Recently in Campaign 2007 Category

I just returned home from the fabulous First Annual Ben Dover Beer Bash and I must say it was one of the best quasi-political/social events I have had the privilege of enjoying in many a fortnight.

Sincere thanks to Ben and the entire Too Conservative gang for putting it on. You all did a really good job with this, everything to follow notwithstanding.

That being said, I must emphasize how deeply we all appreciate the Virginia State Police being invited to play such an integral role in the event. I mean, when I am invited to a "beer bash," just knowing the state police have been tipped off and are stationed nearby makes the suds go down a little bit smoother. Thankfully, the vast majority of attendees did have 4-wheel drive and most of us took the "back way" out of the Old Dominion Brew Pub via the power line easements and as far as I know everyone managed to slip the gauntlet.

I know, everyone is wondering: DID WE FIND OUT? As in, did we find out who are the real people behind the notorious Too Conservative pseudonyms?

Well, the answer is, yes and no.

Yes in that we DID find out who every single one of them was. And no, in that I don't remember, dammit. It was a "beer bash" after all. Sorry about that. I suppose it will all come back to me in a dream someday. I vaguely recall shots of vodka and ancient Polish drinking songs, but that is all.

Linda B. and I had a very nice conversation with Lori Waters and her husband, and I must say I'm glad we will have Lori in office for another four years. I truly wish Phyllis Randall had run for another office.

MY major excitement of the night was my Quest for Stevens Miller, and boy was it more than I bargained for!

Y'see, I was told by several people that newly elected Loudoun Supervisor Stevens Miller was a "moderate Democrat" whom I should really talk to about the illegal hiring issue. I was intrigued because it seemed like "moderate Democrats" always turned out to be simply "Democrats" - but something about this fellow rang true. He turned in a very thoughtful candidate survey to Help Save Loudoun, and his public statements were not half bad - better than many Republicans, in fact. So I wanted to meet this fine gentleman.

Well, on account of either the spite toward me being on the losing side of some of these recent elections, or my opponents being cruel swine, some folks decided to have a little fun with old Joe and send me on a good old-fashioned snipe hunt for this Stevens Miller. Jonathan, the heartless bastard, was ringleader, and pointed me towards busboys, sous chefs and other patrons - "THAT'S Stevens Miller" - and after about five of these fruitless interviews I began to catch on to the fact that Jonathan did not have my best interests at heart.

I had a fascinating, 45-minute policy discussion with an exceedingly polite, well-groomed "Stevens Miller" who, when I began to pin down dates for specific Board appearances, revealed "Oh no, I am not a Supervisor, I am Glenn Maravetz!"

"Augghh!" I exclaimed. "MARAVETZ!! Most evil of my many evil nemeses!" This was like learning your long lost "uncle" was in fact the man who had killed your father.

I was about ready to give up when Jonathan informed me that "Stevens Miller" was in fact a soccer ball whom I have since named "Spalding" and who I have been conversing with here in the dining room. So that whole confusing incident worked out just fine in the end.

I did get to talk with a couple of the newly-elected supervisors, which was enlightening. I asked them if there would be any common ground between Help Save Loudoun - which had proposed an "Honest Business Initiative" - and their own commitment to reduce rampant development in the county. On the face of it, one might assume we DO have some common ground, because we are all skeptical about developers' profits and how they make them.

Unfortunately, the answer I received was that Help Save Loudoun PAC's endorsement of Eugene Delgaudio was a bit of a dealbreaker - even though we also endorsed Lori Waters, which presumably was not a dealbreaker. I tried to explain the pragmatic aspect of a single issue group that only looks at VOTES but I got the sense that, on this evening, that narrative was not going to resonate. Story of my life.

I think we have a new crop of supervisors who do not think illegal immigration is a problem they can solve - and possibly a problem that does not even really exist here at the local level. This is going to create a very interesting dynamic in the relationship between the supervisors and their constituents. Specifically, the residents of Sterling are going to find themselves disenfranchised if they don't get a few supervisors from other districts to join Eugene Delgaudio in championing their concerns.

After seeing the unabashed disdain for Eugene, I am quite intrigued about how the new Board will respond to the citizens of eastern Loudoun.

But at least the conversation has been started. I think the new Board members are approachable, and I think they have the citizens' best interests in mind. The ones I spoke with do not seem at all like elitists, and though I think their antagonism toward Eugene is misplaced, I think their animus is meant to benefit the legal residents. This is a very good sign.

BRAVO, LI - bravo.

This is an off-the-top-of-the-head report based on my observations of tonight's results, meaning, no links or final stats. Here's a very general Post report.

Here is the Post's running results page.

Our two Republican Loudoun supervisors who took the strongest positions on local immigration enforcement, who stuck their necks out the furthest and also took the most heat for it - Lori Waters and Eugene Delgaudio - won.

They are also the supervisors in whose districts Help Save Loudoun PAC had the heaviest coverage with the lit drop project. In Sterling and Ashburn, the citizens spoke.

The rest of the Republican board candidates, if the numbers hold, got their asses handed to them.

Not a great year to have an "R" next to your name.

I think the growth issue and general Republican fatigue were major obstacles for these candidates to overcome.

In the Sheriff's race, Steve Simpson won reelection, which shows the undeniable problem posed when the party departs from its candidates. Greg Ahlemann won the nomination in June, and a powerful segment of the party swiftly went to work for the losing candidate who ran as an independent. Three months after the Convention, the party did run a full page newspaper ad supporting Greg Ahlemann and Lori Waters - the candidates beset by newly "Independent" challengers. It might have been helpful if the party had acted sooner. A united Republican party could have produced a victorious Republican Sheriff.

Patricia Phillips lost the Senate race, apparently by about 5,000 votes - a significant margin. Patricia did not run on the immigration enforcement issue in the general election - the issue which won her the primary. I am going to suggest running to the middle on this issue was not a winning strategy.

I think these two races provided an opportunity for Northern Virginia residents to demonstrate their desire for more local immigration enforcement. There were a number of issues in play, however, with both of these contests. The Sheriff race, in particular, evolved into a rabbit's warren of side issues. Greg Ahlemann truly had a mountain to climb to win this election.

Delegate Bob Marshall and Senator-elect Jill Holtzman Vogel won their races, and these were two of the top immigration enforcement candidates for the next session in Richmond. These are two more huge victories.

I don't have results on any of the other Richmond contests.

It appears the GOP lost the Virginia Senate, which is not a great development. On the other hand, the GOP-controlled Virginia Senate in 2007 managed to kill almost every good immigration-enforcement focused bill that passed the House of Delegates last session. So, it's not entirely evident how the next Senate could necessarily be worse with the Dems controlling.

