Story by Chris Graham
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Go figure – Virginia Republicans didn’t have much positive to say about Barack Obama’s choice of Joe Biden to run with him on the Democratic Party national ticket. And if they could get a kick in the shins at Gov. Tim Kaine, so much the better.
“By selecting Joe Biden for vice president, Barack Obama has shown voters that not even Gov. Tim Kaine can hide the fact that he is out of touch with the core values held by the hard-working families of Virginia,” John McCain Virginia campaign co-chair Chris Saxman said.
“Barack Obama has sent Virginia voters the message by choosing Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate that he just wasn’t seeing the momentum in Virginia that he had hoped. Barack Obama spent two full days campaigning in Virginia, and his message is not resonating,” added McCain Virginia co-chair Jerry Kilgore, who ought to know a thing or two about a message not resonating.
Speaking of which, honorary McCain Virginia chairman – they sure seem to be free and easy giving out the titles over there in McCain land, don’t they? – Senator Macaca himself, George Allen, for some reason felt compelled to chime in. “Congratulations to my friend and colleague in the U.S. Senate, Joe Biden, for being selected as Barack Obama’s running mate. However, I am confident as Virginians continue to get to know Barack Obama’s record and counterproductive proposals they will see he is out of touch with the core values and issues most important to our families,” Allen said.
Give Allen credit for at least being willing to say something positive. That probably gets him kicked out of Jeff Frederick’s new Virginia GOP. “It’s clear that Barack Obama is nervous about this election, because he is obviously compensating for his significant lack of experience. Obama has selected a running mate who doesn’t believe he is ready to be president, and so I guess even Obama himself is concerned that three years out of the Illinois State Senate is hardly enough to prepare one to be commander-in-chief and the leader of the free world,” said Frederick, the chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia and himself a rather inexperienced and, for that matter, unremarkable member of the Virginia House of Delegates, since he’s taking shots on experience and resumes and the like.
I owe Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling some credit here, actually. Bolling was somehow able to avoid having to take down Obama and offer a positive vision for why people should vote for McCain. “I remain convinced that Virginia will vote for John McCain. He is the only candidate who has the background, knowledge and experience to lead our country at a critical time in our history, and he is the only candidate who has put forth positive solutions on important issues such as national security, economic security and energy security. I look forward to campaigning with Sen. McCain to victory here in Virginia this November,” Bolling said.
And that’s why Bolling isn’t running for governor next year, and Bob McDonnell is. Because McDonnell knows that the way to win elections in Virginia is to hit below the belt when necessary. “This is a ticket that believes in higher taxes, more government, inaction in the face of rising energy prices and that fundamentally fails to understand the true nature of the enemies we face abroad,” McDonnell said, misstating the course of action advocated by Obama-Biden, but what are facts when you’re in the middle of making a good argument” “The contrast between an Obama-Biden ticket and the candidacy of John McCain could not be more stark, or more important. John McCain believes that lowering taxes is the best way to strengthen the economy and create jobs in Virginia, while Barack Obama already voted for higher taxes on Virginia families,” McDonnell said.
I dunno, maybe we’re starting to see why Virginia Republicans have been having so much success winning elections in recent years.
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