Without hesitation, I will be voting for Barbara Comstock for Congress. I have heard some “conservatives” say she doesn’t vote the right way so they won’t support her. I can only speak from my viewpoint and I feel confident in my conservative cred. Congresswoman Comstock cares about her district and did not want to see the government shut down. This appears to be the biggest hit on her. With a large part of her district being made up of Federal employees and contractors who work with the government and the impact last felt when the government shut down, she chose to do the right thing for her constituents. I also am very aware of how well the last shut down worked out. Not well is an understatement.
Perhaps just as importantly, Mrs. Comstock is always out in the community she serves. She has more energy and drive than virtually anyone I have known over the years. She is often in Loudoun and knows this area well. Her opponent probably spells this county, Loudon and wouldn’t know Sterling from Round Hill. It is vital that we retain someone who knows our community, works hard at constituent service and follows a long honored tradition of Frank Wolf.
If we lose the 10th district then some can stick their chest out and say “yep see what we did”. Then we suffer with a liberal who will not think twice of raising taxes and being a patsy for the Democrat leadership. I want Barbara Comstock representing my interests and my Country and support her without reservation.
48 comments
As others have noted, it is very ironic how Comstock badly needs Trump voters to keep her seat. Worst case scenario -and Bennett rides a Clinton’s tsunami to a narrow win, I feel like Bennett would lose her re-election bid in 2018 to someone like Dick Black or Randy Minchew. Bennett is Northern Virginia’s Tom Perriello.
Now, that’s interesting. I’d rather see either Dick Black or Randy Minchew in her seat. If Comstock loses, 2018 will be a free for all. You’d have 10 Republicans in the primary.
No primary, 10th district committee should decide– finally we’ll see the best nominee money can buy!!!
My fervent prayer right now is that Comstock wins…..by the barest % point so that it delivers a huge wake-up call and hopefully a powerful primary opponent the next time, while shielding the 10th from another empty suit carpet bagger looking to rejoin the junket brigade!!!
According to Larry Sabato’s “Crystal Ball,”
updated this morning, there are now 16 Republican-held House of
Representatives seats in the “Toss-Up” category, with VA-10 being
one of them.
Also of interest here in Virginia, Sabato has VA-05 (Democrat Jane Dittmar vs. far-right Republican Tom Garrett) at “Leans Republican,” and VA-04 (soon-to-be Congressman
Donald McEachin against Republican Mike Wade) as “Safe Democratic.”
If Democrats win all of those, Democrats will go from a current 8-3 deficit in the
Virginia House delegation to a 6-5 majority, which is where things were
prior to the 2010 Tea Party pyrrhic victory.
Also check out the Cook Political Report, which just moved VA-10
into the “Toss Up column.”
Sabato though Comstock-Faust was going to be one of the tightest races nationally too.
Oh good, then the Dems would cast VA house vote for Trump.
If I understand her reelection campaign strategy correctly you could sum it up by laying it out as follows:
1. Rejection of her own parties presidential nominee and it’s Republican base in her district while still NOT being able to avoid being thoroughly painted with the Republican Trump party association agenda and policies by her Democratic opponent, and damaging this solid Trump base support in the process, which she currently appears now to require to need to put her over the top in a close race,
2. Constantly stressing and returning to her role as “legislator” in a Republican majority House which has been widely accused over the past two years in the main stream media press and even by many core base Republican voter segments of having produced no issue or problem addressing legislation of any consequence thereby handing the opponent an easy target to latch on to and exploit turning her own claims against her,
3. Being either totally oblivious or just political naive campaign strategy wise to the reality of this being a Clinton based presidential voting cycle and betting her election on the willingness of her NoVA independent vote with Democratic leanings to split their ticket in significant enough large numbers to carry her past the Clinton bump, a political historical trend that is not only uncommon but rarely occurs in a presidential cycle,
4. Projecting herself as a legislator that “reaches across the aisle” when the plain facts have clearly documented that there has been NO reaching across the aisle during the Obama administration except to adhere to the budget requirement demands of the Democratic administration outside of two significant cases, both of which she OPPOSED, calling the Obama bluff on a government shutdown and immigration reform,
5. Resorting to a far too significant amount of personal attacks on her opponent which have given a low name recognition, largely unknown political newcomer a leg up even within her own Democratic base, a silly and often interpreted desperate tactical faux-pas to be seen coming from the elected incumbent,
6. and finally (but certainly not the last on my far from comprehensive opinion list) is her and her team’s inability to position her as either fish or fowl in the Republican tent, conservative one week, a moderate accommodating the Democratic agenda the next, something for everyone but in point of fact a political chameleon that no voter truly bonds with.
My point here is by no means to dissuade or try to convince any Republican voter to either withhold or deny a vote to Comstock in 2016. My point is addressed unfortunately to the nearsighted and confused individuals like the author above in the 10th District. District Republican voters will not be Constock’s downfall (which the author seems all to ready to lay the blame upon) but the candidate herself and her team’s and associates approach both to the job and her re-election efforts.
