(Updated with NRCC/WSJ info) Taylor explains “endorsements”; Rigell outraises everyone; Loyola’s wife has a baby; Golden submits a joint resolution
Some rumors have been circulating to me via email about Scott Taylor’s endorsements from Rep. Duncan Hunter and Virginia Beach School Board Chairman Dan Edwards…rumors to the effect that they never were.
Regarding the Hunter endorsement, the Taylor campaign insists that it is legit, and that Hunter has both authorized a statement of support and will be appearing at a fundraiser for Taylor on March 5 with former Survivor star and Navy SEAL Rudy Boesch.
According to the Taylor campaign, “We will stay true to our conservative message of fiscal responsibility, energy independence and strong national defense. We will never attack or defame any other candidate in such a loathsome and repulsive manner as has been done to us. The citizens of the Second Congressional District deserve better than nauseating gutter politics.”
The Taylor campaign also referred to another campaign having the “funding” to launch these attacks, which, if you read between the lines, is that they believe these rumors are being spread by the Rigell campaign.
But there might be some truth to the Edwards’ rumor.
The only time that endorsement appeared in public was in a post by DJ Spiker who said that it the endorsement was forthcoming…it never did.
When I emailed Edwards this past week if he was endorsing Taylor, I received a blunt, “NO,” with no explanation.
Certainly that’s the case now, but that’s now how the Taylor campaign saw it in January.
“Scott Taylor met with Dan Edwards and was under the impression he was to be endorsed,” wrote the Taylor campaign in a response to a Bearing Drift query. “We received a message backing out of authorizing a quote for our campaign and have not issued any official endorsement statement. We are happy to have the financial support from Dan Edwards and understand the position he is in.”
Edwards wrote a check to the Taylor campaign.
In related news, Virginia Beach City Councilman and former Fire Chief Harry Diezel has had no problem unequivocally endorsing Taylor:
“I am pleased to endorse Scott Taylor for US Congress. Taylor understands the importance of public safety and the issues confronting our citizens.”
And another member of the House Armed Services Committee, Congressman Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), has also endorsed Taylor.
Fundraising
Over the weekend, we learned that Scott Rigell had a solid fundraising quarter, as well as more about how the other candidates are doing.
Rigell raised from individual contributors for the reporting period covering October 1 through December 31, 2009, a total of $113,784. He also matched the support of his donors by contributing $100,000 of his personal money for a total of $213,784 raised during the quarter. This brings Rigell’s cash-on-hand to over $500,000 – with 80% of his donors coming from Hampton Roads or the Eastern Shore.
Additionally, Rigell received good news today from both the NRCC and the Wall Street Journal.
First, the NRCC has upgraded Rigell’s status in the “Young Guns” program to contender, based on benchmarks for fundraising, press, campaign management, grassroots, etc.
“Scott has done a fantastic job doing all the things that winning campaigns do, which is why he’s being moved up from ‘On the Radar’ (first step) to ‘Contender’ (second step),” said Andy Sere of NRCC. “‘Young Gun’ is the third and final step, which makes a candidate eligible for any and all assistance NRCC may be able to offer in the fall.”
Also, Rigell was featured today in the WSJ.
However, Rigell is not the only one doing well. Bert Misuzawa is perhaps the surprise candidate of the race – according to his Dec. 31 report, he has raised over the course of the campaign $203,000, with nearly 75% of it coming from donations. He has $193,000 on hand. There is some question though regarding the number of donors from within the district.
Contrast Misuzawa with Loyola, and they both have raised about the same amount – the big difference is Loyola has self-funded about 75% of it and now has only $100,000 left.
The Taylor campaign reports having $26,000 on hand and raised $23,000. Taylor self-funded $10,000 via a loan, but still had over 150 donors…. almost all of them smaller donations and unitemized in the report.
Ken Golden only just entered the race, so there is not much financial data available for him and Ed Maulbeck is running on a shoe-string.
