The GOP Faces a Roy Moore-Style Humiliation in Virginia

Neo-Confederate Corey Stewart

The base of the Republican Party of Virginia has transformed in the years since I left the GOP.  One could argue that much of it is unrecognizable as sane and moderate people have fled the party, leaving the base with the appearance of the mental patients now running the asylum.  All signs are that things are not going to improve given The Family Foundation's - Virginia's leading hate group - efforts to whip up Christofascists and the neo-Confederates and would be white supremacists who seemingly predominate in rural regions. Any primary will bring out the most rabid crazies and make it very difficult for a traditional Republican to secure the party nomination.  As noted, the GOP primary to select a candidate to oppose U.S. Senator Tim Kaine already has all the makings of a three ring circus with two of the announced candidates, Corey Stewart and E.W. Jackson (a self-consecrated "bishop") almost guaranteed to give national Democrats sound bites and photos ops that can be used against the GOP across the country to highlight GOP extremism if not out right insanity.  A piece in The Daily Beast looks at the coming GOP nightmare.  Here are excerpts:

Primary campaigns can be testy, messy affairs. But few, if any, begin with one candidate accusing his opponent of having dealings with the Muslim Brotherhood and that opponent responding by saying his accuser was “off his meds.”

Such was the beginning of what promises to be an outrageous GOP Senate primary in Virginia, one that Republicans worry will further harm their national brand. Earlier this month, the party experienced as much in Alabama, with the remarkable loss of Senate candidate Roy Moore. Virginia is hardly a similarly Republican-leaning state. And none of the candidates running for the nomination there have quite the same amount of baggage as Moore, who was accused of sexually preying on teenagers.

Then again, few would describe them as non-extreme.

This past week, E.W. Jackson, a conservative pastor with a history of controversial remarks announced that he would be challenging Corey Stewart, former gubernatorial candidate and Trump acolyte, for the Republican primary which is roughly six months away. Jackson, previously the GOP’s 2013 nominee for lieutenant governor, has said in the past that people who want to be referred to by gender-neutral pronouns indicate that they are possessed by “multiple demons” and that gay and lesbian citizens are “frankly very sick people psychologically, mentally and emotionally,” . . . . and that Planned Parenthood “has been far more lethal to black lives than the KKK ever was.”

Stewart, meanwhile, is closely aligned with Donald Trump’s former top strategist, Steve Bannon, and helped shape a campaign on the preservation of Confederate monuments in Virginia, despite hailing from Minnesota. . . . . Stewart was fired from the Trump campaign for, as he put it, standing up against “establishment pukes” at the Republican National Committee when the Access Hollywood tape came out. Most recently, during his brief stint supporting Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore, Stewart revived unfounded claims made by Trump that Obama’s birth certificate is fraudulent.

The two are vying for the right to square off (in all likelihood) against Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), who will be running for re-election with high approval ratings and in a state where Democrats won sweeping victories just a month ago. Political observers say they wouldn’t be surprised if the national Republican Party avoided the contest altogether.

[B]oth local and national Republicans are frantically trying to recruit or prop up any other breathing human to run as an alternative to Jackson and Stewart. . . . . There is a path for victory in the Republican primary if the two most fringe candidates divide their base and essentially cancel each other out.

John Fredericks, a conservative radio host out of Hampton Roads, Virginia, noted that Corey Stewart remains the “clear favorite” owing to his recent, surprising, gubernatorial run. But he observed, “E.W. Jackson is really his worst nightmare that he could go up against. He’s going to be very difficult for Stewart to attack. Jacskon’s entry into the race strips away the evangelical base that would have probably went with Corey Stewart.”

“I think the Republicans in Virginia are on their way to losing yet another statewide race,” Fredericks predicted. “That would be 11 in a row. Now you become the Cleveland Browns of politics. They’ve got to find a methodology to win a race statewide.”

Republicans in the commonwealth are deeply aware of the demographic trends which make a statewide win such a tough challenge for the GOP. And putting up any candidates with limited appeal who align themselves with the deeply unpopular Trump administration is essentially a death wish.

But still, what the party is trying to avoid is another loss from a candidate like Moore who will serve as a weight around their necks in 2018.

