Now that we worked to elect our candidates, our jobs are not over. We must make sure they govern they way they campaigned. Let’s keep them honest.

Also, let’s get some Congressional candidates worth electing next year as we move toward taking back the House of Representatives and sending Obummer a nationwide message.

Keep those sleeves rolled up boys and girls and keep the momentum going in the RIGHT direction. We now have plenty to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!

What I do know is that even though her candidacy was abandoned by the Republican Party, tea party activists nearly vaulted her to power against an incumbent who was considered pretty strong. For Crabill to get within ten points, and as I’m typing this I seem to recall she got within five, is a testament to the power of the movement, not necessarily her candidacy.

Republicans need to probably field better candidates in this district, but I recall Crabill was unopposed for the nomination the last two cycles. If the tea party movement is taking control of the political future of this district while Republicans have spats over who the nominee should be after the nomination is decided, to me it looks like the tea party movement at least in this district may be rivaling the power of the local Republican party and the local Democratic party as well.

The tea party flexed quite a bit of muscle. Maybe next time they’ll have someone better to get behind.

Catherine Crabill is a nut. She believes that the federal government was responsible for the Oklahoma City Bombing and the murder of 168 people for crying out loud!

There goes the respect I had for you.

Proof of your point about using new media was Rich Anderson’s campaign. Granted, he and Ruth plus his campaign staff knocked on over 27,000 doors (according to his meeting the other night). However, he had to start with a lot less money and instant name recognition than Nichols did. Plus, he couldn’t campaign until he officially retired from the Air Force eight months ago. On top of that, it looked like every other business in the 51st District had one of the huge Nichols campaign signs. However, Rich was able to place a number of well done campaign videos on YouTube, thus getting a lot of well deserved attention.

Loser: VA Governor/ DNC Chairman Tim Kaine

In the first election cycle of his chairmanship, he has managed to run the “Good Ship Lefty” aground, and worse, he did this in his home port. His manner of governance of the Commonwealth helped drive independents to the Republicans. While he benefitted from Warner”Blue Dogs” and other potentially vulerable Dems will look at this as an inablility of the party to deliver support.

Loser: Illana Kaplain-Shain

Her first experience as a campaign manager is probably going to be her last. Just 12 months after Obama received 58% of the vote in the 50th, she failed to turn this into an advantage for her candidate. She also resorted to the same failed tactics that Rishell’s previous camapign manager employed, namely attacks that are easily proven false. Additionally, she ran into the BVBL buzzsaw, regarding her personal background. Shame on her. Having grown up in a “Google World”, doesn’t she realize that once potentially embarrassing aspects of her life are in cyber-space, they are there forever? Now, whenever someone googles her name, it will be associated with the proliferation of porn and toilet humor. Having grown up in the shadow of Chicago, and worshiping at the alter of Obama, didn’t she know that Chi-town isn’t the only place where bare-knuckle politics are practiced? Maybe she should re-read “Rules For Radicals”. One last bit-o-insight: How badly are you mismanaging a campaign when you have to fly your Mother in from Chicago to man a polling place for you? No joke. She actually did this. Her Mom worked all day at a precinct in Manassas. I hope she’s considering a career change.

*Getting huffy and defensive when a voter at Metz refused to shake her hand out of concern for H1N1. The voter explained patiently that if he shook her hand, he’d be shaking the hand of everyone else she touched that morning. Her reply? A very snotty “Well, I don’t have swine flu!”

Let us all settle down from the “party” mode of republican wins and start concentrating on our critical tasks of preventing amnesty or pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens.

Biggest Jeanette Rishell blunder?

* Hiring porn advocate as campaign manager (26%)
* Raising money for Mexicans Without Borders (15%)
* Attempted DCMA takedown of BVBL video (12%)
* Opposing the Rule of Law Resolution (9%)
* Lying about opponent in ‘07 election (6%)
* Campaign signs at the “Liberty Wall” (6%)
* Hosting website with moonfruit.com (6%)
* Not knowing precincts in her district (5%)
* Blaming staffers for lies in ‘07 election (3%)
* Peddling ObamaCare (3%)
* “June With a Cleaver” comment (2%)
* Opposing the Marriage Amendment (2%)
* Lying about NAACP debate (2%)
* Using the NVA Flag as a logo in 2007 (1%)
* Lying about VEA Endorsement in ‘09 (1%)
* Padding her resume in a campaign ad (1%)

Total Votes: 163

“Richard Cranwell, Chairman of the Democratic Party of Virginia still thinks Democrats can win the statewide races and pick up three to four seats in the House because Virginians who voted for President Obama last year will eventually rally around the Democrats and because his party has a better get-out-the vote effort. “I would say Republicans are energized because they’re at the precipice of a cliff,” he said. “The next step is to fall.”

Oh, how the mighty have fallen…

This is a great read. directly from the campaign:
http://blog.pos.org/2009/11/congratulations-to-bob-mcdonnell/

[Ed note: Hear! Hear!]