Senator Bill Stanley and Mark Lloyd have shown Virginia how it is done the past four years. The two men have known each other before either one were involved in politics. They chose different paths in politics, but those paths quickly converged. Senator Stanley started off as a local GOP Chairman and then served as 5th District Chairman. Mark Lloyd has been involved in the Campbell County GOP since the 90s, but his public profile came as president of Lynchburg Tea Party and then later as Chairman of the Virginia Tea Party Patriot Federation. Both men worked together and showed that it was possible to build a broad conservative coalition for victories in the 5th District. All that changed on Saturday.
BACKGROUND
In 2010 Congressman Hurt found himself in a heated 7-way primary. He was the least favorite of the tea party crowd, but with six other tea party candidates splitting the vote Congressman Hurt won the primary with 48% of the vote. The Lynchburg Tea Party chose to not endorse, but that didn’t stop Mark Lloyd from personally getting involved. He rolled up his sleeves, recruited a large team of volunteers and worked hard for Congressman Hurt, who won the general election with only 50% of the vote.
Mark Lloyd’s abilities were quickly recognized by others and they hired him to independently help Senator Garrett’s victorious state senate election. Mark went on to work in many campaigns, continuing to show his prowess at building a successful grassroots ground game.
Senator Stanley and Mark Lloyd produced what many others have been unsuccessful at accomplishing – a cohesive and united team of Republicans and Tea Party supporters working together in the 5th District and winning! In fact, Campbell County (Mark Lloyd’s county) had the highest voter margin percentage for Congressman Hurt, beating even Hurt’s home county of Pittsylvania!
SATURDAY
Fast forward to this past Saturday. The strategy and behavior of Hurt in the 5th District Chairman race is baffling to hundreds. Hurt spent tens of thousands of dollars paying for Berkley signs, busing in delegates, making calls, and mailing literature. But the bulk of that money paid his consultant to dismantle the unity in the 5th district, beat down Mark Lloyd, and publicly humiliate his own 5th district state central members. This bizarre move may have helped Eric Cantor and Ray Allen in their quest to control RPV, but Hurt had to pay a significant public relations price to meet their demands.
Congressman Hurt attempted to distance himself from the Campbell slating, but the connections are too obvious and his actions this past Saturday only reiterated his true intent. Hurt’s consultant (Chris LaCivita), Mike Thomas, Ray Allen and Eric Cantor have all been close political allies for more than 20 years and Mike Thomas was one of the key individuals responsible for slating in Campbell county, with the help of Democrats.
On Saturday, Hurt was asked if he would make a motion to seat all the delegates from Campbell County, after all, Campbell County had supported him more strongly than even his own home county. But Hurt flatly refused. Further, when the motion was made to seat NO delegates from Campbell County, Robert Hurt stood up to support the measure rather than remain neutral. Hurt had a number of individuals who saw him stand and they went over to plead with him. It was a sad sight to watch. A confused lady sadly pleaded, “But we knocked on doors for you! We made phone calls for you! We believed in you! Why won’t you seat us?”
Hurt’s response was dismissive, “I understand that and I thank you, but I just think we ought to do what the 5th District Committee recommended, which was to seat nobody.” I told Hurt that the 5th District committee had recommended that ALL delegates be seated when they ruled that the slating in Campbell had been illegal, and that, in fact, Senator Stanley had sent an email to the credentialing committee mandating that all Campbell County delegates be seated according to the RPV General Counsel ruling.
Hurt stated emphatically that he did not agree with the General Counsel ruling – as if that was his determination to make. He also asked me, “Is slating illegal, Jamie? IS IT ILLEGAL?” My response was that it is legal according to Robert’s Rules as long as it is executed properly, but the 5th District Committee had ruled it was illegal implemented in Campbell County.
Hurt’s complete lack of sympathy and refusal to seat the delegates caused hundreds of delegates in and outside of Campbell to leave the convention saying, “I won’t lift a finger for Hurt ever again!” It was shocking that Hurt showed very little regard for hundreds of his own volunteer activists.
Amazingly Hurt continued with his scorched earth tactics. He punished those who opposed his nominee (Jon Berkley) by engineering a vote to revoke the voting privileges on the 5th District Committee of the five state central committee members (more to come on that in a later post) who had worked hard for Mark Lloyd.
CONCLUSION
Congressman Hurt destroyed four years of relative unity and harmony that few other congressional districts have been able to attain. It is still puzzling to understand why Hurt chose to start this civil war, when he was one of the lucky few that had Republicans and tea party members working together in elections. It is sad that he has allowed himself to become a tool of high-paid consultants and Eric Cantor. Unfortunately, in one Saturday Hurt dismantled what Senator Bill Stanley and Mark Lloyd spent the last four years building within the Republican Party and Tea Party of the 5th District—unity for victory. It is clear that the only one who really got hurt on Saturday was Hurt. As Mark Lloyd said in his speech, you don’t win with subtraction and division. Hurt may have to learn that lesson the hard way.
153 comments
[…] only “rules” that apply are Berkley Rules. We had a preview of what to expect from him when he, with the support of Congressman Robert Hurt, refused to seat properly elected delegates from Charlot… at the 5th District Convention. He personally threatened me at that very convention. Before that, […]
[…] of Virginia will unfortunately have to remain on a war footing with people like Frank Wagner and Robert Hurt for the foreseeable […]
So what happens when a few perfectly timed Hurt Locker ads show up on TV paid for by just another anonymous political group?