“Either Stewart or Jackson would be perfect for national Democrats to use to show the Roy Moore face of the Republican party,” [Larry] Sabato told The Daily Beast.

The hope for Republicans is that a more respectable candidate with electoral successes would enter the race, at the very least to help save face in a challenging midterm environment. But that is a task easier said than done.

Alabama: A Warning to the Virginia GOP

Neo-confederate, would be Trump mini-me, Corey Stewart

One question for the Republican Party of Virginia is whether or not it learned anything from the defeat of extremist nut case Roy Moore in Alabama this past Tuesday.  At present, the two announce GOP primary candidates seeking to challenge Senator Tim Kaine are extremists and whack jobs much akin to Moore.  One is a neo-Confederate would be Trump mini me named Corey Stewart who is popular with the rabid dog Virginia GOP base.  The other is self-styled "bishop" E.W. Jackson who went down to a crushing defeat in 2013 to Ralph Northam in the Lt. Governor race. Jackson is a virulent homophobe and ,in my view, is utterly un-tethered from objective reality - something that makes him the perfect for Virginia Christofascists.  A column in the Virginian Pilot questions whether the Virginia GOP will nonetheless select one of these extremists or someone else far from normalcy to challenge Kaine.  Given the lunacy of the Virginia GOP base, it is very possible Kaine will be given the gift of a lunatic as his opponent in November, 2018.  Here are column highlights:

Roy Moore's defeat in ruby-red Alabama may spell trouble for Virginia Republican Senate hopefuls Corey Stewart and E.W. Jackson, both of whom, like Moore, have pursued platforms far from the party's establishment wing.

Both Virginia hopefuls entered the Republican primary campaigning to the right of fellow GOP candidates: Stewart as a self- professed mini Donald Trump who has voiced support for Confederate statues and Jackson a firebrand preacher who has called gay people ill.

After the results were tallied in Alabama - first-time candidate Doug Jones bested Moore by more than 20,000 votes - Stewart, who had stumped for Moore, sounded off against GOP leaders who he said "colluded" with Republicans to undermine the former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court.

Jackson, an African-American minister, tweeted: "The black vote did not turn out against Roy Moore because of the sex scandal, but because of alleged racially insensitive remarks & perceived disdain for black voters."

But experts say such attention-grabbing statements don't represent a version of the Republican Party that can topple Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., next year.

"Extremist messaging is problematic in Virginia, but it's even problematic in Alabama," said Stephen Farnsworth, a professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington. Of Virginia, he said: "An evangelical message or a nativist-focused message might get you a nomination, but it'll be toxic in a general election."

The Virginia GOP's craving for a not-so-extreme candidate could be why Del. Nick Freitas, Culpeper, an Army veteran and tea party-style conservative, is picking up early buzz as an alternative to Stewart.

An hour after the results in Alabama came in, Freitas chose to post on Facebook about a youth counseling program and not the election. He did not return messages seeking comment Wednesday.  

In a 2012 interview with the group Americans for Truth about Homosexuality, which has been called a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, Jackson called gay people "perverted" and "very sick people psychologically and mentally and emotionally." Later in the same interview he called homosexuality a "horrible sin" that "poisons culture" and "destroys families."  

[E]arlier this week Jackson suggested Stewart had "some dealings" with the Muslim Brotherhood - a jab Stewart labeled vintage Jackson.

"He's a crackpot," Stewart said in a phone interview Wednesday from Alabama. "He's getting even crazier." Stewart said Democrats would not let Jackson off the hook despite his attempts to moderate his comments on gay and transgender people - and neither would he.

Stewart shows no signs of backing off his self-described anti- politically correct soapbox.  In a minute-long video on Facebook shortly after the results came in, Stewart promised to never surrender to the "Republican establishment," which "colluded together with the Democrats to undermine Judge Moore" and will follow suit in his race next year.

