5th District ‘also-rans’ Missing Big Picture
By D.J. Spiker | Sunday, January 24th, 2010 | PoliticsI admittedly don’t pay too much attention to the 5th District nonsense that’s been festering so far this year. While a resident of the 3rd District, I’m left to suffer beneath Bobby Scott; with affiliations in the 2nd District I can poke, stoke and prod candidates to assist people who can actually cast a vote in their favor. The 5th, however, is the opposite side of the state, and given the hubbub that persists from that direction, I’ve steered clear.
Then a facebook friend of mine posted a link to an article from the WaPo.
By all rights, Tom Perriello should have almost no chance to win reelection to Congress. He’s a stimulus-backing, health-care-reform-loving, cap-and-trade-supporting liberal Democrat who represents a conservative central Virginia district where antipathy to the president and all things Washington runs high.
Perhaps too high. Perriello’s opponents are so divided about who is the best conservative to replace him that they are transforming what should be a gimme for Republicans into a national emblem of GOP strife, potentially setting up a replay of the special election in Upstate New York in November that handed the Democrats a seat in a region they hadn’t represented in more than 100 years.
Now, to compare the race to the NY23 fiasco would be a stretch; there’s no smoke-filled room anointing a candidate, the front-runner, State Sen. Robert Hurt is not a pro-choice, pro-union, pro-big government, pro-card check, pro-gay rights candidate (by the way typing all those in a row again brings to mind what the hell was NY thinking?) However, with five or six other candidates vying for the nomination, with Virgil Goode making innuendo about an independent run, there could be a few similarities, but a comparison is still a stretch.
But, the Tea Partiers in the 5th have found themselves a platform from which to shout from the rooftops. With the 2nd District having no true easily backed Tea Party candidate (despite some people’s attempts to mantel Scott Rigell ‘establishment’ and ‘moderate’) the Tea Party looks to have the most impact in the 5th District. Party leaders voted for a primary, despite all candidates besides Hurt wanting a convention. Now, with the odds stacked higher than ever before, tea partiers vent to the press.
Verga:
“We want a conservative, not a situational Republican,” said Laurence Verga, a business owner from the Charlottesville area and one of five Tea Party candidates in the Republican primary. “I really believe the 5th District congressional election is about the soul of American politics.”
I must have missed where Robert Hurt, an elected Republican since 2001, was a ‘situational’ Republican. Did he switch parties?
Tea Party Leaders
“The fact of the matter is that Robert Hurt is the establishment candidate, and it appears that the GOP is doing everything it can to make sure he is the nominee,” said Bill Hay, who leads the Jefferson Area Tea Party organization in the Charlottesville area. “That’s causing a whole lot of bad blood right now between some of the Tea Party people.”
In case you miss the Tea Party mantra, establishment = BAD. Yeah, we got it Bill. So despite Hurt’s best efforts to appeal to the Tea Partiers, meetings, no-tax pledge, renouncing his vote for Mark Warner’s senseless tax increase, the Tea Party has virtually declared Robert Hurt, not Tom Perriello, public enemy #1. But at the end of the day, wouldn’t defeating Tom Perriello be the principle target? (and I’ll warn you, here’s where the train REALLY goes off the rails)
Bradley Rees
“If Robert Hurt wins, then we have an ideologically inconsistent congressman for a couple of decades,” said Bradley S. Rees, a conservative blogger and talk-radio host in Bedford. “I would rather we had an ideologically consistent Democrat who we can hammer on their records. We’ll get Perriello in 2012 — with a stronger, more consistent candidate.”
That’s right folks, former laughingstock candidate Bradley Rees has declared on behalf of the Tea Party that it’s better to have a Democrat in office. And not only that, but he thinks a swing district that carried Perriello to victory SOLELY on Obama’s coattails will be more attainable in 2012 than in 2010. 2010 being our best shot, if we had a better candidate lurking in the shadows, wouldn’t we have found him or her by now and be running them this year? Oh wait, we did. Robert Hurt.
Give me a break. This 5th District nomination fight is getting out of control. If the Tea Party says Hurt shouldn’t be the nominee, fine. Hurt has reached out to the Tea Parties, and they’re smacking the hand away like a petulant child. He jumps through their hoops, and they try storming his offices and plotting against him, in the tactic of ‘anyone but him.’ And why? Because he’s ‘establishment’ and based on ONE vote from six years ago?! COME ON!
