When I was a kid, boy, I must be getting old because I seem to start more and more of these post this way. But when I was in school and first getting acquainted with Virginia politics, I met a member of the House of Delegates named Bob Andrews from McLean. Bob was a liberal Republican, he voted right on a few things but mostly voted the way the Democrats wanted.
Now, Bob was such as obscure figure that I doubt there is a picture of him on google, but let me describe him. He looked just like the character Dean Travers in the old sitcom Three’s Company. For those of you that don’t remember Dean was Jack Tripper’s cooking instructor. But I digress.
Well at the time Democrats controlled the General Assembly, so they got to redraw the legislative districts every 10 years. Most Republicans lived in fear that they would be drawn out. Most Republicans, but not Bob. Why not you ask. Well, Bob let it slip one night at a party in McLean. A GOP activist asked him, “Why aren’t you afraid that the Dems will redistrict you? “Bob, responded with a smug look on his face, “I vote with them most of the time, they won’t get rid of me.”
Well, they did get rid of him. You see despite his shall we say moderate voting record, Democrats in Richmond wanted a fellow Democrat. Sure, Bob didn’t vote with the Republicans often, but they didn’t need him when they could get the genuine article, that is another Democrat.
Well, fast forward a couple decades and another McLean Republican, Rep. Barbara Comstock, is thinking of adopting the Bob Andrews strategy. Buck the Republican leadership, on the hopes of appeasing enough Democrats and keep your seat.
Word on the street is that Barbara Comstock is going to buck the Trump agenda. My guess is she won’t vote for a single Trump priority, all in the hopes of keeping her seat in toney Great Falls and McLean.
Let me tell you it won’t work. The best political strategy for her, and for virtually all other House Republicans, is to embrace Trump. Work to get good legislation passed. And talk about future good bills to work on. Rank and file Republicans want their member to work with Trump not against him.
And Barbara, Jim Moran has several more ex-wives Democrats can nominate. And no matter how anti Trump you become, heck you can demand that Trump be impeached tomorrow morning, it won’t matter, Democrats will still vote for Moran’s ex-wife, or whomever else they nominate.
Barbara, may I call you Barbara, please stick with the people that elected you, Republicans, don’t become another Bob Andrews.
14 comments
The Rino worked at the Republican table at the SKG Hampton gun show this weekend. A few things come to mind.
Why do Virginia republicans ignore gun shows so much ?? There will be gun shows at Dale City, Salem, Chantilly, Goochland, Roanoke, Richmond, Manassas, Fishersville, Norfolk, Fredericksburg, Hampton, Harrisonburg, Virginia Beach, and Doswell between now and the election. The Rino will work at the Hampton show in September, but will anyone even bother to show up at the others? About 5,000 people came to the show this past weekend. People who go to gun shows are not real fond of democrats. It is a easy sell..
Bought a Boker Plus Reality-Based Jim Wagner at the gun show yesterday It is a really nice knife. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/81737bfd1fa1bc0324e1ad3e8304757de8309af26e88f19096c226502de8873e.jpg
One thing that surprised me is how many people are upset because republicans are ignoring their campaign promises from last fall. The 2018 election will be here sooner then you think. To my way of thinking, it is NOT a good sign when conservative Republicans are already talking about voting for democrats if necessary to get rid of the lying SOB’s. No, not a good sign.
I like Cathy Gillespie, she is a good person. And she was wiling to come to Hampton gun show and talk to people. Maybe she should run against Comstock.
Great Article!
“Thinking of adopting the Bob Andrews strategy?” … I would say she has adopted it from Day One. According to Conservative Review, in her two years in the House Comstock has taken 3 conservative votes and 14 liberal votes, to wind up with a Liberty Score of “F” (19%). This is a lower score than many Democrats! Even John Lewis of Georgia has a Liberty Score of 20%. In other words, chances are significantly better than zero that conservatives could fare better with an actual Democrat in this seat … and there are not a whole lot of Republicans about whom this could be said.
She voted with the Trump admin on a recent amendment to the Defense Authorization Act, and conservatives blasted her for it. The reality is no matter what she does, people like you are just going to hate her. Because it’s not about policy any more, it’s about picking up the latest “hate this person” cause your favorite commentator comes up with and hating them blindly.
Seriously? Comstock, who hates Trump, voted for taxpayers to continue funding transgender surgery in the military because that’s what Trump wanted? And yet Paul Ryan and 216 other Republicans didn’t get the memo from Trump/Mattis on how to vote? That’s laughable.
I could write a page that would counter your claims. But, bottom line, if what you say is correct? Then why not just primary Comstock with a Limbaugh/Trump type Republican who never told the truth about anything in their life? Presto, according to you, wouldn’t they easily win in a landslide in the 10th? Just like Cuccinelli?
I’ve never been a fan of Comstock other than her no vote on Trumpcare. However, she has been very successful in getting re-elected. Neither you nor I are qualified to tell her how to run her campaign.
As far as “embrace Trump”? Which Trump, campaign or president Trimp? If you have not figured it out yet? US intelligence agencies and congress have and are leaking all things Trump/Russian. They evidently have been watching Trump and his campaign for years. Both party’s know about Trump’s Russian workings via secret intelligence gathered in the course of their regular monitoring of Russian activities. That is why Sessions and Rosenstein turned a special prosecutor loose on Trump. All that secret info that we do not get to see, well, they and members of Congress have had since it happened last year. Trump will not be able to lie about it in the end, as they have him via recordings and e mails. They are just letting Trump self-destruct.
This is what prompted Trumps wiretap tweets months ago. He found out that US intelligence was watching everybody’s contacts with the Russians, including his and his campaign. Not because Obama told them to, but because it’s their job.
Wow! You take conspiracy theories to whole new level. ?
Don’t feed the trolls!
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How could they possibly have watched the Trump campaign “for years”. That would require that they monitor the campaign before there ever was a campaign.
As far as the leaks go, anyone in the intelligence community who has leaked information has committed a crime and should be fired. The leaks are designed to destroy a president that they don’t like. Period. Your attempt to put a halo on criminals (yes, those who leak government secrets are criminals) is truly laughable.
I would also caution you against being so gullible as to believe all the so-called leaks. When the information comes from people identified only as “sources,” we have no idea what’s true and what isn’t. The “source” could be the janitor for all we know. Never automatically believe someone with an agenda.