Loyola’s baby
In other matters, congratulations to Ben Loyola and his wife, Gretchen, on the birth of their daughter Isabel Ann on Jan. 28! Which got Loyola to thinking a little about the recent actions of Congress to raise the debt ceiling yet again:
“Congress is like the guy who maxed out credit cards wasting money on things he couldn’t afford, and then thinking he’d solve his problems if he got another credit card,” explained Loyola. “The problem is spending, and Congress has shown it can’t stop.”
The national debt currently is $40,000 for each man, woman and child in America and this increased it to $46,000.
“The leadership in Congress is writing checks that we can’t cash anymore,” added Loyola. “Congressman Glenn Nye supports Speaker Nancy Pelosi and his token votes pale in comparison to his vote to make her Speaker of the House.”
“In retrospect, it’s the most expensive vote he could’ve made.”
Golden Resolution
Additionally, Ken Golden also piled-on Nye regarding the congressman’s handling of an aircraft carrier moving to Mayport, Fla. Golden wrote a joint resolution for the House of Delegates, which Del. Bob Tata will be introducing.
“Congressman Nye and Senators Warner and Webb have failed to make a cohesive argument against the Navy’s proposed move of at least one carrier to Florida,” Golden said. “The resolution I delivered to Delegate Robert Tata of Virginia Beach lays out the logical case against the relocation of any aircraft carrier to Florida, and why such a move would be a disaster for national security, fleet preparedness, and fiscal sensibility.”
“The region stands to lose a minimum of 10,000 jobs and over one percent of its gross regional product,” Golden explained. “Thus, the loss of one or more carriers would drive a dagger into the Hampton Roads’ economy. It is not only the carriers that will move, but also the families of the sailors, the support staff, and perhaps even the entire battle group. The ripple effect through the economy will be several times that of the closing of the Ford plant.”
Category: Campaigns and Elections
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GovGirl, ask anyone on the UDT SEAL email list that Taylor got a hold of. This was not a voluntary email list that people joined to receive Taylor updates yet he keeps sending them. Someone appearing at an event or fundraiser is not an endorsement. You can pay Rudy to appear just about anywhere. I could give that guy $100 and he’d show up at my house for dinner. I am sure this is true of just about every political figure. You give them money, they show up. An endorsement is saying ‘I vote for you and I put my name on your name.’ Not pay me $100 and I’ll show up at your event.
Naysayers anonymous. 12 step program…. the first step is denial.
Also, if your argument is you could pay anyone(politicians included) to show up to do events and fundraisers for you…. Can you remind me who showed up to Rigell’s kickoff?
The same people were on here talking about “de facto” endorsements from Bob that are now angered over another Republicans success. No wonder the party is “damaged”.
Jimmy, not sure who showed up to Rigell’s kickoff. Was it someone who endorsed him? Friend of his? Or someone that gets paid for appearances? And, was there an entrance fee to come to this event like there is for Taylor’s Hunter even?
What a horrible thing to say about Rudy. That man served this nation for decades. I highly doubt he is getting paid. Chris, if you were half the man Rudy was you would never post such a deplorable cowardlike comment.
Well if you knew the answer you could respond to me instead of just igniting tensions.
Chris/Rigell Supporter,
“You can pay Rudy to appear just about anywhere. I could give that guy $100 and he’d show up at my house for dinner.”
Is that how you show respect to a veteran? I was hoping you wouldn’t sink as low as talking trash about an elite member of our military. I certainly hope you aren’t in the military or a military wife in disguise. If so, thats pretty sad.
Is Rudy being paid? Easy enough to dismiss. What’s the deal?
Chris, that is right, Congressmen from CA just travel around getting paid to show up at fundraisers . . . when you reach the realm of the illogical you know your arguments have lost. What do you think we are, stupid? A member of Congress is not going to headline an event for a candidate with whom they do not agree/support, this is not rocket science people. That is like Obama saying he went to Rev. Wright’s church for 20 years but didn’t agree with anything he said – it does not pass the basic elementary logic test. So one can assume that if he is headlining an event for Taylor, he supports Taylor. I don’t see him making the rounds to anyone else’s campaigns – oops, but there I have hit on the problem haven’t I? It is a big deal to be supported by longtime incumbent members of Congress, especially ones that sit on the Armed Services Committee and Taylor’s competition can’t stand it.
