represents; it sounds like a clarion call to the Huck people around there “don’t vote for this guy, you’re being sold a bill of goods”. And that’s a message I’m pretty comfortable with.
I believe in your “Huckabust” theory . . . but you’re starting to sound a little silly saying that this could help Romney more than if he got it himself. I’d have preferred it to go for Romney.
Someone posted something very interesting yesterday on here. I forget who or where it was, it but i said Huckabee’s strength is in western Iowa, and that it is 100% correct.
King’s district is in western Iowa, Sioux county all the way down to Missouri and the entire border.
Thompson will now make a strong push definitly and will probably take third. HE WILL SIPHON OFF VOTES FROM HUCKABEE, people. There is no question about that.
Huck benefits from a split in the “establishment” for the reason Matthew said. And don’t forget about the weather. If its a nasty day, only the committed will come out.
Someone posted something very interesting yesterday on here. I forget who or where it was, it but i said Huckabee’s strength is in western Iowa, and that it is 100% correct.
King’s district is in western Iowa, Sioux county all the way down to Missouri and the entire border.
Thompson will now make a strong push definitly and will probably take third. HE WILL SIPHON OFF VOTES FROM HUCKABEE, people. There is no question about that.
As ra Huckabee supporter, I’m glad he did not choose Romney, I would not be surprised if King decided not to endorse Romney after watching Meet the Press yesterday…..Romney was flip-flopping all over the place…
*** UPDATE 2 *** In a stunning reversal, Rep. King just announced that he’s actually backing Romney. “After reading Race 4 2008,” King explained, “I realized that I was wrong. My bad. Sorry, everyone.”
I think it’s hilarious King had the Romney camp show up for this, thinking it was theirs.
Steve King probably hates Romney the way so many do on both the SoCon and secular side.
Also, it hasn’t been said yet, but Steve King hates Rudy most and is all about “stop Rudy” so this may be his way of keeping Rudy out of the top 3 in Iowa.
At least he spoke out against Huckabee. This still helps Mitt. Obviously not as much as if he had gotten it himself because then it would have been a net change of 2 for every person this endorsement affected. Now it probably is just a net change of 1 as people affected will likely come mostly from Huckabee since King’s people are in Hukcabee’s stronghold.
Is Grassley going to hold his fire or is he going to endorse? Last I heard he was just commenting that even with the Huckabee surge he still thought Romney would win.
After making a few paragraph statement about religion he stated:
That candidate also has to have the fire in his belly to go the distance and the brains and resources to get there.
That candidate also meets the test of life and marriage, judges and borders. That candidate has taken solid, persistent, and principled positions consistent with the Republican platform-which we wrote to inform the candidates of the positions of Iowa Republicans.
That candidate has a record of faith, family, freedom, service, and success.
Fred is against the Marriage Protection Ammendment. He is not a religious man by most reports. He long played “The Bachelor” lady’s man inside the beltway for over a decade, and he doesn’t have any huge “success” to lay claim to.
After the event, I asked King if he had made up his mind on the spot as he was speaking this morning.
“You have great intuition,” King replied.
Sounds like he was planning to endorse Romney . . . but just decided on the spot to go with Fred. Amazing.
(PS. I wonder how many Huckabee supporters in his district sent him emails/calls/letters threatening to withdraw their voting and financial support if he endorsed Romney . . . just wondering . . . maybe Fred was the safe choice for King)
Also, it hasn’t been said yet, but Steve King hates Rudy most and is all about “stop Rudy†so this may be his way of keeping Rudy out of the top 3 in Iowa. – Metro
Clearly changed his mind at the last minute. He was talking about each candidate, plus/minus, except Romney, leading one to think Romney was coming at the end. He doesn’t even MENTION Romney in the speech.
I think this hurts Mitt more than Huck. Huck’s supporters are emotional. they respond to his approachability, his likeability, and his evangelicism. Romney supporters are more swayed by his business experience, his credentials, and his embrace of Republican positions on all the issues. These “thinking” voters will now give Fred a second look. Some will even switch…
Crazy idea: What if Iowa finish is Huckabee, Thompson, Romney? Is Romney toast?
k dub, study up before you comment. look at who has gotten fred’s support and whose support remained steady through the whole summer and thompsons announcment. red’s support, if he is to increase it in iowa, will come from huckabee.
