Looks like Mr. Baise is now marching in lockstep with Corey Stewart:

During most of his campaign with Connolly, Baise has not criticized illegal immigrants, in part because he did not want to be portrayed as intolerant. In recent days he has been talking more about the issue, praising Stewart's leadership on immigration and pledging to cooperate with him.

http://www.washingto...

Whether or no you like Gerry Connolly, you can't in good conscience vote for Gary Baise.  Period.

I've never met the Chairman, but I read bits and pieces about his hard-nosed style.  Being nice and pleasant is important, but I've seen lots of good leaders (who were also nice, pleasant people) lose patience with foot-draggers, obstructionists, etc.  On the other side, I've seen many good hearted people who could not make tough decisions, and could not get the job done.  Bureaucracies are notoriously tough nuts to crack (perhaps the better metaphor is "moving a wall of jello"). Sometimes in life one has to be a bit Patton-esque.  And sometimes being forceful is the only way to deal with people who are passive-aggressive. 

If I had no experience with Mr. Connolly and had never seen him in action, I would probably agree with you.

Unfortunately, I have a great deal of experience in this area, since I have lived in Providence District for 30 years.  In the last rezoning that impacted my neighborhood, I watched the BOS hearing on TV and saw Mr. Connolly totally abuse a PTA president who was so bold as to suggest that the developer's school proffer money be allocated to her school, which was most impacted by the development. She was the first speaker and was not aggressive in any many, passive or otherwise.  This incident occurred on 12/4/06. Please review the county video record of this.  It will be a revelation to you.

But Mr. Connolly saw fit to abuse, intimidate and otherwise cajole her.  The next PTA representative spit out her speech and quickly left the board chambers.  In short, Mr. Connolly set a tone of intimidation for no apparent reason other than that the applicant was one of his developer friends and contributors and he could.  Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident.

We all form our opinions based on our own experiences.  I can understand your perspective but please understand that those of us who have extensive real-life experience as constituents (rather than special appointees to County commissions) with Mr. Connolly have a significantly different point of view.

Mr. Connolly is a bully who abuses his position.  I cannot support such a person, regardless of the fact that he happens to have a D next to his name on the ballot.

I sure never expected RK or NLS to endorse Baise.  But to endorse Connolly?  This undercuts RK's claims of being the voice of Progressive Virginia.  Now it's joined the Developers' Cabal - as if they need another voice.  I'll go to the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce's blog for that, thanks.

It seems like just this past spring (oh yeah, it *was* just this past spring) when this was the home of Fairfax's Reform Democrats.  The people who wanted the party of ordinary people to return to representing, and serving, ordinary people.  I read far more than I posted but it was educational and encouraging.

Earlier this weekend I got a doorhanger featuring both Chap and Gerry.  They claimed they were "controlling development."  What a joke - Gerry's version of "controling development" is getting as much cash as he can as he sells us out, and unlike Steve Shannon or even, yes, Jeannemarie who stood up for Fairfax, Chap dove under the desk during the MetroWest debate.

Now RK has sold us out, too.  It's one thing to cleave to party loyalty, but when the leadership is so corrupt as to infect the whole party, simply choosing to decline to make an endorsement is not just the honest thing to do.

Now RK has, like Chap, gone to the Dark Side.  It's sad; there was such hope and credibility here not too many months back, but now that's all been abondoned.

very carefully.  Or mine.  All I'm saying is that Gary Baise is the pits -- plus Connolly's done a few good things -- so vote for Connolly.  If you think that means we've "abandoned" all our "hope and credibility," that's your prerogative, but I respectfully disagree.

Thanks for keeping it respectful, Lowell.  But I did read both.  I really don't see how Baise taking agricultural subsidies for his farm in IL et. al. is even relevant in all but the most oblique way to the Chairman's position when compared to Gerry's "none of your business" words and deeds as he shamelessly sells our County to the highest bidder and takes both campaign and personal cash from landowners and developers with high stakes in his decisions.

