Speculation, defeatism is not what we need now in Virginia
I have known Corey Stewart, chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, since 2007 when as a freshman Town Councilmember in Leesburg, I emailed his office about his illegal immigration plan to see if it had some benefit for my town and county – which unfortunately, due to politics, did not adopt any facets of it.
When I became a Loudoun supervisor in 2012, I got to know Corey better and liked him so much that I backed him for Lt. Governor in 2013. Â I worked with him closely in the Virginia for Trump effort in 2016 and did not flinch in backing him for governor (in 2016).
All that changed when he injected himself into the Charlottesville monument dispute in February 2017 and when he was photographed (unwittingly, I believe) with a number of alt.right white supremacists. Â Being Jewish and not liking these alt.right Nazi KKK kooks at all, it was sickening to me to see the direction he was taking in his campaign. So, I did not vote for Stewart for Governor in the June 2017 primary, or in the U.S. Senate primary June 12.
I will not dwell on the many “mistakes†I think Stewart made in various campaigns, but will say that it’s necessary to move forward and not look backward.  I think we need to stop the handwringing, fearmongering and Monday-morning quarterbacking and work with him and all GOP nominees to ensure President Trump and the national Republicans keep a majority in Congress come January  2019.
That being said, I think the Stewart campaign has to do some outreach and game plan changes in order to come close to beating Kaine and prevent House candidates from losing. Â Here are my suggestions:
- Corey needs to reach out and speak directly with every single GOP House candidate and pledge to work with their campaigns, not against them.  Just the way Democrats are going to try to capitalize on Tim Kaine’s coattails (and cash) to win House seats, if Corey wants any future in Virginia Republican politics, he is going to have to be a team player and not do anything to create wedges with the House candidates, especially those in vulnerable seats (i.e. the 10th).  The last thing we need is seeing House GOP candidates distancing themselves from Stewart, or worst, calling for his ouster from the ticket.  Â
- Prior to the primary, Corey disavowed certain alt.right leaders, but the liberal media is doing its utmost to keep Charlottesville alive. Â Stewart needs to completely sidestep and avoid these issues and change the subject given the opportunity. Â
- Corey needs to run on his record as Prince William County chairman.  Despite the fact GOP activists have largely heard him talking about national issues, the reality is that Chairman Stewart is quite skilled in local bread-and-butter issues – notably transportation, schools and economic development.  Prince William County is a great place to do business and live and he needs to take credit for that. He needs to capitalize on his record, including bucking anti-Sharia law activists in voting to permit a mosque in the Gainesville area.   Â
- Corey needs to capitalize on his name recognition in Prince William and Loudoun to try to win those counties, or narrow the Democratic gap.  Corey has a large base of support in Prince William County, which if he were to win against Kaine, could help him narrow the losses against Kaine and help House candidates.  If he spent every waking weekend door knocking in Loudoun and Prince William, which is where the GOP and swing votes are, he could really help his chances. He’s a retail politician unlike Tim Kaine.
- Corey’s folks need to reach out to the Freitas and Jackson campaigns and bring in key volunteers and paid coordinators.  He started the outreach to those supporters with this video.  Not sure former Virginia Trump coordinator Mike Rubino will even consider working for Corey, given the bad blood, but Corey cannot win this election or come close and preventing a House debacle without engaging the losing campaigns. Â
- Corey needs to stop doing interviews on CNN and hostile liberal media.  Talking to Fox News and maybe the “Washington Times†and “Wall Street Journal†is fine, but be choosy about which other media to talk to. That’s difficult for a media hound like Stewart, but will be necessary now.
- Start creating “Latinos for Stewart,†“Muslims for Stewart†“Blacks for Stewart†and empower these folks to speak to the media and at key voter forums.  Â
- Definitely invite Trump to Virginia for a rally (preferably in SW Virginia), but don’t do what Ed Gillespie did and try to avoid him.
If Stewart manages to be competitive with Kaine in the polls, then the RNC Senate campaign may help him with aid but at this point, he is not getting any of their money and his chances of victory are nil.  The reality is that even if EW Jackson or Nick Freitas won the nomination, they would be facing Tim Kaine’s $13 million war chest and an uphill battle.  Â
Our failure to unite will mean we will be finger pointing again this Nov. 7 in Virginia and making calls for John Whitbeck and John Finley to resign from RPV.   However, the No 1 “gift†we can give to the President is a GOP House. Failure to secure the House after 2018 means the potential for the Country to be embroiled on impeachment hearings and a slowing of the Trump agenda.
As the old saying goes, “It’s time for all good people to come to the aid of their party,†but Corey Stewart must do his part, too.
30 comments
Ken Cuccinelli is smarter than most of you and he said ” vote for Corey Stewart” here endith the lesson!
I like the button, where can I order?
Only Corey can pull Babs across the finish line. Strange days indeed.
And that kids, is how I met your Senator.
Muslims for Stewart? Latinos for Stewart? All 4 of them, if that many. Good luck.
He is a drag on the party and we will be lucky to only lose 3 house seats as a result. The best thing he could do is resign now – before the even more substantial evidence of racism and white nationalism comes out.
Sadly, I agree.
I’m saddened.
Seriously, that is the best thing? How politically retarded are you?
Do you actually consider pictures with politicians any degree of substantial?
If there were ANY actual “evidence,†Nick and Jeanine would have used it in the primary… if the democrats had any, they would have used it in the primary, or to smear deplorables with the Virginia State Chair. This would have been democrat Gold!
I have no doubt that a 60 Minutes producer will be given “evidence†like a disciplinary letter, or a faked birth certificate closer to the election… it’s what dems do, in October.
