Read this only if you want the real dirt
By JR Hoeft | Monday, August 22nd, 2011 | PoliticsOK. Polls open in almost twelve hours for the primary campaigns.
That means it’s time for the goodies!
Unfortunately, it’s not that salacious, but there is still some stuff to consider in two races.
First, in the 22nd:
Why is Tom Garrett the sole benefactor of Louisa County largesse?
According to the Republican Party of Virginia Plan, Article VII, Official Committees; SECTION I. Endorsement of Candidates states:
An Official committee shall not endorse, nor contribute to from its funds, any candidate who is running for a Republican nomination for public office unless that candidate is unopposed for that nomination. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to prevent an Official Committee from endorsing a candidate running for public office where there will be no Republican nominee, nor to prevent a member or officer of an Official Committee, as an individual, from endorsing a candidate in a contested nomination.
Yet, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, the Louisa County Republican Committee has made three donations:
$500 to Bryce Reeves, $382 to the 11th District GOP Committee, and $500 to Tom Garrett
Two of the three donations are totally cool. Reeves is unopposed and nothing stops one committee from supporting another.
But donating to one candidate in the state’s most competitive GOP primary?
That’s a little odd.
Why would Tom Garrett even accept the money? He knows the rules, right? Well, as the one claiming to be the “law and order” candidate – one would at least expect that.
Let’s move onto the 39th.
Over the weekend, Miller Baker decided not to sign the American Tax Reform’s “no new taxes” pledge. This has given Scott Martin some decent ammunition and he’s jumped all over it:
This past Saturday, Americans for Tax Reform’s President (ATR), Grover Norquist himself sent out a recorded call, chastising Miller Baker, a State Senate candidate in the 39th District for refusing to sign the No Tax Pledge, and Reserving the Right to Raise Your Taxes.
Scott Martin, Miller Baker’s opponent in the 39th Senate District, signed the pledge to never raise your taxes over 8 months ago, and handed his pledge to Mr. Norquist himself, and stated, “I abhor taxes, and in our current economy, so damaged by Obama/Keynesian flawed economic policies, for someone to reserve the right to raise your taxes is equivalent to Obama?s liberal tax policies, and shouldn?t title themselves a Conservative, let alone a Republican. Miller Baker is no Republican.”
According to ATR’s website, in the neighboring 37th State Senate District, both candidates Jason Flanary and Steve Hunt recently signed the pledge not to raise taxes, as well as most of the elected Conservative leaders in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
But that’s not all.
In the 39th, each candidate is fighting over the “Tea Party” endorsement, but only Martin received it.
The Virginia’s Tea Party and the Northern Virginia Tea Party totally disavows itself of Miller Baker:
“To be clear, Miller Baker is not endorsed by Northern Virginia Tea Party or its organizational affiliates and Miller Baker is admonished to refrain from such false claims in the future.”
We’ve also received some hard-hitting criticism over endorsing Baker:
Miller Baker has run the dirtiest race I have ever witnessed. He has accused Scott Martin of campaign improprities and taken him to court twice to try to get his name off the ballot (these were both thrown out) just to name one example. He has embraced politics of personal destruction that we see far too much but he is very well-connected to people with deep pockets and that seems to be what really matters in politics these days. Scott Martin is a decent man who doesn’t resort to dirty politics, preferring to take the high road. He has been a bastion of integrity throughout this whole ordeal.
So, we’re not reconsidering our endorsement of Baker, but it’s clear that Martin is willing to fight this to the finish.
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About the author
Conservative to the core; liberal with his opinion! J.R. has been involved in politics for over a decade and has worked on several campaigns in Hampton Roads. He has served on the Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Chesapeake and the Central Committee of the Republican Party of Virginia. He is also the director of “Blogs United” in Virginia. E-mail J.R.. Follow J.R. on Twitter.
Comments
7 Responses to "Read this only if you want the real dirt"
Thank you for your endorsement of Miller Baker. He is indeed an honorable candidate who has been loathe to take issue with any of the misinformation that the Martin campaign has been spreading.
Miller has never filed any court cases relative to this election. What he did was ask for an internal review by the Republican party of the primary ballot petitions filed by Scott Martin. The reason for this request was that Miller became aware of perjury by Scott Martin regarding the witnessing of signatures collected for getting on the ballot.
The party declined to pursue. The reason? Who knows. Likely fear that were Scott Martin to be denied a spot on the primary ballot for reason of insufficient acceptable signatures, he might run an independent campaign. As I say. Who knows?
What I do know is that Scott Martin never denied the charge of fraud, and the “case” (read “internal discussions”) was not “thrown out”. Rather, the party declined to pursue the matter, again, likely because they wanted to avoid a situation where Scott Martin would decide to mount an independent campaign, thus giving the election to George Barker. I can’t say I disagree with this logic, although it is a tough pill to swallow. To see an honorable candidate maligned in an unjust manner, and a candidate with not much to offer in the way of integrity to bully his way through.
Thank you for writing Barbara. It has been most frustrating to witness the misinformation that has been put out by Scott Martin about such an honorable man as Miller Baker. I walked door to door for seven hours with Miller a couple of weeks ago and I was so impressed. He spoke only of his vision for Virginia and not once did he utter a single negative word about Scott Martin. His only comment when asked was: “Yes, my opponent is a conservative.” Let’s hope that tomorrow voters choose Miller Baker, a man of impeccable character and integrity, and the man with the experience necessary to represent Virginians in the State Senate.
Tea Party members in Northern Virginia are definitely supporting Miller Baker in the 39th district! His commitment to fiscal conservatism and accountability are right on target with tea party values. Miller’s keen understanding of the issues faced by the district, his well-reasoned approach to solutions and his experience and proven track record in constitutional law make him the most desireable candidate. Furthermore, he has proven his class and integrity by refusing to resort to a negative campain. Tackling the issues is Miller Baker’s priority, while his opponent continues with “politics as usual”.
I affiliate myself totally with the principles of the Tea Party AND support Miller Baker. Plus I know lots of others in the same boat – fed up with politics as usual and pleased to be VOTE for MILLER BAKER.
Wow! Lots of unsubstantiated charges against Scott Martin! Why is it Martin’s responsibility to disprove those claims? Shouldn’t it it be the accuser’s responsibility to prove their charges? But hey, why not throw out some dirt right before the election, and see what sticks, right? I guess some folks really WILL do anything to win.
The charges are not unsubstantiated – they are documented but the”powers that be” didn’t want to deal with them. Hey, what’s a little perjury between friends?
Eric, we have not said anything until now. The only reason I posted was to refute some of the many attacks Martin supporters have made against Miller Baker. In case you’re still confused, refer to the italicized portions of this thread.
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