Tom Gear: Out Of Line… And Apparently Off His Rocker

As everyone in Virginia politics knows, this weekend is the Republican Party of Virginia state convention. In the last week, a gnarled up, washed up crank of a former Delegate, Tom Gear (R-Hampton) has been pushing out emails about the Republican candidates for Lieutenant Governor. He apparently sent out his own questionnaire to all of them, and the questions were…not worded favorably. That is, except to Gear’s old friend from the General Assembly, Scott Lingamfelter. He made that one quite a bit easier.

Only three candidates responded. Those were Scott Lingamfelter, Jeannemarie Davis, and Susan Stimpson. His emails have had the title of “Taking (candidate name) To The Woodshed” in the case of those who didn’t respond to his questionnaire. He first attacked E.W. Jackson for his lack of experience… And his personal financial troubles. That’s rich, considering Del. Gear’s own sketchy financial problems. I bet he didn’t count on anyone doing a little research of their own, did he? He went on to attack Susan Stimpson, who in my judgment, fared pretty well in answering his survey and setting him straight about some pretty obvious distortions. He responded by attacking her:

she comes across as a “angry soccer mom”, in showng her disdain for the Transportation plan passed Susan turned on those that helped gain her seat in public office and that alone troubles me greatly. Susan Stimpson greatest problem is she has fallen in with the extreme Libertarian fringe of the Republican Party and these are the folks that have proven to be the downfall for our nominees.

This tells me where Gear is coming from. He wants the Republican Party of Virginia to keep doing what it’s been doing. How has that worked out for us?
He also attacked Davis for her answers, granted, she’s an easy target. And he attacked Pete Snyder for not answering, and as readers of this blog know, that’s no big trick either. He’s clearly out to boost Lingamfelter, and I have no doubt that’s how he got the email contact list he’s been pushing out this nonsense to.

The Republican Liberty Caucus of Virginia sent out a survey to every Republican candidate for statewide office. We didn’t attack anyone for their answers or failure to respond. This is politics at its worst. In sum, Gear is just trying to draw attention to himself and help Lingamfelter by trashing everyone else. He needs to shut his yap. Hard.

It’s not about making the country safer; it’s about Mark Kelly’s career

The PJ Tatler reports that Opportunistic Hypocrite™ will work to destroy his wife’s good friend Senator Jeff Flake – the Republican from Arizona – if he doesn’t kiss the ring of the hoplophobic left.

Gabrielle Giffords and Jeff Flake appear to be pretty close friends, says the Tatler.

Flake sat next to Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.) and helped her to her feet every time she wanted to join in a standing ovation for President Obama at the 2012 State of the Union. When Giffords stepped down from Congress the next day, Flake stood by her side and held her hand.

But that apparently doesn’t matter to the Opportunistic Hypocrite, who has threatened to work to defeat Flake if he doesn’t vote how Mark Kelly wants him to vote.

Mr. Kelly, a retired Navy captain and astronaut, said Senator Flake is “a good friend” of Ms. Giffords. But he gave this warning Tuesday at a Monitor-hosted breakfast with reporters: “If there was the right candidate out there and he [Flake] didn’t support this legislation, … you know friendship is one thing … saving people’s lives, especially first-graders’, is another.”

On Monday, Flake posted on Facebook a statement that he will oppose the bipartisan legislation on background checks drafted by Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia. The measure “simply goes too far,” Flake said.

Gee… I wonder who that candidate could be! It’s not like the “Senator Mark Kelly” option hasn’t been explored before! Especially recently, after Kelly trotted out his injured wife as a prop for his gun control efforts in the Senate.

 The man by her side Tuesday night and always, Giffords’ husband former astronaut Mark Kelly, is her partner in the gun control fight, but now in Arizona he is also being seen as a possible new star who could inherit his wife’s political career.

Jeff Rogers, a friend of Giffords and Kelly and former chair of the Pima County Democratic Party, told ABC News that Kelly would be “an ideal candidate to take on John McCain’s position in 2016.”

McCain, who along with Giffords’ successor Ron Barber (D-Ariz.), gave Kelly and Giffords his visitor pass for the State of the Union speech, will be 80 when he is up for reelection in 2016.

I admit, I would love to rid this government of the crusty old jackhole McCain, but he may be tougher to defeat than Jeff Flake, and frankly Uncle Fester needs a bit of time to prepare for a Senate run and a couple more years to look like a caring husband, who gave up everything to stand by his injured wife.

