I wanted to kill this rumor that has been floating around for the last week that I would be running for Fairfax County/City Clerk of the Court in the June primary. It's my fault that the rumor went as far as it did because I was asking people what they thought when they called me about it.
Unfortunately some of the threads we had about the radical lobbying career of David Miller turned into a debate on me instead of on the announced candidate for the seat.
So now, let's get focused back on the issue at hand here. We have a "Democratic" candidate who has never voted in a Democratic primary, accepted 1.6 million dollars to lobby for the Scientologists, including helping them get tax-exempt status like a mainstream church. That's right- he got a cult tax-free status.
There is still over 10 days to file for this seat. We are in crunch time here people. This will hurt the entire ticket. If you don't understand why- think about the conservative churches. What's going to get them out to vote in huge numbers in this low turnout election? Transportation? Public Schools? Or a Scientologist Lobbyist on the Democratic ticket? Even if that only drew a few hundred additional voters in key legislative races- that could tip the balance this year.
Will anyone stand up to stop this man from hurting the entire Democratic ticket? I'm sorry I can't do it- but I have too many other things going on right now to take on a countywide campaign in Fairfax.
Ben,
I'm not from Fairfax, so perhaps all these things about Miller were already out there--but is it possible that the only reason he's going to be a drag on the ticket is all the opposition research you've posted on the internet for the benefit of a likely low budget opponent?
If this were a statewide race, I would guess that all this stuff would have come out anyway, but in this case--I'm not sure it would have.
Not sticking up for the guy, only suggesting that this might have been a situation in which it was best to keep a lid on it.
Posted by: | March 31, 2007 at 01:08 PM
Everything I got on this guy was coming through the grapevine, and then I researched it. If anything it might help him that it came out now, instead of October- but I doubt anything can help this loser.
Posted by: Not Larry Sabato | March 31, 2007 at 01:10 PM
Fair enough. If it was going to come out anyway, better to do it now when there's still a chance for an opponent.
Posted by: Anon 1:08 | March 31, 2007 at 01:12 PM
Actually, if Ben hadn't put it out now, it would have come out at a much more inopportune time, like October. That's why they call them October Surprises in politics.
This way, even if no other Democrat steps forward, it will already be old hat by that time. So it was actually a good thing to get it out in the fresh air now.
Believe me, if Ben found it, so could the Republicans. They know how to use a search engine too. So Ben was doing us all a favor here.
Posted by: Anonymousisawoman | March 31, 2007 at 01:16 PM
There has been a lot of talk on this blog about the right Democratic candidate for Fairfax County Clerk of Court...
Why don't we nominate someone who has a distinguished military career?
Why don't we nominate someone who has law enforcement experience and the respect of police and the firefighters?
Why don't we nominate someone who has lobbied for Colonial Williamsburg and such important entities as the Mayo Clinic?
Why don't we nominate someone who understands tax and real estate law?
And who is that person? David Miller. The same David Miller that Ben Tribbett has been trashing on his blog with selective opposition research aimed at misleading the voters.
Ben readily admits that he has been fed information by the Republicans, who are scared of Miller's candidacy. It is not the first time that Tribbett has worked with the GOP. That is why he is no longer a member of the Democratic Party. He was kicked out!
So believe Tribbett's narrow-minded and distorted rhetoric aimed at trashing Miller to help protect the Republican opponent -- or learn the truth.
Ben Tribbett and the other commenters on this site who believe everything he says should be ashamed of themselves for aiding the Republican spin machine.
Posted by: One Who Knows | March 31, 2007 at 02:01 PM
OneWhoKnows-
To kick someone out of the party, you have to give them 10 days notice and have a hearing. (See FCDC bylaws). Go ahead and post the minutes of when that took place.
Since such a meeting never took place, please stop spreading lies about me.
Posted by: Not Larry Sabato | March 31, 2007 at 02:09 PM
In his vendetta against Miller, NLS fails to point out that Miller is being supported by elected officials from across the Democratic political spectrum.