More to come.

So what's going to happen tomorrow?

WTOP reports that, based on absentee ballots, tomorrow's turnout is not going to set any records.

The crummy weather we are having will undoubtedly not help the situation, especially with just the third early-dark evening of the year and morning and evening temperatures that will approach freezing out here in the hinterlands of Loudoun. Election Day will also be "Welcome to Winter Day." It will be tempting to get home from work and stay home.

Based on the weather, and the fact that so many of the issues in the various races are ones which make most voters' eyes glaze over, I think there could be a really low turnout on Loudoun. On the face of it, I think this scenario benefits the Democrats because there will likely be an even mix of political activists from both sides voting, plus the obligatory sprinkling of actual citizens - and this year, I think the latter will break Dem.

LI has a nice prediction thread going, I recommend you check it out.

I don't have a feel for any of the other Supervisor races, but I think Eugene Delgaudio is going to win Sterling District in a landslide. After this is all over, I will share some scans of the direct mail pieces his campaign has sent out. Pretty effective stuff.

I think the Sheriff and 33rd District Senate races will be the most telling. The wild card is the illegal immigration issue, and whether it motivates a sufficient number of citizens - especially in the voter-rich Broad Run and Dulles districts.

If not for the latest iteration of the local GOP weenie wing, Greg Ahlemann would have clear sailing to election as our next Sheriff. Unfortunately, former Republican Steve Simpson decided to play spoiler and make that victory a wee bit harder to attain, and make a Democrat Sheriff that much more likelier.

My personal preference - no surprise - is that all voters pay close attention to the immigration enforcement issue, and vote up or down on that one alone. Lots of other questions can be discussed and hashed out after we've ascertained whether we will still have a country or not.

If the issue has been solidly framed in the sphere of public opinion, that certain candidates are for and others against local immigration enforcement measures, I think the HSL-PAC "ticket" will achieve 90% success and particularly Greg Ahlemann will be our next Sheriff. However, this is by no means assured, because the immigration enforcement message has primarily been expounded on the Web and in various blogs, which are to the votership as a whole as Joe's Home Brew is to Budweiser.

If the turnout is ridiculously low, all bets are off. The only non-aligned people who bother to vote may indeed be those who care about immigration enforcement. The HSL-PAC lit drop campaign, which reached 30,000+ households, might bring an extra 3,000 voters to the polls countywide. It could make the difference.

If you want to help end the illegal immigration crisis in this country, a place to start is with tomorrow's Virginia elections.

Help Save Loudoun PAC's "Immigration Enforcement Ticket" focuses on a number of northern Virginia races in which voters have a clear choice between candidates with very difference conceptions of local and state governments' role in immigration enforcement.

Those who are in favor of a strong local and state role will help put us on the road to fixing the problem. Those not in favor of such a role will help ensure the problem is never solved.

You can download a copy of the "Ticket" here - and please circulate it to everyone you know in Loudoun, Fairfax, Fauquier and Prince William Counties who may have the opportunity to vote for one of these candidates.

To read the educational flyer from Help Save Loudoun PAC which has been hand-delivered to many thousands of households in Loudoun County over the past five days, click here.

I don't know whether a single lit drop to a portion of this county's residences can make a difference in such a geographically massive area, but rest assured more voters now understand how to solve this problem than did a week ago.

Please pass along the above links to every voter you know and encourage them to VOTE TOMORROW, NOV. 6.

I'm calling out all you whimps. Yes, I mean those gutless wonder commentors that allude to knowing all these juicy secrets about candidates but don't elaborate. Well it's time to grow a pair (yes, ladies, you too) and show us what you are made of. I feel that you owe it to our readers to devulge knowledge of candidates that may affect our voting. I surely don't want to cast the wrong vote for not knowing all the dirt. Is Delgaudio a Mafia Don? Is West a member of the KKK? How about York taking lunch in county offices with a dominatrix? Did Phillips use to work for the KGB? I want the dirt where someone has photocopied neighborhood kids on their shorts.

The rules are simple:
1. If it is public knowledge or already known-who cares.

2. It has to be why a candidate shouldn't hold office-not why a candidate should.

3. Local/state candidates only. We'll get to the nationals later on.

4. Has to be PROVABLE and easily ACCESSABLE. Confirmation is a MUST. Pictures, videos, audio at legitament locations golden! "an anonymous source says" or "it is rumored that" or "my aunt Jenny told me" are no good and not provable.

Time to show us what you REALLY know. Change my mind-I'm susceptible to change. After the election doesn't count. If the comment count remains zero I won't be suprised. As the saying goes, "wind blows free".

James Atticus Bowden is running for the Republican nomination for the First District U.S. Congressional seat made vacant by the untimely death of Jo Ann Davis. The nomination will be decided by a convention on November 10.

Jim Bowden is one of those individuals who conservatives WISH would represent them in the halls of government - as opposed to those we usually get who simply march under the ideological banner. This is a truly unique opportunity to get someone in office who really believes, and lives by, the tenets we see exemplified so rarely in public life.

I have corresponded with him a number of times via the blogs and had the honor of spending over an hour talking with him at the bloggers' conference this past summer.

I told Jim that I heartily endorsed his candidacy the second I heard about it.

The catch is, he needs delegates from the First District to show up on November 10 (he also needs money, but the delegates he cannot do without.)

Please go learn all about Jim at his excellent campaign Web site. Especially see the series of videos.

If you know anyone who lives in the First District (extends from Newport News to Fredericksburg - use this link - fill out the form, and see if it says "Congress: Jo Ann Davis" near the bottom) have them e-mail their legal name, address, best telephone and email address to jatticus1@yahoo.com.

[My opinion: Heh. To the extent anyone pays attention to this story, it is ultimately going to work to Greg Ahlemann's favor. Dismissing tickets is a widespread practice, and Mr. Ahlemann inadvertantly, by simply telling the truth, caused his opponents for the sheriff's seat to take untenable knee-jerk public positions which anyone familiar with the workings of law enforcement will immediately recognize as BS. Mr. Ahlemann apparently did a fine job making his case more clearly on all of the local television news outlets this afternoon. This is the type of story that is only effective if it does not have the opportunity to percolate in public consciousness. Once people begin to think about it, they realize the guy telling the truth is on the much more solid ground. The Post sprang it a week too early.]

[Mr. Ahlemann also stated today: "Any voters who don't want to hear their Sheriff telling the truth shouldn't vote for me."]

Yesterday's attempted October surprise on Loudoun County Sheriff Candidate Greg Ahlemann by reporter Bill Brubaker of the local "we try harder" publication has, unsurprisingly, turned into another signature boomerang piece by the Washington Post.

