“Corey Stewart Ends His Political Career“
This was written by a very well-respected Virginia Republican Shaun Kenney — the Vice-Chairman of the Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors, and former Communications Director for the Republican Party of Virginia.
Kenny writes this about the Rule of Law campaign:
Now defenders of the Rule of Law campaign have assiduously maintained that it has nothing to do with Hispanics per se. No no no… even if it was 20 million Canadians, they insist this is about illegal immigration (and that alone).
Which, of course, is why Prince William County uses as a metric how many Hispanics they’ve driven out in order to judge their success. Read it for yourself… 8,000+ Hispanics out of PWC.
And this about Stewart’s latest swipe at George Allen:
It’s worth watching Corey Stewart struggle for the right words to envelope his true feelings about George Allen… amusing and angering at the very same time.
So I have a theory on how George Allen redeems himself after “macaca” — how’s about running mano-e-mano against Corey Stewart on the merits of his HISPANICS OUT! Rule of Law act? How’s about we measure up how much more good Allen did both as a governor and a U.S. Senator and ask the 8,000+ Hispanics and their families what they think of the land of the free and the home of the brave?
The path to George Allen’s redemption in Virginia politics runs through the broken, tattered remains of Corey Stewart’s political career.
Between the Tea Party favorite in Cuccinelli, the mainstream GOP Senate ’12 nominee in Allen, the Catholic Church, and everyone with even the slightest twinge of doubt that this one-man crusade against “illegal aliens” is really about targeting Hispanics… that’s an army of conscience right there. I’ll gladly march in that army.
Best of all, there is a comment from a wormy sounding Greg Letiecq, already displaying the tail between his legs Corey Stewart seems to be lacking:
Greg L said:
Shaun, I really admire a lot of what you write and do, but you’re way, way off base here. I’m tempted to fire back, but instead of wrongly impugning your motives or criticizing the shallow understanding on display here I’ll just make you an offer: Come out of Fluvanna for a while and let me give you a tour of some of the places where the impacts of illegal immigration remain disturbingly significant. Let me show you personally what this looks and feels like, and allow me to introduce you to some folks who have suffered from the impacts of illegal immigration.
I can pretty much guarantee that if you really understood what so many law abiding people had to go through with this you’d find a much more productive way to address the issue than by casually branding many decent people as simple racists. I know you want to be responsible in this debate, so let me put some facts in front of you.
Greg’s best argument for Corey’s political suicide is there are still visual signs of immigrants in Manassas? Gee, and I thought the “Rule of Laughing Stock” had been a great success, that’s why it needs to be statewide even though in PWC it was quickly repealed. It’s incredible how Corey and Greg shift their story according to the argument of the moment.
The WaPo has an interesting article by Rosalind S. Helderman and Jennifer Buske
in the VA Political Blog section.
The article discusses why State Senator Lingamfelter had the AG render an informal opinion on the Virginia Rule of Law.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/virginiapolitics/2010/11/virginia_should_lower_the_temp.html?wprss=virginiapolitics
It further explains the political suicide being committed.
Yeah, that Greg L. sure is suffering, isn’t he? Poor guy.
Did you see Stewart officially said he might run for Senate? (“Officially might”…kind of a weird juxtaposition there, huh?) He thinks his fight against illegals and his cost cutting could get him there.
He is to comfortable in his ego to think he can run for a higher office and keep his current position as a safety net. Somebody STEP forward and give him a real work out, PLEASE 🙂
Hi Red Dawn!
Elena —
Thanks for posting on this. I’ve never seen one person throw away a political career so quickly as I saw Corey Stewart throw his out today. Illegal immigration is a federal problem — any state or local official who uses it to their advantage is only playing to nativist sentiment for political gain. Period.
Glad to see more and more folks willing to stand up and speak truth regardless of perceived cost. Sure, I’ve already been threatened with my own political career — but what good is it for if you don’t (or can’t) stand up when it matters?
Regards,
Welcome, Shaun Kenney. We have been impressed with your coverage of the political suicide venture. How are things down in Fluvanna?
