First, the NRA seals the election of Democratic Attorney General candidate Creigh Deeds by endorsing him over Republican candidate Bob McDonnell. Now, according to the Washington Times, "a key Virginia gun rights lobby (the Virginia Citizens Defense League, or VCDL) has dealt a blow to the Kilgore campaign, saying yesterday that it will not endorse a candidate in the gubernatorial race" due to the fact that Tim Kaine "was the only candidate to complete the group's survey on gun issues." That's simply amazing. And it raises the question once again: "what's going on with the Kilgore campaign?" Could Waldo Jaquith be correct in his analysis that the Kilgore campaign has simply stopped trying at this point? What else could explain this major league mess-up?To make matters worse for the floundering, disintegrating Kilgore campaign (as "Not Larry Sabato" has pointed out so well), the Washington Times notes that Kilgore campaign spokesman Tucker Martin actually went out of his way to insult the VCDL's president! Here's what Martin says:
While we have great respect for the members of the VCDL, their President Phillip Van Cleave unfortunately has no credibility on Second Amendment issues and that is why we did not participate.
In response, Van Cleave said:
I have no idea where that's coming from. I'm sorry to hear them say that. We've been nothing but polite to that campaign. That answer is not going to fly.
According to the Washington Times, Virginia House Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith (R-Salem) also chimed in, saying that Van Cleave was "a sincere and knowledgeable individual when it comes to protecting gun rights."
So much for Tucker Martin's bizarre comments. But don't forget to record yet another fiasco for the amateur hour Kilgore campaign.
In other news, the VCDL made no endorsement in the Attorney General's race, saying that "The gun owner can't lose one way or another on these two candidates." Let's all get used to saying it: "Virginia State Attorney General, Creigh Deeds!"