In a new sign that Fred Thompson is readying a full-on campaign launch, he's chosen a direct mail fundraising firm, HSP Direct, which is well wired into conservative circuits.
HSP Direct -- Hogan, Schenk and Paul, Inc -- is based in Virginia.
At the beginning of the cycle, Sen. Sam Brownback's presidential campaign used HSP as their direct mail vendor, but the campaign and the company had a falling out.
HSP's chief executive, James Hogan, was trained in direct mail by Republican legend Bruce W. Eberle.
The firm found itself in the news recently by raising money for the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps.(There's a bit of controversy, chronicled here.)
HSP has also raised money for the College Republican National Committee, the Center for Individual Freedom, the Young Republicans of America, '06 WV SEN candidate Hiram Lewis, and others.
A footnote: Joel McElhannon, a veteran of Georgia Republican politics, is headed to Nashville to take a senior role in Thompson's campaign.
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John Edwards, The Hair Cut, And A Response To Readers
20 Jul 2007 03:32 pm
Some polite readers of the blog are John Edwards are requesting -- nay -- demanding some sort of a response, or an apology (?), or at least some sort of self-flaggelating statement.
Else, I risk extending my turn as the latest pinata for the capital-letter brigade.
Best to restate and elaborate on some points.
1. A good chunk of the national political press corps (maybe at most 30%) doesn't like John Edwards. (Ask the Edwards campaign about this -- they'll revise the percentage upwards). This 30% includes columnists and pundits and a few reporters. Many are capable of, and generally do, when the situation warrants, write favorable or balanced stories about Edwards. But their predispositions can skew their coverage of the bad stuff, and occasionally, as in all institutions (like, uh, the commentosphere, or whatever), groupthink gets in the way of independent thinking. This is a fairly mundane point.
2. The hair cut story was legitimate but not very significant.
3. Personality and character matter. It's challenging to cover these subjects.
4. Presidential candidates deserve to be held to a level of scrutiny that is both high and difficult to describe.
5. If poverty is your issue, it's appropriate to examine your wealth and how you spend it.
6. Edwards is not a hypocrite and those who call him a hypocrite do not actually know the word's definition.
In 2006, a good chuck of the press corps (maybe 30%), was very wary of a post-presidential John Kerry, who turned out to be quite prescient about the politics of the issue of the day. And Bob Somerby made himself a household name by chronicling how the press was unfair to and simply didn't like Al Gore. Edwards may be this cycle's version of Al Gore and John Kerry.
Discuss.
Posted by John Burns | July 20, 2007 4:28 PM