Charlottesville native by birth, here.
Moon-Howler
Hi- back atchya, Elena! 🙂 🙂
Hi Shaun!
You know what they say, immitation is the best flattery! Your post was just too perfect not to “borrow” 😉
You know Shaun, standing up and speaking the truth can be very liberating. Without people like you, the truth would get lost in all the noise. Thank YOU!
Thank you Shaun Kenny. Republicans with the guts and principles are the first line of defense against the anti-immigrant mob. Our country needs you.
Where ever the anti-immigrant mob strikes, Republicans with guts rise to the occasion. Unfortunately, they often become ex-Republicans in the process because of the way they are treated. But I admire those who stand up to the mob, and then, rather than abandon ship, stay and try to right the ship. That shows a real loyalty to the Republican party; not a pledge to ideological purity or a willingness to genuflect to extremists (Corey Stewart).
The anti-immigrant mob is really good at cultivating hatred, and then demonstrating its use like a show of force off the Korean peninsula. No one wants to be screamed at, or threatened, or called a traitor or an illegal alien apologist. But if you dare question these inane policies forged in anger and fear, whether you are a Republican or a Democrat, a Police Chief or an Attorney General, these people will try to use their bully tactics to silence and intimidate you. This is the only reason they’ve gotten as far as they have.
Am I really reading this?
Corey! Stop! Stop doing this to yourself.
Just curious here, Shaun. We just recently ran into an American 30-something whom we have known ever since he was a kid playing youth baseball and then high school ball with our own son. He is now a professional person who elected to stay in the old home town after college and now owns his own place here. He is a good person, not very brash or opinionated. I don’t even know his politics.
He told us that he was very upset about the Hispanic immigrants who live in the place right behind him. These guys have no regard whatsoever for local laws or common sense pertaining to public health. Being apparently unwilling to pay for trash service, they simply throw their trash in unprotected bags into the back yard and wait until they have a mountain of it before doing anything about it. As a consequence, the rats have shown up in multitudes. Moreover, those rats are burrowing into this kid’s yard and under his patio and are probably looking for a warm winter nest inside his walls. Local zoning and other officials seem helpless to handle this problem, which has increased beyond belief with the extensive demographic changes which have come to our Eastern Loudoun town. Especially in a period of a severe budget crunch, the county (the town is unincorporated) does not have the budgetary means to hire the large number of zoning inspectors and investigators to go after a problem which is nearly out of control. The kid is very angry at those Hispanic immigrants, so angry that he swore he was not going to let those people chase him out of his own home and his own hometown. Now he is faced with hiring pest control people; but that may have only a short-term effect unless the neighbors themselves do something to lessen the attractiveness of their place to the invading rodents.
I think, Shaun, that telling this guy that illegal immigration is a “Federal problem” would get you just a stare of contempt. That is just what our Democrat-controlled Board of Supervisors told us a couple of years ago before this community got together in extreme anger and demanded that local government do something about the unprecedented amount of crime which had descended upon us in conjunction with the demographic changes. THAT the local government was able to do through available law enforcement resources by reconfiguring our policing approach and sanctioning a virtual blanketing of Eastern Loudoun with Neighborhood Watch organizations. Between the police, the NW units, and the NoVa anti-gang task force (using Federal money obtained by Frank Wolf), we appear to have chased many of the gangbangers out of here and put a better lid on other forms of street crime and vice. That was done without a hue-and-cry after the scalps of illegal immigrants per se.
As someone experienced in police work and with extensive inter-cultural experience overseas, I supported this policing approach which did not condemn all illegal immigrants as one big group of “bad guys” who must be removed en masse. We were able to separate behavior from ethnicity in order to accomplish a specific task. Having been on NW street patrol for almost five years, I also know that most of the illegal immigrants, regardless of their residency status in the eyes of the law, are not criminals and , indeed, are often the most frequent victims of the immigrant criminal element among us.
