Press Release: Bill Stanley for VA5th District GOP Chairman
Contact Info: Mark Lloyd mklloydva@gmail.com 434.942.3636
04/26/2010
Lynchburg, Va – “The consensus of the Tea Parties of the Virginia Fifth Congressional District is that Bill Stanley is the best candidate for GOP District Chairman,” said Mark Lloyd, Chairman of the Lynchburg Tea Party. Lloyd continued, “Bill has made great efforts to reach out and consider the concerns of Tea Party members.
The political situation in the country and in the Fifth District seem to be one of turmoil, and people are separating into factions. Bill is successfully working to bring people together, to fight for limited government, fiscal responsibility, free markets, and to restore the constitution.”
The GOP congressional primary in the Fifth District has gained national attention as one to watch. Seven Republican candidates are competing for the opportunity to unseat Tom Perriello (D-Ivy). Nigel Coleman, Chairman of the Danville Tea Party said, “The fact that there are so many candidates just proves the fact that Americans are concerned to the point of being afraid for the future of our country. All of them are campaigning on the principles of returning to the constitution, stopping the out-of-control spending, and generally getting the government off our backs and out of our children’s pockets.”
The Fifth District GOP convention is this Saturday, May 1st, at Hampden-Sydney College. The GOP Primary is June 8, 2010.
Jefferson Area Tea Party Statement on GOP District Chairman Endorsement
Charlottesville, VA – April 27, 2010
In a media release issued today by the Lynchburg Tea Party, its Chairman Mark Lloyd stated: “The consensus of the Tea Parties of the Virginia Fifth Congressional District is that Bill Stanley is the best candidate for GOP District Chairman.”
In response, the Jefferson Area Tea Party (JATP) clarified that its leadership was not involved in any discussion or decision regarding the 5th District Republican Chairmanship candidates, and therefore should not be considered part of the referenced “consensus.”
As a non-partisan organization, the JATP is not endorsing or supporting either candidate. The firm policy of the JATP is to not involve itself in the activities of political parties.
“The firm policy of the JATP is to not involve itself in the activities of political parties” SO What exactly does the JATP do?
Mark Lloyd went on WCHV in Charlottesville and explained at length that this wasn’t an “endorsement” — it was a “consensus”.
Watchdog, you use the terms interchangeably; Mark seems to think otherwise. Which is it – an endorsement or simply a consensus the of people that Mark talked to about the race?
“Activities” was too broad a word chosen by the person who wrote it (not me). It’s meant in this context to describe the in-house governance, or operational structure.
The business of electing of a GOP chairman is the business of the GOP, not a tea party (just as the selection of a tea party chair is the business of a tea party, not the GOP, DNC, or any other outside organization). While individuals can choose to work in both the GOP and the tea party, the organizations are autonomous of each other and their “corporate” relationship should reflect that. Otherwise, there’s a tremendous risk in unintentionally fueling the falsehood that the tea party is simply a manufactured arm of the GOP.
Well there is something to be said for making sure that we are not perceived as “an arm of the GOP” but why not make the GOP an arm of the Tea Party? Can’t do that if we just sit on the sidelines picking our noses and yelling “we want our country back”!
We forgot the question mark? There all fixed.
i agree with Carole. If this whole “endorsement”/”consensus” issue is allowed to be viewed as a straight “endorsement”, then Bill Stanley could get jammed up later on when he will (if elected chairman) be trying to elect a Republican Congressman.
if the tea party really wants to endorse Bill STanley & will be ok with him being 100% Republican if/when he is elected, then that’s their right.
If we dont elect Bill Stanley we face another term of infighting and Tuckers rule. Its time to get over politics as usual, get organized, and defeat TP.
Kelly, It is no surprise that you are in agreement with CT. You are a Robert Hurt supporter. You can thank Tucker Watkins and his establishment machine for the Primary. You can thank him for having the convention in a Hurt stronghold. I’ve not doubt tomorrow that we will all show up to be greeted by some absurd amount of “Hurt for Congress” signs. I’ll pass out in shock if Tuckers boy is elected as he has NO support among any of the non-establishment crowd. Tomorrow is going to be a great day.
FYI. It is the Tea Party that is responsible for the rout that +11 unit chairs experienced in the GOP here in the 5th.
Chew on that CT. While you and your friends were content to sit in your foxhole being worried that people might not like us, we were getting engaged in the battle.
you make it sound as if there is something wrong with being for Sen Hurt. you know, he didn’t get elected because he isn’t well liked/well respected.
if the Tea Party & the Boyers are synonymous, then Watch Dog, you are correct–that is the cause for the changing of unit chairs.
