Ha-ha! Virgil Goode loses

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Originally uploaded by johnvierdsen

Finally, the election has been settled in VA-5, and Rep. Virgil Goode has been unseated by Tom Perriello. For Virginia Democrats, this has to be the cherry on top of the sundae, or simply a binge on the salty tears of the defeated.

Goode, who was a Democrat until 2000, and accepted all the support that a state party will give, turned his back, went independent, then later ended up formally switching to the GOP. At the time, the state executive director, overhearing a conversation on the matter, said, “Oh, you mean that great fucking American, Virgil Goode?” He was a little irritated.

At the DPVa offices, where there were framed pictures of Virginia’s Democratic congressmen, Goode’s picture underwent some interesting changes, including adding a nice, curled mustache. It was eventually taken down.

Goode later earned national infamy by attacking Rep. Keith Ellison, who is Muslim and wanted to be sworn in on the Koran. Since there is, oh, a Constitutional amendment that mandates that the government can’t establish a religion (and believed by many that the government can’t be overly favoritive of a religion), Ellison should have been able to be sworn in and gone about his business (BTW — he was reelected). And, damn, it was even Thomas Jefferson’s Koran.

In a letter to constituents in 2006, Goode unleashed this:

When I raise my hand to take the oath on Swearing In Day, I will have the Bible in my other hand. I do not subscribe to using the Koran in any way.

The Muslim representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don’t wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran.

We need to stop illegal immigration totally and reduce legal immigration and end the diversity visas policy pushed hard by President Clinton and allowing many persons from the Middle East to come to this country.

I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped.

The Ten Commandments and “In God We Trust” are on the wall in my office. A Muslim student came by the office and asked why I did not have anything on my wall about the Koran.

My response was clear, “As long as I have the honor of representing the citizens of the 5th District of Virginia in the United States House of Representatives, the Koran is not going to be on the wall of my office.”

Oh, my. That’s some tasty bigotry. It didn’t matter, supposedly, that Ellison was born in the U.S. and has been an American since Day One. Guess the whole “live and let live” bit passed Goode by. In one statement, he managed to make Americans, Virginians, Congress, Christians, and just about everyone else look bad. And he refused to apologize when the letter came to light. Nice.

Now he’s gone, and there will probably be a couple parties in Charlottesville tonight.

Perriello declares victory over Goode [Politico]

Barrett has 24.5 times more cash than Dyer

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Originally uploaded by johnvierdsen

The last decent contested race in this state looks the worst for the Democratic candidate. Jane Dyer, who didn’t have a chance to begin with, is down, in a big way, to perspective gubernatorial candidate Rep. Gresham Barrett.

According to the disclosure reports, Barrett has over $729,000 on hand for the homestretch of the campaign, while his challenger has only $29,739. On top of that, Dyer has $4,000 in debt to deal with.

Vierdsen thought a while back that Dyer had no chance, and the latest reports simply reinforce that belief.

Also, there’s the lame issue that Fogle’s trying to bring up, that Barrett will go to another consultant for his gubernatorial run. Really, dipshit?

Maybe you should make a call to your boy B.J. Boling, who worked with you in Sen. John McCain’s primary campaign before going over to Starboard. Imbecile. Obviously your tax-evading boss is passing this shit on.

Oh, in an unrelated issue, come on Will, don’t be a douchebag. Either say “motherfucker,” or choose a different word. Switching around letters is what idiotic middle-schoolers do.

Jane Dyer [FEC.gov]
Gresham Barrett [FEC.gov]

Nancy Harrelson should be scared of Jim Clyburn’s warchest

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Originally uploaded by johnvierdsen

In the other “whatevs, it’s a fucking blowout” race in South Carolina, Republican Nancy Harrelson is tilting at windmills against Rep. Jim Clyburn in SC-6. By the way, if someone can find Harrelson’s disclosure reports with the Feds, Vierdsen would like to see it.

You can search for “Nancy,” “Harrelson,” “Nancy for Congress,” and “Nancy 4 Congress,” but the FEC’s usually brilliant Web site will not turn up the goods. What the hell is going on?

Much like SC-2, SC-6 is an impenetrable fortress for the opposition party. That was the idea when the Black Caucus and the Republicans got together years ago to gerrymander the districts to make a black-majority district and a super-secure GOP district.

It’s doubtful that Harrelson will get lucky, because, let’s be honest, this thing was done the moment she filed. Clyburn has, get this, $1.35 million dollars on hand with a little over two weeks until Election Day.