But, let me move on to another aspect of all this: quality of life. There you have, in my opinion, a much wider spectrum of blame aimed at the larger community of illegal immigrants. They are not the criminal element in terms of law and order, but they do engage on a much wider scope in the violation of zoning and public health laws. This may be overcrowding of homes; violations of fire ordinances inside those homes; the parking of multiple vehicles on their front lawns; the crowding of our suburban streets with a number of vehicles matching the overcrowded residences; the parking of large commercial vehicles where such vehicles are not supposed to be parked; failure to maintain homes and lawns; a failure to abide by the laws concerning trash and littering, thereby creating the subsequent infestation of rodents; running sub rosa businesses in areas where commercial is not allowed — a whole host of things which drove down our property values even before the infamous housing bubble burst, which made it harder to sell a home to anyone but the illegals themselves because of changes in the schools and changes in the appearance of many neighborhoods (in addition to a fear of crime), and which began to cause visitors to screw up their noses when going through our once peaceful and pleasant town. Not all illegal immigrants are this way, but the number is sufficiently large enough to cause a serious backlash.
It is my considered opinion that, on this issue of the deterioration of the quality of life and the resultant growing antagonism against the illegal immigrants as a group, those illegal immigrants must take upon themselves a very large share of the blame for their own disfavor. I firmly believe that, if these immigrants had moved into our town and undertaken to abide by the laws and ordinances in effect for all of us and for the benefit and good health of all of us, there would be far less antagonism against them as a group. This community had had a certain amount of cultural diversity long before the immigrants started to come in, and there were virtually no negatives attached to it.
So, what to do? Illegal immigration may be technically a “Federal problem”, but sure as Hell no federals are ever going to come in here and solve our quality of life problems in this town. I doubt that even a blanket amnesty for our current illegals would be sufficient to change the attitudes and behavior of many of these immigrants so that the quallity of life issues and antagonisms evaporate. Local government does not seem to be able to get a good handle on a law-based solution to these problems, and I fear that in our county the problems of Eastern Loudoun may have gotten to a point at which local government may never be able to get a good handle on it unless they start acting like an American version of a local tyranny.
I, for one, really resent the use of the word “nativism” in all this. The people being accused of some kind of nativism are often the ordinary people of a town whose own lives have been majorly upset by the negative changes all around them and who may well have a feeling of hopelessness toward the prospect of any sensible governmental solutions. Even a changing of the political guard at the ballot box seems not to work. Like people anywhere in this world, they become in such a situation very vulnerable to a seemingly racist or ethnic-based negative response. I have seen this over and over again in Africa. When issues go unresolved, it soon turns to a matter of what tribal markings you bear and what tribal language you speak. It is simply the product of anger out of helplessness.
What I personally would like to see is a far better effort from the Hispanic-American community and from those who claim leadership in the illegal immigrant community to bring much stronger pressure to bear on the illegal immigrants themselves to start conforming to the standing laws and ordinances of the new place in which they live. For instance, perhaps this Hispanic fellow in PWC, who has seemingly made it his life’s work to plant intentionally antagonizing pro-immigrant signs on Liberty Avenue, ought to focus instead on teaching his fellow iimmigrants that, when you come into another man’s house, you must follow the rules of that house. If you do not, that man is likely to gain an attitude of wanting to throw your ass out of his house lock, stock, and barrel.
I’ll tell you quite frankly, Shaun, that people like myself who eschew a racial or ethnic approach to solving major community problems and focus instead on an effort to force behavorial changes for the better through an equitable application of our common law are not going to be able to hold the line for long if we do not get some major, accommodating help from the illegal immigrant community itself. That is a sorely missing element in all this. I see that missing element almost every night when I patrol the streets of my own community. It is not the color of skin or language which causes citizen anger but behavior, behavior, behavior. And it is not helped when some of us automatically come to the defense of the illegal imigrants at almost every turn, thereby providing them with a sort of cover for going on just like they currently are. There are two sides to any solution here, and it does not help to throw around the term “nativist.” Not one bit does it help.
Wolverine, Loudoun County is an overall wealthier county than Prince William. If we can afford to upgrade neighborhood services, so can Loudoun. It’s all a matter of priorities.
