Sunday’s News and Messenger had a great article on the Coffee Party entitled Still Brewing. It featured Bob Settle, Bill Golden and Al Alborn all sitting outside a Woodbridge Starbucks drinking coffee and explaining the Coffee Party. The men spoke a little about their politics, which were surprisingly centrist and conservative.
Jonathan Hunley, reporter for the News and Messenger, apparently wanted to give Corey Stewart, the chairman of the Board of Supervisors, a chance to clean up his act. He had been unflattering to the Coffee Party the previous week at their kick off meeting. It didn’t work. Stewart once again shot himself in the foot. Poor Corey is running out of feet real quickly:
Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chairman Corey A. Stewart isn’t buying that, however.
He said that if everyone in the Coffee Party was a “middle-of-the-road veteran” such as Alborn, he might have more respect for the group.
But Stewart said Byler and Park are just “ultra-left attention-seekers” who “despise” him and Supervisor John T. Stirrup Jr., who led the county’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
“This is just an ultra-left fringe group,” the Republican said.
Corey, Corey, Corey! This kind of talk has no political capital. The Coffee Party isn’t about you or John Stirrup. The Coffee Party isn’t about Annabel Park or Eric Byler. The Coffee Party isn’t about the 3 men who were interviewed for the story.
I find it frightening that the only people Stewart seems to have respect for are ‘middle-of-the-road veterans’. Does that mean that everyone else is an ultra-left attention seeker, a fruitcake, a nut, or crap? (his descriptors, not mine)
A review of the article will be forthcoming. Chairman Stewart’s words, meanwhile, deserve to be handled separately.
Why does the Chairman continue to shoot himself in the foot making derogatory remarks about his constituents? There are a bunch of people out there who see themselves as Coffee Party People. They do not deserve to be called names, especially by the county Chairman. This behavior sets a bad precedence. Do we assume Mr. Stewart is a member of the Tea Party and sees the Coffee Party as competition or do we just assume he doesn’t want to be re-elected? I can’t vote for anyone who gratuitously calls strangers names, not even knowing who they are.
Mr. Stewart ought to find out who the people are and go shake their hand. These are the people who want to be part of shaping their government. Aren’t those people the folks we used to call a PATRIOTS? What happened to that term?