Discerning readers might have gathered from the original story that the contention of supposedly "experienced" Loudoun sheriff candidates Mike George and Steve Simpson that they never dropped tickets or asked for them to be dismissed does not quite ring true. As two officers interviewed in the story stated, it is a common practice. How could Mr. Simpson and Mr. George, with such long service records, have avoided the practice?

Former Loudoun County sheriff's deputy Dave Price (2001-2006) has an explanation: "Total hogwash."

"Dropping tickets" is, according to Mr. Price, "very commonplace."

Regarding the Washington Post reports of the statements by both candidates Mr. Simpson and Mr. George, Mr. Price said any law enforcement officers "read that, they know he's either straighter than any straight arrow they've ever known - or else he's lying."

Mr. Price said his father, a police officer for over three decades, confirmed he "did not know of any that haven't taken a call" to drop tickets.

Mr. Price recalled an incident in which he ticketed a teenage girl for speeding. Soon afterwards, a Fairfax County Police Department lieutenant asked Mr. Price to dismiss the ticket because the girl was on the local softball team. Mr. Price complied - which he said is the practice nearly all the time.

Another incident precipitated Mr. Price's resignation from the Sheriff's Office, about three weeks before he left.

On that day in 2006, Mr. Price was manning radar on River Creek Parkway in Landsdowne, where residents had been complaining of frequent speeders in the 35 mile an hour zone. He clocked a vehicle traveling at 55-60 miles per hour, and proceeded to pull it over. The driver became "belligerent with me, cursing me up and down," Mr. Price relates.

"He would not calm down. Finally his friend in the passenger seat told him to 'shut up, let's just go to court.'"

After writing the ticket, as he drove away, Mr. Price got a message from Sheriff Steve Simpson asking him to call Mr. Simpson's personal cell phone number. According to Mr. Price, Mr. Simpson asked him to drop the ticket, saying "The guy is some building contractor the county is trying to schmooze to get some building built. He said you were very professional with him. He has had lots of tickets and is worried that his insurance will go up. Would you mind getting rid of the ticket?"

Mr. Price agreed to drop the ticket and reports this is when he begain looking for another job.

The Post's Mr. Brubaker elected to just now release a story that would have been breaking news in January of this year.

At that time, former deputy and candidate for sheriff Greg Ahlemann issued a press release detailing an incident that took place in September, 2006, when Lt. Colonel Randy Badura pressured a deputy to agree to drop charges against Bruce Zurschmeide, who the deputy had charged with the triple misdemeanors of DUI, refusal to submit to a breathalyzer test and attempting to elude police. The deputy was asked to agree to the charges, which might have resulted in a sentence of year in prison, being dropped to a petty "drunk in public" which only carries a $50 fine.

Sheriff Simpson reportedly backed Mr. Badura in seeking the reduced charges.

Mr. Ahlemann took an interest in the incident as symptomatic of corruption which was hurting morale within the Sheriff's Office. He proceeded to investigate the details, some of which were divulged in the press release.

He was interviewed by Mr. Brubaker months before he won the nomination.

The Post reporter elected to sit on the story until this past Friday, October 26, when he called Mr. Ahlemann with some follow up questions.

Today, Mr. Ahlemann released to the media some background data which adds a layer of important information to the story. First is an audio recording of Mr. Ahlemann's interview with an internal affairs investigator.

The interview is worth listening to a couple times through, because it demonstrates the IA investigator is not investigating at all, but is in fact attempting to fix the story of what happened to match what would be in Mr. Badura's and Mr. Simpson's best interests. The investigator attempts to ascertain from Mr. Ahlemann that Mr. Ahlemann has not let out any information that would be damaging to the department.

Another interesting note is that the Zurschmeide family now appears to be actively promoting the false idea that the arrest of Bruce Zurschmeide was invalid (the IA interview above affirms the "arrests were good," putting the lie to the Zurschmeides' contention). A recent e-mail circulated from a member of the family argued:

Last Fall my brother was erroneously arrested on his own property by the current Sheriff's department for a DUI. After investigation, the Commonwealth Attorney reduced the charge to a misdemeanor.

In an effort to support his platform, Mr. Ahlemann claims and recently reported in the October 28th issue of the Washington Post that my brother received special treatment "by a high-ranking sheriff's official". The truth is that the arrest took place on private property and after an unsolicited investigation, the Commonwealth Attorney decided to reduce the charge to a misdemeanor. My brother does not have a relationship with any high-ranking official from the Sheriff’s office, nor has he ever met Sheriff Steve Simpson. At no time did Ahlemann bother to speak to the arresting officer or to my brother about the facts of the arrest. Instead he chooses to falsely cite this incident as a platform for change.

The data - in particular the IA interview - accompanying this post, clearly shows the Zurschmeide family should have let this story die.

Regular, non-connected residents of Loudoun County know that for similar behavior they would be behind bars.

So while the Post's front page story attempted to paint Mr. Ahlemann as engaging in unusual practices, the truth of the matter strongly appears to be that Mr. Ahlemann is the only one telling the truth. Mr. Simpson - by advocating for lessening charges that would have any normal citizen facing extended time in detention - has some explaining to do in the case of Mr. Zurschmeide.

As the former deputy Mr. Price noted about Mr. Ahlemann, this entire story should "put Greg up higher because he's actually being honest about it. What's the point of lying about it?"

Supporting the original press release from Mr. Ahlemann, below the fold are copies of the original complaints in the Zurschmeide case filed by the arresting officers.

This story from the FRONT PAGE of yesterday's Post - along with the Loudoun Times-Mirror, certainly among the area's foremost political advocacy organizations - deserves thoughtful comment which I unfortunately am not yet in a position to provide.

(Day jobs are a killer, and this is one of the periodic weeks when I can't break away to do a lot of "free" work such as this blog surely can be.)

But I will try and get to it late tonight.

Just on the facts contained in the article it should have raised eyebrows among careful readers about what exactly the reporter, Brubaker, or his editors were trying to accomplish. It should also raise SERIOUS questions about why anyone would trust either of the old guys running for this office. More later ....

In the meantime, below the fold is a response from the Greg Ahlemann camp.

What is not to like about this man?

Eugene Delgaudio, Sterling District Supervisor, has stood by the legal residents of Loudoun County and is one of our few advocates for immigration enforcement on the Board of Supervisors. He stood by the residents of Herndon during the 2005 imbroglio over the day labor center and ensuing, mildly resonant 2006 elections.