Are there problems with Baise?  Of course.
Can one find silver linings in Gerry's corruption?  Naturally, just as Boss Tweed wasn't 100% bad 100% of the time.

But just as you're stretching to find the bright side of Gerry, I can find the bright side of Baise - and frankly, more easily in areas relevant to Fairfax.  While there are parts I sure don't like, it was Baise who led numerous supervisor candidates to model their commitments after the grassroots Fairfax Citizens Agenda for Responsible Growth.  Most of the Baise group's committments came from
http://www.fairfaxci... - these common-sense themes shouldn't have been necessary but Connolly made them so.

Baise is at least listening, instead of telling us it's "none of our business."  Sure, there are many flaws to point out and I'd expect nothing less. 

But that's a far cry from endorsing Connolly, who won't even discuss his landowner employment further ennables this corruption and is another slap in the face to county reformers.

I guess to me it's a credibility issue - when ennabling the corruption overtakes the reform, RK's bona fides as a platform of reform is seriously undermined.
Why no dissucssion here of the huge contributions McKay has received from a developer who wants much higher density?
  http://www.washingto...

Maybe I am being overly harsh because perhaps my expectations were mis-shaped this spring.  My impression was that RK was offering something unique - an empahasis on real reform with an appropirate dose of partisan spin.  I've got nothing against partisanship, it has it's place, but there are plenty of pedestrian partisan blogs that offer that.
My impression this spring was that RK was something more, something different, something - to my mind, better.  But it seems I was wrong and instead of the lofty ideals I had thought it represented, it's just another place for partisan hackery.  If that's what it is, then I am indeed wrong to condemn the endorsement.
I had just really thought it was something a bit less course going on here.  Sorry if my disappointment clouds my perceptions.

...partly tongue in cheek/sarcastic, is that Connolly is the "least bad" option versus Baise.  That's all I'm saying, nothing more.  The main reason I strongly supported Charlie Hall last spring is that I believe in opennness in government, sunlight (as the best disinfectant), progress and reform.  That's largely why I consider myself a "Teddy Roosevelt progressive."  But in the end, life is about making choices, and I choose the (deeply) flawed Gerry Connolly in THIS election, and ONLY in this election, vs. the far worse Gary Baise.

Thanks for the clarification.

But frankly, other than being the wrong party, how is Gary worse than Gerry as a candidate for Fairfax chairman?

Let's assume all the bad things about Gary is true; none of them that I can tell indicate that he would be worse than Gerry as Fairfax chairman, overall.

He might be less polished, less adept at spinning and mis-representing the details, but Gary would at least not be beholden to a small group of powerful interests that operate here.

Again assuming he is in bed with agricultural polluters - given the fact that there's not much industrial agriculture in Fairfax, that seems to me a less evil in Fairfax county than being in bed with the developer polluters/traffic-metro-school-ballpark-stormwater management cloggers.

If the point is that Gary Baise is a bumbling Republican, point taken.  But the case has not been made that this means he is worse for this particular office than the current corrupt regime.

He now agrees with Corey Stewart.  If you agree with Stewart on immigration, fine, vote for Baise. 

For all the sound & fury from both sides, there's not a whole lot localities can do about immigration, legal or otherwise.  Any impact is mostly marginal.

But on development and citizen participation in general, localities hold a whole lot more of the cards.

When debating local candidates, my own focus is on local issues.  If others have other priorities I respect that, but I'm looking at the issues where these candidates will have the most impact, and while I've seen a lot of justified Baise-bashing, I've not seen any disagreement with Baise's positions on local issues, which are far more in line with what I've seen on this blog than anything Connolly has ever said or done.  But again, since I'm looking for reasons that are local and extend beyond party affiliation, maybe I'm in the wrong place.  That's not a slam, just a recognition of a potential mis-perception on my own part.

That's fatal in my book, while Connolly has been excellent -- responsible, measured, focused on the things he can actually do something about -- on immigration.

endorsed Baise.  That's enough right there for me to endorse Connolly.  The enemy of my enemy...

