I knew it was too good to be true. Given the widespread support FCRC Chairman Anthony Bedell has enjoyed over the months as he’s cleaned up the Committee, I was waiting for the perennially unhappy crew to start chafing under the leadership of a truly talented and qualified Chairman. Well, it didn’t take that long.
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Despite having cleaned up the FCRC, paid off our debt, increased participation and numbers by over 30% in a year, helping elect multiple Republicans, and winning the County for a Republican gubernatorial candidate for the first time in over 20 years, I’ve heard from multiple sources that individuals are being approached to run against Anthony Bedell.
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I have been expecting this for a while. Unlike some, Anthony has been willing to make tough decisions that needed to be made – he was early in his support for removing the historically awful Jeff Frederick as Chairman of the RPV and he has come out as an early endorser of Pat Herrity in the race to defeat Gerry Connolly in November. It still surprises me the antipathy that some on the Committee have shown to anyone who has been willing to put pragmatism over ideology. After some of the scenes I witnessed at the last FCRC meeting when Keith Fimian ignored the decision of the Committee to not allow any candidates except Kerry Bolognese and Samantha Rucker to speak (which was the right decision, considering if he’d allowed candidates from the 11th to speak, he’d have to allow candidates from the 8th and 10th, and there are at least 6 of those out there) it was only a matter of time before Fimian’s team started searching for a more pliable Chairman.
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So far, as far as I am aware, no one has taken the bait. I do know they have approached multiple people and I have been told at least one specific person who was asked and declined.
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What’s their complaint? I have no idea. I can only speculate, but the only thing I’ve ever heard as a complaint is the belief that he may “not be conservative enough” because he’s been willing to support and recruit moderate candidates to run. I have no idea where that comes from, considering Anthony is as solid a conservative as anyone I’ve ever known – he believes in low taxes, smaller government, protecting the 2nd amendment, and is a devout Catholic and pro-life without exceptions. What he isn’t is a knee-jerk ideologue – he cares deeply about electing Republicans to office and he’s demonstrated that he’s good at it.
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I’m not concerned about him drawing an opponent – I think he’ll win regardless. But what I find pathetic is the fact that some are willing to ignore his achievements because he has been unwilling to rubber stamp their candidacy or their support their favorite incompetent party leaders. At the end of the day, the party needs the kind of leadership Anthony Bedell has shown and I don’t know of a single person who is better suited to the job than he is.
Feb 08th by Brian S








