MONEY GOALS
Rudy Giuliani’s decision to push his lead national
fundraiser, Anne Dunsmore, out the door has been
in the works for close to two weeks, according to Giuliani
insiders, who claim that the candidate himself made the decision to
can Dunsmore, who previously had done extensive work for former
Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
“We set a goal, and two weeks ago it was clear we weren’t going
to make the goal,” says a Giuliani adviser.
That goal, according to other Giuliani staff, was a $20 million
quarter.
“We set a goal that would keep up in line with the Democratic
frontrunners,” said a Giuliani fundraiser on the West Coast. “We
don’t care about the other Republicans. Mitt’s just going to cut
himself another fat personal check, and Thompson and McCain aren’t
revving their engines yet. It was all about us, and we didn’t meet
our own goal, not even close.”
Gossip inside the Giuliani campaign put the fundraising number
somewhere north of $10 million, which would still put him ahead of
Romney and others
GROUP HUG
Earlier this week, former Sen. Fred Thompson met
privately in Washington, D.C. with senior members of the Arlington
Group, a coalition of social and religious conservatives. The
meeting, according to Arlington Group members present, included
members who had previously met with Thompson at a private meeting
in the spring, prior to Thompson’s speech before the Council on
National Policy.
At the meeting this week Thompson answered questions and
discussed his views on social issues, as well as his own faith, for
more than an hour.
“He’s impressive, and a number of us want to help him,” says a
member of the Arlington Group who was present. “The group itself
can’t endorse, but I sense that a majority of the major players
here will help Senator Thompson. From a social conservative’s
perspective, he’s the most electable of the bunch, and he made it
clear that he would not disappoint us if he were elected. He’ll
work with us to accomplish our goals.”
Most critical to the members, according to an Arlington Group
staffer present, was Thompson’s more in-depth explanation of his
position supporting a Constitutional amendment barring gay
marriage, but not the one most members of the Arlington Group have
been supporting.
“It doesn’t go as far as many of us would like, but it goes a
lot further than Rudy Giuliani, and he’s got a
much more solid record on the issue than Mitt
Romney. It gets us closer to where we need to be. I am
satisfied,” says another religious leader at the meeting. “In the
end, Thompson’s position would bar judges from changing the
definition of marriage, and he said that he would be supportive of
a Constitutional amendment if we were able to get it passed. What I
came away from the meeting with was that, first, he is one of us,
and second, he will actually work with us and use the bully pulpit
of the presidency to help us and our nation’s culture.”
