By now, everyone knows about the Coffee Party. There were meet-ups all over the United States last Saturday. People got together to discuss the direction they wanted their local, state and national governments to go.
A reporter with the Gainesville Times, Dan Roem, covered the meet-up out in Haymarket last Saturday. He reported that our BOCS chairman had the following to say about his constituents who gathered to discuss a more productive government:
Despite its call for civility in political discourse, not everyone is buying into the movement, particularly Stewart.
“The Coffee Partiers are a bunch of fruitcakes,” Stewart told the Times on Sunday. “Yeah, they’re a bunch of nuts. If they’re going to be a coffee party, they’ll be a hazelnut party.”
Stewart elaborated, saying the Coffee Party is “just a phase; it’ll disappear.”
He derided Byler, whose 2007 films portrayed Stewart as being a right-wing ideologue, asking at one point, “Does (Byler) have a job?”
Byler said he does not have a full-time job but has earned income from college speaking engagements during the last couple years after striking it rich in Los Angeles making romantic dramas from 2002 to 2006.
Stewart described the Tea Partiers as patriots “concerned about the direction of the country and about the vast amount of spending that happening.” He called the Tea Party a “legitimate movement” while saying the Coffee Party is “just a load of crap.”
When asked to respond to the inevitable accusation that his comments are the type of discourse Coffee Party participants are fighting against, Stewart replied, “It’s more important to be honest than polite.”
Corey must be looking for this year’s scare tactic so he can get elected. More ‘honest than polite?’ Not really. Some people would say or do anything to get elected, or re-elected.
Nothing else needs to be said. Corey has said it all. Is he speaking for the entire BOCS?
That’s the readership of the Gainesville Times? The replication of the article on the Web on blogs and social media?
“As a scientist, Throckmorton knew that if he were ever to break wind in the echo chamber, he would never hear the end of it.”
I’ve seen other politicians (congressmen for example) say just as bad things about some of their constituents. So, this is nothing really that new.
Kick em all out, I say. 🙂 Republican, Democrat, or Independant. And the Green Party. I don’t like that color anyways. 😉
@marinm
Er, I think I accidentally threw out my forms. I get so much junk mail, I can’t keep it straight. I wonder if I can get a new form.
I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to see an Independent run and finally win! This taking sides thing doesn’t serve anyone.
@marinm
Stewart has shown time and time again he has zero respect for the people he is supposed to represent unless he knows he can use those people for political gain. Then he wonders why people will not respect HIM.
@marinm
How un-St.Patrick’s-Day of you 🙂
This is, of course, quite incorrect. Corey Stewart represents me, and I voted for him, and I respect him. The “people” you are referring to are a minority (thank the Lord).
Quote fail!
You want my forms? 😉 I’m sure the school board will be happy to know that I’m not submitting and they’ll lose money because of it.
You can call the Census people for a new form.
English 1-866-872-6868
Spanish 1-866-928-2010
Chinese 1-866-935-2010
Korean 1-866-955-2010
Vietnamese 1-866-945-2010
Russian 1-866-965-2010
For the hearing-impaired, TDD 1-866-783-2010 (during the times noted above.)
They’ll be sure to send a jackboot to your home in the evening to force compliance. 😉
It’s nice to see they offer a few more languages than the usual choice of English or Spanish!
Or in the case of the local Manassas DVM, Spanish language ONLY. Twice I went with my wife to get the VA Driver’s License Manual, and twice all they had there was the Spanish language version. And they had PILES of it, but not one English version. Fortunately they do have the English version on their website – but my wife won’t believe me when I tell her it is identical to the official printed version – even after printing the thing out. Thanks Manassas VA DMV for making my life more complicated than it is already is…..
Marin is correct about the statement showing the caliber of person the chairman is. Who calls their constituents ‘crap’ and fruitcake? He represents the county…all the people. Those were just ordinary people going to out meet-up with other people as part of the political process. In intent, they were no different than the tea party people who held a demonstration out in Gainesville a few months ago.
