Virginia GOP Intra-Party War Continues

It is almost humorous to watch the Republican Party of Virginia ("RVP") tear itself apart over attempting to put a fresh face on the Party in the hope of getting the anything but moderate Bob "Taliban Bob" McDonnell (pictured at left with George "Macaca" Allen and Fred Thompson) elected as governor in November. A huge percentage of the moderates I knew in the GOP have left Party and are now voting Democrat with no intention of returning to the GOP until the Kool-Aid drinking Christianist set is thrown from control of the Party. Despite what he may be saying currently, McDonnell is a died in the wool Christianist who thinks extreme Christianist beliefs should control the civil laws. Merely throwing nutcase Jeff Frederick out of the RVP chairman position will not turn the sow's ear GOP into a silk purse. It is also noteworthy that McDonnell has many ultra far right figures from the GOP coming into Virginia to stump for him, including exorcism believing Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee who wants the U.S. Constitution to reflect the Bible as construed by him.

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Meanwhile, Frederick is a darling of the more deranged elements within RVP and I do not see that crowd going silently into the political wilderness or learning anything from John McCain's defeat in 2008. They are utterly clueless as to just how toxic the Republican brand has become with only 9% of voters under the age of 30 having a positive view of the GOP - versus 59% of that same bracket who view the Democrats in a favorable light - and continue to live in a fantasy world where the GOP's problems arise from not being ultra-far right enough. Personally, I hope the vicious infighting continues and that the Democrat contenders will go to great lengths to maintain the Virginia Democrat Party's unity throughout the primary election effort. Here are some highlights from the Washington Post on the ouster of Jeff Frederick yesterday:

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Virginia Republicans ousted embattled party chairman Jeffrey M. Frederick on Saturday at a tense meeting that left the party bitterly divided as it heads into a crucial campaign season. . . . . But at the heart of the dispute is a struggle that is tormenting Republicans both in the state and nationally: whether to rigidly pursue an agenda dominated by conservative social issues or reach out to more moderate voters with a pledge to focus chiefly on economic concerns.

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For months, the conflict has split the party and overshadowed Republican efforts to win the governor's mansion in a campaign that is viewed by many to be a harbinger for federal midterm elections in 2010. Some of Frederick's supporters said his ouster could sap the enthusiasm of rank-and-file activists come November.

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Dozens of Frederick's supporters rallied outside a hotel west of Richmond where the committee was meeting, waving signs that said "Don't Split My Party" and "We Elected Jeff. We Want Him to Stay" and chanting "Elected, Not Selected." Frederick stood on the sidelines, watching and praying with a small group of supporters. "It's nothing but a mob lynching. That's what it is,'' said Theresa Robinson, a Republican activist from Chester.

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McDonnell and other candidates are trying to set a course for Virginia Republicans by playing down their focus on ideology and such hot-button issues as gun rights, immigration and abortion. But many of the party's rank and file agree with Frederick's contention that by abandoning conservative principles they would betray their values. "The enthusiasm of the grass roots is critical in the fall,'' said Gary C. Byler, chairman of the 2nd Congressional District Republican Committee in Hampton Roads. "We have to heal those wounds."

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Frederick said he might fight to get his job back. His opportunity will come when thousands of activists will gather next month at a state convention. The event was designed to unite the party's rank and file behind McDonnell.

Virginia Congressman Tom Davis says GOP Needs a Broader Base

This is an interesting story about remarks made by Northern Virginia GOP U. S. Congressman Tom Davis, whose own wife lost a re-election bid in last week's Virginia state elections. Davis is not just all hot air - he voted for passage of ENDA, so he is trying to practice what he is preaching. Hopefully, most of the wingnuts and minions of Daddy Dobson will disregard Davis' comments until much more damage is done to the GOP. I have told those I know who have not yet left the GOP the same sorts of things, only to have it all fall on deaf ears. Am I vengeful? You bet. In my view for what the GOP has done to this country, the Party needs to be severely punished. Prolonged minority party status is a good first step. Here are some highlights:

WASHINGTON — - In bowing out of next year's U.S. Senate race Thursday, Rep. Tom Davis might have ceded the Republican nomination to former Gov. Jim Gilmore, a staunch conservative.But Davis — part of a dwindling breed of moderate Republicans — didn't go quietly. The veteran Northern Virginia congressman vented his frustration at a Republican Party that he says is failing to broaden its base to better address the needs of an increasingly diverse electorate.

"This state is changing markedly," Davis said, pointing to Virginia's job growth and influx of people from other states and countries. "The country is changing markedly. And the party has to change along with it."The tax-cutting, anti-abortion agenda of conservatives like Gilmore, Davis suggested, will no longer be a winning formula for Republicans seeking statewide office.

After losing the governor's mansion twice in a row and a prized U.S. Senate seat last year, Republicans now risk losing their other, once-secure Senate seat when Sen. John Warner retires next year at 81.Davis' hopes of succeeding Warner were effectively dashed two weeks ago, when the state party decided to choose its nominee through a convention of party activists, instead of a primary election. Conventions typically draw the party's base of hard-core conservatives. Davis was counting on a primary election to draw more moderate, independent-minded voters."It is a control factor to limit participation," Davis said of the convention. "We need to grow the party at this point, not shrink the party."

"There is no longer room for a Tom Davis in the shrinking Republican tent," state Democratic Chairman Richard Cranwell said, in a statement issued shortly after Davis' announcement: "The fact that Davis is abandoning his Senate campaign after years of planning, even though he is not comfortable with a Jim Gilmore candidacy, speaks volumes about how divided and out of touch the Republican Party of Virginia has become."

Mark Rozell is a political analyst at George Mason University who studied the rise of the Christian Right in Virginia in the 1990s. He agreed with Davis that the Republican Party must change."I think he realizes the Gilmore formula is a potential disaster for the GOP in the long run," Rozell said. "You can't just run up the hot-button issues and expect to win an election in many parts of the state anymore."

I hope the extremists who control the RPV continue to make their way into oblivion. Virginia needs to look and move to the future, not attempt to turn back time to a society which, in fact, never really existed.