This article actually saddens me to write for multiple reasons.  For years Mr. John Fredericks had been a voice of sanity and reason in the conservative movement. I may not always have agreed with Mr. Fredericks but respected him as a serious person and voice when it comes to all things Republican and conservative in Virginia.  However it must be said that Mr. John Fredericks has officially taken leave of his senses. This has become obvious after his passionate “defense†of Obama Care and Medicaid expansion in Virginia on the TBE blog last week. Â
In my capacity as a local GOP Magisterial District Chair and as the Vice Chair of the Shenandoah County GOP – I would rather not attack our slim majority.  But as a local leader of the Liberty Movement – I cannot and will not attempt to defend the 17 Republicans in the House of Delegates who signed onto Medicare expansion.  Nor will I attempt to defend Senators Hanger, Vogel, Chafin, or Wagner. Their votes to expand government spending will only blow a hole in our budget and have potentially dire consequences for the GOP.  Our party does best when we draw fine lines of distinction between ourselves and liberalism. We do best when we fight a reasoned and passionate fight against big government spending. For Mr. Fredericks to not only support big government spending increases and then attack anyone who dares defend the Republican creed is not only wrong on its face, but is dangerous as well.   Sadly this is something that Mr. Fredericks seems to have problems doing recently – after his ill timed attack on supporters of Scott Sayre (for the record – I was and remain a major supporter of Scott Sayre) and of Cynthia Dunbar supporters as well. His attacks on these patriots were/are extremely divisive and harmful to the party as we try to go forward. For those of you who may have forgotten – Mr. Fredericks stated that Sayre/Dunbar rounded up their delegates from Waffle Houses (aka suggesting that anyone who voted for either Sayre or Dunbar was white trash). And given that he is from Norfolk and likely spends next to no time in the Shenandoah Valley or Lynchburg/Roanoke –Mr. Fredericks would be best served minding his own business than in telling us Valley folk how to live our lives.  Given the current state of the Norfolk GOP, Mr. Fredericks would be best served helping the current Norfolk GOP Chair Cole Trower get a handle on why an area with a lot of military/defense voters is trending D instead of R.
Mr. Fredericks did not help the cause of getting Republicans elected in CD 6 with his interference and incredibly divisive statements – he only harmed the cause.   His spiking the football afterwards only inflamed the situation (publicly calling Sayre a crook on social media after Jennifer Brown won the Chair in CD 6). Some people think that it is against the rules to trash other Republicans. That may be nice and altruistic but in reality does not work well in practice. The fact is that nominating processes are horribly divisive at times and passions inflame in all of us. If Mr. Fredericks wants to attack a candidate – perfectly fine and legitimate.  Reasonable people can disagree. But it is the volunteers and the base which keep the party going – and for Mr. Fredericks to repeatedly be attacking Republican voters shows that he has become part of the problem, not part of the solution. For the record – each of us has been guilty of this – myself included.  What makes Mr. Fredericks different is not only has he continued to attack conservative warriors, but he is seeming to up the ante. If you see the picture at the top, you’ll clearly see that Mr. Fredericks is accusing a small government conservative of calling him names – something this woman clearly did not do.  All the woman (Susan Lascolette) making the comment said was “She’s lost her mindâ€. Unless I’m very wrong, John Fredericks is a he and not a she. Yet he goes onto think that any criticism of Senator Vogel is a criticism of himself personally. Quite frankly, Mr. Fredericks is out of his gourd.
The Virginia Republican Creed says and I quote: That fiscal responsibility and budgetary restraints must be exercised at all levels of government. Â The Tea Party was formed by people such as myself who were sick and tired of Republicans not following our own creed. Â Â Medicaid expansion has been a disaster everywhere it has been tried. People like Susan Lascolette, myself, and many others are properly worried about a massive increase in public spending at the federal local and state levels. Â Â The Liberty movement in the GOP has been increasing since the 1st Tea Party rallies since 2009. Â The fact that Mr. Fredericks cannot see or understand this is mind boggling. Â Â As recently as yesterday evening, he was still publicly taunting Dunbar supporters on FB. Â
Republicans are at their best when fighting the expansion of government, not enabling it. Â Donald Trump won in 2016 because he promised to fight the system – not fully fund dysfunctional legislators. Â Something Mr. Fredericks needs to remember.
