Maryland for Fred Thompson

Now, the same AP crew is contriving stories about Republican presidential candidates. Case in point, this AP story about Fred Thompson.

AP’s Libby Quaid wrote on December 21, “Thompson suffered a stinging setback Thursday, when conservative Rep. Tom Tancredo dropped out of the presidential running and endorsed another rival, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Tancredo, a Colorado congressman, is a hero to many voters who are furious at illegal immigration in this country, and a lot of them are Iowa caucus goers. The endorsement was a disappointment to Thompson, especially since his week had begun on a high note with the unexpected backing of another anti-immigration hero, Rep. Steve King.”

There is a small problem with the AP story: the facts. Tancredo did endorse Romney, but Thompson actually benefited from Tancredo’s withdrawal, possibly more than Romney did. Thompson’s campaign staff was stunned: not by Tancredo’s speech, but AP’s coverage. And here’s why.

As reported by The Politico, Bill Salier — Tancredo’s Iowa state chairman — is joining Thompson’s team: “He’s a true-believing social conservative who ran an uphill race in the ‘02 GOP Senate primary that raised some eyebrows. In short: He’s the sort of worker bee a campaign likes to have on its side. If Salier puts his shoulder to the wheel for Fred, he could be a major asset.”

The basic story was not contrived: Tancredo did withdraw and endorse Romney. But the misreporting of it was the functional equivalent of an attack ad directed at Thompson. And it cannot have been accidental. No young reporter would be able to do that without an editor’s approval. Or, more likely, an editor’s orders.

If Tancredo’s withdrawal caused his chief Iowa asset to shift allegiance to Thompson, how is Tancredo’s endorsement of Romney a “stinging setback” for Thompson? It isn’t. Which raises the same issue about AP that I raised in August 2006: which of its editors is responsible for the contrived stories?

Actually, things began to turn for FDT before the debate. On December 7, Fred picked up the endorsement of former Texas Court of Appeals Judge Paul Pressler. Judge Pressler was one of the leaders of the conservative forces in the defining struggle for the heart and soul of the Southern Baptist Convention nearly thirty years ago. Pressler’s leadership is largely repsonsible for the defeat of the liberal SBC faction, which explains why he is still revered by most Southern Baptists today. The significance of Pressler’s endorsement cannot be emphasized enough.

Just after the debate, another key Christian leader threw his support to Thompson. Dr. Gary Cass, an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church of America, current Chairman and CEO of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission and a longtime prolife activist, citied FDT’s conservative voting record and leadership in his statement of support.

Fred also picked up the endorsement of the Weslyan Center for Strategic Studies, a Washington-based conservative Methodist group. The group’s leadership promised that endorsements for Thompson from no less than one hundred conservative Methodist pastors would be soon to follow.

Thus a trifecta of endorsements from key leaders ordained by three of the largest Protestant denominations - Southern Baptist, Presbyterian and Methodist - was completed for the Thompson campaign. Very impressive.

Endorsements for Fred followed from statewide prolife orgizations in Minnesota, California, North Carolina and Virginia. With nine state prolife groups and their umbrella organization (National Right to Life Committee) in their column, Team Fred leads the pack in prolife endorsements.