Whether it is this cycle or one shortly down the election road unless there is significant change the writing is already on the wall regarding her ability to survive. Want to really help her out, rescind her re-election primary for lifetime grant and open the district’s Republican primaries to new ideas and approaches that will stimulate new thinking and ideas to hold the seat. She needs to learn her trade and she isn’t going to do it without the pressure and stimulation of some internal competition. If you believe you can hold on as is you are not facing the facts.
Well said.
I don’t want to be seen as piling on (but I will). I think Comstock got overly confident. Her initial win was by a large margin (16 points I think) but her current campaign team hasn’t grasped how bad her opponent was the first time and now completely misread the electorate and how to get re-elected. As a “newbie” she got a lot of grace. Now, we see how she is in her position. I’d like to think she’ll learn from this election cycle and improve in future years but 1) I’m not sure she will win and 2) as I’ve stated before she comes across as a social climber with no real interest in the job and no real heart for republican values. 1 can be won. 2 is a bigger problem.
I agree. Her 16 point win was two factors….(1) Non-presidential election year; and (2) John Faust was a very weak opponent.
Yes and Luanne is not much better, but are we foolish enough to forfeit a sitting Republican?
I’m voting for Comstock. My prediction is she’ll hold the seat 53-47, but she’ll thank western Loudoun and Clarke counties in particular. She’ll also realize that her distance herself from Trump strategy didn’t help her much in Fairfax and eastern Loudoun.
Between ‘Right Call’ Comstock and Ray Allen, we might see every conceivable political mistake being made. But this is the season of weird, That could be the magic formula this time around.
She should but she won’t and it will be back to business as usual would be my prediction.
We created her, we should repeal or replace her, in a primary. It would be better in a lot of ways… like teepees.
All this is very true, and a very cogent summary. But the best political course of action is to help Donald Trump elect Barbara Comstock and bring her to GOP justice after the election, without forfeiting the seat. I can think of no better way of monkey wrenching Congress than sending Barbara Comstock back to Congress.
I don’t disagree but I have some grave doubts it can be done. We are 19 days out and the strategy (if you can call it that) is in place and my opinion of Comstock is she is not a listener. I appreciate the fact that you are looking at the big picture but unfortunately the typical individual voter in my opinion generally looks at the ballot pull as a single transaction based on the candidate not party seat implications.
She and the 10th District have poisoned her own well and the “Cantor-est” advice she seems to feel comfortable with and employ is just encouraging her to drink up. She needs to step outside her handlers and speak directly to the voters from the heart and with some compassion and commitment to change her ways in the future. Well never happen but one thing that should happen if she does lose is a complete and through house cleaning of the 10th District leadership. If the Republican Party of Virginia has any hope it must start removing the incompetent and just plain deadwood out of the district units and open the organization up to a younger generation with fresh ideas and approaches.
I want to disagree, but I can’t.
“incompetent, surrender monkeys”
Hilarious.
Comstock started her political career . . . and built her political career . . . on being an attack dog, hounding the Clinton’s. She hasn’t changed. We need people who are interested in governing, not in playing gotcha.
That’s why we alt-right are so crazy about her. #MAGA #BABS
If Comstock cared about Republicans’ opinions as much as she does Democrats who will never support her anyway, then she wouldn’t be in the predicament she is in and getting everyone and their brother to write something in support of her. For those not in the area, our local papers are flooded with Comstock form letters.
As stated, now is not the time to vote against Comstock. That is what primaries are for.
Damn the torpedoes. Full steam ahead. Vote for Comstock!
So, we can rest assured that you voting for Comstock has absolutely nothing to do with you being an elected Republican professional politician in office since 1990?
Losing freshman Comstock will have little to no effect on the US House. Freshmen members are nothing but telephone fund raisers. The House will remain Republican with Ryan in charge.
There will most likely be no better time than now to dump Comstock. Does any member of the house signify more what is wrong with America than Comstock?
Just search “Barbara Comstock on Bull Elephant” and see what they have written about Comstock in the last 2 years. Here is one sample below. There are many more great Bull Elephant articles on her, see for yourself what this very blog has said about her in the past. No need to look further.
http://thebullelephant.com/how-comstock-stole-liberty/
“There will most likely be no better time than now to dump Comstock.”
I agree with nearly every complaint about Comstock, except that one. On Nov 8th, we should support her. The best time to think about replacing her is November 9th. If Bennett becomes an incumbent in that seat, our chances of getting anyone more conservative than Comstock goes right down the drain.
The Bull Elephant has spent the last 2 years making an excellent case for the dismissal of Comstock. About all that I do is to present facts that thankfully others have brought to our attention. I have not hacker nor stolen this info, just resurfaced it.
Just like Wiki Leaks does with Clinton, I will release more reasons for her dismissal between now and November 8.
Stay tuned as I give the establishment the finger!
The GOP is going to get their rear handed to them in both the House and Senate. There hasn’t been a peep out of any of them about this crap the Dems have been pulling. The GOP leadership would rather bitch about Trump than these direct assaults on our constitutional form of government.
