Via The Washington Post:
A top adviser to former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney appears to be behind today's launch of a new Web site attacking GOP presidential rival Fred Thompson.
The site, www.phoneyfred.org, paints an unflattering picture of Thompson, dubbing him: Fancy Fred, Five O'clock Fred, Flip-Flop Fred, McCain Fred, Moron Fred, Playboy Fred, Pro-Choice Fred, Son-of-a-Fred and Trial Lawyer Fred. [View an image of the Web site]
Shortly after a Washington Post reporter made inquiries about the site to the Romney campaign, the site was taken down.
Before it vanished, the front page of the website featured a picture of a regal Thompson dressed in a frilly outfit more befitting a Gilbert and Sullivan production than a presidential campaign. Under the heading, "Playboy Fred," the site asks the question: "Once a Pro-Choice Skirt Chaser, Now Standard Bearer of the Religious Right?"
Nowhere on the site does it indicate who is responsible for it. But a series of inquiries leads directly to the website of Under the Power Lines, the political consulting firm of Warren Tompkins, Romney's lead consultant in South Carolina. Read more...
The longer the campaign drags out, the more the GOP candidates look like a bunch of inept, Keystone Cops. They can't even figure out how to properly attack each other anonymously on teh tubes. Be sure to click on the above link to see the image of the now-defunct website -- they actually refer to Thompson as "Pimp Fred." Hat tip and more on this story from Howie...
