Robinson Drops Bid for Virginia’s 1st CD Democratic Nomination, Krystal Ball Now De Facto Nominee
Late this afternoon Scott Robinson, issued the following press release:
When we started this campaign seven months ago, I had just retired from a 25-year career in the United States Army and was attempting to catch up to my would be opponents by building a political operation from scratch. The factors surrounding that short amount of time proved to be a daunting task. That is why I will be changing directions and am putting aside my aspirations to serve in Congress for now.
I wanted to send you this note so that you would be the first to know of my decision and also be the very first to know how much you meant to me during this campaign. Your support, your financial contributions and most of all, your friendship have made this transition from the military to the political arena much more meaningful.
For now, I am going to take some time off and spend it with my wife, Sandy. Through all of this she has been an amazing advisor and friend. There really is something to be said about having a partner in marriage for over 25 years and I am so thankful she is my wife.
As I move into this new phase in my life, I look forward to your continued friendship and the experiences we will share.
Again, thank you for all that you have done.
Sincerely,
Scott
I understand that this decision had to be tough for Scott and I applaud him for making the right one. The math was just too insurmountable for him at this point. I’d like to thank Scott for his incredible sacrifice and look forward to working with him moving forward to elect Krystal come November.
UPDATE: Krystal Ball just issued a statement on the withdrawal of Scott Robinson from the race.
Friends,
We did it! I am happy to announce that I am the presumptive Democratic nominee for Virginia’s 1st Congressional District! With the concession of our primary opponent this afternoon, we are now moving swiftly into the general election.
But our work is just beginning! We are now fighting against incumbent Republican and rubber stamp for Eric Cantor, Rob Wittman, and Tea Partier Catherine Crabill, who in 2008 campaigned against, “the socialist power-grab of B. Hussein Obama.”
[…]
On behalf of my family and my entire staff, thank you. I am overwhelmed by your hard work, generosity and dedication and I look forward to continuing this fight with you by my side. Thank you also to our primary opponent Scott Robinson for his service to our country, and a race well fought.
[…]
Again, thank you. I am honored to have your support.
Most sincerely,
Krystal Ball, VA-1
Ball Shuts Out Robinson Again, Democratic Nomination Now Within Grasp
With the way Krystal Ball has thoroughly dominated caucuses around Virginia’s First Congressional District, you would be surprised to learn that she actually has an opponent. She has swept one contest after another and the results should speak for themselves. So it should come as not surprise that Krystal dominated today at the York Poquoson Caucus, completely shutting out Scott Robinson (yet again!).
With today’s result, Krystal is now poised to secure the nomination in little more then a week. The only question that remains is how Scott plans on losing: with dignity and class or as a sore-loser. I hoping for the former, but I’m expecting the latter. I’d really like to be proven wrong on this one.
As has been the case with just about every caucus that has happened to date, the Robinson campaign resorted to their usual shenanigans. I’ve learned that Scott was actually inside the polling place harassing folks who were in line to vote. It got so bad that the chair of the committee had to ask Scott to stay 20 feet back. All of this could have something to do with why he lost by a 2 to 1 margin. I expect that Scott will throw out some wild claims that the vote was rigged and that the committee failed to do x, y and z. He may even threaten to sue, if his campaign money hasn’t already dried up. You see any other candidate would be gracious and would have exited the race when the results became clear a week ago, but not Scott.
At this point you have to also start questioning the advice Scott is getting from his staff, especially from his Campaign Manager Gregory Richardson. I’m thinking that this gig isn’t going to get him any gold stars on his resume. The field operation for this campaign has been atrocious. And in the perhaps the strangest allocation of resources I’ve ever seen, the Robinson campaign had folks canvassing Stafford and Fredericksburg on Thursday. So instead of focusing resources on York Poquoson, they chose to canvass an area that already conducted a caucus. Huh?! If that doesn’t boggle your mind, this will. These same canvassers, in making a case for Scott to a friend of mine, had the following to say (and I’m quoting):
I need to give you a little briefing of why Scott Robinson is running. Krystal Ball is not an adequate candidate for Virginia. For one thing, she’s not old enough to lead yet. She doesn’t know the true values of Virginians like yourself. Scott Robinson was born and raised in Virginia and he knows what Virginians need. They need health care, to reform our schools, and fix our traffic problem. Scott Robinson was a crab farmer on the Chesapeake on a boat called the ‘Betty May.’
Scott and his folks are shameless. I’ve spoken to several folks within the district and have heard much worse things that Scott and his people have said about Krystal. Some of it being so bad that I wouldn’t even dignify it with a post. Just as an FYI, Krystal was born in King George, VA and now lives in Fredericksburg; Scott has NO plan for health care, our schools or relieving our traffic problem. His whole platform has been one of avoidance on virtually all of the major issues (see my original analysis of this race).
If that wasn’t bad enough, they sent an expensive, poorly written mailer to folks within Stafford and Fredericksburg. Do they not understand how caucuses work? They essentially flush money down the toilet on a mailer that was just awful, when they should instead be focusing on committing resources to the various caucuses that have yet to be conducted. Scott should fire his entire staff and then himself!
