Bacon's Rebellion

Whitman to Plug for Waddell

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by

James A. Bacon
in

Katherine Waddell is running as an independent against Republican Brad Marrs for the House of Delegates seat in the 68th district, which overlaps Chesterfield County and the city of Richmond. Waddell, a Republican activist who considers herself a low-tax, limited-government conservative but social moderate, objects to what she considers Marrs’ extreme conservative agenda on cultural issues.

She hasn’t gotten much attention so far in the local press, but she may soon: Christine Todd Whitman, Former New Jersey Governor and author of “It’s My Party Too: The Battle for the Heart of the GOP and the Future of America,” will be a special guest at a Waddell fundraiser on Sept. 7. (She’ll also be signing copies of her book at area bookstores.)

Another sign that Waddell should be taken seriously: She’s managed to raise $58,000 so far. That lags Marrs’ $93,000, but it’s enough to make her a serious contender.

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  1. Ben Kyber Avatar
    Ben Kyber

    I live in that district. Though i don’t agree with Waddell on many things, she sure beats Brad Marrs.

    For more information on Marrs’ disturbing record:

    http://blueinva.blogspot.com/2005/07/sad-state-of-affairs-in-68th-district.html

    Aww heck…just check out the whole blog: http://blueinva.blogspot.com

  2. Shaun Kenney Avatar
    Shaun Kenney

    So let’s discuss the point you make here:

    Why didn’t the Democrats put someone up in the 68th? It’s not rocket science – find someone who’s willing to wear their heart on their sleeve, go out, declare in a primary, and work like hell for that person.

    I certainly looks as if the Dems found their meal ticket in a moderate they can use for their own ends. Rarely do I buy the notion that two members of the same party running in a general election don’t have the support of the other party.

    One is a conservative, one is a liberal, and the special interests line up accordingly. In this case, New Jersey liberals (and in this case, a former governor who was neither fiscally nor socially conservative during her tenure) have picked their favorite.

    What are NJ pols doing interfering in local Virginia politics anyhow?! Is the local support for Waddell that weak?

  3. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    Interesting. Sounds to me like Marrs has a very good voting record based on the above link.

    I also find it interesting that opponents who work within the Republican Party rules to contest incumbants are somehow villified in the press as “extremists” and yet those Republicans who go outside the established Party rules to run as independents a’la Russ Potts and Waddell are considered “serious”. It doesn’t say a whole lot about their commitment to the Republican Party.

    It also doesn’t say alot for Whitman to be supporting Waddell while still claiming “it’s her Party too”. Party squabbles should remain internal to the Party. If someone thinks they cannot win within Party rules, they ought to stop using the Party’s name and either switch to a Party that they agree with or start their own. Otherwise they ought to be quiet and work within the Party for the change they want.

    I will agree with Blueinthecommonwealth on one thing. If Waddell is so liberal on social issues and can raise as much money as she has, it does seem to me that the Dems ought to be able to come up with a conservative Democrat who would do just as well.

  4. Will Vehrs Avatar
    Will Vehrs

    Does Ms. Waddell have a complete platform, or is she the mirror image of a Del. Black, obsessed with social issues?

    I’m just asking. I have only heard of her in terms of her relentless support of abortion.

  5. Jim Bacon Avatar
    Jim Bacon

    We met for coffee and didn’t talk about abortion at all. She was looking for ways to address transportation congestion without raising taxes. We talked about efficiency in government but very little about social issues, except to note that it was a point of differentiation with Marrs. Based on my limited contact with her, I would not describe Waddell as “obsessed” with social issues.

  6. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    I took a look at her campaign website (http://www.katherinewaddell.com/) and from what I can tell she is obsessed with those who find social issues of importance. In other words, she is obsessed with opposing those that might agree with Del. Black on the social issues of the time.

    She talks about being a “traditional conservative”, whatever that means. If she means “traditional Republican” that would tell me something as it would align her with those only concerned with issues of money. Her web-page does seem to bely that as her main concern btw.

    She uses terminology that tells me she would align herself very easily with most liberal Democrat views on social issues like abortion, gay rights, the environment, etc.

    She also specifically calls for the need to invest in “embryonic” stem cell research. In fact to quote her: “Embryonic stem-cell research is essential to improve the quality of life for Virginians with juvenile diabetes, Parkinson’s, MS and many other debilitating diseases.”. I don’t know how she can support such a claim since there is no correlation between “embryonic” stem cell research as opposed to other types of stem cell research and a cure for these diseases. So I can’t see how she can make this quality of life issue stick.

    Finally under her public safety section she makes the following statement: “it is time for a sensible drug policy that attacks the demand for drugs by going after the money that fuels the illegal & dangerous drug trade”. This puzzled me. What does she mean by “going after the money” and how will this affect demand? I couldn’t find anything more specific on drug issues on her web-site to understand it better. Is she in favor of the libertarian approach to legalization of drugs? What else could this statement mean?

    Overall it seems to me she would probably agree with most conservatives on fiscal issues, but she sounds to be the polar opposite of social conservatives. I would put her in the category of an extreme libertarian without more to go on.

  7. James Atticus Bowden Avatar
    James Atticus Bowden

    Shaun hit a homer. It’s really funny, amusingly odd if you enjoy hypocrisy as a form of irony, that the MSM calls Conservative Republican party intramural challengers extremists and Liberal (Moderate is such a mousy term) challengers serious candidates.

    What issues don’t boil down to Liberal vs Conservatives? Filling pot holes or what?

  8. Walt Ball Avatar
    Walt Ball

    Shaun: Good call brother. I agree. This woman is the best thing the Dems have going for them? Good for Marrs then! And what’s with a someone from NEW JERSEY coming down to campaign for her. Don’t we check passports at the Mason-Dixon line anymore? 🙂

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