This is a pretty big deal, and could have farther-reaching effects. The reason I think this is a big deal besides Bolling and Allen being good friends for a long time is that I think it also shows where Gov. McDonnell's hand is right now. Bolling is the most energetic face of the McDonnell Administration, and though his office is constitutionally seperate from the governors', I can't help but wonder if Bolling is speaking for McDonnell as well.
It will also make it harder for a young conservative like Corey Stewart or anyone else thinking about running to make a dent. Bolling's conservative credentials are imppecable and his decision to run for reelection was the catalyst for the Republican ressuregence we've seen here in the last two years. He's the odds-on favorite to be the GOP standard-bearer for governor in 2013, and combine that with his political intimacy with Gov. McDonnell, this is a huge get for Allen.
Below is Bolling's email:
BOLLING BACKS ALLEN IN U.S. SENATE RACE
Friends,
Earlier this year I was pleased when my good friend George Allen announced that he would run for the U.S. Senate in 2012.
George called me a few days before his announcement to let me know his intentions. I told him I would be for him or against him, whichever helped him the most. He said for him, so I am proud to let you know that I strongly endorse George Allen for the U.S. Senate in 2012.
I publicly made this announcement last weekend during a speech to the Virginia Federation of Republican Women’s annual conference in Richmond.
George Allen and I have been friends since his first campaign for Congress in 1991. When George was Governor he recruited me to run for the State Senate against a popular 20-year incumbent. George did more for me in that campaign than anyone else, and without his help I would not have been successful. Down through the years George has supported me in every one of my campaigns, and I am proud to stand with him in this election.
George Allen was the most transformative Governor of the last generation. As Governor, George Allen abolished parole, reformed welfare, established a national model for standards and accountability in education, and sent the message around the world that Virginia was open for business.
George Allen is also a trusted conservative leader with a long-record of fighting for the values we believe in. As our U.S. Senator from 2000-2006 he led the fight against taxation of the internet, reduced taxes on families and businesses and worked to enact a balanced budget requirement for the federal government.
This is the kind of principled, experienced and results oriented leadership we need in our next U.S. Senator.
Barack Obama and the Democrats have led our country down a path of unsustainable spending, a national debt the jeopardizes our economic future, unprecedented government intervention in the lives of the American people, and an apologetic foreign policy that has left America weaker in the eyes of our allies and adversaries. This must change!
The 2012 elections will be a call to action for our country. We need to elect George Allen to the U.S. Senate to help return conservative values and founding principles to our federal government.
I encourage you join me in support of George Allen. Please go to George’s website to join the “A-Team” today and let him know what you will do to support his campaign.
Very Truly Yours,
Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling
Hey Bill!
Obama attacking Libya is not apologetic, in the least bit. It is a continuation of the same foreign policy as George W. Bush, which George Allen wholeheartedly supported. It's just about ten years later, and we're broke for the effort. Thanks, George...I guess.
Perhaps this is a BIG DEAL besides one fat white guy endorsing another, because this post memorializes that the Republican leadership knows that Republican voters are too stupid to know the difference between a corporatist Allen or a corporatist Kaine. Both work for the same military-industrial complex as Bob McDonnell and Barry Soetoro.
Posted by: 200 Grande | April 20, 2011 at 05:40 PM
200K or local .... Which is the bigger jerk?
Posted by: Bart Bartolomo | April 20, 2011 at 11:46 PM
The jerks are the ones that show, drop a one line useless insult, and leave. Oh look, here they come now....
Posted by: localgop | April 21, 2011 at 06:07 PM