I was at a family reunion this weekend. While the debate was showing, I was on the way to attend Stonewall Wesleyan Church in Lexington, KY, where my dad’s family attended church when he was growing up. I didn’t really see any news, other than the local paper, until I got to the airport and saw clips of Romney’s fight with an Iowa conservative talk radio host about abortion and his religion. I saw this on CNN. 3 or 4 times, and nothing about the debate.
Then I get home, turn on my computer and go to Romney’s materials on the debate. And the first thing that I see is a clip from the debate about Sam Brownback’s autodial calls against Romney. Romney’s response to this whole affair has moved this into the domain of earned media, multiplying the power of paid media.
So, entering the week of Ames Romney is talking about:
- Why he is a victim because people are asking about his religion. This is, of course, to some extent true, but I am not sure that the victim card plays well in Republican primaries.
- That Romney’s religion doesn’t require you to be pro-life.
- But he is pro-life now. (if you consider his current position pro-life)
- And he donated to planned parenthood, and he tried to get NARAL’s endorsement.
Is that the discussion that he wants?
Is Brownback trying to set up a frame of "you can’t trust anyone, so buy the real thing?" It will be very, very interesting to see what the post-Ames spin is.
