"The Frustrating Frederick Affair"

The extreme moderate mouthpiece Loudoun Insider (still not blogging under his/her real name to back up the attacks) has the latest screed against Jeff Frederick based on Bob McDonnell's campaign kick-off and how the DCPost mentioned Frederick in the piece.  I must use this to reiderated that the puritans in the party aren't conservatives, its the moderates like LI and the like. 

He said that under Frederick the RPV is "doomed to fail," but my question is when have we been winnning with the crew that was in there?  2001 (Warner), 2005 (Kaine), 2006 (Allen), and 2007 (the State Senate) were all run under the RPV leadership of Griffin/Gillespie/Hager that was backed by many of the people who are now attacking Jeff.  Listening to LI and the other moderate puritans you would think that 2008 and the electoral disaster it wrought in Virginia was some sort of anomoly that Jeff Frederick was soley responsible for.  For the last eight years Republican leadership in Virginia has compromised, flipped, flopped, and made bad decisions.  Let me count the many . . .

1. Republicans backing the Warner tax increases, which lifted Warner from do-nothing to bi-partisan champion that brought us the Democrat Era of the 2000s
2. The Death Penalty ads . . . the insiders told Kilgore this was a good idea
3. Allen filling his campaign with insiders and national folks that left him out of touch with Virginia.
4. Responding to maccaca by highliting Webb's novel writings
5. Backing the abuser fees
6. HB3202
7. Not running candidates in 2007 delegate races in Fairfax
8. Not rallying behind Jim Gilmore, because even though he was going to lose, not uniting behind him cost us badly

There were exactly two major statewide initiatives that was backed by conservatives - the anti-tax referendum and the marriage amendment - and both passed overwhelmingly.  So lets not lie to ourselves and believe the myth that its "puritan" conservatives who have driven this party to where we are.  Over and over, moderates and the leadership - driven by consultants and lobbyists - consistantly compromised on transportation and taxes and every issue that supposedly defines us as a party.  Instead, we "compromised" and voters looked at us like, "whats the point, they don't stand up for themselves." 

So what exactly has Jeff Frederick done in the last year that can match the shear disaster the last eight year where insiders, lobbyists, consultants, and establishment leaders of all levels taking us down to defeat after defeat.  I of course agree that the first year of Frederick's chairmanship hasn't been smooth, but like I said this has nothing to do with Frederick in the long run.  Its about power, and who has it.  The "leadership" that we've had don't want to lose power.

LI then attacks every member of the NOVA state central as people who "couldn't get elected to office in their local jurisdictions."  These leaders have sent out an email saying they support Frederick.  And while LI and his ilk might brush them off as mere "wingnnuts" who can't get elected, I know many of them as the most dedicated Republican activits in the area that come to unit committee meetings, work for all of our candidates, and some in the past of been local unit chairman.  Vellie Dietrich Hall was just specifically called out by Bob McDonnell at the Annandale kickoff as the exact person Republicans should be reaching out too, but I guess she's jsut a wingnut who can't get elected right?  And while moderate "leader" Tom Davis was sacrificing the local party to get his wife reelected, Hall put in a hard-working, uphill race in liberal Mason District against Penny Gross.  She lost, but I bet she feels much better about her race than Davis does about letting three Dem delegates go unopposed and his wife still lost by 10 points.  I know I did.

There worst thing about this whole affair is that the moderates both in and out of state central never gave Jeff a chance.  Nobody reached out to work with him, nothing.  Instead they just sat coiled in the weeds waiting for a misstep, just waiting for something wrong to happen to they could spring into attack.  But thats beside the point.  The point is the leadership that is seeking to oust Frederick via this midnight coup is the same leadership that drove us down the road to minority stauts.  But that was the conservatives fault, right?  Last time I checked it was conservatives like me and many of my friends in the YRs and other groups that goes out for everywhere.  We don't stay home.  We accept the will of conventions and/or primaries.  Its important that the last two chairs:  Ed Gillespie and Kate Obenshain Griffin, where elected by state central and not by the party itself.  Frederick's election was out of the power-brokers control, and they want to fix that.  Frederick's sin was clearly that he relied on the party base and not the insiders.

So the choice is clear:  do we go back to a leadership that compromised our beliefs, lost elections, and allowed Democrats to dictate the political discourse; or do we try something new, try to reconnect with our base and our values, and put those values up front just the way Bob McDonnell articulated in his kickoff speech?  Bottom line, the previous leadership lost us elections.  Lets give Jeff a fair chance to change that.  He deserves it out of shear sense of fairness, but I have a feeling fairness has nothing to do with this. 

Comments

[edm]

This post is made of win and fight. Thanks, Chris.

[Brian W. Schoeneman]

Chris, Frederick got into office by claiming that he knew how to win elections in this environment, and he blamed John Hager for the loss of the State Senate in 2007, despite the fact that Hager had only been on the job for 4 months at the time.

Was that a fair attack? Of course not. Is it fair that people are blaming Frederick for the losses in 2008? No. But he lost credibility with me and he lost the right to use that argument when he attacked Hager on the same baseless grounds.

The moderates in the party, like myself, have absolutely no problem with the conservatives. I don't have a problem with Jeff Frederick's politics - they aren't my own, but I don't live in his district, either. He got elected there, which means he appeals to a wide enough portion of his electorate to win. Nothing wrong with that. But running those kinds of candidates across the Commonwealth makes no sense - why run a hardcore conservative in Fairfax? Or Arlington? That's not good strategy, but that seems to be what Frederick, you and others think will be the way we win again. I don't think so.