The math for Scott at this point is simply insurmountable. He has only managed to secure 13 percent of the 123 delegates so far. Only 78 remain up for grabs. Even if he were able to win every single remaining delegate, he could not clinch the nomination. Heck, uncommitted has captured more delegates than Scott – 29 to be exact. The reality is that all Krystal needs to do is capture 30 percent of the remaining delegates and she is the nominee. She is 24 delegates away. Anybody with a basic understating of math realizes that this race is over. Scott is not going to win.
Regardless of whether Scott stubbornly decides to push forward, this will be over in the next week or so. Scott needs to really think about how he wants to be remembered? With honor and class or does he want to continue the deplorable behavior we’ve all witnessed first hand. I’m rooting for Scott to choose the former.
Gas Line Cut at Rep. Perriello’s Brother’s Home, FBI Investigating Incident
On Monday, two Virginia Tea Baggers posted what they believed to be the home address of Rep. Tom Perriello (R-VA) online. The only problem is that the address that was posted was that of Rep. Perriello’s brother Bo.
The result, according to the Charlottesville Daily Progress:
Federal and local authorities are investigating a severed gas line at the home of U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello’s brother, discovered the day after Tea Party activists posted the address online so opponents could “drop by” and “express their thanks” for Perriello’s vote in favor of health care reform.
I guess this was the next logical step for teabaggers after they hurled racist and homophobic slurs at Democratic lawmakers (and even some spit) at rallies to protest health care reform this weekend, right? NOT!
This sort of behavior should not be tolerated by anyone, regardless of political affiliation. So how did Republican lawmakers respond to these despicable acts this past weekend?
Rep. David Nunes (R-CA) had the following to say on C-Span this past Sunday:
Yeah, well I think that when you use totalitarian tactics, people, you know, begin to act crazy. I think, you know, there’s people that have every right to say what they want. If they want to smear someone, they can do it…Of course. I think the left loves to play a couple of incidents here or there.
So, you have Republican lawmakers like Nunes actually justifying these despicable acts. The only purpose this serves is to fire up the lunatics in the movement and cause them to act out in even more extreme ways.
On Monday, teabaggers decided to raise the stakes by posting what they believed to be the home address of Rep. Tom Perriello, but later realized was later the address of a house that belonged to his brother Bo.
As the Charlottesville Daily Progress further reported:
Danville Tea Party leader Nigel Coleman was one of the two activists who posted Bo Perriello’s address online Monday.
“This is Rep. Thomas Stuart Price Perriello’s home address,” Coleman wrote Monday. “… I ain’t holding back anymore!!”
According to the Politico Web site, when Coleman learned that the address actually belonged to the congressman’s brother, he responded on a blog: “Do you mean I posted his brother’s address on my Facebook? Oh well, collateral damage.”
The result of this over-the-top rhetoric was an incident at Rep. Perriello’s brother’s house where a propane line to a gas-powered grill was cut. Also it is now being reported that his brother also received what is being described as a “threatening” letter in the mail on the same day. The letter was purported to read along the lines of “You’ll have to answer for this [(health care reform)] on judgment day.”
Rep. Perriello issued the following statement this afternoon:
My number one priority right now is ensuring the safety of my brother’s family, and I am grateful to law enforcement for their excellent work. While it is too early to say anything definitive regarding political motivations behind this act, it’s never too early for political leaders to condemn threats of violence, particularly as threats to other Members of Congress and their children escalate. And so I ask every member of House and Senate leadership to state unequivocally tonight that it is never OK to harm or threaten elected officials and their families with anything more than political retribution. Here in America, we settle our political differences at the ballot box.
It’s time for lawmakers like Rep. Nunes to stop trying to justify the behavior of teabaggers and unequivocally condone these despicable acts. This may be all fun and games for Republicans, until someone actually ends up getting seriously injured.
How about House minority leader John Boehner (R-OH) stand up to these nuts by telling them, “Hell no, you can’t!”
You can read more about the threats against lawmakers here.
Virginia’s First Congressional District Needs Representation, Not a Lap Dog
It’s past time that Virginia’s First Congressional District had some real representation that is accountable to district constituents and not party bosses such as Eric Cantor (R-VA). Since December 13, 2007, Rob Wittman (R-VA) has made sure that the 7th Congressional District gets two representatives and the 1st gets none.
Wittman has pretty much done Cantor’s bidding, resembling more of a lap dog and not an elected representative from Virginia’s First Congressional District.
A lap dog is defined as “one eager to do another’s bidding, especially in order to maintain a position of privilege or favor.” Sounds like Wittman to me.
Let’s compare Wittman and Cantor’s voting records:
Rob Wittman and Eric Cantor have voted together 1657 times on roll call votes since January, 2007 in votes where neither abstained, representing a voting similarity of 93%.
So, Wittman has done Cantor’s bidding 1657 times or 93% of the time. One thing should be clear: Wittman is working for Cantor and not his constituents. We need and deserve our own congressman!