Fairfax Supervisors Gerry Connolly, Gerry Hyland, and Sharon Bulova are with Miller. Others who have already committed to Miller are Fairfax Sheriff Stan Barry, state Senator Toddy Puller, and state Delegate Kris Amundson.
The word is there are many more endorsements to come.
Are all these elected officials wrong?
Posted by: | March 31, 2007 at 02:21 PM
There's no way Kris endorsed this Miller.
Posted by: DO NOT SMEAR AMUNDSON | March 31, 2007 at 03:19 PM
Ben,
The rumor of you running is a bit older than "this past week"... It has been splashed in the comments section of your blog for quite awhile (and I am sure is rooted in your words). We are to believe that only NOW are you saying that it is only a rumor? C'mon, and be honest. Say that you have decided not to, but don't act as if this is s ome new rumor you just heard about.
You floated a balloon, didn't like what you saw and decided not to run, that's all. Be a little mroe honest with your readers. We're not dumb (ok, most aren't... I have my moments)
Posted by: The Squeaky Wheel | March 31, 2007 at 03:30 PM
Squeeky- it's only about a week old- the rumor started when I began covering this guy late last week.
I seriously thought about it and might have done it if Fairfax was a smaller county. But running in 250+ precincts with 1.1 million residents was just too much for me to do right now.
Posted by: Not Larry Sabato | March 31, 2007 at 03:33 PM
You have to start somewhere.
Posted by: Jim Hoeft | March 31, 2007 at 03:57 PM
Let me make this clear -- I think Scientology is complete hooey.
But lobbying is like being a criminal defense lawyer in the sense that being a criminal lawyer doesn't mean you're in favor of killing. Lobbying, as much as it has become a pejorative term, assists in strengthening our First Amendment rights. It permits the views of individuals to be heard who would never get the ear of Congress. You'll find that even mainstream religions have lobbying reps. So do charities. So do gun nuts. So do --- lots of kinds of nuts.
I'm not impressed about the arguments against this guy.
You know what really scares me? And is affecting our lives in a negative way? http://www.kentucky.com/158/story/26286.html
Posted by: PM | March 31, 2007 at 05:51 PM
"One Who Knows" has an IP address coming from Connecticut. They can go blog at "My Left Nutmeg".
Posted by: Not Larry Sabato | March 31, 2007 at 05:56 PM
well, at least there is one sure loser not on the ballot to drag down the rest of the ticket.
Posted by: Interested Observer | March 31, 2007 at 06:17 PM
Thank you Ben for doing this service. We don't need a Scientology lobbyist on the ticket, and we certainly don't need to imperil our whole ticket for someone who has NEVER VOTED IN A DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY.
Are they ANY attorneys out there who have voted in a Democratic primary who want 130K/year? Please run.
Posted by: Interested Bloviator | March 31, 2007 at 08:38 PM
You do not have to be an attorney to be Clerk of the Court.
Posted by: | March 31, 2007 at 09:25 PM
Thanks to Ben for what? Being the RPV's smear machine? Miller has lots of clients, some of them not necessarily mainstream. Some of them perfectly routine. Lawyers represent clients of all ilks and so do lobbyists. It isn't like he is an in-house lobbyest, he was a hired gun.
I seriously doubt that the Clerk of Court is going to be one of those high-drama campaigns. I cannot imagine anyone spending serious money on a negative campaign for this office, especially when they can get stalking horses to do their dirty work for them. You've got to get a lot more than a lobbyest for Scientologists (among dozens of others) to beat someone.
I agree that his party credentials are weak, but so are plenty of others. Do you have to be associated with the party for a long period to run on their ticket? You have to start some where.
Posted by: Interested Observer | April 01, 2007 at 06:01 AM
Ben
You said that ""One Who Knows" has an IP address coming from Connecticut. They can go blog at "My Left Nutmeg"."
But it's just possible that One Who, like me, is simply out of town for the weekend and borrowing a friend's computer.
You can't rely on those IP addresses based on a single post.
Posted by: Just Visiting | April 01, 2007 at 05:13 PM