Extremist E.W. Jackson to Run for U.S. Senate from Virginia

Next year's Republican primary for the GOP nomination to run against Senator Tim Kaine is shaping up to be one of crazy versus crazy.  Failed GOP gubernatorial candidate Corey Stewart has already said that he will be running - most likely on a neo-Confederate agenda - and now self-proclaimed "bishop" E. W. Jackson is reported to be preparing for a run for the GOP nomination as well, in Jackson's case most likely as a Christian Taliban candidate.  The lunacy will no doubt be off the charts, but such is the nature of today's Republican Party of Virginia that sane and normal individuals are simply not welcome.  We last saw Stewart when he nearly defeated Ed Gillespie in the 2017 GOP gubernatorial primary.  Jackson, of course, lost resoundingly to Ralph Northam in the 2013 Lt. Governor contest.  Tim Kaine must be smiling if this is the best the GOP can field against him.  A piece in the Washington Post looks at Jackson's insanity/ego driven announcement.  As for Jerry Falwell, Jr.'s, remarks, if there is a swamp that needs draining, part of it is located in Lynchburg and goes by the name of Liberty University.  Here are article highlights:

E.W. Jackson, a firebrand minister who says yoga leads to Satan and gay people are ill, plans to announce he is seeking the Republican nomination to challenge U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) next year, according to Jackson’s finance director.

Jackson will announce his candidacy on Dec. 11 in the Chesapeake area, said Steven Thomas, who said he is raising money for Jackson’s campaign and filled the same role during Jackson’s 2013 losing bid for lieutenant governor.  A website registered to Jackson was updated Tuesday and announces “EW Jackson for U.S. Senate.”

Jackson has a history of controversial comments from calling gay and lesbian individuals “very sick people” to suggesting the practice of yoga invites Satan to possess one’s soul.

He will face Corey Stewart, the bombastic Republican official from Prince William County who ran for the GOP nomination for governor earlier this year in the mold of President Trump. Several other Republicans are weighing whether to jump into the race.

The Senate field is expected to solidify this weekend when Virginia Republicans gather for their largest annual event — dubbed the Advance — at an Allegheny Mountain resort in western Virginia.

In an interview on WAMU radio last week, Virginia GOP Chairman John Whitbeck said the party will remain neutral, but noted, “It’s not going to be just Corey Stewart in this race by himself.”

Stewart, who declared in July, on Tuesday announced the endorsement of Jerry Falwell Jr., the influential head of Liberty University and ally of President Trump. . . .  Trump needs Stewart “in the U.S. Senate to help clean up the swamp in Washington,” Falwell said.

In response to the endorsement, Stewart said,“Virginia’s awakening is happening, and Mr. Falwell’s endorsement is proof positive conservative Republicans will take back Virginia.”

In addition to Stewart, the only other candidate who filed federal paperwork to run as of Tuesday is Ivan Raiklin, an Army veteran who recently jogged an average of 22 miles a day to bring awareness to suicide among veterans and to kick off his campaign.

Republicans turned off by Stewart’s approach are looking to another candidate, Del. Nick Freitas (Culpeper), who said Tuesday he is considering a run for the nomination.

The two-term state lawmaker is former head of the Culpeper County GOP and moved to Virginia in 2009. He served in the Army special forces as a Green Beret and is currently a defense contractor.

John Norton Moore, an international law expert who has taught at University of Virginia School of Law on and off for a half century, is also considering a run, he said in an interview Monday.

Freitas, Moore, Raiklin and Stewart will host small parties in hotel suites at the GOP retreat, a sign to party activists that they are interested in running for public office.

Daily Press Endorses Ralph Northam

In yet another sign that perhaps the moribund Daily Press is waking up to the fact that being a far right rag is not conducive to its continued survival, the Daily Press has endorsed Ralph Northam for Lt. Governor of Virginia.  While it would be hard for anyone remotely sane to endorse the GOP candidate, "Bishop" E.W. Jackson - I put bishop in quotes since Jackson formed his own tiny church and gave himself the title of bishop - more insane things have appeared on the Daily Press editorial page in the past.  Thankfully, the editorial board saw that Jackson is an extremist and, arguably, unfit for any elected office while Northam is an educated, rational man with a track record of problem solving.   Here are excerpts from the endorsement:

Ralph Northam has served in the state Senate since 2008. This year he has earned our endorsement for lieutenant governor, the position that serves as the president of that house of the General Assembly.

