Romney Spokesman: We Didn't Approve Phoney Fred Web Site
By now you've heard about PhoneyFred.org, the website spoofing Fred Thompson that was created by a business partner of one of Mitt Romney's top South Carolina operatives.
The site, which whacked Thompson for, well, just about everything, offered readers just about every alliterative insult it could come up with: Fancy Fred, Five O'Clock Fred, Flip-Flop Fred, etc., etc.
So was thing the work of the Romney campaign? No, says Kevin Madden, a spokesman for the Romney camp. Madden tells us that when the campaign got media inquiries about the site they traced it back to its original owner and voiced disapproval about it.
"The site has no direct affiliation to our campaign, and we had no knowledge of its development," Madden emails. "We made it clear that we did not approve of the site and asked for immediate action to make sure it was again in no way affiliated with the campaign."
The site's now down, so from here on out you'll have to get the latest revelations about Fred's phoniness from more traditional sources.
Comments (9)
res wrote on September 11, 2007 2:21 PM:Isn't this the same damn HTML template, tweaked slightly, that was used a few years ago to attack Harold Ford ?
http://web.archive.org/web/20060813141913/http://www.fancyford.com/
If so, doesn't the NRSC have a claim to (sub)Intellectual Property rights ?
On another note, can't these GOP operatives generate anything original ?
Eric Stepp wrote on September 11, 2007 3:28 PM:Just out of curiosity, anyone have an idea of the kind of blowback Romney and his campaign would have if they just came out and say, "Um, heck yeah we came up with that website. It's a brilliant idea, and we support everything it says."
Or, almost as good, "Well, we didn't authorize the site. But damn, it's funny as hell, and we support what's being said against Fred."
I mean, really, would there be any negative reaction from that?
Aren't the GOP supposed to be hard-hitting and tough? There seems to be some direct link between Romney's campaign and the site owner. Yet, Romney is cutting and running away from a site that would supposedly help him.
rc wrote on September 11, 2007 4:25 PM:wow, good catch, res. Perhaps there's some right-wing software suite they all use -- PigInABox, the character assassination ToolKit 3.0
Keith wrote on September 11, 2007 4:42 PM:And the Bush 2000 campaign said they had nothing to do with the "Black Baby" story against McCain...
fuzz wrote on September 11, 2007 6:43 PM:According to the site fancyford.com was developed by episode49 and the Bivens Group. The Bivens Group lists the Friends of Fred Thompson as one of its clients. Both list the RNC as clients.
marinemomof3 wrote on September 11, 2007 9:11 PM:IMPLODING FROM WITHIN???
BLOW BACK???
KARMA???
psyopswatcher wrote on September 12, 2007 12:53 PM:You still have to get a chuckle out of these...
Freaking News does Fred Thompson for President
And that's just for fun.
serge wrote on September 12, 2007 3:03 PM:SC is home for the most rabid Republicans on the planet; vicious, mean-spirited, and without conscience. I grew up in DC in a very politically-oriented family. After twenty-seven years in SC, it still takes my breath away to watch these "people" act.
Mark Sherwood wrote on November 6, 2007 7:58 AM:Maybe after a couple of months seeing Fred stumble it doesn't matter.
