Republican and Conservative political analysis and commentary

Jonathan Martin at NRO's The Corner has a very interesting analysis of the media motivations that may explain Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's recent foray to Nashville, which I attended and blogged.

Martin writes:

What was more interesting about the event was the guest list - not only did it include the usual assortment of state Rep's and Members of Congress, but also two bloggers and a conservative radio talk show host. This comes on the heels of Romney's attempts to push back on the recent revelations about his past stances on abortion and gay rights via us at NRO and FOX News. Bypassing "the filter" for what are viewed as more friendly mediums is, of course, nothing new (Romney makes plain his pleasure at the Old Media-New Media shift in the penultimate 'graf of a story carried by, not incidentally, his chief Old Media tormentor).

 

Still, it is remarkable that Romney would reach out to bloggers and a conservative radio personality for such a private event. Such pre-announcement affairs where donors and activists are courted and cultivated have almost always been kept under wraps and out of public view by campaigns that haven't yet officially started. If a candidate wanted a press hit from his stop in the area, he'd usually pay a visit to local paper; that was the most effective way to get your message out. But the times are a changin.'

Now instead of getting 750 words of "If I Should Decide To Run..." in the Tennessean, we have Romney talking up his efforts to build up a national finance base and explaining why he doesn't do Sunday talk shows.

I should explain that although I attended the event and wrote about it on my blog and also here at ElephantBiz.com, I'm not in the Romney "camp" yet, and may not be. I haven't decided who I'll support in the GOP presidential primaries. Here at ElephantBiz.com I'll be writing fairly about all of their campaigns whether privately I support them or not.