Yes, the hell to pay comes due on the 9th.
We have plenty of reasons, it will be much more fun to do it in a primary, why should Brat get all the fun? Better to make the statement that it is the GOP that is bagging RINOs rather than letting ol Rednecks of the democrat party take the credit.
People need to do two things;
1) The opposite of what you say to do.
2) Ask just who’s payroll are you on.
Why don’t you explain why Comstock, along with Hillary Clinton, appears to be one of the top recipients of money from the Seafarers International Union PAC ? You will find Comstock’s name just a few below Hillary’s in this link to open secrets;
https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000000145
With anti-union legislation on the Virginia ballot this November, being put there by Republicans, why would any union PAC give $10,000 to a Republican?
Why did a Union throw $10,000 at you Barbara? What did you do for them?
It would appear that Comstock and Hillary each have a straw sucking out of the same union glass. And, just why is it that you went turncoat on your party nominee Barbara?
I totally understand your position.
1) not opposite of EVERYTHING I say, I’m usually omniscient and prescient about my political reasoning.
2) I wish I could be one of those few who actually made money from this game, but the pros’ seem to trade friends, family, and soul for their income, I choose to carefully maintain my amateur status. (Now if I could get some of that TBE jackpot, or got paid by the butthurt essays, I could retire.)
Seafarers Union…. hmmmm… would this be one where we might drift off our bearing? Or is that just BS??
It should be no surprise that a union backed Hillary, or that they want to influence Congressmen, it’s what they do.
The typical pattern is that corporations back GOP and unions back democrat party and both walk arm in arm screwing over everyone else.
There are some anomalies and decent unions and corporations that do not, but my generalization works.
Barbara is the perfect example of the flaws and general decay of the GOP, she exemplifies how the GOP destroys our brand, waters down our principles, and puts personality (ceteris paribus) over partisanship.
But the party should be the one rejecting her, not the electorate, it’s our fault. If the dog craps in the foyer, one doesn’t invite guests in to admire the crap, or request they clean it up, we should know, and not be forced to learn, to clean up our own messes.
It is for this reason that I feel that exchanging Representatives should be done at a party level. (She may then choose the instrument of her own rejection, and the party will then comply.)
We must re-elect Barbara in order to properly defeat her! (mmm, delicious irony)
“Seafarers Union…. hmmmm… would this be one where we might drift off our bearing? Or is that just BS?? “https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c29768edd65032bd91a057ea675deb7bbfa00510309d334ca9d6f8e1dbff007b.jpg
,.,. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/fcc144556014b211ddb469de6acb9aacee706b758ef01b0848990f3312d81e6b.jpg
You must really think people are that stupid.
No, I don’t think people are that stupid, they are our last best hope for freedom.
Choosing or doing something that results in a dem over our nominees is stupid.
I just prefer to use the right tool for the job, For Trump it is this election, for Barbara it is her next nomination.
And yet, not a word out of you about Dave Brat??????
I want a Dave Brat, I want a Dave Brat-like to decisively defeat Babs in a party nomination process.
One step at a time!
Of course follow the money, its how you tell who is bought and paid for.
She may be an SOB, but she’s our SOB. If anyone is going to bounce BABS, it will be the 10th district GOP! Luanne is the cowards way out!
Most conservative outlets aren’t very fond of her voting record. She’s the lowest rated Repub congressman in VA and in the bottom 10% of Repubs nationwide.
Heritage Foundation = 48%
Freedomworks = 60
ACU = 50
Conservative Review = 20
Now is she still better than Bennett on most things, probably.
The 10th has been slowly committing demographic suicide for several years, so she’s probably the best we’re going to get.
We can do better, but not here, not now.
I am one who has had issues with Barbara’s voting record and didn’t support her in the usual ways but I always intended to vote for her! LuAnn Bennett is totally unacceptable! But I now find myself in a strange position of having to try and convince voters, especially women that they just can’t leave an undervote for the 10th Congressional position. When Barbara said she thought Trump should “step aside” that was an incredibly foolish statement. I wonder if she has any idea what this unforced error could cost her.
Gee, imagine if Babs would have taken this line of logic in stating Hillary is totally unacceptable and give the Republican nominee her support.
I saw no evidence that Comstock ever reached out to Trump directly to maybe have a lunch to work out their differences. Comstock definitely has legitimate concerns about Trump’s temperament. Trump would have returned that phone call especially to try to make in-roads in the NOVA suburbs. I feel like Frank Wolf would have done that.
Barbara is all about Barbara… someone on this thread has already aptly called her a social climber; can’t say I disagree with that assessment. Republicans like Comstock would do better if they fought against Democrats as hard as they do against Republicans.
Amen!
Barbara dropped Trump like a bad habit as soon as she was possibly able to do so. Her heart was never with the nominee. (She’d certainly blend well with some of the #nevers here essaying, posting, and commenting.) She’s no Frank Wolf.
Of course we can’t really mention the secret agreement.
Then she’d be able to beat Shak in a Senate primary.
As Davy Crockett would say, that is a real sockdologer!