58 comments
When Republicans are in the minority they run as conservatives. When Republicans like Wagner and Vogel are in the majority, there are no conservatives. Republicans like John Fredericks pals who supported medicaid are why Democrats like Ralph Northam have a better shot at being a future president.
Governor Ralph Northam has an excellent policy to the issues that I so frequently discuss here on this site.
Can you post that policy how,
it works and the fines that it brings in from the nocompliance
of Va laws?
Just so John Fredericks knows, many of us were trying to listen to your broadcast on Saturday at the 5th District meeting. We wanted to know what was going on in the meeting and what the Candidates and the Committee members actually had to say. Your continual non relevant talking during many of those times was very irritating! Many of us could careless about your opinions on unrelated matters during the times in which those that you did not agree with or align yourself with were on stage and talking. We wanted to know what was being said at the meeting and not to hear from you or others. Are you listening? Or will you just be talking to yourself?
If a CD wants to livestream events, probably a good idea, they need to contract specifically that out and not rely on 3rd parties.
He did explain that their microphones were set up for podium speakers and audio was garbled for any of the speeches. This was not a 5th CD livestream, it was the John Fredericks show, and it truly always is.
But he would put on the air those he wanted to and agreed with and then talk over those he did not want us to hear.
Yes, he was meddling in the election and making our flawed candidates look worse.
Rocinante the Great – can’t we just put you in charge of RPV and make everything all better? Since you can so very easily get to the heart of a situation and figure out what is wrong – at the very least you’d not make matters worse. Rocinante for RPV Chair I say!!!!
Sounds like a fate worse than death. The RPV is structured so as to be useless. Besides, if I were to attempt to challenge Chairman Whitbeck, my remains would never be found under a pile of rocks out near Tazewell.
You want to fix the RPV? You must first fix the SCC. Mr. Prados describes the difficulty in that.
No guts no glory. OK then – how’s about – Rocinante for RPV SCC Chair?
You’d have me challenge Voldemort directly? No more box lunches in comfy-seated air conditioned glory? No way in hell I’d survive.
I’m just an anonymous coward hiding behind a pseudonym that allows me to transverse the various political boundaries across the Commonwealth speaking Truth to Power.
Rocinante Rocinante Rocinante – you’re disappointing moi.
For this I am sorry. There are leaders, and there are candidates, and there are us trolls that toil quietly in the party in the hopes for the days of change.
We Morlocks exist so that you Eloi can make a better party for us all to embrace.
Thank you for differentiating between Liberty-minded GOP and the Libertyarianism Separatists.
Hi John, very thoughtful piece. Good job. I just have 5 clarifications:
1. Please call me John. The only people who call me Mr. Fredericks are my 14 year old’s friends and my high school level basketball players when preceded by “coach.â€
2. The “Waffle Houseâ€comment was not attributed to me- I never said it. It should be correctly attributed to Matt Colt Hall who said it on my show. I don’t monitor or restrict what my guests or callers say on my radio program. Personally I like Waffle House, but Krispey Cream is my all time my favorite.
3. I never said Scott Sayre was a “crook.†I did say he ran a crooked, convention that he tried to rig. I don’t believe I’m alone in that view. And yes I did endorse Jenifer Brown for chair and I headlined a fundraiser for her at Nancy Dye’s Home that was well publicized. Proud to do it.
4. My response to Susan Lascolette was a reply to a previous poster in that thread that ended up under her name. So not meant for Susan.
5. VP Mike Pence backed Medicaid Expansion as Gov. Of Indiana. Has he lost his way as a big government liberal? Tea Party champion Matt Blevin, Gov. of Kentucky, expanded Medicaid in the Bluegrass state. Has he lost his way as a big government liberal, too?
All in all though good job and I for one admire your passion. Keep fighting for what you believe in and let’s re-elect Trump in 2020! It’s all good!
My dear sir. You might want to check your podcast as you stated that Sayre and Dunbar supporters were recruited from Waffle Houses. You also posted on social media on May 19 these words. Crime doesn’t pay. We can parse words all you want, but the meaning is clear
We in CD6 need to come together and elect Ben Cline to Congress. With that in mind, it would be helpful if you and your friends in CD6 would quit talking about Dunbar. For us to win we’re going to need every Republican vote. And each time you or others trash Cynthia Dunbar or her supporters it makes our job more difficult.
Thanks.