He is the hardest working supervisor in Loudoun County, overseeing the Sterling District from dawn till dusk till dawn. The many residents on his e-mail list get constant updates on everything from crimes, to emergency situations, to store openings, to volunteer opportunities.

He is, frankly, beloved by the Sterling residents. Countless residents have saved his letters of congratulations and thanks - for making the honor roll, or for displaying the American flag. They know that nobody else, not even as nice a lady as Jeanne West, would cheerfully put in the time and energy that Eugene Delgaudio contributes day after day, year in and year out, advocating for this district. He has a personal connection with so many members of the Sterling community and the residents of Loudoun County.

He personally championed the immigration enforcement resolution the Loudoun Supervisors eventually approved unanimously in July - at a time when the media were excoriating any politician who dared to breathe a word about local immigration enforcement.

Small wonder all of Eugene Delgaudio's public events draw huge audiences.

Some people disapprove of his irreverent style: Oh yes, he appears to enjoy his job too much - that I will grant. But in the effort to bring a common sense approach to local government it sometimes becomes necessary to laugh certain things off. Or rather, to laugh a LOT of things off - and this is a way he particularly connects with his constituents. We all know the way the government uses our tax dollars is often ridiculous. It is refreshing to have a Supervisor such as Eugene Delgaudio who is not afraid to say when that is the case.

As all of our regular visitors know, few institutions are more effective at ticking me off than the Republican Party. So now get this:

I just heard a report that, this week, Mark Albright - the Republican candidate for the Blue Ridge supervisor seat - was seen by the side of the road picking up Greg Ahlemann signs and throwing them into the back of his truck!

While I don't have hard evidence the actions took place, I do know that Albright held an event several weeks ago, and invited Steve Simpson and introduced him to the audience. No big deal - except he had not invited Greg Ahlemann (Ahlemann go wind of it and showed up).

So putting these reports together, I tend to give some credence to the report of Albright stealing the signs.

Which means apparently now we have another guy, in addition to those already outed, who signed a pledge to support the Republican ticket and instead is actively opposing the Republican nominee for Sheriff.

As discussed here previously, the local party has within it a questionable contingent which seems intent on driving a wedge between itself and some fairly conservative, politically active people, who have absolutely no personal loyalty to any of the prominent individuals within that faction. It will be interesting to see what sort of effect this behavior has on the party following the election.

Or before the election, for that matter.

Help Save Loudoun PAC candidate endorsements for the November 6, 2007 elections have been announced.

Loudoun County Sheriff: Greg Ahlemann
Senate, 37th District: Ken Cuccinelli
Senate, 33rd District: Patricia Phillips
Senate, 27th District: Jill Holtzman-Vogel
Delegate, 86th District: Tom Rust
Delegate, 13th District: Bob Marshall
Delegate, 50th District: Jackson Miller
Delegate, 52nd District: Jeff Frederick
Broad Run Supervisor: Lori Waters
Sterling Supervisor: Eugene Delgaudio
Sugarland Run Supervisor: Mick Staton
Leesburg Supervisor: Jim Clem
Catoctin Supervisor: Geary Higgins

Review the details by clicking here.

We've addressed this matter innumerable times since March, but as the election approaches and the next General Assembly as well, it seems worthwhile to post some reminders.

Twelve House bills dealing with illegal immigration, most of which passed by overwhelming - if not veto-proof - majorities in the General Assembly, were killed in Senate committees this past session.

If you want to research bills yourself, you can of course go to the GA Web Site and type in the bill number or search by representative.

To save you a little time, here are some research aids produced by friends at ANCIR and Help Save Herndon:

Some good bills which died in Senate committees.

Details on some of the bills.

This is why a number of us were saying, after the session had ended, that this Senate needs to be burned down and replaced. It looks like we did not succeed in getting rid of Ken Stolle - but who knows, maybe he has seen the light. It certainly means we need to dump some career politician types and replace them with people committed to implementing immigration enforcement measures in our state.

More to come.

A little trip down memory lane, back to June 9, 2007:

Mr. Ahlemann got quite the ovation from the Loudoun County Republican Committee Convention, that is for sure.

If you want to hear his earlier speech at the Convention, which evoked an even more thunderous response because there were triple the number of people in the room (and left Steve Simpson visibly shaken), click here to hear it - scroll down to the Hipcast media player bar.

Strong words from Loudoun County Republican Committee chair Paul Protic:

These folks are the Republican nominees and endorsees; they've earned the right to carry the GOP banner either through a primary or convention victory, or endorsement and thus, they are not only entitled to, but expect the Republican Party's support. The two independents running were once members of the LCRC and made a pledge to support whoever won their race. At that convention, after losing their races for nominations for Sheriff and Broad Run Supervisor, respectively, Steve Simpson and Jack Ryan publicly conceded defeat offered motions by acclamation affirming their support for the Republican nominees and representing their public withdrawal from the race.

Moreover, both candidates, as required when filing to participate in the Convention race, had signed pledges to support the full slate of Republican candidates chosen by the voters at the convention. These pledges were, in effect, contracts with the Committee and the Convention delegates. Yet less than 24 hours after the convention, Simpson and Ryan broke their pledges and chose to run as Independents.

In this day and age of declining public trust in government, it is especially important that our elected representatives be true to their word. It is time for Mr. Simpson and Mr. Ryan to pull out of their races, renew their pledges to the Republican candidates, and restore their own personal integrity as well as respect the integrity of the party process.

Well said, Mr. Protic.

It took a ridiculously long time, but we have finally arrived:

We got Laura Valle's undivided attention:

In a brief interview, Valle said she left La Voz for personal reasons and to become more "politically active" in light of the county's tougher stance on illegal immigration.

"I'm going to keep tabs on Help Save Loudoun," she said, referring to a group that supports local governments enforcing immigration laws.

In response, Help Save Loudoun spokesman Joseph Budzinski said: "I salute Laura for everything she has done and I can't think of a better person to keep a close eye on Help Save Loudoun."

Notwithstanding the fact we all could have avoided so very much unpleasantness if Ms. Valle had simply made this decision a couple weeks earlier, I am pleased to welcome her to the realm of free and open debate.

All snarkiness aside, I think we got off on the wrong foot with Laura because she took a cursory overview of the playing field and decided Help Save Loudoun was her enemy - without spending one single second finding out what Help Save Loudoun actually was. As happens so often in cultural disputes, the La Voz folks imputed their worst fears onto their presumed opponents, and before you knew it we were all blood-enemies without having learned a thing about those on the other side.

Laura seems particularly mixed up about the relationship between Help Save Loudoun and tbe initiatives that have moved through the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors' proceedings since July. There is an evident lack of historical knowledge.