Jamie, with the greatest respect Bill Stanley has been a terrible example of a leader. He was dating one women while running for senate and gets another women pregnant. He says he stands for Christian beliefs and uses the religious right but lives like another person altogether. His 5th district run for party chair was a mess. During the voting people saw HIS supporters removing votes out of the ballot box to insure his win. They were tea party people who watched this happen. Those folks have never come back to the local party in franklin county. He also made some of the most strictest by laws in order to control the membership in the franklin county Republican Party. He supported the use of loyalty pledges which is voter manipulation at its core. The Campbell county mess is a subject or a cat of a different color all together. It is waters I choose not to wade into because I don’t know both sides of story. I wish Mark Lloyd well and I hope he is able to recover and live to fight another day.
If you want to get back at Hurt then everyone agree to ONE “write in” candidate and everyone write that name on the ballot in November. Preferably this person will primary Hurt in 2016 since name recognition will be important.
What if folks wrote in “MARK LLOYD”? HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!!!!
I just love how the establishment crowd, rather than debate facts, love to attack Jamie for exposing their garbage tactics. I guess that IS a time-tested deflection (defecation??) tactic by politicians who are caught with their hand in the cookie jar- attack the people who exposed your fraud or otherwise bad behavior rather than answer the charge. I was at the Campbell mass meeting and I was at the the 5th C.D.C. Jamie is accurate, as usual. Congressman Hurt literally refused to me personally to make a motion to allow Campbell to be seated. LaCivita lied to me that Hurt had nothing to do with the Campbell slating, only to admit that he lied shortly after. And Hurt actually stood to publicly vote NO on the question of seating Campbell- the unit that delivered the HIGHEST percentage vote totals to him, in both his elections, of any unit in the entire district, including the largest Republican unit in the district and Hurt’s home county of Pittsylvania. So yea, smart move, Rob. Disenfranchise your best unit. Did I mention he recruited Campbell Democrats for the purpose of taking over our mass meeting to slate us all off not only the delegate lists for both conventions, but out of the unit as well?? But, I’m sure those Dems will take our place and give him the highest vote percentage totals this fall….
So are you saying you will not vote for or help the most conservative congressman in the state ?
Read my comment again and see if I said anything at all about supporting or not supporting him. Unlike most Republicans i meant exactly what i actually said, and i didn’t think my comment was especially ambiguous.
“Unlike most Republicans…”
So you don’t think most Republicans mean what they say?
Interesting
Now I’m replying to Tim… you missed a spot there with the Kabuki make-up.
Tim,
Can you tell me, was Congressman Hurt at the Campbell Mass Meeting? Was the at the appeal to the 5th district committee? Was he at the credentials committee meeting for the 5 the 5th district? Did Congressman Hurt have all of the pre-filed forms and the voter rolls for Campbell County, so he could verify that everyone was a voter? Do you think the congressman had the time to contact all of those who pre-filed to verify they were all Republicans?
Can you provide your evidence that Congressman Hurt recruited Democrats? I just don’t trust you word alone.
So, without knowing all the facts, you wanted him to vote to seat Campbell County? Even the Lloyd supporters on the credentials committee were unwilling to do that.
And you show the congressman disrespect by not using his title. Fairly typical of a Tea Partier.
Jon, I have been on first name basis with Robert since he won the nomination so get off it. Secondly, I have never been part of a tea party. Third, Chris LaCivita, his top consultant admitted they were behind the slating. Fourth, I know for a fact that Robert was made aware of everything that happened in Campbell, and that it was done to ensure his candidate for district chair would be elected. Fifth, if you really think a congressman’s campaign can do that, his lead consultant lead the strategy, his PAID campaign NRCC staff were actively working the rooms, and he didn’t have a clue, then you must think he’s as clueless as Obama who apparently doesn’t know anything at all about national affairs until he wakes up one day and boom, surprise, there it is, every time he discovers he is president. Sixth, LaCivita told Chairman Stanley that he got in the way of the effort they would “break you too”. Seventh, if you think Congressmen ever actually do all the legwork to get the information, you’re nuts- that’s one of the reasons they have paid staff….of course, we both know that you know all this, but your job on this thread is to protect the establishment choice, not seek the truth. Now, let’s ask you: Do you have to personally see everything happen that you believe to be true in order to form an opinion on a subject, or do you rely on information from others at times? Well, Robert can do that as well and still know about things. If you really believe Lacivita would subject him to the absolute firestorm he encountered from several different delegations after publicly voting not to seat Campbell, and not tell him about it, you’re as ignorant as you think I am. And you show everyone who knows things of which you are not aware the same arrogance that is fairly typical of an establishment hack.
TimBoyer,
Are you seriously trying to make this claim? That the sky is blue? Seriously?
Do you have photographic evidence of this supposed “sky?” And if so, do you have proof that your camera wasn’t preset with a blue filter? Or that the picture wasn’t tampered with, to have an artificially blue sky airbrushed in? Have you submitted the photograph to forensics for a thorough analysis? And if so, where is the documentation and what were the findings? What about the maintenance records for this camera? How old is it and where did you purchase it? Did you buy it illicitly from a Tea Partyer?
‘Cause I’m not going to just take your word for it. You even publicly admit to being a Bo&#r, so I know you’re a (very, very imaginative) liar.
Tim,
The Congressman was probably informed about the goings on in Campbell just like everyone else: word of mouth. If you have issue with LaCavita, be angry at him, not the Congressman. LaCavita is Bill Stanley’s “top consultant” too.
Additionally, can you show me on the FEC filling where the Congressman had paid staff working the room? I can only find one paid staffer (who was there, but certainly not working the room).
In summary, be mad at the correct people. Hurt wasn’t involved.
