Fred Thompson lands Enwright

Brace yourselves, Mitt, Rudy, and John. The Buzz is that likely Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson has landed one of best political minds in the Florida GOP. Veteran GOP strategist Randy Enwright has stepped down as the RNC's Florida guru to help Thompson test the waters for his likely presidential bid.

Enwright, a key adviser to Jeb in '94 and '98, a former Iowa GOP executive director and Florida GOP executive director from '95-'99, had been under contract with the RNC since 2001.  This means Todd Thomson and former state GOP executive director Andy Palmer, both also of Enwright Consulting, are aboard FL team Thompson as well, along with Adam Putnam and a growing list of current and former legislators.  For all the talk that Romney and Giuliani had swallowed up all the GOP talent in Florida, this is a big get for Fred Thompson.

Comments

Can someone please post Enwright's recent record ?

Whew- for a moment I thought it said Randy Nielsen. At least Fred has a shot with Enright.

Todd Thomson, also of Enwright Consulting, is rumored to be the pick for the FL Thompson campaign executive director- another brilliant political mind. Sounds like Fred T. is the one who has scooped up the best political talent in Fla.

Off the blogs T2.

Isn't Nielsen in jail ?

let the old fart stay on television.

Cannot wait to see Fred shake things up.

Who? How is this big?

ugly, ugly man...ugly, ugly attitudes.
he was the watergate committee snitch to the nixon white house. his utter lack of integrity puts him way down there on a level with that current imbecile in the white house.

Fred's campaign reminds me of that Toby Keith song.

So why is this taking so long?

Many articles you've written, but when will you announce?

"Lets get on down
To the main attraction
With a little less talk
And a lot more action!"

Here's a great article:

http://www.economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9441455

Thompson's the man. Go Fred! Enough of the Re-pubics.

Can Fred raise the needed money on such short notice? I'm betting on...not likely, especially since he seems too anxious to give his own cash to things like the Libby Defense Fund.

He is more likely a spoiler for Rudy.

Expect Mitt to win the early states, and that should be enough to help him carry the nomination...just not the presidency.

Well, now that Russell, Carlos, and Tucker all left John...should be interesting to see what happens with Fred in FL. Goodbye McCain...what up, Fred.

What's Fred planning to use for money?

Adam, you really don't like John McCain, do you? Why is that?

I guess they will get paid with DVD boxsets of old Law and Order episodes.

What makes threads like this one so laughable is the sheer irrellevance of a candidate with no money and limited name recognition who, 6 months away from the primary, is still CONSIDERING running.

[rich]

It ain't over until the fat6 lady sings. freddy boy will come down as quickly as he went up. McCain is done - stick a fork in him. The real race is for McCain's support - right now its polling as a split between Sir Rudy and Pretty Boy Mitt. If that holds then the interesting part is will Freddy really get in and as his support erodes where does it go. Does it drift to Sir Rudy by default or will it move as a conservative block to Mitt the Pretty Boy. I think not. Fred's attraction is not necessaril as a conservative but just an alternative to the three chosen ones. It's Sir Rudy's to lose. In the end Pretty Boy Mitt will make it entertaining and Fred does not get in the race.

Randy is a good man....I don't know about Thompson (not impressed personally), but this is a strong pickup.

Very strong pickup- Randy seems to make things happen with candidates. Don't doubt that there is money there- Randy and the others don't come cheap.

Romney barely registers in most states...not even in double digits.

FOLLOW this thread from the boston globe and learn how phat phred was r.m. nixon's mole in the senate committee house during the watergate investigations and how he lied and manipulated his way to "prominence."

when it comes to deciding betwen serving the nation and justice, or partisan issues, it seems phat phred aint all that good at it.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/07/04/not_all_would_put_a_heroic_sheen_on_thompsons_watergate_role/

The Romney team under Bradshaw will run circles around Enwright and his RPOF retread boys. What tough battles have Palmer and Thomson be in? None

[GOP Girl]

Weren't Enwright and Thomson involved in Dennis Baxley's failed campaign?

Andy Palmer is a huge asset for Thompson. Not to take anything away from Enwright, but having Palmer as a new member of the Enwright Team had to make this an easy choice for Fred.

Enwright sounds good on paper but he's more of a strategist, he's just not the hardest worker in town. Karen Unger gets things done and that's what you need for Florida.

Fred Thompson is toast with the Cubans, Unger knows how to work with them and Giuliani starts out with some big advantages in that community.

Unger knows how to campaign and raise money, Enwright falls way short of her in that regard. It will be amusing to see how the other campaigns react when they see the Thompson campaign office running out of Enwrights RPOF office in Tally.

Advantage Rudy

Thank you Jason 1044.

Karen Unger is the worst do-nothing there is. Rudy has surely already found that out! Rudy is going nowhere but down-he's the one who needs Randy Enwright

Palmer is definitely a major player and rising star. He's an all around super guy and did a superb job with the RPOF.

Sandy Safley is the "go to" Fred Thompson guy in Florida. This is all just insider ego stroking by the Enwright boys to make up for their shortcomings. Not smart move by Enwright and his do boys.

Not smart Randy, not smart at all!!!

