Category: 99th House District

Well, the candidacy of Catherine Crabill has provided some benefits…

It’s allowed us to determine what groups and persons have a shred of intelligence and sanity.

And on that front, it looks like the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) has joined the Gun Owners of America and the “American Patriots Committee” in showing they shouldn’t be trusted as far as you can throw them:

VCDL-PAC is endorsing the following Candidates who are running for the Virginia House of Delegates:

[…]

District 099 Catherine T. Crabill (R)

Welcome to the fringe (and I’m not talking about that great show on Fox), VCDL. I hope you get acquainted with the other crazies there.

Victims and families of victims of the Appalachian School of Law and Virginia Tech shootings endorse Albert Pollard for delegate.

The Shad Plank (the Daily Press’s blog) has the details.

Interestingly, Pollard has also secured the endorsement of the National Rifle Association (NRA).

Ham Sandwich asks the National Rifle Association to reconsider their endorsement of Albert Pollard.

The campaign of Hamilton “Ham” Sandwich, Esq. released the following statement on the news of the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) endorsement of Delegate Albert Pollard:

“I disagree with the National Rifle Association’s endorsement of Delegate Albert Pollard. I have always been a strong advocate of the people’s right to keep and bear arms. While I do not own any firearms currently — nor do I have the physical ability to use a firearm — I believe that I would be a better advocate of Second Amendment rights in the Virginia General Assembly than either Delegate Pollard or Ms. Crabill,” said Ham.

When asked about Sandwich’s philosophy on gun control, Sandwich said: “It’s simple, I believe that noncriminals and noncrazies should be able to purchase and carry firearms. Criminals and crazies — on the other hand — shouldn’t have access to guns.”

“Ham personally filled out the candidate questionnaire but he accidentally left a mustard stain on the paper and the NRA said that the questionnaire was illegible,” said Sandwich’s campaign spokesman Timothy Watson.  “We’ve submitted another copy of the questionnaire and we feel confident that the NRA will recognize that Ham is a strong defender of the people’s right to keep and bear arms.”

Ham, a Virginia native, is running as a Republican write-in candidate in the 99th district. The district includes the counties of Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond, Westmoreland, and King George, as well as the Port Royal and Bowling precincts in Caroline. He is a member of the Virginia Bar (Golden Phoenix division) and a partner in the law firm of Dill & Gallinger. He is married and lives with his wife and children in Bowling Green, Virginia.

You can learn more about Ham Sandwich by visiting his website at http://www.votehamsandwich.com/, which is in the process of being updated from his 2007 run for Commonwealth’s Attorney in Prince William County.

We finally have a real choice in the 99th: Ham Sandwich declares for Delegate in the 99th!!!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

HAMILTON “HAM” SANDWICH, ESQ. LAUNCHES WRITE-IN CAMPAIGN FOR 99TH DISTRICT HOUSE OF DELEGATES SEAT

CAROLINE COUNTY, VA – Hamilton “Ham” Sandwich, Esq. today announced his campaign as a Republican write-in candidate for the 99th House of Delegates District on the popular local blog “I’m Surrounded By Idiots” run by Timothy Watson. Ham previously ran for Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney in 2007 as a write-in candidate and received more than 700 votes countywide with votes coming from every precinct in the county according to Prince William County Registrar Betty Weimer.

Mr. Sandwich’s 2007 campaign web site, located at http://www.votehamsandwich.com/, provides voters with background information on the candidate, his rationale for running in that race, a critique of his then-opponent’s record of failure in the job, information on the write-in process and a list of endorsements among other items. Plans are underway to update the site to reflect this latest run and the difficult issues that Virginians are facing today.

In keeping with his commitment to open government and his Jeffersonian conservative ideals, Sandwich is issuing a challenge to both Del. Albert Pollard (D) and Republican challenger Catherine Crabill to engage him in a series of debates and town hall meetings on the issues between now and Election Day – one each week.

Ham believes that it is unconscionable that Delegate Pollard’s campaign website is completely devoid of any issues save for two – “Responsible Governing” and “The Bay.”

In a statement, Ham Sandwich declared, “Why doesn’t Del. Pollard just declare that he is also for ‘Mom,’ ‘Apple Pie,’ and, well, at one time I would have said, ‘Chevrolet,’ but now must use the term, ‘Government Motors.’”

Likewise, Ham joins Republican gubernatorial nominee Bob McDonnell and his statewide ticketmates Bill Bolling and Ken Cuccinelli in condemning the candidacy of Ms. Crabill who has openly stated on her campaign web site that she believes the U.S. Government was responsible for the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.

Ham, a Virginia native, is a member of the Virginia Bar (Golden Phoenix division) and a partner in the law firm of Dill & Gallinger. He is married and lives with his wife and children in Bowling Green, Virginia.

