GERRY CONNOLLY TO PAT HERRITY: SHUT UP.

An issue that has been riling Fairfax County in recent years is the Saudi Academy.  As the National Review noted earlier this year: "More precisely, the Saudi Academy used Saudi Ministry of Education textbooks that sanction what is known in the United States as murder against Jews, adulterers, homosexuals, and converts from Islam, and that encourage Muslims to break various other American laws".  Obviously not good, especially from a school whose valedictorian in 1999 was arrested and sentenced to life in prison for plotting to kill President Bush- after his fellow students named him "most likely to be a martyr" while he was at the school.  The school's principal was arrested last year after failing to report a five year old's allegations of rape by her father to the police.

As the school seeks to expand its issues keep coming up before the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for land use cases.  Obviously the Board is not equipped to handle such issues, and had written Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last year asking for State Department guidance on the textbooks.

Which brings us to today.  The school wants to make a large expansion of its Fairfax Station campus, which is located on Popes Head Road.  This is about half a mile from where I grew up in Burke, so I am very familiar with the territory.  Popes Head Road is a windy one lane country road- in the part of Fairfax where you can't even build a house unless you have at least five acres of land.  Roads like Popes Head, Clifton and Chapel are very dangerous- and there have been a number of local students killed on them in recent years- including Maren Polach who was a senior with me at Robinson High School when she crashed her car and was killed on these roads.  So needless to say- the land use debate on this issue is not only related to the school's fringe teaching- but also to their choice of remote location in the county.

The local Supervisor here is Pat Herrity, and he sent Gerry Connolly a letter seeking additional information from the State Department now that Hillary Clinton and her team were there on the current status of the textbooks.  What Pat got in response on Congressional letterhead is truly chilling.

Download Connolly _Response

Gerry actually says to Pat "I would expect future communication on this issue will come in a formal communication from the Board of Supervisors".  Excuse me?  Since when does a local elected official need permission from the rest of the Supervisors to write their Congressman for additional information on a proposed project in their district?  Pat's district is almost entirely in the 11th District, the proposed expanded school is in the 11th District, and in the Special Election for Gerry's seat as Chairman this Spring Pat overwhelmingly carried the 11th District portion of Fairfax County (only falling short after losing the 8th District precincts inside the beltway).  If he needs permission to write his Congressman, imagine how random constituents who haven't just gotten 49.5% of the vote countywide must be treated!!

I wonder if this kind of partisan politics from a Congressional office is even an acceptable use of taxpayer resources under federal law.

Comments

[Not Bentard]

What an ass-hat response. Seriously.

Whether or not you like Pat Herrity, he is the defacto leader of the Fairfax Republican Party, and therefore has every right and opportunity to invoke politics into policy.

Popes Head is in his Supervisor district. Gerry is a first term Congressman with the singular and appropriate mission to become a second term Congressman.

Gerry is not getting it and I bet $100 that he continues to not take advice from his staff--who really want to keep their jobs.

[Va Blogger]

And he copied Bulova on the note too, like an indignant boss who can't believe some low-level employee contacted him without going through middle management first.

How can anybody possibly like this guy?

[Anon]

When are you going to cover the strange BOS vote last week that resulted in the ISA expansion being approved? When was the last time a district supervisor was overridden on a land use case in his own district?

[cageyd]

Gerry Connolly's letter strikes me as a typical Congressional brush-off form letter which is certainly inappropriate to be sent to Pat Herrity. What is not understood, however, is that now that Mr. Connolly is a Congressman, he believes he only has to answer to those he deems worthy of his notice - like Nancy Pelosi and President Obama. His response to Pat Herrity illustrates once again his unwillingness to conduct any meaningful dialogue with his constituents about the issues.

[Brian W. Schoeneman]

Honestly, I still cannot understand how Connolly gets elected. I have never heard a single good anecdote about someone dealing with him. At the most fundamental level, I have always thought that elected officials need to be likable to be electable. Connolly seems to be the exception that proves the rule.

[Not Larry Sabato]

1022,

I'm not sure the local Supervisor and Chairman have ever been on the same side of a land use application and lost a vote before. Bizarre.

[kelley in virginia]

while i don't like my freshman Dem congressman either (Perriello), i've never heard of him being a total jackass before.

if you people want a Dem so bad, can't you find a better one?