This is not about the safety of first-graders. History has shown that banning “assault weapons” hasn’t done a whole lot to prevent mass shootings (see: Columbine), and frankly, gun violence had already been on the decline when the Brady Background checks were enacted in November 1993, so it would be disingenuous to claim that background checks were somehow responsible for that reduction.

So why is Mark Kelly doing this?

I think he’s positioning himself for a Senate bid against Jeff Flake in 2018. I think a challenge to McCain in 2016 would be a bit more difficult, as McCain is an entrenched incumbent, but Flake is relatively new to the Senate, so maybe…

In short, I doubt this is about the safety of first-graders. This is about Mark Kelly’s political career.

 

Gun Grabbing Nanny Bloomberg & MAIG At It Again

Per the NYT:

The commercial is an unambiguous appeal to gun owners: a middle-aged hunter, rifle in hand, vows that he will fight to protect the Second Amendment.The commercial is an unambiguous appeal to gun owners: a middle-aged hunter, rifle in hand, vows that he will fight to protect the Second Amendment But in a sensible, father-of-the-house tone, he also urges voters to support comprehensive background checks, “so criminals and the dangerously mentally ill can’t buy guns.”

The man behind the advertisement is not known for his kinship with the gun crowd: Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, the nation’s fiercest advocate of restrictions on firearms since the December rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

Determined to persuade Congress to act in response to that shooting, Mr. Bloomberg on Monday will begin bankrolling a $12 million national advertising campaign that focuses on senators who he believes might be persuaded to support a pending package of federal regulations to curb gun violence. The ads, in 13 states, will blanket those senators’ districts during an Easter Congressional recess that is to be followed by debate over the legislation.

It goes without saying that authoritarian scumbags like Michael Bloomberg think they know better than we do. Given his propensity for going after large sodas and salt, there’s no level of micromanagement he won’t stoop to. On Meet The Press, to fellow anti-gun left-wing stool-pigeon David Gregory, he said:

“[W]hile I think we are going to win this [background checks], celebrating in advance isn’t the right thing to do. We’ve got to go out, we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us. … I don’t think we should give up on the assault weapons ban. But clearly, it is a more difficult issue for a lot of people. And I don’t know that that reflects the N.R.A.’s power. It may be just that people have different views about assault weapons than they do about background checks. … I think I have a responsibility, and I think you and all of your viewers have responsibilities, to try to make this country safer for our families and for each other. And if I can do that by spending some money and taking the NRA from being the only voice to being one of the voices, … then I think my money would be well spent … If 90% of the public want something, and their representatives vote against that, common sense says, they are going to have a price to pay for that.”

Bring it on. We’ll make it our business to punish you and your friends, Nanny.

Pete Snyder Is A Fraud

“Oh, hi, here I am with my completely apolitical spouse, being a big political outsider!”

I’ve gotten the “plastic” vibe from him ever since he first came to speak to the Arlington County Republican Committee last year, after he was made the titular head of the RPV Victory operations by Mitt Romney and Bob McDonnell. But ‘Lovettsville Lady’ over at Virginia Virtucon has done some digging and exposed Pete. Not only is his campaign being run by a bunch of former Bill Bolling staffers like Marissa Pugmire, but he’s being bankrolled by out-of-state donors, one of whom is a former major Democrat donor. Even better, apparently he’s married to the deputy COS for Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri. Yes, the same establishment GOP hack Roy Blunt who, while in House ‘leadership’, arm-twisted good conservatives into supporting big government Bush garbage like “No Child Left Behind” and the bogus Medicare drug boondoggle. Well done, Ma’am.

Pete Snyder is far from the ‘outsider’ he claims to be. He will not be getting my vote for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, or for any other office, ever. You’re excused, Pete. “Bring the heat” back to the finance industry at Disruptor Capital.

Year in Review – 2012 was… interesting

This year is about to end, and I’m not sure what to make of it. I still live in Arlington with Rob, Teeny and the Redhead. We still have two attention-whoring cats. We no longer have a hedgehog, but we do have a large, slobbering, farting dog!

I still love my job. I find it mentally challenging and stimulating. I love this house. I love my kids. I love Rob.  We have established a comfortable routine together. The kids adore Rob and think he’s the coolest thing since ice cream (ice cream they pilfer freely before he can grab some for himself). They have food fights at the table. They chase one another around the house and wrestle. They all make me smile.