Fire in the belly? Fred Thompson? I’ll take Thompson over Huckbee any day, but FDT has “fire in the belly?”
I don’t think so.
But good for Thompson — he’ll take votes away from Huckabee, like someone else said, from folks who would never vote for Romney even if he did get the endorsement.
Maybe that was part of King’s thinking. He knows the people in his state.
It seems obvious that there is a concerted effort for “anyone but Huck.”
Um, sorry, Romneybots. This was not part of a King “masterplan” to steal votes from Huck that would never vote for Mitt, just to benefit Mitt. How deluded do you have to be to come up with this stuff?
Face it. Except for the LDS folks, Mitt’s support is soft. He says all the right things (now), and certainly has the money to advertise, but he doesn’t really connect with most voters. Plus, all the position changes and YouTube vids make his support lukewarm, at best.
Mike’s supporters are more likely to state that they are not changing their mind. So those votes are not up for grabs.
Then King added, “If it’s not there, I intend to work hard to put it there.” The typing and the scratching of pens in the room suddenly stopped as reporters’ heads snapped up. “I will put all of my efforts — and the fire into the belly — of the person who I believe destiny has called to be the president of the United States.”
Implies King knows Thompson doesn’t have the gumption, that somehow he’s going to make up for it, create it….?
He undid the credibility he was attempting to lend Thompson, instead, he confirmed what we already know. No funds and no fire in the he belly.
k dub. get your facts straight. romney’s support has been solid, even in iowa where huck blew up. most of mitt ssupport stayed with him. in new hampshire it is sold and his national numbers were always low but never dipped below a certain number. they have alway been going upward.
huckabee and romney are the only candidates that generally have always had upward trends in most polls ove rthe long run.
December 17th, 2007 at 10:38 am
So, will this now be downplayed by Mitt supporters?
December 17th, 2007 at 10:38 am
Poor Steve King picks a loser. But at least you have to admire his willingness to lose.
December 17th, 2007 at 10:40 am
Excellent get for Fred. As I said in the other thread, no question this is like getting turned down by the prettiest girl in class.
December 17th, 2007 at 10:40 am
Well, you can’t say his decision was based on political expediency.
December 17th, 2007 at 10:41 am
#1,
Many of us Mitt supporters like Thompson also. He’s my #2.
December 17th, 2007 at 10:42 am
*** UPDATE *** King just announced that he’s supporting Thompson. Team Romney is in the back of the room looking bewildered. They were all here, leading all the press to conclude that it was an endorsement for Romney.
Stand by for more
December 17th, 2007 at 10:42 am
Looks like King didn’t want to play kingmaker after all…
December 17th, 2007 at 10:43 am
Too bad he’s gonna lose. What’s could possibly be going on in Steve King’s head?
December 17th, 2007 at 10:43 am
Thompson is my #2 as well.
December 17th, 2007 at 10:43 am
Too bad you jumped the gun Team Romney!
December 17th, 2007 at 10:44 am
Well, I was wrong…..(I hate that)
But at least the Huckster didn’t get it….
AND…..
The Huck-a-BUST is STILL coming……Jan. 3rd!!
December 17th, 2007 at 10:44 am
Why, Michael, would we downplay something that is clearly a good get? We’re not like the RomNots that find a grey cloud in every silver lining for Mitt. If you bothered to read any of the thread where Tommy asked for comments from Romney supporters as to why he should come over if Fred goes away, you’ll find (as cwpete said) that many of us like Fred as well.
December 17th, 2007 at 10:44 am
Good for Fred, but he really doesn’t have a prayerof winning Iowa…though at this point a third place finish would be exceeding expectations.
The real question is this: Does this create at least a small boost in IA for Thompson, and if so, will the votes come out of Romney’s column or Huckabee’s? If there is any impact (emphasis on “if”), my guess is that any thompson gains are probably at Huck’s expense.
December 17th, 2007 at 10:45 am
8
King sticks to his values, what a concept.
December 17th, 2007 at 10:45 am
good on thompson. sounds like king made it clear it was between freddy and mitt but went with Freddy.
I think Fred hopefully steal a little from huck in iowa. this will help him surely to sme degree.
December 17th, 2007 at 10:45 am
As a Romney supporter I’m disappointed by this.
I’m glad that it’s Fred over Huck . . . but still disappointed.