I will have to say that our neighborhood services got a real quick jolt in terms of how it operates and turn around time. I am not sure how it happened, just that it did happen.
Pouring resources into neighborhood services makes a lot more sense than pouring money down a rat hole over which the jurisdiction has no control.
As for throwing around the term ‘nativist’– there is a nativist element in Prince William County. Listen to remarks being made at the board of supervisors meetings. Read blog archives. ‘Too many brown faces’ would be a perfect example. There are 100’s more. I don’t resent Shaun using that term one little bit. He has followed our county and is calling it as has sees it.
The Hispanic fellow you reference is Mr. Fernandez. The problem is in the City of Manassas and not in Prince William County. No one disagrees that Mr. F could better expend his efforts. Having said that, you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink. I prefer to reference Carlos Castro who has been and continues to be a wonderful leader in our extended community.
Finally, Shaun Kenney addresses the heart of the matter: This is a cheap political ploy by Corey Stewart. His efforts do not pass muster with the attorney general or with the rest of his party. Shaun Kenney is a Republican supervisor in Fluvanna County and a fellow blogger. He above all knows the duties of a supervisor.
Shaun – First, I respect you for having the courage of your convictions and putting your name and face (I can’t crack the tech code to upload a picture) where your mouth is. Second, thanks for presenting a balanced perspective. Many on here snipe from behind aliases and cartoon images and spew hyperbole based on contrived facts.
To Wolverine’s argument, he/she talks about Hispanics ignoring local laws and health codes. Those are local issues, not ones requiring state or federal action or intervention. In PWC we have local ordinances governing nuisances like excessive noise and accumulating trash. His/her friend should insist that local authorities enforce local laws or file in local court to enjoin what sounds like a public nuisance.
Wolverine,
You are talking about a neighborhood issue. Why do you believe these “Hispanic” neighbors are illegal immigrants? I had horrible neighbors when I lived in Centerville, but they were Pakistani, should I assume all bad neighbors are illegal immigrants if they are Hispanic or any other culture?
Wolverine sure brought out the cavalry, didn’t he?
Wolverine,
Excellent post. It really is the quality of life issues that gets people fired up. Your neighborhood sounds like a mirror image of mine at “ground zero”. I can relate to the man you spoke of. Manassas is my hometown and I wasn’t going to be ran off, due to the piss poor behavior of my neighbors. Luckily we worked with Neighborhood Services to get issues resolved. When the foreclosures were in full swing, the county created a “Foreclosure Checklist” form to be filed with NS so they knew where the foreclosures were and the condition of the property. Many houses had broken windows, siding missing leaving holes in the sides of houses for anybody to cruise right on in. For anyone that can’t understand these types of issues, look no furhter than my pictures of the events here in PW back in 2007-2008.
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/561184047yuacNi
Elena,
Did you ever wonder if your neighbors in Centreville were residing legally or illegally? I can tell you, I never questioned it too much until I was hit by a woman. She did NOT have a drivers license, know her address, or wait for the police to arrive. She fled the scene and left her man there to take the blame. Well, Ms. Chris was NOT about to let the man take the wrap for the $6K worth of damage to my car. The lady did it. Oh, the car did NOT belong to the driver or the passenger. They did NOT have the registration or proof of insurance in the car. The police officer said the lady would only be charged with driving without a license. This made me want to explode. I’m inclinded to believe she was here illegally based on her behavior. Why would she hide from the police if she didn’t have something to hide? Note she did not have any outstanding warrants when he checked at the accident scene in K-Mart shopping center of all places. When I saw my neighbors at the local 7-11 day labor sites, that also had me questioning their legal status. Why would anyone that could work legally be subjecting themselves to a day labor site.
Red Dawn just unearthed an article in the WaPo from November, 2007 that says it all:
This is a fabulous reminder of why so many Republicans as well as past supporters have turned on Corey. Whether we are speaking of the Finley asphalt plant, the Avendale vote, or one guest appearance after the other to slam illegal immigrants, Corey simply can’t stick with any of his ‘principles,’ it seems. There are many other examples.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/28/AR2007112802252_pf.html
Thanks, Red Dawn.