Mr. Northam, the Democratic nominee, impressed us as a plainspoken man who approaches issues in a thoughtful, even-handed manner. He has the right temperament to work with the governor and lead the state senate as a negotiator in search of bipartisan compromises.

We extended several invitations for Republican nominee E.W. Jackson to meet with us, but his campaign never arranged a time. It is a policy of the Daily Press Editorial Board that we do not consider endorsing local or statewide candidates without discussing their positions with them.

In that way, Mr. Jackson made our decision easy, by leaving us no choice but to endorse Mr. Northam. But had we been able to meet with Mr. Jackson, he would have had a hard time winning our confidence. Mr. Jackson, a bishop from Chesapeake who has never held elective office, has drawn considerable attention for incendiary comments about those with whom he disagrees. 

Many of these quotes come from sermons rather than stump speeches, such as last month when he told a church congregation in Northern Virginia that people who don't follow Jesus Christ "are engaged in some sort of false religion." Mr. Jackson has tried to say that his words from the pulpit should be seen as separate from the policies he stands for as a candidate. But it has to raise red flags when a candidate for statewide political office says, in any context, that homosexuals are "very sick people psychologically, mentally and emotionally." When he refers to Democrats as "the anti-God party," it does not fill us with confidence in his ability to reach across the aisle for the sort of productive negotiations that are critical to efficient government.

In recent years, our General Assembly has grown increasingly distracted by divisive social issues, often on women's health. The result has been indefensible legislation mandating needless and overly invasive ultrasounds and specifically targeting clinics that provide abortions. To this mix, we cannot afford to add a lieutenant governor who said, in a scripted and professionally filmed video: "Planned Parenthood has been far more lethal to black lives than the KKK ever was. And the Democrat Party and their black civil rights allies are partners in this genocide."

Mr. Northam, an Army veteran who served in Desert Storm, favors sensible gun laws that balance public safety with the Second Amendment rights of private citizens – though we take issue with him for supporting the legislation that sealed the public records on concealed carry license. He progressive views, tempered by his conservative upbringing on the Eastern Shore, make him a centrist. A doctor who specializes in pediatric neurology, he brings a distinctive perspective on issues such as health care, Medicaid and the relationship between doctor and patient.

Mr. Northam was one of the strongest supporters of Gov. Bob McDonnell's $6 billion transportation deal, a significant piece of legislation that will provide funds for badly needed repairs and expansions for this region's interstates and tunnels. In discussing jobs and the state's economy, he stresses sensible measures addressing transportation, health care and education aimed at making Virginia the most appealing place possible for businesses.

These two candidates for lieutenant governor offer a stark contrast in personalities and in approaches to governing.

Mr. Northam chooses his words carefully and addresses issues in measured tones. He has a diplomatic disposition that would serve him well as the president of a state Senate that has been too polarized in recent years.  For these reasons, we endorse Ralph Northam for lieutenant governor.

Washington Post endorses Ralph Northam and Mark Herring

Somewhat echoing my own reasoning as set out in the October issue of VEER Magazine, the Washington Post has endorsed Ralph Northam (above) for Virginia Lt. Governor and Mark Herring for Virginia Attorney General.  Actually, the Post's endorsement of the two Democrats - it previously endorsed Terry McAuliffe for Governor - should come as no surprise given the extremism (and in the case of "Bishop" Jackson, out right lunacy) of their GOP opponents who were basically selected by the most extreme and fanatical elements of the Virginia GOP and The Family Foundation.  Here are highlights from the endorsements:

VIRGINIA’S DOWN-TICKET races for lieutenant governor and attorney general don’t get much play, which is a pity. Both offices wield real power and serve as springboards for future gubernatorial bids. The campaigns themselves have been fascinating, mostly as exercises in shape-shifting by the ultra-conservative Republican candidates.

In the race for lieutenant governor, a sober, low-key and well-respected Democratic state senator, Ralph S. Northam of Norfolk, is pitted against E.W. Jackson of Chesapeake, a Republican pastor whose rhetorical overkill compels journalists to over employ the euphemism “fiery.” Mr. Jackson has spent much of the campaign trying to persuade Virginians to disregard his toxic oratory and venomous views on practically everything.