It might surprise her to learn the only formal proposals that Help Save Loudoun has brought to the Board have been 1) support for county government participation in the ICE 287(g) training program and 2) a crackdown on illegal hiring.

Does Laura actually have a problem with either of these proposals? If so, I'd love to hear the rationale.

As hinted at here last month, there appears to have been a bit of back room treachery going on among a clique of local Republicans for the purpose of getting Steve Simpson re-elected as sheriff, after Mr. Simpson got clobbered at the Republican Convention in June and took about four hours to break his pledge to support the party nominee.

The chicanery seems to have included a really pitiable whispering campaign which a semi-prominent local Republican even attempted to disseminate here but which has gone absolutely nowhere - especially now that the superior candidate, Greg Ahlemann, has decided to confront all the allegations directly (more here).

Tough luck for the weasels: Greg Ahlemann is no shrinking violet.

Now comes the revelation via a leaked e-mail exchange - just posted by Loudoun Insider - that some prominent GOPers may have basically leaned on the Ahlemann campaign to shut up about the activities of Simpson supporters within the party. So rather then being thrown out on their arses, the turncoats were permitted to stay, and - if the e-mails are genuine - they counterattacked.

No one I've spoken with has confirmed the e-mail messages are for real, although the lack of response suggests to me they are. Read them for yourself and you'll see they have the semblance of authenticity.

What this means is some people supposedly in the party are really not going to make it easy for the party nominee, Greg Ahlemann, to win this election. What this says about the party is, in my opinion, not much, but then, I have a REALLY cynical view of human nature. There is no reason to think the natural snakiness inhabiting the human race as a whole would not also inhabit the Loudoun County Republican Committee in precisely the same proportions.

More significant is what this episode portends for the public perception of Steve Simpson.

My take on Mr. Simpson from the beginning, since I began following the illegal immigration issue last year and the campaign at the beginning of this year, is he is a decent guy, a little on the feckless side, who happens to have so interest whatsoever in doing anything proactive about discouraging illegal aliens from coming to this area. In Mr. Simpson's words, it's a federal issue, end of story. Until Greg Ahlemann stepped onto the scene in February, Mr. Simpson's entire stated philosophy on the issue was a litany of excuses for why his department will NEVER do anything more than it was currently doing. (You can read the Sheriff's take on the issue, and some of the flack he took from locals, during the February townhall meeting here and here; a little more citizen flack here.)

Mr. Simpson's response to citizens' complaints has been, in essence, you really have nothing to complain about because things are getting better, and in any case there is nothing I can do about it.

Naturally, this approach has not endeared the sitting sheriff to many local residents, and the current controversy will sully his reputation even further while providing quite a bit of motivation to those who want him out of office. QUITE a bit of motivation, I would guess.

I can imagine that local activists who might be getting a bit weary of the campaign season, which has been going on for nearly a year, might get a fresh blast of energy if messages begin circulating to the effect "Hey look at this outrage! Are we going to let them get away with this? Do you need any MORE reasons to work to get Greg Ahlemann elected?" Getting Steve Simpson out of there, while also knocking his supporters down a few pegs, could provide the inspiration to take a few more hours off of work, get up a little earlier on a Saturday, knock on a few more doors.

In a low-turnout election, a few more motivated people three weeks out could make a difference, if such messages were to circulate. Hypothetically.

Our buddies at Equality Loudoun just conducted a fascinating, in-depth interview with Loudoun County Sheriff candidate Greg Ahlemann, no holds barred and no punches pulled. As I've said before, Mr. Ahlemann is at his best in one on one personal interaction. His forthrightness is what won him an improbable landslide victory at the June Republican Convention, and the same quality shines here. Thanks to the EV guys for the detailed and undoubtedly laborious transcription.

Go read it now! If you are not very familiar with Mr. Ahlemann, this discussion will definitely help fill in some of the gaps.

And so all I’m talking about doing is a program that the federal government has already said, hey, local jurisdictions, you can use this in your own community to help deal with, you know, the criminal aspect of it. They don’t give us the authority to go in businesses and check IDs and deport people, because they’re not going to take those people. That’s not our job, and that takes away from what we as law enforcement officers need to be doing, which is dealing with crime and the criminal element. Probably the biggest thing that a group like La Voz could get out, and different community groups, is to get this information out, that having the ICE program here is not going to target people who are here illegally who have not committed crimes. We will not have the authority to deport you, to separate you from your family - obviously there will be a deterrent value, there will be a lot of people who will say, Loudoun is hard on it, so maybe I’m not going to go there to drink, maybe if I live in Centreville I’m not going to come down to Pepe’s and drink, and if I get caught drinking and driving I might be deported, so you can’t put a price tag on that.

Absolutely brilliant.

For Immediate Release October 10, 2007

Contact: Ahlemann For Sheriff Campaign Office
571.223.7661 (telephone)

Greg Ahlemann on Illegal Immigration, Religion and His Tattoo

Leesburg, VA - Republican Nominee for Loudoun County Sheriff, Greg Ahlemann, is planning to discuss his stance on illegal immigration, the role of religion in his life as well as his much talked about tattoo in a press conference with the media.

The press conference will be held on Monday, October 15, 2007 at 10:00 AM at the Loudoun County Government Center Courtyard located at 1 Harrison Street SE, Leesburg, Virginia.

# # # #

For more information, contact the Ahlemann For Sheriff campaign office at 571.223.7661 or via email at info@ahlemannforsheriff.com or visit the web site at www.AhlemannForSheriff.com.

Besides being the only candidate in the Loudoun County race for sheriff to have the slightest appreciation for the importance of local immigration enforcement measures, Greg Ahlemann has the added advantage of being disarmingly personable and straightforward - so much so that he can unflinchingly state his views and beliefs in front of any type of audience and the audience invariably ends up liking him.

He has been the target of a whispering campaign, and this press conference is the perfect avenue to address it.

My recommendation: Be there Monday morning at 10:00 am.

A PAC has been formed to help end illegal hiring and illegal migration into the communities of Northern Virginia. Visit the Help Save Loudoun PAC Web Site for more information on how to assist in this effort:

Help Save Loudoun PAC was formed on behalf of the legal residents of Virginia, with the goal of ending illegal hiring here and illegal migration into our area. We want to elect public officials who will work to address these problems by implementing local and state immigration law enforcement measures and increase restrictions on hiring unauthorized workers.

Over the past seven years, because of corrupt business practices and neglect by our public officials, eastern Loudoun and western Fairfax counties became a landing zone for illegal aliens seeking work. This resulted in a "win-win-lose" situation, in that the employers benefited from cheap labor, the unauthorized workers found work, and American blue-collar workers and subcontractors saw their wages drop and opportunities disappear.

