Tell Bob Marshall to resign

By the time I got this post up, the news is old, but the disgust only grows deeper and the stomach churns with bile. In case you are one of the few who hasn't heard, Delegate Bob Marshall, R-Manassas, stated at a press conference where he opposed funding for Planned Parenthood:

The number of children who are born subsequent to a first abortion with handicaps has increased dramatically. Why? Because when you abort the first born of any, nature takes its vengeance on the subsequent children... in the Old Testament, the first born of every being, animal and man, was dedicated to the Lord. There's a special punishment Christians would suggest.

An absurd and cruel statement that lays bare his dark heart, Delegate Marshall should immediately resign his office. As a truly classless individual, he won't do that without some encouragement. Perhaps we can provide some:

• Marshall's legislative email address is: DelBMarshall@house.virginia.gov
• His Richmond office phone is: 804-698-1013
• His cell # is 703-853-4213
• Take the elevator and find him in Room 809 of the General Assembly Bldg.
• His district office address is PO Box 421, Manassas, VA 20108 and the phone/fax is 703-361-541
• Contact page on his website: http://delegatebob.com/contact
• Contact Pat Mullins, chair of the Virginia GOP at 804-780-0111, fax 804-343-1060, or visit the contact page of their website: http://www.rpv.org/about/page/contact-us-form
• Contact Governor Bob McDonnell and let him know how disgusted you are with his friend and ally. The Governor's contact info is here: http://www.governor.virginia.gov/Contact.cfm

Bob Marshall has been one of the most out-of-touch and reactionary legislators in the General Assembly - an embarrassment to not only to his district, but the entire Commonwealth. It is past time for him to go.

Worth a 1000 words

Cartoon from The News Leader.

Spring has sprung

Spring is getting to the Valley... a day here and there. Most Virginians probably enjoyed this past weekend's blue skies, bright sun, and warm temps. I visited family on the far side of the state, staying off the interstates and enjoying the back roads of the Commonwealth. Also got in a little fishing and enjoyed homemade crab cakes. Umm, good.

Back home on Sunday afternoon, I worked on odd jobs outside in the warm sun. All that will change today with showers and wind and chilly temperatures (did the weather guy just utter the S-word?). But, next weekend looks nice. April has always been one of my favorite months, I guess precisely because of all the changes in the weather, the greening of the grass, buds popping on trees, the promise of fresh veggies and smell of freshly mowed grass.

So, all in all, a most excellent weekend for most Virginians. Guess the same can't be said for Jeff Frederick's weekend - he probably didn't even notice the blue skies. All-in-all, I was hoping he'd keep his "job." He was so fun, provided so much comic relief, and pissed off so many Republicans. I suspect this drama isn't over and hope for some fun at the GOP state convention.

It is great fun reading some of the reaction at Valley blogs like rightsideVA and Spank That Donkey who are in the finger pointing business - a circular firing squad may play out over the next weeks. Seems Lynn Mitchell, aka swacgirl, played a little CYOA, reversed position and voted to dump the "grassroots" (from the VAGOP Dictionary: Grassroots: noun term appropriated from broad political use meaning regular folks' involvement, that now means right wing and ultra-conservative Republican who feels abandoned by his/her party; mostly found in the rural regions) leader, Jeff Frederick. The vote was close, enhancing the betrayal felt by the "grassroots." For her part, swacgirl remains mum, posting pictures of flowers and quoting the Bible. The next meeting of the Augusta GOP might be rowdy - alert the Sheriff's Dept. that extra security may be needed.

Desperate measures

Faced with his looming ouster, Virginia Republican Chair Jeff Frederick fired off a lengthy email to GOP activists in an attempt to stop the daily bleeding. In recent weeks, the party's gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell, the Speaker of the House of Delegates Bill Howell, the Virginia Senate Republicans, and all five GOP congressmen have called for Frederick's removal. The party's central committee has drawn up 10 charges of mismanagement and misuse/abuse of power - the most serious being sending party business to a firm Frederick owns, damaging the reputation of the party, and making unauthorized expenditures.

Although it looks like many of the GOP big guns are lined up against him, Frederick has a record pulling out a victory from what looks like defeat. He was twice elected to the House of Delegates in spite of Democrats pulling out all the stops in a fairly friendly district. Frederick became chair by besting former Lt. Governor John Hager at last year's state convention, overcoming many of the same party insiders who now oppose him.

While his email addresses the charges against him, it is basically a rallying cry for the grassroots radical right wingers that put him into the chairmanship, to rise up again against the "small minority" of party elite who Frederick says want to turn the Virginia Republican Party into a "rubber stamp for for its longtime insiders."

The divisions can be felt all the way down to local committees and elected officials. Some of the elected, those elite insiders, are backing Frederick's ouster - one Rockingham County elected Republican's spittle flew at the mere mention of his name. But, the party activists on many committees are comprised are far right supporters of Frederick and can be expected to rally to his right side.

The State Central Committee meets on April 4 (wouldn't April 1 be more appropriate?). Let the fight be joined, the words bitter, the scars deep, and the divisions lingering for all of 2009!

