MASON CONSERVATIVE

Terry McAuliffe Is Like Mitt Romney. Only Not Successful.

This is pretty devastating.

Bill Clinton can't come down to Richmond and be governor for you, T-Mac.  It would be something you would need to do and your career suggests one that has lived of the teet of a political party and the monied interests attached to it.  

At least Mitt Romney helped some companies succeed.  

Rand Paul Endorses Chris Stearns

This is a pretty nice get.  One might ask, can Rand Paul get people to a firehouse primary.  That isn't the point.  Stearns is taking on an entrenched established elected official who assumed this seat would just be handed to him.  He and the machine behind him are upset that someone dared to, you know, engage in a competitive election.  Because competition is bad, dontchaknow!

What this does is put Stearns name in the news, helps him get his message out.  Rand Paul is running for president and might even end up being the nominee, people are paying attention to what he says and who he endorses.

Chris Stearns for Senate

The Establishment Tea Party

I don't know who's what anymore.  Who's a RINO, who's establishment, who loves liberty, who's a real conservative?  Its getting so confusing!

The Tea Party Federation of Virginia endorsed Corey Stewart today, and apparently its to the bewilderment of the Tea Party.  First off, allow me to say that the fact there is a large "federation" of Tea Party seems counter to what the Tea Party of 2009-10 stood for.  Anyways, apparently the Federation's choice is not the choice of the local (ie real) tea parties.

So here is the story I'm hearing,  The state federation decided to hold out from endorsing, hoping to make candidates beg and use the endorsement to muscle them into positions supported by the Tea Party.  Local Tea Parties got frustrated about this inaction and even more frustrated that a statewide organization was even trying to tell them what to do.  Many of them have started organizing for candidates of their choosing.  For instance, Loudoun and Arlington have started organizing for EW Jackson.

Corey has talked a very conservative game on nearly every issue, and from what I've been told  none of the Powers That Be in the statewide Federation were not from Prince William County or have a history with Corey past this particular candidacy.  The truth remains that most conservatives in Prince William County are supporting Scott Lingamfelter and the Ron Paulers in the county, from what I understand, are backing Susan Stimpson.  

I can't wait for the Convention.

Is Corey Stewart Making A Comeback?

  Could it be that Corey Stewart is making a comeback? It certainly seems that way to me. His campaign email beat me home, but Stewart has just received a trifecta of endorsements that spans the conservative coalition needed to win nominations. First was John Tate, head of the Campaign for Liberty and Ron Paul 2012 campaign manager, which covers the libertarians. Then came John Scott, YRFV president and Bob Goodlatte staffer, which covers the so-called establishment (whoever they are). Lastly, the Tea Party Federation of Virginia, which covers the tea party. I've seen the Facebook/social media footprint of Corey pick up as well.

This race is in a constant state of flux. There are very few committed delegates. Most are like me who are going to Richmond largely undecided and interested to see how the campaigns present themselves at the convention. There are only two right now with a real committed following, and that is Susan Stimpson and Scott Lingamfelter. But those are at war with each other, representing the coming libertarian/social conservative civil war that will erupt within the next 24 months. They will not be supporting each other, which means the avenue to victory will be running right up the middle between them. Until now I thought the candidate best prepared to do that was Pete Snyder. Yet Snyder's plasti-candidate (thank you, Rob Kenyon) appearance nags at me. He appears to be trying to hard to looking he's not a politician. You know what I mean? Corey has real conservative credentials and a history of winning, and winning big, in a purple county. Of course, Stewart does have a serious Hispanic problem. I believe I heard him on John Fredericks's show saying that essentially, and I'm paraphrasing, that we should be able to mass deport illegal aliens. Its a position I personally disagree with it, as I feel anyone willing to leave life and home in their native country to stay here is worth investing in.  However, I also understand that he had a real problem on his hands because the federal government refused to do their job and he had nowhere else to turn.  It was a problem he couldn't ignore and as a local government official, they were at the bottom of the hill so the shi*t had nowhere left to roll down to.

So could Stewart, the first candidate to enter this race, be the comeback kid? Is he capable of cobbling together the votes of his own supporters, enough Ron Paulers backing Stimpson but respectful of Tate, enough conservatives that support Lingamfelter, and even some establishment in order to win? I'm still not sure, but he's certainly making his move at the right time.

