Find out how Cooch took $55,000 from the disgraced "U.S. Navy Veterans Association," in apparent exchange for his promise to get the Virginia Office of Consumer Affairs (which had "notified Thompson's group that it no longer qualified for an exemption from state registration requirements") off the group's back. Can we say "pay-to-play?" Find out more.
Hopefully, 5th CD independent candidate Jeff Clark has enough money to get this ad out there. No question, Republican candidate Robert Hurt deserves it in spades.
UPDATE: Clark also blasts Hurt (see after the "fold") for, essentially, subverting the Constitution, particularly the 1st Amendment. Clark adds that Hurt isn't a real conservative.
Check out Rep. Tom Perriello (D-5th) at 1:30 today in his debate against...well, one of his opponents, anyway. Where's Republican nominee Robert Hurt? Ducking, dodging, evading, obfuscating, taking a nap? Meanwhile, as Hurt cowers, Perriello fearlessly faces the voters' questions. What else is new?
The first debate of the 5th district race is getting underway in a few minutes.
Unbelievably, Senator Robert Hurt is refusing to show up to make his case to the voters. I'll be making the case that if he wants the job of representative, he needs to show up for the interview. I'm looking forward to debating the independent candidate, Jeff Clark. We may not agree on many things, but we at least agree that any man who wants to represent this district should have the courage to show up to debates.
UPDATE 1:33 PM: Senior Statesmen of Virginia intro to the debate: "The Republican candidate chose not to accept." Ha. Also, according to Coy Barefoot, the moderator of the forum, Robert Hurt is the first candidate to decline an invitation from the Senior Statesmen since 1996. Wow, that's pitiful!
UPDATE 1:40 PM: Perriello says that, unlike Robert Hurt, at least Virgil Goode showed up and said where he stood. Also, Perriello says it's a "shame" that Hurt won't let Clark in the debates. Tom Perriello challenges Hurt to four televised debates, says "voters deserve that."
For more on Tom Perriello's day on the campaign trail, see NBC 29. Go Tom!
UPDATE: According to the Sunday Washington Post, "The crowds that have been showing up for Democratic Rep. Tom Perriello's town halls have been smaller and more polite than the angry throngs he saw during last August's raucous congressional recess."
There were a couple of interesting developments today in Virginia's 5th Congressional district, where Republican Robert Hurt and Independent/Tea Party candidate Jeff Clark are challenging Rep. Tom Perriello (D). To begin with, here's a statement from Perriello's campaign regarding the endorsement earlier today by former Republican candidate Jim McKelvey of Hurt. Back in June, McKelvey said of Hurt: "I refuse to support him, he's not gonna represent me." So much for that vow, apparently!
First, Senator Hurt pledged away his independence to Washington corporate interest groups in order to become the lobbyists' candidate. Now, Jim McKelvey reveals a dozen more secret promises that this career politician made in backrooms, including a promise to abolish the Department of Education and vote against bills that fund our military and veterans. Who knows what else he'll be pledging tonight in the secret Tea Party meeting? We won't know -- because instead of talking straight to voters in a televised debate, Robert Hurt favors back-room deals, as all career politicians do.
In other news, with 3 months to go until election day, Robert Hurt is busy trying to duck debates with Rep. Perriello, most likely for two main reasons: 1) Hurt's up big in the latest poll; 2) Hurt must realize that Perriello is a far, far superior debater who will clean his clock. It's amusing, though, how Hurt's position has evolved over the past month or two.
From the most excellent Congressman Tom Perriello (D-5th, VA). yet another example of why he should be (easily) reelected in November. Go Tom!
July 6, 2010-Ferrum, VA-Today at Ferrum College, Congressman Tom Perriello unveiled a progress report on the one-year anniversary of his "energy independence" blueprint, showing achievements in nearly every category. A year ago, also in Franklin County, he introduced a plan, "New Energy for the Fifth District: A Blueprint for Putting Southside and Central Virginia at the Forefront of the Clean Energy Economy," which laid out the reasons, and steps necessary, to make Southside and Central Virginia the leader of the new energy economy.
One year later, significant progress has been made on nearly every stated objective. Today, Perriello released the progress report, an accompanying online map, and a news round-up that reflects these accomplishments and actions that will help rebuild the economy of Southside and Central Virginia.
"We've taken huge steps towards establishing Central and Southern Virginia as a leader in the clean energy economy," said Perriello. "When we created this energy blueprint a year ago, I couldn't have imagined the strides we would make in just one year. The progress we've achieved signifies that the 5th district of Virginia is ready to lead in this economic sector and I look forward to continuing our work to create new jobs in this promising industry."
Tea Party candidate Jeff Clark rips into Robert Hurt for being a typical politician and for refusing to let Clark into the debates with Tom Perriello. According to Clark, Hurt is "just what I thought he was going to be." Another great quote by Clark: "Robert Hurt is no Virgil Goode, and Robert Hurt is not going to be able to stay one-on-one with Tom Perriello." And, "The only thing [Hurt's] supporters have is fear...they have to instill fear into everyone in order to get them to overlook the sad record and the despicable conduct of Senator Hurt." And finally: "If Senator Hurt doesn't want to participate in the debates, I'm sure I will fill in adequately for the conservative message...but I would welcome [him] to sit in the audience, he may learn a thing or two about conservatism." Hahahaha.