Yes, the federal government is to blame for failing to secure our borders and enforce existing laws against illegal hiring. At Help Save Loudoun PAC, however, we believe the solution to the problem must begin at the local and state levels. When local communities act, those at higher levels of government will eventually follow.

We have seen examples already where just the threat of increased enforcement has resulted in a reversal of illegal migration. Within the past year, several states and local communities - including Herndon, Virginia - have passed measures aimed at discouraging illegal hiring, with the result that illegal aliens have begun to depart.

Some of our public officials and candidates for office seem to grasp this principle but many do not.

Polls indicate that over 80% of legal residents of the United States support an "enforcement-first" approach to immigration reform. Help Save Loudoun PAC provides an avenue for promoting people to public office who are dedicated to implementing enforcement at the ground level rather than waiting for the feds to act.

Your contribution to Help Save Loudoun PAC will help in this effort.

We've got more maintenance going on right now which may cause some hiccups throughout the weekend. Please rest assured that all changes are being conducted with YOUR best interests in mind.

I need to request my fellow bloggers to STOP BLOGGING NOW, open up Notepad to finish that ponderous thought, go mow the lawn, then head out to the country somewhere where you can breath the fresh air and blast away with your shotgun. Sitting in front of a keyboard all day is not healthy.

I hope to have all the behind the scenes work done by tomorrow. In the meantime, I leave you with an image I know all of our readers will savor as you return here over and over this weekend to see if we are back up and running yet.

You're welcome.

It was enjoyable, I must say, to spend a few hours on a recent weekend with supporters of Eugene Delgaudio and Greg Ahlemann walking the neighborhoods of Sterling. Really a nice way to spend a morning.

Oh, also, in order to facilitate the upgrade I have had to turn off comments so none will be lost in the transition (I do treasure each of them so) and consequently I will not be able to hear any of your opinions on this excellent photograph of Eugene Delgaudio out talking to the folks, doing what he does best.

Pity, that.

UPDATE: Obviously, this blog is not bearing the maintenance experience with perfect aplomb. It has turned out to be, in fact, a cluster you-know-what. I cannot promise any imminent improvement.

Good day.

The only question is: Which direction is the Loudoun Times-Mirror rotting from, bottom up or top down?

When I got slimed recently by the area's widest-circulation local newspaper, I took it in stride because in my view "integrity" and "journalism" go together about like "prudent judgement" and "puppy." Editor Paul Smith saw fit to print in prominent position a letter with the headline "Shame On Mr. Budzinski," in which the "shame" derived from a deliberate misreading of a disingenuous quote by a reporter who put the word "political" in my mouth - in a front page story in the Loudoun Times-Mirror. Although he posted my rebuttal on the paper's Web site, Mr. Smith did not publish my 300-word response in the print edition which reaches a much larger audience.

The latest offense by the LTM is an order of magnitude more serious: In a story about this week's Sheriff candidates' debate, the LTM printed a slander transcending bias or ethical lapse and treading awfully close to criminal.

On page A5 in Wednesday's print edition, reporter Jana Renn writes:

While Ahlemann tended to criticize the Latino and Hispanic population of eastern Loudoun, George contended that crime exists in every race and culture.

The sentence was since removed from the online version of the story, but the damage has most certainly been done as the paper gets into the hands of tens of thousand of readers this week.

Why do I characterize this as an offense? Primarily because, of all the candidates, Greg Ahlemann is the only one who said nothing about any culture or ethnic group.

You can listen to the entire debate here, but I have transcribed the relevant portions below.

Here is what Mr. Ahlemann said:

Question 3: During the recent debate on illegal immigration in Loudoun, some elected officials and residents have portrayed parts of eastern Loudoun, especially Sterling Park, as being run down and unsafe. Oftentimes these issues have been attributed to illegal immigrants. Do you think this is a fair portrayal of Sterling Park and, if so, what can the Sheriff's department do to improve the quality of life in this community?

Ahlemann: It's a good question and it is the issue in this race. And I don't know that we can quantify and really put a number on the amount of problems that are caused by illegal immigrants. Clearly, as the federal government themselves has stated, I think 12 million illegal immigrants, some people say 20 million. That's quite a large gap, so I don't expect Loudoun County Sheriff's Office or anybody in Loudoun County to have the intelligence to tell us how many are here. Clearly, we've seen a move and change - I've seen it firsthand from working on the streets of Sterling Park since 1997 in how the demographics have changed. I know that many of the people who I arrested initially who had no identification, couldn't speak any English, I'm just gonna guess that they might have been here illegally because at the time we chose not to participate in ICE. Those people lived in Herndon at the time. Now many of those same people live in Sterling. So I think there is a correlation between the two. Trying to say that crime statistics have gone down, you know, seeing that written on a piece of paper doesn't really make the single mother feel much safer as she goes out to buy groceries late at night and there's a lot of people hanging out at different bars or at Pepe's, where we have continuous problems. A place like that clearly needs attention from the Sheriff's Office and probably needs to be shut down.

Pepe's is an establishment notorious in Sterling for the amount of violence and police activity it manages to host - and the police activity is a fraction of what most residents THINK it should hosting. It is six doors down from the local Safeway. Everyone in Sterling who is not a gang member thinks Pepe's needs to be shut down and the fact it has not been is an anomaly much like the Enron scandal was an anomaly. There are many Latino businesses in the shopping complex: Singling out Pepe's demonstrates not a speck of ethnocentrism and any reporter who thinks it does should be working a different beat.

Here are Steve Simpson's and Mike George's answers to the same question:

Simpson: I do think it's wrong to assume, like some people do, that everyone who's in Sterling that's Hispanic is first of all illegal and second of all a gang member, because that's just not true. From our gang unit, the people we deal with, only one in about 20 people we deal with that are in gangs are illegal. So we have to be very careful when we start pointing fingers and saying, making those comments that some people are very quick to make in a campaign. I think there are some issues with Sterling Park. I've been with the Sheriff's Office for 20 years. I think a lot of the issues we see as some of these communities deteriorate are things I've brought to the Board's attention and they're already aware of, and we've talked about this and had a dialogue about housing issues, occupancy issues, zoning issues, those kinds of things. When you have 15 or 20 people living in a house, eight or ten cars parked all over the yard, that's not a law enforcement issue, that's not a Sheriff's Office issue. I can't knock on the door and ask for identification to see who's living there and are they here legally or not. That's not something I can do legally. But zoning officials, housing officials, ordinances that deal with those kinds of things, those are the kinds of things that play out in communities. And with our community policing office we deal with quality of life issues in community policing. That's a program I started when I first took office 12 years ago and we have it throughout the county. Those are the kind of things, working with the county resources, working with the Sheriff's Office in community policing to try to address some of these quality of life issues, that's how you solve those kinds of problems. You don't lock everybody up and everybody doesn't need to go to jail. That's not what it's all about. It's looking at it from a multi-pronged approach with all of us working together to deal with that issue.

