......deniability depending on how much you need. Linda Smyth needs a lot because she has a Democratic primary in a week.After reading Lowell's and Ben's reports, I wish I had stayed for the whole thing, but I probably would not have been able to control myself. I could have been arrested for thinking rationally and speaking out of turn on the Boss's personal property.
I want to state that Ben's report should be on the front page of Wednesday's Washington Post.
Forget about my association with any campaign or party. If this is how Fairfax County operates and these are the people who control my supposed Party, ..........I've tried to be a calm voice in the Democratic Party, urging support for the House Speaker and the Senate Majority Leader as they try to use the appropriations process to get Bush away from his stupid circular logic. We'd rather fight them over there, etc. Yeah, you practically created them over there (I mean in Iraq) you whack job.
Does truth matter anywhere in this country?
What we witnessed at the Fairfax County Government Center on Tuesday was a continuation of the elaborate charade that is being waged in order to perpetrate one of the grossest frauds on the people of this area that I can imagine. Just go read Ben's post. http://notlarrysabat...
It is classic Boss and I, of course, do not mean to taint my man Bruce. I want to tell my friend Lowell to stay in Arlington, where I am going to join him.
Every halfway intelligent reader of the Washington Post has figured out by now that all the politicians involved in this Metro extension debacle have been positioning themselves in recent months to avoid being blamed for what is coming down on the citizens of this region. I think in Yiddish we call it a shanda. Of course, Boss has enough chutzpah for a bunch of people, but he may have miscalculated on this one. The problem is that if you want to be fair, you have to blame a lot of people and that usually doesn't work in politics. And Boss knows how to ooze his way into a situation such as this one and get just as much as he wants but not so much of the blame that he can't make it to the dais in the House hearing room as a Member and not just as a measly staffer.
Just read Ben's post. Is that how government is supposed to be conducted? Are you going to let him get away with that? This is the real boss, not the wonderful sounding stuff on his website. He hasn't shown that wonderful side to the neighborhoods of Fairfax County, VA and that is all I care about.
All that stuff about minimal interference with traffic passing through Tysons, the lovely seascapes we're going to enjoy, the cafes by the metro, the walks we're going to enjoy, etc was like a sweet dream. But then, Linda Smyth did bring us back to reality when she pointed out that underground is (paraphrase) "a more attractive option." I think it is the only option, but Linda did challenge the spell Mr. Stephens was trying to cast. I want to thank Mr. Kauffman, who is an honorable public servant, for his attempt to represent the public on Tuesday. Also Mr. Frey for his vote. I thank Linda Smyth for her comments, but it is too little too late for me to change my mind. I want someone on that contraption called a Board of Supervisors who is going to ask appropriate questions consistently.
All the awards and the rest of the filler at campaign websites about great Fairfax this and that does not mean anything stacked up against the sprawl and continuing inaction on practical transit solutions such as Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), the local circulation buses within Tysons mentioned today, etc. that we should have had years ago.
I was probably dreaming about making a difference on this one, but at least I sat here and cleared my head of my reaction to the farce at "government" center Tuesday morning. If only........
If anyone can prove that I am a Republican or ever did anything Republcan, I will buy them a weekend in Vegas.
With all 10 members up for election in November, the course of the mammoth rail extension is threatening to turn into a political liability for those running for another term. Supervisors are now faced with deciding whether to fund the project with an unpopular aerial rail through Tysons Corner, or withhold $400 million in order to pressure the state to build a tunnel under Tysons and put the entire 23-mile project out to bid.A decision either way could have ramifications on the political future of the supervisors. If the board signs off on the funds, it would be against the wishes of many supporters of the Tysons tunnel, which is one of the largest local movements of any kind in Northern Virginia?s recent history.
A refusal, however, could block the entire project for the foreseeable future by removing a key source of local funding. The loss of mass transit in the Dulles Corridor could be a greater political blow than the loss of a tunnel, especially in the areas west of Tysons.