UPDATED: What the heck is the First Congressional District Republican Committee smoking?

UPDATE: Chairman Tom Foley of the First Congressional District Republican Committee had this to say in an e-mail:

Dear Mr. Watson,

At its June meeting the committee authorized $1,500.00 to each of the three challengers running  either against an incumbent or for an open seat in the district.

The 3,000.00 you cite is not correct.  I looked up the SBE report, and upon inquiry have been told that campaign staff filed that report with SBE in person and were instructed to show the single contribution in two places. It is now being corrected.

Okay, but this raises an even bigger issue: If Catherine Crabill received only $1,500 from the committee and not $3,000, that means her campaign committee currently has a balanced of -$480.61, which isn’t possible either logically (since she discloses no debts) or under state law.

CORRECTION: The math actually works out correctly with the removal of the second $1,500 contribution from the committee.

The campaign finance disclosure reports covering July 1 through August 31 for most candidates were released today by the State Board of Elections and there were some surprises in Catherine Crabill’s report.

On July 13, 2009, the First Congressional District Committee contributed $1,500 to Crabill’s campaign. On August 24, 2009, ten days after Bob McDonnell, Bill Bolling, Ken Cuccinelli, and Pat Mullins publicly repudiated Crabill and her campaign, the First Congressional District Republican Committee contributed another $1,500 to her campaign.

There are so many things wrong with this I don’t know where to start: First, the committee contributed money to a candidacy of someone that’s obviously insane and believes that the United States government was responsible for, inter alia, the murder of 168 people, including 19 children, in the Oklahoma City bombing. Do I need to stay more? Do the values expressed by Crabill match those held by members and chairman of the First District Committee?

Second, why is the committee contributing money to the candidacy of someone that doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning? As a sidenote on point two, doesn’t incumbent Rob Wittman have two Democratic challengers running against him in 2010? Am I the only person that thinks they could find a better use for this money they’re blowing on Crabill’s campaign?

Third, why is the committee supporting this Crabill which serves to hurt the candidacy of McDonnell et al.? Are they blind to that fact or do they just not care?

All told, Crabill raised $4,538.95 during the reporting period and has $1,019.39 on-hand. Meanwhile, Delegate Albert Pollard raised $14,101 and has $16,301.36 on-hand.

Cross-posted at Virginia Virtucon.

Rob Wittman condemns Catherine Crabill, refuses to support or endorse her candidacy.

The Free Lance–Star:

Rep. Rob Wittman has joined other top Republican leaders in the state who are shunning Catherine T. Crabill, a controversial candidate for the Northern Neck’s seat in the House of Delegates.

Wittman spokesman Steve Stampley said last week that the congressman from Montross will endorse neither Crabill nor incumbent Albert Pollard, D-Lancaster, in the race for the House seat Wittman once held.

Wittman also has no plans to appear with Crabill at campaign events or to donate money to her campaign, Stampley said.

I wonder what R. Allen Webb will have to say about this latest development. Maybe he’ll see the writing on the wall now.

Probably not, but I’ve always been an optimist. And I have no idea why in this particular case give previous actions by people in the 99th district.

Cross-posted at Virginia Virtucon.

Introducing the Catherine Crabill blacklist.

Because these people shouldn’t be allowed to vote, much less be involved in a serious political party. And these people should be made aware in absolute terms that their support for this embarrassment of a candidate will be remembered and there will be repercussions for it.

Feel free to add names in the comments section for anyone I forgot.

No one on this list should be allowed to hold an position in any Republican committee or ever be nominated or endorsed by a Republican committee. Members include:

R. Allen Webb. Chairman, 99th Legislative District Republican Committee; Chairman, 28th Senatorial District Republican Committee; Chairman, Grass-roots Steering Committee for Catherine Crabill’s campaign. UPDATE: Webb is also a member of the First Congressional District Republican Committee and the Republican State Central Committee as James Cupp pointed out in the comments section.

Bill Kling. Catherine Crabill’s campaign manager.

Larry Kile. Chairman, King George County Republican Committee. Huge supporter of Crabill’s campaign.

James Cupp provides a few more names:

Jeanne Kling. Wife of “Badwater Bill” Kling; Chairwoman, Northumberland County Republican Committee; Confirmed supporter of Crabill campaign, as evidenced by Letter to the Editor published in Northumberland Echo, Northern Neck News, and Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star.

Jim Spiess. Convicted felon (unlawful wounding); Convicted dog killer (by poisoning with strychnine); Apparent leader of 99th District TEA Party; Owner, River Pools and Spas, Tappahannock, Virginia (”Catch the wave!”); Virulent promoter of Crabill campaign.

Hopefully Allen Webb steers her campaign right into the Chesapeake Bay.

