By Isaiah Knight. the Chair of the Lynchburg Area Young Republicans
Who is Chuck Cornell?
If you’re a 6thDistrict Delegate you’ve probably received three practically identical emails yesterday, May 15, 2018, from a Mr. Chuck Cornell. This email, a long and sad vine of sour grapes, tells Mr. Cornell’s version of how the Rockbridge Unit refused to elect him as Chair. He then dives into this vast conspiracy that somehow two people can control the minds and votes of an entire unit.
I support Delegate Ben Cline because he has an incredible record. As a single dad of two, I wouldn’t volunteer my time unless that’s the case; we need him in Congress. On a personal level, Ben’s a great man, is always available to help, and even my children love him. My daughter came running down the driveway with a Ben Cline mailer cheering, “Ben! Ben!” Any of the attacks you see on Delegate Cline are simply a desperate attempt at distracting from his record of excellence, and I’m sick of these attacks. So, I called Mr. Cornell and had the following conversation:
Isaiah: “Hi is this Chuck Cornell?”
Chuck: “Yes”
Isaiah: “Hi I’m Isaiah Knight and you sent me an email earlier today, and I’m just curious, I’m a delegate of the sixth district, and I’m curious where you got my email address from?”
Chuck: “Where I got it from?”
Isaiah: “Yes sir.”
Chuck: “I don’t know, good question.”
Isaiah: “You don’t know where you got my email address from?”
Chuck: “No.”
Isaiah: “Ok, so you just got a list and you emailed me?”
Chuck: “Yes.”
Isaiah: “Ok, did you get the email list anonymously, or, I’m just curious?”
Chuck: “Yes I did.”
Isaiah: “Ok, alright, well, I was just kinda curious where you got the list from since you were emailing me and I’m a delegate.”
Chuck: “Thanks.”
Isaiah: “Thank you.”
This conversation begs the question: How did the 6thCongressional District Delegate list magically appear in the hands of Mr. Cornell? A quick VPAP query shows that Mr. Cornell donated $2000 to Dan Moxley, a gentleman that, per the FEC, received approximately $6000 from the Dunbar Campaign, and whose daughter, Hannah Moxley, received approximately $2000 from the Dunbar Campaign. Is Mr. Cornell coordinating with the Dunbar Campaign?
What begs more questioning is today, May 15, 2018, Delegates received an email, that Mr. Cornell is paying for, from John Woods, the former Chair of the Liberty University College Republicans. John’s email takes the reader on a fictional journey to a mystical Facebook group called the “nerve center” and argues that because one of the members of the “nerve center” said something disgusting and asinine, falsely concludes the remainder of the group believes the same thing. John then asks the reader to support Dunbar. Again, how did the disgruntled Mr. Cornell get the delegate list? Furthermore, why did Mr. Cornell personally attack Delegate Cline, a Representative with an excellent record, on farfetched thoughts and feelings, when, per VPAP, Mr. Cornell donated to Delegate Cline’s re-election campaign in 2017?
Regardless of how the delegate list was obtained, I feel very disappointed that Mr. Cornell would use a Liberty University student to aid in what appears to be a mission to further divide an already fractured district.
Isaiah Knight is the Chair of the Lynchburg Area Young Republicans, Virginia Families, LLC, and President of media agency The Yummy Potato, LLC. He’s a father of two children, Elijah and Hannah.
