Frederick’s Scorched Earth Policy
By Jason Kenney | Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 | Politics
Commentary by Jason Kenney cross-posted at J’s Notes. Opinions expressed here to not necessarily reflect those of Bearing Drift.
Bob Hollsworth wrote earlier this week some thoughts I’d been having as well (shared earlier today here on Bearing Drift):
But this is what baffles me about the Frederick story.
What would a win look like?
The party rules say that his detractors need to have 75% of the vote at the smackdown to remove him.
What if they fail by one vote or a couple of votes?
Is this a win? Would he declare victory if only 74% of the Central Committee voted to remove him?
Unless every report I”ve read is seriously wrong about the likely final count, it appears that Frederick is in a “no-win” situation.
He is either booted out or he stays on after an effective vote of no confidence.
This really isn’t much of a choice.
Don’t tell that to Jeff Frederick.
The robo-calls are spreading, starting last week against Mike Thomas and Bob McDonnell, this week spreading to Tucker Watkins and others. Frederick came out yesterday with his defense against the SCC’s ten charges against him.
He is refusing to go without a fight and resorting to desperate tactics that serve no one but himself. But to what end? At this point, with just about every elected Republican coming out against him, who wins if Jeff Frederick remains?
Not the grassroots. No, even if you want to ignore that every member of the SCC was elected by the same delegates (and then some) that went to last year’s convention and even if you believe Frederick and that this is a matter of grassroots vs. establishment, grassroots will not win this fight. Because in the last ten months what has Frederick done to reach out to the grassroots? It wasn’t RPV fighting in the trenches last year, it was assorted organizations working around RPV. 2009 looks to be the same, especially if one looks to Joe Murray’s fight in the 46th, the same district that contains the Alexandria City committee that voted almost unanimously to support Frederick’s removal.
I was opting to remain on the sideline through this because, quite frankly, I don’t have much of a say in the end. It is SCC making the call because that is their right according to the Party Plan.
But Frederick’s efforts to drag this out in public, to make this into an ideological fight when it is one of failed management, to try mislead the public and astroturf his “grassroots” support, to make this about HIM and not the Party he was elected to represent and lead, to decide that if can not stick around that he is going to destroy everything he possibly can in his wake, well, how can anyone not speak up?
This hurts. This is infighting that didn’t need to happen. Many have offered assistance to Frederick in all areas only to be rebuffed, the SCC gave Frederick an opportunity to explain himself then gave him a way to step down and save face only to have it blow up on them, so many opportunities presented themselves to not have it end up this way and one man chose not to take advantage of them.
Instead, Jeff Frederick decides to go back to his college roots:
It brought to mind a story another Georgian told me about a state convention where the chairmanship of the CRs was being contested. The representative from the University of Georgia won. That didn’t sit well with everyone:
The head of the Emory University CR’s lost and stormed out, taking his chapter with him and then went on a petty vendetta to break up the Georgia College Republicans. The guy wound up destroying the Emory CR’s through his actions.
That guy’s name? Jeff Frederick.
I do not pretend to know what is best for the Republican Party of Virginia overall. But I sure as hell know that this is not good. Jeff Frederick was given an opportunity to explain himself and, when he failed to do so, to step down. Instead he is fiddling while the apparatus burns down around him.
If he goes, we can move forward.
If he remains, only Jeff Frederick wins.
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About the author
Jason Kenney has blogged at J’s Notes since 2001, is the director of RedStormPAC providing online fundraising for Republican candidates in Virginia, and co-founder of K6 Consulting. He is a graduate from Virginia Commonwealth University and resides in Richmond, Virginia.
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23 Responses to "Frederick’s Scorched Earth Policy"
Jeff Frederick can be credibly faulted for a lot of things, but I can’t fault him for wantting and trying to keep his Chairmanship. Running for office requires the ego to believe that you are the best person for the job, that what’s good for you is what’s good for the party / nation / state / locality. I presume that Jeff genuinely thinks that what he’s doing is best for RPV.
Incidentally, this highlights the debt that we as a party owe to Bill Bolling for ceding the gubernatorial nomination to McDonnell.
