Afternoon Clips

• Just do what the people want. It’s that simple. DC Post. Times. NLS. RK.
• Local coverage of the Providence debate.
• What an awful article. On what is that headline based?
• Daily Kos is reporting on the special election in the Congressional district where I was born and raised. I know the Democrat – James Marlow – has a great campaign manager, a very good college friend and groomsman in my wedding. Another interesting thing about the guy is that his campaign, in this very conservative district is focusing on bringing the troops home and the Republican is trying to dismiss Iraq as an issue at all. How interesting. The candidate’s website if you’re interested.
• All of Virginia’s hopes rest on Venkat.
• Go Denny Go!

Blogs on the Defensive

Today’s DC Post has an article making Virginia blogs look pretty bad for the scathing treatment dealt to Jeff Dion. In particular, Ben/NLS has been forced to defend his posting of a link to Dion’s social networking, dating profile on gay.com.

In 2006, national blogs went so far as to post the profile of congressional candidates’ children, Tribbett said. “So for a candidate themselves to have a profile, they have to expect for it to be public game. Anything else would be ridiculous.”

Last year I was proud of NLS for breaking the George Allen video- besides revealing Allen and helping Webb it opened a discussion about racism that was good for the Commonwealth. But I fear that the treatment of Dion has had the opposite impact. This article raises a serious question that blogs have to confront. At what point do the fun and games of attack, gotcha politics morph into a really ugly contribution to hate in our society.

I’ll admit I didn’t notice the posting at the time, I rarely read BVBL because it’s almost never anything more than insecure hate-spew, and I wasn’t particularly protective of Jeff Dion’s right to be a candidate because frankly he did run poorly in the recent special election. But it’s clear now that the effect of this episode is toxic. It sends a message to any young homosexual that they better think twice before putting themselves forward as a political candidate because this is the venom which they will be faced with by anyone who opposes their candidacy for any reason. Let me be clear- I really don’t blame Ben or any individual blogger for the atmosphere (okay, maybe I do blame BVBL just a little), I think it’s something we’ve all contributed to. But this time I think we’ve really crossed a line and I personally apologize to Jeff Dion and his family.

The Event Of The Year

Who’s hosting the watch party tomorrow night?

I’m still bitter that I finished 2nd at least 3, maybe 4 times as a kid. I was robbed.

Afternoon Clips

• The craziest show on earth is back again.
• Not Harry F. Byrd, Sr. ponders the option of grass harvest financing of transportation.
• One right move.
• His flavor-of-the-month is finally actually going to be a candidate, I guess it’s time for him to move on.
• Homosexuals’ blood could save lives

Fred Thompson Is In

Fred Thompson, the television president and part-time sleazeball, is jumping into the race. This definitely has the potential to seriously upset race dynamics. It’s unclear at this point just how much momentum Thompson’s got because his team has done a great job at this roll-out and the media has been all too complicit due to boredom with the current GOP field. In a month we’ll have a clearer idea of just where to place him in the horserace- but for now:

Horserace Update: 1) John McCain 2) Rudy Giuliani 3) Fred Thompson 4) Mitt Romney

I’m keeping McCain on top, for now, as the field reshuffles and settles with Thompson getting in. This is definitely subject to change dramatically over the next month. And Romney automatically gets leapfrogged because nothing other than fund-raising and a solid organization convinces me he’s a real contender- he’s outside of the mainstream of his party, he’s been caught in a number of lies and fabrications, he’s northeastern, and on, and on.

An Opportunity on Mental Health?

I saw this article in yesterday’s Examiner and I hope this is a sign of serious consensus for action and not just legislative tactics on the part of Republican Assembly members to block potential gun control measures. I can’t imagine that they’ll stop passage of common-sense reforms like Mark Sickles’ bills to ban firearms in mental health facilities and create liability for leaving guns accessible to mentally ill(which was killed just months before the Virginia Tech massacre).

While the article contains little more than oblique reference to reforms this may be the biggest opportunity ever in Virginia for serious improvement to our mental health services.

Knock & Rock

Attention: Team Galligan and Team Englin are teaming up this Sunday to knock on doors in the 39th Senate district in one of Delegate Englin’s now-famous Knock and Rocks. The party will start with door knocking and will be followed by “rocking” – a lot of fun with the Janna Audey Band, a great local cover band.

What: Team Galligan/Team Englin “Knock and Rock”- knocking on a hell of a lot doors to take back the Senate just before we get rocking.
When: This Sunday, 1-7pm
Where: The Home of Marie and Bill Fanning, 3423 Woodside Road
Alexandria, VA 22310 (Map)

Contact Melissa Mattingly for more info / to RSVP- info@greggalligan.com, 703-960-6002

Just further proof of the energy that Greg Galligan will bring to the party this fall. This is a great chance for you to get on board and help out a great candidate, if you haven’t already. Be there!

Afternoon Clips

• And I thought my lawn was bad…
• Scrapping for a Rematch
• No serious budget cuts planned yet.
• Will Smyth’s fall be a prelude?
• Obama puts out a universal health care plan.
• Woah
• Chap’s got some words on Memorial Day celebrations in Vienna.
• Hmm, I dunno Waldo- I think I’d still buy me some cornbread, grits, and bourbon with or without the subsidies.

Republicans Are Suffering

This weekend I went to a Memorial Day parade in the beautiful suburban town of Chagrin Falls, Ohio- where my wife’s family lives. This area is by no means Democratic, having voted for just about every Republican on the ballot in modern times. So I was pleasantly surprised to see a Democratic party float with a crowd of people on board and a positive response from the crowd, but I was even more surprised by this:

That’s the Republican float- 2 guys and an inflated elephant with a “Support Our Troops” banner wrapped around the trunk. No mention of the word Republican, no crowds, nothing. How diminished is the Republican party if it can’t get more than two people to walk with its float in the biggest parade of the year in an area that is their stronghold in a swing state? How diminished is the Republican party if it not only has to hide behind transparent statements of “Support Our Troops” (as it often does), but fears to even clearly designate itself as the Republican party?

Back from the Memorial Day Weekend

We went to my in-laws’ place in Ohio for the long weekend and boy was Mud ready to come back home yesterday- here we caught him sitting in the driver’s seat while we were loading the car. I’ll have some more later on an interesting political aspect of a small-town parade we attended but I thought people would get a kick out of seeing Mud. As you can see, despite the fact he has a big bald patch on his back, he’s back to being the same silly dog he was before last week.