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"All
people are born alike - except Republicans and
Democrats." –Groucho Marx
Everyone
who reads the columns published on Bacon’s
Rebellion should be well acquainted with the
term RINO—Republican in Name Only. There are at
least 19 RINOs in the House of Delegates and about
15 more in the state Senate.
These
RINOs were responsible for saddling Virginia with
the largest tax increase in the state's history
last year—a tax increase that was totally
unnecessary given the current budget surplus.
The
voters of the 41st House of Delegates
district are well acquainted with what it means to
be represented by a RINO. For 25 years now their
representative has been Jim Dillard, R-Fairfax.
A
RINO extraordinaire, Dillard has made no secret of
his liberal tendencies. In the 2004 election for
U.S.
president, the Dillard family made a $1,000
contribution, not to the Republican Party’s
nominee, President George Bush, but to the
Democrat candidate, John Kerry!
Dillard’s
unabashed liberal—some would say
socialist—tendencies are well documented. An
earlier column, “The
Taxpayers’ Nemesis” gives a small flavor
of how far to the left Dillard has moved over the
years, even though he continued to campaign and
win reelections as a Republican.
A
true conservative, Michael Golden, has announced
his candidacy for the Republican nomination of the
41st Delegate District this year. Apparently
deciding to throw in the towel, Dillard
subsequently announced his retirement.
Shortly
after Dillard’s announcement, his long-time
legislative aide, David Marsden, announced his
candidacy for the same House district.
Having
worked with Dillard over the years, I expected
Marsden to run as a Republican. Logic would
dictate that most of Marsden's contacts would run
in Republican circles.
But
Marsden is not running as a Republican—he’s
running as a Democrat!
Following
Marsden’s announcement to run as a Democrat, one
would think that the nominally Republican Dillard
would maintain some distance. But Dillard proved
to be a reliable ally of the
Democrat candidate—he gave Marsden $10,000 in
December 2004.
Is
Marsden a bona fide Democrat or is he a Republican
who’s stepped out of the closet merely wearing
Democrat clothing—an elephant masquerading as a
donkey?
To
find out Marsden’s true colors, we must look at
the company he has kept over the years. And
Marsden has apparently kept some checkered
company, including both sides of the political
spectrum.
The
Democrats nominated Marsden to run for Dillard’s
seat in the 2005 statewide elections. One is not
selected by a political party to run as its
candidate without having some strong connections
and contacts with party operatives.
As
a matter of fact, Fairfax County School Board
member Kathy Belter, D-Springfield, had expressed
an interest in running for Dillard’s seat. But
heavyweight Democrat Party officials, like Del.
Brian Moran, D-Alexandria, Del. Vivian Watts,
D-Annandale, and Del. Kris Amundson, D-Mount
Vernon, leaned on Belter and talked her out of
running so that Marsden could run unopposed.
The
selection of Marsden by Democrat activists to
represent them in the general election is rather
strange, to say the least. According to
voting records made available by the State Board of
Elections, Marsden has reportedly never voted in a
Democrat primary.
So
much for Marsden being a Democrat activist! This
factoid makes the intervention of the heavyweight
Democrats on behalf of Marsden even stranger.
But
buckle up your seatbelt, because Marsden’s past
is even more mysterious. You see, Marsden also has
been a conservative Republican operative--not
through his connection with Dillard, who after all
is a RINO, but through his association with truly
conservative Republicans.
For
example, Sen.
Ken Cuccinelli, R-Centerville, one of the most conservative Republican
legislators in the state Senate had this to say
about David Marsden:
“It
would have been easy for David Marsden to never
help me; he doesn’t even live in my district!
But he not only worked the polls for
me—he traveled into my district to distribute my
sample ballots in two precincts!
His efforts helped me carry the Braddock
District in my last campaign!”
Cuccinelli
is actually elated to have Democrat operatives
pick up one of his former faithful volunteers to
represent them in the General Assembly.
“I
represent over 80 percent of this Delegate
district, and have been a top statewide target for
the Virginia Democratic Party and Governor
Warner,” Cuccinelli said.
“For Democratic activists to honor my
record in this way was a rare surprise.”
So,
will the real David Marsden please stand up? Is it
David Marsden the Democrat nominee or is it
Marsden the conservative Republican activist?
Until
recently, RINOs were strictly a Republican
phenomenon. But Marsden’s candidacy may have
changed all of that. David Marsden may be the
first DINO (Democrat in Name Only) sighting in our
great Commonwealth—if not the entire country.
--
May 9, 2005
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