There is no one to blame for Kilgore's loss other than Kilgore. He took the advice. He didn't have to. As for the losses in 2006, 2007, 2008 - all of those had less to do with ideology and more to do with the overarching political climate we faced, all of which was the result of bad judgment in Washington. Gillespie, Obenshain, Hager and others did what they could.

The difference between all of them and Frederick is that none of them put their foot in the mouth as often as Frederick has. None of them used companies they owned to do RPV business. None of them lost the confidence of so many of the key elected officials and grassroots chairmen as Frederick has.

Frederick was elected by convention, but so were the State Central Committee members. They are supposed to keep him honest and ensure that the party is being run properly. They are doing what they should do. If they truly had been out to get him, they would have pushed forward with the removal effort at the advance. But they didn't.

I gave Frederick a chance. He lost that chance when proved to me, and to most of our elected officials, that he wasn't up for the job.

[A Voter]

Chris,

No one has EVER accused LI of carefully researching anything. You should be ashamed for having any expectations of objective analysis or intelligent discernment on his part.

By the way, do any of us even know if LI is not really TC?

[novamiddleman]

This is a competency issue. There are plenty of real conservatives who want to get rid of Fredrick. Fredrick is a juvenille prick who can't form a sentence without sticking his foot in his mouth.

I can't wait for this to be over. I am really pumped about McDonnell and the type of speech he gave.

Chris let me go point by point in your piece

I agree that leadership in RPV has been terrible. Its why leaders have been replaced so quickly. This has nothing to do with Fredrick though. He has made all of his crazy statements on his own.

Do you really think voters are saying I really want to vote Republican but they are a bit too wishy washy so I will vote for the democrat instead. They vote for the democrat because they are campaigning on the issues that the voters actually care about. (McDonnell understands this his opening speech was excellent)

I only have one comment on the members of state central. These are the type of people that vote based on what letter is in front of a person. IMHO those are not the type of people you want to run an organization trying to reach out to more people. (I hope you agree on that last sentence) Fredrick has made some progress on the technology front on this but his personal statements and selection of ad pieces has more than outweighed the positives gains he has made on the technology front.

So in the end I think we agree on a major point. The entrenched leadership of RPV needs to change. However where we disagree is that Fredrick has done more to push people away than bring more people to the Republican party. His technological progress is good but his other actions leave much to be desired.

[George Templeton]

I don't know about Jeff Frederick's ability to the run the RPV. But I do know this.
Jeff Frederick understands that economic conservativism (holding the line on spending and taxes) and solutions-based conservatism (Glenn Oder's transportation bill in this year's assembly) is the way for the GOP back to the majority in this state.
None of the people running the GOP in this state (and I will throw in the top of our ticket in 2008, Sen. McCain) have understood that since 2001.
I hope Frederick stays on and we all get on the same page because there is a great opportunity for Virginia to be at the vanguard of a nationwide Republican renaissance just as Virginia was in 1993!

[Spank That Donkey]

Chris:
Awesome post!

Nova Middleman:
Thanks for the laugh in this quote:
"Fredrick is a juvenille prick who can't form a sentence without sticking his foot in his mouth."

Like you really came off as mature in posting/commenting it?

Do we know if know if TC is not LI?

[JEFFHASTOGO]

Jeff is a failure.

Failure as a legislator with not a single bill out of committee this year and not a single fellow legislator saying they were sorry to see him go.

Failure as a leader. Not a single congressman, not a single Senate leader.only Morgan Griffith in the House leadership, and a vast majority of the grassroots wanting him gone.

Failure as a RPV chair. Hiring those like Bunnell who no one knows what he does, Scimeca who is supposed to be the communications person who can only communicate well with his dog, Kandrake who does who know what and has not been seen in NOVA for weeks, a convention person who did not get enough rooms reserved(thats after the fiasco at the advance).

There is so much more !

[NoVA Scout]

having met both TC and LI I can assert that they are different people, but can't imagine why it matters.

Only in Virginia would anyone think there is merit in someone like Jeff Frederick being chairman of one of the two state political parties that has a license from the state to share political power. I have not been one of those clamoring for his ouster, because I suspect that a cipher like this was exactly what the Party wanted in its last days. Until we get down to pure rubble, it will be hard to rebuild.

[Bruce]

I have not come out calling for Fredrick's resignation because I don't really think the state party matters that much. It is rarely helpful or hurtful in my experience. I've abstained in the only vote an organization I serve in held on the issue.

But as a centrist who's unit has reached out and invited Frederick and his RPV staff to participate in my organizational meetings, he has never responded since he was elected. We saw his wife often prior to the election. Since then, nada. No "Northern Virginia Field Rep" who I was told would be at all our meetings and contacting us constantly. No RPV staff visits or speakers. I've reached out, and gotten no response. I thought Jeff might be different, he's not. I'm not pulling for his resignation because he is the same as the old folk, but I won't defend him either.

That being said, Frederick is guilty of one of two things:

1) He is either guilty of the inappropriate actions the central committee members calling for his removal assert, or

2) He is guilty of an inability to organize 25% of the state party's leadership in favor of his agenda.

He is either guilty of bad actions or guilty of incompetence as a party leader. Either way, I won't miss him if he's removed.

[Ryan]

Thank you Mason Conservative. You are right about Loudoun Insider: An obvious moderate.

[We need a real conservative]

This is about a small group of party insiders who want to see us run to the left in order to win again. One Gun Bob is the worst of all. I hope the SCC does the right thing this weekend.