Mornin’ Moon!
I just saw that. Good work digging that article up. I hope she’ll be back for commentary this evening. 🙂
The issue here in this thread has nothing to do with quality of life issues in Loudoun or Prince William. It is about a politician trying to hang his hat on a bunch of issues that relate to illegal immigration, as he perceives it.
I believe quality of life issues are very important to discuss but I would suggest that they go in the open thread. Mr. Kenney certainly wasn’t saying those issues aren’t important. He was saying that Corey just committed political suicide by tangling with the big boys on the block.
Morning. That Red Dawn went straight to the heart of the matter. I moved the article over here to the more current thread since it really addresses part of problem.
Perhaps it wasn’t made clear but this post is based on Shaun Kenney’s post from his blog Bearing Drift.
Bearing Drift is on our blog roll but here is the link. It is a conservative blog, lest anyone think I am trying to entrap them.
http://bearingdrift.com/
However, quality of life issues are what started all of this. Trying to separate that from what Corey has done with making the illegal immigration issue his own issue just isn’t possible.
I also disagree with the use of the term nativist. The illegal immigration opponents have made clear time and time again it is not an issue of race or ethnicity. However, the unfortunate fact remains a large percentage of illegal immigrants are Hispanic. That cannot be helped.
The use of the term nativist is just a continued attempt by liberals to paint anyone who is against illegal immigration as a racist. That’s the plain and simple truth – liberals can dance around that all they like. They know the term racist is overused, so they invented the new nativist term. I predict eventually it will become worn out too!
As usual, pull out the race card when you don’t have a better argument.
We believe that Shaun Kenney has made a very good argument for why the latest Stewart strategy was political suicide. Again, I will point out that Shaun is a Republican with deep roots in the party.
Perhaps we need to review the term ‘nativist.’ Nativism (politics) or political nativism, a term used by scholars to refer to ethnocentric beliefs relating to immigration and nationalism
It certainly isn’t a ‘racial’ term at all. The Irish, the Italians, the Poles, the Jews, are just a few examples of groups who have been victims of nativism.
To those who object to the term nativism, what word would you choose to replace it?
And then there’s Ken Anderson who uses the term anti-immigrant mob. Yeah right, people are against all forms of immigration, legal and illegal. Another way of the liberals for trying to paint people incorrectly – no one is against legal immigration. OK, there are a few people, but not a “mob” for sure, and probably less than 1% of the populace.
Of course as I noted in another thread – no one is calling these people out for the use of these labels. If a conservative said something nasty about a liberal – we would have already seen them admonished!
Wow. Just wow. A myriad of issues complicating themselves.
Any sense of ‘good’ that might have been part of the orginial inspiration as a man desiring to govern has long been replaced. I’m even more convinced that the absence of good has only one outcome – not on my preferred timeline, but evenutally.
No, definitely not. However, you can’t argue with the fact that a large percentage of Hispanics in flophouses, which is the cause of a lot of the “quality of life issues”, probably ARE illegal. No one can convince me of the fact that there are not illegal immigrants living in flophouses. Simple statistics basically. Sure, you don’t know which ones, but if you point at a flophouse causing trouble in the neighborhood and say there are most likely some illegal immigrants in there, chances are you would be correct.
I’m with Lafayette on her car experience. An illegal immigrant broke into my former house, from the flophouse next door. The people in the flophouse covered up for him – as he fled right after the robbery when the police came and he had no identification of any kind! What LEGAL immigrant would not have identification? These people take no responsibility for their actions. Why should they? They know they cannot be traced!
And, before anyone tries this – I did not say all flophouse residents are illegal. I know someone would say that’s what I said so I’ll shoot that theory down right now. But, chances are SOME of them ARE illegal. I could place a bet on that at Las Vegas over and over and win lots of money easily.
I agree Juturna. So many people from different political perspectives joined to support Corey, I was one of them. Many people now have “buyers remorse” for sure.
@Gainesville Resident
That’s fine. Those issues can be discussed in open thread.
This thread is about the Virginia Rule of Law, orchestrated by FAIR, Corey Stewart and the AG.