Keep grabbing your ankles jim. One day you’ll learn to like it. Its easier than taking a stand for the truth.
Not only that but it also does share some vast makings for quite relative stirring Kabuki theater.
That is (in reply to little_loh and not Tim) “If one reads the entire burgeoning thread.”
and you are Either terribly misinformed, or are purposely misrepresenting what happened and lying about it, so really, go try having an independent thought without having to kiss the butt off some elected official over whom you drool and slobber like an elementary school girl on her first crush
Tim,
I’ll ignore the insults. Can you answer my questions, or are you just going to keep on deflecting?
If one reads the entire burgeoning thread, it is obvious you are ignoring more than just the insults.
And when personally asked to withdraw his opposition and allow the Campbell delegates to be seated he flatly refused.
In the end the decision to disenfranchise Campbell’s delegates was made by and on behalf of one man – Robert Hurt. Plain. And. Simple. And I was there…
I was there to and I disagree with you completely.
Hurt had no control over the credentials committee. A motion was made by the Pro Lloyd folks to not seat any of the delegates and the motion passed 12-10. The Berkley supporters voted against tho motion.
…because a motion to seat ALL the prefiled delegates was never an option – only the illegitimately slated, mostly anti-republican folks had their prefile forms brought by Ferguson. It is very odd that the credentials committee was so large as to include every chairman – but not the State Central Committee members. It was exactly the same body that voted on the appeal – minus some of our key supporters. Plus, the Credentials Committee set up a standard they knew would be thwarted. ONLY prefile forms FROM FERGUSON (who was ruled to have stolen his own election ) were acceptable. This, after Ferguson had already defied orders to bring prefile forms to the appeal hearing. Everyone knew when the makeup of the Credentials Committee was announced, and when the standard by which it would accept delegates was made known, that they had no intention of seating anybody. It was a farce.
If it was never an option to seat all the delegates from Campbell, isn’t seating none of the delegates the next best option? At least that way none of Berkley’s supporters were seated.
Can you give me the names of the “anti-republican folks” you talk about? I would like to know who they are. Can you also provide proof used to determine that they are “anti-republican folk,” I would like to see that also.
(posting this a second time because it looks like it didn’t take the first time. I think we’ve all broken this thing…)
It was never an option to seat all the delegates, but it could have been an option, if the Credentials Committee had not placed the burden of providing proof solely and squarely on Ferguson. We had copies of prefiles and lists from two sources that corroborated each other of those who had prefiled, and Ferguson’s team has inadvertently admitted that the lists are indeed lists of those who submitted prefile forms.
I can provide you with a stack of evidence – letters to the editor asking folks to vote for Obama, contributions to democratic candidates, public Facebook comments urging folks to vote democrat or anyone-but-the-Republican, records of meetings where people discussed “opposition research” on Republicans, records of fundraisers held for Democrats, people running for office against the Republican nominee, etc., etc., etc. The fact is, we’ve already provided this evidence – to the Fifth District Committee in our appeal. And, even though they laughably offered no real remedy, they did acknowledge and rule that we
were right – 1. the body that voted could not be identified as Republican, due to the number of provable Democrats in attendance and because Democrat and ant-Republican support was sought with the promise
that the loyalty oath they would be required to sign was “non-binding,” and 2. the slating was so structured as to require a super majority, which was not achieved (despite all the bused-in Democrats). If you really want to see, ask any of the members of the Fifth District Committee that heard our appeal if you can see the 100+ page packet we gave them.
Even if the credentials committee used the “verified” lists, how would they prove that the pre-files were registered voters in Campbell County who were in accord with the Republican Party principles?
The credentials committee did not have the voter registration rolls at the convention. If Senator Stanley thought the credentials committee needed them to make informed decisions, he should have gotten a copy of them.
If you want to send me the info, you can e-mail me at jonathanwilson912@gmail.com. I would love to see it.
I am guessing that we can also find evidence from the pro-Lloyd faction that they have not abided by the State Party Plan too, specifically Article I, section A, paragraph 4., which states, “person otherwise qualified hereunder shall not have participated in Virginia in the nomination process of a party other than the Republican Party with in the last five years.” The way I read that is that anyone who has participated in the “nominating process” for the Tea Party is in violation of this section of the Party Plan. I know you will not agree with me, but I think it is clear.
How do you suggest we make a “binding” oath? will a Tea party member escort every Republican into the voting booth to watch them vote?
I have seen the evidence and have talked to several of the accused, like the guy who gave $100 to his Democrat neighbor (but gave $500 to the Republican candidate) who was accused of being a democrat. It is like the Inquisition with you folks.
Mark Lloyd convinced Tea Partyers to back off of supporting Jeff Clark, and threw his support and worked tirelessly to get Robert Hurt elected. (Only to have Robert Hurt vote encourage others to vote to prevent Mark Lloyd and his wife from voting for himself.) The Tea Party doesn’t nominate candidates, and neither the Lynchburg nor the state Tea Party has in recent memory even endorsed candidates against Republicans.
But if you guess you can find evidence that Mark Lloyd or Tea partyers are anti-Republican, how ’bout you go dig it up? Then people can not believe anything you say, accuse you of conducting a witch hunt, and ask at the same time that you email your evidence to them even when you tell them how they can get it themselves.
The reason why we conducted an investigation was because these people did not go to the Mass Meeting and ask, “I’m a Democrat, where do I sit?” But having seen them working the polls year after year, having seen their letters to the editor, and having known them in the community, it was obvious to everyone they are Democrats. The problem is, we had to prove it to people who are not part of our community – the Fifth District Committee. And we did. You can’t scoff at the accusation that Democrats infiltrated the Mass Meeting en masse, and then at the same time cry “witch hunt” when we identify said Democrats.