They didn’t carry signs or dress in weird clothing and they didn’t holler their political beliefs at cars. They assembled and talked about the direction they wanted their government to take.
And for that, YOUR supervisor called them CRAP and FRUITCAKES. I think his remarks were despicable.
@Gainesville Resident
But we aren’t talking about other politicians. We are talking about Chairman Stewart. If other local ones have done that, please tell us so we can include them in the Hall of Shame.
Depending on if you consider the former Governor of Virginia “local” – I would include him in the Hall of Shame. As head of the DNC, while he was still governor of Viriginia – he made some outrageous remarks about Republicans. Given that there are more than 0 Republicans in the state of Virginia, it follows then that he was making outrageous remarks about his constituents. Not to mention we had a part time Governor – which I would think being Governor is a full time job, as is being head of the DNC. He was either an amazing multi-tasker (which I don’t believe) or he should have held one job at a time. I’m sure many Virginians who voted for him didn’t expect him to take on another full time job while being governor.
However, maybe he gets a pass on being in this “Hall of Shame” as he isn’t considered “local”. If local just applies to PWC politicians, than I guess he isn’t.
@Gainesville Resident
[I LOVE saying this!]
Bob McDonnell inherited the worst mess in state history from the previous administration. The worst state economy since the Great Depression, rampant corruption, and two wars!
Now that was funny!
By the way, speaking of something from the last administration – did anyone else hear the news that several interstate rest stops were reopened today – including the two on I-66 near Manassas? WTOP announced that – I heard it on my drive home from work today. At least one crazy thing the last administration did has been undone!
I saw the I-66 west rest station open today.
GR, I don’t consider Gov. Kaine local. I never defended him holding 2 jobs. An interim DNC chair should have been appointed until he was no longer governor.
However, what if Virginia’s governor could run for 2 terms. Would you forbig the governor from ever saying anything about the opposing party? Of course not.
The Coffee Party is not ‘the opposing party.’ And even if it was, does a public official say that constituents are crap, fruitcake and nuts?
Are you aware that one of the leaders serves on serveral county committees and was appointed to said committees by the Chairman?
Citizens can become involved in government without being called crap, fruitcake and nuts. Stewart owes everyone involved with the non-party affiliated Coffee Party an apology. There had been no policy or public comments even made.
yes Bob McDonnell did inherit a mess, as did the govenror of NJ. He also inherited a state still ranked #1` state to do business in and a AAA bond rating. In order to keep it that way, the new VA government will NOT tax and spend.
They will BORROW and spend. And if they don’t have the money to pay back to the pension fund, they will switch over to STEAL and spend.
I was disappointed in Corey’s remarks. I’m an independent voter; however, I joined the Republican Party for the sole purpose of helping him secure the nomination for Chairman the first time and wrote him a couple of checks. While I disagreed with him on some issues (Immigration being the biggest disagreement), I still valued his fiscally conservative approach to Governance. I learned at General Electric that we shouldn’t get rid of folks who have made mistakes because they become more valuable to the company from the lessons they learn as a result of those mistakes and had hoped that was the case with Corey Stewart. I guess not.
By the way, CBS doesn’t think I’m a nut. I was on the air today with Jenny Beth Martin and Mark Meckler, the co-founders of the Tea Party that Corey mentioned… nice people… we agree on a lot of things and plan to work together on a couple of common issues. They would not approve of Corey’s remarks. You can see us together here http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6308014n&tag=contentMain;contentBody
Corey, you should talk to us to identify those things we agree about… not dismiss or insult us because of the things we disagree about. That’s the Coffee Party way, according to the Tea Party Co-founders, that’s the Tea Party way… more important, that’s the American Way.
In a way… I’m ok with considering myself one among the “mixed nuts” in the County.
I can already see the campaign slogan for someone running against Chairman Stewart… Nuts for (insert the candidate of your choice here). A lot of people will feel alienated by the Chairman’s remarks… because they will know if they disagree, he thinks they are a bunch of “nuts” and “fruitcakes” among the folks he represents.
