This Is What I'm Warning Ya'll About

By now you probably know that a GOP fundraiser and her boyfriend were beaten Staurday night in New Orleans. The immediate story was that they were wearing Palin pins and that is what precipitated the attack.

The Brennan’s Beatdown: Piecing Together A Story (Updated, 8:47 p.m)

.....the author of a post on the Iron Rail blog boasting about vandalizing three banks in the French Quarter. Don’t hit the link if profanity bothers you; what you need to know about it is this:

We also did this for New Orleans, in the initial phase of our project to expel capital from our beautiful home.This ain’t no fall trend. Increasingly, righteously bad behavior becomes a part of our everyday routine. Thinking, talking, making – these things are insufficient in a society that co-opts any and everything except that which attacks directly.There is no reason to be scared. You, too, can fight.

First, Jindal spokesman Kyle Plotkin tells us that Alle Bautsch was not wearing a Palin pin. And neither was Joe Brown. So that’s an allegation which has been disputed.

Second, as far as the Jindal administration is concerned they do not have evidence at this time that the attack on Bautsch and Brown was directly related to the protest. We have a report, as you’ll see below, that the attack was politically motivated, and we’re looking forward to full confirmation of that fact. But the two are not necessarily at odds; our understanding is that Bautsch and Brown remained at Brennan’s after the fundraiser was over and by the time they left there wasn’t much of a protest going on – so if we’ve given the impression that the attack occurred as a result of fundraiser attendees having to run a gauntlet of Democrats upon leaving the restaurant we’d like to correct that right now; that is not our understanding.

Third, since the attack itself appears to have come from assailants who apparently either followed the victims (which we think is most reasonable, given that Brennan’s is located half a block from a police station) or happened upon them and decided to express displeasure with Republican politics in an unacceptably demonstrable fashion, a facet of this we’re actively looking into is the nature of the protest itself. As we noted in the original post here, a group of self-described “anarchists” claim to have disrupted the event and there are snippets of information – or were – following the event in which people holding themselves out as protestors bragged about confrontations with evil Republicans they’d had on Friday.

Jump over to the Hayride and read the whole thing. Michelle has a post up encouraging us to hold off on assuming that the attack was politically motivated, but Gateway Pundit has some more info, and The Hayride is standing by the Palin pin report.

Kristinn has posted some good info here.

I love that the blog is called the Hayride. The Louisisana Hayride, for all you toddlers out there, was a country music radio show that featured Hank Williams. He'd sign off saying, "Put the biscuits on, I'll be home soon, Bocephus."

My first foray into local politics

Due to some real world complications, this is being posted about 3 days late.


Last Thursday, the Henrico GOP held its Mass Meeting, calling on its members to elect delegates to the State Convention. Approximately 200 persons were in attendance.

Opening on time at 7:00 pm, Mike Wade, Chairman, opened the meeting. Del. James Massie led the assembled in prayer before turning it over to Del. Bill Janis for the Pledge of Allegiance. Del. John O'Bannon read the Virginia Republican Creed:

We Believe:

That the free enterprise system is the most productive supplier of human needs and economic justice,

That all individuals are entitled to equal rights, justice, and opportunities and should assume their responsibilities as citizens in a free society,

That fiscal responsibility and budgetary restraints must be exercised at all levels of government,

That the Federal Government must preserve individual liberty by observing Constitutional limitations,

That peace is best preserved through a strong national defense,

That faith in God, as recognized by our Founding Fathers is essential to the moral fiber of the Nation.

Of the three candidates for Attorney General, only Senator Cuccinelli was in attendance, stating that "as Henrico is the 4th largest voting block in the state, where else should he be." He thanked us for letting him go first as this allowed him to be in Hanover later. Of course, THAT meeting was being held at Bass Pro Shop....

The senator stated that the GOP in Virginia has failed. And the root of that failure is that we have not stayed true to conservative principles" as illustrated by recent votes for tax hikes, etc....
Senator Cuccinelli touts his record of staying true to his values as a good reason to choose him as candidate.