And tell the guy who gave $100 to his Democrat neighbor but $500 to the Republican candidate (but who also ran against a Republican and accepted the Democrat endorsement, and who participated in efforts against every local Republican candidate in the past several years), that I hope his great grandson is doing well. I think he’s quite the guy for stepping in to help his family. I just don’t think its appropriate, after campaigning against every local Republican in the past several years, to have a role of leadership within the Republican party.
So, Lloyd was not nominated to be a Tea Party chair? Is the Tea party not “an other party” according to the State Party Plan. The Plan doesn’t say anything about the nominating process for public office, it just says “shall not have participated in Virginia in the nomination process of a party other than the Republican Party with in the last five years.
I think it is fairly clear.
Here is another good question, if Democrat Joe Manchin, of West Virginia, decided to switch parties, would you welcome him or freeze him out?
“Is the Tea party not “an other party” according to the State Party Plan.”
Please tell me you are not serious.
Don’t deflect, answer the question.
No Jon, the “Tea Party” is not an official political party and doesn’t count as an “other party” in the RPV party plan.
Really? Where does it say “official party” in the State Party Plan? I missed that.
Good luck with that one, Jon. I eagerly await the results of your quest to have the Tea Party considered an “other party” for the purposes of the state party plan.
Obviously you know the answer to the question, you just don’t have the guts to admit it.
And I am not on a quest, just stating the facts. Besides, since the Tea Party has seized control of the SCC, they will was the party plan in a way that keeps them in power. Corruption at its finest.
Jon, I’ve been being polite because it’s obvious you’re not the sharpest tool in the shed, but there’s no more chance of “Tea Party” being considered an “other party” than was your latest dinner party. or an afternoon at Chuck E. Cheese.
I’ve thought long and hard about Jon’s points. I think I need to confess something. *deep breath* I was once Nominated to bring watermelon to a Family Party.
There. I did it.
But I promise I’ll sign the meaningless, non-binding, loyalty oath!! Please don’t disenfranchise me! … oh, wait, never mind…
I’m really enjoying watching all the informative pontificating on what did or didn’t happen and who was or wasn’t involved- from folks who weren’t present either at the mass meeting or the convention and have no earthly idea. As someone present at both, and who prepared and argued the appeal of the Campbell meeting I can tell you- Mike Thomas doesn’t coach one team and personally write meeting rules for a mere “local kerfuffle.” As to what happened Saturday the local steal was NOT significant. The district committee had declared the Campbell slating illegal under Roberts Rules and RPV general counsel had issued a binding opinion that the convention had authority to and “should” seat all the delegates. The vote to throw them out was determined – as every vote Saturday – by delegates watching the “Hurt-Berkley Yes and No signs and voting accordingly.
could the delegates have voted according to the Lloyd “yes” & “no” signs just as easily?
Kelley – don’t complicate things by asking the Tea Party folks to state all the facts! It’s easier for them to spin the truth if they can cherry pick the evidence.
Rick, I was in Farmville and saw the whole thing. While I was not at the Campbell Mass Meeting, as I don’t try to get involved with other county’s business, I called it a “local kerfuffle” because that what it was: another chapter of infighting that has been going on with your local unit for years now.
The Fifth District, on May 10, determined to not seat the elected delegates, recommended to seat all of the delegates that properly prefiled, and didn’t take action on your chairman election. You are correct that the new RPV counsel issued a binding opinion that the properly prefiled delegates “should” be seated. However, should isn’t the strongest of words here, and the RPV counsel cities a section of the party plan that does not exist (Article VIII, Sec. A (11)).
On Saturday, both Berkeley supporters and Lloyd supporters looked to the signs up front staffed by their respective people in order to make the arcane parliamentary motions easier to understand. Either everyone there, on both sides, were sheep or no one was. You can’t have it both ways.
As you can see, all of the above are related to the dysfunction in Campbell, not to Congressman Hurt. If he had sat down when you wanted him to, what would the vote have been? You are mad that Hurt supported someone other than Lloyd, and now you are taking it out on him.
The events leading up to and including Saturday’s 5th District Convention were devoid of any shred of integrity, dignity and quite frankly below the standards we should expect of ourselves. I am ashamed of my party and the machinations that led up to all of this.
To win without integrity is to place party over principle and I cannot and will not do this. We (the body of the mass meeting- all of us) decided that a county committee would not be seated and participate in the decision-making process of our district and ultimately in our state. We have shut the door on these people. Whether or not you agree with them is immaterial. At the end of the day, we have a common foe.
Robert E Lee and Stonewall Jackson used dividing their forces to earn great victories. We use them to lead us all into continual defeat.
I have discovered from attendees in my own unit that the common republican is as clueless as the common democrat. I have personally witnessed unabashed hypocrisy and deceit, and I have called out the liars as I have seen them. I will continue to do so.
There are too many that have worked too hard to be shut out of the process. As a former unit chair, my primary priority was about the integrity of the process. Whether I agreed with the positions of people was immaterial. I would rather focus on the 80% we can agree on than the 20% we may disagree on. What I have witnessed leading up to this debacle and on Saturday was disgraceful.
Winning without integrity may still be a win, but in the end, we have all lost.
As a conservative Republican in the 2nd District, I can sympathize with your feelings. We were able to get the corrupted Mass Meeting slating machinations (by State Sen. Frank Wagner and Del.Scott Taylor ) overturned and went on to all duly filed convention delegates being seated.
We should not vote for Republicans without principles…no more than we would vote for unprincipled Democrats.