Watch Dog, I am more than pleased that you are engaged in the battle. I suspect that Robert Hurt will win the primary. Then we must become engaged for war with Perriello.
Hurt is not the big problem for me. The establishment that forced a primary and the 3-4 candidates who should have dropped out but didn’t are the problem.
Robert Hurt was recently asked if he would participate in a front runners debate (Hurt, McKelvey, McPadden) but so far his staff has refused to allow that. Too bad.
Spare me the false bravado, Watch Dog. We’re well engaged in the battle in the northern part of the 5th District – and we don’t keep shooting ourselves in the foot as seems to be the pattern in tne southerm part. Let’s leave it at that.
My statement about the GOP election stands and that was the only point I felt necessary to make here until you got nasty.
If anyone is wondering this Is Kurt Feigel. I’m not afraid to hide behind a screen name like VaWatchdog over at VA5thDistrict.com is.
Carole,
If accusing you of sitting on your hands is “nasty” then you need to get a thicker skin.
You all had a chance to participate in this as well as other polls and chose not to. So when the results are released you feel the need to pop your head up and scream “WASN’T US”?
You stated “The firm policy of the JATP is to not involve itself in the activities of political parties.” YET! here you are involving yourself by making it known that your not involving yourself. All I want to know is WHAT exactly you are doing up there?
False Bravado? We were not the ones whimpering with our hanky when the national news media targeted the Tea Party and used the “incident” in Lynchburg as a boilerplate…many others were. Too often people are willing to wave flags and run their mouth online and stay silent when it gets rough. I call them Keyboard Patriots.
Is that what JATP has become? I hope not. If you don’t want to involve yourself in the “activities of political parties” then what good are you doing? Educating people? Having Tea and Biscuits? I’m not just being sarcastic. I really want to know.
Tucker Watkins has brought forth more division in the 5th than we can stand. Bill Stanley if elected will be a breath of fresh air.
about the debate: i thought one was currently scheduled with ALL the candidates. actually, it would only be fair to debate ALL if one were to debate ANY.
the Boyers would say that Feda is among the frontrunners since she has their support & so many endorsements. And the Verga & Boyd & Ferrin supporters might not appreciate being excluded.
bottom line: all these supporters from all the campaigns will have to get on the same page June 9.
Oh goodie. Another “Point & Laugh” trainwreck in progress.
Kurt Feigel: You’re not helping the organization out with your inflammatory rhetoric. I’d have hoped that you would have learned something in your apparent survival from the Perriello address debacle, but it seems not. Of course, you’re preaching in front of a choir here at this website so it’s not like this latest outburst of yours will turn a large number of people away.
Bottom Line: Dude, I know you’re passionate about your beliefs and causes, but tone it down some if you want to influence others.
Yesterday’s news is that Bill Stanley IS now the 5th District GoP Chairman, after Christian Schoenwald graciously acknowledged the vote and moved for Stanley’s election by acclaim at yesterday’s Convention at Hampden Sydney College in Farmville. Congratulations GoP, the best is yet to come, as Bill organizes and empowers 5th District voters.
Today’s news may be the widening intellectual choice that will clearly be presented to GoP voters in the June primary. One the one hand is the strong voice of reason and experience presented by Mr Verga (fix the corporate tax), Mr Boyd (I have helped bring jobs to the 5th District) and Mr Hurt (a well known winner with a long term conservative legislative record.) On the other hand, there is the impassioned outcry of moral outrage that rings loud in what’s said by Mr McKelvey (I will cut government in half), Mr McPadden (bringing constitutional statesmanship to Congress), Mr Ferrin (creativity can find ways to pay for shortfalls), and Ms Kidd-Morton (my principles are yours.) Yesterday all seven were impressive in the power of their words, but one stood out above all with truly formidable “speachifyin.”
When Feda Kidd-Morton promised her support for the people of Arizona for their use of the force of law to root out illegals from that state, she brought down the house with a deafening uproar of support. It was a revealing moment, and one that makes you wonder whether Democrats can beat any woman, much less one with such obvious brains, grit, years of credible service, and moral and political principles that resonate so well with the 5th District GoP voters, of whom there are plenty enough to win the November election.
First, I would like to congratulate Bill Stanley. Well done!
Second, I want to let anyone interested know that I appreciate Christian S., and his courage, his patriotism, and his contributions to our cause. He is a good man that does deserve our support and admiration.
Third, yesterday marked a new day, and a new way of doing things in VA5. It is NOW time for us to turn our attention to the tasks at hand. The MOST important thing is for us all to come together as PATRIOTS and defeat Tom Perriello in November.
Carole, and the JATP, have a focus and agenda that is different from the others in VA5, but since ALL the Tea Party organizations have their own form and flavor that is something worth respecting (sort of like BBQ).
