UPDATE ::: SCANDAL BREWING IN 2009 LT. GOVERNOR'S RACE
Friday, March 31, 2006
Sources within Not Larry Sabato's emerging campaign have reported threats of blackmail. Word is there are compromising pictures floating around. Not Larry released a statement accusing naysayers of "photo doctoring."
If anyone is doctoring photos, they should be ashamed of themselves.
I am trying to get copies of the pics now!
UPDATE :::
This just arrived from a source I am unable to verify so judge for yourselves. BTW, does anyone know someone with the email address dmarsden@ayhoo.com?
Not Larry has some explaining to do!!!
STAY TUNED FOR MORE PICS
posted by Libertas @ 2:35 PM,
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Zogby Shows Allen Slipping
The Wall Street Journal reports today,
"The Democrat polling best against Allen is James Webb, former Secretary of the Navy under the Reagan Adminstration. Harris Miller, a former telecommunications lobbyist who has formally declared his candidacy, performs WEAKER (emphasis added) than Webb in polls against Allen."
posted by Libertas @ 1:11 PM,
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"Because Virginia Needs Gossip!"
Thursday, March 30, 2006
I just returned from Not Larry Sabato's Campaign Kickoff and have to admit it was one of the most exciting events I've been to in a long time.
The big announcement of the evening was that Waldo has tasked J.C. Wilmore to manage the campaign. The announcement brought a great cheer from those in attendance.
There was a call for volunteers and Lowell Feld was first to raise his hand. Lowell said, "I first thought of asking Not Larry to run six years ago when I drove by his high school. I started the Draft Not Larry movement and hope that this campaign will stay focused on me and where I stand on the issues." Josh Chernila nodded in agreement.
A lowpoint of the evening was when Alice Marshall openly attacked Not Larry, questioning his credentials as Democrat and calling Wilmore a Richmond carpetbagger. Wilmore responded by calling her a "Philistine," adding "You'll never be a bon vivant!" There was a sudden gasp of disappointment that Wilmore could not muster any better of a comeback.
Honestly, if Pixie Bell hadn't been there to hold her back I am uncertain how far Alice would have carried this.
The final fireworks of the evening occurred when Republitarian's wife was passing around cookies on a tray and tripped on her burkha.
All in all it was good evening.
posted by Libertas @ 7:38 PM,
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Allen Hires Rove's Baby
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
The National Journal is reporting that George Allen will enlist the help of Dick Wadhams in his reelection bid this fall.
Let the swiftboating begin!Dick Wadhams, the chief of staff for Sen. George Allen (R-VA) will take a leave of absence from Allen's congressional office to manage his tougher-than-expected re-election campaign in Virginia.
He'll start on 4/10.
Wadhams, touted as "Karl Rove's Heir Apparent" by too many publications to list, is a tough and experienced veteran of Senate races. He ran now-Sen. John Thune's successful bid to kick out Sen. Tom Daschle. Before that, he rescued Sen. Wayne Allard in CO. Wadhams joined Allen shortly after the '04 election to much fanfare about his political prowess.
ANYONE who thinks Wadham's in this race because he fears Harris Miller needs to have their head examined.
posted by Libertas @ 7:11 PM,
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I said ROY Clark...ROY!
posted by Libertas @ 1:22 PM,
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Grand Poopah! :::: By Request
Monday, March 27, 2006
I don't know Gerry Connolly, and after Ben's story, I wouldn't shake his hand. John Dalton made a request and I mean to please, so here goes!
posted by Libertas @ 3:52 PM,
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By Request - Cheney Singing It Loud and Proud!
Saturday, March 25, 2006
ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney on Friday rejected charges by Democrats that the Bush administration was mishandling Iraq and said: "If they are competent to fight this war, then I ought to be singing on American Idol."
Special Note to Dick Cheney: We only have two and half years left together and I already miss you.
posted by Libertas @ 9:18 PM,
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Priceless and Worthless are Separated by a Thin Line
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Word Press software to run your personal blog: Free
Hosting for one year for your site: $89.79
Using said site to brag about your credit score: Priceless
I wrote this the other day and decided not to post it. The I read Waldo this morning and was horrified at this post. This guy may have the credit score of a robber baron, but he also has the maturity level and judgment making abilities of a seven year old bully.
Of course, this could just be Waldo fulfilling his need to "attack a fellow Virginia political blogger."
posted by Libertas @ 5:33 PM,
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Can't Buy Me Love!
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Poor Harris Miller, we've all had a bad St. Patrick's Day at some point or other!
posted by Libertas @ 12:26 AM,
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Enough is enough...