Govgirl,
I am pretty certian that I received an email about the Edwards “endoresment” as well from the Taylor campaign. It came on my phone, which I read and deleted, but I am sure it is stil on my personal email at home. I will look for it and post what I found.
JM, I looked, there was NEVER any official message sent out about Edwards.
@Ripley, my question about Rigell’s eligibility to hold a District Chair or for that matter, become a member of the “Official Committee” goes back to the Virginia Republican Plan (amended 11-09) Section C. “Removal”, second paragraph:
“A member of an Official Committee is held to a higher standard of support for nominees of the Republican Party than an individual who merely participates in a mass meeting, party canvass, convention or primary. Therefore, a member of an Official Committee is deemed to have resigned his Committee position if he
(a) makes a reportable contribution to and/or
(b) allows his name to be publicly used by and/or
(c) makes a written or other public statement in support of a candidate in opposition to a Republican nominee in a Virginia General or Special Election. Such member may be re-instated by a majority vote of the other members of the Committee.”
Has Rigell been granted a waiver for his actions against the Republican Party?
“The Republicans’ current surge is a two-edged sword for the GOP in some places. With the 2010 elections looking like a good opportunity for Republicans – a trend underscored by last week’s victory for Scott Brown (R) in Massachusetts – hotly contested and often divisive primaries or conventions are developing which could threaten the GOP’s potential victories, much like the party split that elected a Democrat for the first time in decades last November in New York’s 23rd District.
The Virginia GOP is a prime example of the anti-Obama agenda resulting in too much of a good thing. The intense opposition to the president’s liberal domestic proposals, especially health-care reform and “cap-and-trade” curbs on industrial emissions, has taken on somewhat populist dimensions, with hotly contested primaries threatening to divide Old Dominion Republicans.”
from http://www.southernpoliticalreport.com/storylink_126_1232.aspx
Jared, I know Rudy personally, yes, he gets paid to appear everywhere. I’ve served longer than he has so don’t bring that into it unless you know someone.
Jimmy, I don’t know the answer to that question. I was asking you.
All I am saying is Taylor’s campaign is blaming DJ and other campaigns for the false Edwards endorsement. This is shameful. Taylor’s campaign itself sent out emails regarding this endorsement. For their campaign to blame it on anyone except for themselves is inaccurate. It has already been pointed out it was posted on Taylor’s Facebook page as well. Stand up and take responsibility for your actions Taylor campaign. Quit playing the blame game.
I find it hard for someone to say that you are being ‘endorsed’ by an individual and not paying for their appearance when you are charging $75 to $600 for entrance and a photo op.
Chris – this is the second time you have accused the Taylor campaign of sending out an email, however you have still failed to produce said email. Also they are not blaming anyone, what they are saying is that they did not lie about an endorsement from Edwards, it was rumored that he would endorse (per both DJ’s and this BD posting) and this was based on a conversation with the campaign. However, Edwards backed out of making the endorsement and no official campaign announcement was ever made. It is not wrong for the Taylor campaign to defend themselves against the deliberate smears and accusations being leveled against them. In addition to this, can you not read? Everything I said, was said in JR’s article, which you obvioulsy did not bother to read before making such ridiculous statements
GovGirl, ‘Regarding the Hunter endorsement, the Taylor campaign insists that it is legit.’ (claiming Edwards endorsement)
‘Scott Taylor met with Dan Edwards and was under the impression he was to be endorsed,’ wrote the Taylor campaign in a response to a Bearing Drift query.’ (sending email to this effect)
‘The Taylor campaign also referred to another campaign having the “funding” to launch these attacks, which, if you read between the lines, is that they believe these rumors are being spread by the Rigell campaign.’ (and this is where your campaign is obviously trying to blame another campaign)
GovGirl from Taylor’s campaign. Check your sent box for the scott@anytimefitness-va-virginiabeach.ccsend.com and you will find what the email.