One of my favorite Ronald Reagan quotes goes something like this: “The man that shares 80% of my beliefs IS NOT 20% my enemy.”
We need to all keep that in mind at this point. Carole has made it quite clear from the time I met her months ago that she has a different view of the Tea Party than I do, and that is just fine. We, Carole and I, simply agree to disagree. I believe the squabbles we may have are “family” squabbles and those are fine. If we don’t keep that in mind, we are going to destroy ourselves, VA5, and maybe even our Republic.
Our next challenge is to look closely into our stable, and pick one horse out of the seven that can win this race in November. I have come to know and respect them for their courage and patriotism. Yes, ALL of them. However, I see strengths and weaknesses alike. I have to agree with Kurt that 3-4 of them should not be in this race at this time. They are now, or would be, more effective in other positions in politics and the community. I hope they will ALL reflect on reality, and make the right decisions.
I also hope and pray that we can come together as Freedom Loving Virginian Patriots, and put our energy and passion into defeating Tom Perriello and the big government, socialist regime he pledges his allegiance to.
yen2ken: what do you mean by “widening intellectual choice”?
I’m guessing that’s as close we’ll ever get to an Official Lynchburg Tea Party opposition of what Feigel said.
Southside. “tone it down” is not going to happen. It is idiotic to “reach across the aisle”, false civility that has gotten us to where we are. I speak the same face to face as I do here online. Unlike most of the keyboard patriots in the fifth district. Making friends is not why I got involved and engaged in politics. For the most part we have had to drag people kicking and screaming into politics and into new forms of media like; these sites,facebook, twitter,etc. There are too many people that are hoping that their “chains set lightly upon them” and I will not be sorry to “forget they were ever our countryman”
As far as turning people off. Good. People that don’t understand that we are in a WAR of ideas and that those ideas must be hard fought for shouldn’t set foot in this fight.
I truly believe that we are at the abyss and it’s time for people to wake up to that. Sometimes truth hurts. Don’t like it? Stay away. If people think that politics is a social club then do us all a favor and stay home.
In regards to my “inflammatory comments” I’m still waiting for an answer from CT.
KF
Kurt: Your posts are such hot-headed tirades filled with so many clueless judgements and baseless accusations, that I’ll leave you to wallow in the mud alone. People can clearly read them for what they are, so there’s no need for me to spell it out or dignify them with an answer.
Mark: Thank you for your post. The tea parties all have the same focus and agenda, and we are firmly unified in our core principles and goals. Where we differ is our methodology (“the form and flavor”), and clearly we are of different opinions – which, as you say, is fine. In fact, I think it’s a strength of the tea party movement that each group isn’t a cookie cutter, top-down organization like so many of the very institutions we are railing against. And not only are the individual groups different, but so are the communities in which they exist. Let’s face it, my liberal sandbox here in Charlottesville is quite different from those in which the southside tea parties play. So this slso requires some approaches which are likely different from yours…but in the end, we’ll get the job done.
This is why I think it is better for each tea party group to speak for itself, rather under blanker statements by the “5th District tea parties”. That’s been my only point in all of this.
The family squabbles are the result of the inevitable growing pains the movement is going through. But we’ll get through them. Let no one be mistaken that we are united in our goal to defeat Tom Perriello this November (and that video of Tom talking about “stealing” from his meeting with the JATP will be worth its weight in gold in every ad against him
Mark, I look forward to the JATP being 80% (or more) the “friend” of all the area tea parties as we continue our fight. I’m sure we can muster some tolerance and respect for the differences and autonomy of each tea party group that makes up the lesser percentage.
“clueless judgements and baseless accusations” Well you’ve had many chances to defend your party planner positions and yet you don’t. Rallies are great but boots on the ground are what makes the grassroots effective.
The difference in the JATP and the DTP or LTP is that you don’t really have an organization in the classical sense. Till this thursday there have been no regular meetings, the only time we hear from you is when you want to make sure everyone knows that you were not involved. The only real problem I have is that you maintain the JATP is an organized group. If by Group you mean yourself and 2 others then…I asked what you do. Your silence is answer enough.
I hope that this Thursdays meeting goes well and I hope there are many more to come. Details here:http://jeffersonteaparty.org/
I’m glad that this discussion is going on. Having attended both the JATP and Lynchburg Tea Party events, both have brought like minded folks together to get involved. Each group is different but both groups provide key elements, one is Education! Another is holding our representatives accountable; but mostly coming together with basic issues like Liberty, Constitutional Law, and defeating the political class at their own game!
