Is There A Tom & Gerry Show In Fairfax?

By: Lee Diamond
Published On: 12/12/2007 1:30:03 AM

I used to like the Tom and Jerry cartoon.   It was funny.  But, you get older and while it may still be funny, it is also an act.  Tom never catches Jerry.  (Here is a scenario that I hear is being attempted in Fairfax County.)

In Fairfax, Tom and Jerry is kind of an act, but more of a secret love affair.  Congressman Tom the Gerrymanderer and All Around Smoothie Davis is ready to go the way of Billy Tauzin and make his millions lobbying his former colleagues.  And y'all, this boy is smart......and did I say smooth?   Besides, he sees the writing on the wall.  This district is actually catching up to the gerrymander!  It is turning blue!  Northern Virginia is one of the more interesting areas of the country from this perspective.
Anyway, Tom the big Tomcat is ready to turn the 11thcd and his contributors (some of the ones he warned not to contribute to grassroots supported Andy Hurst in '04) over to Gerry the fast eating mouse Connolly who styles himself as Boss Connolly.  Yup, this guy is authentic 19th Century folks.  Step right up.   Gerry is kinda bored with the land deals and other local stuff.  Why should he worry himself about picking up your garbage and listening to your complaints about traffic and over-development?  He wants to go to the big show in the United States House of Representatives where the deals are......a little different.

So, one well greased lobbyist lover is trying to pass the 11th congressional district seat off to another well greased lobbyist lover.  Tom & Gerry are.......like the cartoon......actually working together to arrange a nice soft transition for the big spenders who have not developed a taste for real campaigns without so many of the slick ads and where the candidates actually go out and meet the voters.  Talk to them, heaven forbid!  Get their ideas!  Listen to them!  Ugh!  Poor Gerry.

So, what are you going to do about it?  Gerry wants the damn job! Do you people get that?  Gerry's paid his dues.  He's cut all his inside deals and he wants what belongs to him.  It is Gerry's democracy here in Fairfax.  No matter that he hasn't faced serious opposition in years and that Gerry the Mouse/Boss Connolly has been sucking up more greenback contributions than he can reasonably spend.  He doesn't want that money going to grassroots "losers" who will not make the appropriate "alliances" to "benefit" Fairfax County.

Well, this Gerry watcher thinks that maybe Gerry should stay in the barnyard.  Maybe he could deal with the problems he's allowed to fester and worsen in Fairfax.

And maybe we could take this seat just like we took the Senate seat.  And maybe we could take FCDC and win the Presidential race in VA for the first time since 1964 by maximizing the vote out of what has become DPVA's voter engine.

Comments



the obvious strategy (jsrutstein - 12/12/2007 7:02:05 AM)
I've wondered, too, about a too cozy relationship between Connolly and Davis.  If Davis opts not to run, and Connolly enters the race, it would be an obvious and simple campaign tactic for Byrne to allege a Davis-Connolly relationship at every turn.  Even if the GOP puts up some token candidate, Byrne can continue to bash Davis and his tenure as the reason voters should vote for change and vote for her.  At the same time, she can call on Connolly to denounce Davis and his votes.  Certainly, this would hamper Davis' ability to mount a successful whisper campaign on behalf of Connolly.  Every day that Connolly doesn't join Byrne in tying Davis' legacy to Bush, she'll be able to persuade the voters that Connolly doesn't stand for change.  Even if Connolly decides to publicly bash his pal Tom, he'll look like a latecomer, who's merely emulating Byrne.  When the Dems seek to vote for the real force for change in June, Byrne should be able to seal the deal.  As it is, Connolly's delay in joining the race, whether it's due to wanting to wait a decent interval after being sworn in today as Chairman, or whether it's due to waiting for his pal Tom to retire, is helping Byrne establish herself as the real deal.  If Connolly wants to spend all his money to try to outflank Byrne on the left, bashing the very developers and insiders who've carried his thus far, more power to him.


The Mouse Is A 19th Century Machine Pol (Lee Diamond - 12/12/2007 4:51:42 PM)
Boss Connolly would not even try to run to the left of Leslie.  He has to be dragged kicking and screaming into most progressive causes.  Think living wage.  The guy is a BUSINESS Faux Democrat.   Always remember, it is the developers and other insiders who fund his political career.

If we want a strong  ticket up here, we go with Mark Warner and Leslie Byrne.