Please, anyone from the 5th District give me a real reason you think Hurt shouldn’t be the nominee. I get you don’t like the NRCC tabbing or assisting candidates, got it loud and clear. I get that you didn’t like his 2004 vote, got that too. What else ya got? Because having Tom Perriello represent the great Commonwealth of Virginia is not on my agenda for November 2010 and why is it going to be on yours? You fight the fight and let the chips fall where they may. You want a candidate to back? PICK ONE. Play pin-the-tail on the Perri, spin the bottle, Uno, or paintball, just pick something to end this crap. Make the rest fall in line. McPadden had the right idea, let’s unite to fight Hurt. He just tried violating the party plan to do it. There’s SIX of them to choose from, you’re telling me that we can’t whittle out the nut-jobs and also-rans into a viable selection?
And then, when the dust settles, you have ___ and Hurt. And if so so loses, which he almost inevitably will, you tried, you gave it your best and you lost. Now you back Hurt, Hurt wins handily, and you have a Republican representing your district once again. Why are we making this any more difficult then it has to be? Oh, right. Establishment = BAD.
Tags:
Contribute for Conservatism!
Share this post
About the author
Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right...entrenched on the right as a member of the Establishment, proudly tattooed member of the Republican Party, bartender by trade serving both sides the libations needed to continue the debate and discourse. College student, ten years late, majoring in Public Policy and Administration with an eye to serving the conservative and Republican movement in the public or private sector. ducit amor patriae You can find D.J.on facebook, Twitter, or contact via email at gosport.conservative@gmail.com. You can find D.J.on facebook, Twitter, or contact via email at gosport.conservative@gmail.com.
We're 75% there! Thank you to everyone who has so far contributed! Just $2000 to go!
Comments
25 Responses to "5th District ‘also-rans’ Missing Big Picture"
how is Sen Hurt “establishment”? because he currently holds elected office? doesn’t that show he can campaign & win? don’t forget, challenger Ken Boyd from C-ville holds elected office.
is Sen Hurt “establishment” because Eric Cantor contributed to his campaign? I surely hope Sen Hurt gets contributions from many, many people outside of the district because it will take every precious penny to beat Perriello. don’t forget, Perriello has Obama/Soros/Pelosi/Rangel backing, plus those lovely “volunteers” ACORN. Verga contributed a big chunk of change to his own campaign. Do we want our candidates getting contributions from 450 people (including Eric Cantor: Hurt campaign) or just from a few people, including themselves: Verga campaign).
I am a tea partier. I am also a Hurt supporter. Many supporting the other candidates have forgotten Ronald Reagan’s 11th commandment: I will not speak ill of another Republican. Tom Perriello is rubbing his hands in glee at the in-fighting.
I’m confused.
Are you upset that the democratic process is playing itself out? Or just upset that the conservatives are daring the challenge Hurt?
Or worse, the hybrid: That these volunteers who have never really had much experience (granted) in positioning themselves in a campaign environment are expressing frustration at the process?
A little political maturity helps at times like these, not only for pols but for commentators on the race. Hurt cannot win without the support of conservatives. I REPEAT — Hurt cannot win without the support of the conservatives. Keep spearing them, and Perriello merely strokes his beard and grins.
So the middle ground must be chosen. Let the grassroots blow off steam, let them rant and rave, and ignore the fringe. When one or two of them aggregate some strength (Verga if his health holds out, Morton if she gets her campaign sorted out, McPadden if he keeps knocking debates out of the park) that’s when we get to see what kind of leader Hurt really is.
Let’s not forget that Hurt has some problems… the 2004 tax hike, the vote for HB 3202, and the benefits for same sex couples. Now that might not rattle cages in the 2nd, but it rattles cages in the 5th. Hurt has two rather massive obstacles to overcome… but that’s what GA session and the Morgan Griffith Machine is for.
The idea that Perriello won “solely” on Obama’s coattails is dangerously naive.
Agricola,
There are plenty of conservatives who back Hurt. But despite his outreach to tea party folks, they continue to plot and use an ‘anyone but him’ strategy that is foolhardy at best. The notion that Perriello would be better than Hurt is absurd; the idea that our chances increase in 2012 is even more so.