I never wondered about their status Chris, you are right. I just figured out ways to help make my situation better. I made “friends” with my neighbors and tried to help them understand the social expectations and rules. I can tell you, my husband, not at the time of course, may have been one of the rudest neighbors! He would play his headbanger music so loud the pictures would shake on OUR side of the wall! 😉
My “foreign” neighbors had other issues of course, trash piling up waiting for the trash company to pick up what was clearly NOT an item they would get, domestic violence, not moving their lawn, overcrowding, parking in other people’s spaces, etc etc. There was even an attempted rape right outside my townhouse. Never once though did I believe that passing an all encompassing immigration resolution was the answer. I have had lots of bad experiences in my life, I just never extrapolated a broader context to act upon then the immediate situation I was experiencing.
This is just sad. A lot of wasted talent and potential.
Some folks must be feeling maligned because we are on here singing the praises of Republicans.
The Republicans are policing their own. Good for them. Shaun Kenney certainly has the credentials to speak out on this issue. And contrary to what a certain dark screen blogger thinks, there is illegal immigration in central Virginia.
Elena, perhaps I have an inquistive mind about my neighbors. Hopefully the Mr. can play that headbanger music as loud as he wants in the Rural Crescent. 🙂 I hear Round an Round in my head. Didn’t you hear it and post it not too long ago.
It is important to point out that so many have been disappointed by Corey on various levels. The important opinions are those of the voters of PW when they go to the polls next year.
Yes, we may save the state but get stuck with Corey forever. There is no point in his challengers coming out swinging now. He is doing too good of a job of self-destructing on his own. They will emerge after Corey finishes doing himself in.
I am feeling the angst here – due more to Corey’s announcement that he may run for Senate and the deeply resentful political party politics recognition that he is, in truth and in fact, well positioned to win not just reelection to the Chairman’s job – but also the Senate. And, if he were to loose the Senate run, an appointment to higher office that might yet influence the State’s response to illegal immigration. Win/Win. The UVA Report on PWC’s experience was not written by a conservative think tank, so most folks are reading it with more than a grain of salt. That it come out neutral after a series of puts and takes is a major victory and Corey knows it. I am still looking for a reason to be against the Rule of Law – at least until it is voted to be not the law and we have amnesty – again.
Gainesville,
You are being very defensive and yet no one has called you racist. It must be hard to have a fellow republican recieve so many compliments from those who you view as the “liberals”. Shaun Kenny is harder to attack because he is a fellow republican. Greg’s blog, which started the whole mess was mired in racism and hate. Of that there is no dispute, and Corey and John Stirrup helped foster that hate by their lack of leadership to stop the rhetoric. Like Lingimfelter said in the Post article, “you can’t govern with rhetoric”.
I had a dream that John Stirrup and I had a pleasant conversation. During the conversation, I said to him, “You know you kind of look like Clint Eastwood?”
“Yes,” he said. “A lot of people tell me that.”
How bizarre.
While I agree for the most part, the greater point could have been made sans race baiting.
Skirting the Constitution in the name of law enforcement is not a position consistent with conservatism.
Meanwhile, people in Sudley dream of street lights, Pinko. 😉
Pinko, what are you smoking over there?
Cato, I am curious, who race baited? The only person I am aware of that brought up race was Greg L and he is famous for redirecting and putting a spin on what has actually been said.
It is very hard to discuss illegal immigration in Virginia in 2010 without some ethnicity discussion, but I didn’t see race baiting in what KENNEY said.
I’m still praying for the street lights, Laf…
@Moon-howler
I realize that bloggers often employ snark as rhetorical device, but I think the point can be made without shouting “MEXICAN MEXICAN MEXICAN.” In doing so one risks assigning motives which may or may not be there – painting with a broad brush if you will.
It’s a disagreement about style, not substance.
This is really interesting stuff. I think that both politicians are making the same mistake: they are attempting to map their solutions/philosophies in their own localities to the problems experienced by many, many more people who don’t have those same experiences and feelings. We all know a lot about PWC but, by way of reference, Kenney is a supervisor in a district with fewer residents than Manassas.
