We’re about two months away from the primary between Keith Fimian and Pat Herrity. Fimian’s been up on TV and has been sending out direct mail. Both sides have been doing lit drops and door knocking, and I’ve seen a ton of Herrity signs in my neighborhood. What’s everyone hearing?
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Apr 25th by Brian S
Why is the primary so close to the election? This should all be over by now.
When I was on my yard sale runs yesterday morning, down towards Mount Vernon (McDonnell’s old stomping grounds) I saw a smattering of Fimian signs, no Herrity.
LL,
we agree again…this is getting scary.
It’s 5 months from the primary to the general. That may not seem like a long time, but it is. There’s plenty of time to resolve the issues we’re facing now and present a unified front to Connolly come November.
Both campaigns have been sending out direct mail.
Brian, How do they determine the date of the primary? I’d like these 2 months to be dedicated to pounding Connelly.
It’d be nice to see the candidates explain how their different from each other. Both candidates agree 99.9% of the time. The only thing they disagree on is who should be the nominee..
LL
The State Board of Elections determines the primary date. It it typically the first Tuesday of June… unless the first Tuesday is the 1st like this year, then it’s the second.
LL, many states have much later primaries. http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2010/2010pdates.pdf
I have no idea how the dates are determined.
I have received many pieces of mail from Keith. I live in western Loudoun and I am a Pat Herrity supporter. Oh well. It’s his dime.
State legislatures determine when primaries are held. In 2011, the primary date in Virginia may be in September on account of redistricting following the census.
Becky and Riley are right. Next year is going to be funky.
Thanks for all the primary info, now I know who to growl at.
My feeling and what I am sensing is that Herrity will soundly trounce Keith on Primary Day. Which is good because Herrity is our only shot at beating Rep. Connolly. However, what is disconcerting is a move by some (in the Fimian camp) to not support Pat if he gets the nomination. This is further seen by Fimian’s underhanded attacks at Pat and his shameless belief in some sort of Republican Establishment that has anointed Pat Herrity. No, Keith; they just looked at you and decided you can’t win (reference your 11 point loss in 2008.)
So all in all it seems that the Primary voters in the 11th will make Herrity our Congressional nominee in June!
I would also like to add that Fimian should not be resorting to lies and misinformation simply because he cannot find a message that resonates with voters. He has distorted Pat Herrity’s record on countless occasions and violated the “11th Commandment.” I am hopeful the Fimian campaign will stop distorting records and talk about getting things done. Voters want results, not rhetoric.
Love this inside baseball. Bottom line: I hope VA-11 elects the true conservative. That’d be Keith. I’m doing my part and I hope you are too!
Heather, how can you call Fimian a “true conservative?” Other than talking, he’s got no record. We have no idea what he’s going to do if he actually gets elected. Both Pat and Keith are conservatives, and their policy positions are almost impossible to tell apart.
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This race comes down to two things – character and electability. Pat has it. Keith doesn’t. I hate to say that about him because I genuinely like him, but the attacks he’s put out today are just ridiculous.
Brian S.,
Fimian is the true conservative. Why is Herrity afraid of the tea partiers? Maybe it’s because he’s not a real conservative and the tea partiers know that.
You want character and electability, Fimian is the real deal. While Herrity has his supporters, like you, whisper and spread rumors about his career and family, Fimian (who rarely goes after Herrity and has been keeping his focus on Connolly) has pointed out a fact about Herrity’s career. He voted to raise taxes. It’s on record, it’s public information, you can’t refute that. (even though according to other blogs you’ve tried).
Local GOP, check your facts before you blog about other people distorting the truth. Common Sense 101. It is a fact and public knowledge that Herrity raised taxes.
Anon,
What pipe are you smoking? Fimian has been playing dirty for weeks! Please reference last night’s e-mail entitled “Happy Anniversary.” I can understand that if you are that out of the loop to think he has had a positive campaign than it would be difficult for you to understand that Pat’s vote WAS NOT TO RAISE TAXES! And who ever said Pat was afraid of the Tea Party? That being said, Pat (and Keith) are running for the Republican nomination NOT the Tea Party nomination and those are TWO different things.
I understand when you are down 20% over your opponent you have to go negative but Keith is rolling in the mud. And as they say, if you lie with dogs you are going to get fleas.
“then he either doesn’t know how the tax rate works or he’s the same kind of double-talking politician as Gerry Connolly”
What useful experience does fimian have in actually doing something in government…oh, that’s right….NONE! of course he doesn’t understand how taxes work, half the ‘anti-tax’ idiots (idiots because they don’t know how things work, not because they don’t like taxes) out there don’t know how taxes work, they just know that its the ‘real conservative’ thing to hate them.
This all stinks because Pat voted to raise taxes multiple times. Plain and simple.
I like how all the big government types are saying you don’t know how taxes work. Just give us your money and go away. The Tea parrty, which Pat Herrity’s blog supporters here seem to view the same way Obama does, are people who are upset with polticians off all stripes raising taxes and spending and looking out for special interests and not the nation. (I am not syaing Pat Herrity dislikes Tea Party supporters because I have never heard him say that. But Pat supporters here are clearly a bunch of know-it-all big government types.
Supporters like me whispering about Fimian’s career and family? First of all, I don’t whisper. Second of all, I’ve said nothing about Fimian’s career or family, and when people have attacked him (actually – they were all Fimian supporters repeating what they claim Herrity supporters are spreading, nothing of which I’ve ever heard out of any Herrity supporter’s mouth) I’ve defended Keith.
