Ward Armstrong gets desperate

House minority leader Ward Armstrong has joined the small parade of rural Virginia Democrats who aren’t too keen on being identified with President Obama. In his most recent television ad, Armstrong says he’s not really like the President at all, what with being pro-life, pro-gun, anti-cap and trade and whatnot.

I’m sure those are sentiments that will go over quite well with the liberal base should Mr. Armstrong still entertain visions of running statewide.

In this particular ad, Ward makes a point of saying just how much he’s fighting against electric rate hikes. While this puts Armstrong firmly in line with the anti-corporate zeitgeist, it is an interesting stance to consider, particularly in light of a Jeff Schapiro column in which we learn that Ward has cashed any number of checks from power companies:

Armstrong depicts Poindexter as a handmaiden to Apco; that Poindexter blames customers — not the company — for big monthly bills; that he’s a beneficiary of the utility industry’s political largesse. With tortured logic that suggests desperation, Armstrong said in July that $100,000 contributed by utilities to GOP bosses was steered to a political-action committee working for Armstrong’s defeat.

Never mind that between 2007, when Poindexter was first elected to the House, and 2011, Armstrong harvested about $101,000 from Apco, Dominion, other utilities and their lobbyists. Over the same four years, Poindexter collected nearly $11,000 from power companies.

It may be a case of the old saying that if you can’t eat their food, drink their liquor, take their money and vote against them, you don’t belong here. Or it may be, as Jeff surmises, that Armstrong is getting desperate.

But back to this matter of Armstrong not being in line with, or politically akin to, the President. Let’s rewind the tape and bask in Ward’s “Little Red Hen” moment on the House floor where he excoriated Republicans for daring to oppose the multi-billion dollar federal stimulus bill and how eagerly he looked forward to spending the money (which was sure to make a difference in his district). And see if you can spot the bonus reference to tax hikes:

Armstrong had to have made a rather adorable Little Red Hen. But that child actor is now a pol looking desperately to hold on to a job…which makes him a lot more like the President than his ads will ever admit.

We interviewed the Republican in the 9th district race, Del. Charles Poindexter, on “The Score.” That interview can be heard here.

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About the author

Norman Leahy

Norm Leahy has written about Virginia and national politics online since 2002, beginning with One Man's Trash (OMT), and continuing through Bacon's Rebellion (both the blog and the e-zine), Sic Semper Tyrannis, NBC12's Decision Virginia, Richmond.com and Tertium Quids. He is the chief blogger at "The Score" and a producer of "The Score" radio show as well as being a Washington Examiner contributor.