By the way, this is pretty funny, from Harrelson’s donation waystation Slatecard.com:

Guys, guys – you could have put together that cash for a decent dinner at The Back Porch. Or, do you get your meals comped?

Hey, Vierdsen doesn’t like Clyburn. He thinks the incumbent is just a tad corrupt. He feels the same about Rep. Joe Wilson. The guys are never going to get a legit challenge, so they do whatever. And, ultimately, it won’t matter. Both will win comfortably.

Jim Clyburn [FEC.gov]

O, God: Henry Brown has a 5.6-to-1 advantage on Linda Ketner in the dollar race

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Originally uploaded by johnvierdsen

With all due respect to my friends in S.C.’s progressive blogosphere, the earlier post on Rob Miller and this one proves what was always going to happen: an underfunded Democratic candidate will get soundly beaten.

Rep. Henry Brown, who is fending off Linda Ketner for SC-1, has topped the seven-figure mark. As of now, he’s got $1.16 million on hand. One million, for a fucking House race. In South Carolina. Unbelievable. Brown seems to be a pretty boring dude and you’d think that Rep. Generic Republican could do pretty well in that district.

Ketner, bless her heart, is a little bit behind. She’s sitting on about $206,000, with $440,000 in outstanding debt.

Considering that Brown can pretty much call his shots because of the dolla-bill margin, consider this one over.

Linda Ketner [FEC.gov]
Henry Brown [FEC.gov]

Joe Wilson has a 3-to-1 money advantage on Rob Miller

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Originally uploaded by johnvierdsen

It’s always a confounding thing to Vierdsen how someone can motivate themselves to run a campaign for a seat that they have a next-to-nothing chance to win. For instance, a woman in Virginia in 2000 once asked John why the Democratic Party didn’t have someone primed and ready to provide a counterpoint to Eric Cantor at a local synagogue. Cantor was running, and won, retiring Rep. Tom Bliley’s seat (VA-7).

What Vierdsen didn’t have the balls to tell this rather agitated woman is that the Democrats were never going to find someone that could win the district, Jewish or not.

SC-2 is one of those races. Sure, Democrat Rob Miller may make it closer than 10 points, but S.C.’s Second District is known across the country as one of the most conservative in the nation. Hell, Rep. Joe Wilson took out a $250,000 loan, which seems a little odd for what most would consider a safe seat.

But, as of the latest filings, Wilson has paid off the loan and is sporting over $300,000 cash-on-hand. Miller, on the other hand, has an outstanding $170,000 loan (that he made himself) and is looking at about $102,000 on hand.

Unless the DNC and DCCC decide to sink serious money into this race, Wilson’s going to take it in a walk. The district is already geared in his direction, and he can outspend the opposition 3-to-1? Done, son.

Rob Miller [FEC.gov]
Joe Wilson [FEC.gov]

Dyer spinning her wheels in SC-3

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Originally uploaded by johnvierdsen

There is something interesting to watching candidates with absolutely no chance of winning. It’s a little sad, actually, especially when it’s a major-party candidate.

For this cycle, Democrat Jane Dyer is running against Third District Congressman Gresham Barrett, and has no chance. Smaller than none. For instance:

CASH ON HAND
Barrett – $680,476.96
Dyer – $12,392.78 (with a $4,000 debt)

Money may not be everything, but if you’re going to unseat a popular Republican legislator in a conservative district, you’re going to have to do better than that.

It’s not like she’s not trying. There’s the biography:

Throughout her career as a pilot, and while she was raising a family, Jane made the time to serve as a leader in her community. Jane served her church as a leader in ministry for children, youth, and young adults, and finally serving as a deacon. Jane has coached youth basketball and soccer, and supports charities and community service projects like Habitat for Humanity and Miracle Hill Ministries. Jane and John are also proud to sponsor a child from Honduras named Angel through Compassion International.

There’s also the DailyKos diary, the ActBlue donations and a serviceable Web site. She’s pulling out the new media stops. All to lose by 20 points.

Wall Street Journal writes Wilson in trouble, but doesn’t know what he looks like

Above, you will see the analysis by the Wall Street Journal on the race in SC-2, which many people have said will be a tough slog for incumbent Rep. Joe Wilson. The piece was one of several in an article devoted to hard times for some Republican candidates in the South.

The funny thing is, they didn’t even get the right guy. If you notice, that ain’t Wilson.

