This is a political blog, and I intend for it to have some effect. The maximum effect I can have is to influence votes. So I talk about candidates first and then issues.
My favorite issue is education. Unfortunately, time is a commodity. Because there is only so much of it, I must purchase it and spend it carefully. Hence, I have not been talking about the Prince William County School Board of late. Our School Board is not making a mess, and there is no immediate danger that a bunch irresponsible busybodies will take over. Instead, I turned my focus onto the Republican nomination for Senate.
Considering how elections in our area are shaping up, it now appears that I should keep my focus on the upcoming elections. As The Oath notes (here), Barack Obama is out polling John McCain by a 2 digit margin. This itself is not cause for panic. Consider what the Newsweek article The Oath references says.
Obama’s current lead also reflects the large party-identification advantage the Democrats now enjoy—55 percent of all voters call themselves Democrats or say they lean toward the party while just 36 percent call themselves Republicans or lean that way. Even as McCain seeks to gain voters by distancing himself from the unpopular Bush and emphasizing his maverick image, he is suffering from the GOP’s poor reputation among many voters. Still, history provides hope for the GOP. Hugick points out that in May 1988 when the primaries ended, Democrat Michael Dukakis enjoyed a 54 percent to 38 percent lead over George H.W. Bush. But Bush wound up winning handily. “Those results should give people pause,” Hugick says, saying that a substantial number of voters, about 5 percent, have also moved into the undecided column. A significant improvement in the economy, or continued advances in Iraq—an issue McCain has identified with strongly as the senator who championed the “surge” first—could alter the Republican’s fortunes. (from here)
What this poll suggests is that Republicans have a lot of work to do. We will be voting to fill three important offices, our President, one of Virginia’s Senators, and our 11th District Congressman. Unfortunately, none of these Republican nominees is a strong candidate. Moreover, their Democratic opponents are effective fundraisers and all enjoy strong support from a swooning mass media.
As he runs for president, Barack Obama no doubt enjoyed this comment in a Washington Post article
The Obama campaign announced last night that it raised $22 million in May, a relatively small sum compared with his previous totals — he raised $55 million in February — but still $1 million more than McCain’s May total of $21 million, the best showing so far for the Republican. McCain finished May with just under $32 million in the bank, compared with Obama’s $43 million, although about $10 million of Obama’s total can be spent only after the party’s nominating convention in August. (from here)
Most likely Mark Warner also enjoyed the Loudoun Times attempt to rewrite history.
That was one of many digs at his opponent, Republican Jim Gilmore, who preceded Warner as governor. As governor, Gilmore made good on his campaign promise to phase out the car tax, but the endeavor proved to be far more expensive than predicted. The massive car tax cuts, coupled with spending increases, resulted in a huge hole in the budget that didn’t materialize until after Warner took office in 2002. (from here)
And Gerry Connolly was probably overjoyed to see this review in the Washington Post.
Virginia’s 11th (Open seat, R): In the days leading up to the June 10 Democratic primary between Fairfax Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerry Connolly and former Rep. Leslie Byrne, there was a real sense that Byrne had the momentum to pull off the upset. Um, no. Connolly, a hard-nosed but effective pol, demolished Byrne — winning 58 percent to her 33 percent. Connolly’s impressive showing and his high profile in the most populous part of the district make him a formidable force in the fall. Republicans are optimistic about businessman Keith Fimian, who had $768,000 in the bank as of May 21, but Connolly is a solid favorite. (from here)
Conservative bloggers must work hard to effectively counter this swooning mass media. Unfortunately, our lead candidate is not helping. John McCain threatens to morph from maverick John McCain into the panderman. Consider this excerpt from the Chicago Tribune.
Robert Gibbs, Obama’s communications director, dubbed Friday as “the end of pander week aboard the double-talk express of the John McCain campaign,” a takeoff on the senator’s legendary Straight Talk Express bus.
Gibbs cited a closed-door meeting McCain held in Chicago on Wednesday with more than 100 Hispanic leaders where attendees said the Republican vowed to have Congress enact comprehensive Immigration reform in the first year of his presidency. (from here)
Here are a couple stories confirming the alleged meeting (here and here).
Obama’s people would have us believe McCain says one thing in private and something else in public. If this is true, then when Republicans meet nationally to officially nominate their candidate for president, we can only hope that some stroke of mysterious luck will enable them to nominate someone else. But that is unlikely. That being the case, conservatives must work relentlessly to secure a Congress that opposes the Democrat’s socialist agenda. And for the next several months, that will be my focus.
Other Views
The Oath finds McCain’s apparent two-face behavior intolerable (here).
Raising Kaine raves over a poll showing Obama beating McCain (here).
Mason Conservative explains how he thinks Republicans will win Virginia (here) and why the 11th Congressional District is important.
Way back in February XCurmudgeon reveled in the possibility of blue Viriginia (here).
Citizen Tom 
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