Right, but how much of a "political blow" will it be when the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors completely ignores the overwhelming will of the people, as well as its own supposedly non-negotiable demand to examine all the relevant information before making a decision on this crucial project? Stay tuned, starting June 12 when Charlie Hall defeats Linda Smyth, sending the first clear message of voter unhappiness...
Particularly frustrating to some is that under the contract, the current price for the project, $2.65 billion, is good only until June 19 -- the day after supervisors are scheduled to vote. Meanwhile, supervisors have yet to see the proposed contract from Dulles Transit Partners, the private consortium planning to build the project."I am astounded that Fairfax County's elected officials have not seen the contract yet and that a gun is being held to their heads to vote on June 18th," said Stewart Schwartz, a tunnel supporter and executive director of the Washington-based Coalition for Smarter Growth. Schwartz believes an aerial line running down the median of Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) will ruin the opportunity to remake Tysons Corner into a pedestrian-friendly, transit-oriented business and residential district.
Yes, we're all "astounded," Mr. Schwartz. And not just by this one decision, either.
Along with Lambert over McEachin. I think Light has the best chance to knock off an incumbant but its still an uphill battle.
With that being said, I am really tempted to help out Charlie :-p
Light will beat Joannou by a small margin.
McEachin will crush Lambert (this one is a no brainer).
Like "Draft Jim Webb"
Like electing just ONE Supervisor who will stand up to the Connolly "Machine" and effectively serve as an at-large Supervisor for all Fairfax citizens!
This grass-roots effort is going to prevail a dozen votes at a time. If you can bring in a dozen votes, you will be part of this.
Go to Charlie's website and volunteer, or at least contribute!
It's called a democracy and its a great thing. However, you folks here on RK have engaged in vitriolic and at times, in my opinion, highly unfair and harsh characterizations of Linda Smyth.
I am not sure, in the end, that in fact, the voters won't see the vitriol for what it is, and return Linda---even though lots of them might actually agree with Charlie more often.
You guys have to learn to be very careful in how you go about propelling your viewpoints and candidates into the public space. Lots of Democratic primary voters will not be attracted by the type of rhetoric and vitriol you are generating.
I think voters have two good choices. I think RK has done everything in its power to unfairly smear one of them.
That has given me, for the first time, great pause about RK.
Charlie obviously doesn't control the blogosphere, however, and we have been surprised by the level of citizen anger toward the current Board that he has encountered on his neighborhood walks. Apparently a lot of that is coming out here.
Accordingly, while I am also dismayed by the level of hostility of some of the posts, I am not surprised. But do NOT attribute anything and everything said here as coming from Charlie or his campaign. That is not true.
Also, Raising Kaine endorsed Charlie unanimously after a blog vote heavily favoring Charlie, and after extending many invitations to Linda Smyth to participate in the debate. I do not think that RK has acted "unfairly" in any way shape or form.
Smyth's campaign has been going door-to-door spreading the rumor that Hall is a Republican. They've even left messages on voters' answering machines to that effect. Gerry Connolly even dared to tell Bill Turque of the Washington Post this nonsense. What data do they have to support this? None.
Yet Smyth is the one with the Republican voting record. That's a matter of fact and public record.
So who's engaging in dirty tactics and who's sticking to the facts?
What are the republicans to do? How can they break up the Fairfax County Democrats who get the deserved credit of bringing good government and Warner, Kaine and Webb to office?That answer is out there. Republicans posing as democrats. Frauds with single issue criticism akin to no car tax. You can read their sniping and heel biting, their empty rhetoric of "too many unanimous votes." Put the pieces together. Just say no to those angry, bickering Bozos.
Linda Smyth and Gerry Connolly have earned the ire of the republicans. That is why voters should support Linda and Gerry's record and keep the blue wave rising.
Attack, attack, attack. That's the positive, constructive vision for Fairfax and the Providence district, that anyone who challenges the incumbent is an "angry, bickering Bozo?" Nice.