LOL she just ran for US Congress again on Saturday, and was defeated around 4:00 pm est. I have not mentioned her since. Ben was on my show Monday.
And if you can continue to not mention her or her supporters it would be greatly appreciated.
I don’t report on yesterday’s news…so I’ll probably not have to cover Dunbar again for…the rest of my life!
Don’t bet on it.
Crime doesn’t pay in rigging conventions -that’s for sure!! And Jeniffer Brown can attest to that!
John: Medicaid expansion, regardless of who supports it, is welfare expansion. Somebody has to pay for someone else benefit, and eventually you run out of other people’s money. I argue that we already have as our national debt is either approaching or exceeding our GDP ( thank you Obama and Bush). President Trump, against the odds, is trying to create a surplus which, of course, will be blown on ever more welfare.
The goal is to lift up the working poor in Virginia until they can move up the economic ladder and get a better paying job which Trump Is providing through his economic policies. Then they can buy their own insurance. These people are working now- hard.
That is always the promise of the welfare state – and then reality hits. There are 50,000 homeless is San Francisco because of this type of thinking, and does anyone expect them to work? No. How about we create opportunity rather than create more welfare like the democrats want to do, and if people aren’t willing to seize the opportunity then they should live with the consequences of their folly.
At some point, you have to stop ripping off the working middle class and apply tough love to the situation. What this vote smacks of is short term political expediency with little consideration for any form of future fiscal and even citizen responsibility. President Trump won on trying to get the mess under control and here we are already spending the supposed surplus he is trying to create.
Yeah! I know! What I am saying is considered mean and uncaring. But I ask you, where do you think this will head once the Marxist Democrats and their socialist RINO friends get back in power. Do you really want a British National Health Service? Are you wealth enough to take medical vacations because that is where this all goes?
Finally, I suggest you read some of the studies of the vaunted British welfare system. Those on welfare have no real incentive to get off it because it is comfortable enough. Now with the impact of the Muslim immigration, the stresses are causing significant budget problems that can’t be resolved with ever increasing taxation. Sweden has already said that they will have to increase the retirement age – I don’t even have to wonder why although one of their government officials blames it on the elderly who up until 2015 were perfectly supportable by the Swedish taxpayer.
The recipients have to work. The alternative is they go to Emergeny rooms.
Then why is it a failure in other states. By the way, what is the definition of work?
Off your butt ,
On your feet,
Out of the shade
And in the heat. lol
40 hrs!
Maybe a half century ago, but work now has a legal definition that is far more expansive and far less demanding. 40 hrs, hah!
I guess my work ethic and they way that I pay including overtime is truly a thing of the past, a value of the past.
It is truly amazing how all the others here at TBE look over the facts of what I say about illegal and fraudulent employment in Virginia but cry about the Goverment dole. Even worse is that Republicans know that fraud decreases wages, promotes an underground economy but they could care less.
These folks need to give thought that these Goverment dole programs either exist because of their inaction and or exist to subsidize the wages of the labor that they allow to be suppressed.
The obvious lack of desire here at my age and what I can legally do with money is making me think that I need to rework my business into a 100% labor business.
You know do as the others are allowing and do, just look out for myself and my family.
Minimum 20 hours per month to qualify but it means you make more than the income to qualify for traditional medicaid or Obama care subsidies
John,
Be sitting back and reading
your comments as opposed to what I have posted leads me to believe that you lack concernand or knowledge as to what actually is keeping wages down in Virginia.
It appears that the majority of Republicans posting (leave out W and Roc) here only see what the Goverment (Republicans and Democrats) are handing out to assist Virginia families not what Republicans are taking off of these families table.
I have been in full support of Stewart for the Primary then onto November but at this point other than R and W you guys make a good argument to vote Democrat
across the board.
If you don’t know what I write of question Newman and Byron and tell Virginia Republicans (irony here) get to work.
Americans don’t want to work is a lie, Republicans don’t want to work is the truth.
JLARC427
Rogue Subcontractors Undermine Va’s Legal Workforce by Kenric Ward of Watchdog.org
Read the Joint Legislative report and the story.
Get with it.
I asked the question about what is work for the very reason that work does not have to be full time. Further, there are a number of exceptions in other states that eliminate the work requirement altogether and only deal with income. In other words, you can be looking for work, going to school, care giving, disabled, and more as exceptions to actual work. From a pie chart I saw about 40% of the medicaid recipients actually have a full time job. Something like 9 states have asked for waivers to the work requirement so that you don’t even have to work to get medicaid payments.
