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BY CHRISTINA HARTMAN
You're watching multisource politics news analysis from Newsy.
He’s the most recent addition to a growing field of 2012 GOP candidates --
MCCOTTER, SATURDAY: “Today I’m announcing my candidacy for the nomination of my Republican party to serve as your president of the United States. (Cheering)”
But who is Thaddeus McCotter? From the press - his announcement was greeted with a similar and oft-repeated refrain:
FOX NEWS: “A name you probably haven’t heard.”
CNN: “Maybe you don’t know the name. Thad McCotter - who is this guy?”
McCotter is a five-term Congressman from Michigan -- who also -- knows his way around a guitar. But given his low name recognition -- hosts on Fox News wonder how he’ll stand out in an already-crowded field.
“Apparently he’s a pretty funny guy, a smart guy. Any reporters who cover him for a long period of time, apparently, he’ll mail them CDs of his rock-n-roll music he plays. So he’s got a good sense of humor about him. Does he excite people? ... Look this is a tough field, you’ve got folks that are national figures like Tim Pawlenty, like Jon Huntsman, we could go on and on, that are struggling to get name recognition.”
But McCotter sat down with local ABC-affiliate WXYZ to explain -- he’s got a plan for capturing national support.
REP. THAD MCCOTTER (R-Mich.): “This is the Republican Party’s first social networking primary. The Democrats went through it in 2008, so what that allows you to do is through Twitter, though Facebook, to get a message in front of people far more instantaneously than in the past. And they can judge it and can multiply that effect by sending it to friends. So as we have seen in this, like, people can come back from nowhere, get their message get traction and get attention.”
Still - even the wire news service Reuters calls him a “long-shot candidate.” A Detroit Free Press associate editor agrees -- but says -- he’ll definitely be heard.
“Certainly McCotter has a flair for rhetoric... He deadpans one-liners well, has the kind of physique that worked for Abe Lincoln, and he’s a rock-ribbed conservative... McCotter was a standout offensive lineman on the Detroit Catholic Central High School football team... He may not win, but the other candidates will feel his push.”
Still -- Politico’s Andy Barr doesn’t expect McCotter to make much of a splash -- noting -- there’s not much on his website aside from his five “core principles.” And -- when he announced his candidacy...
“McCotter’s announcement drew little notice, and it’s hard to see how he’ll avoid getting drowned out by the likes of Michele Bachmann and other grassroots favorites already in the field. McCotter’s announcement was not carried live by cable television outlets. And the Drudge Report, a go-to news destination for conservatives, didn’t even mention the announcement on Saturday night.”
Transcript by Newsy.
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