However, this definitely will help relegate Rudy and Mccain outside of the top 3 in Iowa, and may hurt Huck’s western Iowa base more than Romney’s eastern Iowa base.
Still, I’m admittedly disappointed.
December 17th, 2007 at 10:45 am
This has been a classic 10 minutes that I will never forget… oh man, what a morning!
December 17th, 2007 at 10:45 am
Here is an off topic laffer for today:
In an article in the leftist rag “the Nation”, Ned Lamont, the cable guy from CT who lost to Lieberman’s independent candidacy says “Al Jazeera’s most recent offspring, Al Jazeera English, is more like PBS on a slow day.
PBS is just like Al Jazeera. I couldn’t have said it better myself.
December 17th, 2007 at 10:45 am
Huck took the most points aweay from fred in th iowa polls. now fred will simply take them back
December 17th, 2007 at 10:45 am
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20071231/lamont
Cite for the above cited article.
December 17th, 2007 at 10:46 am
palin, it is clear that huck has stolen mostly from fred. i imagine any fred resurgence comes from huck not romnye. romney’s coreof support is pretty solid. it is those ‘unhappy’ with the current filed people that have been councing around from rudy, to fred, now to huck that will likely jump ship again.
December 17th, 2007 at 10:46 am
Dead Fred gets up for his fifteen minutes of fame and goes back to bed again.
December 17th, 2007 at 10:47 am
This is great news because Mr. King could help Thompson regain part of the voters that he lose to Mike (Bush bashing) Nutskabee. A vote for Thompson is a vote for Romney.
December 17th, 2007 at 10:47 am
Yes!!! This should help.
December 17th, 2007 at 10:47 am
This will have little effect in the race for Iowa… but it does give fred good headlines… good job team Fred!
December 17th, 2007 at 10:47 am
Palin for VP!,
I think the CW would agree with you. I’ve given up on CW this cycle
December 17th, 2007 at 10:48 am
Maybe you can take a few weeks off after your long morning?
December 17th, 2007 at 10:49 am
Congrats to team Thompson. Not a total loss for Mitt. Hopefully, Thompson and Huck will split the vote and gve Iowa to Mitt.
December 17th, 2007 at 10:49 am
#12, The comment was sarcastic because of the comments on the previous post. Most were saying that Huck supporters would downplay the endorsemnet of King to Romney.
Even if Huck got the nomination, I still don’t think it is that significant. It will probably help Fred a little, but it is too late for him in that state. The endorsement will not matter past state lines.
December 17th, 2007 at 10:50 am
Haha you wish…maybe all the Titanic needed was a couple of patches and some elbow grease?
December 17th, 2007 at 10:51 am
Great news for Fred. I do hope though that given Huckabee’s strength in western Iowa, that Fred pulls from him. But, who knows at this point. I confess, I’m at a loss about this entire race at this point. Part of me thinks this seals the deal for Huck in Iowa. In a real three way race, the guy with the strongest support almost always wins. But, another part of me wonders if this isn’t a bigger slap in the face to Huck who, after all, has been seeking to represent the same people King represents; it sounds like a clarion call to the Huck people around there “don’t vote for this guy, you’re being sold a bill of goods”. And that’s a message I’m pretty comfortable with.
December 17th, 2007 at 10:54 am
Fred totally supports Kings immigration policy. Mitt and Huck do not. That alone should tell you why the endorsement went to Fred.
December 17th, 2007 at 10:54 am
I’m NOT wrong about the HUCK-A-BUST though……
This endorsement could actually Help Romney even more than if he got it himself….
This could pull some Evangelicals from Huck to Fred that NEVER would have voted for Romney anyway….
December 17th, 2007 at 10:56 am
What a waste of an endorsement. Completely retarded.
December 17th, 2007 at 10:57 am
Abe,
I believe in your “Huckabust” theory . . . but you’re starting to sound a little silly saying that this could help Romney more than if he got it himself. I’d have preferred it to go for Romney.
December 17th, 2007 at 10:57 am
Crazy Abe might just have hit on something here.
This could pull some Evangelicals from Huck to Fred that NEVER would have voted for Romney anyway….
December 17th, 2007 at 10:58 am
34
Great insight… can you expand on that thought?
December 17th, 2007 at 10:58 am
Folks,
Someone posted something very interesting yesterday on here. I forget who or where it was, it but i said Huckabee’s strength is in western Iowa, and that it is 100% correct.
