It's fascinating who's supporting Jim Kaplan in his run for the Republican nomination in the 37th Virginia House of Delegates district (Fairfax City). This guy may call himself a moderate, but he's never held elective office and has no voting record, so how on earth do we know? Well, for starters we can "follow the money" on Kaplan, since he has no real record to speak of. Looking at the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP) data is highly revealing; this guy certainly does not look like a moderate to me. For starters, Kaplan has received $1,000 from Newt Gingrich's GOPAC organization (current chairman, JC Watts,). That's moderate?
Or, how about $500 from the "Friends of Bob Ney" -- that being Congressman Bob Ney from Ohio, one of the most poiltically conservative members of Congress. Don't believe it? Just look at his ratings by major interest groups by Project Vote Smart : a ZERO on abortion rights, another ZERO by the Human Rights Campaign (gay rights), and perfect (100%) ratings by the US Chamber of Commerce and the National Rifle Association. Bob Ney's certainly no "moderate," yet he's donating money to Jim Kaplan. Hmmm...
Then there's $500 from Texas-based Victory Funds Inc., and $250 from super-conservative Pennsylvania Republican Congressman Tim Murphy. Nothing moderate in either of those cases.
Finally, it's suspicious that Jim Kaplan's website provides almost no detail regarding his positions on the issues. This, combined with Kaplan's young age (33) and lack of any record makes me wonder whether or not what we've got here is an ultra-conservative wolf in moderate sheep's clothing. Given how little we know about this guy, I say "show me the money," and the money says that he is backed by a lot of out-of-state, hard right supporters.
Meanwhile, Kaplan's opponent John Mason reportedly was "persuaded" by "moderate Republican Party leaders" (e.g., Rep. Tom Davis) to take on Kaplan for Chap Petersen's seat. Perhaps Davis et al. are worried that an ultra-conservative, which Kaplan appears to be, would not do as well in November against the Democratic candidate as Mason in the 37th District? Very interesting...stay tuned!