Even tongue in cheek, this underscores my disappointment.  Once upon a time, RK could do better than "The Moonie Times said X so let's do Y!".  From what little of it I've seen, the MT almost never covers local Fairfax issues at all anyway.'

I'm afraid this just highlights the concern that partisanship is given heavier weight here than the good of the county.  But again, maybe that's always been the point and I'm off-based because I focused on a limited time period where things looked a bit different.

on this one.  I think Baise is horrible, while Connolly has good points and bad points.  I'll take the mixed bag any day, while making the point that these wouldn't have been my two ideal choices for County Board.  IF you don't like it, why don't you run against Connolly in the primary next time, or encourage someone to do so?

to deal with Connolly but that didn't happen.  He had no Primary competition so Progressives and Democrats who oppose the Connolly machine effectively missed their shot at any satisfactory change.

Fast forward to today...

Baise does represent change, but only in the sense that he'll make things worse (from a Prog/Dem point of view - I'm sure some diehard Repubs would be happy with that change).  It's too late for any progressive change, so Lowell's (and Ben's) tongue in cheek endorsements are well suited and also point out an obvious, albeit painful, truth: that no self respecting Prog/Dem who believes in what the party stands for should be voting for Baise (or abstaining) despite the fact that Connolly is far, far, from the optimal choice.

Primary season was the time to deal with Connolly in-house and it didn't happen.  Opportunity lost.  End of story.

But hey, it's looking like you'll get another shot in a few months when the fight to decide who will take Tom Davis' seat heats up.

Thats exactly right cocnerning the primary season. I would like to hear an explaination as to why this happened? Why exactly was this opportunity lost?

"no self respecting Prog/Dem who believes in what the party stands for should be voting for Baise (or abstaining) despite the fact that Connolly is far, far, from the optimal choice."

Took the words right out of mmy mouth.  I can only assume that the Baise defenders here are either blinded by their hatred of Connolly, know nothing about how far-right Baise is, or are just Republicans in real life.  The time to deal with Connolly was in the primary season, and the idea that Baise would be a change for the better is laughable.  Hell, just read what Baise has said in his own words.

And if anyone thinks Baise can't do that much damage in four years, I present the case of Bush winning in 2000.

Forgot to finish a sentence:

"...simply choosing to decline to make an endorsement is not just the honest thing to do, it is the best thing for the party and the people of Fairfax at large."

I don't think any Dem or independent on this site would back William Jefferson.

Please do not slur people with such unfounded accusations.

I didn't see that as a slur.  I saw it as a logical comparison between two officials who have a lot of indications (but no convictions that I've heard about) of corruption.

I think it's a perfectly legitimate question - if one is willing to endorse Connolly in the face of these well-founded concerns, would one also endorse Cong. Jefferson?

and egregious corrupt activity.  He should have resigned immediately for been forced out.

Everyone here admits that Baise is awful. It's a no-brainer. It's a winner-take-all system. So frankly I support Connolly even though he isn't my first choice either.

Unfortunately.

about Connolly, they have nobody to blame but themselves for that.  Get involved and run for office -- or draft someone else -- if you're so angry about Connolly.  If not, to use a DKos abbreviation, STFU.

OK, I apolgize.

I had thought based on earlier experience that this was a blog where those who try to engage swing voters and independents to participate in the Democratic party and thereby expand its base were welcome.

But because I backed Charlie Hall in Providence, and tried (with some degree of, if insufficient success, I like to think) to get people engaged who usually don't participate in Democratic primaries, instead of running a primary campaign of my own against Connolly, I have now been invited to "STFU."  (So much for keeping it civil and "agreeing to disagree.")

Fine, Lowell - your blog, your rules.  I respect that.  I'm sorry that I mis-interpreted this blog as a place where swing voters might be attracted to with reason, instead of blind partisan loyalty.  But as NLS has been demonstrating recently, it seems that as election day nears, RK also feels compelled to display the intolerance, litmus tests, and stubborn refusal to address items that don't toe the Official Line that lower the level of discourse on the right-wing blogs.