Well the answer “Chris”, is this: you say Taylor is paying for someone to show up at an event for him. Have you not looked at the laundry list of donations by Rigell to any and every person who he thinks can help him? They showed up to the event for him.
Also, just because someone infers that it was a shot to Rigell, was it?
Not everything has to be about him, as much as y’all want it to be.
The Rigell camp seems to have a problem with Kenny Golden, Ben Loyola, Scott Taylor and Bert Mizusawa because they will not roll over and bow to the almighty. The party is “damaged” because of exactly this.
TimJ.
You are referring to an action taken against a city committee member who engages in such activity. When Rigell made the contribution or stated positive comments about BHO (according to previous posts), he did this before he was a member of city committee. Therefore he was not in a position to be “re-moved”, since he wasn’t a member of CC at the time. He is a member in good standing now and was elected to the committee by a majority of committee members.
I mean if you want to discuss the issue regarding the contribution by all means do so. But your interpretation of the situation as it pertains to the State Party Plan is inaccurate.
Jimmy, I don’t know. I don’t get Rigell emails. I shouldn’t get Taylor emails either. I’m just saying I got the Taylor emails he claims he didn’t send and they said he was ‘endorsed’ not that these people were showing up to an event. The event they were showing up at is charging $75 minimum. I know Rudy, he charges for appearances. I know several political figures charge for appearances. Were these people that showed up endorsing Rigell or just attending an event? I just see a difference between showing up somewhere for someone and actually putting your ‘brand name’ on someone.
Look at any endorsement page Chris…
Sorry to disappoint you Chris, but I am not from the Taylor campaign – don’t even live in the district, just know a smear when I read one, especially when I read it SEVERAL times.
GovGirl, yes, yes, the fact that you heard something several times definitely means it’s a smear. It couldn’t possibly mean that it’s true.
Chris,
Since you were the SOURCE off all afor mentioned smears it is a little difficult to take your claim to that making it accurate seriously. Still waiting for you to produce the email by the way.
GovGirl, there are other people on here claiming to have received the same email. There is also a reference to a post on Facebook. I gave you the source, look it up.
Chris – I tried, surprise, surprise it didn’t go anywhere. Plus, I am a little confused as to how you would have access to the sent mail of a private business owner, pretty sure that is illegal. Yes, there is ONE other person, who has also not produced said email. And the facebook reference is a link to the BD story. So, keep trying – if this email exists wouldn’t it be easy to just copy and paste it into the browser? Just saying.
@Ripley, so the answer to my question based on your interpretaton of the rule is that there is a “statue of limitations” where previous support and indiscretions become history when a member petitions for membership to the committee.
So in Rigell’s case, his contributions and support for Democratic candidates and causes are can’t be used as issues because they happened before he was a committee member.
The other candidates and the Republican party will be pleased with your interpretation of their Plan.
Chris & GovGirl – it’s a moot point. Regardless of whether there was an email from Taylor about the alleged Edwards endorsement, Taylor previously publicized the endorsement via Facebook. I just looked at Taylor’s Facebook page, and the post has now been removed. That was the honorable thing to do, even though it should have been done long ago. Hopefully his campaign will be more careful in the future.
Tim J. – you wrote “Now there is Taylor taking liberties with bogus endorsements and Rigell having to do the same having to walk back a bogus endorsement from Adm. Jack Cavanaugh.” Don’t just throw that kind of stuff out there; show proof. Where and when did Rigell claim an endorsement from Admiral Cavanaugh that did not exist? I don’t see any such endorsement anywhere on Rigell’s website or Facebook page, nor have I heard any mention of such an endorsement. You seem to bash Rigell a lot. While I’m sure he’s a big boy and more than capable of handling it, I personally expect more from the local party activists. Be credible if you’re going to post here. Don’t forget that the ultimate goal is getting Glenn Nye out of office, not ripping apart our local candidates. Any of our local candidates would be better than Glenn Nye!
Tim J.