If you are judged by your enemies… count me in with the “nuts”!
Al, you are Corey’s constituent. He should not have made his nuts, fruitcake and crap remark regardless. The difference between you and me is, I wasn’t surprised.
By the way, you clean up right nice! 😉 Nice job.
@Al
Now at least here’s a post that seems to state some good reasons as to why the poster is disappointed in Corey Stewart.
OK, fair enough – Gov. Kaine doesn’t qualify as local.
I agree, interim DNC chair until the end of the governor’s term would have been the better solution.
Being out on the campaign trail is one thing, but being DNC chair (or RNC chair) is quite another in my opinion. For one thing, DNC chair has nothing to do with the state. At least campaigning for a second term does.
Anyway, it’s sort of a moot point, since Kaine is no longer governor, so now he can be DNC chair and the conflict of interest isn’t there (having two essentially full-time jobs, one of which is basically to see that as many Republicans get defeated as possible).
That’s good – I wouldn’t have known about it if I hadn’t heard it on WTOP this evening on the way home from work. I don’t travel I-66 on a daily basis. The last time I was on it (some weeks ago) the rest stops looked awful all boarded up. Glad they are no longer that way.
GR, I think my reason for criticizing the chairman was a good one also. I don’t think our local officials ought to talk about a group of people who are meeting to work on better government the way he did.
They had done nothing that could be perceived as wrong in his eyes. They had not even met. He assumed and shot his mouth off. I think that is wrong.
Just out of curiosity, do you think Stewart did the right thing in this case?
El Quapo , Stewart should have come out to the meeting and observed for himself rather than passing judgement based on gossip. Why would someone do something that insulting and stupid, knowing nothing about the organization.
Maybe the puppet master is back in town and hard at work, making Corey’s mouth move. That’s too bad. I thought he was outgrowing that childish behavior.
I think Corey Stewart came into office thinking he was going to have an easy time of it . The economy was good and he had his eye on the Lt. Gov’s spot. The economy soured – helped along a bit by his immigration antics which made PWC look like the yahoo brother-in-law. He appears to blame Eric and Annabelle for recording the trash that came out of his mouth and for his failure to look good as Chairman. His pipe dream of higher office went poof and he’s mad. Those awful moderates, compassionate conservatives, and liberals screwed up his plans. He probably feels that he’s been gotten the best of. What self-assured politician would call his constituents names in a very public manner? It’s a macaca moments that will come back to bite him on the butt.
Agreed, Censored–especially about Macaca moments. That’s actually too bad. I keep looking for something good to say about the guy. I think a retraction is in order.
Wow, the quote feature sure didn’t work right that time. I guess though it is easy to figure out where my post began and the quote of MH ended.
Why should he bother? Case in point: no one seems to have believed the AG’s explanation of what he said in that interview with the reporter. I think it’s a complete waste of time for Corey to issue a retraction – I can already predict what will be said about it if he does. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that his retraction would be treated the same way as the AG’s. So, it’s a complete waste of time for him to issue one – even if he feels he should. I kind of hope he doesn’t – as I don’t want to see the inevitable “he’s just saying that because he got attacked for saying those things” and “he’s just saying it because he realizes it jeopardizes his political future” types of comments.
Maybe I should clarify what I just said – if his retraction was met with acceptance that he truly meant what he said in his retraction – then I think it would be fine for him to make one. But having observed what happened with the AG and his retraction (or more accurately clarification that what he was saying was only hypothetical – and in clarifying that he said he never believed the “birther theory”) I just think there’s zero chance any retraction that Corey would make would be received well at all. There’s enough history on this that I feel fairly safe in making that prediction.
A ‘smart” politician would apologize quickly. Every politician knows that honesty, sincerity and humility are the cornerstones of success… and once they learn how to fake these the rest of the job is easy. Chairman Stewart must lack a good political mentor.
