Are Keith Fimian and Pat Herrity "Rand Paul" Republicans? According to the chairmen of the Fairfax County (Rex Simmons) and Prince William County (Pete Frisbie) Democratic Committees, quoted in this press release from the 11th CD Democratic Committee, it's quite possible.
GOP Cancels 11th CD Convention to Shield Bickering Primary Candidates' Views from Public Scrutiny -- and Avoid a Rand Paul Moment
Democrats Say Fimian and Herrity Taking Extreme Positions in their Race to the Right
Eleventh District Republicans canceled their biennial Convention this weekend -- two weeks before their congressional primary -- to shield the public from the extreme views, bare-knuckles brawling, and increasingly nasty attacks that have marked the race to the right between congressional challengers Keith Fimian and Pat Herrity, Democrats said.
The Republicans announced they canceled the event, which could draw more than 2,600 delegates, because "scheduling problems" precluded the appearance of either candidate at the convention and they had no races for party offices, but the chairs of the Democratic party organizations in the 11th CD had a different take.
"In most primaries, candidates would salivate at the chance to speak to a couple of thousand party activists and throw them some red meat to win votes just two weeks before a low turnout primary," Fairfax County Democratic Committee Chair Rex Simmons said. "Unfortunately, what they are saying to the GOP party faithful now is definitely not what they want to public to hear in November."
Although he's almost certain to lose to Pat Herrity in the 11th CD Republican primary on June 8, Keith Fimian isn't going down without a fight.
On April 27, 2009, Pat Herrity voted to raise the real property tax rate from $.92 to 1.04 per $100 assessed. A whopping 13% tax increase in just one year! This amounted to an increase of about $550 on the average Fairfax County home.
Pat Herrity and other politicians say that because Fairfax County homes went down in value, the tax rate increase was not a tax increase at all. More political double speak. Fairfax homeowners are now paying as much or more in taxes on homes worth far less.
From sane peoples' perspectives, of course, raising the property tax rate to compensate for a decline in home values is simply prudent fiscal management of a county budget (which must, of course, be balanced). With Republicans, however, it might as well be "communist" or "socialism" or "unAmerican" or something heinous like that. Over at the aptly named Too Conservative blog, head honcho Vince Harris seems to think that Herrity might fall into one of those infamous categories, but the Too Conservative commenters strongly disagree (sample comment: "How ugly. Shame on Keith. Day by day, he's losing all respect that we had for him. No matter how low he goes, he'll never be our Congressman. How sad.").
Meanwhile, Democrats are enjoying sitting back, popping some popcorn, and watching these two Republican'ts savage each other. :)
The spin from the two Republican candidates in Virgnia's 11th CD is making me dizzy, how about you?
Keith Fimian: "Keith raised nearly $280,000 in the first quarter of 2010 and has more than $600,000 on-hand. Fimian out-raised Herrity despite it being Herrity's first quarter in the race. Fimian maintains a 3-to-1 cash advantage over Herrity."
Pat Herrity:
I raised $278,045 in 9 short weeks - that is more than my primary opponent raised during the 10 weeks I was in the race and about the same as he raised in the whole quarter...More than 860 people have contributed to my campaign, which is much higher than my primary opponent and shows my significant grassroots support...Over 98% of my contributors live in Northern Virginia - this is significantly greater than my opponent. The voters in the 11th district are financially supporting my campaign...My average contribution is significantly lower than my primary opponents and again shows the depth of the grassroots support I have in Northern Virginia....My opponent is reporting a cash on hand advantage as he has been in the race for over a year. Fortunately much of it is a personal loan to the campaign that he has not yet committed to contribute and use in this campaign. It also includes a significant amount of money that cannot be used in the primary.
The actual numbers? Herrity raised $275,045 and has "cash on hand" of $194,989, not counting debt of $27,757. Fimian raised $278,497 and has "cash on hand" of $609,540, not counting debt of $126,190. In comparison, Rep. Gerry Connolly raised $446,160 and has $1,037,305 cash on hand with no debt. In other words, Herrity has less than 1/5th the money Connolly has, while Fimian has about 3/5th.
For Herrity in particular, this has got to be highly disappointing, despite his frantic spin. The fact is, this should have been Herritys' best quarter, as candidates almost always get the "low hanging fruit" in the first quarter of their candidacies. Unfortunately for Herrity, it's probably all downhill from here. As if that's not bad enough, Herrity also appears to be spending a lot of money on overhead and consultants. Rookie mistake?
...Fimian used a quote from this blog in the very first radio ad of his campaign against U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D).
But when we looked a little closer, we were less amused.
The ad works on a pig theme and accuses Connolly of going after earmarks at a time when the national debt is rising. Pretty standard political stuff.
But then, the radio narrator tells you this: "Gerry Connolly says, quote, 'I want to be there with all four paws and snout in the trough.' "
Connolly did indeed utter that quote during a July conference call with reporters about Republicans and the stimulus package. We put the quote on this blog.
But was he talking about himself? Nope.
He was making a point about Republican Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.)...
So, I guess the question is, why is Keith Fimian attacking his fellow Republican, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor? Looks like Fimian's got a bit of 'splainin' to do.
Check out the video, starting around 4:10, and watch as Keith Fimian rips into his Republican rival, Pat Herrity. Although Fimian doesn't name him, it's crystal clear who he's talking about - trading off his name, next step up the ladder, etc. Boy, is this 11th CD Republican primary going to be fun! :)
By the way, I love how Republicans consider "Barney Frank and Chris Dodd" - two smart, effective, progressive Congressmen - to be epithets. Wouldn't it make more sense to compare people you don't like to Eric Can'tor and John BONER? Heh.
But the point is...the crowd of which I speak -- the insiders, the status quo, the good old boy network - you know, they live off their political connections, they trade off their names. They are opportunistically ambitious, and all they care about is moving up on the next rung of the political ladder. And that is not what we need now, it is dangerous what we have. Look at where we are. They will tell you they have experience. "I've got experience," you know. Your experience means nothin'! Barney Frank and Chris Dodd have experience! Look at where we are.
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Are Keith Fimian and Pat Herrity "Rand Paul" Republicans? According to the chairmen of the Fairfax County (Rex Simmons) and Prince William County (Pete Frisbie) Democratic Committees, quoted in this press release from the 11th CD Democratic Committee, it's quite possible.
Although he's almost certain to lose to Pat Herrity in the 11th CD Republican primary on June 8, Keith Fimian 
The spin from the two Republican candidates in Virgnia's 11th CD is making me dizzy, how about you?
Not that he was expecting it or anything, but it sure looks like Keith Fimian 
