Republican heart
The ongoing fight for the heart of the Republican Party has a face as of this morning.
Senator Russ Potts, a brave and moderate 'R', took a leap that he hopes will change the tenor of the party.
The Kilgore folks have weighed-in in no uncertain terms. In an impressive display of spin, the chair of the Virginia Republican Party agreed:
STATEMENT OF RPV CHAIRMAN KATE OBENSHAIN GRIFFIN
—Russ Potts Needs To Make It Official: Become A Democrat And Resign—
– The Democrat Party of Virginia now has a fight on their hands between two gubernatorial candidates representing the Democrat establishment’s high-tax, pro-abortion liberal views.
"As Tim Kaine and Russ Potts battle for the hearts and souls of Virginia Democrats, it is time for Russ Potts to officially declare himself a Democrat.
"Russ Potts should resign immediately from his State Senate seat to allow Governor Mark Warner to call a special election for Senate District 27. The voters in Senate District 27 deserve a Republican who shares their values. Russ Potts has been flagrantly disingenuous with hard working Virginia families that took him at his word in the last election." ###
In all the rumblings and news reports leading up to today's announcement, Kilgore and Griffin have been the first two to suggest that Potts will siphon Democrats away from Tim Kaine.
Most think that if Potts fails to connect with enough moderates to win, he'll just spoil what was expected to be a close race for Kilgore.
Virginia Republicans have been moving more and more to the right each year. If Potts doesn't stop them his way, the Dems will stop them their way.
posted by Randy @ 2/25/2005 01:31:00 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
What the Staunton News Leader had to say about Jerry Kilgore on December 13, 2004:
"For Jerry Kilgore: Where did the guy we endorsed for Attorney General back in 2001 go? That person was issues-driven and outcome-based and didn't resort to the kind of below-the-belt, simpleminded catchphrases we heard on Wednesday. If the most substantial thing you have to say about Kaine is, 'He's just John Kerry with a Richmond address!' you're going to have to do much better."
I agree with your assessment, Randy. It's a brilliant spin strategy--if the VA GOP can tag Potts as a Dem-wanna-be, it will make it easier for more moderate Republicans to dismiss him outright as a serious contender without really looking at his platform, especially in relation to Kilgore (who it sounds like is losing his connection with mainstream Virginia Republicans.)
It isn't so much that Kilgore is losing touch with mainstream VA Republicans as much as it is the House of Delegates. Kilgore panders to wingtips of the right, the Delegates are them.
I'll be happy if:
1) Potts wins on an independent Republican ticket; or
2) Kilgore stops pandering to the right and brings the party back to the middle; and wins; or
3) the energy around Potts' campaign brings the elected members of the Party back to the middle in their own House races this fall.
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