I had hoped that RK would be the rare exception that would help appeal to swing voters, but if the race to self-marginalization is too appealing to resist, then I will indeed happilly STFU.

Thanks for the brief glimmer of hope.  It was fun while it lasted. 

How quick one forgets.  Look Charlie Hall was willing to step up and he took a bashing from Connolly.  Despite all the good work that RK did for Charlie, he was still beaten back.

Shut the f___ up?

That was uncalled for.

It's used all the time at Daily Kos, but I've never done that here and I don't want to start now.  So, my apologies.  I am convinced that we can disagree, even about Gerry "Boss" Connolly, without being disagreeable. :)

The way Connolly was endorsed here can't possibly be misconstrued.  First off, the link to NLS and the multiple uses of "ha" set the humorous tone (although I do appreciate the nod to Connolly's good position on immigration, which helped counter Ben's reckless use of the word "corrupt.").  Secondly and more importantly, it should be obvious that either Connolly or Baise is going to be the next Chairman, and it should be obvious that Connolly clearly is the better choice, even for those who think Connolly isn't enough of a reformer.

Turnout, especially when there is no statewide race on the ballot, is critical.  If making the case for keeping Baise from getting elected motivates voters who otherwise would stay home, the endorsement of Connolly by this site is not only sensible, it's laudable.

The good news for detractors to Connolly's left is that after winning on Tuesday, he's likely to launch his campaign for Tom Davis' seat.  Leslie Byrne likely will join him.  At the outset, she'll be more attractive to voters who care about the issues championed at this site.  If Connolly hopes to attract another endorsement from here, he'll have to move left quickly.

If someone other than Connolly gets the Dem nomination for Tom Davis' seat, those who are still not happy with Connolly's performance as Chairman can begin to find a better candidate for '09.

"...it should be obvious that Connolly clearly is the better choice..."

I'm sorry, it is not obvious.

Baise is bad in many ways - but they seem mostly to be in ways that are mostly if not totally irrelevant to being Fairfax Chairman.

Connolly is bad in many ways - almost exclusively in ways that are incredibly relevant to being Fairfax Chairman.

It's always tough when faced w/two bad candidates.  Often party affiliation is enough for me to decide.  But when things are this extreme, sorry - someone needs to spell out for me in small words I can easily understand why a demonstrable disaster should be stuck with, when given the option of a less-disaterous bumbler.

It is not obvious to me either.  Ben and Lowell laid it on the table about Louisiana and its dirty politics.  It seems that Ben (and Lowell in a funny sort of way), explained the endorsement by referring to a Louisiana bumper sticker.  According to Ben....As the famous bumper sticker said in Louisiana, "Vote for the Crook, it's important".  Well, look what happened in LA...former governor, Edwards, now sits in prison. 
*******************
Read the following about former governor Edwards.

Mr. Edwards was convicted of racketeering and extortion in exchange for state riverboat gambling licenses.  (IN FAIRFAX COUNTY, DEVELOPERS COMPLAIN ABOUT THE $10,000 FEE ...PAY TO PLAY.  SOME EVEN CALL IT EXTORTION.)

It was a denouement many state residents thought would never happen, despite two dozen investigations and several indictments. Known for Las Vegas gambling junkets and inveterate womanizing, the smooth-talking Edwards embodied the flamboyant brand of populism practiced by Huey and Earl Long during the first half of the 20th century. Unlike the Longs, though, Edwards wasn't Baptist and he wasn't from North Louisiana. He was Cajun and Catholic, though he briefly dallied with the Nazarenes as a teen. Above all, he craved power.  (ACCORDING TO THE WASHINGTON POST PROFILE OF CONNOLLY....CONNOLLY  CRAVES POWER AND USES IT.)

But his (Edward's) populist style of doing business - in which power and money flowed from the state's oil and gas riches - has now dried up along with many of the wells. (SOUNDS TOO CLOSE TO HOW MONEY FROM DEVELOPERS JUST FLOWS TO CONNOLLY IN THOUSAND DOLLAR INCREMENTS.)
*****************
As Lowell recently noted that Ben broke the news about the Jeannemarie advertisement, is Ben about to break the news about Connolly?  Ben referring to Louisiana politics is just too creepy and Halloween has passed.

