May 2011

The comment thread in the Verne Dickerson thread has largely been sidelined onto the subject of the new two-headed Sheriff candidate, Verne Davis, or alternatively, Mark Dickerson.  At every event I have been to Mark Davis follows Verne Dickerson around like a faithful servant.  Which is what I guess he is now that he sublimated himself to Dickerson.  More than one person has now told me that Davis seems to regret his decision to drop out and become Verne’s right hand man.  Oh well, too late now.

At the last LCRC meeting, Dickerson finally came right out and said what everyone following this campaign thought was going to happen.  That he would be giving Davis a high ranking position in LCSO should he get elected.  In what appears to be nothing more than old fashioned machine politics, Verne “I’m a better Christian than you” Dickerson (that name coined by a Patrick Henry College activist, not me) promised Davis a job if he dropped out and backed him.

Davis still has his website up, with an absolutely ridiculous statement present as the only information.  That statement is provided below with my commentary.  This Sheriff/Vice-Sheriff gambit is truly one of the most ridiculous things I have ever seen.  It will be dead and gone soon enough.

UPDATE:  Just as the Davis campaign itself vanished shortly after we put out his past and present Democratic connections, the Davis website with his “very interesting and unique opportunities” statement is now gone.  The above link will take you straight to the Dickerson website now.  I did save a copy of that Davis website page before it vanished, however, just in case anyone doesn’t believe what I have printed below.  Unfortunately it’s all too true.

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I’ve been curious to see how the Loudoun Times Mirror would handle the ongoing OpenBand saga since the LTM is partly owned by Bill Dean, President of MC Dean, owner of OpenBand.  I guess thye’ve simly decided to ignore it and not report on it at all, even though it is a big local news story.  The Loudoun BOS asked Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to weigh in on the exclusive telecom easement situation in communities served by OpenBand, and now the Broadlands Southern Walk HOA has filed a federal lawsuit against OpenBand.  But you won’t find any coverage of these issues at the LTM, you’ll need to turn to Leesburg Today, which has stories on each issue here and here.  What will happen with coverage for candidates Dean endorses now and their opponents, since MC Dean is a huge political donor?  Differential coverage there as well?

UPDATE:  I’ve been arrogantly chastised via email by an LTM reporter, in that disdainful way that paid reporters have for bloggers, that the LTM has covered the Cuccinelli and lawsuit stories.  Well, there is a link to a Cuccinelli story that was forwarded to me, but I, as a several time daily reader of the LTM website, never saw it online.  Perhaps this latest story on the lawsuit, showing up days after the Leesburg Today story and this blog post gives some clue as to why the first one wasn’t noticied.  Although showing up for the first time today, the story is already eight stories down the right hand running margin of teeny stories (go to the front page here to see).  So there, intrepid LTM reporter, I mentioned the articles.

10th District Chaiman Howie Lind has been sending out email after email after email the past year for various political events for just about every political candidate within the 10th district boundaries.  Never before did he have to make any kind of disclaimer – it’s been pretty obvious that he has been sending out announcements for every candidate who asked.

Until, that is, he sends out something for someone running against Dick Black.  I just got an email announcement from Lind about the upcoming John Stirrup campaign kickoff.  Stirrup is of course challenging Dick Black, who apparently considers the 13th Senate seat his birthright, even though he needs to move to jump into its boundaries.  But in what appears to be a trembling act of fear, Lind has to add this disclaimer to this email announcement:

This announcement is sent out by the Chairman of the 10th Congressional District for all Republican candidates and conservative activities.  The purpose of this email is to inform like-minded people who may be interested in attending these events.  It does not constitute an endorsement of one candidate or activity over another.

For all the talk about Sharia law lately, the only Loudoun candidate to be wearing his religion on his sleeve is Sheriff’s candidate Verne Dickerson.  At this week’s LCRC meeting he said “I will run the Sheriff’s office based on faith”.  Just what exactly does that mean?  Since he makes it very obvious that he is very Christian, how will this affect non-Christians in the Department?  Will he enforce laws on the books that he considers to be non-Christian?  How will he handle crimes against homosexuals or those of other religions?  Will deputies be given religious instruction and directions?  How soon before the Justice Department comes a knocking?

With news that Chuck Colgan is retiring in Prince William County, the state needs Jackson Miller to get in the race.

He represents much of the district, and is conservative on the issues. As a policeman, realtor, and Delegate Jackson is incredibly ties to the district.

I for one, hope Jackson jumps in. The Commonwealth needs his leadership.

Earlier today, Too Conservative reached a milestone – its 50,000^th comment (and that’s not including the 41,643 spam comments) – with a comment from Sara B. Smith in reply to the post “Debbie Rose Announces Run for School Board.”