Clipped wings

It used to be that Democrats loved to make fun of Jeff Frederick, chair of the Virginia GOP and radical right's favorite poster boy. The swac girls and Kurts of the Shenandoah Valley were enthralled with the boy wonder and helped to put him in power, but now seem to be distancing themselves from the fool. They act like they don't even know him.

McCloskey's cartoon sums it up nicely - Jeff Frederick has become the poster boy of the failure of the not only the Virginia Republican Party, but specifically underscores the bankruptcy of the party's right wing. 

The News Leader

"In these grim times, voters seek leaders who are seasoned and thoughtful. Yet the GOP displays--Jeff Frederick? Even the Boy Scouts would know better."

Junior G(OP) Man, Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star 3/13/09

"Jeff Frederick seems eminently qualified to serve as chairman of the Republican Club at Sean Hannity Middle School. The delegate from Prince William serves as chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia instead. There's the rub."

The Right Thing, Richmond Times-Dispatch 3/13/09

Another dead turtle

The House of Delegates ran over the eastern box turtle... again! In 1999 and again this year a bill had proposed to make the slow moving terrestrial turtle the state reptile. But, Delegate Frank Hargrove (R-Hanover) wondered why a critter famous for hiding its head in its shell and getting run over on rural roads should be the official anything.

Perhaps Delegate Hargrove is saving the eastern box turtle as the official symbol of House Republicans. They often pull their heads into their collective shell to avoid dealing with real issues facing Virginians and the reptilian right wingers are in danger of getting squashed on the electoral highway this November.

Cold blooded.

Curt/Frederick Cock Fight

Walter Curt, a conservative Harrisonburg area businessman who was tapped by Virginia GOP chair Jeff Frederick to head the party's fundraising, has abruptly quit. In his letter of resignation Curt bemoaned Frederick's lack of leadership polish and wrote:

"Unfortunately the problems of structure, power projection, consultant interference, interpersonal difficulties, years of internal malaise, luddite attitude, leadership, and unity of purpose stand in the way of any hope of success."

Curt was a favorite of the right wing swacgirl types who hailed his appointment by Frederick back in June. Since then the party has continued to implode with Frederick having to wear a flack jacket as he dodges "friendly fire." Frederick narrowly avoided ouster just before Christmas.

Curt's resignation is one more sign that the Virginia GOP continues to be sharply divided between the ultra-conservative swacs who would disembowel government and the pro-government conservatives like Emmett Hanger, while the whack job Frederick flails in the wind. Meanwhile November is approaching.

The Axe Is Falling

Seems some Virginia Republicans are already sharpening their axes to lop off the head of Jeff Frederick, chair of the Virginia Republican Party. This video was posted in Jeff Frederick Retreats to the Bunker at The Contemporary Conservative, a Richmond area blog. After all CCC's posts about Frederick, I had to roost it here also. WARNING: Put down your egg basket lest you break them all laughing. h/t to Cobalt6.

Chopping the Chicken's Head Off

With Virginia turning presidential blue for the first time since 1964 and with the RPV chairman, Jeff Frederick embarrassing many with his hateful rants, some Republicans are questioning if he is the far right guy to head the party.

Influential (in some Republican circles) Kenny Klinge, a lobbyist and longtime GOP activist, has called on Frederick to resign. Saying all that matters are results, Klinge says Frederick lack judgement and maturity, failed to raise needed money, has a poor relationship with the Republican congressional delegation, and has been repudiated by Bob McConnell and others. Klinge concludes that he knows a bad chairman when he sees one and JEFF FREDERICK IS INCAPABLE OF PROVIDING THE LEADERSHIP THAT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY NEEDS IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH THESE GOALS IN 2009 [emphasis his]. Klinge's email was apparently received by many Republican activists and forwarded far and wide, we can imagine.

A couple of weeks ago, Republicans in the House of Delegates, met behind closed doors in Glen Allen to lick their wounds and plan for the upcoming state elections. Their pollster and others warned that moving farther to the right, as urged by Frederick and many others, could leave them as the minority party in the House of Delegates. Guess their big elephant ears were deaf to that message as a week later many were calling for cuts to public education and health care - programs that have broad public support. Hey guys, there are lots of Dems who have the GOP backs covered on this one!

Many of the younger generation of Republicans, in the House of Delegates and local committees, are kindred spirits of Frederick's. They love and believe in his in-your-face conservatism. They share generational bonds and don't trust an old bull elephant (Klinge was RPV executive director in the early 1970s!) rushing in and telling the herd what to do. Many of those Jeff Frederick acolytes are found grazing right here in the Shenandoah Valley. Where will their loyalties lie - is it true an elephant never forgets? Or remembers?

Stay tuned. Next month the Virginia GOP meets at The Homestead. Klinge and his allies may push a vote of no-confidence. If they win, Frederick may see resignation as a graceful way to exit stage right. Or, it could mean a formal vote to remove him. The rules give Frederick plenty of hope of avoiding the chopping block - such a vote requires a month notice and a 3/4 vote of the GOP governing body. The RPV could be running around like a chicken with its head chopped off well into 2009.