If Baise were to win, and he understood that all he had was a mandate to be a less beholden and more progressive version of Connolly, I might be able to live with that.  We may be debating about which of two very unlikely events is more likely.  I guess you think it's more likely that Baise, upon winning, would get and follow the type of signal I described.  I think it's more likely that Chairman leopard will change his spots. 

I agree, Dems must draw a line in the sand on ethics. We can't keep rewarding politicians just because of a party label.

Connolly's best defense of his actions goes like this, "I'm just doing what Tom Davis has done." Well, many of us believe that Davis has less than a stellar ethic performance and should not be our flag bearer. What will Jeff McKay's (Dem candidate for Lee District Supervisor) defense going to be for taking $35,000 from a developer whose rezoning application will be heard before the BOS in January?"I'm just doing what Connolly is doing"? Is this the standard we want for Fairfax County?

If we are serious about a progressive Dem party, we must look at ethics and take it seriously. Connolly will probably win on Tuesday, but we don't need to endorse him?which he'll take as a mandate that we accept his pay to play politics. We should not accept Dems using poorly flawed logic to justify their moral lapses, who then wrap themselves around a county attorney whose job, bonuses and pay increases are dependent on the same people he is "defending".

We're on the same slippery slope that the Reps are trying to step off. We should wait and reward better candidates.

The way our Democracy works is that if you don't like an elected official, you either a) run against them yourself; b) support someone running against them; c) get actively involved to organize a movement against them, etc.  Have you done any of those things with regard to Gerry Connolly?  Now, 2 days before the election, you're frustrated that you don't have a better choice than Connolly-Baise?  No offense, but shouldn't you have thought about that, oh, 9 months ago?

A lot of these screen names are the same from the Hall-Smyth primary.  Any one of them could have run against Gerry and had my vote in a Democratic Primary.  Don't complain now the choices are Connolly and Baise.

And you expect them to simultaneously mount an at-large challenge to the incumbent, Mr. Connolly, with his developer-fed warchest in excess of one million dollars?

They should be praised rather than demeaned.

Providence would have been 2 vs 2 instead of 2 vs 1 and Hall probably wins.

Thank you!

What if RK is reading the tea leaves correctly....Connolly wins...then are we stuck with him for 4 more years?  Fx Cty folks are going to be buried under taxes, development, gridlock, bad air, etc.  What if he throws his hat in the ring and runs for Davis's seat?  What if Byrne eats him for lunch and wins the primary.  (No Republican is going to come up against Leslie.)  Can we all say Kauffman......where are you?

I suppose you made this endorsement without hearing the tale of Gerry's bizarre behavior at the recent NAACP candidates forum?  Can you honestly endorse this clown?  I'm sure you've heard the tale, Lowell.  It's all over town. 

How about: JUST ENDORSE NO ONE. 

To me, a vote for Gerry is a vote to bump him up the political food chain.  Don't go there.  If he gets a victory, which he will anyway, let's hand him the slimmest margin at least.  There are many better Democrats than him.  Many. 

 

There is no way someone can raise enough money to run against Connolly.  When there is no reward such as approving land use applications or changing the zoning....this will happen in Tysons Corner.  These actions draw in the big dollars.  Just take the $10,000 check alone... 31.  How long would that take the average person to collect in small donations?  Connolly pops 40 to 50 thousands per outreach and he reported having several  in such expenditures. Do you think West*Group would provide office space for the little guy.  West*Group stands to make hundreds of millions with the rezoning. 

So Lowell don't be mean spirited to us when we complain about Connolly and chastise us for not getting a candidate to primary Conolly. 

Remember the small folk can't come up against Boss Man no matter how much one wants to do so.

Voterforchange was too quick on the copy subject bar and left out a key word....DON'T.  Sorry about that.

Why on earth would I endorse Connolly?  Connolly has only  focused on Connolly at the exclusion of some good folks.  The silence is deafing.