You are so right. Thank You.
You nailed it. I might have to stay home.
I think we need to unite as conservatives, stop this bickering, and for goodness sakes, stop “eating our own.”
The establishment every election cycle uses the Patriot movement for the numbers of volunteers they can “pimp” No sooner than the election is over they go right back to their crony capitalist pals and laugh at us for being so easily manipulated.
The cries for “compromise” falls on increasing numbers of deaf ears, folks who understand we have compromised away every single conservative and constitutional principle—and for what ? Those of you who still confuse winning with advancing our cause need to get smart. Republicans have won a lot of elections the last 25 years and the Nation and State are better off just how ???
Bob Shannon Founder Mechanicsville & King William TEA Party’s
Bob – who are you talking about when you say “establishment”? The Tea Party controls the State Central Committee and a majority of the congressional districts. Since they have the institutional power, they are the establishment.
Governor McAuliffe and Lt. Governor Northam would like to remind you that you can’t advance your cause when you lose elections.
Neither could Bob McDonnell from prison.
Party doesnt matter. Principles matter.
If party doesn’t matter, why are you all wasting so much time and energy complaining about intraparty squabbling?
You have to be in a party to participate, duh.
Then party does matter?
No. Principles matter. But I can’t file to run in the Principles Party.
Well, until I form a VA state principles party. Then I could.
And stuff.
How’s this inane “gotcha” moment working out for you?
I’m enjoying myself.
My dog did that too, and it was embarrassing when company was over.
Probably not as embarrassing as watching you spin when you say something dumb, George.
Checkmate..
Time for the bartender to cut you off.
Best exchange I’ve read all day! 🙂
I’m enjoying myself.
Bob,
Let’s please remind our compatriots of this as election time approaches.
Thanks for your post !
Conservatives are not bickering with each other they are rightly ticked off at establishment types who think their hold on power is so important that they are willing to marginalize the most active members of the party to keep it. Why should conservatives accept this behavior?
Its hard to accept statements of “an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind” from people who are still holding the bloody stick they used to poke us.
why would you think we are not all conservatives?
Bolling’s antics, McDonnell’s tax hike, consultants jumping ship to work with the Dems, Cantor’s amnesty plan, Romney’s health care plan, McCain’s Wall Street bailout…
This +1000… TARP, medicaid expansion, Cantor’s supports for the import/export bank, billions in corporate welfare at both the state and federal level, earmarks, Bush’s push for amnesty (pick a Bush, any Bush and this will apply), Bush’s medicare part D, Government spending that grows every year even when Republicans are in charge, rules that Republicans as well as Democrats voted for that allow elected officials to be elected as individuals of decidedly middle class means and leave office as millionaires…
We could pick this apart. Each of the above has, as their own policy, a very conservative position. naturally, none of those that you mentioned. e.g.: McDonnell was/is very socially conservative. McCain believes in a strong national defense & strong int’l presence.
I am not sure that any “conservative” can be 100% pure in the eyes of many Republicans. this creates disharmony.
Ultimately, being conservative is a state of mind, and all the items I listed plus uncountable items more are not things that emerge from those who are conservative-minded. They are the results of politicians who TALK conservative for the sole purpose of getting elected.
This is why no matter how many of these alleged conservatives we elect, conservative policies never seem to move forward.
Cantor’s guy jumping ship to help elect McAullife was pretty low. But then Cantor is now showing his true colors. Whatever he might have been before he went to DC, he is now part of the political class/Ruling class and with his henchmen and machinations in all of our local districts and conventions (slating) has shown the people back home just what we’re up against in Washington.
Sometimes I feel that it’s us against the “Uniparty.”
…and lots of crocodile tears.
I’m being such a bad little jaded troll there.
you nailed it. Rep. Hurt really damaged himself with his overt participation in and association with the exclusion of the Campbell Delegation, the dishonest Berkley toss-out-of-pre-files-scandal in Charlotte, and then followed by the spiteful stripping of votes from conservative SCC members Saturday. The Dems couldn’t “hurt” the congressman any more than he hurt himself with this unnecessary intentional fratricide. I now see hundreds of ticked-off Republicans activists that had been Hurt backers that will be looking to hold him and his spiteful consultant Chris Lacivita accountable for these vengeful exclusionary tactics. (Lacivita once again put his own spiteful “pay-back” agenda against conservative activists ahead of his clients best political interests). These activists will be finding other GOP candidates to work for now instead, and I’d not be surprised if Hurt finds a credible primary challenge in 2016 … Maybe it’s time we boycott ANY candidate for nomination that chooses Ray Allen or Chris Lacivita as their consultants…
The same thing happened in the 6th District Convention the week before. SCC members friendly to Rep. Goodlatte were stripped of their voting rights in a similar manner. Do you condemn this move as well?
Or could it be that both the 5th and 6th districts want greater control over their party without members of RPV State Central meddling in their affairs?
The 6th District did no such thing. Perhaps you misunderstood what happened at the 6th district. There was an effort to enforce the Party Plan, since there was a proposal to give voting power (where none exists) to state central members who were not elected at the district convention. According to the Party Plan, the only individuals who can vote on the District committee are those who were elected at the District Convention or by their unit, e.g. unit chairman. State Central Committee members who were elected at the statewide convention and were NOT elected at the district convention don’t get to vote at the district. It is difficult to revoke voting privileges if none exists. Think of it this way, it would be like saying your state senator has authority to vote on city council, simply because he lives in the city. No can do.
