Former Lt. Governor Bill Bolling made an interesting claim on his Twitter account a few days ago.
Besides the fact that Bill Bolling is still demonstrating residual bitterness that he is not the heir apparent in the Republican apparatus, his statement is off base. Pat McSweeney is a constitutional lawyer and the past Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia from the mid-90s. His resume reads like an encyclopedia of accomplishments: serving at the Department of Justice, on multiple commissions, on numerous business boards, adjunct professor, weekly newspaper commentator, and accomplished lawyer. He was chairman of the VAGOP when George Allen was elected governor. Is Bolling suggesting that George Allen was out of the mainstream? The only thing out of the mainstream is someone quitting the party because they didn’t get what they thought they deserved.
Cortland Putbrese, the General Counsel of the Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) who recently stepped out, did a good job. The job became extremely demanding these last few months because of Eric Cantor and Ray Allen’s witch hunt of conservatives that generated a tremendous amount of legal inquiries. Cortland rightly decided family and his career needed to be his priority. Pat McSweeney, at the request of RPV Chairman Pat Mullins, agreed to step in and serve as General Counsel.
Bolling knows that McSweeney has been a member of the Republican Party for decades, even longer than Bolling. Mainstream Republicans are those who advocate and vote for legislation that is consistent with the Republican Creed and Constitution. Center-left Republicans ARE NOT the mainstream in our party – sorry Bill.
Let’s be clear, Bolling isn’t saying that he wants us to broaden the GOP tent so his “mainstream” views will fit. Quite the contrary. Exclusion is how the moderates (I mean mainstream) try to maintain control. This is about Bolling complaining (AGAIN) that he doesn’t control RPV. Too bad for Bolling, but great news for the grassroots.