Jim McKelvey finished second to Robert Hurt on Tuesday in the 5th CD Republican primary, winning 26% of the vote. Obviously, Hurt will need the (enthusiastic) support of McKelvey and his supporters come November if he hopes to defeat Rep. Tom Perriello. But, based on this video, that doesn't look likely. Such a shame.
UPDATE: McKelvey has now launched a PAC, but remains "mum" on whether or not he'll support Hurt.
Politico reports that in Virginia's 5th Congressional District Tea Party activist Jeffrey Clark will run as an independent if moderate Republican Robert Hurt wins his party's nomination to take on Tom Perriello.
How serious would a Clark candidacy be? When we polled the district in early February we found that a generic Tea Party candidate would pull 19%. Perriello received 44% and Hurt 27% in such a scenario.
[...]
...even if 48% is the best [Perriello] can get to in an off year election that would still put him over the top if Clark got just 5% from Hurt's disaffected supporters...
Not surprisingly, the "$300 billion" figure Jim McKelvey cites as the annual cost to taxpayers of illegal immigration is not correct. What is a bit surprising is how willing McKelvey is to use an outright lie, one that has been completely discredited, even by the conservative Center for Immigration Studies (CIS). Check this out.
This chain e-mail has been forwarded to us by readers many times over the past year. The most recent version adds a new angle, claiming that the amount of money taxpayers spend on illegal immigrants would be enough to "stimulate the economy." But no matter the spin, the e-mail is rife with errors.
It also contains several red flags that should tip off readers that this is more bogus than believable. For one thing, the figures given don't add up to a "whopping $338.3 billion dollars a year" spent on illegal immigrants in the U.S., as the e-mail claims.
[...]
The source cited for at least nine of the items is either the conservative Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) or the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), both of which call for more restrictive immigration laws. CIS spokesman Bryan Griffith told us that he had never seen the e-mail but that he suspected something was out there because of occasional surges in traffic that forced him to rewrite Web pages. When told about the e-mail's contents and conclusion of a $338.3 billion yearly cost, he responded that CIS "never said anything of the like and is not going to comment on a chain e-mail that is in no way scientific."
In the end, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, the actual cost to taxpayers of illegal immigration is "most likely modest," but it's far, far, far less than the "338.3 billion" figure (from a completely debunked chain email, no less) that Jim McKelvey uses in his ad. So, if you're running for office, do you just get to outright lie through your teeth on TV without any consequences? Why would any station air a completely fallacious ad?
P.S. In other, fun 5th CD Republican news, check this out. Yikes.
The following announcement represents great news from Rep. Tom Perriello's campaign, which had its most successful fundraising quarter ever. Perriello, who is in his first term in Congress and facing the possibility of multiple opponents this November, entered April with nearly $1.4 million cash on hand, as well as 7,600 donors, nearly 90% of whom are "small donors." Nice job, and go Tom!
The Perriello campaign announced today that it raised over $600,000 in the first fundraising quarter of 2010--the vast majority of it from small donors--marking their most successful fundraising quarter ever. The campaign enters April with nearly $1.4 million cash on hand, a testament to the strong support for Congressman Perriello's record of fighting for middle-class families and a demonstration of his ability to win re-election.
With donors from all 22 localities of the 5th district, the campaign is conducting an aggressive, grassroots donor program focused on small (under $200) donations and rejecting funds from federal lobbyists and corporate PACs. The campaign attracted a record 4,694 new donors this quarter. That brings its total number of donors for the cycle to over 7,600 individuals, 88% of whom are small donors.
"We are both humbled and thrilled to see such an outpouring of support from so many small donors who are going head-to-head with powerful Washington special interests," said Anna Scholl, finance director for the Perriello campaign. "With not a dollar of federal lobbyist money in our campaign coffer and over 7,600 donors, we are proving that a people-powered campaign can win over the big insurance companies and big energy companies that have dominated our political system for so long."
"Working and middle-class families of Virginia know that Congressman Perriello represents them, not the special interests," she added.
Congressman Perriello will face the winner of one of the most divisive Republican primaries in the nation and a conservative independent candidate.
Yeah, those votes for clean energy and health care really hurt Perriello. Ha. :)
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There were a couple of interesting developments today in Virginia's 5th Congressional district, where Republican Robert Hurt and Independent/Tea Party candidate Jeff Clark are challenging Rep. Tom Perriello (D). To begin with, here's a statement from Perriello's campaign regarding the endorsement earlier today by former Republican candidate Jim McKelvey of Hurt. Back in June, 
From the most excellent Congressman Tom Perriello (D-5th, VA). yet another example of why he should be (easily) reelected in November. Go Tom!
Let's hope that 
The following announcement represents great news from Rep. Tom Perriello's campaign, which had its most successful fundraising quarter ever. Perriello, who is in his first term in Congress and facing the possibility of multiple opponents this November, entered April with nearly $1.4 million cash on hand, as well as 7,600 donors, nearly 90% of whom are "small donors." Nice job, and go Tom!
