Well, isn't this a treat: the Grand Inquisitor...er, Dark Lord...er Vice President is coming to Norfolk this Monday to "help" Thelma Drake (R-2nd). Well, at least the ever-popular Cheney, whose "favorable" rating clocked in at just 23 percent in a late January CBS News-New York Times poll, is likely to raise a wad o' cash - $150 a plate, $200,000 for Drake, dead quail for dinner? What's strange about Cheney's appearance in Norfolk is that the 2nd is a swing district that went for Tim Kaine (50%-47%) last November. So why would Drake think appearing with "Deadeye Dick" would help her, exactly - aside from the $200k, of course? My only guess is that her polling shows she has a problem with her "base," and/or that she's seriously worried about losing her seat to Phil Kellam, the certain Democratic nominee for the seat. Why else would Drake bring in someone as deeply divisive and unpopular as the Vice President for Torture and Scandal? Doesn't this just remind people about why they need to replace Drake - and other Tom DeLay Republicans like her - this coming November?
By the way, if you want to read more about Thelma Drake and the Republican "culture of corruption" in Washington, click here for "Tom DeLay's House of Scandal" sheet on Drake. Turns out that Drake took $5,000 from DeLay's ARMPAC, and that - not surprisingly - "Drake voted with Tom DeLay 98% of the time between Jan. 1 2004 and March 31 2005." That's why the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) website asks, correctly, "Is this the kind of government-for-hire that working families deserve?"
In addition, according to the DCCC, "Thelma Drake voted to weaken the ethics rules in a move that many say served only to protect Tom DeLay." On this matter, the DCCC asks, "Does the integrity of the House mean so little that Thelma Drake would sacrifice it to defend Tom DeLay?" Short answer: yes!
Finally, "When Democrats offered a solution to clean up the House by strengthening ethics rules, Thelma Drake voted twice to make sure it never even came to an up or down vote." In other words, according to the DCCC, "instead of a bipartisan effort to get government working for Americans, Thelma Drake stood for cronyism and partisan politics."
Unfortunately, it looks like we're going to get more of that "cronyism and partisan politics" this Monday in Norfolk. Aside from the $200,000 for Drake, this seems tailor made for Phil Kellam to pound away at Drake. As Virginia Democratic Party spokesman, Kevin Griffis, says of Cheney: "We're thrilled to have him. It gives us a great chance to contrast what Democrats have done in Virginia with the absolute mess that Washington has become."
Kind of reminds me of the Bush and Kilgore show. And we all know how well THAT one worked out! Heh.