Let’s see just how smart our Chairman is. You know, I think Chief Dean would make an EXCELLENT Chairman. He would restore the County’s reputation and its resident’s confidence in our Government.
@Gainesville Resident
It’s “different” to attack the people you supposedly represent if you are an elected official. They are held to a higher standard of conduct. Perhaps we may relieve him of the burden of elected office next year so he may exercise his right to free speech as he sees fit.
@Moon-howler
Good observation, M-h. I understand that the meeting had a few conservatives… and a few of the folks would have been familiar faces. Attacking what you don’t know is for “the world is flat” crowd that doesn’t really want to seek the truth. Perhaps he “can’t handle the truth”.
Do we have any other Tea Party Supervisors that you know of?
El Quapo, I don’t know of any. I expect that TPP hat goes on some of them if the need arises. 😉
Gainesville, I have never called Stewart a racist nor do I necessarily think he is one. I agree with El Quapo. It was not a smart political move.
As for the AG, if I hear words out of someone’s mouth, I tend to believe they have said it. He can back pedal all he wants. If that were his only ‘ooops’ I might not notice. If you recall, I defended the governor for the F-word that we heard during one of his speeches. I don’t think he intended it and it was one of those audio anomolies. I didn’t support McDonnell but I don’t think he needed to be hung out to dry either.
The AG has a reputation for that kind of thinking. My ears don’t usually lie to me.
GR,
What the AG explained, when he was faced with the audiotape, exemplifies my point actually. He should have responed THAT way from the very outset, under any circumstances, that “President Obama was the legal president and there was no issue, hypthetical or otherwise, to explore, next question please.”
How does that explain what I heard with my own 2 ears, Elena? I agree, but then there are the cold facts. I don’t know. I have heard all sorts of things over the years and this birther conspiracy theory really slays me. This is right up there with the Vince Foster conspiracy theory.
On another note, Good for the Gov for opening the rest stops. It makes no sense for a state that is as involved with tourism as Virginia is, to have mile after mile of closed rest stops.
Oh, I know you never have. I meant several regular contributors repeatedly did, and called him worse things than a racist (at least in my opinion).
I don’t disagree that what Stewart said was not smart politically. But politicians do and say things that are not smart politically all the time, so that is nothing new.
If that was what was said about Stewart saying what he did, I’d have no argument.
I still don’t see how his constituents can be allowed to say rather nasty things about him, and then in some cases (I don’t mean MH or Elena) – the same people who said those things get all up in arms when Stewart says something about his constituents. And, to be fair – he called the Coffee Party “crap” – I don’t think that means he called individual members “crap”. I think that is stretching it a bit. OK, he did call people in the Coffee Party fruitcakes or something like that. I’d much rather be called that than a racist or a member of a Germany political party that killed 6 million+ people – as to me calling someone that term is the equivalent of calling someone a murderer.
Anyway, I don’t disagree that what Stewart did was not smart politically. I just find it funny when people who engage in name calling get all offended when they are on the side being called names. Again, I’m not referring to the admins on this site – who I’ve never seen engage in that. It gets back to my point that name calling on either side is bad. I’m pretty sure no one can find a post of mine that has engaged in name calling, so at least I am not one of those who feels it is OK to name call as long as they are the ones doing the name calling.
Fair enough. Although, I am sure then people would have said he didn’t answer the question honestly, or was ducking it when not exploring the hypothetical question, or some other thing. I have a feeling no matter how he answered that question, people would still accuse him of being a “birther”. Sometimes, there’s no pleasing people, and in this case I think it was one of those times – basically a no-win situation once he got asked that question. I still find it interesting that people choose to ignore what he said the day after. Then, they want Stewart to issue a retraction – and would have me believe they won’t say the same thing about Stewart’s retraction, if issued – as they did about the AG’s retraction (not really a retraction but a clarification, if you ask me). So again, a no-win situation. Although, if Stewart said those things (and I’m not arguing that he didn’t), I don’t see how you can really retract it. He can’t come out and say he didn’t say those things.
