2011 GOP Senate Candidates

Comments

[Greg L]

Gee, it's a little early to start taking nominations for the most amateur political video of 2011. This does challenge Diane Blais, although I have to give this one the edge since Diane actually provides a fresh musical underscore for her videos.

I suppose Eric Cligan is in the running, also. Geez, your side is kind of hurting in this department this year. What happened to all those wonderfully creative and witty progressives who were supposed to be so good at this sorta stuff?

[truthteller]

Greg L, the truth hurts.... This crew is extreme and out of the main stream and that video, while it may not be your cup of tea certainly shows it...

[Larry Sabato's Hairpiece]

It's a web video, not a commercial. The chance of it breaking four figures in views is slim.

[Greg L]

It's not that hard to get to four figures with a web video. You just have to make one that people want to watch, rather than some quickly-done piece of trash with bad music.

Here's one I did that got well past that mark across the various hosting platforms it appears on, and it's for a Sheriff's race in Harrisonburg - hardly the technology hub of Virginia: http://vimeo.com/26283410

Now if an independent Sheriff campaign in the valley can win with website video, why can't DPVA come across looking better than some high schoolers running Windows Media Encoder on a broke-down Win XP box? Or has DPVA only put crap producers on their approved vendor list and intend to punish any Democrats who actually use someone who knows what they're doing?

Not like it's been the first time we've seen that...

[Not Not NLS]

And what is the Democrat senate line up like? Oh right they have no candidates...

[truthteller]

Actually, not true --- they have the 22 seats they hold, three open seats they are contesting and three incumbents they are challenging (Watkins,Vogel- Holtzman and Newman) -- that makes 28.

[Noticed]

Well, golly! None of them GOP candidates are as moderate, attractive, successful, or well educated as young Mr. Tribbett. See how you missed your chance, Ben?

[Not a Republican]

Nice job by DPVA. A very nice summary of the folks Sen. Norment abd Gov. McDonnell want to put in charge of Virginia's legislature.

[novamiddleman]

thats all it is a fear piece looking for donations from the d faithful

Rs do the same thing all the time

[martha]

Newman??? Who is his challenger ? I heard Short had dropped out.

[James Young]

So privatizing black lung benefits is "extreme"? I guess in the cloudcuckooland of the far Left, where the public pays for health care, suggesting that IS extreme.

On Planet Earth, requiring private businesses to pay for the health-care costs of their employees is perfectly rational.

[Glad Not To Have Black Lung]

Mr.Young,

I'm sure in Adam Light's world private health care companies would do all they could to make sure coal miners with Black Lung disease would get all the treatment they need.

Sure they will...

[Who Does this Stuff?]

Dick Black actually sent plastic fetuses to other lawmakers? Holy moly.

I bet this guy is great to work with. I can see jobs is not his #1 priority.

[Senate Watcher]

Jeff Frederick? Seriously?

He'll make a great caucus chair or whip after Tommy Norment retires or is forced out of leadership.

[The Death of the Moderate Republican Senator]

With Dick Black looking to replace Fred Quayle and Carrico likely to replace William Wampler the changing of the guard is happening right now.

The republican Senate Caucus is off to Cuccinelli land.

Then you still have Jeff Frederick, Tom Garrett (a self-described "Cuccinelli Conservative").

[Loudoun Visitor]

Don't forget Patricia Phillips running against Mark Herring. She was the Virginia President of Concerned Women of America which wanted to ban the Harry Potter books because of "witchcraft."

Where do they find these people?

[Not Really Tommy Norment]

I can't believe I am actually supporting these people.

Signed,
Tommy Norment

[change]

TT,

Re ” This crew is extreme and out of the main stream”…

I am curious about your definition of “main stream”, does that include positions like:
making citizens buy whatever product the government endorses (ie. obamascare),
giving taxpayer money to political cronies (ie. LightSquared, Solandra etc…),
asking neighbors to spy on one another (ie. attackwatch.com),
proposing legislation that makes 10% of working Americans pay more than their current 70% of federal taxes and believes that almost half of our citizens should pay zero federal income taxes,
supporting an administration that asks our military to lie before congressional hearings
believing that abortion is actually a form of birth control,
and that do not understand that putting debilitating regulations on US companies that impede US growth is detrimental to our existence, and believe that throwing MORE money into a failed “federal” education system is more productive than allowing States to do their job.

Do all these fit the great “main stream” conscience which you believe defines real life voters/American citizens?

Remember, TT, that you have not been doing too well lately with your posts; as you have embarrassed yourself by complete ignorance in your attempt to “T”ell “T”rue facts.

Do some study before you reply, lest even your most ardent supporters might find your views as inconsequential as many intelligent readers already believe.

[change]

TT,

I hope you noticed that I did not even mention those in the "main stream" that seem to disregard women.