[Freedom Fighter]

Connolly has got to be one of the most pompous politicians from Virginia! If he keeps stunts like this up he is going to make it really easy for the Republicans to win next election. Not only does he not allow Supervisors to contact him about issues he doesn't want his constituents to either. He will be holding a town hall about ObamaCare on September 2nd, BUT it will in a gated community that requires a visitors pass and will not advertise it.

[Brotha from another motha]

I live in the 10th, but I'd be willing to pay good money to see this fat fuck go down.

[Not John S. Mosby]

Was Herrity asking as a private citizen or as a Supervisor? If as a Supervisor, then yeah, it should come from the board as a whole and not an individual supervisor. Same thing with Metro funding and most issues.

[Not Larry Sabato]

NJSM, do you understand the logistical problems there would be if the entire Board had to endorse any questions a board member had for a member of Congress? The logistical hurdles of a Board member that could delay a vote by saying they didn't have all the info because the Board needed to vote to send a letter? That's absurd- and why no Congressman before Gerry Connolly has ever demanded it.

[Va Blogger]

Even beyond the fact that Not John is wrong, I'm curious to understand his reasoning. Pat Herrity was inquiring about the State Department's progress about an ongoing issue. Why would he need the Board's permission to send a letter to gain information?

[A whole other Gerry]

And why should it take nearly two months (!) to get a response from your Congressman? Connolly is really a jerk.

[Loudoun Insider]

No big surprise - everyone knows Connolly is a complete asshole. As Brian says above, a-holes like Connolly and Jim Moran disprove my own strongly held beliefs that likability is key to getting elected. These two are absolutely unlikable yet have Congressional jobs for life.

If the GOP wants to have a chance they better pick someone other than Fimian. I generally like the guy but he has no shot.

[Anon]

Usually you need a BOS vote if you are asking a member of Congress for action, or transmitting the BOS' view on an issue. I have never seen a member of Congress request a BOS resolution when all the supervisor was asking for was information and a status update. And oh, by the way, the land use case that spawned the letter was in Herrity's district.

[Bruce]

As a former Hill staffer I can tell you we got letters from individual supervisors, town council members, school board members and state legislators. We always responded. We never said a whole body had to vote before we listened to one of its members. That would never have even occurred to us.

[TomPaine]

More manufactured baloney from the "Grudge Report".

[TomPaine]

Having worked for both a U. S. Senator, a member of the House of Representatives. a Virginia Senator, and a Delegate, I can testify that Connolly's is right on target.

No political official wants to get in the middle of a potential or real pissing contest between a single board member and the rest of the board.

Herrity was wrong in trying to go around the board on a matter that was pollitically sensitive.

[Gerry is Toast]

Gerry has one-termer written all over him.

As for Fimian, he's definitely a flawed candidate, but he didn't outperform McCain/Palin without reason.

I don't think Gerry is entirely blind to the political reality, either. His campaign signs were overwhelmingly BLUE and practically had the word DEMOCRAT more prominently than his own damn name. He was running on Obama's coattails and he knew it.

Without Obama, he better hope his Republican opponent implodes. The 11th, with wide swaths of Prince William County and Southern/Western Fairfax, is far more right-leaning than its recent reputation would suggest.

Post-redistricting would be different, but let's not forget that the 11th was a Republican gerrymandered district designed to be safe for Tom Davis.

[Daniel]

Guess who is Gerry taking advice from "David H. Miller" http://notlarrysabato.typepad.com/doh/2007/05/scientology_lob.html our favorite Washington, D.C. Lobbies or should we say our favorite most hated lobbies. Seeing Gerry embracing David Miller at La Rue 123 restaurant having dinner a few weeks ago made me sick of my stomach. They talked about strategy what a pair... David the Scientology follower jew and the Gerry democrat races hypocrite. Sorry too close to snap a picture. Gerry can only go down hill is David Miller is he's hidden right hand.

[Gerry Connolly Sux]

Gerry Connolly should do what he is expected to do as a Congressman and write back to his constitent, Pat Herrity, politely and providing the information requested. What a jerk Gerry Connolly is. I don't care how bad the opponent is, I'll be sure to vote against Gerry Connolly.

[Chanel J12]

Do you agree that travel must one day revert to being a luxury