Posted on 01/17/2010 7:20:01 PM PST by Clintonfatigued
Fairfax County Supervisor Pat S. Herrity (R-Springfield) said Wednesday that he will seek the Republican nomination against first-term U.S. Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.), as both parties in Northern Virginia begin to ramp up for the contest.
Herrity, 49, an accountant whose father was chairman of the Fairfax Board of Supervisors in the 1970s and '80s, had contemplated entering the race for weeks. Word leaked about his potential candidacy, and on Wednesday, he called his announcement "probably the worst-kept secret" in Fairfax.
"Things have changed dramatically in the last four years," Herrity said at a news conference at the West Springfield Government Center. "Simply put, I believe our country is at a crossroads, and I feel I am the best candidate who can provide fiscal responsibility in Washington."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Pat Herrity is well-known in the district. He was almost elected Fairfax County Executive in 2008, and Fairfax County is the most populous county in the district.
Herrity has a well-known and respected name in the area. Connolly is in big trouble for voting lock-step with the Obama agenda including his health care reform bill in a congressional swing district that just went for McDonnell. If the angry mob is still motivated, this should be considered at least a toss-up and a very possible GOP pick-up for the 112th.
Is Herrity a conservative or one of those Tom Davis RINOs that seem to be ubiquitous in NoVA? Unlike the VA-08, the VA-11 is not an overwhelmingly liberal district—in fact, it voted for President Bush in 2004.
He's toast already.
We look forward to new Congressman Herrity joining the team next winter.
“Is Herrity a conservative or one of those Tom Davis RINOs that seem to be ubiquitous in NoVA?”
I don’t know, all I know is Herrity’s resume. A Freeper from Virginia (preferably NOVA) would be better able to answer that.
It’s important to remember that for all his faults, Tom Davis consistantly won and was spectacular at getting other Republicans elected.
The over-simplified view is Catholic politicians in Virginia who are conservative (pro-life, traditional marriage, lower taxes, etc.) line up on the Republican side of the aisle and Catholic politicians who support abortion, gay marriage, tax increases and big government vote the liberal line of the Democratic party (think Jim Moran). Herrity is a traditional Catholic and can be counted on to vote conservatively while Connolly fits the latter description.
Keith Fimian is taking another run at it as well.
Either one of them can beat Connolly this time around.
You may want to get rid of, for example, Department of Education. The folks working there for years and years have a tremendous investment in their work careers and might well not agree with you!
Kind of like, let's say, a new tax proposal that' going to wipe out your small business. Maybe your business is a drag on our economy and really ought to be wiped out, but I'll bet Fur Shur you're going to be up there protesting to Congress that "this tax is wrong"!
Frequently what you hear as RINO cow tow-ing to Leftwingtard interests (when it comes to the government) is actually just normal enlightened self-interest for the local Congress critter representing his peculiar constituency (a government work force).
We have three Congressional districts in Northern Virginia that represent this workforce. Frank Wolf, Connolly (Canoli) and Moran (Moron) have pretty fair constituent service, with Canoli not quite in the class with Wolf, or with his predecessor, Davis, or his predecessor Herb Harris/Stan Paris (the district grew), or Joe Fisher.
Even Moron's staff is decent, although it's always a surprise to find him running down the streets of Alexandria at night with his pants still on.
Canoli can be taken out by someone people here trust to handle constituent services ~ and I assure you he's among the more Conservative fellows to ever run for Congress around here.
Think of it this way ~ a big chunk of the local electorate works for a very large company in a company town ~ the Congresscritter is not just your representative in Congress, he has something to do with keeping the Personnel office straight!
Canoli was one lucky S*B who was in the right place at the right time and was able to ride an anti-GOP wave to his U.S. House seat. Now there’s a riptide.
I like Keith Fimian. I was hoping Herrity would sit this one out and run for County chairman instead. Two solidly strong candidates with solid resumes. I hope they can keep it clean, not beat up on each other too much, and remember who the real enemy is.
Keith Fimian Welcomes Pat Herrity to Republican Primary
Jan 13, 2010
Fairfax, VA—Today Keith Fimian, Republican candidate for Congress (VA-11) issued the following statement on Pat Herrity’s announcement that he would run for Congress.
“I welcome Pat Herrity to the race for Congress. His opportunistic ambition to run for Congress is another sign that Gerry Connolly is vulnerable due to his reckless tax-and-spend policies.
“Sadly Pat Herrity misreads what Virginians’ want from their leaders. They do not want a career politician more concerned with power than results. Pat Herrity lost his race for Chairman of the Fairfax Board of Supervisors because Democrat Sharon Bulova repeatedly criticized him for missing 103 votes his first year in office. Instead of staying focused on the job he was elected to do, Herrity is again abandoning his job while drawing a taxpayer salary to seek another office. This will be the third different office he has sought within four years. His ambition outruns his responsibilities.
“I am in this race to win. I know I am the best champion in 2010 for our Conservative Republican values. I am not a career politician always angling to climb the next rung on the campaign ladder. I am not a politician who says one thing and votes another. Northern Virginia is tired of that. They will not accept it from Republicans any more than they will from Democrats. Last year I warned that if we elected a career politician like Gerry Connolly, we would get more taxes and out-of-control spending. Sadly that has been the result and families suffer.
“I offer a break from politics as usual. I am not a politician and that is a problem to the insiders who cut deals and want to anoint their friends. Instead, I care passionately about our country’s future. I am absolutely committed to creating jobs, reducing taxes and defending our freedoms. I remain the only candidate in the race who holds those views and I look forward to the campaign ahead to turn our country around and stop these reckless policies the politicians keep pushing.”
Still, what we need is a Spanish, Vietnamese, Russian and Korean speaking Buddhist to pick up the ethnic votes.
They put the "Warning Deep Water" signs at the parks in 16 different languages!
You have to live here to believe it.
This is what Turn of the Century New York City was like ~ a bunch of Americans born all over the world came together in one place to do "stuff".
The winner will have worn the soles off his shoes walking the ethnic markets. It worked for Bob McDonnell.
I certainly hope that the primary doesn’t get too bitter. It’s sure starting out on a sour note.
I’m less than hopeful. After seeing Cucinelli’s State Senate seat whisked away by a 3:1 Dem surge in absentee ballots (a surge, BTW, that was not present at the actual ballot box, where the race was very, very close) I no longer trust that Fairfax County elections are not being manipulated.
I undestand perfectly well that the VA-11 has a huge percentage of voters that work for the federal government or government contractors, and thus you can’t have a GOP candidate promising to eliminate the Department if Education. However, I don’t see why we should similarly countenance pro-abortion Republicans such as Tom Davis when the district was comfortable voting for a vocally pro-life President Bush in 2004.
In other words, I’m not saying that we need a Mike Pence type to run in the VA-11, but we shouldn’t have to settle for less than a Frank Wolf type.
The alternative in one of those elections was this woman who was so hard-core Socialist that she demanded the Democrat caucus in the House EXPEL members who didn't vote the party-line.
Obviously it would not have been possible for Davis to be a Democrat. Also not possible for Democrats in Fairfax to vote for that kind of Democrat candidate.
Oh, yeah, he used to be a member of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. He exhibited strange behavior while a member. When people were speaking he'd go behind the partition and watch them on the in-house TV.
In most elections in Fairfax abortion one way or the other is not an issue. On the other hand Jerry Baliles, while Governor, managed to PO the public by sending the State Police over to beat up nuns demonstrating at a local abortion mill in Falls Church.
None of Jerry's cronies managed to move up the electoral ladder after that. What a bunch of thugs.
Tom Davis, in contrast, was never a thug.
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