This is the problem with the welfare state. There is always a tendency to reduce or even eliminate the requirements once the program is in place. Social security has spread out payments well beyond the initial clientele and includes a lot of people who have never or never will work – or even to illegal aliens.
In the state of Illinois, they have what are called bread winners, these are young women who are expected to have many babies as possible and then turn them over to their grandmothers who provide legal foster care. Each child is worth $1500/month and the average is something like 8 kids, thus grandma picks up nearly a $144k per year. The bread winner qualifies for all the various welfare benefits including Medicaid, WIC, free food card, telephone, and more. The muslim community has not missed this money-making opportunity and with multiple wives the number of children is 11 and rising. We certainly want this for Virginia don’t we? Somebody once said that the road to hell is paved with good intention. I no longer believe that good intentions are involved. The road to hell is paved by craven politicians.
No, they do not have to work. That didn’t make the final bill.
Baloney. Medicaid has a lousy $3 copay but care cannot be denied if the Medicaid enrollee doesn’t pay!! This is just a Democrat boondoggle that you got roped in on. Shame on you, you should know better.
How does Medicaid lift up the working poor? That’s just a Democrat talking point that you fell for. No hospital can refuse treatment; just ask any illegal alien. When a “working poor” person works, won’t she more often than not qualify for some kind of coverage? If they are WORKING poor, why are there unenforceable work requirements in the law? The big winners are the hospital corporations that AGREED to a $600 million tax! What?? You got snookered and won’t admit it.
Ok, you work at a minimum wage job and you work at on weekends to make ends meet to live – your goal is to move up the economic ladder to not need the expanded insurance anymore. Why is that so hard to fathom?
The problem, John, is that only applies to a minority of the medicaid served population at best. It also assumes that there is a personal motivation to move up the economic ladder. Unfortunately, as the British study shows, many folks who might work like you are suggesting are satisfied with their situation because welfare payments are nearly as good as work — so if you get fired or don’t want to work you end up on the welfare plantation.
I had a maiden aunt who was in the “poor” category. She managed her income so that she always stayed below the legal poverty threshold. The jump from welfare to work was just too great and thus there was no incentive to work.
Why am I responsible for bad decisions others make? The minimum wager probably didn’t work in school and so becomes my responsibility? Where is her family to help her? Like I said earlier, you and your like minded friends should set up a voluntary contribution fund for all the “good” people like you to donate some serious $$$.
Medicaid expansion will never teache anyone any responsibility and is funded by money confiscated from ME and MY family. Does your minimum wager have a good car? No? How about an Autocaid program? Good living quarters? No? Wait, we already have housing assistance. It never ends but it must.
Trump said he would make sure that employers are using the hb program properly.
Can you elaborate on how this is currently being accomplished ?
Or if he is even sticking to his word on that.
How?
Medicaid “expansion” means it is now a middle class (138% of the federal poverty level IS the middle class) welfare handout. Why don’t you use your show to call for a voluntary donation program where you, the RINOs in Richmond, and all the Democrats can send YOUR own money, instead of mine, to fund this coming boondoggle?
We have a President who wants to eliminate Obamacare and all its subsidies, including the Medicaid subsidies for extending the program into the middle class. Do you really think the feds are going to pick up 90% of new costs? Even if they do, who’s paying the other 10% in new expenditures? That would be me and all the other TAXPAYERS in Virginia.
Even Mike Pence can make a mistake early on in the program. By now, you should know better. Suggest you contact Virginians for Quality Healthcare or Middle Resolution for an education you sorely need.
What about Tea Party icon & conservative liberty GOV of Kentucky Matt Blevin? Is he a RINO too? Maybe he just thought it was good for lower income working poor Kentucky residents? He did it last year.
The TEA Party wants illegal
immigrants gone.
Trump and Americans who voted for him want the Wall.
Democrats want to end Employee Misclassification.
How about The Republican Majority get with it.
1)Fund the Wall
2) End Illegal Immigration
3) End Employee Misclassification by withholding States Federal Unemployment Funding ?
Right before Labor Day
irony “Labor Day ”
NO minimum wage,
NO BS
Then Republicans sweep the election in November and they can rework on realistic trade deals.