I didn’t blog about guns too much in the beginning of the year. There were other things going on – primaries, in particular, occupied my time – mostly because I couldn’t believe the mass amount of stupid in the field of candidates we were forced to tolerate. To be sure, there were some things with which I agreed on all ends of the spectrum, but aside from Gary Johnson, I didn’t see anyone I could even remotely stomach in the White House. Our friend Ken Vaughn had decided to run for Congress, but in the end establishment “moderates” won out, and… well….

In February, we lost one of our own – Maj. Bob Marchanti, with whom I deployed to Kosovo in 2007, was killed in Afghanistan. I was filled with incredible rage for most of that month, and much of my writing reflected this anger that month. I look back on it now, and cringe a bit at how pissed off I was! This was exacerbated by fiscal issues, as I was trying to refinance the house – a most annoying and infuriating experience – and pay the bills, while my darling ex informed me that he was too poor to pay the bills he was required to pay by our divorce agreement, and asked me to take over those payments.

In March, I expended some electrons ridiculing the circus surrounding Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman, in particular, the theatrics of the CBC and Frederica Wilson’s unbelievable choice in hats!

I turned 41 in April. Did you know that? I don’t feel old. I feel great.

In May, Rob and I went on our annual vacation to Las Vegas. We got much needed rest, and Gary Johnson got a much deserved presidential nomination from the Libertarian Party. WIN all around! Rob and I continued to point out why Ken Vaughn is a different candidate – a candidate Virginia’s 11th district should have voted for in the June primaries – but to no avail.

June primaries came and went. Establishment candidates swept on both sides of the political aisle. We had a huge storm that temporarily turned Arlington into a third world shithole and made the Redhead temporarily believe in the Zombie apocalypse.  June was the month I also installed a DONATE button. I hated to do that, but my bills were getting out of control, and my ex not only swindled me out of $7700, but also refused to help pay for his kids’ medical and dental expenses. Ya gotta love that!

July was awesome! In July we adopted Tucker – a big, drooling, slobbering, furry, loveable Teddy Bear of a Saint Bernard. He quickly became part of the family, and we quickly learned to leave the room whenever he passed gas. There was also a shooting in an Aurora, CO movie theater that set the wheels in motion for another assault weapons ban – because (SAY IT WITH ME!) we NEVER LET A CRISIS GO TO WASTE! We also discovered that the media are assholes for trying their damnest to connect the Aurora slaughter to “right wing” violence and the TEA Party. OK – not really a revelation. More of a confirmation about what we already knew.

August was the month of election coverage, where frothing fundamentalist fruitcake Todd Akin tanked not only his candidacy, but also the candidacy of Richard Mourdock, who is also a social conservative, but not nearly as batshit crazy as Akin, who saw it fit to question the legitimacy of rape victims’ claims, because apparently, according to this renowned medical expert, the body has a way of rejecting babies conceived in situations of “legitimate rape.” Akin refused to go away, much like a bad case of the herp, which made Mourdock’s comments about pregnancy – even one that is a result of rape – being God’s will, sound much crazier than what it actually was.

The stupid came out really strong in September with Hollytwits initiating a campaign for the current president and Republicans wondering why a) they still can’t get anyone other than SOCONS and NEOCONS to get excited about their candidates, and why there were dancing vaginas at their August convention. In the meantime, our Ambassador to Libya and three other Americans got slaughtered in another September 11 terrorist attack that the administration claimed wasn’t really terrorism, but Muslim butthurt over some obscure movie that no one had ever heard of until a bunch of animals killed our Ambassador and the administration decided to blame the movie even though Libyans tagged this as terrorism like hours after it happened. Um.. yeah. Oh, and I did a CNN interview on current politics. That was fun.

October was… meh. The third debate between Obama and Romney was dull. I took a trip to Europe and somehow managed to avoid the Superstorm that pummeled the East Coast in which a tree apparently fell on our house, but managed to cause no damage whatsoever

We had Elections in November where President Obama won another term, and the Republicans were left scratching their heads about what went wrong. The CIA Director’s penis was in the news.  A lot.  And I discovered that no matter what I say or do, I’m a racist, because I don’t support the current administration’s policies. Oh well.

Now it’s December, and the worst, most hideous slaughter in recent history took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School . And as most of us grieved and wept, gun-grabbing assholes exploited the murder of children to push their political agendas.

So get ready for 2013, people! It’s going to be quite the ride!

Happy New Year!