Gillespie Wins Nod to Challenge Senator Mark Warner

Perhaps having learned a lesson from last year that nominating total whack jobs to be party standard bears was a guarantee of defeat at the polls, the Virginia GOP nominated Ed Gillespie as its nominee to challenge incumbent Senator Mark Warner.  While Gillespie is one sleazy operator, in comparative terms he's rational compared to the challengers that the Tea Party loons put up against him.  With Mark Warner very popular in Virginia, one hopes that Gillespie goes down to defeat in November, especially if the GOP controlled Virginia House of Delegates is stupid enough to force a state government shut down over Medicaid expansion at the end of the month.  A piece in Politico looks at Gillespie's win and the disgruntled Tea Party crowd that may prove to be a pain in his side:

Ed Gillespie won the Virginia Republican Senate nomination at a party convention here Saturday afternoon and will face Democratic Sen. Mark Warner in the fall.

Gillespie, a former Republican National Committee chairman and lobbyist, won on the first ballot over three conservative opponents.

The coronation, while expected, is another win for the Republican establishment.

He enters the general election as the decided underdog, but GOP operatives see him as a credible candidate who could capitalize in this purple state if there is a strong wave against Democrats in the midterm elections.

Gillespie was a top adviser to George W. Bush and Mitt Romney, both of whom have drawn criticism from some corners of the tea party movement.

His main challenger, insurance agent Shak Hill, drew a mix of cheers and boos when he attacked Gillespie for pushing the TARP bailout in the closing days of the Bush administration.
“I have the moral authority to challenge Mark Warner,” Hill said. “When you lobby for big bank bailouts, there is no separation between you and Mark Warner.”

Hill supporters handed out literature that showed pictures of Gillespie laughing alongside fellow strategist Karl Rove under the heading: “Ed Gillespie: A Washington Insider with a Virginia Address.” The back of the leaflet attacked Gillespie for being soft on Obamacare, for helping sell the TARP bailout and for supporting comprehensive immigration reform.

The convention offered a marked contrast to last year’s state convention, which dragged on late into the night and nominated firebrand preacher E.W. Jackson for lieutenant governor over several more electable candidates.  Jackson, who got trounced last November, introduced Hill as a principled conservative who won’t go along with party leaders.

Gillespie’s victory is a reflection of the degree to which activists have become more concerned about winning elections. The commonwealth, which voted solidly Republican in presidential elections for four decades, went twice for Barack Obama. For the first time since the 1960s, there is no Republican elected statewide.

The Democratic Party of Virginia quickly attacked Gillespie as a lobbyist who has spent his career advocating for special interests.

“Mark Warner has spent two decades working in the sensible center to create jobs, chart a more fiscally responsible future, and ensure everyone has a fair shot at success,” Democratic state chair Dwight Jones said in a statement. “Senator Warner’s proven, bipartisan approach is exactly the kind of representation Virginians need in the U.S. Senate.”

We do NOT need Gillepsie in the U.S. Senate.  The husband and I believe that Mark Warner needs to be reelected.  In fact, we went to a Warner fundraiser on Friday evening that saw a local who's who crowd in attendance.

Former GOP Senator John Warner Endorses Mark Warner

One Virginia Republican who represents what the GOP once was is former U.S. Senator John Warner who I was lucky enough to know back in my days as a GOP activist.  Of equal importance, John Warner never hesitated to reject a GOP candidate that he deemed too extreme and harmful to Virginia.  Not surprisingly John Warner was often condemned by the extremists at The Family Foundation and among other Bible thumper circles.  Now, the likely GOP candidate seeking to challenge incumbent Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat and no relation to John Warner, is Ed Gillespie, a former Enron lobbyist, RNC Chair, and George W. Bush minion.  Added to these unattractive resume entries is the manner in which Gillespie has been courting the nastiest elements of the Christofascists in Virginia.  The upshot?  Former GOP Senator John Warner has endorsed Democrat Mark Warner for reelection this November.  The Virginian Pilot has deatils on this welcomed endorsement.  Here are some highlights:

Former Republican Sen. John W. Warner, never bashful about defying the Virginia GOP establishment, endorsed his Democratic successor's re-election bid Monday.

Warner told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that he is supporting Sen. Mark R. Warner, who is being challenged by former Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie in November's election. The Warners are not related.

"There are times you must, I think, recognize that certain individuals are superior in their talents and in what they have done and can potentially do for your state," John Warner said.

The endorsement comes 20 years after John Warner riled the ascendant conservative wing of the state GOP by backing independent candidate J. Marshall Coleman instead of Iran-Contra figure Oliver L. North in the campaign against Democratic U.S. Sen. Chuck Robb. The year before, he had declined to endorse Republican home-schooling advocate Mike Farris for lieutenant governor.

This is the first time John Warner has publicly backed a Virginia Democrat, although he has also recently donated to the campaign of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Michelle Nunn in Georgia.

He praised his successor for following in his own tradition of seeking bipartisan solutions.
"Mark Warner, if I may say with a sense of humility, like John Warner crosses the aisle and makes things work," he said. "We come from the old school. The Senate works best when there's collaborative effort between the two parties."

John Warner said it's important to keep the incumbent because he's had six years to learn how the Senate works and start to build seniority. The former Navy secretary and Senate Armed Services Committee chairman also said Mark Warner "is absolutely solid in his commitment to national security."

Eighteen years after handing out "Mark Not John" bumper stickers to all who would take them, the senator said he is grateful for the support of a former opponent who later became a close friend.  "John Warner is the gold standard in Virginia," he said. "I learned a lot of things from John Warner, but the most important is Virginia always comes first."

University of Virginia political analyst Larry Sabato said the endorsement should give Mark Warner a boost among middle-of-the-road voters who have been abandoned the GOP. In last November's elections, Virginians rejected an extremely conservative Republican slate and gave Democrats their first sweep of the top three state offices in 24 years.

"The premier effect will be a television ad that will underline Mark Warner's broad appeal, at least to moderate Republicans. How many of those are left, I can't tell you," Sabato said. "The Republicans have lost not only moderates, but also a lot of moderate conservatives."

John Warner is indeed the gold standard - especially compared to most of today's Congressional Republicans.   Like John Warner, I could not in good conscience support Oliver North.  If there were more Republicans today like John Warner, perhaps fewer people like myself would have fled the GOP in disgust.

Richmond Whirlwind Trip

Yesterday I had an very enjoyable day with my youngest daughter and the move-out of her things from her dorm when smoothly and efficiently. Surprisingly, the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel ("HRBT") offered no delays and the forecasted thunderstorms never materialized. We had a very nice time talking and catching up and then concluded the trip by dining at a Ghent Mexican restaurant before she headed back to Virginia Beach with the balance of her stuff that I am not storing for the summer. She is a terrific young lady. :)

Later in the evening she stopped back by with one her girl friends who I have known since infancy and the friend's boyfriend. They have just moved into an apartment a few blocks from my office and are quickly coming to enjoy the amenities of living in Ghent - like walking to nearby shops and restaurants and the Naro Theater - as opposed to suburban Virginia Beach where one must drive by car to do just about anything.

Schedule permitting, I may run by Mark Warner's campaign kick off late this morning fin connection with his campaign for U.S. Senator to be held at Nauticus, a naval museum adjoining the battleship Wisconsin, one of downtown Norfolk's tourist sites. I've already offered my office to his campaign in the evening for phone banking activities when needed.