Ed Gillespie for U.S. Senate ... Roanoke stop on the campaign trail

 Ed Gillespie and Trixie Averill 

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ed Gillespie was in Roanoke Friday delivering remarks to about 65 Republicans who gathered at the Plantation on Sunnybrook to hear about his candidacy for the nomination at the state GOP convention that will be held on Saturday, June 6, in Roanoke. Many thanks to Trixie for organizing the lunch.

 Wendell Walker, 6th Congressional District Chair, and Roger Jarrell, Lexington-Rockbridge Unit Chair.

Fred Anderson, former 6th Congressional District chair (left).

Delegate Greg Habeeb with the beard he's growing until the budget impasse is resolved in Richmond.

Trixie Averill, Ed Gillespie, and Dr. Ed Lynch at lunch talking about cruises. Dr. Lynch teaches at Hollins College in Roanoke.

Fred Anderson offered the invocation.

Roger and Trixie

Tucker Davis with the Gillespie campaign in the 9th Congressional District.

Dan Webb with Congressman Bob Goodlatte's staff.

As Ed spoke, Trixie clicked and posted to Facebook. I did a bit of posting on Facebook, too, throughout the event.

Many familiar faces were there ... Molly and Larry Koon, Tucker Davis, Dr. Ed Lynch, Pete Larsen, Wendell Walker, Kathy Hayden, Roger Jarrell, Fred and Ann Anderson, Greg Habeeb, several elected officials, and many others.

The Plantation on Sunnybrook

Ed Gillespie is living the American dream. His father came to this country from Ireland because he found work here as a janitor. Ed grew up working in his parents’ grocery store. He went to college, is married, and has three children.

"I got to grow up to be Counselor to the President of the United States of America!" he said at Friday's lunch, and the words seemed incredulous to him even as he said them. After serving as Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, he had been called to the White House during the administration of President George W. Bush.

Gillespie is a political consultant who has served as chairman of the Republican National Committee, worked with Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign, worked with Dick Armey, Newt Gingrich, John Kasich, Elizabeth Dole, George Allen, and Bob McDonnell. He also worked with Karl Rove to get Republicans elected. Read more about his background here.

He highlighted issues and opportunities, noting that years ago he started out parking cars in the congressional garage in D.C. -- running now gives him the chance to go from the parking lot to the Senate floor in the Capitol. He emphasized he is interested in seeing policies that will make life better, that he wants to be a candidate for all Virginians, a servant for all Virginians.


Gillespie became chairman of RPV while I was on State Central Committee; he advised George W. Bush, Bob McDonnell, and other men that I have admired throughout the years. I like what he's done. His leadership has helped Republicans win ... he has advised elected Republicans ... he has been very effective at raising money. He has my vote.


Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell
April 4, 2014

Rush: Republicans should unite against Kagan, not Steele?

Ed Morrissey at Hot Air has the video of Rush Limbaugh's question on Tuesday's radio program wondering why Republicans aren't united in their opposition to Elena Kagan, the extreme liberal about to go on the U.S. Supreme Court, instead of calling for the resignation of Michael Steele, RNC Chairman:

Instead of forming the rhetorical guns into a circular firing squad, Rush wonders, why aren’t Republicans uniting on something that matters — like blocking Elena Kagan’s nomination to the Supreme Court?

It will be interesting to see how this issue plays out....

Michael Steele: "End to era of Republican apologizing"

I caught RNC Chairman Michael Steele's remarks today on Fox News as he addressed GOP leaders from across the nation. He was positive and upbeat, emphasizing that the time is now for this Party to move forward.

About Obama he said:

This popular politician who is our president is engaged in the most massive expansion of the old industrial age model of government that our country has ever seen. This popular politician is spending America into debt of such mammoth proportions that none of us can even begin to calculate it or really understand it. The numbers are so big that they seem impossible.

If we have the courage of our convictions, and we do, then we will and we must stand against these disastrous policies ... This is the future of our country that is at stake.

The guy who campaigned in favor of bottom-up style of governing is presiding over the most massive top down expansion of government bureaucracy and spending our country has ever seen or even contemplated.

Candidate Obama was very moderate in his views, but President Obama could not possibly be further to the far left.

The content of his entire remarks is here.

Hope for the GOP?

Pat Buchanan writes:

For conservatives fretful over the future of the party to which they have given allegiance, "How Barack Obama Won: A State by State Guide to the Historic 2008 Election" reads like something out of Edgar Allan Poe.

Co-authored by NBC's Chuck Todd, it is a grim tale of what happened to the GOP in 2008, and what the future may hold.

Yet, on second and third reads, one discerns, as did Gen. Wolfe's scouts 250 years ago, a narrow path leading up the cliff to the Plains of Abraham -- and perhaps victory in 2012.

Word of warning to conservatives: ignore netroots at your own peril....

Rick Moran covered the just-completed Yearly Kos convention for Pajamas Media over the weekend. In his Rightwing Nuthouse follow-up post he wrote:

Ignore or make sport of the netroots at your own peril. Underestimate them and you will get the holy living crap kicked out of you in 2008. These people are organizing far beyond blogs and blog readers. And that organization extends almost down to the precinct level as I’m sure next year’s Netroots Convention will show (they’ve decided to rename the shindig in order to move it away from one guy’s blog).

They are determined, well funded, optimistic, committed, and excited. The GOP is uncertain, underfunded, hopeful but pessimistic, dispirited, and seemingly leaderless, rudderless, and without an agenda.

Who do you think is in better shape going into next year’s contest?

Are Republican electeds listening? Is the Republican Party listening?

You need look no further than the Shenandoah Valley for examples of how these extremists are moving in.

We have a MoveOn.org democrat running for Augusta County Board of Supervisors, a woman who moved here three years ago, a woman who has demonstrated in local anti-war rallies and was photographed holding a sign with the number of dead Americans in Iraq. We have another MoveOn.org sympathizer as part of the Augusta County Democrat Party.

We had MoveOn.org activists standing on the street in downtown Staunton last summer to greet Senator George Allen when he was campaigning in this area. We had local extremists filming Congressman Bob Goodlatte's most recent townhall meeting in Staunton included staged anti-war questions.

The Republican Party had better wake up. Instead of fighting each other it's time to turn our attention to the real enemy ... the lefty liberal democrats.