How much did the RNC pay Enwright per month?

Karen Unger works hard - you little party trolls like Thomson and Palmer just hang around the building there just waiting to lick the crumbs off the floor after others have worked hard to put the food on the table.

The million dollar question is who lands Brett Doster ?

Dear Constant Haters:

All three of these campaigns have good sound operatives, who have learned from winning and learned from losing.

Karen, Paul and Faron for Rudy are building a good operation with a fundraising advantage and the Sixth Borough (aka Broward/Palm Beach) will support him like he was born in Boca.

Sally, Mandy, Marc and Annie and David are as good as you can get, and they were way out front early in building a tremendous grassroots op for Mitt and have stayed the course with a solid plan that had led to his steady rise in funding and name ID.

Randy, Todd and Andy know technically and skillfully how to win in Florida and will serve Fred well in these still very early stages, coupled with the tangible Thompson charisma and great personal appeal.

There are some solid McCain former staffers sadly and suddenly available and I am sure their phones are ringing loudly and frequently this morning.

The rest of you on this blog would be lucky to have any of them working for your candidate. Hey, you know that already, it's just fun for some of you sad souls to try to hurt people anonymously.

End of story, but just the beginning of a fascinating campaign book in Florida GOP land.

[Paul.Ruiz@Californiaforthompson.com]

Lets get this great new leadership in place!!!

[Paul.Ruiz@Californiaforthompson.com]

Lets get this great new leadership in place!!! www.Californiaforthompson.com

I would definitely put Palmer and Thomson ahead of Seago and Boggs.

Palmer and Thomson actually have credentials.

[deep throat]

The real tragedy in all of this is that Crist killed the straw poll at Presidency IV to help McCain and now McCain won't even be in the race when the convention is held in October.

The one bone that Republican Party activists receive was taken away and the Republican Party of Florida will end up getting nothing for the sacrifice. That sucks!

if anyone thinks that Thompson is still "considering" a run they must have their head in the sand. He's announcing campaign staff, endorsements, and is fundraising... sounds like a campaign to me.

[Rev. Paul]

The only people saying Thompson won't run are the Giuliani team who still has their head in the sand.

Ken Connor is right when he says the social conservatives will likely support Fred Thompson. Rudy continues to play to the NY elite and talk about abortion. He is unpalatable to a majority of the party.

Rudy's horrific record:

anti-gun

pro-abortion

pro-gay marriage

pro-union

on top of his horrific personal life. Children who want nothing to do with him.

On his third marriage following a second marriage full of infidelity.

[lottobelle]

Randy and Todd did not do so well for Susan Goldstein in Florida. They do much better in Republican counties, they won't do as well in Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.

Enwright is way over rated. Hasn't got his hands dirty in ages. His whole shop is full of white blue blooded men who don't do the heavy lifting a Unger or Bradshaw do. That's why Jeb loved both of them.

AND,

Camp Thompson, what happened to your major announcement on our nation's birthday?

july 4? who told you that date? earliest date i'd heard was 7/9, but that was just speculation.

Thompson has a way to go.

Wait tell he gets in the race and has to answer the tough questions.

Fred Thompson: Pro-Choice Lobbyist
:
Fred D. Thompson, who is campaigning for president as an antiabortion Republican, accepted an assignment from a family-planning group to lobby the first Bush White House to ease a controversial abortion restriction, according to a 1991 document and several people familiar with the matter.

A spokesman for the former Tennessee senator denied that Thompson did the lobbying work. But the minutes of a 1991 board meeting of the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Assn. say that the group hired Thompson that year.

His task was to urge the administration of President George H. W. Bush to withdraw or relax a rule that barred abortion counseling at clinics that received federal money, according to the records and to people who worked on the matter.

The abortion "gag rule" was then a major political flashpoint. Lobbying against the rule would have placed Thompson at odds with the antiabortion movement that he is now trying to rally behind his expected declaration of a presidential bid.

The Los Angeles Times has the story

This goes right along with His Phony Red Truck

Here is a video:
Fred Thompson: Pro-Choice

http://tinyurl.com/23o4nz

Ron Paul Tops McCain in Cash on Hand
Share July 06, 2007 1:14 PM

ABC News' George Stephanopoulos Reports: Though often regarded as a longshot candidate for president, Republican Ron Paul tells ABC News that he has an impressive $2.4 million in cash on hand after raising an equal amount during the second quarter, putting him ahead of one-time Republican frontrunner John McCain, who reported this week he has only $2 million in the bank.

In an exclusive interview taped Friday and airing Sunday on "This Week," Paul said his campaign is on a better trajectory than McCain's.

"I think some of the candidates are on the down-slope, and we're on the up-slope," said Paul.

Paul's cash on hand puts him in third place in the Republican field in that important metric, although he is well behind leader Rudy Giuliani, who has $18 million in the bank, and Mitt Romney, with $12 million.

Paul, who polls show with support in the low single digits, said his surprisingly strong fundraising is the best measure of his support.

"I think people have underestimated the number of people in this country who are interested in a freedom message," says the Republican congressman from Texas, who has strong libertarian leanings.

Thompson's candidacy cannot be legitimate. I suspect he's in the race as a spoiler.