Only 3 house seats? Not 4, or 2? Is that because Corey will turn out less voters or that his political ‘cooties’ will stick to other Republicans?
The Republican Party, officially, and with great input, fanfare, and wailing and gnashing of teeth, chose Corey Stewart as its standard bearer and nominee for US Senate.
I’m actually not sorry that the party collectively put your political wisdom in the ‘nope’ pile as they really don’t seem tired of winning.
Your feelings, visions, ‘predictions,’ wishes, and self-fulfilling prophecies do not matter one whit in this contest
You are incorrect and perhaps now we will see the actual measure of your character.
“He’s a retail politician unlike Tim Kaine.”
I’ve read a fair amount of dross on this site over the years; but, boy, that’s the biggest whopper ever.
Tim Kaine did seem rather wholesale to me.
Absolutely, He’s entirely plastic, inflated, fabricated and plausibly wears make-up ? And the challenger is a real slugger, a Trumponian champ, an in your face campaigner, a defender of constitutional principle. Corey has it going on. Look how he overcame recent numbers, even when it was likely that other political groups supported his opponent to try and throw the primary away from him. Yet, he prevailed solidly ! Senator Kaine has got some scrambling to do… to go up against pure pro Americanism….on it’s way.
Yes,
Kaine is wholesale but with the immigration issue he has the upper hand in the fact that Va Democrats are trying to end fraudulent employment and Republicans are the obstruction.
Kaine could use the employment fraud in SWVA.
“Retail” means door knocking and grass roots in my book. Kaine hasnt had to do that in years, but Corey had to do that in 2015 to get re-elected as Prince William Board chairman. If he could just knock on enough doors in Loudoun and Prince William, he could narrow the gap and stave the bleeding at the House level.
You were a Trump “insider”, correct?
I do take notice that Trump nor Stewart are taking issue with the illegal employment of illegal aliens in America/Virginia yet illegal immigration is the foremost current issue.
Very interesting not to see any concern from Va. GOP Congressional Candidates, Corey Stewart or President Trump himself.
Yes, no concern.
I think Corey did not keep this other saying in mind: “When you lie down with dogs, you pick up fleas.” He has not explained to any satisfaction why he associated with white supremacist and Jew-haters even after the views of these characters were known. Did someone mislead him? His deflecting does not address these troubling facts. In addition, his unwillingness to participate in any unity will come back to haunt him.
It’s difficult to want to knock on doors or stand outside on a November day for someone who is so self-destructive.
Define â€associated†please.
Had his picture taken with them, video, etc.? Was this not clear?
Kessler was an Occupy Wall Street activist and Obama supporter who is in hindsight was an obvious plant to discredit conservatives. It’s simply not possible for any politician to know the full bio AND future actions of everyone they meet.
No, it was not clear, it was a fogged up inference as you still do with your implied: “etc.â€
The people who are racist get called for their actions. BY COREY. Hence disavowed.
Being in the same frame of a camera is NOT lying down with dogs NOR guilt by association.
Or is Shak the same because he shared a board/agent with a non-contested child molester?
Do all my selfies with celebrities make them ‘associated’ with ‘the beacon of truth, light, and clear political thought?’
We’re not stupid and painting Corey this way just makes you look silly.
Maybe Corey should take lessons from you on answering these questions better! 😉
Corey has never been one to shrink down from accusations.
He’s condemned/disavowed/shunned the stupids (not knowing their future behaviors) for their actions.
But he did say nice things about the guy who ran against Paul Ryan at the Trump inaugural before Nehlen’s hating ways were known.
However Corey is still labelled the Great Satan who will destroy the party and any chance of anyone on the ticket. So let’s burn the witch — so much easier than competing against the left and democrat party operations.
Apparently, Nehlen expressed his views before he met Stewart. All Stewart did was deflect when it was presented to him.
I did not know that — please point me in that direction, I thought Corey condemned when breitbart did.
Look, interaction on the campaign trail is vast, inclusive, zany, hyper, loud and difficult at best to determine at any given moment should there be a photo of this or a photo taken with that or them ?? I have been there, time and again through years. This kind of interaction occurs with everyone. Whether your Trump posing with Hillary, or Weinstein posing with oprah, or Obama with his odd preacher or Lewis F. …whats his name ?? This is Not the perspective. rather, It is what the candidate believes in ” Is ” what makes the individual, what he or she feels about the issues, who he prays too, his family, his love of country, Virginia conservatism. Anyone, ” who ” is exploiting trash by ” association, or in the vicinity ” via real event photos or even photo-shop photos is Not significant and is merely a liberal ploy no matter who is uttering the foolishness purpose driven tackiness. On either side of the 2 party’s, whoever is pushing this kind of stuff is truly a ” liberal/progressive ” more than they are aware. Look, Corey isn’t a supremacist this or supremacist that or any of the wacked labels. He is a core constitutional conservative who believes in God and country. Anyone knowing the real truth, knows this fact.
Exactly.
Valid points.
From Bartleby.com
Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the party.
ATTRIBUTION: Author unknown. Sentence devised to test the speed of the first typewriter, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, fall of 1867, during “an exciting political campaign.â€â€”Charles E. Weller, The Early History of the Typewriter, p. 21 (1918).
Other sources credit Weller as author of the famous sentence, but he does not claim the credit in his book. The sentence is still in use, though it is often written as “their†party.
Correct. forgot to note that.
I musta typed that a million times…
Let’s just see how President Trump and the Republican Majority handles illegal immigration and in particular the illegal employment.
He and the Republicans must address this prior to November or else folks like me will continue to be the forgotten men and women of America.
E-Verify anyone?
Brat?
Riggleman?
Stop playing golf.
No need to elect anyone to have their aids walk their dog.