Romney tries to distance campaign from anti-Thompson site

Republican rivals Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson skirmished yesterday over a website attacking Thompson that was created by the business partner of a Romney consultant from South Carolina.

While Romney's campaign tried to distance itself from the website, a spokesman for Thompson called on Romney to fire the consultant and to issue an apology for what he called "high-tech gutter politics."

The website, PhoneyFred.org, made unflattering characterizations of the new entrant into the Republican nomination race, calling him "Playboy Fred," "Trial Lawyer Fred," and "Moron Fred," among other monikers.

It was created by Wesley Donehue, a business partner of Warren Tompkins, a former executive director of the South Carolina Republican Party who is a top consultant for Romney in the state. The site was taken down after reporters inquired about it Monday.

Kevin Madden, a spokesman for Romney, said the site was created without the knowledge of Tompkins or Romney. The campaign, he said, had no knowledge of its development - and had no authority to fire Donehue because he was not on the campaign's payroll.

"We made it clear that we did not approve of the site and asked for immediate action to make sure it was again in no way affiliated with the campaign," Madden wrote in an e-mail. "The person responsible is not an employee of ours, but we took immediate action to make sure it was clear the site was not affiliated with the campaign."

The Thompson campaign was not satisfied with Romney's response, and yesterday afternoon reissued its demands.

"Today's half-baked coverup attempt by the Romney campaign does not even pass the laugh test," Todd Harris, a Thompson campaign spokesman, said in a statement.

"This latest episode only serves to prove what many voters are already figuring out: Mitt Romney will do anything, say anything, smear any opponent, and flip-flop on any position in order to win," Harris added. "The American people in general and the Republican Party in particular deserve better than this."

The anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks "should be a day without political statements or attacks on opposing campaigns," Madden responded. "We also disapprove of the site and have made it very clear that the site does not have an affiliation with our campaign."