UPDATE:  Just as I hit "publish," Tito Munoz demolishes Corey in THIS POST on Bearing Drift.  Ouch.

Another Young Republican Puts His Money Where His Mouth Is

Former Ron Paul statewide coordinator and current 3rd district chairman Chris Stearns is running for a seat in the Virginia Seante, replacing Harry Blevins.  Add Stearns to the list of Ron Meyer running for the House of Representatives in VA-11, Josh Farrar in HoD 48th, and Terrance Bouldon in PWC's Woodbridge magisterial district.  This is a great trend we are seeing of conservatives from across the spectrum stepping up and running for office.  Stearns and Farrar clearly come from the liberty/Ron Paul wing of the party while Meyer and Boudlen are from the traditional conservative activist base.  

Of all these races, however, Stearns is the most instructive.  He's running in a firehouse primary in and off-off Spring day.  He will be running against a sitting member of the House of Delegates who has endorsements piled upon endorsements of all the professionals.  I don't have a problem with John Cosgrove, per say, but I did notice a trend that is a bit disturbing.  When Randy Forbes moved from the House of Delegates seat to the Senate, he was replaced in the HoD by Harry Blevins.  In 2001, when Forbes moved to Congress, his state senate seat was taken by Harry Blevins.  Blevins's Delegate's seat went to John Cosgrove.  Now Blevins is retiring and the wheels are in motion for Cosgrove to move up.  Move along, nothing to see here.

This is the kind of politics I cannot stand.  Again, this isn't necessarily a reflection on Cosgrove the person, its a nice gig if you can get on that "replace the next guy" train.  Stearns is a young guy and you can be sure the establishment will come roaring at him.  They sure as shit don't want a stone-cold Ron Pauler in a 20-20 Senate, that's for sure.  The best part of it is that because of the nature of this contest, Stearns can win.  You can argue Meyer, Farrar, and Boulden aren't winnable races because they are running in Democratic strongholds.  But Stearns is in a Republican district, and the method of nomination is a firehouse primary.  What would it take, a thousand votes or more to win?  Its eminently doable.

I don't really know anyone down in Chesapeake, but if you come across this blog please consider supporting Chris to accomplish two things . . . one, bring a true liberty candidate to the Virginia Senate; and two, to strike a blow against the "next guy's turn" politics that has dominated (and hurt) this party.

The System Works

American government was never designed to revolve exclusively around the wants and needs of the chief executive. We have three separate, and co-equal, branches of government. My view is the president is elected nationally to handle its constitutional responsibilities - to be commander and chief and a check on the legislative branch. Now I understand that concept is outdated to many, and certainly out-dated to both parties who enjoy rubbing it in each others faces who won national elections. The reason Congress is set up the way it is is to allow states and districts to have their views heard and represented. Today's press conference by the President was a shameful display of political amateurism that is frankly the hallmark of the modern presidency.

Presidents like to go to the rose garden with their chests out, surrounded by victims or little kids (or whatever) and attempt to scold their way to legislative victory. Our system of government was never designed to be dominated so much by one man and one office. Just because Barack Obama won 52% of the vote, does that mean the voters in states like North Dakota, Kentucky, Louisiana, Texas, or Indiana have their views totally ignored? Are their views not allowed to be represented without a president making it seem they pulled the trigger on those little kids themselves? While others whine and moan about the NRA and its "lies," that is just a dodge, a red herring. Our presidents create third party boogeymen to attempt to intimidate senators and congressmen who are doing what they were voted in to do, represent their constituents and their principles. Nevermind that it can't be proven that one single thing this Manchin-Toomey bill does would prevent "another Newtown." The presidency has become so personalized that it makes every political issue an us vs. them dynamic that it was never meant to be.

