Thompson Campaign has Strong Roots in Old Guard “Dole Republicans”

Georgia’s Mattingly Recognized by National Newspapers as a Top Leader of Early Thompson Movement

By Gary Reese
Southern Political Report

(6/1/07) The fast-moving “Draft Thompson” effort that was spearheaded by some of former Sen. Bob Dole’s closest friends, such as former Senator and Ambassador Mack Mattingly of Georgia, took many in Washington and even some of the potential rival campaigns by surprise. Mattingly has been the most prominent “up front” member of the former Tennessee Senator’s new “First Day” organization designed to raise early money for the Thompson effort.

InsiderAdvantage CEO (Publisher of the Southern Political Report) and nationally syndicated columnist Matt Towery was Mattingly’s campaign speechwriter in his victory over Herman Talmadge in 1980. The two have been extremely close friends over the years (Mattingly served on the Board of Directors of two companies Towery either owned or chaired). Towery suggests that there is more to Mattingly’s name hitting all of the papers in conjunction with the Thompson race than meets the eye.

“Understand, I never try to get information out of Mack,” Towery said laughingly. “He holds his cards close to the vest. But when I heard him start talking up Thompson several months ago, I could tell that something was brewing. Mack is a very serious and astute Republican mover and shaker.”

Towery says he reads several things into Mattingly’s role as reported by the New York Post of helping organize the early Draft Thompson movement. “First, I’m willing to bet you that we will see some of Bob Dole’s old guard join in on this thing. Mattingly was a huge Dole loyalist and I generally have found that that group of senators and former senators and those who work with them form a really tight network. I noticed (former Dole campaign chief) Scott Reid’s comments about how Thompson fills a void. It all sort of fits together. That doesn’t necessarily mean Dole himself, but that’s really not the point.”

And Towery noted another significant implication that comes with the former Georgia Senator’s early outspoken support, and it concerns another former Georgian with whom Towery worked, former Speaker Newt Gingrich.

“Mack and Newt have been together since the 1970s. I don’t think you can take from this that there is any rift or that Newt has signaled that he won’t necessarily enter the race. But it does certainly tell me that Gingrich will only enter this race if Thompson doesn’t catch fire or some other major event opens the window.”

Towery continued: “I think Newt probably could have had Mattingly and these fellow ‘non-neocon conservatives’ had he pursued them or stayed in contact. He apparently did not do so.”

Asked to describe Mattingly’s politics, Towery responded: “Pure Ronald Reagan conservative. He’s of the Reagan/Dole era in which you have conservative beliefs but you aren’t afraid to engage progressive techniques, such as diplomacy and a more surgical use of the military. They are really the anti-big government crowd and they mean it.”

Towery added: “Basically these guys like Mack are no-nonsense, sane leaders who keep a sense of humor, like their candidates to be real and are secure enough in their GOP history that they don’t have to be dogmatic for the sake of show.”