It is issues like abortion, guns, among others that Politicians have used and abused against us as Citizens. As Kurt says, this is a War of ideas and yes many issues have separated us as Americans in the past. That being said we need to stick together, agree to disagree at times and don’t lose sight of our goals as 21st Century Patriot Americans! Our Founding Fathers agreed to disagree many times, heck Hamilton wanted another Monarchy but went on to become one of George Washington’s key Presidential advisors. Let us stay focused, so those chains Sam Adams spoke of, never bind our minds, words, and hands!
May Providence shine on all 21st Century Patriot Americans!
I came here to see if Mark posted a reply to my last post…but I’ll reply to Kurt, only so that others reading won’t be as clueless as he is showing himself to be.
The JATP has held monthly organizational meetings since January 2009. Three months ago, we began holding monthly public meetings in addition to the organizational meetings and we’ve had standing-room-only crowds of over 70 people at each one.
In addition to last year’s inaugeral Tax Day tea party, we have since held numerous events and rallies, several protests at Perriello’s local office, hit the Tommy townhalls hard, sent four buses of people to the 9-12 March on Washington, sent people to the Michelle Bachmann “House Call” Rally (where a dozen of us also sat in Tom’s office on the Hill and confronted him about his votes), hosted the first 5th District Candidates debate in C’ville in January, and a JATP fundraiser in March.
I’ll add that I personally participated in every one of the above mentioned events, clocked eleven hours at three townhalls (speaking at two), traveled to Appomattox for that dog-and-pony show vote for a primary, and single-handedly organized the debate and the fundraiser. Then I stepped up to fill the vacancy as Chair.
I just finished bringing half of the 5th District GOP candidates to the JATP meeting for an intensive Q&A, and I have all of the others confirmed to join us in May. For the GOP primary JATP prefers to give its members direct access to the candidates to support them in making their own decisions about how to vote, their vote, rather than hoist the view of the “leadership” upon them. This is what we’ve chosen to do for the primary…empower the individual rather that dictate to the masses. Isn’t that one of the many goals of the tea party movement?
I also spend a lot of time doing media spots whenever asked — and as many lately having to comment on the misguided actions of others within our district as anything else.
I’m glad Kurt found the link to our new web site which is sparse since we are transitioning from our old site. I am making efforts to improve many aspects of our organization – and dare I say Kurt is wrong yet again in that we have plenty of people on our steering committee and are a true organization, including a nationally known conservative commentator as our new political consultant.
This is the last exchange I intend to have with Kurt as really all of his posts in this thread have been quite pointless and unproductive. For the last time, the JATP is an autonomous organization for which no one outside may speak as a representative voice. Since Mark’s press release was posted here without amendment after I made my position clear to him, I chose to add our response as a balance.
To Kelley: who asked what I meant by “widening intellectual choice” in the GoP primary race here’s a reply (or two.)
(1) Good question; I wonder whether I really know; I was shooting from the hip; I wondered about that phrase myself on re-reading what I posted.
(2) Best memory that I have of the moment of my writing is that I was captivated by two perspectives on the candidates. On the one hand, ir was easy for me to rationalize and so to visualize the value-adds promised by three of the candidates.
– These follow from Hurt’s legislative experience (he knows how to build laws that pass), Boyd’s budget evaluation insights (he will be able to debate fine points with strength, bringing sanity to increasingly lame deliberations in Congress), Verga’s credible insights into how to make tax cuts work (he has personal, and high level experience that lets him see and tell the impact of stifling corporate taxes.) You can even rationalize why any of these three can beat Tom Periello, with Robert Hurt’s proven election track record being the easiest case to make.
– On the other hand, there is a gut-grabbing impact in the exciting words offered by Mike McPadden that invoke constitutional statesmanship, in Jim McKelvey’s promise of hard headed insistence on practical economics, in Feda Kidd-Morton’s strong moral principles, in the excitement that Ron Ferrin can generate in his capability to pose creative solutions for health care and other “shortfall” problems. Here, “promise” is the measure of each candidate and Feda Kidd Morton’s “promise of support for Arizonans” resonated so well with 5th District Convention delegates that she brought down the house with her declaration of support for empowering police to weed out illegals.
Some folks make their decisions for ideas, people, directions, strategies “when they feel right.” Others make their decisions based on sorting things out, understanding reasons, evaluating factors to see that they add up. There is a wide gap in intellectual process between members of these two groups. Neither group is necessarily all wrong or all right.
As this 5th District race is shaping up, I think members of the “feels right” group must be challenged to learn what convinces their counterparts in the “add it up” group, and vice versa. That is because I believe that no candidate will win the primary or the election without BOTH creating a gut-grabbing excitement in the voters AS WELL AS a clear reason for being able to bring powerful and effective value to the Congressional Seat.
Hope that helps.
WOW. Yen2ken.
Very well written.