I appreciate knowing about the same sex couples vote, that one I wasn’t aware of. But I’m still looking for more sources of animosity than the two votes. I simply don’t see those as massive obstacles to the general public. Tea party folks may not like it, but they’re doing nothing to unite and fight, their mentality as i said seems to be a ‘anyone but Hurt’ one, and that is missing the big picture, bumping Perriello.
D.J., it seems naive to ignore the 2004 and 2007 votes. Like it or not, other Republicans who cast those same votes have been punished in Republican primaries. Look at Marty Williams over in your end of the state. Look at the 2nd District, where Drake was picked back in 2004 because some conservatives were unhappy with Stolle’s 2004 vote. Voting to raise taxes is not popular among Republicans.
[...] Bearing Drift weighs in [...]
DJ has just published the most spot-on analysis of what’s going on in the 5th I’ve seen in months.
Good job; everyone outside of the 5th is watching the internal fighting and war of words and wonder what the heck are they thinking? Beating an incumbent, even in a “Hard R” district like Va 5 is NEVER easy. Perrielo will have at least 2 million + dollars to both get his message out (and I’m sure it will be populist in nature) and to define his opponent as an “extremist”, no matter who the GOP nominates.
This sounds vaguely familiar. Oh, I know why… It’s what I’ve been saying!
We can’t simply wait until 2012. What if there is no “perfect” candidate then? Do we wait until 2014 to find a challenger conservative enough? If we decide to put this off until the right time comes and we have a GOP challenger that the entire party approves of, it will be too late, and Perriello will be like Rick Boucher: a good ol’ boy that can’t be as liberal as the Nat’l GOP paints him (or so it will seem in the eyes of the conservative/moderate-conservative base that makes up a huge voting block in the 5 CD). If you give him time, Perriello will be like a chameleon: Liberal in one part of the district and conservative in the rest of it.
The party cannot allow Perriello the opportunity to build a strong base of support that will be unwavering. With strong numbers in the northern part of the district, Perriello could only have to improve moderately in the rest of the disrtict to build a base of insurmountable support.
NotAndySere,
I’m not saying to ignore the votes, not by any means. They’re relevant and should be discussed. However, I need to see more definition of Hurt being a ‘moderate’ (which he’s not) than two votes out of hundreds he’s participated in throughout his political career. Those two votes should and will be discussed. But at the end of the day, politics is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately game, so what has Hurt done lately to be labeled a moderate?
Chris, solely may have been a bit strong, but Obama still pulled 48% of the vote; a number Perriello will not have this year to fall back on. The 5th will obviously be a tough fight, but it surely will be easier this year rather than 2012 like Rees stupidly suggested.
D.J.,
The problem, as Agricola has pointed out in the past, is that Perriello may try and maneuver to Robert Hurt’s right on some issues. Perriello could deceitfully project himself as a socially conservative Democrat with his history working in Catholic charities. Is Robert Hurt more conservative than Perriello? Yes. More socially conservative? Absolutely. However, Robert Hurt has not been quick to respond to the attacks leveled against him.
This process is a healthy thing that will ensure that our nominee is prepared and politically battle hardened for the general. If our nominees are chosen for us then they tend to be stale, with the obvious exception being Bob McDonnell.
I actually do not believe that there is a front-runner at this moment. Hurt has the most money, but money does not necessarily equal votes. Also, Hurt is not as well known in the northern end of the 5th, so although he is an elected official, he does not have district wide name recognition.
It will be interesting to see how the next two TEA Party debates go.
southside central is dead on, as usual, when he agrees with this post. The in-fighting might re-elect Perriello.
I’m sorry, but I’m a bit confused at what you mean by, “Hurt has reached out to the Tea Parties.” Unless you have been involved in Tea Party planning, you have NO clue what his campaign has done to try and “connect” with the tea parties. He waged his war against the tea parties in early January by calling Mark Lloyd a liar, stating the Hurt never committed to the debate in Charlottesville, which in fact was the real lie. And furthermore, Hurt’s campaign manager, Chris LaCavita, has done (in recent, as in even today, private communication with Tea Party leadership) nothing but try to bully and boss the Tea Parties around, specifically concerning the series of GOP debates being hosted by the 5th District Tea Parties. The contention has only escalated, and will indeed be brought to light sometime in the near future. You can speculate all you want about what the relationship is between Hurt and the Tea Parties, but you do not know the full truth. And it IS coming. And that is specifically why there is bad blood between Hurt and the Tea Party movement in the 5th district.
