Top 10 Virginia Political Stories of the Decade

Jim Hoeft of Bearing Drift has a great post covering his Top 10 Virginia Political Stories of the Decade.  JR’s list is well thought out, but I do have two minor bones to pick.

Number 2 – MACACA.  Macaca was a symptom, and not the cause, of George Allen’s loss.  As Jim notes, George Allen was a tremendously popular governor and a solid US Senator.  He was also the greatest governor of my lifetime and would have been a near lock for the GOP Presidential nod – IF he had kept his Senate seat.  There in lies the problem.  Rather than using the team that had run his successful congressional, gubernatorial and senate races, Allen chose to put together a team with a more “national” flavor.  Macaca should have been a blip on the political radar.  Instead, one of Virginia’s greatest governors lost the chance to be president because someone decided to put the cart before the horse.

Number 6 – JEFF FREDERICK.  I think that this one might be just a little too much inside baseball.  I have to be careful, because Frederick’s treatment of former Lt. Gov. John Hager in his race for chairman simply showed me that Frederick was unfit for any office – public or party.

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Frederick Bunkers Down

This may be a tad inside baseball, but it’s hilarious:

As we noted earlier this week, now is not the time to get another RPV chairman.  However, I definitely think that Jeff Frederick owes former chair John Hager a big apology.

Thanks to Bearing Drift and Contemporary Conservative

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Should Jeff Frederick Be Held to His Own Standards?

Political consultant and former Reagan operative Kenny Klinge is calling for Jeff Frederick to resign as RPV chair.  Like the rest of us, he has a right to his opinion.

Norm Leahy asks the right question – Are these intramural spats going to help Virginia Republicans win elections?  As someone who is now an outsider looking in, I have to agree that forcing Frederick to resign now is not in the best interest of the RPV … any more than Frederick’s campaign against John Hager was beneficial for the party.

Is it accurate to blame Frederick for 2008′s disasterous election?  NO!  However, Frederick does have some explaining to do.  Using the same standards he claimed that Hager should be held to, Frederick should be run out on a rail to the Potomac and then thrown in (the Potomac River belongs to Maryland up to the mean low water mark).

Regardless, Frederick and his supporters don’t believe that he should be held to the same standards he spoke of when attacking his predecessor.  Now the argument appears to be populist “us vs. the elites” pablum.

If Virginia Republicans are serious about winning back the Governor’s mansion and keeping one house of legislature, this can wait.  Maybe, given time, Frederick will prove himself.  If not, the time will come to oust him.

Right now is not that time.

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Gilmore Wins Senate Nomination – Barely

Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore has just received the Republican nomination to replace retiring Sen. John Warner. His opponent for the nomination was Del. Bob Marshall. The nomination was decided at this weekend’s RPV State Convention in Richmond.

The final tally:

5,222 Gilmore
5,157 Marshall

Gilmore’s margin of victory was only 65 delegate votes, or less than 0.63%. This does not bode well for the re-election of current RPV chair John Hager, nor for the party in November.

Thanks to the Daily Press, The Shad Plank, Bearing Drift, and Virginia Virtucon for providing up to date reporting of the convention.

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