Where Mr. Northam, a fiscal conservative, is measured and moderate . . . Mr. Jackson is drunk with his own words, incapable of resisting bombast and demagoguery. While Mr. Northam, a pediatric neurologist, speaks movingly of the children he has treated, Mr. Jackson blathers about his “love for all people” — even as he goes about savaging Democrats (agents of Satan), homosexuals (“very sick people”) and religious minorities (followers of “false” religions).

Virginia voters would be within their rights to roll their eyes at the spectacle of Mr. Jackson’s campaign. That’s fine, as long as they remember to vote for Mr. Northam.

The race for attorney general, who leads an office that functions as the law firm for the governor, legislature and agencies of state government, presents a choice almost as stark.

The Republican, state Sen. Mark D. Obenshain of Harrisonburg, is a doctrinaire conservative who has tried to explain away a legislative record that earned a perfect rating from the right-wing Family Foundation. Not content to oppose abortion rights, Mr. Obenshain introduced a senseless bill that would have required women to report miscarriages to the police. Amid the resulting outcry, Mr. Obenshain withdrew the bill; now he says he didn’t mean it.

Mr. Obenshain fought every politically viable attempt to provide money to rescue the state’s crumbling road and rail system from obsolescence. He opposed legislation to ensure that homosexual state workers would be protected under Virginia’s anti-discrimination law.

The Democratic candidate for attorney general, state Sen. Mark R. Herring of Loudoun County, is an experienced lawmaker and former member of the Loudoun Board of Supervisors. In Richmond, he has pushed through important legislation to protect elderly Virginians from financial fraud and to ban the sale of dangerous “designer” drugs. He is well versed on a range of issues facing Virginians, including land use, public ethics and the difficulties facing parents who seek involuntary commitments for adult children who may represent a threat to themselves or others.

Mr. Obenshain would follow in the footsteps of Ken Cuccinelli II, the GOP gubernatorial candidate and current attorney general, who has turned the office into a platform for ideological crusades. Mr. Herring would hew to the former Virginia tradition of offering restrained and responsible advice.

Values Voter Summit - A Study In Batshit Craziness and What's Wrong with the GOP

If one wants to understand what's really wrong with the Republican Party nowadays, all one need do is follow the utter lunacy that has been transpiring at the so-called "Values Voter Summit' orchestrated by anti-gay and white supremacist embracing hate groups.  Right Wing Watch has been documenting much of the utter insanity transpiring and what one needs to remember is that these delusional speakers represent the true face of the Christofascist/Tea Party base of the GOP.  Here's a sampling of some of the craziness via post captions:

At VVS Heritage Predicts 'MassiveUpheaval' and Right-Wing Takeover of GOP

Bomberger:Gays Like Kleptomaniacs, Homophobia A Myth   

Brown:Gay Marriage Deconstructs 'The Very Nature Of What It Means To Be A HumanBeing'  

Santorum: Contraception Mandate Is A'Descendant Of The French Revolution' 

Parker: Gay People And 'Enemies OfGod' Should 'Keep It Private' 

Bachmann: Obama Is Supporting AlQaeda, Proving That We Are In The End Times 

"Bishop" E.W. Jackson: Next To Jesus, America HasBeen 'The Greatest Blessing Given To Mankind

 

Jim Bob Duggar Compares US To Nazi Germany During The Holocaust

  

There's much more which ought to be required reading for Americans so that they would understand the lunacy that has over taken the GOP.  Even just 20 years ago, no sane and self-respecting Republican politician would want to be seen with these crazy people.  Now, the troop through swearing fealty to those perhaps better committed to a mental ward.  And the swamp fever seems to be only intensifying as these bigots and racist become more hysterical in their opposition to modernity and demographic change that is eroding the white privilege these people feel they are losing.  Sane and decent people need to do all they can to stop these people from gaining any more political power and influence.

At VVS Heritage Predicts 'Massive Upheaval' and Right-Wing Takeover of GOP - See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/vvs-heritage-predicts-massive-upheaval-and-right-wing-takeover-gop#sthash.5JERotIa.dpuf