[Tom Brady]

Where is 'Tim the toad's candidate' Flannery, and 'I sue everyone, even my own party' Baker?

[truthteller]

Martha, I'd heard that too, but VPAP still has short listed... so maybe it is 27

[truthteller]

Change: Abolishing separation of church and state, going after the rights of individuals to obtain contraception, teaching religious theory of evolution alongside science, gutting our investment in infrastructure, education and transportation, claiming to be prolife while gutting our commitment to making health care affordable, trying to repeal civil rights laws, claiming the private sector can take care of black lung benefits, emergency response and food safety despite repeated evidence to the contrary, homophobia... These are all widespread views in today's GOP and if you don't believe these are out of the mainstream, you are out in cloud cuckoo land!

[truthteller]

correction, I meant to write teaching creationism alongside evolution as equally valid theories

[change]

TT,

Might you show us where in the constitution is the term “separation of church and State”? maybe you, like most liberals, simply do not understand the sentence “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”.

Next, are you admitting that “abortions” are just another uber-lib form of contraception?

As for “infrastructure”, Obama gave more to his buddies at solyndra (almost a half billion dollars) than 38 states received for infrastructure in his widely successful “stimulus” (although you can’t use that word anymore) package.

Also, we pay more for education than ever and get worse results; this should be left to the individual States, as well as health care. Nobody is trying to “repeal” civil rights laws and the balance of your blather is just the same old baseless BS…

I see that you, again, did not heed the advice to “study” before posting.

It is a very simple exercise to obtain facts and will make you look less like an idiot when you post.

Or is it that you enjoy being perceived as a mindless twit parroting unfounded uber-lib talking points, completely unable to make intelligent arguments based on any semblance of fact?

Your continued walk down the road of ignorance, is giving even the most rabid liberals a bad name, maybe you should trod another path…

[truthteller]

change, I have studied, it is you who continue to put words in my mouth that I did not say and to spread abject falsehoods. You do not get the right to tell me what I mean by contraception or infrastructure. And yes right wingers are chipping away at civil rights by packing the courts with extremists who believe corporations are people but people with disabilities and minorities have little in the way of protectiomn against discrimination. You are entitled to your own opinions but not your own "facts" and quit with the name calling invective, it is unbecoming and frankly shows only your own lack of civility or manners.

[truthteller]

And actually no law regarding the free exercise or establishment of religion does mean that you cannot have prayer in schools or teach one faith tradition in the schools which would implicitly support the establishment of one faith tradition as a state religion. The courts have consistently found this, and your ignorance of this point and willingness to let certain denominations impose their will on all others is indeed extreme

[NotJohnSMosby]

As far as Solyndra, that's $500 million down the tubes. That same $500 million could have bought us another day and a half in Iraq. Or it would have paid for another no-bid contract for mercenary services from Blackwater for a few weeks in Afghanistan or Iraq. Or it could have gone to help goose the already massive profits by subsidizing exploration or cheap leases at any Republican-friendly oil company.

[kelley in virginia]

or the $1/2 billion dollars wasted at Solyndra could have helped our education system or feed hungry children or pay off debt.

so when $ is wasted, everybody loses. Democrats need to call the Democrat President/administration out on this. This is not just a partisan issue.

[change]

TT,
I have not made up any facts; only the “truth” is typed by these discerning digits.

Actually, unlike you, I provided some specific examples (ie Solyndra) which you choose to ignore and NJSM seems to belittle. Seems a half billion dollars of taxpayer money going to Obama cronies means little to some people. I imagine it means very little to the 49% who pay no federal taxes.

Also, sorry your feelings got hurt (whaaa… whaaa…please don’t call your mommy) but I actually did not call you any names.
I merely pointed out how your posts make you sound. In case you do not know there is a difference between someone saying “you are an idiot” and suggesting that your posts make you sound like an idiot. (the latter could be solved with a small bit of study.)

Stay in school, do well, and remember “the mind is a terrible thing to waste”.

[NotJohnSMosby]

change, how many 10s or 100s or billions of dollars were fed to oil companies and defense services firms over during the Bush years? How many 10s of billions for farm and ethanol subsidies? I would rather risk a half a billion to see if an idea works than to keep sinking 100s of times that amount into Exxon and Haliburton and the like.

[change]

Mosby,
As far as I know, Exxon et al provides power for us to use.

and as far as the "Bush" years goes, can you tell me when that excuse gets old???

If I remember correctly, Obambi said, if he could not fix the situation in his first term "HE" sould not be given another four years...

do you take him at his word???

You making excuses does not make things better, it just validates the fact that lib's only make "excuses".

everything is always somebody else's fault...

Is the new liberal mantra "the buck stops someplace else"???

