I know I know

A top adviser to former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney appears to be behind the launch of a new Web site attacking GOP presidential rival Fred D. Thompson during his first week on the trail.The
site, PhoneyFred.org, painted an unflattering picture of Thompson,
dubbing the former TV star and senator 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. Shortly after a Washington Post reporter made inquiries about the site to the Romney campaign, it was taken down.Before
it vanished, the front page of the Web site featured a picture of
Thompson depicted in a frilly outfit more befitting a Gilbert and
Sullivan production than a presidential candidate.Under the
heading "Playboy Fred," the site asked the provocative question: "Once
a Pro-Choice Skirt Chaser, Now Standard Bearer of the Religious Right?"Nowhere
on the site was any indication of who was responsible for it. But a
series of inquiries led to "Under the Power Lines," the Web site of the
political consulting firm of J. Warren Tompkins, Romney's lead
consultant in South Carolina. Tompkins did not return phone calls seeking comment.Late yesterday afternoon, a spokesman for Thompson called on Romney to fire Tompkins."There
is no room in our party for this kind of smut. As the top executive of
his own campaign, Governor Romney should take full responsibility for
this type of high-tech gutter politics and issue an immediate apology,"
said spokesman Todd Harris. "If this is true, Governor Romney should
exercise some of his much-touted executive acumen and immediately
terminate anyone related to this outrage."A spokesman for
Romney's campaign said he will look into questions about the
anti-Thompson site. "Our campaign is focused on the issues and ideas
that are of paramount concern to voters," said Kevin Madden. "The Web site we are focused on is MittRomney.com."The Web site was hosted by a company called BlueHost, based in Orem, Utah.
Until late yesterday afternoon, a search at that company's site for
PhoneyFred.org returned the following message: "Domain phoneyfred.org
is still attached to your politicalnetroots.com account as Addon." The
address http://www.politicalnetroots.com
brings up the home page for Under the Power Lines, which lists Tompkins
as "partner, consultant," along with Terry Sullivan and Wesley Donehue.The PhoneyFred site, Tompkins's own Web site and many of his other clients' sites are all hosted on the same BlueHost server.In 2000, it was in South Carolina that Sen. John McCain
(R-Ariz.) ran into an organized effort to sully his character and
spread rumors, including that he had once fathered an illegitimate
black child. At the time, candidate George W. Bush was desperate to stop a surging McCain, who was coming off a stunning upset in the New Hampshire
primary. Tompkins was the chief strategist for Bush in South Carolina
at the time, though Bush campaign officials have always denied that the
campaign was responsible for the attacks.Staff writer Rob Pegararo contributed to this report.

Why do the Republicans get away with this crap every fucking cycle? Because they generally do it to OTHER REPUBLICANS, who end up losing and having to take it or, if they do have political clout like McCain did at the time and after the 2000 election, shut up for the good of the party. I would hope Thompson is aware of how little he has to lose in this election and how much he has to gain. He should slam Romney at the next debate. He should slam him constantly until the Romney campaign says sorry and fires Tompkins. Ratfucking indeed.

You have to keep up on someone, publicly, until he fixes his mistakes and apologizes. American politics today is all about waiting until something goes away because a news cycle eats it up. As much as I want to blame the journalists, or rather the bullshit newsreaders at 24-hour cable channels, the politicians totally take the easy route with this stuff. Thompson should harp on until he gets results. You can even spin it as what he will do in Washington: fight until he gets results. How's that for combating the "lazy" image he's been stuck with?

Oh, and a very late note: Alberto Gonzalez's resignation. My theory is that is was timed to coincide with the Daily Show's hiatus week.

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