Friday, March 17, 2006
I don't want to be the fool who doesn't know when to stop! So, no more send ups on endorsements (unless they are just too good to be true).
I'll save my photoshop skills for other editorial uses.
What I am trying to say here is that endorsements say very little about winning a campaign. I belive Chap and Leslie will make a difference in NoVA. Mainly because they have both ran statewide campaigns (aggressive primaries) and in addition to endorsements, can offer great advice to the campaign.
The Claudia Kennedy's of the world are a dime a dozen-opportunistic and seemingly desperate in their attempt to actually matter. The legislators who came out for Miller yesterday will have little impact statewide-if even in their respective districts. Next time you are in a setting that is not political ask the first stranger you meet who their state senator is.
Endorsement only matter if the person endorsing you has some name recognition. Endorsements are opinions and I think we all know the rest of that saying.
As an aside, Louise Lucas will help Webb immensely if she will put a Miller sticker on her tacky Hummer!
posted by Libertas @ 5:18 PM,
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Golden Girls Endorse Miller (and sabotage Perseverando)
Poor Janet Howell, always a bridesmaid, never a bride!
UPDATE: I know Janet Howell is married, but you cannot deny the uncanny likeness she has to Rue McClannahan!
posted by Libertas @ 5:03 PM,
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Just the two of us...
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Jim and Chap prepare for the straw poll. It just gets better and better!
posted by Libertas @ 11:09 PM,
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Enough Said...
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
posted by Libertas @ 10:08 PM,
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How Much is that Congressman in the Window?
Friday, March 10, 2006
In what has to be a classic "Jim Moran Profile in Courage" moment, the besotted Conrgressman form Virginia's 8th District has chosen to endorse lobbyist Harris Miller for the Democratic nomination to run against George Allen.
In classic Moran style, the congressman manages to even screw up his endorsement. When asked if he thinks Miller will beat Allen, "At this point in my career I am going to support the people I know and the people who supported me. Endorsements are about who you want to see elected, not about hypothetical matchups."
As I said earlier when I first heard this news, I think most saw this coming. The Congressman from Massachusetts endorses the candidate from Pennsylvania to represent Virginia.
Harris Miller should be elated. Moran endorsed Weed in 2004 and picked Germany in both wars. We see how that turned out.
Besides, what was Moran supposed to do? Once Webb wins this primary, Miller goes back to lobbying and Moran needs to sell his vote to someone, right?
And sell his vote he does! According to opensecrets.org, Harris Miller has given Moran more than $19,000.00. On two separate occasions, Miller's daughter Alexis, who listed her occupation as student, gave Moran $1,000.00.
On top of that, Moran has taken more than $207,800 from the technology and electronics industry.
In a year when the national sentiment leans towards throwing the bums out, we have a congressman who embraces lobbyists and the pay-to-play way of getting things done in DC. It is a shame that Democrats cannot do any better than this.I guess we know that Moran doesn't come cheap.
I just hope he is around to endorse his brother in four years, with stunts like this, he'll be the only one!
posted by Libertas @ 3:23 PM,
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Have you ever noticed?
Thursday, March 09, 2006
I know I am gonna take hit on this and probably deserve it, but it's been running around in my mind since I saw the cover. Besides, I have never seen them in the same room at the same time...
Makes you wonder!
posted by Libertas @ 3:11 PM,
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A Horse is A Horse, Of Course, Of Course...
When I first glanced at this cover, I thought it may be a preview of the 2006 Triple Crown, then I realized this was about a horse of a different kind. An interview with Mark Warner will be the feature of this week's New York Times Magazine. The article frames Warner as the anti-Hillary candidate, and traces his careful plodding from one high stakes event to the next.
In the article, Warner bemoans the litmus tests that Democrats issue in order to lend support. Those who pass the test are rarely electable on a national level.
Democrats, he liked to say, could not afford to keep trotting out nominees who could expect to win only 16 blue states and then hope, just maybe, for the "triple bank shot" that might deliver Ohio or Florida. They needed a candidate who could compete everywhere.The article goes on to paint the severe fundraising disadvantage Warner will have against Clinton. Not only is she able to raise money now and turn it over to her presidential committee, she has a lock on party activists and key players in Democratic campaign finance.
The piece also looks at Warner and his campaign in 2001.
When a lot of national Democrats first took note of Warner in 2001, they didn't love what they saw. Running for governor in a state where Democrats were in sharp retreat, Warner courted the National Rifle Association and let it be known he'd support parental notification for minors seeking abortions. His outreach to Nascar devotees and bluegrass fans in southern Virginia struck Democrats in the urban North-as well as many of those across the Potomac River in Washington-as unseemly pandering.They go on to note...