King’s district is in western Iowa, Sioux county all the way down to Missouri and the entire border.
Thompson will now make a strong push definitly and will probably take third. HE WILL SIPHON OFF VOTES FROM HUCKABEE, people. There is no question about that.
December 17th, 2007 at 10:58 am
Fred Thompson—- Out of Cash….
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071217/NEWS08/712170382/1025
December 17th, 2007 at 10:59 am
Hey….I’m not crazy just Crazy Like a FOX…..
December 17th, 2007 at 10:59 am
Jeff,
Off topic; will you be in Des Moines, Wednesday evening?
December 17th, 2007 at 10:59 am
Huck benefits from a split in the “establishment” for the reason Matthew said. And don’t forget about the weather. If its a nasty day, only the committed will come out.
December 17th, 2007 at 10:59 am
Folks,
Someone posted something very interesting yesterday on here. I forget who or where it was, it but i said Huckabee’s strength is in western Iowa, and that it is 100% correct.
King’s district is in western Iowa, Sioux county all the way down to Missouri and the entire border.
Thompson will now make a strong push definitly and will probably take third. HE WILL SIPHON OFF VOTES FROM HUCKABEE, people. There is no question about that.
December 17th, 2007 at 11:00 am
Rasmussen was just posted
December 17th, 2007 at 11:02 am
Consider the 2004 Democratic Primary at this time where the order was Dean, Kerry, Gephardt, and Edwards…
Edwards got the endorsement of the paper and jumped to third.
Kerry had great organizational support and a superb GOTV effort.
Gephardt and Dean competed for the same vote and they cancelled each other out……
JUST WATCH
December 17th, 2007 at 11:07 am
Rass. Daily Tracking Poll is out for today:
http://rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/2008_democratic_presidential_primary
As ra Huckabee supporter, I’m glad he did not choose Romney, I would not be surprised if King decided not to endorse Romney after watching Meet the Press yesterday…..Romney was flip-flopping all over the place…
December 17th, 2007 at 11:12 am
[...] Thompson’s supporter cheered. Good for [...]
December 17th, 2007 at 11:12 am
After the event, I asked King if he had made up his mind on the spot as he was speaking this morning.
“You have great intuition,” King replied.
http://learfield.typepad.com/radioiowa/2007/12/congressman-kin.html
If he was that conflicted about Romney vs. Thompson why didn’t he just stay out of it? Deciding while on the podium?
Geez!
Still, being down to the final two is hardly a repudiation of Romney by King.
December 17th, 2007 at 11:12 am
That’s gotta be good news for Fred. Fred is my #2 pick so I am glad he got it.
December 17th, 2007 at 11:15 am
Crazy day.
December 17th, 2007 at 11:18 am
Psycheout,
I may not agree with you….
But I do like your style…….sometimes.
December 17th, 2007 at 11:21 am
Thanks Abe. Now if that Huckabust does occur on Jan 3, I’ll be sure to write about it and give you credit.
Deal?
December 17th, 2007 at 11:22 am
Deal…
December 17th, 2007 at 11:28 am
I think it’s hilarious King had the Romney camp show up for this, thinking it was theirs.
Steve King probably hates Romney the way so many do on both the SoCon and secular side.
Also, it hasn’t been said yet, but Steve King hates Rudy most and is all about “stop Rudy” so this may be his way of keeping Rudy out of the top 3 in Iowa.
December 17th, 2007 at 11:33 am
Let’s see how this stirs the pot… Great news tho!
December 17th, 2007 at 11:51 am
Good catch for Fred. Let’s see if he can parlay this into a top 3 (2??) finish.
December 17th, 2007 at 12:16 pm
At least he spoke out against Huckabee. This still helps Mitt. Obviously not as much as if he had gotten it himself because then it would have been a net change of 2 for every person this endorsement affected. Now it probably is just a net change of 1 as people affected will likely come mostly from Huckabee since King’s people are in Hukcabee’s stronghold.
Is Grassley going to hold his fire or is he going to endorse? Last I heard he was just commenting that even with the Huckabee surge he still thought Romney would win.
December 17th, 2007 at 12:20 pm
Weird . . . it sounds from King’s text that he was leading up to endorse Romney . . . he mentioned all the other candidates but Romney
(scroll down for text at this link)
http://michellemalkin.com/2007/12/17/newsflash-gop-rep-steve-king-endorses-thompson/#comments
After making a few paragraph statement about religion he stated:
That candidate also has to have the fire in his belly to go the distance and the brains and resources to get there.