Jason, where is your proof that Frederick is the one that made this public. Even at this point, booting Frederick is NOT a lock. That is why there is a lot of campaigning going on. Because it is NOT a LOCK, there is incentive to quickly trash Frederick and gather support for his ouster publicly.
Offered a chance to gracefully remove himself? Is that like being given the “favor” of gracefully admitting to something you didn’t do and also lose your position of prestige? Gee, I think he’ll pass unless he’s guilty. His standing up to immense pressure says he’s likely not to be guilty.
I love your college story. Do some more reasearch. I’m sure you’ll find an example of when mean Jeffy Frederick refused to share his PBJ sandwich with his hungry friends.
Sounds very similar to the tweet (twitter) leak accusations that were swirling around before the real story came out through the Assembly. I would be interested in seeing the proof who made these things “public”.
This is all about one thing to Frederick – Frederick himself.
Jason, this response is CERTAINLY nothing personal. I realize conservatives have very different opinions on this matter. MANY of my friends are on both sides of this topic. That is fine. We wouldn’t be good conservatives if we all fell “lock and step” into the same thinking.
We are bred to questions things…it is just in our nature. I am not a rabid Jeff supporter. I’ve only even met him personally once I think. I feel more like I am looking at this from a distant perspective given that I don’t know him and I am not on SCC. (BTW, I appreciate the more mature and rigorous discourse taking place on this blog versus others around.)
I just don’t think Jeff can be blamed for taking this into the public square. It wasn’t Jeff who leaked the charges. It wasn’t Jeff just who littered the blogs with all the allegations. It wasn’t Jeff being quoted in the newspapers. It wasn’t Jeff writing public letters asking for his resignation. SCC, Bob McDonnell et al came out publicly on this issue first. They have continued to be on the offense and Jeff just yesterday came out with a response. They basically found him guilty before he responded to the charges and started a campaign for his removal. (In fact, they started a campaign to remove him that dates back to last year.)
The problem is that it is backfiring on them in a horrible way so now they want to blame Jeff for not quietly disappearing into the night the way they would have preferred. [I also haven't seen any tangible evidence that Jeff is behind those robocalls in anyway. Perhaps he is, but I would hate for us to throw accusations out there without substantial proof. There are plenty of groups that are upset with Tucker or McDonnell that Jeff's involvement is not necessary.]
I realize that Jeff has a notarious reputation for being pompous and disagreeable. This was part of my concern when I was trying to determine my vote at the Convention last year. But you can’t throw a guy out for a personality conflict or because he doesn’t do things the way you prefer it. Jeff has made an attempt to explain the charges. If his response is tenable he should stay. If his answers prove not to be credible, he should go. But the man was basically hanged before the charges were even enumerated.
To blame Jeff for how this has all unfolded is misguided to me. The anti-Jeff folks leveled charges and asked for his resignation. The natural reaction for those who support Jeff is to respond in support, but they are now being told they are scorching the earth because they are not of the same position? As I said in my other post here, the ‘strategery’ of this is baffling. They should have kept this behind the current until November It is like cutting off your feet before a marathon. SCC knew Jeff had a strong personality (that was part of their complaint). Did they really think he would just acquiesce and go quietly? The strategic planning on this by the “Jeff must go” side just baffles me. And then they all act surprised by the melee.
Respectfully submitted,
Jamie – Nothing personal taken. This is an issue that has a lot of questions and a lot of sides to it and it’s good that we are able to debate the issues to not only help each other but others who are seeking knowledge not noise.
The SCC charges read as if they have built over the last year and that every time it was a “we asked this of you and this is what we did or did not get”. If he didn’t know it was coming he wasn’t paying attention in the meetings.
But what really burns me is the way the response has been and the ego that’s involved.
First, the robo-calls are not a sign of grassroots support for Frederick. A grassroots effort didn’t spring up, come together, pull a bunch of money in and set up robo-calls in a week. A couple individuals with money and time are behind those and they’re astroturfing. If Jeff Frederick isn’t intimately involved in them then he sure knows who is and he is not doing enough to distance himself from the calls and their charges (but that is my opinion on the matter).
Second, and most importantly – so important I’m going to bold it on another line:
Where was this effort in 2008?