LaCivita is a consultant, Herring, not a campaign manager. Hurt’s campaign manager is Sean Harrison, who managed Barbara Comstock to victory in McClean and was one of the hottest free agent politicos available after the November elections.
If you’re saying that there has been no meetings between Hurt and Tea Party leaders and Hurt in fact did not sign a no-tax pledge then I’m mistaken. Those actions are ‘reaching out.’
Hey DJ
How did McPadden violate the party plan by calling for a “conservative convention”? Is there a rule that says candidates can’t get together prior to the primary to thin the herd? Seems to me like it would be a good idea.
Hurt? As far as I am concerned, the two votes for the biggest tax increases in Virginia history are almost enough to disqualify Hurt from the get-go. He deserted his party and principles on this. There was no need for a tax increase, and if he sponsored any bills to cut state programs and funding, rather than raise taxes, I am not aware of it. However, to give him the benefit of the doubt, I went to his website to read his explanation, or better yet, his mea culpa. What I found was two pages, one had photos of himself and his family, the other had a VERY SHORT BIO. There was not a single statement of policy or principle, nor any reason why he felt he was the best man to serve the district, nor any reason why anyone should vote for him. His website was like this for weeks, while every other candidate had comprehensive websites which covered issues in some detail. I found Hurt’s site very offensive. It suggested either arrogance, imbecility or fear. Does he think the voters are too stupid to care about issues? Or does he himself not care about issues? Or is he afraid of his past record? Finally, he did add some substance to his site, after this deficiency had been mentioned in various blogs. His website now stakes out conservative positions, but the last time I looked, there was no mention of his major tax increases. In fact, it paints a portrait of a TAX CUTTER, which is not the kind of straight talk and plain dealing we need today.
Your commentary also got things completely bass-ackwards in your depiction of Tea Party positions toward Hurt and vice-versa. They made every effort to treat all candidates equally. He initially agreed to participate in the candidate forums, and then backed out.
I wonder what is the basis for your mocking comment that “no smoked filled rooms” were involved, as in NY23? As the meeting was held in a public building, perhaps there was no smoking, but otherwise, I think the situations are rather similar. Six of the seven candidates issued a joint press release requesting that the selection be by convention. The Tea Party also campaigned for this method, as being best for the Republican Party and best for the taxpayers, which are obliged to bear the cost of a convention. The unit chairs, choosing to ignore the will of the candidates and the grassroots, opted for a primary. The vote was in closed session and by secret ballot. If you insist that no smoke filled room was involved, I think you are splitting hairs…. As a result, we now have a situation in which we could have a moderate nominee who wins the primary with less than 20% of the vote, while 80% of the vote is split among conservatives. Should that happen, I guarantee that many of those conservatives will stay home in November in disgust.
When Hurt voted for those tax increases, he displayed the character of a man who is probably willing “to go along to get along.” He says now he was misled by Democrats. I am sorry, but this is not a time for leaders who can fall for that kind of BS. We need candidates with fire in the belly. What do I mean by that? Watch the video of Reagan’s famous speech in 1964 for Goldwater. We need that kind of passion and commitment to constitutional values. I would say that all of the six candidates who spoke at the forum in Charlottesville have exhibited those traits in various degrees, but I think the one with the best grip on the issues and the best ability to motivate the electorate is Michael McPadden. His website is http://www.mcpaddenforcongress.com
Joe P, I’ll have to find it for you, I’m looking but I can’t find the information to quote directly. I agree with you, I think it makes complete sense, however doing so would be a violation of either Republican or federal election rules.
Clay,
You have the opportunity to vote on your nominee. NY23 did not. You may not agree with the process, but you still have the right.
I need to see a better grasp of issues from McPadden rather than appealing and throwing red meat to the extreme right. As I said in the other post, and just because it’s catchy, the 5th District is not Tea Party Idol. Defunding EPA is not an issue. Repealing everything Obama did is not an issue. Removing ourselves from NAFTA is not an issue.