I ain’t going to get in the middle other than to add this: I think that, in the process of denigrating Stewart, Kenney reveals a lot about himself.
Sorry for the use of the term “anti-immigrant mob” Gainesville Resident. I’m sure you are not a part of them. I for one would never argue that neighborhood issues are not an impetus for the entire phenomenon. Of course they are. And political movements targeting other minorities have also put forth their reasons, always pointing toward a single act of bad behavior to characterize the entire race. We saw a lot of it when the Irish first landed, and also when African Americans left the plantations after emancipation and began settling in the North. A kind word for it would be stereotyping. I’m not arguing that this is not a factor here.
But I have to wonder how sincere people are when they claim this has nothing to do with race, when, as Shaun Kenney points out, so much of the focus is NOT on status but instead on Hispanic this and Hispanic that. Wolverine’s essay was lovely, but it began with an assumption we should not be making. In fact, the vast majority of Hispanic people in the United States are legally present. And, I’d challenge you to tell the difference between a Native American from north of the border and a Native American from south of the border just based on appearance.
So, I understand that there are many factors at play here. But let’s not pretend that race is not one of them.
Like Elena, I was a bit alarmed that Wolverine
…I was a bit alarmed that Wolverine jumped to that conclusion without even acknowledging that, while it is human to be prejudiced by the appearance of others, it is not a sound basis for legislation or police policy.
Ken,
When ICE raided a neighbor’s house two times back in ’06 they were NOT Hispanic, they were African. I’m not saying race is not a factor. However, we’ve seen illegal aliens from around the globe in PW. However, it seems as though the Hispanics are the ones that get the “attention” around here.
Corey seems to be a politician in a hurry. Connelly and Davis served on the Board of a larger, wealthier, more populated county for a longer time and made the jump to the federal level as US Representatives. What made Stewart think he was qualified to run for US Senate? Did he know that he was shut out of higher state office? Was he unwilling to run for state Senate? Is the immigration issue still the number one fear factor out there – guaranteed to bring the sheeple out to vote? And does Corey think that being a one issue candidate is enough to propel him to US Senate? His dissing of Allen and Cuccinelli implies that he’s going to run as an outsider Tea Party candidate. When he gets smacked down at the primary, does anyone think he’ll run as an Independent?
Andy H, there are those of us who are PWC residents who didn’t share the same community problems to the extent that affected neighborhoods did. The Independent Hill area of the county (Mr. Nohe’s district) was largely unaffected. Many of us feel that our county’s reputation was sullied by our Board’s unwillingness to adequately fund Neighborhood Services at the point when problems were beginning to crop up in increased numbers. I think the Board failed the larger community by not having public hearings to address some of these issues and chose instead a drastic and divisive route to problem-solving. It’s not as simple as viewing PWC or Fluvanna County as homogeneous entities that can then be compared. There are plenty of differences within the counties.
Thanks Censored, for getting us back on track. I obviously am the invisible blog moderator.
I cannot imagine what Corey was thinking to run his mouth about so many of his R colleagues. This is not the first time he has pulled that stunt for certain. Remember he also took a few pot shots at Lingamfelter and Jackson Miller for not having gotten legislation passed at the state level before this.
And who can forget his trumpeting on health care down in Stafford. He was going to order the county staff not to admit new medicaid eligible people into the program.
He needs to really think about what he is saying before he speaks into the mic. Not only are people like Elena and me, here at moonhowlings.com listening and taking copious notes. Now his fellow Republicans are watching and responding and it isn’t a pretty picture. Pay backs are rough.
It really has nothing to do with how many illegal immigrants live in Fluvanna vs how many live in Prince William County. Mr. Kenney, as a Republican, has just as much right to voice his opinion about politics in Virginia as the next guy. Hell, he doesn’t even have to be a Republican. There are ways to do things and ways not to do things. Obviously, there are many people in this state who do not think Corey is doing the right thing. They are calling him out on it and policing their own.
Too bad the Republicans aren’t doing a little more of this on a national level.