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GOP Fight Belies Bolling/McDonnell Claims of Party Unity

Posted by Greg on Thursday, April 10

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 10, 2008

GOP FIGHT BELIES BOLLING/MCDONNELL CLAIMS OF PARTY UNITY

Richmond- While the Republican Party of Virginia claims Bill Bolling's decision not to challenge Bob McDonnell for the gubernatorial nomination shows new Party unity, the increasingly nasty fight for Party leadership points to a different truth.

Today's Washington Post shone a light on the ongoing rancor within the RPV, calling it "bare-knuckles politics at its finest" and pointing to evidence that Republican party leaders just don't get Virginia.

"It's bare-knuckle politics at its finest, and the outcome could determine the direction of a state party that has been reeling from a string of losses, most recently in the November election for General Assembly."- [The Washington Post 04/10/08]

In seeking to snatch the RPV Chairmanship from John Hager, Del. Jeff Frederick is pulling out all stops to deal a fatal blow, going so far as to make up endorsements. That's caused Hager to jump in with bare knuckles saying, "For the last few weeks, I have listened to accusations from Jeff Frederick about my leadership, the staff at RPV, the district leaders that support my reelection, and my allegiance to this party. Each of his accusations is laughable, and we dismissed them as his typical rant. But when he is willing to blatantly mislead Republicans in Virginia by claiming false endorsements, enough is enough."

Meanwhile, the battle to be the Republican Senate nominee isn't much tamer as Bob Marshall and Jim Gilmore race to the extreme right of the Party. In particular, news reports say Marshall's campaign is telling Virginians, including Gilmore, that they aren't "conservative enough" if they don't oppose abortion even in the cases of rape and incest.

"If this is party unity, it's no wonder Virginians are voting for Democrats," said Democratic Party of Virginia Executive Director Levar Stoney. "This kind of bickering about who is more Republican is exactly what Virginians are consistently voting against. The last few elections show Virginians want leaders who will work toward solutions, not the most extreme base of a party."

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