Tucker Watkins, former Virgil Goode campaign manager and current Chairman of the 5th District Republican Party, has a busy summer trying to recruit candidates for a run against Virginia's other pretty boy Congressman, Tom Perriello.* Now you'd usually expect the NRCC to step up and take over the recruitment of what has to be a key race for them, but Tucker's wise leadership in 2008 must have reassured them that he knows what he's doing.
Right?
Well as Tucker Watkins is driving around the 5th District and exploring parts he previously didn't know about (UVA is in the district? Wowie!) he might want to bring a map. No, not for him. I'm sure he can figure out how to work a GPS in the car. Or get some poor intern from Hampton-Sydney to do it for him (that's how it usually goes). He needs to hand out maps to the Republican challengers. Apparently they don't know the borders of the 5th District.
Why else would two of the declared candidates against Tom Perriello be at a Republican picnic in Fishersville?
Now I understand the confusion you, the reader, may be in.
Declared candidates?! What are those? I thought the only candidates were Tucker's imaginary friends?
My friends you have been mislead. Despite the media attention on people too afraid to jump into the race, there are actual candidates against Tom Perriello. The first, Bradley Rees, is a working class candidate with strong conservative credentials and an understanding of technology surpassing the predecessor Virgil Goode. Look, he can use Twitter! And he can also read a map because he's been focused on reaching out to voters in the 5th District.
Not so Feda Kidd Morton and Laurence Verga, two other challengers. The pair showed up in Fishersville for the joint GOP picnic for the three local Republican Committees from Staunton, Augusta County and Waynesboro (SAW, how cute!).
Now this bothers me because Feda and Laurence were candidates I wanted to like. They come from the growing northern end of the 5th District. You know that part Tucker didn't know was added to the district years ago. While Tucker is chasing around State Senators in the reliably conservative end of the district, he's ignoring the work that needs to be done in the northern end. Will it take a Kilgore-esque defeat of the Republican challenger to Perriello for the GOP to learn they need a candidate who can connect with the swing voters in the northern end around Charlottesville, just like Bob McDonnell is winning by appealing to Northern Virginia and Tidewater?
So Tucker, get a map or get lost!
* My apologies to the Glenn Nye groupies out there for mentioning Tom Perriello in a post without mentioning Glenn Nye. Leave no doubt, I'm sure Glenn is the fairest of them all. I know that Glenn's groupies are very insecure and have fragile egos . . . much like Glenn himself.
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Don't knock Laurence or Feda yet. You need to remember that at this point both Laurence and Feda need to win the nomination before going on to the general election. Unfortunately this also means catering to the RPV and going to events outside the district. I believe going into November you will see all potential candidates for the 5th being very involved in supporting state Republican candidates, they know that it is in everyones best interest if McDonald, Bolling and Cuccinelli win their respective elections.
ReplyDeleteBelieve me the 5th District will get plenty of face time with these people. But in the long run it is up to us to make sure the right person wins the primary not necessarily the one with the best chance to win the general election. Once the right person is nominated then it will be up to the grass roots to make sure they then win the general election. For too long we have had to settle for the lesser of two evils, No More.