Corey Stewart’s campaign has had the worst campaign week on record in recent campaign history, which is saying something. And every bit of it is self-inflicted. But this week’s events may just drive Stewart out of the Governor’s race.
It’s still just March, yet the Virginia press and new media folks have become accustomed to ignoring Corey Stewart’s campaign. His press releases fall on deaf ears, his pleas that Ed Gillespie isn’t a conservative haven’t resonated. His answer last week to the detailed and coordinated rollout of Gillespie’s tax cut plan was a one-off clearly rushed press release declaring he would somehow eliminate all Virginia income tax (no details, specifics or plan, now more than a week later). The only message that seems to have gotten any traction for Stewart’s campaign is he’s against removing a statute in Charlottesville.**
**Even this has struggled to completely resonate, as Stewart has struggled to reconcile his newly discovered passion for Virginia’s history with his praise last year for renaming a middle school named after a former segregationist Virginia governor … in his own county.
Somehow, this week, the media started paying attention to Corey Stewart, outside of removing a statue of Robert E. Lee. And it couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Stewart campaign.
The week started off with a widely shared Associated Press article on a Stewart ally’s falsification of a Washington Post headline. Stewart’s one-track campaign -– Robert E. Lee statue -– was reported on by the Washington Post back in February. A Gillespie statement — saying that he opposes removing the statute, there is state law prohibiting removal, but ultimately it’s a local issue — was bastardized by the Stewart ally into claiming Gillespie was okay with removing the statue.
That falsified headline was promoted and pushed across Facebook, until Facebook’s new terms of service required the post to be removed. Undeterred, Stewart’s team pushed it again, and Facebook removed it … again. The Associated Press article put Stewart’s camp squarely on the side of fake news, and ended any further false claims that Gillespie opposes statute removal.
Then, CNN dug into some background, and discovered that Stewart campaign staffers were editing and glorifying Stewart’s Wikipedia page. Negative citations removed, and neutral citations were reworded as positives! (Trump firing Corey Stewart was a good thing!) It’s a stupid story, but it was a stupid move.
Finally, the possible nail in the coffin: Corey Stewart went on Reddit for an AMA (ask me anything). In his pre-prepared opening and introduction, Corey talked himself up, and described Gillespie as a “cuckservative,” a racial slur deriding whites for not being white enough.
[1]
The fallout for Stewart’s campaign has been apocalyptic, and growing, as we speak.
The Republican Party of Virginia via Chairman John Whitbeck repudiated the campaign:
“The term ‘cuckservative’ is racist and its use is not acceptable in political discourse under any circumstance. I condemn the use of the term unequivocally and without exception. No Republican should ever use this type of language in a campaign.”
Prince William County electeds are calling for his resignation from his County office:
I am horrified by the dangerous ways Corey Stewart has embraced the white supremacist movement. America was founded on the promise that everyone is equal under the law and has unalienable rights given to us by our Creator. Our nation was built on this revolutionary idea, not on preferring any race or group of people. For Corey Stewart to attack a fellow Republican for not preferring the white race is unconscionable. It should disqualify him as a candidate in the Gubernatorial primary, and it is clearly time for him to step down as Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Prince William County.
Former Stewart Chief of Staff Ali Ahmad has distanced himself from his former boss:
“This morning I woke up to read news that someone I have true personal affection for, and a leader whom I have supported and whose record of accomplishment in office I truly respect, use a variation of the term: ‘cuckservative.’ The term is explicitly racist, and just plain gross.”
The Bull Elephant has demanded he drop out [2]:
For Stewart to attack a fellow Republican for not holding the white race in a position of racial supremacy is unconscionable. Such language is not representative of Prince William County, our values, or of Virginians across the Commonwealth. Corey Stewart has disqualified himself as a candidate in the gubernatorial primary.
The Daily Press is reporting on the scandal [3]:
Republican candidate for governor Corey Stewart did an “Ask Me Anything” on Reddit Thursday, embracing name calling and the alt-right’s nativist tone.
He also called Bill Clinton a rapist and dubbed Gov. Terry McAuliffe and GOP front runner Ed Gillespie “cuckservatives.”
There is absolutely no spin on this, yet leave it to the geniuses in Stewart’s camp to try.
[4]
Of course, they’re citing Wiki, so there’s no telling if they edited it themselves.
A better citation (better, meaning not editable by Stewart’s campaign):
[5]
Shaun over at Jeffersonaid has been all over this [6], and Justin Higgins was one of the first [7] to call for Stewart’s removal from the race, and resignation as PWC Chairman.
It’s Friday, so should Stewart somehow survive this onslaught of bad media coverage, fleeing supporters, drying up donations, etc., etc. … there’s nowhere to go but up….?