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If you are unwilling to recognize that raising taxes actually requires the amount of money being paid to the government to go up, I really don’t know what to say. You can have your own opinions, but you can’t have your own facts. And the bottom line is that Pat Herrity did not vote for the 2009 and 2011 budgets that actually raised taxes, and while he did vote for a 2010 rate increase, the amount the average family in Fairfax paid WENT DOWN. How is that a tax increase?
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VA Blogger is right – if you want to argue that simply moving the rate up and down equals raising and lowering taxes, then you’re conceding that Gerry Connolly lowered taxes for everyone in Fairfax, even though when he lowered the rate the average tax bill was still double what it had been because home values had skyrocketed. If you guys are willing to make that concession in a sad attempt to win the primary, you’re setting yourself up for failure and to be called hypocrites when you go after Connolly on his Fairfax County record.
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I don’t have any problems with the Tea Party – in fact, I agree with most of what they say, especially when it comes to spending and taxation – and so does Pat Herrity.
Wow local gop,
I think you’ve missed the boat. Look around the country, it’s the “anti-tax idiots” that have been leading the Republican resurgence the last year. Those “idiots” WANT to elect people that have never worked in government before. They also don’t respond kindly to people who think they are too stupid to know how taxes work.
“Look around the country, it’s the “anti-tax idiots” that have been leading the Republican resurgence the last year. Those “idiots” WANT to elect people that have never worked in government before. They also don’t respond kindly to people who think they are too stupid to know how taxes work.”
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Ok, still doesn’t make them smart….what’s your point?
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I seem to recall seeing a clip now famous at a tea party rally where a lady said, “I want the government to keep its hands off my medicare.”—yeah, that’s REAL smart…..please.
So you really are calling all tea party people stupid. Thanks for clarifying.
Have fun defending that on this blog. I wonder how Pat Herrity feels about his blog defenders saying stuff like that?
Mac,
yes, the TP has stupid people in it that dont seem to grasp the entire policy of taxes. that does not mean that there are not intelligent people, it is merely a statement that there are people in the tea party that are…well, stupid. statements like the one i pointed out (and that you ignored conveniently) prove my point. some in the tea party just scream and yell but don’t even know what they are screaming and yelling about. i would (and have) said that about the other side of the aisle and the flaming liberals that just scream and yell but, like the tea party, dont really know what they’re screaming and yelling about. same principle.
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I am not currently, nor have I ever been, nor will I be, in the employment of Herrity for Congress, or his governmental staff. yes, i do support and will vote for Pat because he has the best chance of beating connolly. they are both the exact same from a ideological standpoint, despite the propaganda and drivel coming out of fimian HQ. 1 candidate lost to connolly already, 1 candidate hasn’t. 1 candidate lost fairfax county in their election, the other didnt. the logical and smart choice is clear.
Local, the Tea Party activists aren’t stupid. For the most part, they are well educated and hold good jobs. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/15/us/politics/15poll.html?ref=politics
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There are always going to be people who rant and rave on issues because they have bad information. That doesn’t make them stupid. And then there are those who rant and rave correctly, but do nothing to fix the problems they identify. Those people are, in my opinion, worse than those who rant and rave based on bad information. They know what they’re talking about and are angry, but would rather just complain than actually do something.
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That’s why I like the Tea Party protesters. They’re out there protesting, calling Congress, getting their opinions heard and getting out in the media. Do some of them misspell their signs? Sure. Do some of them go out of their way to use hyperbolic rhetoric? Yep. That’s what generally happens you’re mad as hell and not going to take it anymore. There’s nothing wrong with that – it only becomes wrong when the rhetoric crosses the line.
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Again, the Tea Party folks aren’t stupid. They’re just angry. Can you blame them?
brian, i in no way drew any conclusions as to the majority make-up of the tp, i simply said that there are stupid people in it. and you kinda have to wonder what all those people that are all about working for a living are doing at a rally in the middle of the day and not at work!
It’s called sacrifice, Local. You take a couple of hours of hard earned vacation time and instead of using it to relax you go out and protest and champion a cause you believe in.
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I doubt there are any stupid people in it. Stupid people don’t waste their time with politics. They’ve got more important things to do, like watch daytime TV.
Local GOP, it’s rhetoric like that that is turning people off to Herrity. I support Pat 100% but I’m also 100% Tea Party. You are not going to help get the man elected if you refer to us as stupid. If there is any group which is truly politically unaware it’s the hacks of the Republican party who believe it can do no wrong.
Local GOP, one could wonder the same thing about people who post on blogs all day long …
dan,
what makes you think i am campaigning for pat? yes, i support him. i’m sure the KKK would also support republicans, does that mean that the KKK represents the views of the GOP, no. same principle here.
Local GOP,
Sometimes I can follow your logic and agree but don’t use the KKK as a reference point. Don’t you think that probably is an unwise analogy?
NR,
It was to show that using similar logic is unwise…so yes, but intentionally. dan says that my comments, because i support pat, somehow reflect the views of pat. I was showing how illogical that is by changing the factors.
I love the people who want to excuse Pat Herrity’s tax rate increase vote. What about his Dulles tax vote. What about his other tax votes. You can decide you like Pat Herrity but stop denying he raised taxes. He did.