Liberal Fairfax has returned him to office, he says, because he sticks to stated values. They know that they can trust him to keep his word and lead on difficult matters. His talent at building a strong, grass roots campaign was mentioned. He is strong on the 2nd Amendment, as shown by the endorsement of the VCDL. He proposed legislation to protect property rights even before the infamous Kelo decision was handed down. Supporting the death penalty, he states that he is hard on crime, though there has been recent controversy on the triggerman rule. Other than the few exceptions on the books, Sen. Cuccinelli has resisted the expansion of the triggerman rule. In conversation with him, he stated that, though it would make it easier to prosecute persons such as the Beltway snipers, such an expansion would not be "conservative." A person pulling the trigger is the one making the decision to commit murder. Those committing a crime in conjuction with that killer may not even know of the intent to kill, nor can one prove otherwise. He is endorsed by Sherriff Mike Wade, and Del. O'Bannon and Del. Bill Janis. His record of winning in Fairfax shows that he can win across Virgnia.
Stickers for every candidate were being worn, predominately with McDonnel, Bolling, and Cuccinelli. Brownlee was a close second.

Second to speak was Jack Reed, on behalf of John Brownlee. Mr. Reed brought home to us that Virginia has elected prosecutors in all of the previous AG races, save one. And that John Brownlee was the only prosecutor in the race. Emphasizing his record as prosecutor, Mr. Reed stated that Mr. Brownlee has a record of sending home illegal aliens. (Not verified in a brief Google search.) John Brown was also touted as being a fresh face. Mr. Brownlee is the candidate that most objects to Senator Cuccinelli's stance on the triggerman rule. Campaign statements indicate that both candidates are engaging in a contest for "most conservative."

Third to speak was Boyd Marcus, on behalf of Dave Foster.
Mr. Marcus states that the Attorney General of Virginia is not only the head prosecutor, he is the manager of the Law Department of Virginia. This election will not be about crime but about the economy and jobs. The AG must know what legal matters mean most to business and what attracts busines to a region. And Dave Foster has the most experience in managing such a firm. He manages over 300 lawyers, covering a multitude of legal matters. He has also been elected to office twice in Arlington, Virginia, thereby demonstrating his ability to get elected by large margins in a liberal enclave. Mr. Marcus said that Dave Foster will win by bringing the necessary moderate swing voters to the table that would be turned off by the other candidates.

Bob McDonell spoke for a brief time. He metioned that Sean Hannity will be speaking at our convention. And that his campaign will officially kick off at Tucker High School, on Parham Rd. on March 28.

He emphasized, also, that this election will be about the economy and jobs, "which is a good thing for Republicans, because we are the party of that is pro-business and pro-job." However, he says that the business climate of Virginia needs to improve. "We need to streamline the permit process. We need to welcome business to Virgnia." He is against the so-called union "card-check" stating that the process would prohibit the private ballot. He wants to provide merit pay for teachers, thereby attracting the best. The state should build up our science programs in schools, across the board. Virginia needs to become the leader in energy development on the East coast. Gas alone could bring in 2600 jobs and provide the state with $8,000,000,000 in revenue. We need to develop the natural resources so abundant in Virginia, such as coal and uranium.

In the local races, Michael Gage came forth to speak about his race against Joe Morrissey (D) in the 74th District. Stressing his background as a small business owner, (he owns a catering business MagPie Creations) he states that he knows how to help the people of his district. He is willing to get his hands dirty. He also mentioned that he lives in the district, as opposed to his opponent......

Pat O'bannon, a Henrico supervisor spoke up, stating that the county budget had been passed and was happy to say that there had been no cuts, no employees were let go, and no raised taxes.

At the end, all those that applied to be delegates to the convention were voted approved by acclamation.

And that's how I became a delegate.

See ya' there!