Jeff Frederick and his supporters have done more in the last three weeks to defend him and their record than they did in all of last year to help Virgil Goode, Thelma Drake, Jim Gilmore, John McCain, heck, more than they did to help Joe Murray in the 46th or Pat Herrity in Fairfax.
Frederick and some of his supporters don’t come across to me as trying to do right by the Republican Party and its activists and members. They’re trying to do right by themselves and Frederick, the consequences be damned.
The thing is, he is Chairman and his job is to do what is right for the Republican Party. We need someone who’s going to lead the charge, not only fight when he’s backed in a corner and only when it’s his ass on the line.
Jeff Frederick has managerially done little that has not rewarded Jeff Frederick. He was supposed to be this young guy all fired up and ready to come out swinging for the party and it didn’t materialize. In fact, we got whooped last year instead of turning it around. There was no fighting. And while a lot of that is on the lack of message he did very little to help that or in spite of that and that’s just not good, strong leadership that the RPV needs right now.
But his response and that of some of his supporters, the whole “we’re going to take everyone down with us” mentality, it’s destructive and the exact opposite of what his job is.
To those not in the know the SCC tried to remove Frederick at the Homestead. It did not go as planned. Take a few seconds and think about how that plays into all this. Especially charge 4,5,6 which are related to events that happened at the Homestead…
Max, I’m not in the know. That must mean that particular attempted ousting was done quietly.
Do you suppose that previous failed attempt might have been impetus to go public with a public beating along with it BECAUSE, past “quiet” attempts failed?
Hmmm…..more evidence that the SCC went public.
Who took the Twittergate thing public again? Who turned Democrat discord from something to take advantage of on Democrats to an opportunity to stab Frederick in the back?
I do agree with Jason that support for Gilmore was sorely lacking. Just like it was ever since Gilmore left office. The Libs continually pummeled Gilmore in the press and blamed him for a national recession. The Republican party did precious little to defend Gilmore from the withering endless storm. Maybe all those RINOs were content to see a good fiscal conservative that kept his word go down in flames. Although…….Frederick wasn’t in the chair yet.
Jason, everything you say about Frederick and backers bringing the RPV down with them can be said about those ousting him. They’ve proven nothing and will terribly damage the party. It is the ousters that started this “all or nothing” scenario.
Frederick became chair the day Gilmore received the nomination. Twittergate became public because the dems pay attention to the opposition. Obviously I am not changing your mind nor would I want to but when the entire delegation of Republican Congressman and your candidate for governor want you out its time to go, period. Not to mention every GOP state senator minus 1. Even the ultra conservatives in the state senate like Newman and Obenshain. Party’s over.
Frederick would have been better suited for running for governor or lt governor again McDonnell or Bolling not RPV chair were you actually have to play well with all types of Republicans.
Max
I was there at the Homestead and can surely tell you that DID NOT happen. Please you cant tell lies while calling others liars… its bad form dude
At the end of the day… whats more important the Republican Party or Jeff Frederick… pick one cause obviously we cant have both.
Lee Talley,
There was most certainly an effort to remove Jeff Frederick at the Homestead. There was talk of it from many on the executive and state central committees, and to my knowledge a resolution had been formally drafted. The actual vote never took place because those who were conspiring knew they did not have the required votes. I was working for a member of the executive committee from the time Frederick was elected until last month. I can assure you that these people have been out for Frederick’s head in a far less public way for a long time.
The Republican Party is a joke, whats going on here with Frederick is evidence enough. I would be a better chairman in terms of logistical management than anyone. Unless you have read and understand the Art of War you truly have no business anywhere near political leadership of the RPV Chairman’s magnitude.
Ugh, Max. Stop talking out of your ass. Let the process run its course and hold judgment until after.
This is a problem with blogs. Often we wind up back where we were in high school, gossiping about the popular (and unpopular) kids.
We air too much of our dirty laundry on here.
I know, I sound like a self-hater now but I wish we’d all exercise more restraint on here.
Aaron Gulbransen:
Quite the contrary, I think blogs have performed a valuble service in pressuring the factions to get information into the public. This way rank-and-file Republicans can have a more informed opinion in this important issue and express it to their SCC members.
I’d like to see even more evidence out there from both sides. I’m sure there is material that cannot be released due to its sensitive nature, but I think there’s more material that neither side is releasing because they’re playing an inside game.