[change]

NJSB,
remember also, that there is a big difference between random companies getting contracts, and Obama cronies gettin a half billion (followed up with a photo shoot) all making we "igonrant" taxpayers the brunt of the joke.

There seems to be no shame in this adminitratin as they pass taxpayer money on for their friends benefits and no ultimate goal for the betterment of the USofA. it is at the least "sickening" and more likely "abusive".

Should we really be concerned and thinking about an obambi atempt to control of all aspecets of these jpossibilities?

should the most powerful individual in our county find such a simple abuse for his goals???

[NotJohnSMosby]

Haliburton is a random company? When the vice president was in charge of the place before he was vice president?

[truthteller]

I second what Not John Mosby said. I also commend to you that every entrepreneur who has made it big on this country has benefited from our roads, our rails, our educated and trained workers, our information technology infrastructure and a whole bunch of other resources that would not have been there for them to leverage but for the federal government. Taxes are the price we all pay for a quality society we wish to live in and if the elites of America wish for the country to be competitive they will agree to pay their fair share and sacrifice in order to sustain the robust and vibrant economic conditions that made them rich. If they are greedy SOBs pocket the profits and tell everyone else to go to hell, they will reap what they've sown.

Elizabeth Warren is right that expecting those that have leveraged America's resources to prosper have a responsibility to give back and pay forward.

And for every Solyndra you cite, I will cite you right wing boondagles like Enron and Halliburton and Blackwater that have letched off our country's resources while refusing to take any socially redeeming measures to give back. I will submit government is not infallible and makes bad decisions, but if you think that your right wing buddies are exempt from this crony capitalism, you have another thing coming. Remember also that it was the Bush administration that allowed the financial services industry to go to 40:1 leverage which is what made the collapse of 2008 possible..

[change]

TT and NJ

maybe should go back and "hit the books" again.

you have your "facts" all out of wack.

you guys are proof positive that the real goal of uber's is complete socialism.

no matter what the argument you find some strange way to blame all problems on someone else (usually someone successful who has done wel for themselves). or you find the need to take from those who produce to give to those who do not.

it is a very sad place for you to be and i hope one day you might find some success yourselves.
but to do so you need to quit feeling sorry for yourself and wanting to steal someone else's hard work and do some hard work yourselves. go start a company hire some people deal with the regulations, sacrifices, hurdles, sleepless nights, time away from family, etc.. then come back and tell us how you still feel you should give away what you earn to lazy socialists who do nothing but sit at home and bitch about someone else's success.

[truthteller]

Change,

You assume I am not successful. You assume incorrectly.

The fact of the matter is no one succeeds in America only by dint of their own labor. The federal government built the roads you get your goods to market on, the federal government invented the internet which you use to publicize your accomplishments and gather information, we paid for the public education, student loans and perhaps even the land grant state universities which educated the workers and we gave out small business loans and challenge grants to spur entrepreneurism. And government funds the cops and firefighters and soldiers who keep order. Successful entrepreneurs should want to give back a decent share to society for that environment in which it is possible to prosper like that rather than. Why should anyone hoard the money and whine about the unemployed sucking up benefits when you aren't hiring. And why should anyone push for deregulation of the financial sector and then say it aint me when their unwarranted risktaking brings our economy to the brink of financial ruin. What brought us to the current financial straits was not socialism, it was crony capitalism, unaffordable tax cuts and deregulation allowing the financial sector to become too big to fail. We tried it the way of tax cuts and deregulation and it brought us a net job loss and a financial crisis. You are the deluded one here, change, and I feel sorry for you.

This is a positive vision of government. You yourself must be in a

[change]

TT,
obviously the government job you hold has been good to you.

I hope you thank the taxpayer everyday for their support.

Your diatribe is useful for one purpose, to prove our differences, which can be summed up in your continued belief that "the government" has given us all of which we have.

Here is our basic difference, I don't believe the "goverment" is the basis of our success, I believe it is "the people". "the government" does not "pay" for anything, it is the American taxpaye's hard earned dollars that do so.

In a nutshell, you believe I work for the government and I belive the government should work for me.

Your sir, are a simple socialist and you should not be ashamed to admit it.

I don't expect you to agree, as you are feeding off the taxpayer, if you want to understand the "real world" quit your cozy govt. job and see how long you last in the private sector...

[truthteller]

I believe it is both people and government that contribute to our success and when these factors get too out of balance is when we have social turmoil. Right wingers are pushing us away from that balance willing to let our infrastructure crumble, our social ills multiply and parts of our populace go uneducated or untrained placing us at risk of deteriorating into a second or third rate economic power. When either powerful individuals/ corporations or the government have too much power we are at risk. And right now some powerful individuals/ corporations have demonstrated they are not willing to wield their influence with a regard to their compatriots, necessitating a check on abusive behavior from the government. Truly you do not believe our economic woes were brought on by government alone.... AIG, Countrywide, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, MorganStanley, Merrill etc all bear their share of responsibility for our current predicament.

