Open thread on Republican primaries for U.S. Senate, 6th House seat
A week from Tuesday, voters will decide the Republican nominees to run for U.S. Senate and in the 6th Congressional District, which stretches down western Virginia through the Shenandoah Valley to Roanoke.
We have stories on both the Senate race and the 6th District race in today’s paper and on roanoke.com.
We welcome your thoughts and thought we might provide a couple of additional notes and links, too.
Republicans held three debates around the state with the four Senate candidates. The first was held here in Roanoke.
In the 6th, Goodlatte has caught some heat for his support of the Stop Online Piracy Act and close ties with House leadership. But he’s run his campaign by talking about energy and economic issues while declining to comment on Kwiatkowski.
Kwiatkowski said she believes Goodlatte is running a whisper campaign and may hit her with a mailer this week: She says he’ll interpret her stance against foreign aid as anti-Israel, and she said he’ll cast her as a 9/11 “Truther” because she was dissatisfied with the 9/11 Commission’s report and has said the damage at the Pentagon was more consistent with a missile than a jetliner.
So what are your thoughts on these two nomination contests? The floor is yours, dear readers.
– Mason Adams
June 3, 2012 - 8:46 AM
These are not contests. The wingnut fringe has no chance against the maccaca man and Kwiatkowski is whistling in the wind. The Republicans will hold a coronation on election day and then the election that matters will start.
The last line of this story speaks volumes. Ms. Kwiatkowski says she’s going to make “Bob’s life a living hell.” Even diehard Republicans don’t agree with each other over every issue, but this type of personal attack is what keeps a lot of decent people from entering the world of politics. Bob Goodlatte is a good man with a reputation for really serving the district. I’m sure Ms. Kwiatkowski has good intentions, but to driven by this level of anger isn’t good for her, the party or the people she hopes to serve.
Whistling in the wind? Sounds like someone has had too much of the establishment kool aid lately. Bob Goodlatte has essentially rigged his election by refusing to publicly debate Karen Kwiatkowski. Now, why would he do this? Is he engaging in incumbent protectionism? My opinion — he’s deathly afraid that if he debates Karen K that he’ll get creamed and lose his primary. He’s absolutely, 100% correct.
He’s also rigged it by forcing a primary — costing taxpayers a ton of money. Why? He knows that if he had opted for the 6th district delegates to pick their nominee at the convention, he would have lost the second the convention convened.
Goodlatte knows his days are numbered — he’s just attempting to prolong the inevitable.
As for George Allen — again, its the Republican establishment playing favorites and forcing a nominee on us without our consent.
I have consistently voted for Bob since 1996, when I moved into the 6th District, until Stuart Bain ran last election cycle, and Karen, now.
A quick examination of Bob’s history would show that the national debt was just over $4 trillion when he entered office, and now after Bob’s votes to increase the debt ceiling at least a dozen times in the intervening period, the national debt stands at $15.755 trillion…and just weeks ago, in Waynesboro, Bob stated he would vote for the Ryan budget and continue to vote for additional debt ceiling increases over the next FIVE YEARS.
And let’s be clear: Bob CO-SPONSORED SOPA with Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee…when SOPA will killed by public outcry, Bob joined as a CO-SPONSOR OF CISPA, which allows companies like Facebook to exchange your personal information with companies like Google and compels them to direct your information to the federal government…EVEN WASSERMAN-SCHULTZ was smart enough not to co-sponsor CISPA.
Bob also is a strong supporter, and voted for No Child Left Behind, which continues to anger both the right and the left and has, essentially, doomed any hope of government education from ever being successful.
Bob’s also voted for the NDAA and the USA PATRIOT ACT, both of which contain provisions which have been struck down as UNCONSTITUTIONAL by the courts.
And we’ve seen emails circulated by Goodlatte supporters and donors, here in Rockingham, which do describe Karen as a truther, which provide readers with a link to patriosquestion911.com and places Karen in pretty good company with large numbers of military, politicians, engineers, architects, pilots, and even 911 victim families who don’t buy what the government is selling.
The emails do describe her as being anti-Isreal…but to me, it’s difficult to explain to me how Bob can be pro-Israel, when he’s voted to give billions in foreign aid to arab counties which surround Israel.
Finally, voters in the 6th District should understand that Bob has continually voted for budgets which include funding for both Planned Parenthood and their abortion mills, as well as Obamacare, which I would bet is against the desires of an overwhelming number of voters across both the 6th District and across the Country.
It’s time to fire Bob…help aid us in that effort by going to the Primary poles on June 12, and casting your vote for a career Air Force officer, educator, farmer, and mother — Karen Kwiatkowski.
http://karenkforcongress.com
What was once the Republican Party has been taken over by the wingnut fringe branch of the Democrat Party the Neo-Conservatives! Neo-Conservatives are big spending, anti constitution, big government nation builders and are far from conservative as we see with Bob “SOPA” Good Latte’ and his voting record!
