This summer, Chap Petersen (D) posted a YouTube video on his campaign website illustrating the potential fines for Virginians under the "abuser fee" law, which had been supported, negotiated, and subsequently touted by Jeannemarie Devolites- Davis (R). In an August article about the race, Post reporter Tim Craig mentioned this YouTube video and stated that "Petersen's ad stretches the truth," even though the video used figures from the Post's own stories on the abuser fees. Devolites-Davis later recycle this Post quote was subsequently in attack ads this fall against Chap. A week ago, Devolites-Davis (R), who has been trailing in the polls, launched a vicious attack ad against Petersen falsely alleged without any attribution that Petersen was for a "38 cent gas tax." It also accused him of supporting "concealed weapons in schools," a gross misrepresentation of a law that passed the House of Delegates 85-9 and was signed by Governor Mark Warner in 2005. In response, Petersen sent out a press release pointing the obvious falsehoods in the ad.
So, Chap puts up a You Tube video using the Post's statistics and gets a front page Metro section article saying he's stretching the truth, Devolites-Davis spends $250,000 blanketing entire 4.7 million viewer Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area with three patent falsehoods in it - what's the response of the Washington Post?
No, worse. Shortly thereafter, it endorses Devolites-Davis as "competent and hard-working," even though her role in the State Senate has been minimal since she was elected in 2003. Huh? Looks like Tom Davis' threats to refuse to give Tim Craig any more quotes worked like a charm (see NLS, Tom Davis Threatens and Attacks).
The Post has always given a free pass to Tom and JMDD. This free pass extends from their personal lives, to their family income, to their voting records, and finally to the obsessive involvement of Tom and his staff in JMDD's re-election campaign.
Consider this:
Family Income: More than any other couple in Virginia, Tom & JMDD have used their political connections to provide supplemental family income. JMDD secured an appointment from President Bush to be a paid member on the Board of Sallie Mae - a company that the Washington Post has specifically editorialized against before during and after her tenure on the Board (see Washington Post, Editorial, Student Loan Scandal, 9/10/04). The most blatant example is JMDD's job with Capitol Hill lobbyist ICG Consulting which pays her nearly $100K a year to work minimal hours when she sees fit (See Washington Post, Wife, Friend Tie Congressman to Consulting Firm (7/28/06)). While the Post dutifully reported this, it failed to reach the obvious conclusion - these people should not be elected officials.
Voting Record: Tom and JMDD's consistent claim is that she's moderate, even a RINO. Look again. Her "66" rating by the Family Foundation is higher than any Democrat in Virginia. She has a "0" rating from NARAL. The Washington Post never mentions this although it has frequently editorialized against Republicans who take extreme anti-abortion stands or focus on conservative social issues.
Campaigning: Tom has repeatedly used his Congressional staff to "volunteer" for JMDD. He brings her national donors (e.g. Sands Casino -- $2500 donor to JMDD) which have no interest in Virginia. He's brought her large donations from individuals or companies that seek Federal assistance, such as the CEO of Sallie Mae (Albert Lord -- $5K donor to JMDD), which is the beneficiary of favorable Congressional legislation. She went on a developer/donor-paid $13,110 birthday party trip to Italy on a private jet with her husband who himself called the trip "a stretch of House ethics rules" and she failed to report it on her gift disclosures file in Richmond. No other legislator receives this national assistance. Again, no mention by the Post.
The Post editors play a "balancing game" by which they endorse some Repubs and some Democrats because its keeps lines of access open to sources for their stories. What is not fine is that they compromise their long-established editorial practices and completely fail to scrutinize a key member of the Fairfax County delegation because of the perceived importance of her husband. Whatever happened to responsible journalism?
Virginia State Lawmaker's Daughter Goes on Crime SpreeALEXANDRIA, Va. - The daughter of a leading northern Virginia state legislator pleaded guilty in federal court to armed robbery and faces up to 27 years in prison for a five-week crime spree that stretched from New York to Virginia.
Ashley E. Devolites, 20, admitted in court documents that she and two men from New York state robbed a string of gas stations last summer, using a 1990 Honda registered to her parents.
Devolites's mother Jeannemarie is a Republican whip in the House of Delegates and has represented part of Fairfax County since 1998.
Davis's political success has come with some personal sacrifice: the end of his first marriage. "I've been successful in just about anything I've done in life-academically, politically, and in business"-but his worst failure, he says, was the breakup of his marriage to Peggy, a physician and the mother of his three children. "It was awful."
Davis puts much of the blame for the breakup on his job: "It's very tough on the family. It's miserable on a family-absolutely miserable.
"The worst part about this job is you're not in control. . . . You're sitting here at night. You're going home at 6, then it's going to be 7, then it's 8, and some guy has a tantrum on the [House] floor, and you're there, and the dinner party is wiped out."
Davis recalls arriving home "one night on time. I said, 'Why are you headed to the movies?' And she responds, 'I can't count on you for anything.'
"They just had to plan their life around me," Davis says. "I don't blame them for that.
"I still cry about it."