With Jeff Clark having pulled a disappearing act, Jim McKelvey is quite available. There’s only a 20% chance Robert Hurt would have a primary opponent in 2016 and even then that would be a “Dave Brat” level of non-contender.
Then you would have boycotted KC
It was obvious that Robert Hurt and his consultant are taking orders from Eric Cantor and Young Guns in continuing the war against conservatives across VA. Keep it up and there will be no one left to call upon to beat the democrats Mr. Hurt.
There will be plenty of people willing to help Robert Hurt beat a Democratic challenger. Quite plenty.
Fewer than you think!
I’ve heard that before and it never happens. 56-44 Hurt over Gaughan. Lock that in.
What about Hilliary? Plenty of people available to help beat her?
We’ve moved passed trashing the Congressman to picking a fight with LaCavita? Pass the popcorn.
I’m headed to the concession stand out in the lobby to get junior mints. Film here has a bad redundancy to repeat frames 56-44 at times.
With ‘friends’ like this who needs democrats to fight us? Our own people won’t let us vote! It’s said that Robert Hurt is very conservative. What’s conservative about not allowing his own voters to vote in a convention and the elected members of the 5th district to vote in their own district meetings? Why are they playing such hardball against their own people when they won’t do it against the democrats?
These were not “voters,” these were potential delegates. Delegates have to be duly elected by their respective units. RPV stated that all pre-files in Campbell County were done incorrectly. The 5th District Unit Chairs determined that they could not verify the veracity of any Campbell pre-files without voter rolls and the original forms. The 25 delegates that were sent from Campbell were not seated, and the unverified pre-files were not seated. This was the least bad option. Two groups of adults in Campbell couldn’t agree, and neither group got their way. To place blame on the Congressman is to abdicate the responsibility of both sides in Campbell.
I agree. The scandal here is the chain of events that led those delegates to not be properly filed, not the motion.
Thank you, ARB. And the chain of events that led to this kerfuffle date back to before 2010; this didn’t come from out of the blue.
Ask yourself who this helped? Did it help in creating diversity in the party? Did it help to recognize all voices that have been working for the advancement of the Republican Creed? Nope… for both but it did create a nice little path for a handful of known politicians to secure nominations for various positions in the upcoming statewide races!
Some of us want to keep this party together… but I would suggest that Hurt and Cantor read up on what happens when you keep abusing the base. Cause at some point it’s going to turn into an echo chamber!
The only way the Tea Party is interested in “party unity” and keeping the party together is if the get to win all races and control everything.
Seating the 25 would have helped Berkley. Seating the unverified would have helped Lloyd. Yes, the Campbell situation was messed up, but it was messed up at the local unit level. To blame this on the Congressman is unfair.
Party unity happens when blogs don’t post ridiculous accusations with scant evidence.
“Scant evidence???” What are you talking about? We presented every possible piece of evidence. The roles from the clerks, the renunciation forms, the copies of the lists, and the affiliation signature pages, all 581 of them, were presented to the 5th District. It’s seems clear that you are having a reading problem. Jamie’s blog about the democratic takeover of Campbell County is more than bathroom reading sir. The local unit did everything we could to plan and organize. The biggest Campbell County meeting in history was around 225, so we more than doubled that figured. This takeover was not the gaff of the local unit, but the political payback to John Berkely for being a good little compliant unit chairman to eventually run VA 5th Chair. It was engineered by Eric Cantor, and executed by Mike Thomas. The local ICCC crowd, referenced in prior blog posts, isn’t smart enough to orchestrate the circus that we saw on March 20th on their own. Every last move was scripted by Mike Thomas.
“Scant evidence” is referring to the link between what you just described and the topic of this post. I understand that you are upset about this, but the actions that you describe were not caused by Congressman Hurt. That is what I am referring to.
The 5th District Unit Chairs set up a standard that they knew would be willfully thwarted. Slater Ferguson, the man ruled to have stolen his own election, was commanded to bring the forms. That is the equivalent of the fox guarding the hen house. And when the hens end up worse for wear, those among the Fifth District Unit Chairs could say, “See? It’s that naughty fox’s fault!” He had been ordered to bring the forms once before – to the hearing on the appeal – and he had defied them. So they knew he wasn’t going to bring them again.
Okay, if that is the case, blame your local unit chair, or every unit chair in the Fifth, or even Bill Stanley for trying to split the baby and please both sides. But to blame Congressman Hurt for the actions that you described above is plain ridiculous.
Congressman Hurt called one of the committee members heading up to the appeal on May 10, to see if he was going, and if not, could Hurt find a proxy for him? The committee member told Hurt he had already found a proxy. Hurt’s response (given via a staff member, I think) was no, no, the proxy was not to Hurt’s liking, and could Hurt find someone else to carry the proxy?
Which committee member? Who was the initial proxy? Was the proxy changed? Who was the staff member?
It’s unfair to name one recognizable name without naming the rest.
Wasn’t Bill Stanley the one that set the meeting up on Saturday and ruled that SCC members couldn’t vote ?
Sooner or later when you’ve got two children in the back seat refusing to stop fighting and get along, you end up turning that car around and nobody gets to go to Busch Gardens.
I was not fighting about anything. I just wanted my vote heard. That is all I wanted. I didn’t ask for the fight, I merely put in my delegate papers and was banished. As Republicans, we should want every county to have representation. Not having representation is very unrepublican for Republicans.
However, then to banish the committee members who were against slating? That says a tremendous amount about having a monolithic viewpoint in the party.
“Banished”? That’s outrageous outrage words.
I’ve got something that we can banish. All of this idiotic parliamentary procedure and stupid “by the Party Plan”. If 40% of the people are for Eddie Munster, then he gets 40% of the delegates.