George: I agree with Sheriff Simpson when he says we can't look at a certain culture and say they're gang members. I've worked Asian crimes, I've worked Nigerian crimes, I've worked Russian mafia crimes. There's crime in every culture and every race, and we need to be specific about what we're looking at. The crime, if it goes up, is one thing. We need to target crime, we don't need to target a culture.

Setting up a straw man and knocking it down is a classic feature of dishonest argument. It is a technique widely employed in the illegal immigration debate. Greg Ahlemann never mentions any ethnic group, but his opponents do so and go on to accuse him in not-so-veiled manner of "targeting" a culture.

The story by Ms. Renn also said about Mr. Ahlemann:

He said that 4,000 students in Sterling schools do not speak English in their homes, and that while he can't say all 4,000 of them are illegal, 100 of them may be...He later tried to clarify that he was using the numbers as examples and they may not be totally accurate.

Here is what was actually said when Purcellville Gazette publisher Ben Weber had this exchange with Mr. Ahlemann:

Question 4: In light of the recent opening of the new jail facility here in Loudoun County, how do you propose working with the Board of Supervisors and with the areas outside the area, such as Frederick County, in dealing with the overcrowding and housing that we most likely will have in light of the increased gang activity that will likely be taking place?

Ahlemann: ...Speaking with Warren Guerin just a couple weeks ago, of the School Board in Sterling, he said at some schools in Sterling, 64% English is not the language spoken in the home. Four thousand students are in English as a Second Language as part of their curriculum. Four thousand: almost 10% of our students. Am I going to sit up here and say that all those people are illegal immigrants? Certainly not. But could 100 of them be illegal immigrants that shouldn't be in this county? One hundred of them would be $1.4 million taxpayers' savings. There's what we spend to house the inmates. There's no vision, either at the Board of Supervisors level or the Sheriff's level, to resolve these kinds of problems. And that's what I bring, is a new perspective on dealing with things like this. You cut out the criminal element, you deter some of these illegal immigrants from coming here, guess what: You don't have to provide school for them and you save $1.4 million just with 100.

Follow up by questioner Ben Weber: You talked about 4,000 students, you talked to Warren Guerin, you made the assumption, it seemed to me, and please correct me if I'm wrong, that perhaps this large percentage of people that speak a different language - that's part of the reason why we're having this criminal element. I think that's somewhat of a stretch, and please correct me if I'm wrong.

Ahlemann: I'm sorry you perceived that, but I think the point is there's 4,000 - almost 10% of our students - that speak a language that is not English as the first language, that we're educating. And Warren Guerin basically stated at that meeting I was at ...

Weber interrupts: What did that have to do with the jail issue?

Ahlemann: I think it has a lot to do with it ...

Weber interrupts: If I speak Farsi, from Iran, then I'm a potential problem?

Ahlemann: I'm not saying that. There is a correlation between the two. If you're going to look at solving the problems as isolated, and not connecting some of these things together, then we're doing law enforcement the same way we did 30 years ago and we need to look at things in a new light and a new way of dealing with things.

Mr. Ahlemann makes the logical case that increased ICE participation could result in the departure of illegal aliens from this area, and if they were students, or parents of students, in our public schools the county would save $14,000 a year for every one that left and there would be less people in the jail. This is a simple, obvious point that most citizens of Loudoun would immediately comprehend but is, nevertheless, opaque to Ben Weber. And again, Mr. Weber, not Mr. Ahlemann, is the one who brings up a specific culture.

But as to the "4,000": It might have been a little helpful if the reporter had taken into consideration the fact that Mr. Ahlemann was referring to an event covered and quoted - in the Loudoun Times-Mirror:

"In the school system, we do not verify immigration status," Geurin said. His comments elicited a round of applause from the several hundred people in attendance.

He also urged the parents of the school system's immigrant students to take English as a Second Language, or ESL, classes. Of immigrant students, he said about 4,000 in Loudoun took these classes last school year.

That Mr. Ahlemann "later tried to clarify" the numbers is barely true, in the sense he stated clearly in a later exchange that he pulled the "100" figure out of the air to make a point about the potential cost savings. But the printed article leads one to believe he "tried to clarify" about the 4,000 students, when that figure came from a public official on the school board and was quoted in the same newspaper.

The bottom line is the Loudoun Times-Mirror grossly distorted the facts to paint Mr. Ahlemann as a fool and a bigot, when in fact he was completely forthright about the numbers he was quoting and he was the only candidate not to discuss any ethnic group. Why not call out Steve Simpson for the "everyone who's in Sterling that's Hispanic" quote? Who ever said that, besides Steve Simpson?

If the Loudoun Times-Mirror was worth the plastic baggie it's delivered in, THAT'S the statement the reporter would have called into question.

[The complete audio recording of Tuesday night's debate between Loudoun County Sheriff candidates is below the fold. This should put an end to discussion of who did or did not say what.]

While there were a number of interesting statements throughout the evening, more than anything the debate clearly illustrated substantial differences between the candidates. Loudoun County voters really have a stark choice in November.

Only Greg Ahlemann conveyed a clear message about why voters should choose him, and not solely based on the illegal immigration issue. Save for the question of whether we should have a county-wide police department, Steve Simpson and Mike George said virtually nothing to distinguish themselves one from the other, and their only coherent criticism of Mr. Ahlemann was his "lack of experience." It comes across clearly in the debate that "experience" may be very overrated - we already knew this about Steve Simpson and we've now learned it with reference to Mike George.

Most stunning was Democrat Mike George's statement of support for day labor centers for illegal workers and criticism of the town of Herndon's decision to shut down its day labor center two weeks ago. This betrays an astounding naivete regarding the illegal alien issue and should effectively eliminate him from consideration by Sterling voters.

The town of Herndon saw an increase in the number of illegal aliens after the day labor center was announced - and why not: it signals a "welcome" to illegal workers. Of course, people who have absolutely no familiarity with the situation on the ground could be excused for assuming the day labor center merely moved a problem from one unruly place to a more manageable place. It's fine that some people still do not understand what is happening here, but we surely do not need one of them as our Sheriff. Or, I should say, another one.