I just answered your question based on the rule that you posted. You cited a clause in the party plan dealing with the removal of city committee members who engage in one or more of three listed activities. In my view he engaged in clause #1 – giving money to a candidate other than a Republican. Again he did this before he was a member of the committee, thus he faces no discipline for it. The clause also stipulates that a member can be re-instated by a majority vote of the other members of the committee (your statute of limitations issue)
You seem to be missing the fine point, which is that Scott Rigell filed his application to become a member of the Virginia Beach Repulican City Committee, it was reviewed…his membership was voted on and he was elected by a majority of the membership to join.
Also, you didn’t comprehend my post, since I said if you want to discuss the issue of the contribution, go ahead, but your interpretation of the party plan and how it is applied to Rigell’s current membership in the local party is inaccurate.
“A member of an Official Committee is held to a higher standard of support for nominees of the Republican Party than an individual who merely participates in a mass meeting, party canvass, convention or primary. Therefore, a member of an Official Committee is deemed to have resigned his Committee position if he
(a) makes a reportable contribution to and/or
(b) allows his name to be publicly used by and/or
(c) makes a written or other public statement in support of a candidate in opposition to a Republican nominee in a Virginia General or Special Election. Such member may be re-instated by a majority vote of the other members of the Committee.”
Has Rigell been granted a waiver for his actions against the Republican Party?
@Local Conservative, if the current crop of candidates can’t stand up in this small forum to account for their history, policies, endorsements or personal ethics, then the Democrats will lead them to slaughter in the upcoming election. If you haven’t noticed lately, Nye is voting with Wittman and Forbes on almost every vote taken.
That is one steep hill to climb for any Republican candidate who is going to try to differentiate themselves as better and more conservative in the election. A fall campaign fundamental issue right now is that Nye voted for Pelosi as Speaker, but he has voted against her with Forbes and Wittman more than not. And furthermore, Rigell donated more to Obama than Nye did during the last election.
There has been a lot of talk recently about independents and Tea Party folks merging with the Republican party eventually, when Republicans finally adopt core conservative principles. That will not happen as long as you put up RINO candidates, dressed up as a Republicans and using conservative makeup.
@Ripley, point taken and you are right. Rigell joined after the fact and before the clause in this rule was amended in October of 2009.
Tim, you and I are in full agreement that “if the current crop of candidates can’t stand up in this small forum to account for their history, policies, endorsements or personal ethics, then the Democrats will lead them to slaughter in the upcoming election.” I’m all for a competitive primary. I want the strongest Republican candidate to win the nomination so that we’re in a good position facing Nye.
Now, back to my earlier question: where is your proof about this Rigell endorsement from Admiral Cavanaugh (or rather the lack thereof)? I dislike defamatory remarks about any of the candidates. If you don’t have proof, please retract.
Govgirl: If you are questioning whether or not Mr. Taylor’s campaign knew about the so-called endorsement by Mr. Edwards I would also refer you to DJ’s own thread announcing the endorsement. The first comment, by Scott W, is from Mr. Taylor’s campaign manager. I also called Mr. Taylor out on this SEVERAL (as you would put it) times on his Facebook page and via personal Facebook message. He did not take it down until just recently. I would have to say that they most certainly knew.
Chris: An endorsement is publicly declaring one’s support of a candidate. Duncan Hunter has not “endorsed” Mr. Taylor. Duncan Hunter is paid for appearances; all of the funds made through these appearances go towards his re-election campaign. This is not to say Mr. Taylor is paying Duncan Hunter, you will have to look at his finance report to determine that.
Since Govgirl will question this information, the non-endorsement as well as how Mr. Hunter is paid for appearances is verifiable through Congressman Hunter’s Campaign Office (619)463-3896.
@Logical Conservative,
Several weeks ago Admiral Cavanaugh was approached by several of the other 2nd District candidates for an endorsement. His response at that time was that he hadn’t endorsed anyone in the 2nd district, however Adm. Cavanaugh’s endorsement had been on Rigell’s website for months. Adm. Cavanaugh informed the Rigell campaign about the problem, and it has been removed from the Rigell for Congress website.
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