Adding lawyers into any recipe usually ruins the finished project.
Bruce,
This is what I love about politics, you focus on one word instead of the principles. The principles of a Republican Party are to have a broad base of people who disagree, but who help make the party work. Narrowing the party even more is not a recipe for success… it will lead to failure in the end. When we have been successful, it was because we reached people with principles and ideas. What was done this weekend was the opposite.
We should be a party that welcomes more people into the party, not pushes them out.
One word like that makes you sound as ridiculous as Radtke’s rantings. You’re still in the game. You haven’t been pushed out. You backed the losing side in a small election. Life goes on.
Your are so uniformed sir. More than 100 of us were slated. We could not participate in the 5th District Convention, we cannot participate at the state level, nor can we join our local unit. We were told by Neil Vener, temporary chair, “You’ll have to settle for getting your check back from your pre-file, because you are not going to be a member of our committee.” So don’t give me this “life goes on” platitude. We were removed from the party until the next mass meeting in 2016. Go wave your Robert Hurt flag somewhere else.
I haven’t worn a uniform in a long time.
Believe me, they’ll rectify that “voting you off the island” issue after instant-replay.
The only instant-replay the party will get is when they have their rear handed to them in November.
It made me ashamed to be a Republican. I dido not believe a majority of the convention would leave out 100 Republicans!
I completely agree… The Democrats are watching and they have mastered scorched earth politics. We are in serious trouble in the general! We can’t continue to split districts in half and expect that the base is going to be excited to show up on election day. I am very worried about the message that got sent by Hurt and his masters on Saturday. Which was if you stand for anybody but Hurt and his pals, they are going to make sure you don’t have a say in the party.
I expect better from my Republican Party!
You can “expect better” all you like, but you’re not even going to get “good.” The right candidate will primary Robert, and a third party will beat his tail. I got the message. Fiscal and social conservatives are no longer welcome. That’s OK. I’ll take my vote elsewhere, and I busted balls for Robert Hurt for 4 years. As the former party chair in Campbell, our group staffed every pole, all 26 of them, with volunteers to pass out sample ballots. We walked neighborhoods Saturday after Saturday. We held fund raisers, blew up balloons, hammered 4×4 posts, secured sign locations, and used our own pocket money to buy literature for a Congressman who kicked us in the teeth on Saturday. My wife, my children, and scores of my friends had more than “skin in the game” for Robert. After the 7 way primary, he became our candidate and we supported him even though he was certainly not on my top 3 list. Yet still, we supported him.
He’s not that conservative. He gets only a 71 from Heritage Foundation, just 10 points better than Cantor’s miserable 61.
Jamie – you should run for congress in the 5th District and take Hurt down. You live in the 5th, right?
Here are a couple of points about your blog post:
– you bring up Lloyd’s background and all the work he has done. Do you think Congressman Hurt owes Lloyd something? If so, why?
– you state that Congressman Hurt spent tens of thousands of dollars for signs, buses, literature, and calls. Have you seen the receipts for these expenses or would it be more accurate to say it is a guess on your part?
–
I don’t think Hurt owes Lloyd anything and never stated such. My point was that he could have won with Berkley without disenfranchising one of his strongest units and creating a civil war.
If it was less, I’ll stand corrected. It is a good guess because I know the cost of buses, yard signs and the rate of his consultant and he is required to pay fair market value on everything as a federal politician.
Oh yes, let’s keep poking LaCavita
Yes, let’s discuss his tainted consultant. I’ll make popcorn.
but didn’t LaCavita work for KC? & isn’t KC the hero of the Tea Party Nation?
La has worked for many folks. This is not about his past clients and whether they won or lost. Its about who decides who is or is not going to vote for those who represent us. If someone uses a consultant who has a history of screwing delegates then its fair game to screw the delegates to the wall and inquire. Hurt may win and many electeds in office will have little choice but to put on a badge and appear to support the nominee but the grassroots are not so bound by party rules ands regs.
I’m just stating how I calculated the cost sans the poking.
To me, this looks like payback for Mark Lloyd’s involvement with that dysfunctional Lynchburg Tea Party during the 2010 “Robert Hurt and the Six Dwarves” primary. Mark Lloyd may very well have worked for Hurt in the general election but that Lunchburg Tea Party has remained an albatross around his neck.
Lloyd (and Jamie Radtke) were still slurping up on Jim McKelvey for his second whammy in his race for the 19th District House primary. Terry Austin beat McKelvey 45-33 and went on to win big in the general election. Hmmm, did Jamie Radtke stick around to support the nominee for the general election? HA! Of course not.
Jamie Radtke is a Whine-o-saurus here because Robert Hurt blew her off. I’m pretty sure that all of these Offended Delegates will cast a vote for Robert Hurt, and even if they voted for against him, he’s SAFE for this election cycle. And that makes Radtke’s whining even more shrilling.
So you think all of this is about Jamie Radtke? Nonsense!
No. But she’s hilariously escalating this sad story and trying to make it sound like Robert Hurt is actually going to be affected by this at all. He’s not.
Don’t bet on that.
Heard it before. Same stuff. Never happens. Hurt 56-44.
Hurt is now part of the not so secret Cantor/Allen cabal.
What’s amusing and intriguing is the willingness of both Hurt and Cantor to disenfranchise the hoi polloi.
McWrong. No “hoi polloi” were disenfranchised here. They double zapped both sides of a group that was so dysfunctional that they couldn’t compromise on anything.
