Let's talk about the war. Not the Iraq war. This war is between Mitt Romney and the anti-Romney grassroots groups in Massachusetts. I've never seen anything like this. My email inbox is scorching hot from the rhetoric flying from both sides.
But here's where it gets real interesting. Normally, groups like Mass Resistance, led by the leader Brian Camenker get minimal attention. But they have been pretty diligent in consistently pounding home this "Romney's a hypocrite" theme. They haven't received too much attention from the mainstream media but the Boston Globe has run with some of their research and the blogosphere is talking about it.
Let's do a reset here. Mitt Romney wants to be President. A Group called Mass Resistance thinks he's a phony. Romney calls himself a true conservative. This group thinks he's anything but citing what they say are his flip flops on gay rights, abortion and a host of other issues. They detail all of their claims in a 28 page report called "The Mitt Romney deception".
So what does the Romney's campaign do? Do they ignore the group? To the contrary. They have come out with an aggressive campaign to discredit Camenker and Mass Resistance. They are fighting fire with fire. Romney's press shop knows that they must stop this group now or risk having their charges gain steam. They are trying to cut this thing off right now. They actually put out a press release attacking this group and Camenker personally.
It seems to me Romney must be reading the book by Mark Halperin and John Harris called "The Way to Win. Because in that book, it talks about how it's vital for a Presidential candidate to keep control of his image. Don't let others define you. It seems his team is determined to define Romney on their terms, not others.