Although I have been writing here only six months, I have seen several good years of spirited debate on a wide variety of issues that have driven public policy in Loudoun County, Virginia and even the nation.  Your participation really does make a difference.

TC is one of the most active political blogs in Virginia, and seems to be as popular as ever, particularly with some other bloggers who comment here or elsewhere on Loudoun Insider’s every movement or thought.  There is even one blogger who cares so much for Loudoun Insider that he tracks his  health on a daily basis.

Thanks for participating, and here’s to the next 50,000 comments.

Debbie Rose, former counsel to the House Judiciary and active member of the Loudoun Republican Committee, announced at last night’s LCRC meeting that she would seek the new Algonkian seat on the Loudoun County School Board. 

The race will be an interesting one, particularly because redistricting has placed two incumbents, Joe Guzman and John Stevens, in that same district.  Neither of these incumbents, however, has made clear that he would seek reelection, and, as you know, the seat is technically non-partisan so there won’t be any primary.

Regardless of what the other guys do, Rose is the one to beat.  Bright, honest and extremely dedicated to educational causes, Rose has one even greater advantage – people genuinely like her.  (Take a look at the ton of positive Facebook responses to her announcment in the first few hours).  And, rest assured, she’ll actually attend the school board meetings.

Rose is the latest in a set of very strong Republicans to announce their candidacies for local offices.  Not to jinx it, but things are looking pretty good for the Republicans so far (even considering the selection of a convention).

Her website is here:  www.debbierose.org

I ventured out to the LCRC meeting tonight for what was sure to be a night of fireworks, but was somewhat disappointed.  Instead of fireworks I saw the moderate faction of the LCRC demolished with barely a whimper.  Debate was cut off pretty quickly only a couple rounds into the expected tug of war of “primaries build the party” vs. “the Democrats will take over” drama that permeates every such debate. 

For all of the talk from some about how neck and neck the balanace of power was in the LCRC, the so-cons totally destroyed the moderates tonight in the firehouse primary vs. convention battle.  It was nowhere near close.  Convention it will be.  Of course this makes no sense when there are only two contested races, but what the Black Brigade wants it gets in the LCRC.

The biggest complaint from nearly everyone is that Mark Sell seems to have no sense of how to enforce time limits on candidates.  Someone, please give Mark Sell an egg timer before the next meeting.  Candidates droned on for as long as it pleased them, while people slowly slipped away.  Verne Dickerson looked back at his notes for a long time at one point, only to have people start to clap to move him off the stage (he kept going).  Steve Stockman suggested that people take a seventh inning stretch later on, only to lose half his audience as people saw an opportunity to run out the door.  Absolutely horrendous management of candidate time – they need to get a handle on this.  Please, for every LCRC members’ sake and innocent bystanders such as myself.

The hottest fireworks of the night came as Dick Black, Bob FitzSimmonds, and John Stirrup all battled over who was the rightful heir to the Ken Cuccinelli endorsement.  The thought of even trying to explain this further brings on a rush of nausea, so I’ll let others argue about it in comments.  I can only imagine the number of phone messages and emails The Cooch is dealing with right now as he attempts to sort this out.  Please, put this issue to rest soon before people have aneurisms about it.

Jutice Antonin Scalia has it right again, calling a Supreme Court decision requiring the release of more than 30,000 prisoners in California “staggering” and “absurd.” 

Although the majority opinion, authored by Justice Kennedy, cites constitutional shortcomings in the overcrowding of California prisons, Scalia puts the situation in proper perspective, writing simply “terrible things are sure to happen as a consequence of this outrageous order” which he characterized as “the most radical injunction in our Nation’s history.”

He couldn’t be more right.  This perversion of the rights secured by 8th Amendment is certain to lead directly to the rape, robbery and murder of many innocent people.  And all so that these convicted felons don’t have to live in a gymnasium or wait for their free health care.

For those looking to an alternative to the two crazy far right wing candidates already in the race for the Virginia 13th Senate District, your prayers have been answered as John Stirrup today makes it official. 

Today I am excited to announce that I am seeking the Republican nomination for the 13th State Senate district.

I am running for the Virginia State Senate because I strongly believe that in order to create a more prosperous Commonwealth, we must regain control of the State Senate this November by electing a majority of fiscally conservative Republicans. The current Democrat-controlled State Senate has continuously stood in the way of prosperity and progress.   Whether they are voting to raise taxes, threatening Virginia’s right-to-work laws or standing in the way of crucial immigration reform, the Democrat-controlled State Senate has been a continuous obstacle to progress.

Over the past eight years as a Prince William County Supervisor, I fought for lower taxes, tougher immigration laws and led the charge to promote responsible growth in our community. My record demonstrates that I am a proven conservative that can get results without compromising my principles. It’s this kind of leadership that is needed in the Virginia State Senate.

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