Black Helicopter Wing on the Rise

Rejoice among Democrats that Kenny C will be the Republican nominee is premature. So, no such right wingnut could become Governor of our Commonwealth? This would be the same reactionary who won the statewide contest for Attorney General in 2009. And this would be the same DPVA that was swept.

There is nothing substantive the DPVA can show as a response to the 2009 debacle. Republicans have a completely new wardrobe on order for 2013. OFA blew in, blew up, and blew out. Republicans still hold everything but the teetering state Senate (one special election away) and have an amazingly slick snake oil salesman in the Governor.

Note to all Democratic hopefuls: the OFA field organizers did nothing without guidance and were held on a short leash. Not a one was required or allowed to demonstrate initiative or individual competence. They followed a well designed call-center playbook; they might as well have been selling time shares. Political acumen was not in their terms of reference. They consistently alienated their local Democratic contacts. Check beyond their references before bringing them on.

Meanwhile, the Republicans are reining in the vitriolic. It will fade as we proceed through the 2013 General Assembly session. Delegate Rob Bell (R-58th), candidate for Attorney General, is already stepping up as a defender of the elderly. This despite his party’s burial of a bill last session he now claims to champion. Republicans are moving back toward dog whistle politics. Remember, crazy is not an impediment to political success (See Hitler, Adolph). You just need someone to blame.

Assessing the gains from the OFA effort locally is difficult. At least in my locality, we know who volunteered. But the OFA walk list has not been fully harvested. The use of social media is not a DPVA strong suit despite Frank Leone’s (who is now more focused on hockey than Virginia politics) promises, but OFA has been redirected to use that medium to sell policy rather than promote candidates and that may mitigate effectiveness of any DPVA mimic. Mimicry is not what we need. We really need professionals to determine the way ahead. Unfortunately, those professionals are persona non grata at DPVA.