[change]

TT,
Why is it when you are called on your true belief (socialism), only then do you try to sing a different tune?
You have admitted to being a taxpayer paid employee (and a healthy salary by your account), who believes that “government” owns all and should only give back to the citizens that which “government” believes they deserve.
Funny thing is that if the word “government” was replaced with “corporation” you would be bouncing off the walls.

If you truly believe that the “balance” has tilted away from “government” and toward “the people” you are living on a different planet. Even Obambi has recently attempted to rein in the EPA’s onerous regulations only to see them now wanting to take inhalers from asthma patients (just an example).
As far as the companies you listed, I am of the opinion that if they are not working they should be allowed to fail. Short and simple. They should not be propped up by more government waste. The intervention of the democrats is what produced the housing crisis by not allowing market forces to work and providing incentive for companies to risk capital with no consequence.

Take a look at the stimulus (now a dirty word) and see how much taxpayer money was thrown away which could have been used for correct purposes like infrastructure, protecting our borders, defense; But was given away to Obama cronies in return for contributions.

This is the type of thing your socialist views achieve. Instead of corporations surviving on their own merits you have government involvement/payoff’s etc… with promises of solutions that achieve nothing.

By profession, you are part of the problem. You like your big salary (funded by working taxpayers) you like your freebies (at the expense of others) and you want to take “more” out of the hands of those who produce to give to those whose existence depends on “taking”.
All this, and you feel no shame. A strange mirror must hang in your house…

[truthteller]

I am not a socialist, I AM a progressive. My salary is not what you purport it to be and abuses within the private sector are indeed a significant part of the problem. You are in denial, you project the failings of your own value systems onto others and lob labels at people which are terms you cannot define.

So far I have not heard you articulate a coherent definition of what you mean by socialism. Other than saying -- that is what YOU are. So I challenge you, articulate what you mean by socialism. If you think any prominent political figure other than Bernie Sanders is actually a socialist, then you would have a wonderful time in Europe where there actually are real bonafide socialists.

Also articulate how America is supposed to work with an unfettered free market when the unregulated free market has brought us Enron, AIG, Merrill Lynch, Bear Stearns and Countrywide in the last decade alone. Just as overregulation doesn't work, unfettered laissez faire doesnt work either.

[change]

TT,
You are not defined by what you “say” but what you believe. Your writings belie your screams of “I am not a socialist”. You claim to be a “progressive” which is currently the accepted word for “liberal” which took the place of socialist. (I am still amazed at why ubers must continuously change terms as the public begins to understand the meanings; but that is another subject.)
No matter what you call yourself, anyone who reads your posts, will understand for themselves.

You have repeatedly been told that “government ownership and distribution” is socialist, that “redistribution” is socialist, but you choose not to hear. Your ideals have been tried and proven failures. One need look no further than Europe to see the results, or even closer one may look at the “stimulus” results (or miserable lack thereof).

You attempt to rewrite history, rebuking “deregulation”, when it is actually “government intervention” that has caused our most difficult problems. You have been told to do some study, but either, refuse to review, or refuse to believe what you see.

The problems our country currently encounters are based on continued destructive intervention. Companies were mandated by government to sell houses to those who could not afford them; government makes onerous regulations inhibiting businesses from expanding or even starting; non elected bureaucrats make rules and regulations strangling invention while our competitors continue unfettered to make (and sell back to us) products that should be produced in the USA.

Again I suggest to you; try to start a business, put your own resources on the line, try to build an office or warehouse; and see firsthand what you encounter. Ahh, but these truths do not fit with your preferred beliefs so you discount the truth and instead spew fraudulent fairy-tales, which have long been disproven to all but those most obstinate.

You now claim your salary is not what “I” purport it to be, when it was “you” who boasted an understanding of hard work breading success. Do you now suggest that instead of being a “successful” taxpayer paid employee, you are “simple” burden on the taxpayer?

The main problem with those who do not tell the truth is that they must keep track of their lies, you are doing a miserable job.

My final admonition to you in this thread (as it seems to have become tired) is for you to read and understand the quote “He who has ears, let him hear”. It suggests that those with a desire to understand might listen and do so. Find an “ear” to hear the real “truth”, as opposed to that which you desire the truth to be; and one day you may be proud to smile back at the one you see in the mirror.

[truthteller]

Change, I suppose you believe you are well intentioned in your attempt at inculcating conservative values with me and "life-coaching" but I am a very well educated person in my own right and stand by the courage of my convictions and am confident in my progressive values and the life I am leading. So I suggest we both drop it as neither of us is going to convince the other