One candidate emerged as the clear winner of yesterday’s 10th District Congressional debate, Stephen Hollingshead. He was knowledgeable, personable, smart, and funny, overall a very attractive candidate. He was clearly the crowd favorite. Following the debate I spoke with many observers and every one of them liked Hollingshead. Even Comstock supporters said positive things about him, such as “I still support Barbara, but I really like that guy.” Other activists from Loudoun said, “He’s just who we need,” or, “He’ll be a great candidate for us,” and “He’s our future.”
The response to Hollingshead was overwhelmingly positive. He worked for the Bush administration and saved billions of taxpayer dollars rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in HUD. He’s run small businesses and large businesses, and knows how government regulations are strangling businesses, hurting the economy and keeping unemployment high. He understands economics and foreign relations. Like James Madison, he does not support term limits. If one third of our Congress are lame ducks, he reasoned, those members will have no incentive to do anything for the voters, “working only to feather their own nest.” He spoke about the need for less government in our lives and fewer government regulations. Hollingshead’s oft repeated refrain, “it’s time for the government to just Stop It!”
The biggest loser of the evening was Delegate Bob Marshall. He told us too many times how many elections he had won, against all odds. Worse for him was his terrible closing speech in which he attacked Delegate Barbara Comstock by stretching the truth on some of her votes on social issues. While he garnered cheers from some of his most ardent supporters, his closing comments were way over the top. We know that Bob Marshall is very conservative and will never waiver, there was no need for him to go after Comtock like he did.
We now know that candidate Rob Wasinger actually exists, but the question remains, why is he running for Congress? He spent no time with voters before the debate, waiting until the last minute before making an appearance. He had no signs, no bumper stickers, no palm cards, and no visible supporters. During the debate, he did nothing to help his campaign, other than mentioning several times that he was not establishment, more like Ted Cruz and Rand Paul. Several times he criticized the Green Ninja program. He supports term limits. At times he was so soft spoken that we wondered if his microphone was on.
Howie Lind did a good job, clearly a candidate who wants to stand up for us in Congress, one who will insist we learn what happened in Benghazi and the IRS scandal. His refrain, “Enough is Enough!” Howie is the only military veteran in this race and he cares very much about the defense of our country and a foreign policy that will protect us and gain respect around the world, things we have lost under this administration. Howie is not an establishment candidate and he firmly supports term limits, 6 years for House members and 12 for Senators.
Marc Savitt, a small business man, did little to help his campaign although he seemed be a nice man who repeatedly told us he cares about people. He’s also testified on Capitol Hill a number of times. There wasn’t much in his performance that was memorable. Savitt supports term limits.
Barbara Comstock did nothing to hurt her campaign but said little that was new, surprising, or different. Much of what she said was predictable for a republican candidate. She believes energy independence will help with our foreign policy, helping the U.S. to stay strong and independent and help to lower our unemployment. Offshore drilling and the Keystone pipeline are two things that will help toward a goal of energy independence She mentioned several times that she knows how to win elections, having won repeatedly. She is opposed to term limits, voters should have a choice.
The debate surprise was Stephen Hollingshead, clearly the crowd favorite. No Congressman has ever come from Loudoun County. Will Stephen Hollingshead change that? If he continues to impress as he did on Saturday, perhaps Loudoun County will finally have a representative in Congress.
10 comments
I attended Saturday’s debate as well. Going into the debate, I was favoring Howie Lind. Being a military veteran myself and his passion for getting to the bottom of the so-called “phony scandals,” such as Benghazi, are positives. I am also amenable to term limits (believed he said 6 terms, not 6 years, for members of Congress). However, as the debate progressed, I became more impressed with Stephen Hollingshead.
Although one person posting here believed him to be “arrogant” and “pompous,” I found him becoming more comfortable with the forum and demonstrating a command of the issues. As another post indicated, his response to the question on immigration did generate some boos from the audience BUT he was the one candidate that actually answered the question that was put forth. I believe it was an effort to convey some level of accountability for those individuals here illegally without merely saying he is opposed to amnesty.
The last thing we need in Washington to restore fiscal sanity, create real job
growth, and a brighter future for generations to come is another career
politician. For these reasons, I am supporting Stephen Hollingshead.
Is it not amazing how different people at the same place at the same time see something totally different. It is almost like this reporter was a member of Mr Hollingsheads campaign and had this pretty well written before she arrived. To me, and I sat right up front on the same side of the auditorium as the candidates, He came accross very pompous and arrogant, posturing ad nauseum before each answer. Frankly I saw or heard nothing that would suggest that there was a clear winner. I am supporting Marc Savitt because I have known and worked with him in a business envrironment. And, as a partisan I thought he did quite well. Marc is a man of his word and not one to be swayed by undue influence. Character and Intergrity are his hallmarks. Having run a small business for over 30 years he certainly has demonstrated his ability to be sucessful. Lind and Wasinger need to pull out in my opinion
I was surprised as everyone else at Hollingshead’s performance.
Maury – you don’t do Marc Savitt any favors by accusing Jeanine of bias. Attacking well-known and well-liked bloggers and/or party activists is a good way to get your candidate to join Wasinger in being ignored and reviled by pretty much everyone. It’s also known as the Weinberg Effect™. Just a thought. =)
Telling the truth is not breaking Reagan’s 11th commandment. Bob Marshall was simply stating Comstock’s voting record and her seeming lack of reservation from whom she will accept campaign contributions. This is perfectly allowable in a debate.
Telling the truth is a 1st amendment right and should not be squashed or looked down upon. As Tertulian once said, “The first reaction to truth is hatred.”
Delegate Marshall should be commended for exposing a vote on allowing abortions to be covered in Obamacare, also voting to allow birth control pills to be sold over the counter like cold meds to 18 yr olds which in turn can be sold to minors. Delegate Comstock received a 100% rating from NARAL for the birth control pill vote. On top of those two votes, taking large donations from two gay activists… well it doesn’t speak well of conservatism.
There are some good candidates in this race but Bob Marshall was also the only candidate that mentioned the sanctity of life and trad. marriage. This topic has been avoided in the last two presidential elections and the most recent
gubernatorial one.
Coming across as a moderate has not won us any elections recently. We must motivate the base which includes conservative, Judeo-Christian values not abortion and the endorsement of gay marriage.
There were two errors in the headline about the Saturday
debate conducted by the Loudoun County Republican Committee. The first
error (now corrected) was that the candidate’s name was misspelled. The
second is the characterization that the crowd at the debate was “won
over” by Stephen Hollingshead.
Mr. Hollingshead is a very personable and courteous gentleman. However, the reporter failed to mention in her piece that of all of the candidates speaking yesterday, only one, Mr. Hollingshead, was actually booed by the crowd for comments he made on immigration policy. Why this fact was left out I cannot say. But it certainly calls to question the credibility of the assertion that Mr.
Hollingshead won over the crowd. Bob Marshall was clearly the crowd
pleaser at yesterday’s debate in terms of quantity and intensity of audience
responses. If accurately citing facts relating to the publicly posted
comments of a candidate on that candidate’s own Delegate website or restating
characterizations of an opponent’s position on Medicaid expansion as published in the Richmond Times Dispatch can be characterized as “over the top,” the “top” must be a pretty low bar indeed.
I am big fan of Bob Marshall but his closing remarks were over the top and mischaracterized Barbara Comstock’s positions and votes. He was booed by people sitting near me. He did himself no favors. Just my view, your mileage may vary.
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Isn’t it Hollingshead?
Yes! Thank you. Don’t know how I missed that.