Brain-Dead Republican Line of Criticism on Brian Moran

As you undoubtedly know, and are probably sick of hearing about, I’m not a big fan of Brian Moran. Also, as you undoubtedly know, and may also be sick of hearing about, the Blue Virginia “front pagers” overwhelmingly endorsed Peter Rousselot for DPVA chair over Brian Moran. Our main lines of critique? In most of our cases, it was the fact that Moran wouldn’t be a full-time chair, due to the fact that he has a busy “day job” that presumably takes up most of his time. For others, it was not just that Brian Moran had a day job, but what that day job happens to be – lobbyist for the for-profit “education” industry (for the latest on that topic, see the Huffington Post on “For-Profit Colleges Cashing In On Veterans”).  

But one line of criticism nobody on this blog, or in the Democratic Party, ever raised was the Republicans’ ultimate brain-dead line of criticism. Are you ready for this? That’s right, Brian Moran – make sure you’re sitting down here – is a “liberal”.

So what did Virginia Democrats do last weekend? They selected as their state party chairman Brian Moran, the ultra-liberal former member of the House of Delegates who placed third (with less than 24 percent of the vote) in the 2009 gubernatorial primary…

My god, where do we even start here?  First, how about we point out that Brian Moran didn’t lose a Democratic primary because he was “too liberal” (just as Republicans don’t lose their primaries because they’re “too conservative” – duh!). Putting aside the question of how “liberal” Brian Moran really is (An “A” rating from the NRA is “liberal?” Winning the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce’s “Friend of Business Award” multiple times is “liberal?” Being pro-capital punishment if “liberal?” An ex-prosecutor with a reputation for being “tough on crime” is “liberal?” A lobbyist for the for-profit “education” industry is a “liberal?” Someone who sponsored an office of faith-based assistance is a “liberal?” How about Brian Moran’s just a “Democrat” – period?), Republicans are basically “arguing” – if we can even use that word to describe what they’re doing – that Brian Moran’s a bad pick to lead the state party because he’s a Democrat. And that’s just brain dead. I mean, was Jeff Frederick a bad pick to lead the RPV because he was an arch conservative? How about Pat Mullins, is he not highly conservative, having just endorsed crazy Dick Black for State Senate? Are Republicans arguing that they should have selected more “moderate” people to head their party, in an attempt to appeal to independent voters?  If so, why didn’t they do it?

Look, there are plenty of legitimate lines of criticism against Brian Moran – the lobbyist gig, the fact that he won’t commit to being a full-time chair and filling out Dickie Cranwell’s term, the way he ran his gubernatorial campaign in 2009, questionable campaign donations, his track record in recruiting candidates, etc., etc.  But the fact that Brian Moran’s been a mainstream Democrat, even moderate-to-conservative in several ways over the years, somehow, counterfactually (and 100% illogically) demonstrates that Virginia Democrats are lurching to “the left” (wherever that is these days)? That’s just stupid.