As governor, he was known for inviting his opponents over to the mansion for drinks and then inviting them back again, until he'd earned their trust. The less inclined you are to like Warner, the more inclined he is to court you, which probably explains his counterintuitive bond with Virginia's rural, less-educated voters.As an aside, that quote certainly isn't Warner's, but he could go along way and express some regret that rural voters here are generalized as less educated. That's why rural voters do not trust Democrats, and specifically Northeastern liberals. there is no appreciation of the culture. In fact, our difference in culture is most often characterized from the outside as our actually lacking any culture.
I felt Warner came across best in this article when they actually discussed issues and his perspective on standard Democratic talking points.
What makes Warner, the former entrepreneur, sound more credible than your average Democrat is that he comes at these issues primarily from an economic, rather than a social, standpoint. On health care, for instance, most Washington Democrats will, as a matter of both habit and perspective, talk about the moral imperative of covering workers and the uninsured - and only then might they add, as an afterthought, that the current morass is an impediment to business too. Warner, on the other hand, begins with the idea that if American businesses can't keep up with spiraling health-care costs, the nation will lose the competition with India and China for jobs.Of course, a centrist Warner is not the coziest fit for some of the Democratic parties wealthiest elite. Warner's meetings with some blue-state bigwigs have ended on a sour note.
At the end of the evening, according to people who were there, as some of the guests walked Warner to his car, one woman vowed to educate him on abortion rights. That was all he could take. "This is why America hates Democrats," a frustrated Warner blurted out before driving away.Warner, I am sure, is getting all sorts of advice from all sorts of sources. While he certainly doesn't need mine, I hope he will clip thelast paragraph of his article and commit it to memory.
It's fine for Warner to say now that he doesn't need purists or populists, that he wants to run a campaign that is about what he's for rather than what he's against. But such aspirations are a luxury generally afforded to front-runners and fools, and Warner is neither. The party's more successful insurgents have all had one thing in common, whether they came from the left or center: each ran hard against the party machine itself. However much Warner may want to avoid this kind of populist appeal, recent history suggests that if you want to emerge as the alternative candidate in 2008, you probably have to be willing to harness and exploit the anger of Democrats who feel disconnected from the Washington establishment and who resent the idea that powerful insiders seem to be choosing a nominee for them. You have to be ready, as an earlier generation of Democrats would have put it, to take on the Man-even if the Man this time happens to be a woman.
posted by Libertas @ 11:39 AM,
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Is Harris Miller Desperate?
As the AP noted, "She was referring to comments Webb made and articles he wrote in the 1970s and 1980s. One of them was a 1979 article in The Washingtonian magazine titled "Women Can't Fight."
Yes.
If you don't believe me, just read the news. One day after Jim Webb's announcement, the Miller campaign drags out a dusty, disgruntled, and retired Claudia Kennedy. General Kennedy says, "He's certainly made it clear that he doesn't think women are essential in the military."
Harris Miller thanked General Kennedy and stood by her side as she attacked Jim Webb. Kennedy's attacks on Webb are based on opinions expressed 27 years ago. They are weak and desperate. The only thing more desperate is Harris Miller letting others do his dirty work. If he wants to attack Webb, he should do it himself. Of course, I don't expect much honor from a man that has sold his soul courting favor for special interest groups over the average citizen.
With all of the media attention being paid to this campaign, one might wonder if Kennedy is just trying to promote her own lackluster book. Amazon shows her just 740,823 positions behind James Webb.
If you want to know who trusts women in positions of importance, lets look at the staff makeup of both campaigns...Finally, as was noted on a blog earlier. Isn't it funny that Miller has to enlist Genreal Kennedy as a resident expert on National Security when the Webb campaign has an expert for a candidate?
Miller's campaign is clearly dominated by males. Andrew Resnick, Adam Goers, Taylor West, Brian Cook, Mo Elleithee, Geoffrey Garin, Jim Mulhall, Jim Crounse, Alan Moore, Greg Scanlon, and John Rorhbach. After months of operation, Miller has appointed just one female to a leadership role in his campaign.
Now look at Webb's team with Jessica Vandenberg, Kristian Denny-Todd, Susan DiLiddo, Liz Reiter, Pete Brodnitz, Steve Jarding, Dave Saunders, and Joe Stanley. Two days out of the box and the Webb campaign is being led by women.
