A few weeks ago, Politico published a catch-all hit piece on Barbara Comstock that D.J. McGuire picked apart quite easily. But if there is one thing we can recall about the Clinton machine is how tenacious, and oily, it can be.
Consider the latest swipe taken at Comstock. This one comes in the form of a colorful hand-out that a group called “South Forward” was distributing as it went door belling on behalf of Democrat John Foust this weekend.
The hand-out is pretty standard fare. Mrs. Comstock is a creature of the Richmond-DC “culture of corruption, with ties to a host of shady characters — Jack Abramoff, Scooter Libby and a new entrant, Bob McDonnell. The district “can do better,” and must choose Mr. Foust in November.
One expects sharp elbows to be thrown in an open seat congressional race. But this effort seeking to paint Comstock as just another bottom feeder exposes South Forward to questions about itself.
The group’s leadership includes Don Fowler, a former DNC chairman during the Clinton years. Mr. Fowler knows a thing or two about cultures of corruption, having been in charge of the DNC when it was found to be raising illegal foreign contributions (from friends of the Clintons). President Clinton threw Fowler under the bus once the donations became public knowledge and had to be refunded. The President told investigators (one of whom was Mrs. Comstock):
…”people who were in high positions of responsibility” left after the plan was uncovered. Those leaving the DNC in late 1996 were its chairman, Donald Fowler, and Marvin Rosen, the DNC’s finance chairman.
“Marvin Rosen resigned and then Don Fowler left,” Mr. Clinton said. “Everybody that was responsible for it was gone.”
Gone, yes. But Mr. Fowler left a few other surprises behind him. Mr. Fowler, then, appears to have several axes to grind with Mrs. Comstock stemming from his days as DNC chairman.
But South Forward is even more interesting because of its executive director, Jay Parmley. Mr. Parmley is best known for his stint as executive director of the North Carolina Democratic party, where he was forced to resign in the face of sexual harassment charges from a male employee. The party initially tried to keep the matter, and its settlement, quiet. When it hit the papers, Parmley was forced out, though he did seek to shift the blame :
Parmley, who served less than a year at the helm of the party, denied harassing any employee and blamed right-wing political enemies for “spreading a false and misleading story.”
“Even though I have not done anything wrong, it is clear to me that I need to move on,” Parmley wrote in his resignation letter. “I refuse to be a distraction.”
Weep not for Mr. Parmley, as he appears to have landed on his feet, right beside Mr. Fowler, heading a group that is attempting to revive Democratic fortunes in the South.
Or, in the case of the 10th congressional district race, testing themes and sharpening tactics to be used in a Hillary Clinton presidential run.
Yes, 2016 is still a ways off. But Virginia, with its yearly elections, is a perfect test bed for national campaigns looking for the next Big Thing to deploy in national elections. Last year’s gubernatorial election gave us Terry McAuliffe and the “war on women” assault. This year, it looks like ethics and corruption, plus Medicaid expansion (where Foust has genuine trouble) are the themes worth testing. Not a bad play. But one would think Democrats would use messengers who aren’t, themselves, ethically challenged.
Perhaps that doesn’t matter. Because aside from testing new themes — as well as doing the door-to-door campaigning Mr. Foust is loath to do himself, South Forward is playing far from home for reasons that are entirely personal. Barbara Comstock was part of a team of investigators looking into the shady fundraising practices of the Clintons and the DNC back in the 1990s. She was good at it — good enough to help chase Mr. Fowler from his perch as party chairman.
The Clintons do not want someone like Comstock in Congress, particularly as Mrs. Clinton preps for her second White House run. Barbara knows how the Clintons and their underlings operate and what they are capable of.
Better, then, to try to prevent her from getting to Congress in the first place. And using Don Fowler and a disgraced former state party E.D. to do it? That’s just how they roll.