If you want him to apologize, that’s different from a retraction. But I still think people would say his apology was just for political purposes, so therefore is not sincere, etc. etc.
For those reasons, I really think it is a waste of time for him to issue a retraction or apology. I can pretty much predict what will be said if he does.
Again, it was not smart of him to say what he did – I have no disagreement with that.
That’s perfectly fair to hold Stewart accountable for what he’s said/done and vote against him.
I agree that politicians should be held to a higher standard of conduct. Unfortunately, most of them don’t achieve that higher standard of conduct in my estimation.
However, I’ve seen some extremely vile things said about Stewart on this very blog by some posters, so in my opinion what he said about the Coffee Party doesn’t rise to that level of “vileness”. Now, it isn’t nice to call people fruitcakes and such, but again I’d rather be called that than a racist or some other things. It wasn’t nice of him to say those things of course and he shouldn’t have. But neither should people have said some of the things they said about Stewart, or about the Tea Party. However, it still gets back to people saying that it is fine for them to those very vile and disgusting things.
Anyway, I have no problem with people choosing to vote a certain way based on what Stewart said. Politicians lose votes all the time for what they said. I’m assuming Stewart does some kind of calculus whenever he talks, and in his estimation he didn’t figure that he was going to lose votes that he hasn’t already lost. I have a feeling the people objecting to the fact he said that, are those who wouldn’t vote for him anyway. I figure he probably had the same conclusion. Again, it’s not right that he said that stuff, but it’s not right that some people said the things they did about him either.
Yes, our former blog did hold Chairman Stewart responsible for political actions we opposed. No argument there. Many of the people on this blog are here now because the scales fell off their eyes over Mr. Stewart. One person had a fund raiser for him in her home. It is all about policy and political integrity. If we cannot oppose our elected officials when we disagree with policy, then we have far greater problems.
What people do in office will follow them. I expect calling constituents ‘crap, fruitcake and nuts.’ will live on, the same as the unprofessional treatment of Chief Deane by the Chair will live on.
People like me, who shoot off at the mouth, never consider public office. I would make enough enemies in 15 minutes to last a political lifetime. Corey seems to be trying for that record. Maybe he needs a handler–someone to kick him under the table when he is shooting off his mouth. His behavior is probably par for the course for a county elected official. Those who love him, love him. And those who don’t don’t. It won’t matter. So far, those who love him for various reasons outnumber those who don’t love him.
Where it does matter is if he aspires to higher office. Those kinds of remarks will stick to him like toilet paper on the bottom of a shoe. And he has made enough enemies to make sure that it does. He had better plan on sticking around PWC for a long time. I would not be eyeing the governors mansion lustfully if I were Corey. People have LONG memories.
I just watched Al’s video on CBS – very impressive. Only problem I see is that independents don’t have a realistic shot at winning here. Might Al consider primarying Corey? My bet is that with Corey’s doing a 180 on land use issues, which is where most of his original support came from, a lot more PWC Republicans might consider an alternative.
I don’t mind people on the blog holding Corey responsible for certain political actions and discussing it in a rational way. When they resort to name calling and calling him a racist and other things, that’s where I draw the line. Those people – who think then they want themselves to be taken seriously after they’ve said all that stupid stuff – well, they are kidding themselves.
In that way – I guess the name calling works the same way. People may choose not to vote for Corey Stewart next time because of some of the things he’s said.
I choose not to take seriously anyone who calls people names like racist and other things just because they disagree with them. For awhile, some of these people labeled anyone they disagreed with as a racist or worst (yes, in my book there are things that you can be called that are worse than racist – others may disagree).
I guess that’s what it boils down to – people who engage in name calling may either find themselves voted out of office, or else not taken seriously in a debate on the blog. In that way, at least in my opinion, they are being treated equal. I know others will disagree with this point of view, but that’s my point of view – and it summarizes my feelings on the whole subject of “name calling”.