UPDATE: Here is another great question. Why was Miller scheduler Greg Scanlon (at left) in attendance at the Webb announcement with a video camera. Perhaps he caught the part where Jim Webb chose not to disparage Harris Miller.Does Harris Miller have nothing else to schedule? The next time the Miller camp sends a spy, they may want to send someone capable of dressing appropriately for the surroundings. This kid had on dirty jeans and a ratty flannel. His presence was poor form, and his attire was poor taste.
posted by Libertas @ 1:57 AM,
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Out of The Gate and Running...
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
The Roanoke Times gets it right when they say, "James Webb may have worked for President Reagan two decades ago, but he made his political allegiance perfectly clear Tuesday when he formally announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate."
Jim Webb came out of the box yesterday with a strong press conference and whirlwind tour of influential Democratic leaders in Richmond. Webb held command of a room that was dominated by lions of the Virginia press corps.
After he made a brief statement about why he was running he took question from a number of eager reporters. Webb made it clear, "Our government isn’t working for our people. It’s working for the political machines and lobbyists that feed on corruption. And who pays the price of that corruption? Our families – they are the ones suffering the consequences."
"Look at our foreign policy and national defense. We need to get our foreign policy and defense policy back on track – to making the right kind of strategic decisions. We need to be fighting terrorism, protecting our ports and borders, and keeping America safe. Instead, we’re spreading our troops thin, we’re not giving them enough of the armor, armaments, or the support they need. And worst of all, we don’t have a plan to bring them home. When you don’t have the leadership that’s asking the right questions, the consequences are deadly."
Secretary Webb also showed that he would not be a one-issue candidate. He commented on the economy saying, "Look at our economy – we’re breaking into a three-tiered class system. We’re losing our middle class: we’re shipping more jobs overseas, we’re not doing enough to make sure our working families have the health care they need, or the education they need to move ahead. And at the other end of the spectrum, we’re giving tax cuts to millionaires. They’re doing just fine – it’s our families who are paying the price."
Webb clearly presented himself in a senatorial manner. I think everyone in that room was impressed with his command of the moment and ability to answer tough questions with meaningful answers.
Hopefully, Harris Miller will see the writing on the wall and drop his "also ran" campaign. Virginia needs Jim Webb.
posted by Libertas @ 9:46 AM,
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Grand jury indicts 14 on election fraud charges
Thursday, March 02, 2006
THIS JUST IN FROM ROANOKE TIMES
Fourteen people - including the mayor of Appalachia and other town officials - have been charged with hundreds of counts of election fraud in a 300-page indictment handed down today by a Wise County grand jury.
Special prosecutor Tim McAfee is scheduled to hold a press conference at 3 p.m. to provide more details about the charges.
The investigation into the Appalachia elections began in earnest nearly a year ago, when town resident Christina McKinney said a supporter of a town council candidate dropped by her home and offered her cigarettes and pork rinds in exchange for her vote - apparently because she happened to be eating a bag of fried pork skins at the time.
McKinney and several other residents of her low-income apartment complex said they were offered beer and cigarettes in exchange for their absentee votes. Close to 20 percent of the votes cast in the town election were by absentee ballot, nearly four times the state average.
As it turned out, McKinney never got to vote absentee. Someone stole the ballot from her mailbox and cast it without her permission, she told police at the time.
A subsequent investigation of McKinney's complaint revealed that many other mail-in ballots were stolen, forged and fraudulently cast. Investigators also uncovered problems with the town police department, which is headed by former town council candidate who dropped out of the race at the last minute and was later appointed captain of the five-man force by the new town council.
posted by Libertas @ 3:39 PM,
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Damning New Video Uncovered
Some folks think Katrina is yesterday's news, and frankly, I was close to being one of them. Then I saw this news story. The AP has uncovered video footage of FEMA briefing sessions held by Mike Brown and broadcast to president Bush at his ranch in Texas, and Michael Chertoff.
IF NOTHING ELSE, YOU HAVE TO WATCH THIS VIDEO...On the eve of Hurricane Katrina's fateful landfall, President Bush was confident. His homeland security chief appeared relaxed. Louisiana officials were heaping praise on the federal government.
And warnings of the coming destruction - breached or overrun levees, deaths at the New Orleans Superdome and overwhelming needs for post-storm rescues - were delivered in dramatic terms to all involved.
All of it was captured on videotape.
The Associated Press obtained the confidential government video and made it public Wednesday, offering Americans their own inside glimpse into the government's fateful final Katrina preparations after months of fingerpointing and political recriminations.
posted by Libertas @ 12:38 PM,
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"I believe you have my stapler"
Yesterday was my birthday, and I received what may very well be the best gift ever. The Rio Red, #747 Swingline Limited Edition Stapler. Yes, Office Space fans, MILTON LIVES!
posted by Libertas @ 12:34 AM,
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