Not Wilson.

That has to sting – not only has a major nationwide newspaper said you’re in trouble, but they can’t even get your picture in.

Running Closer in the South [Wall Street Journal]
(h/t Crack the Bell)

Joe Wilson not as secure in SC-2

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Originally uploaded by johnvierdsen

It’s a confirmed part of the Vierdsonian philosophy that Rep. Joe Wilson is a douchebag. But, hey, that’s OK. He’s a politician, and the people who aren’t bags of the douche variety usually get weeded out of the political game when they’re undergrads in college. If you don’t think so, ask anyone that works in politics – they’ll set you straight.

Regardless, most observers of politics in this state would consider SC-2 a Republican district until the end of time. It probably still is. But, according to a new poll cited by Elonkey, it might not be such a sure thing.

As mentioned in Tuesday’s post, despite the district’s heavy Republican leaning (R+8.9), many Second District voters appear willing to give Miller a chance this fall. According to our sources, the self-described “pro-gun, pro-military, socially kind of conservative Democrat” cut Wilson’s lead to just 5 points after voters were given positive descriptions of each candidate during the latest survey (47-42-9).

Why is Wilson having such a bad time? There are some pretty good reasons, like how he voted to slash financial aid to middle class college students while cutting taxes for the obscenely wealthy, but that doesn’t seem to be the problem.

It’s earmarks, Bubba.

Honestly, it truly is bizarre how some Southern conservatives will go on wars against earmarks and expect to get reelected. Sen. Jim DeMint may be an exception to the rule, but the South was built on earmarks in the 20th Century – particularly when it came to military appropriations (Charleston says “Thank you”).

Apparently, Wilson’s signing on to DeMint’s plan has cost him. People want their Federal money, their Federal projects and their Federal jobs, dammit.

In March, Wilson announced that he would “enact an immediate one-year moratorium on all earmark requests from [his] office” in order to protest lawmakers’ use of seniority and clout to steer federal funds towards their districts.

However, since suddenly reversing course and jumping on the DeMint anti-earmark bandwagon this spring, Wilson has angered many leaders within his own party, including Lexington City Councilman Danny Frazier who’s gone as far as calling Wilson “a wussy” for refusing to seek federal funding for road projects. Likewise, on the other end of the District, several GOP leaders are equally displeased with the Congressman since he refused to help obtain funds to expand the Beaufort Memorial Cemetery for veterans.

If the race is closer than expected, candidates and consultants should take a hard look at whether the “anti-earmark” line of politics is still a winner.

Funnily enough, Wilson used to think earmarks were a necessary part of his job.

Joe Wilson “battles to stay ahead” in the SC-02 [Elonkey]

Nancy Harrelson sets up for big loss in SC-6

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Originally uploaded by johnvierdsen

It’s funny sometimes what happens during a campaign season. For a while, the Quinns’ Adam Fogle has been going on about Democrats in congressional races that they could never possibly win. For a sampling, check out:

U.S. House District 1
Henry Brown (R-i)
02/11/08 – Brown’s challenger hearts out-of-state liberals
02/12/08 – Brown’s challenger has ‘utter disdain for southern Christianity’
05/04/08 – Somebody’s a little full of herself

U.S. House District 2
Joe Wilson (R-i)
06/06/08 – Dems trade barbs for chance to lose to Wilson

OK, fair enough. But, all’s fair in love and Facebook friends, since Fogle’s friended Sixth District candidate Nancy Harrelson, who, like the Dems he poked fun at, has absolutely no chance of winning in November.

If you take a gander at the previous general election results for SC-6, it’s pretty obvious what the result is going to be.

Rep. Jim Clyburn (D)
Margin of Victory
2006: 30 percent
2004: 34 percent
2002: 35 percent
2000: 47 percent
1998: 47 percent
1996: 39 percent

Good luck with that. Especially since it looks like her Web site is up on cinder blocks:

The funniest part is that even though the site is up, linked to and otherwise “active,” it’s basically still a template. The explanation of where she stands on the issues is very enlightening:

“Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt.”

Now, it’s time to raise a glass to incumbency and gerrymandering!

Michigan congressman brings the Rosetta Stone

I bet ol’ Thad McCotter’s constituents are really happy that this is the sort of way he spends his time representing his district on the House floor.

This isn’t the first time, though, that Rep. McCotter’s inanity has earned him the national spotlight.

Erudite Congressman Explains How Liberal Democrats Communicate [Wonkette]