For those of you who feel Hurt is a ‘moderate’ why is Blue Virginia, a progressive liberal blog, railing against his candidacy?
what did Reagan call the 11th commandment? “I shall not speak ill of another Republican?” Perriello is enjoying the infighting.
Now, let’s be honest. Reagan did a whole lot of speaking ill of another Republican in 1976 when he ran against a sitting Republican President. He only cited his 11th commandment when he was the frontrunner.
DJ-
The scenario I “stupidly” suggested is not the least bit far-fetched. There seems to be a great deal of misunderstanding regarding what the Tea Party movement represents, and the ground it will surely gain between now and 2012.
As for your “laughingstock candidate” line, I’d like you to explain what exactly you know about me (aside from slanted newspaper articles) and the impact I had on the 5th CD race. To have garnered 2100 petition signatures for a 3rd party run in 22 days, and still be called a “laughingstock” by you speaks more to your ignorance of the 5th District than anything else.
Judging from the other “facts” you lay out in the above post, it is quite clear that either your Google machine is broken or you, like our President, prefer to demagogue and pontificate directly from your arse.
Bradley,
Unless the Tea Party gains a majority of the 400,000+ registered voters in the district, it will remain a minority group. As such, any candidate will have to appeal to a majority, not just a few thousand (or to play along, a growing ten or twenty thousand by 2012) The idea that having a Democrat in office is more favorable to Hurt is absurd and misses the big picture. The idea that a replication of the 70%+ turnout from 2008 will happen again in 2012 is a dangerous assumption; again, 2010 is our best chance, if you haven’t found your preferred nominee yet, then he doesn’t exist. This is our chance, a chance we can’t squander regardless of how the Tea Party feels. At the end of the day, while the Tea Party has a voice, they do not speak for the majority of voters in the 5th District who will determine who their next Congressman is.
The Tea Party Movement is an American tradition. It comes from a tradition of local home rule, where government was no further from the governed than one day’s horseback ride, and individual interests were more important than are community interests. That led to a more involved citizen, through town hall meetings and even vigilante movements. The Tea Party Movement is but an extension of these American traditions and perfectly correct. It is what the elite few who want to rule the many, as the current Democrat Party and many old-line Republicans, would oppose. The differences are cited in the Changing Face of Democrats, Our Libertarian Roots Lost, on Amazon and claysamerica.com.
DJ-
Thank you for your reasoned response. I see your point, but your reasoning is based on a flawed premise. The “big tent” of Michael Steele cannot be built from the top down. It needs a structure first. Reagan outlined that structure nicely at CPAC in 1975 when he said the following:
“A political party cannot be all things to all people. It must represent certain fundamental beliefs which MUST NOT BE COMPROMISED TO POLITICAL EXPEDIENCY, OR SIMPLY TO SWELL ITS NUMBERS.” (Emphasis mine.)
I prefer to call this the “big stick” party. Those core principles are the structure for any future tent, and once candidates arise who are unwavering on those beliefs, the numbers will come. The main component in the growth of the Tea Party movement is a distinct lack of trust in our current batch of compromise-corrupted Congress critters (from both parties). The only way to regain trust is to earn it, by putting forth candidates who will not waver on core principles.
May I remind you of Samuel Adams’ words regarding an irate, tireless minority setting brushfires? If 9-12-09 was any indication, we are already well into bonfire territory, and Massachusetts made clear that the flames are still spreading.
As for my statement to Amy Gardner, I stand by it. Perhaps, if you had read the newsletter Hurt sent to his constituents just before the 2004 vote, you’d agree. There have been several such instances of Hurt saying one thing to ingratiate himself with the “great unwashed,” then turning around and not only dancing with the Devil in Richmond, but allowing the Dark Lord to lead. At least with Perriello, what he says he believes is what you get.
For further examples of Hurt’s situational ethics and seemingly flexible “principles,” NotAndySere has a great post giving 6 reasons why Hurt should not be the GOP’s nominee.
Please stop distorting Robert Hurt’s voting record. If you can’t run on the issues then don’t run. If you can’t stand the heat then get out of the kitchen. Do you think Virgil Goode voted against the Vets, children and the FairTax? I don’t think so either but that was his distorted voting record.
Leave your response