Motley Moose – Archive

Tuesday night, the tea party wing of the Republican Party turned on one of their own. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) lost his primary to Dave Brat, a professor who teaches Ayn Randian economics to college students. Brat spent $122,000 to Cantor’s $5 million.  

Tweets …

@imillhiser: “The Tea Party’s been a tremendously positive input, I think… certainly for our party, you see the benefit.” -Eric Cantor, Nov. 10, 2010

@JuddLegum: Lesson GOP will take from Cantor’s loss: Kill immigration reform. Real lesson: No matter how much you pander to Tea Party, it’s never enough

@DanaHoule: This shows a resurgence of the Republican establ…HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

@lizzwinstead: ERIC CANTOR IS TOO LIBERAL FOR THE REPUBLICANS IN VIRGINIA! #murica #YourPartyIsCurdled

The Republicans made a deal with the devil and released the hounds of hell … who are biting them in the hinder.

In 2009, Chris Christie and Bob McDonnell were the beneficiaries of the tea party anger purchased with corporate money, promoted by Fox News and organized by FreedomWorks and the Dick Armey in the Summer of 2009.

Christie of New Jersey and McDonnell of Virginia in November 2009 … Scott Brown of Massachusetts in March 2010 … and then the tea party wave election in November 2010 that appeared to sweep away our country’s common sense and which set up gerrymandered Republican majorities in statehouses across the country.

Today’s polls seem to indicate that we have a good chance to turn the tide in Virginia but not much hope in New Jersey where Gov. Chris Christie (R) appears to be a shoo-in for re-election.  

Nomination by convention instead of a primary – it was GOP gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli’s dream road to the party pick. He threw all his political power, and that of his allies, behind a nominating convention and they carried the day. With a convention process he avoided a prolonged confrontation with alternative candidates such as current Lieutenant Governor Bolling.

Unfortunately for the ultra-conservative, homophobic, anti-choice Cuccinelli, his party then blessed him with the gift that keeps on giving: a lieutenant governor candidate that even Cuccinelli considers extreme – Bishop E.W. Jackson, a man who makes Michelle Bachmann look lucid, perhaps even profound.

Tom Periello, the Democrat running for Congress in VA-05- a district that runs from the North Carolina border almost all the way to the DC exburbs (or, for those of us from Virginia, from UVA to Martinsville Speedway), was gracious enough to take some time out of his busy schedule recently to sit down with the editors of The Motley Moose. For those of you who aren’t familiar with our wonderful district, it’s probably more nationally recognized as the home of this man:

Recognize him? See if this rings a bell:

The Muslim Representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don’t wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran.

How about his desire to repeal the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, or his opposition to supporting mental health billing reform, and his unmitigated support for Big Tobacco? Hey, at least we know he’s got our back taking down online gambling– probably one of the most important issues currently facing this nation, right?

For those of us here in VA-05, Tom Periello is a godsend. Devilstower, over at the Daily Kos, had an excellent diary on this subject. Tom donates ten percent his volunteers’ time right back into the community; he’s a proud progressive and a member of the Red to Blue program. He’s hopefully going to be one of many new Democratic additions to the House of Representatives this election cycle.

We are also the second of only two political websites Tom has agreed to sit down and have a talk with, the other being Richmond-based Raising Kaine. Given the uphill battle Tom’s facing in VA-05, that’s truly an honor.

Tom, in his own words: