It appears that the McCain-Palin "Tour de Hate '08" will hit (literally?) Prince William County this Saturday:
Republican presidential nominee John McCain will hold a rally Saturday in Woodbridge in Prince William County, according to GOP sources.[...]
In recent weeks, Prince William County Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey A. Stewart and other Northern Virginia Republicans have been urging McCain to return to Northern Virginia. Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and his running mate, Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.), have already held several events in Prince William County.
The question is, will those two friendly, fun guys Corey Stewart and Jeff Frederick be at the rally?
Corey Stewart, who attacked his own police chief, the widely (and deeply) respected Charlie Deane, apparently for not being anti-Latino and anti-"illegal immigrant" enough. To quote former Woodbridge Supervisor Hilda Barg:
Corey, you have created fear in this community, but it's not gonna work anymore...you have created hate across our county, our region, our state, and we're a laughing stock across the country.
So, will Corey Stewart be on stage at the McCain rally in Woodbridge on Saturday? I mean, he certainly does seem like the perfect choice for the "Tour de Hate '08," and he is - unfortunately - chairman of the board of supervisors in Prince William County. I think we can expect to see him there.
Oh yeah, and what about the guy who says he was just "joking" when he compared Barack Obama to Osama bin Laden? Joking? Oh yeah....hahahahahahaha, that's so funny! Hilarious! OK, maybe not. :( Actually, even some Republicans are not finding Frederick so funny:
"This Jeff Frederick stuff is a disgrace," said former delegate Vincent F. Callahan, a Republican from Fairfax County. "I don't know where he is coming from, but the party is going down the tubes with him at the helm."
So, will Jeff Frederick, chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia AND Virginia delegate representing Woodbridge, be at the McCain rally this Saturday in his home town? You'd think so, although John McCain did say that Frederick is "somebody no one knows." Well, this Saturday, more people - including John McCain, apparently - may get a chance to know Jeff Frederick. The question is, will he be there, helping drag his party "down the tubes?" We can only hope so.
Pete Frisbie
Published: October 15, 2008What this paper failed to do today in its article regarding Delegate Frederick, is to give the complete story to our residents on what the Republican Party under Frederick's leadership has done in the past week to raise tensions in Virginia.
His comments were the third time in a little more than a week that the McCain campaign condemned something said or written by the leadership of the Virginia Republican Party.
Even Virginia Republicans have chastised Mr. Frederick. Del. Dave Albo(R) said that Frederick's comments were "ridiculous" and that "We(Republicans) don't need to make up stuff about Barack Obama," he said. "We can talk about policies to win the election."
James Hyland the Chair of the Fairfax County Republican Party agreed with Del. Albo. "What we are looking for up here are answers on the economy, experience and the impact of [McCain's and Obama's] policies on the federal workforce."
Prince William County Republicans have called the remarks, "totally unacceptable and "very much beyond the pale."
Other state newspapers have said, "It is a sad commentary on the state of political discourse in this nation and this commonwealth when someone in a position such as Frederick's resorts to cheap, nonsensical rhetoric. Especially at a time when we need serious discussion of the issues and challenges America faces in the world today."
However despite the reaction nationally and locally, Frederick and Mr. Beefelt, the chair of the Prince William County Republican Party, are standing by these hateful comments. Are these the leaders that other local Republicans want the face of their party to be? Are these the leaders that should be depicted as the leaders of our diverse community in Prince William County in news stories across the nation?
Prince William County residents have learned a long time ago that Delegate Frederick does not hold himself accountable for his actions.
But enough is enough. It is time for local Republicans to hold Mr. Frederick and Mr. Beefelt accountable for their comments. It's time that they get back to discussing why John McCain continuing the failed policies of the past eight years will be good for Prince William County for the next four years.
PETE FRISBIE
Woodbridge