Yes, there is gridlock. But gridlock is good, gridlock prevents the passions of the moment from overwhelming us, from allowing a president to dictate policy through emotional manipulation. I also object to the intellectual laziness of the President. If his case is so righteous, convince us. Make the case, don't trot out victims families to publicly shame us. That's insulting to those who's views are just a thoughtful and deeply held as his, with the added implication that if you don't agree with him you will be responsible for the next mass murder. Senators like Mark Pyor, Mark Begich, and Heidi Heitkamp are doing their job just as Mark Kirk and Pat Toomey. They are reconciling their principles with the views of the people they represent. Just as previous presidents before him, Obama's attempts at rose garden manipulation is insulting and proof, to me, that the system works.

Snyder . . . WTF?

How on earth does Pete Snyder spend $500,000 when the nomination is through a convention process?  I don't know the answer, but I suspect we might be having a Romney-redux right here in Virginia, where a businesman candidate without much experience is letting people bleed him dry (or green). 

Pete Snyder Is The Favorite

This process for nominating our LG candidate has been, at times, laughable.  Every candidate has a glaring weakness.  They have all tried to out cliche each other in what has become, at times, a walking caricature of what people think Republicans are like.

The main knock on Pete Snyder is that he is a plastic candidate.  He tries really hard at being a politician who doesn't act like a politician (if that makes sense).  The main theme of his campaign is "big ideas," which is weird because the lieutenant governor of Virginia has absolutely no power.  So campaigning on big ideas is a nice idea that he cannot possibly back up once in office.

But what has caught my eye about Snyder is two things.  First, he's not making enemies.  In a convention, being everyones second choice is perhaps the best place to be.  The squabbling between Lingamfelter and Stimpson is where Snyder will gain the most.  The only time one candidate tried to attack Snyder directly, it was Jeannemarie Davis, who the entire base of the party can't stand.  All it did was make folks like Snyder better.

The other pivot that Snyder has started making is he's looking like a real running-mate for Ken Cuccinelli.  His recent video attacking Terry McAuliffe for rejecting Virginia for his business and setting it in Southside where jobs are scarce was very smart.  Snyder is now trying to act like a running-mate.  While the others fight with each other, Snyder is basically saying "I've got Ken's back."

It will be interesting to see that in this mire of caricature, Snyder is trying to move away from that and is positioning himself as a real running-mate.  It will be interesting to see if this charm offensive will work next month.  But the way I see it, Snyder has to be the favorite.  If you can't grant that, you can argue that he has more avenues to victory than anyone else.  

The Whining Mr. Rigell

It's not that I don't like Scott Rigell, I actually do.  Despite my reputation (whatever it is), the thing I look for (and respect) the most is authenticity.  Rigell certainly has that, I like that he has built his own record based on what exactly he told his constituents in his campaign he would do.  

But setting up an interview on the premise that he is being attacked by right-wing gun groups, and he just so happens to be getting a call from Sen. Rand Paul to talk about this group, its pretty shitty.  Kind of a set-up job that I would expect better from Rigell.  You couldn't keep that call private?  I assume when Sen. Paul was speaking with Rigell about guns and this group that is attacking him under the assumption that a National Journal reporter was essentially listening in.  He talks about Paul failing a character test.  Should every congressmen and senator now worry that when Scott Rigell calls, a reporter will be nearby listening in?  

Here is the article in question.

It is also another piece of drastic misunderstanding as to what moves the conservative base.  As usual, they are using the fringe to define the movement and unfortunately there are too many Republicans willing to buy this line of bull.  Or they refuse to understand why conservatives hold the second amendment so dear, even people like me who don't own a gun or plan on owning one.  Rigell is trying to be too cute by half here, saying he's a staunch conservative on the one hand while bemoaning conservatives.  If your pissed at some group, then attack the group Congressman.  Trying to politically frame someone into taking responsibility for attacks you knew were coming anyways whether Paul was behind it or not is borderline ridiculous.

If your so independent, then stop whining about it. 

Michael Farris Running For US Senate?

Lovettesville Lady suggets so.

Farris is rememberd by many in 1993 for being the lieutenant governor candidate on the Allen-Gilmore ticket and lost because moderate Republicans like Sen. John Warner refused to support him.  He lost the general election to Donald Beyer.  

Farris might be unbeatable in a convention or a primary with the army of conservatives and home-schooler activists as his base.  This doesn't seem to be a nomination a lot of people want so the GOP contest could turn into a rather nasty battle of factions since nobody really thinks we can beat Mark Warner.