And I say this with no knowledge whether Bill Bolling is even thinking of a Senate run. I am also not saying that Ed Gillespie is the best choice for VA-SEN, because I’m pretty confident that many of my readers who are to the right on me on immigration will say that Gillespie is not. What I am saying is that my first reaction to this:
Former Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie is considering a run against Virginia Sen. Mark Warner (D) next year.
“It’s a very winnable race,” the powerful GOP insider told POLITICO in a Saturday afternoon interview.
…was the title of my post; and that my second reaction was that Ed Gillespie should stay far away from Bolling if he wants to be a viable candidate in the Virginia GOP Senate primary next year. Bolling burned a lot of bridges by helping to inflict Terry McAuliffe on Virginia voters for the next four years; I’m not the only one who is not going to forget that, and I’m a damnable Republican squish. Imagine how the hardcore conservatives feel…
Moe Lane
Umm…how is Cuccinelli getting nominated Bolling’s fault? I thought it was Cuccinelli supporters who changed the nomination process to make it a convention.
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Yes, I know what you meant. I also know what Cuccinelli did, and there’s no question that a) McAuliffe would have had a far tougher time against Bolling than against Cuccinelli, and b) Bolling might have beaten Cuccinelli in a primary, and stood very little chance in a convention.
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Bolling was not owed the nomination, and to the degree he thinks he was, he is mistaken. However, if my opponent had helped change the rules to basically secure his victory and wipe out any chance I had to win — you know what, I not only wouldn’t help him, I might well be tempted to do whatever I could to hurt him. Maybe, like Bolling, I might even give into that temptation.
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Perhaps that says something bad about my character. You know what? So does changing the rules to get your way. See also: Reid, Harry.
It’s not the Virginia nomination process, which I fully agree was and is dysfunctional. Bolling acted pretty openly behind the scenes to boost Terry McAuliffe after the nomination. His privilege, but it’s mine to not approve of Bolling’s life choices.
I doubt that he cares about my personal opinion, of course. And let me leave it at that.
No, as I said, I knew what you meant. I merely meant to note that Bolling was far from alone in that boat, and that Cuccinelli bears his share of the responsibility as well. Perhaps I am a little sensitive because of all the chatter blaming everything in VA on Bolling and his backers, when an impartial evaluation would demonstrate that just isn’t true.
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And I think we can both agree that because of everything that transpired, long-term, there are no winners in Virginia. Not Bolling, because as you say, he’ll never be trusted again. Not Cuccinelli, both because he lost and because he ran a poor race — there will be other Republicans more viable than he in the future. Not the state GOP, which has never looked more fractured than now. And certainly not the people of Virginia, who will now suffer through four years of Terry McAuliffe, barring an impeachment (he said, with a significant and pleading glance at the gods of politics).
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Hell, even McAuliffe won’t be a winner at the end of his own term. Although I can’t find it in me to be too broken up about that.
No argument that there’s plenty of blame to go around, and that nobody got out of that mess alive.
The Convention is a pathetic strawmen. In reality Bolling stood a better chance of winning at Convention ( smaller number of people needed to convince, Bolling has a track record with grassroots activists)
Whereas the final polls on the primary had Cuccinelli beating Bolling 51-16%.
The Convention is just a scapegoat for Bolling supporters to complain about Cuccinelli getting the nod.
Conventions were great back in 05 and 09 when Bolling won them. Not so much in 2013.
You are also ignoring the fact that Bolling violated the rules first, by changing the nomination rules to a Primary whole year out from when the nomination was to occur.
Cuccinelli didn’t maneuver so much as Conservative grassroots retook the party from the Bollingnites and changed it BACK to a Convention.
Cuccinelli would’ve kicked Bolling’s fat butt in the Primary regardless.
In hindsight that scenario would’ve been better then what did occur.
Bolling put himself before his Party and the Commonwealth. He can rot for all I care!
Ed Gillespie saw Terry win so he thinks he can too. Who knows maybe Karl Rove will run for Governor of Texas as well.
Thanks Virginia!
Did you really *have* to inflict that thought on the rest of us?
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You broke the Law of the Unspeakable. Now it’s fated to happen.
Curse you for cursing us.
Virginia cursed us when they decided that a Partisan Flack for the DNC was a suitable Governor, the standards have been lowered, now ever DNC and RNC chair will think they’re natural office holders. Priebus will run to succeed Walker in 2018.
Also as far as Bolling goes. F him. F him hard!!!!!
Bolling literally is the only guy who is a guaranteed loss against Warner ( and maybe EW Jackson as well). Cuccinelli stands a far better chance ( and there are others besides Ken who’d do better themselves)
Bolling can rot!!!!