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Archive for June, 2014

After Primary Victory Brat Focuses on Economy

Posted in Politics, tagged , , , on June 17, 2014| Leave a Comment »

The Washington Post reports today that Dave Brat is focused on the economy after his stunning upset of Representative Eric Cantor last Tuesday.  He also is keeping the media at arm’s length:

Despite staging the biggest political upset in recent memory, Brat has remained completely out of sight since his victory party, while Cantor went on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.

Probably not a bad idea and not really all that unusual really.  Brat was not expected to win.  He took down Goliath and the national media wants to talk to him, and likely try to show he is not ready for the national stage.  Here’s a news flash – Brat isn’t running for the “national stage.”  He is running to be the congressman for the 7th Congressional District.  Apparently a lot of people wanted Cantor to be the 7th District congressman and when he ascended to the national stage they thought he lost touch with the people back home.  I don’t necessarily agree with that assessment but that seems to be what caused a lot of former Cantor supporters into Brat supporters this primary season.

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Jack Trammell, Sacrificial Lamb Thrust Into a Real Campaign

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , , , on June 13, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Thanks to the Wall Street Journal Washington Wire Blog, we get a little glimpse of the 7th Congressional District Democrat candidate Jack Trammell.  Until Tuesday, he was operating a one man campaign with a homemade web site that gave just a information about his background:

Mr. Trammell, 50 years old, wrote on his original campaign website about admiration for John F. Kennedy, the fact that six of his family’s seven children are currently in college and that he lives on a farm at the intersection of a local highway and a river.

But that all changed Tuesday night with Cantor’s unexpected loss:

He launched a new website that is a cookie-cutter version of campaign splash pages. It has a form to collect email address and make a contribution. There’s a three paragraph biography. “He was an active worker on both Clinton campaigns in Kentucky … he also worked for the Dukakis campaign.” And it links to his bare-bones social media presence.

“When we saw the opportunity that Tuesday night’s vote presented to us we chatted with him about helping him revamp his website,” Robert Dempsey, executive director of the Virginia Democratic Party, said. “We were able to offer him some helpful suggestions.”

You can bet with support for both Clinton and Dukakis, Trammell is not going to be campaigning as a strong supporter of the Second Amendment.

What once was expected to just be another sacrificial lamb put up against a well established incumbent is now a campaign where he is equal to his opponent – a little known individual with even less experience raising money.  We already know that the state Democratic Party is on board for Trammell and you can bet the national Democrats will join soon.  The question is, will the NRCC step in to provide the necessary fundraising assistance to help Brat hold this R+10 district.

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Brat Gets Boost from Laura Ingraham

Posted in Politics, tagged , , , on June 4, 2014| Leave a Comment »

The Richmond Times Dispatch (RTD) reports that national radio talk show personality Laura Ingraham was in town last night to give a boost to Dave Brat’s long shot campaign to oust House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.  While Brat’s supporters are posting on Facebook and telling anyone who will listen that Cantor’s barrage of direct mail is an indication that his internal polling is not going so well, the odds still favor a Cantor win over the badly underfunded Brat.  The question is whether it will be a resounding victory or less than stellar.  Observers may view a victory where Cantor secures less than 60% a blow to his standing as next in line to be Speaker of the House.

The Times article noted that some attending the event last night were meeting Brat for the first time, an indication that his campaign may be getting more attention, but will it be to little to late?

Brat gave his stump speech, telling the members of the audience, many of whom indicated they were seeing him for the first time, that he is running because Washington is broken.

The reporter reached out to Cantor’s campaign consultant who dismissed the event as another indication that the Brat campaign is being run out of Washington.  Ingraham broadcasts her program from Washington, DC.  I guess Brat could make the same charge about Cantor since Representative Paul Ryan was the featured speaker at the annual Cantor Campaign Breakfast this year.

It’s comment’s like the one made by Cantor’s consultant that probably prompted the RTD to run this editorial last Sunday.

Cantor has been endorsed by the NRA and has a strong voting record in support of our rights in both the Virginia General Assembly and the House of Representatives.  The 7th District GOP Primary is June 10th.

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NRA-PVF Updates 7th District Challenger Rating

Posted in gun rights, Politics, tagged , , , on June 3, 2014| Leave a Comment »

The NRA Political Victory Fund (PVF) has posted an update to the candidate rating for 7th District GOP challenger Dave Brat.  Last week the web site noted  a “?” by Brat’s name, indicating that he had not returned his candidate questionnaire.  The campaign challenged that assessment, even to the point of a Brat supporter contacting this EVC.  That individual was directed to have the candidate or his campaign to call NRA Federal Affairs.  Apparently that occurred as today, the NRA-PVF web site now indicates that Brat has an “AQ” rating, meaning the candidate’s responses to the NRA-PVF Candidate Questionnaire indicates he is a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment but does not have a voting record on Second Amendment issues.  The GOP Primary is June 10th.

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