Or the Potomac, or the Rappahannock for that matter. According to a press release from Catherine Crabill’s campaign:

R. Allen Webb, of King George, chairman of the 99th Legislative District Republican Committee, has been named to head the grass-roots steering committee of Catherine Crabill’s GOP campaign for the district’s seat in the Virginia House of Delegates in the Nov. 3 general election.

Blah, blah, blah, read the whole thing at Fred2Blue.

NOTE: In no way should the title be construed as a threat of violence. I just wish this embarrassment would be over with.

My thoughts in re Catherine Crabill.

It looks like some of the state Republican bigwigs have finally realized how bad having someone like Catherine Crabill as a Republican nominee is according to The WaPo:

No, Bob McDonnell is not attending an upcoming fundraiser with Republican House of Delegates candidate Catherine Crabill. Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling won’t be there either. Attorney general candidate Ken Cuccinelli II also will not appear with Crabill.

In fact, the Republican Party of Virginia has formally decided it will be giving Crabill no support for her campaign against Del. Albert Pollard, and chairman Pat Mullins has sent word to Crabill that he would prefer that she step aside and not run for the seat.

The folks at the Democratic Party of Virginia rightly had this say in a single-sentence statement: “Why did it take 29 days?”

A better question, however, is why did it take them 124 days since her belief that the federal government was responsible for the Oklahoma City Bombing was publicized on this blog, to repudiate her as a Republican?

This is an unmitigated disaster for Republicans and it never should have gotten to this point. No one involved in this situation has displayed an inkling of leadership in dealing with the problems presented by having this nut running for office.

All it should have taken was one person, just one, coming out before the committee met and nominated her, to stop this whole situation from becoming a problem. And it didn’t have to be — and shouldn’t have to have been — Bob McDonnell’s, Bill Bolling’s, or Ken Cuccinelli’s campaign.

Pat Mullins, then-interim Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, or Speaker Bill Howell, or Republican House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith, or even State Senator for the Northern Neck, Richard Stuart or Congressman Rob Wittman could have done it.

But none of them set up to the plate and did it. And now, we’re left with this nut as a nominee. Instead of finding a candidate that could given a Pollard a run for his money and possibly have beaten him, we have a nut that will receive 10% of the vote (at most) in one of the most Republican-friendly districts in the state.

And she’s not going to step down, she made that clear as the convention.

And it gets worst: The 99th Legislative Direct Republican Committee’s Chairman, Allen Webb, has sent out an e-mail saying that he will continue to support Crabill’s candidacy and if the committee doesn’t like that, they can remove him. Here’s hoping they do.

There should have been someone else out there telling the Republicans that this nominee was going to be a disaster. Someone besides me and a couple of other bloggers.

H/t: Fred2Blue.

Crabill Watch: Catherine Crabill gets the coveted endorsement from the conspiracy theory clearing house Prison Planet.com.

Not a real surprise, right?

But a couple of words do not probably describe the type of folks that are behind Prison Planet.com. It isn’t just Oklahoma City Bombing Truthers (OKC Truthers) and United Nations one-government nuts like Crabill, it’s 9/11 Truther (people that believe that the Bush, or the Jews, or combination there of were responsible for the 9/11 attacks), anti-vaccine loons, anti-fluoride morons (they must worry about people trying to “sap and impurify” their “precious bodily fluids”), and, of course, those newest nuts known as Birthers (people that believe that Barack Obama is not a “natural born citizen” and therefore ineligible to be President). Of course, Crabill has previously shown her support for the Birthers between links on her campaign site to WorldNetDaily and comments made elsewhere.

To get a good idea on how insane the folks at Prison Planet.com are, consider this quote from the very article calling Crabill a “[p]atriot”:

GE manufactures jet and attack helicopter engines used in Iraq and Afghanistan to kill thousands. Not only is GE complicit in mass murder, it also pled guilty in federal court to civil and criminal charges of defrauding the Pentagon and agreed to pay $69 million to the U.S. government in fines — one of the largest defense contracting fines ever. Part of this fraudulent scheme was used to fund Israeli military programs not authorized by the United States – in other words, [Jim] Newell’s [the author of an article lambasting Crabill] boss helped Israel torture and kill Palestinians.

I’m loathed to even post stuff like that anywhere on my blog but I feel it’s important to document the type of insane people out there that have decided to support Crabill’s candidacy. I did make the prediction that Crabill would make the Republican Party and anyone running as a Republican look like a complete moron and it’s nice to see I was correct in that hypothesis even though I don’t like the net result.

And, no, I won’t be linking to that site. You can get your own link if you want to read that drivel! And the only reason that I even know about the endorsement post is because of a handy “Catherine Crabill” Google Blog alert. Heck, it was Google News search that found me the first article detailing Crabill’s OKC Trutherism, so they’re a a pretty good resource FYI.