Mike George's partly nonsensical response also should put to bed once and for all the notion that "education" has any relevance in the choice between these three candidates. Mr. George famously came out in favor of ICE 287(g) training for Sheriff's Office personnel earlier this year after Greg Ahlemann had spent several months talking about it - and then two weeks later Mr George amended his support, saying having more than one deputy trained would be "overkill." Presumably, back when Mr. George was last involved in actual law enforcment they had officers who could work 24/7/365. These days, that does not pass muster.

Here, his understanding of the Herndon center seems to vacillate from what it really was to something it definitely was not. Mr. George states "was there illegals there? I don't know" which should give most local residents pause. Like anyone who has read a local newspaper in the past two years, or happens to live within a mile of the facility, or has a smidgen of understanding of the local illegal immigration issue. (For the record, government studies estimated that at least 85% of the workers being served by the center were illegal aliens - a figure arrived at by extrapolating from a Fairfax County study that found over 80% of the county's foreign born residents were here illegally).

He then goes on to suggest part of the beauty of a workers' center is "you do ID them." Well, actually, Mr. George, you do not. Otherwise, there would never have been a controversy over the Herndon center and it never would have been shut down. (Come to think of it, it never would have been started up).

We'll let Mr. George speak for himself:

George: I actually think it was a mistake to close the day labor site in Herndon. It was a place where everybody came to work. Now was there illegals there? I don't know. Did they check? I know they didn't check. But it gave a central location where people could find work and the only thing they were guilty of was wanting to work. What you have now is people coming out and going to various locations and hanging out, and you're going to have to do enforcement. Enforcement is an option that you have to take sometimes. So what you're looking at is do you have people hanging out at 7-11s looking for work, or do you put them in one central location where people go, where you can monitor. You can actually ID them, and that is something that I'd recommend. These people do come up and you do ID them. You want to know who everybody is, so that makes it an easier way to do it. The best part of that work center was, I worked in Fairfax when they were hanging out at the 7-11 .... try to go in and get a soda when they were hanging out there. So I think it was a benefit.

My first reaction to hearing this was: If Mike George is this clueless on the topic of the day labor center controversy - certainly one of the key issues in eastern Loudoun county in the past year - how long would it take him to get up to speed on what is really happening here as Sheriff?

If he is not aware that even the hint of increased enforcement at the local level has already caused illegal aliens to leave from towns like Hazleton, PA, and the states of Georgia, Arizona and Oklahoma, can we count on him to help move the ball forward on reversing the influx of illegal aliens into Loudoun?

He gives the impression of a genial outsider for whom this is not an issue he needs to play a role in addressing. Let me emphasize Mike George does not seem like a bad guy at all. He seems competent and sincere, but not the person we need in the role of Sheriff.

There is more to report from the debate, forthcoming.

Opening Statement

Question 1: What is your opinion on forming a county-side police force?

Question 2: Looking to the future, what needs to be done in the Sheriff's department as the county continues to grow?

Question 3: During the recent debate on illegal immigration in Loudoun, some elected officials and residents have portrayed parts of eastern Loudoun, especially Sterling Park, as being run down and unsafe. Oftentimes these issues have been attributed to illegal immigrants. Do you think this is a fair portrayal of Sterling Park and, if so, what can the Sheriff's department do to improve the quality of life in this community?

Question 4: In light of the recent opening of the new jail facility here in Loudoun County, how do you propose working with the Board of Supervisors and with the areas outside the area, such as Frederick County, in dealing with the overcrowding and housing that we most likely will have in light of the increased gang activity that will likely be taking place?

Question 5: Every year in negotiations with the Board of Supervisors it seems you don't get the deputies you're after. What can you do differently to make sure you get the deputies? And do we have enough deputies to man the county?

Question 6: If elected Sheriff would you make any wholesale changes in the Sheriff's Office in terms of staff?

Question 7: Regarding the recent closing of the Herndon day labor site, which shared a border with Loudoun County ... we are starting to notice at various locations here in Loudoun the formation of impromptu day labor sites. What is your position on that and if the Board of Supervisors chose to set up a type of day labor site, how would you enforce that and how would you work with the Board of Supervisors in relation to the ICE programs?

Question 8: There's been a lot of talk this campaign season, about this race in particular, with respect to everyone's feelings on religion. Can you describe to me how you separate your personal faith from your job, if these two issues ever cross paths, as Sheriff?

Question 9: In the federal government illegal immigration enforcement program called 287(g), ICE officials generally only deport illegal immigrants detained by local jurisdictions who are convicted of felonies. As Sheriff, so you think 287(g) should also include deportation of those convicted of DUIs and other misdemeanors?

Audience Questions

Closing Statements

It appears that the Democratic Party of Virginia has shown its true colors and contempt for the 2nd Amendment. I wonder what Mark Warner would say?

The proof? Below is an exerpt from a recent update by the Virginia's Citizens' Defense League via email:

******************************************************* 6.Democratic Party of Virginia pays for gun bashing attack ad ***************************************************************

Member [name redacted] of Centreville sent this item.

I was particularly intrigued by the blurb on the Democratic Party's
platform position stating support for the right to keep and bear
arms. [VA-Alert 17 September 2007, "2A makes appearance on VA
Democratic Party platform"]

I live in Sen Cuccinelli's district [Virginia Senate 37 ~ west
Fairfax County] and recently received a campaign flyer from the
Democratic Party of Virginia with a list of Ken's "kookiest ideas."
One of those items was "Cuccinelli supports allowing guns in public
places like airports, college campuses, day care centers and
libraries." The flyer states it was "Paid for by the Democratic
Party of Virginia. Authorized by Oleszek for State Senate." As I'm
sure you know, Janet Oleszek is Sen. Cuccinelli's Democratic opponent.

Interesting that an organization that claims to support the right to
keep and bear arms would use an opponent's support for the right to
keep and bear arms as the lead item in an attack ad.

I thought you'd be interested in knowing that, at least in this case,
the Democratic Party's actions are in direct opposition to the
position stated in their party platform.

UPDATE: Apparently, the gun-grabber and "The Man" had a debate. I'll let you guess who won.

Loudoun Sheriff Candidate Greg Ahlemann dropped in with another great comment here, in the Loudoun Farce thread:

I had a great interview with Loudoun Force. Clearly, this issue stirs emotions on both sides. Loudoun Force and I have different beliefs on how to deal with the illegal immigration problem, as I probably disagree with them on social issues as well. From a former deputy's perspective who worked 5 years in Sterling Park, the community has gotten significantly worse. My former co-workers and members of the gang unit who have seen it change would agree.

Statistics can be manipulated to show about whatever you want. For example, people might look at the # of traffic ti