A few weeks ago, we wrote a post quoting a Washington Times article that reported that possible GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson had contacted Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission “to say he wanted Mr. Land present at any campaign kickoff.”
Shortly thereafter, the kind folks at the ERLC alerted us to the fact that the newspaper had corrected its article to clarify that it was Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder who received the call from Thompson, not Land, which we duly noted.
But now The Politico is reporting that Land and Thompson are indeed teaming up as Thompson attempts to kick his campaign into gear before the Council for National Policy:
Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson acknowledges his coming-out speech in California last weekend didn't live up to expectations, advisers say, and he is planning a tighter and sharper message dubbed "Stump Speech 2.0" for a Saturday night event to be attended by key conservative leaders.
…
Saturday's event will be a crucial audition in Northern Virginia, where Thompson will be the keynote speaker at a dinner of the Council for National Policy, an organization of conservative leaders. Organizers say he will be introduced by Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention, who is among the most important voices of evangelical Christians.
Land is currently enjoying his position as a leading religious right prognosticator on all things having to do with the current crop of Republican candidates and his carefully cultivated positioning as a “neutral” observer will probably take a hit once people realize that he is openly backing Thompson.
