Jim Rich, The Undead Politician
By Greg L | 7 May 2012 | RPV, Virginia Politics | 9 Comments
When the Washington Post needs a quote from someone to pursue their attacks against Ken Cuccinelli, they have a new useful idiot to draw on – disgraced former 10th District Chairman Jim Rich. This is telling in two respects: First is that the Post had to venture as far as Fauquier County to find someone to attack Ken, and second the only person they managed to dredge up was a washed-up has-been whose history of political corruption is strikingly similar to the kind of journalistic malfeasance the Post is so well known for.
I understand if many readers are wondering who Jim Rich is, since we haven’t heard from what the Post rather humorously describes as “a longtime Republican activist” in so long many won’t have any idea who he is. Rich held the 10th District Chairmanship between 1992 and 2008 until he was forced out by Howie Lind four years ago and hasn’t been heard from until quite recently. During his tenure, Rich would attack other Republicans, berate grassroots activists, falsify committee meeting minutes, withhold convention information from delegates and candidates, do nothing for Republican candidates in the District and generally only contact voters when election time rolled around for him to ask for their vote. He was a thoroughly self-interested, corrupt, disgraceful disaster.
It’s not just me who came to this firm conclusion. Here’s what Bearing Drift had to say about Rich back in 2008 when Rich was, as usual, working with the Washington Post to attack Republicans:
Jim Rich, the GOP’s 10th District Chairman, is a prime example of Republican Good Old Boy politics. He is known more for bashing Republicans he doesn’t like, than for working hard for all the Party’s nominees. His private disdain for many hardworking grassroots activists is, unfortuantely, public knowledge.
Once again, he has taken his personal opinions to the Washington Post — this time in an effort to undermine Jeff Frederick.
Some of us think that it is time he took the same level of responsibility for electoral outcomes that he demands of others — and let someone else lead the 10th District. I agree with the following letter of fellow activist, Bob Maistros, who issued that call earlier today.
Perhaps Rich’s most notable contribution to the legacy of Harry Byrd was the disaster of the 2006 10th District Convention. Rich signed up people who were Democrats — demonstrated by their campaign contributions to Democrats during the then-current campaign cycle — to show up at the convention and support him. His acolytes tore microphones from the hands of speakers, causing a near riot and garnering notoriety as the worst example of tyrannical abuse of power ever in RPV history. If you ever want to delve into this ridiculous history, NOVATownHall’s archives on this are a real treat.
Like some sort of post-apocalyptic undead horror, Rich has wriggled from whatever grave he has been ensconced within for the past four years to try to ramble his way back into political relevance for Republicans. His first move was to endorse Anna Lee for 10th District Chairman, his second was to sign on with Bill Bolling, and third was to lend his name to the Washington Post’s opening salvos in what is certain to be their focused effort to prevent Cuccinelli from becoming Governor. The aroma of his renewed presence is even more unpleasant than what we suffered until 2008.
Let’s see here. Jim Rich, Anna Lee, and Bill Bolling. Crap, they don’t all fit together in some way, do they? They don’t happen to all be good-old-boy, screw the grassroots, bring in the Democrats to defeat conservatives types now, are they? Or is it just the case that Bolling is so incredibly out of touch with Northern Virginia that the idea of having Jim Rich be his designated attack dog made some sort of political sense.
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One correction. Jim Rich was elected 10th District Chairman in 1992. He had to run for re-election every two years, so way more than two terms.
Rick, thanks for the correction. All I knew off the top of my head was that he’d been there for quite a long time.
How’s Jim Rich disgraced? Was he named in an FEC complaint?
@City Taxpayer2: Jim’s name was not in an FEC complaint, even though he regularly failed to file quarterly reports for years and years. Where was Anna’s notary stamp all those years?
Don’t forget Joanne Chase has also endorsed Anna Lee.
That’s just unfair, Greg.
Voters regularly heard from Jim Rich whenever he needed money for the committee.
And I’m sure that both Cuccinelli and Bolling will have a**holes supporting each of them. You can’t attribute every idiot’s comments to the candidate to which they’ve hitched their wagon.
And he shows up once again shilling for Bolling in the WashPo today: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/virginia-politics/post/ken-cuccinelli-supporters-want-to-hold-a-convention-for-2013-governors-race/2012/05/09/gIQA10Z0CU_blog.html?wprss=rss_virginia-politics
They even trot out the “longtime Republican activist” garbage to describe him. heck, why don’t they just announce that the Washington Post and the Democratic Party endorse Bill Bolling already?
It was a printer’s error. The journalist actually announced him as a “longtime Republican has-been.”