GERRY CONNOLLY SUPPRESSING VOTES IN SPECIAL ELECTION

While Sharon Bulova stands at his side applauding.  Shocking.

Comments

[Holy Shit]

That's horrible!

[John]

Not an appropriate joke in my mind, but far from the worst thing Connolly has ever done.

Let's keep in mind the flyers that were distributed in the Norfolk area (clearly aimed at minority voters) indicating that Republicans were to vote on Tuesday Nov. 4 and Democrats were to vote on Wednesday Nov. 5. That's far worse than Connolly's (bad) joke at a Democratic event.

What a douchebag

[Just curious]

It's mostly Connolly repeating a stupid joke. But you do bring up an interesting question: Does this mean that you are urging your parents to vote for Pat Herrity?

Typical Boss Connolly bullshit.

[Loudoun Insider]

Connolly is a complete ass. As mentioned in the post about a fellow a-hole below, what a pair of jerks you Dems have saddled Virginia with in the DC suburbs. With the clear trends towards the Democratic Party in NOVA, can't you guys do better than these two???

[Beej Powers]

This seems like a non-issue more than anything. A stupid joke that has roots in the 50s and 60s. The bigger problem than the joke itself is that he can't shill any better for his replacement. I know my wife and I voted for him because it was the only Dem option. Quite frankly, I am considering working with or for someone around here so I can keep people like Connelly in check.

[anon]

This is not a scandal, not voter suppression, and is a pretty funny, innocuous joke. I wonder if there will every be another "major scandal" on NLS which is, in fact, any kind of scandal at all.

[Not Jim Moran]

Connolly just insulted 45% of the ppl that live in his district. If he wants to be successful like Tom, he needs to be less partisan.

[Sam]

Ben,

It's sad that your hatred of Gerry has blinded you to the fact that this was OBVIOUSLY meant as a joke, not a serious "strategy." I hate the guy too but I could still see it... It was in poor taste, given Republican tactics of late, I will give you that, but it was a joke, not a scandal.

[Cate]

An old joke. A joke used by the GOP as well. A mildly funny joke. Where's the breaking news here? Oh, and Louden, we've seen your hayseed BoS in action so quiet down out there.

[HisRoc]

"Facts are a stubborn thing." -John Adams.

Anyone who thinks that a vote to continue the Connolly Machine in Fairfax County is a good idea needs to be reminded of recent history. In the run-up to the County Supervisor races in November 2007, Chairman Gerry Connolly (and Sharon Bulova as the chair of the Finance Committee) assured the voters that the county finances were in "excellent" shape. Connolly was re-elected with 60% of the vote and Bulova was re-elected with over 80% of the vote. On December 17th, only 42 days later, Connolly and Bulova 'discovered' a budget shortfall of $220M. You can read it here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/11/AR2007121102359.html

Fairfax voters should be angry that they were hoodwinked by Connolly and Bulova in 2007. They should be ashamed of themselves if they fall for it again and elect Bulova as Chairman.

The problem in Fairfax County is not that we don't have enough tax revenue. The problem is that the Connolly Machine has spent too much money on things that the county doesn't need and then lied to the voters about the county's finances. No more!

Even if he was joking, it's still pretty appalling rhetoric from a Congressman at a political rally of activists. Are we really claiming that party-line people (on either side) are smart enough to figure out when someone is joking?

[Is This Criminal?]

The problem with people who say he was just "kidding" is the standard that would take us to as a society.

Can a man threaten his girlfriend and get away with it if he says he was kidding when the cops come?

Can someone scream fire in a movie theater and say they were kidding when they are arrested?

Can Mark Foley say he was kidding when he was soliciting sex from Congressional Pages online?

Words have meaning. These words have a specific meaning of encouraging voter fraud and intimidation.

Action needs to be taken against the Congressman who said them, the Governor's aide who clapped and smiled (Hanley) and the candidate it was designed to benefit who was also there (Sharon Bulova).

I love the "it's the republicans fault" theory. How long will you libs attempt to ride that train?

[Not Jim Moran]

Despite the fact that its a joke, elected officals shouldn't say things like this. I might understand if a party chairman said this, but stupid stuff like this comes back to you. Just ask George Allen.

[t]

t moans at the iniquity of pompous fat liberals who do not fight according to established rules.

These lawmakers are a disgrace and an embarassment.

[Anonymous Is A Woman]

His Roc, you pointed us to an article in the Washington Post as proof that Connolly and Bulova hoodwinked the public in the 2007 election by stating that the county was in better financial shape than they let on. But here is the opening of that article:

"A worsening housing market, including rising foreclosures, has rapidly pushed Fairfax County government into a budget crisis that probably will last several years, pinching spending by hundreds of millions of dollars on schools, public safety and human services, officials said yesterday.

"The crunch on government spending is expected to be worse in other communities, including Loudoun and Prince William, where housing values are slumping more dramatically and foreclosure rates are higher. But the news that Fairfax, an inner suburb with more stable property values and a robust job market, is suddenly feeling such profound consequences of the housing bust suggests that the effects on the regional economy are just beginning to be felt and could last for years, county budget analysts said."

That's a point I've argued elsewhere. Facts, indeed, are stubborn things, as somebody else on this thread said. And the stubbornest fact of all is that there is a major economic recession, brought on by a meltdown of the housing market, tightening credit, and a plunging stock market.