That candidate also meets the test of life and marriage, judges and borders. That candidate has taken solid, persistent, and principled positions consistent with the Republican platform-which we wrote to inform the candidates of the positions of Iowa Republicans.
That candidate has a record of faith, family, freedom, service, and success.
Fred is against the Marriage Protection Ammendment. He is not a religious man by most reports. He long played “The Bachelor” lady’s man inside the beltway for over a decade, and he doesn’t have any huge “success” to lay claim to.
See next comment for more.
December 17th, 2007 at 12:21 pm
Then this strange bit from Radio Iowa blog:
http://learfield.typepad.com/radioiowa/2007/12/congressman-kin.html
After the event, I asked King if he had made up his mind on the spot as he was speaking this morning.
“You have great intuition,” King replied.
Sounds like he was planning to endorse Romney . . . but just decided on the spot to go with Fred. Amazing.
(PS. I wonder how many Huckabee supporters in his district sent him emails/calls/letters threatening to withdraw their voting and financial support if he endorsed Romney . . . just wondering . . . maybe Fred was the safe choice for King)
December 17th, 2007 at 12:23 pm
Metro,
King doesn’t hate ROmney. I’ve spoken to him personally and he’s dang impressed with Romney.
December 17th, 2007 at 12:25 pm
Also, it hasn’t been said yet, but Steve King hates Rudy most and is all about “stop Rudy†so this may be his way of keeping Rudy out of the top 3 in Iowa. – Metro
This was the first thought that came to my mind.
December 17th, 2007 at 12:26 pm
Clearly changed his mind at the last minute. He was talking about each candidate, plus/minus, except Romney, leading one to think Romney was coming at the end. He doesn’t even MENTION Romney in the speech.
I think this hurts Mitt more than Huck. Huck’s supporters are emotional. they respond to his approachability, his likeability, and his evangelicism. Romney supporters are more swayed by his business experience, his credentials, and his embrace of Republican positions on all the issues. These “thinking” voters will now give Fred a second look. Some will even switch…
Crazy idea: What if Iowa finish is Huckabee, Thompson, Romney? Is Romney toast?
December 17th, 2007 at 12:46 pm
k dub, study up before you comment. look at who has gotten fred’s support and whose support remained steady through the whole summer and thompsons announcment. red’s support, if he is to increase it in iowa, will come from huckabee.
December 17th, 2007 at 12:47 pm
Fire in the belly? Fred Thompson? I’ll take Thompson over Huckbee any day, but FDT has “fire in the belly?”
I don’t think so.
But good for Thompson — he’ll take votes away from Huckabee, like someone else said, from folks who would never vote for Romney even if he did get the endorsement.
Maybe that was part of King’s thinking. He knows the people in his state.
It seems obvious that there is a concerted effort for “anyone but Huck.”
And that’s a good thing.
December 17th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
Um, sorry, Romneybots. This was not part of a King “masterplan” to steal votes from Huck that would never vote for Mitt, just to benefit Mitt. How deluded do you have to be to come up with this stuff?
Face it. Except for the LDS folks, Mitt’s support is soft. He says all the right things (now), and certainly has the money to advertise, but he doesn’t really connect with most voters. Plus, all the position changes and YouTube vids make his support lukewarm, at best.
Mike’s supporters are more likely to state that they are not changing their mind. So those votes are not up for grabs.
December 17th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
That last statement:
Then King added, “If it’s not there, I intend to work hard to put it there.” The typing and the scratching of pens in the room suddenly stopped as reporters’ heads snapped up. “I will put all of my efforts — and the fire into the belly — of the person who I believe destiny has called to be the president of the United States.”
Implies King knows Thompson doesn’t have the gumption, that somehow he’s going to make up for it, create it….?
He undid the credibility he was attempting to lend Thompson, instead, he confirmed what we already know. No funds and no fire in the he belly.
December 17th, 2007 at 3:17 pm
k dub. get your facts straight. romney’s support has been solid, even in iowa where huck blew up. most of mitt ssupport stayed with him. in new hampshire it is sold and his national numbers were always low but never dipped below a certain number. they have alway been going upward.
huckabee and romney are the only candidates that generally have always had upward trends in most polls ove rthe long run.