SCC is supposed to represent grassroots Republicans. That only works if grassroots Republicans know what’s going on and can lobby the SCC members they elected.
Jason,
You write, “It wasn’t RPV fighting in the trenches last year, it was assorted organizations working around RPV. 2009 looks to be the same, especially if one looks to Joe Murray’s fight in the 46th, the same district that contains the Alexandria City committee that voted almost unanimously to support Frederick’s removal.”
I don’t know all the details, but I do know that RPV was quite active in the campaigns where you suggest they were absent, including Joe Murray’s and Pat Herrity’s races. I am pretty sure there was a wide range of assistance provided, but I know for a fact that included having paid staff on the ground to augment the efforts by the candidates and the local committees. One can contrast this with what constituted business as usual before Frederick took over: LeAnn Washington’s bid to fill Rob Wittmann’s House of Delegates seat in early 2008. In that race RPV provided scarely more than words of encouragement…no staff on the ground, no imported volunteers, no significant money,. Result? A heavily GOP district was lost by an embarrassing margin.
I understand where you’re largely coming from, but I think this and other issues (like your apparent certainty that Frederick is behind the robocalls despite his disavowal of any knowledge or connection to it) suggest that you’re not coming to this controversy with an open mind. That’s fair enough, but I’d at least ask you to not repeat the demonstrable mistake of saying RPV hasn’t been in the trenches, when very much the opposite has been true.
[...] RPV Chair Jeff Frederick goes on offensive to save job. Best coverage to be found on Bearing Drift. [...]
I guess Steve A.’s assertion that Fredrick somehow was like manna from heaven to those involved in special elections doesn’t quite fly any more now that every one of those chairmen have come out for Jeff’s removal.
This guy has been worse than a boil on the ass of the body politic.
Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto.
Roboto: the only argument along those lines that one can reasonably infer from what I wrote is that if the unit chairmen in those districts oppose Jeff Frederick, it’s probably for something other than the vastly improved support for local elections provided by RPV now, relative to RPV before Jeff Frederick was elected.
This entire episode has been fueled in large part by a host of innocent misconceptions conflated with malicious innuendo and amplified by endless repetition. It’s run rampant, IMHO, in part because people tend to lend credence to unrebutted charges, whether they are true or not. Left unchecked, untrue charges soon gain the weight of truth. Need an example? Ask a typical voter whether Sarah Palin ever actually said she could see Russia from her house.
I guess what I’m saying is that the same type of thing (albeit a lot less funny) is true here, where after sampling the internet echo chamber many people seem to have have become primed to believe just about anything negative they read about Jeff Frederick (see, e.g., Roboto’s charming last sentence). We’re all Republicans here, so I think it’s important that we be careful not to feed that phenomenon, whether you like Frederick or not. If the effort against him has legs, let those legs be actual facts.
“Commentary by Jason Kenney cross-posted at J’s Notes. Opinions expressed here to not necessarily reflect those of Bearing Drift.”
Then why post it on BD?
No Guts, but its Gory!
I love how Frederick’s fans talk about facts and not letting maliciousness and mindless repetition have a part in the party.
Yet what kind of campaigns, tone and general demeanor has our illustrious chairman been noted for from the beginning?
Live by the sword, die by the sword, Steve.
Steve is absolutely right on target.
This is the same tactic used against Gilmore ever since he cut the car tax and left office. Gilmore was endlessly found guilty in the media for an economy shackled by a NATIONAL recession that was beyond his control. The contiuned charges were not adequately rebuffed and in the public’s eye, Gilmore must have been bad for Virginia.
Steve you nailed it.
Fact of the matter Steve/Britt:
Gov. Warner actually spent $200 million more in his first budget following Gov. Gilmore’s last… Courtesy of the $1 Billion Surplus Gilmore built up.
You know for one year the Government was only able to spend less than 1% more than the previous year’s budget during a recession. Govt. actually had to live like the citizens who fund it… GASP!
Of course after that it was ‘Game on’…. as you describe.
The sad fact of this affair is that all those that clamored for more spending are those behind Frederick’s ouster….. Did someone mention that the VA GOP Senators want Frederick gone? Really, can’t imagine why?
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