Another stubborn fact is that the major source of revenue for most localities comes from property and sales taxes, two items that took a major hit in this downturn.

That is not the fault of Sharon, Gerry, or even the Republicans on the local BOSes in Loudoun or PW counties, where, as that article pointed out, the crisis is even worse.

If you think Pat Herrity would be a better chairman than Sharon, fine. But please give me some real reasons, based on his ideas, not on blaming those in office for circumstances beyond their control - circumstances brought on by lack of proper oversight and regulation of the banking, mortgage, and housing industries by the way.

AIAW--

Despite PW and Loudoun being harder hit by the economy, Fairfax has a worse shortfall, not only in terms of total dollars but in terms of percentage of budget.

Why?

Because Fairfax County's budget is MASSIVE, because we've spent with absolutely no concern that tax revenues could ever go down. We've grown the budget in the past six years by a billion dollars BEYOND what would be called for because of inflation and population growth.

Yes, the economy is bad which is why we're facing a shortfall, but we're facing a much larger shortfall because Connolly and Bulova squandered taxpayer money in good times, and did absolutely nothing to prepare for bad times.

[For Your Information]

*This was sent by the Fairfax County Republican Committee!

Connolly Advocates Voter Suppression
Tells Activists to Give Some Voters Wrong Election Date

FAIRFAX, VA - 1/22/09 - Barely into his third week as a Member of Congress, Democrat Gerry Connolly (D-VA 11) has begun a second job as a standup comic. Given his latest attempt to elicit a few laughs, he may want to stick to his day job.

"It's really important we tell every Democrat we know this election is Tuesday, February 3, and we need to tell every Republican we know the election is Tuesday, February 10." Connolly said at an appearance for Sharon Bulova, the Democrat running to replace Connolly as Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.

Not Larry Sabato, the liberal Virginia political blog, called his statement - and Bulova's standing at his side -- "appalling" and "shocking."

"Yes, he was joking," said Anthony Bedell, "But voter suppression really isn't something you should use to try to get a laugh. I have a joke book he can borrow if he needs some better material."

"And why is Supervisor Bulova is laughing? I am sure it is because now that she realizes she is in a race that it is a dead heat, maybe a little voter confusion might come in handy on election day," added Bedell.

Bulova, the Braddock District supervisor, is opposed by Patrick Herrity, a Republican who represents Springfield District.

To view Connolly's comments, please click here

[t]

Ben, please immediately remove the anti-Christian ad on your blog that claims that God does not exist.

I find the ad to be offensive and I suspect that many of your loyal readers do as well.

Thank you Ben for your attention to this matter.

[Olivia Jenney]

I will try to get this out to every R voter in the district.

[Simon Owens]

"Ben, please immediately remove the anti-Christian ad on your blog that claims that God does not exist.

I find the ad to be offensive and I suspect that many of your loyal readers do as well."

By that logic I could claim that Christian ads saying God exists to be offensive to atheists. Funny that you don't care that Ben attacks parties and political belief systems, but the second your fragile religious beliefs are questioned it suddenly becomes "offensive"

Simon -- atheists scream and whine all the time whenever Christians mention the word "God" in a public setting.

[Not John S. Mosby]

No, atheists don't mind Christians talking about God. What they - and anyone who doesn't believe in that particular god - don't want is being made to acknowledge a particular god, or being forced to spend money on it. I.E, having pledges that specifically mentions god that they or their kids may be compelled to recite. Or having public funds pay for a creche or something of the sort.

[HisRoc]

AIAW,
You are mis-reading the WaPo article. Yes, the housing recession and other economic factors were responsible for the Fairfax budget shortfall. However, my point was that Connolly and Bulova lied to the voters about the impact of these economic trends on the county budget in the run up to the county elections. The underlying factors cited in the WaPo article did not manifest themselves in 42 days. And, as another poster noted, Fairfax has been hit harder than other adjacent counties because of the failure of the Connolly Machine to save for "rainy days." Connolly and Bulova were called on this in the Nov 07 campaign and denied that Fairfax had a problem. 42 days later, after their re-elections, they proclaimed that Fairfax did, indeed, have a very serious problem.

Today, Bulova wants us to vote for her as Chairman because "we are so lucky to live in Fairfax County." I don't feel lucky at all, given the wasteful spending of the Connolly Machine during a past period of record prosperity with absolutely no contingency planning for an almost inevitable economic downturn. That is not the county leadership that I want to take us forward.

[La Lydia]

He is a buffoon and, I suspect after that business with Metro, a crook to boot. Should fit right in to the current Congress. He will bring shame on Northern Virginia, not that shame ever stopped Congressman Moron.

[t]

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom.

[Jane]

Thank YOU Gerry! You are the gift that just keeps on giving. Kinda like VD.

[James Young]

Ben, it's not a scandal; it's a joke. However, given that the moonbats would call a similar comment by a Republican "voter suppression," but will ignore this, at least you can be credited with applying objective criteria objectively.

[Simon Owens]

"Simon -- atheists scream and whine all the time whenever Christians mention the word "God" in a public setting."

No they don't, they get angry when religion is pushed during government proceedings or in legislation. I've never seen an atheist get offended over a Christian ad simply asserting that God exists. Ridiculed it, yes, but offended?

I am offended by the ad, Remove it