I was a delegate at the Convention from another county not from Campbell, but I was OFFENDED by seeing fellow conservatives disenfranchised. The election for Berkley was rigged from beginning to end. Hurt provided the buses, signs, and handouts (with “Paid for by Friends of Hurt”). Who paid for his workers? Money is fungible. Was taxpayer money involved? (I am not a member of our local Tea Party.) Hurt will no longer have my support, volunteer efforts or VOTE!!! I refuse to vote for the lesser of two evils any longer. Better to see the Republican Party go up in flames, then support the antics of the Republican establishment. I am hoping that a new conservative party will arise from the ashes.
Thank you Phileo. I am one of the Campbell delegates who was kicked in the teeth.
I felt bad for the rig job of the Charlotte delegates. I want to know why Berkely was able to accept pre-file forms for folks who would eventually would be voting for him or against him. A neutral third party within the Charlotte County committee should have been employed. How odd is it that the delegates that were thrown out were Lloyd delegates?
So you think Hurt can count on our vote no matter what he does to offend our sense of fairness and decency? Any you think just casting a vote is enough? What about the phone banking and door knocking we did to get him elected. How will he fare when we sit it out next time around?
Nope. You’re welcome to do what you want. If you choose to take your ball home with you, Robert Hurt will still easily defeat that Gaughan guy 56-44 just as he would with you helping out. With you helping, the scoreboard will show 56-44.
In other words, stomp your feet all you want and don’t go to recess. Robert Hurt is going to do just fine no matter what.
Dead wrong Mr. Hedrick. We won’t vote for Robert Hurt. And Phileo is right. Better to see the Republican party go up in flames. It’s corrupt and useless anyway. And pretty boy preppy Robert is done for.
Do you have any evidence that disenfranchised voters will vote for Robert, because I have evidence to the contrary. There’s a reason that you have a “carpet bagger” in the governors chair in VA. You establishment thugs pissed off us conservatives, and I know hundreds of folks who just stayed home. Call it safe for 2014, but rest assured, that we will live to fight another day.
It doesn’t really matter if you vote for him, his opponent or a horse. He’s going to win. Short attention span and the big-ol-hug session that’s inevitable will make everyone play in the sandbox nicely in the future.
Doesn’t this depend on whether the Offended Delegates actively return Hurt’s hurt or just stay home. Remember what John Warner did to Olie North? Personally I believe Hurt is in for more than he bargained for.
Also, Robert Hurt had the backing of every Republican in the 5th DIST. Now he doesn’t. I guess he will find out if it was worth it.
John Warner > Campbell Delegate AND Robert Hurt > Oliver North by large factors.
There’s going to be some butthurt and nasty words, but anybody that does something super outrageous will end up Mark Lloyd-ed down the road. Hurt’s safe in 2014 and this blows over by 2016.
Well said. The only suggestion…maybe it was Robert’s rules and not “Roberts Rules, 11th edition”?
SO ……… to change the line of conversation:
I am perplexed (just a little bit) at the demeanor of Robert Hurt….? His wooden smile, his joyless eyes, his slow slugging delivery…. He never looks ‘together.’ His clothes are a mess. His hair ‘out of it.’
What’s wrong with Ro
As one of the those who were slated, I think it shows that they know the grass roots are moving away from them. Let’s focus, not on bashing them, but upon the issues of freedom, lower taxes, smaller government. sanctity of life, marriage, anti-communist/socialist, etc… I created this meme in a light hearted moment today.
Alternative title: “Mark Lloyd & Friends Beat at Their Own Game, Whine Because They Lost Power.”
It’s very sad that honesty and integrity are now seen as a game.
The “game” that I am referring to is convention politics, nothing else. Lloyd & Company used the rules to win 4 years ago, and they lost this year under the same rules.
What does take honesty and integrity is to admit defeat and learn from failure instead of blaming the sitting Republican Congressman for something that he was not involved in (Campbell County debacle).
Did you talk with Congressman Hurt after that debacle? I did. He cannot deny involvement. If he does, he is not being truthful.
How was the Congressman involved with the Campbell County situation? Was he at their mass meeting? Did he assist in the pre-filing? Did he have a vote on the 5th District credentials committee or unit chair meeting? The answer is no to all of the above.
While I feel for all of the people who were not seated, the blames lies with the two factions in their own local unit, not the Congressman.
But Jim we happen to know about Cantor/Allen control tactics being used all over the commonwealth. They are as crude and ruthless as they are short sighted and in my opinion immoral and wrongheaded. This fits the pattern perfectly.
Congressman Cantor had nothing to do with the 5th District Convention. To try and make this larger than what it is, a local unit kerfuffle, is to grasp at straws.
Say the Campbell situation happened in reverse. Would you have wanted the Congressman to over step the duly elected unit chairs to allow unverified delegates? I think not.
Jim, you are just wrong. Cantor/Allen were connected. I have direct confirmation – not speculation.
Although I believe you, let’s play “Proof Or Not Real”.
Okay – give us the confirmation. What are your sources? What information do you have? I need more than your word.
Jamie, please prove me wrong by providing sources and not just innuendo. And if you are going to connect Hurt to Cantor in all of this, please have it be more than “they serve in Congress together.”
now we’re blaming Sen/Gov Allen, too? c’mon man
No – Ray Allen the political consultant.
I’ve known Mark Lloyd for more than 25 years — long before he got involved in politics. He got into politics because of his passionate belief in justice. If you look up honesty and integrity, you will see a picture of Mark Lloyd. If he gives you his word, you can count on it completely. Had the Campbell delegates been seated (I was one), Mark may still not have won, but it would have been a fair election. What was done was an injustice.
Wow. You’re losing it.
where did you “go to school” ??