Datechguy's Blog

Matt Lewis in the daily caller reports that in an attempt to make the case that Newt Gingrich as unacceptable to conservatives proceeded to insult conservatives by taking no questions from conservatives outlets. Here is the list:

JOHN DICKERSON, CBS NEWS
MARK HALPERIN, TIME
LLOYD GROVE, THE DAILY BEAST
EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, TPM
DAVID CORN, MOTHER JONES
PHIL RUCKER, WASHINGTON POST

Talking points memo, TALKING POINTS MEMO?

Stupid isn’t the word here. You are trying to make the case you are more conservative than Newt Gingrich and you not only exclude Conservatives from questions but you take questions from flipping Mother Jones and Talking Points Memo? This is an insult to every conservative news outlet, new media site and blogger out there.

And people complained about the way Herman Cain treated friends, but perhaps the Romney Campaign doesn’t consider conservatives friends.

I have left a phone message at Governor Romney’s Boston HQ and have sent the following e-mail. I reprint it in full excluding my home phone number. My apologies to Matt Lewis but since I reprinted his post in full in the e-mail it is reprinted in full here as well:

Hello:

I saw this article by Matt Lewis and can hardly credit it.

http://dailycaller.com/2011/12/08/romney-conference-call-takes-questions-from-mother-jones-and-tpm-no-conservative-outlets/

As you probably heard, some Mitt Romney surrogates hosted a conference call today to attack Newt Gingrich. Because Romney is attempting to win a Republican primary — and cast Newt Gingrich as unacceptable to conservatives — you probably assume that center-right journalists or conservative bloggers got to ask some questions, right?

Wrong. Here’s the list of reporters and media outlets who were permitted to ask questions:

JOHN DICKERSON, CBS NEWS
MARK HALPERIN, TIME
LLOYD GROVE, THE DAILY BEAST
EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, TPM
DAVID CORN, MOTHER JONES
PHIL RUCKER, WASHINGTON POST

That’s it. No Townhall.com, HotAir, Daily Caller, Washington Examiner, National Review, Weekly Standard, American Spectator, or Washington Times … you get the picture.

And it’s not as though they limited it to august, mainstream publications. I mean, they took a question from Talking Points Memo…

This is not a complaint or an example of sour grapes — I wasn’t even on the call today (I had a previous engagement.)

But isn’t it pretty stupid politics?

I would like to request a comment and an explanation as to why conservatives media outlets and sites were excluded from questions while sites like Mother Jones and Talking Points Memo were not. We will be certainly commenting on this tomorrow on WCRN. I will be posting the response to this e-mail on my site at datechguyblog.com

If you prefer to speak by phone I will be unavailable tonight between 5:30 p.m. EST and 7 p.m. EST but anytime before or after such a time would be acceptable to call. You can reach me at home at xxx-xxx-xxxx, my cell is xxx-xxx-xxxx but try the home number first.

Thanks.

Peter Ingemi: DaTechGuy
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As indicated by the e-mail I’ll let you know what they say.

Update: Rick Santorum shows how it’s done and I’ve just checked my e-mail and have a response from the Romney Campaign that came in at 6 p.m. I reprint it in its entirety with the exception of his phone number:

Ryan here from the Romney campaign.

Just read your post about our campaign surrogate conference call this evening.

The Daily Caller piece you cite in your post is wrong.

Tonight (as we do with every call) we sent out a media advisory to our regular press inviting members of the media to join the call. We use a phone conferencing system to manage these calls.

Participants who join the call are then invited to ask a question after the opening comments by pressing “1” on their phones. Question are fielded on a first come, first serve basis. We do not screen out any media organization. Whoever notifies the operator by pressing ”1” first gets to ask their question first.

On tonight’s call we answered a every single question in the queue. Every reporter – conservative, liberal or nonpartisan – who wanted to ask a question got to ask one. Organizations that were not called on either didn’t press the number “1” or never joined the call in the first place.

Given this information, I hope you will correct your post.
Thanks,

Ryan Williams
Romney for President

I have sent him a follow up thanking him for his response and asking four questions:

Hello Ryan:

Thank you for your e-mail response.

Per your e-mail I am re-printing this e-mail in full and including it in the post.

I do have some questions:

1. Have you requested a corrected from Matt Lewis of the daily caller. (UPDATE..apparently so)

2. Is the campaign planning on arranging for any conference calls with conservative activists and/or bloggers.

3. Given the Romney campaign’s attack on Newt Gingrich as unacceptable to conservatives to what degree outside of conference calls does the Romney Campaign plan to reach out to conservative activists and bloggers to advance that position?

4. Given that the MSM is likely to actively support the democratic nominee in this election as it has in every other what is the logic in accommodating said media in any way?

Thanks

Update 3: It just struck me, this must have really hit a nerve, Hotair and Daily Caller both received the same e-mail as well with the same update fairly quick.