To much or to scared of the working men and women of America.
Take it out of the hands of the Dems and the NLRB.
Or suffer the consequences.
Oh yea,
E-Verify (including the 1099).
You see John not only does this help ***legal wages*** it ends payroll, tax and workers compensation insurance fraud.
Now that would be
“Statesmanship”
He was wrong, too. What about all the governors, like Greg Abbott (TX) who refused to expand? Why not expound on that for a bit instead of hiding behind 2 Republicans who lost their way on the issue?
Early in his career Bernbach perceived that although research had its place in persuasion, there was something more—something completely unquantifiable: “The truth isn’t the truth until people believe you and they can’t believe you if they don’t know what you’re saying; and they can’t know what you’re saying if they don’t listen to you; and they won’t listen to you if you’re not interesting. And you won’t be interesting unless you say things freshly, originally, imaginatively.â€
I have copied a well known saying of Bill Bernbach here in support
Of John Fredericks .
It’s a radio program..It’s an art , not a science .
It’s about the power to persuade as stated above .
If others on this post want something else ..well , there
Are places you can here similar things to Orwell’s
“War is Peace …Peace is War “
If people want an electorate like that …fine
Let Fredericks run his radio show and media according
To his best judgement ..let others post informative ideas
To their best judgement
Please…let’s move on with it all.
Wow what a brilliant post! Kind of like: let John be John! I’m framing this Richard: very astute!
Stay the course !!!
So here’s an idea for all of the posters here! instead of bashing everybody, why not put that energy to work to elect Republicans so Pelosi doesn’t take over. Then go fight with each other again on November 10. Thats what the Dems do. What do you think?
Maybe you didn’t get the point of the post. You my dear sir have led the way in bashing others – mostly those who are patriots. It is rather hypocritical of you to lead the way in bashing people and then suggest that others (most of whom you disagree with) don’t bash back. You started this, and escalated it and extended the negativity.
Me – I will go on to knocking on doors for soon to be Congressman Ben Cline in Shenandoah County. But your selective memory is quite shocking – when it comes to bashing of patriots.
Hello John
That sounds like an excellent suggestion.
For those “below the fold†of the original post
Who are so passionate in their beliefs , perhaps
Get on WordPress , get a blog , put themselves
Out there , do the work to attract a following and
Take that risk in the market.
Wellll, see the link below for one good reason. Let us not forget Republicans promised for seven long years to repeal and replace Obamacare. Not only replace Obamacare, but replace it with something better for all Americans. Is the link below a lie, John? So did Trump promise. And John, didn’t Trump also promise to bring the troops home during his campaign? Hasn’t he done quite the opposite? The question is why do you think members of our military would vote for Trump when it increases the likelyhood they will be away from their families or be killed fighting some worthless Republican war? You really think our military rank and file are that stupid? You really think members of our military want to die for Trump and the rest of the inside the beltway dung? And, Trump lowering the office of the presidency by meeting with a third world banana dictator who had his own step brother assassinated with a chemical weapon in a foreign airport. Whoever your preist is John, please tell him I said he is a complete failure in my opinion.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=y8mcN0zweQE
It sounds like you are saying that VA dems are focused upon winning in November and VA gops are not?
Why would we want to change our standard operating procedure?
As a Conservative Independent It is obvious as to where Va. Republicans are failing the working class and the handouts, I am still against them. Men must pick themselves up by their boot laces 40 to 48 a week.
Roc,
The narrow views that are expressed here are giving great concern.
I am a Trump voter and supporter but I don’t feel that others here are.
Trump said that he would make sure that employers are using the hb program properly.
I have yet to wittness Va Republicans assist him in this endeavor.
“The truth isn’t the truth until people believe you.” This is patently wrong, and the rest could just as easily be a peon to the persuasion of demagoguery as well as anything else. Until people begin to deal with fundamental truths qua presuppositional organizing principles of civilizations dysfunction will continue to rule over the American people to the purpose of their total destruction.
That you thought Statman’s post to be a work of genius appears to speak to a deficiency of judgement, perhaps even to a lack of education. As is usual, you are safely ensconced within the box of ‘acceptable’ banter and never take the bull of our discontent straight on by the horns.
Funny, but I don’t associate Waffle House patrons as white trash.
I am not sure you can link Trump to the brand of liberty being supported here in Virginia.
Why not?
Hear Hear!