I, for one, am sick and tired of having no representation. If you’re sick and tired too, Krystal Ball (D-Fredericksburg) is ready and more then able to serve! We don’t need a lap dog, but a congressman!
Think Crabill Can’t Beat Wittman? Think Again.
If you’re a Democrat hoping to knock off Rep. Rob Wittman in the 1st Congressional District this November, news of Catherine Crabill jumping into the race definitely got your attention. An active member of her local ‘Tea Party’ outfit, I know for a fact that Crabill was seriously considering running as a third party candidate instead of a Republican. That would’ve made things a lot easier for the eventual Democratic nominee, whether it’s Krystal Ball or Scott Robinson.
Well, based on her recent statements, it now appears that she will in fact challenge Wittman for the GOP nomination, even thought she’s aware of Virginia’s sore loser law. That’s bad news for Democrats then, since Rob Wittman should have no problem beating crazy ol’ Catherine Crabill among Republicans….right? I’m not so sure.
Keep in mind, the 99th House District Republicans nominated her to run against Albert Pollard last year, even after it became well-known that Crabill blames the government, not Timothy McVeigh, for the Oklahoma City bombing. And what did they get in return for this supposedly disastrous decision? By FAR the closest reelection race Pollard has ever faced! (even though Deeds’ god-awful performance had a little something to do with it)
OK. So, Republicans have to choose between Wittman and Crabill. Well, who is the typical Republican? A new Harris poll revealed what many other similar polls have indicated over the past year. And that is this: Catherine Crabill is the rule, not the exception. I see Marc went over this in a previous post, but here it is again:
- 24% of Republicans say that Obama “may be the Antichrist.”
- 38% of Republicans say that Obama is “doing many of the things that Hitler did.”
- 45% of Republicans believe that Obama was “not born in the United States and so is not eligible to be president.”
- 57% of Republicans believe that Obama is a Muslim.
- 67% of Republicans believe that Obama is a socialist.
And keep in mind that this is a poll of Republicans nationwide. The 1st CD in Virginia is much more conservative than the country as a whole.
Think Crabill can’t beat Wittman? Think again.
Wittman Shows Complete Lack of Understanding on HCR Bill, Continues to Spread Untruths
Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Montross) has once again decided to side with the fringe of his party and vote “no” on the health care reform bill. This should be news to no one, since Wittman has continuously voted in lockstep with his party – the party of “no.” What should surprise everyone is Wittman’s complete lack of understanding of the bill itself and his continued dishonesty – well maybe not his dishonesty.
This past Tuesday, Wittman took the House floor and had the following to say:
I am hearing loud and clear from people of America’s first district in Vir-ginia that this health care bill before us will not reduce costs, will not increase access…
Wittman reiterated this again yesterday, via Twitter:
Wittman has clearly chosen to adopt the talking points of the fringe of his party, no surprise here, and refuses to have an honest discussion with his constituents. This bill will increase access for all, including providing access to 32 million uninsured Americans.
I too am very concerned with spending and the deficit, which is exactly why I support the comprehensive health care reform bill passed by the Senate and the accompanying reconciliation bill.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the official scorekeepers of legislation, have clearly stated that the
combination of these two pieces of legislation would reduce federal deficits by an estimated $138 billion over the 2010-2019 period.
And they added that passing these bills would
reduce federal budget deficits over the ensuing decade relative to those projected under current law – with a total effect during that decade that is in a broad range around one-half percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
On Friday at George Mason University, President Obama added the following:
So you’ve got — you’ve got a whole bunch of opponents of this bill saying, well, we can’t afford this; we’re fiscal conservatives. These are the same guys who passed that prescription drug bill without paying for it, adding over $1 trillion to our deficit — “Oh, we can’t afford this.” But this bill, according to the Congressional Budget Office — which is the referee, the scorekeeper for how much things cost — says we’ll save us $1 trillion. Not only can we afford to do this, we can’t afford not to do this.
So let’s get this straight. We are talking about reducing the deficit by at least $1 trillion over the next 20-years, if health care reform is passed. Many would argue that this is a conservative estimate. The CBO has estimated that the GDP would be around $22.5 trillion in 2020. If you estimate 4 percent growth per year in GDP in the second 10-years and use the CBO estimate of a one-half percent deficit reduction during that timeframe, you would actually be reducing the deficit by $1.4 trillion. No matter how you look at things, one thing should be clear: there is no disputing that this health care bill reduces the deficit.
If Wittman is a true “fiscal conservative,” as the President explains, how could he vote against a bill that clearly addresses the concerns of his constituents? The truth is that he is more concerned with appealing to the fringe of his party than what is in the best interests of his constituents. Clearly reducing the deficit and providing affordable coverage to individuals (including the currently uninsured) and small businesses is bad policy?!
The only thing that is bad policy is allowing Wittman to remain in Congress. The good thing for folks in the First District is that we have an excellent choice to replace him this year in Krystal Ball (D-Fredericksburg).
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