Debt Up $1.59T Under GOP House—More in 15 Months Than First 97 Congresses! The budget starts in the House. Who does Boehner, Cantor, and our own Bob “SOPA” Good Latte’ think they are fooling by decrying it’s all Obama, Sen. Reid, or Rep Pelosi’s fault?
This once great Republic needs to get back on track we need fresh minds and real conservative ideals and not some Massachusetts Carpetbagger, beltway insider that has helped get us in this mess!
Karen Kwaitkowski is a local cattle farmer that knows what the people of SW Virginia needs from a local perspective and is going to Washington as an outsider NOT a business as usual career politition!!!!
Obviously, Bob needs to go. He holds us back and offers up oppressive legislation that infringes on our rights. He calls himself a conservative, but votes to the contrary. At this point, I am surprised there is not a “Democrats for Goodlatte” sticker popping up on cars. Twenty years of big government legislation and votes from a so called conservative. It is very ironic to hear him call out Obama for his socialist agenda, yet Goodlatte votes for power to be given to the government to control what we are allowed to do.
No conservative would push for a “Balanced Budget Amendment” which allows government to grow as our Gross Domestic Product grows…but Goodlatte’s does as evidenced by wording contained in this Goodlatte Press Release:
http://goodlatte.house.gov/press_releases/228
“In addition, Congressman Goodlatte introduced another Constitutional amendment that has three parts. This resolution would (1) amend the Constitution to require that total spending for any fiscal year not exceed total receipts; (2) require that bills to raise revenues pass each House of Congress by a 3/5 majority; and (3) establish an annual spending cap such that total federal spending could not exceed 1/5 of the economic output of the United States. The bill would also require a 3/5 majority vote for any increases in the debt limit.
Does anyone else find it amusing that anyone making anti-Kwiatkowski comments never seems to have anything positive to say about Bob?
… or that Bob himself never likes talking about his voting record?
“wingnut fringe” “whistling in the wind” that’s all you ever see from not pro-Bob people, but anti-Karen people. Funny how that is.
The only positive comment I saw was “Bob Goodlatte is a good man with a reputation for really serving the district”, and I certainly can’t say I believe it, for the following reason.
I’ve only ever had one experience talking with Bob. A couple of months back I asked him how he could put his name on a job- and innovation-stifling bill like SOPA, and throw his support behind CISPA.
To Bob’s credit, he had the stones to look me in the eye and lie to me by saying that neither of these bills would never “place any restrictions on private citizens or small businesses”.
And yet there’s no provisions preventing such things from happening, so I can’t rightly say I believe him.
Bob then told me his aide would give me more details. The two of them scurried away, and Bob spent the next several minutes complaining about “some tall computer guy in a green shirt”. This was confirmed by a couple of other people that day.
I happen to be tall, I identified myself to Bob as an IT guy (~12 years in various aspects of the industry, including infrastructure, hardware, networking, and coding software), and I was in fact wearing a green shirt that day.
I’ve tried talking to people in Bob’s offices about his support of SOPA/CISPA, and I’m always told I’ll be called back.
Never happens.
I try mentioning I’ve called about these before? “Oh, I don’t know anything about that, but I’ll look into it for you.”
Never happens.
Thanks, Bob. I’ll remember this in nine days. I’ve been telling a lot of people about this, as well.
Goodlatte forgot his ‘Oath of Office’ as soon as he took it and a twenty year voting record is proof positive. His promise of limiting his term… forgotten just as quickly. His legacy as a Congressman will be one I will gladly forget if the damage he has condoned can be undone.
Vote for Karen Kwiatowski on June 12th.
I have to assume that I too, am in the wingnut fringe, huh, Dave ? I suppose that I just need to lay down and give in to the `intellectual morons` of the major minority left….they know much better how to run my life than I do…They thought they knew how to better spend my taxes, but we see where that has gone….Obama spends $813,000,000,000.00 for a `stimulus`….$4.1 MILLION per job…brilliant…should`ve just given each unemployed the $4.1….the left is a joke and WE THE PEOPLE started taking care of your mess in 2010…about time, this BS has only been going on now for about 40 years…Bye, Bye progressivism
@ Jeff Doto
This thread isn’t about Obama and his wasteful spending. This thread is about Goodlatte’s spending, regulating, and controlling- all of which are things the radical right ding the left for doing.
Jeff “dodo” Doto
There has never been any question from the first post that you made on the RT blogs that you are a part of the wingnut fringe. Your assumption that your point of view represents “WE THE PEOPLE” is ludicrous on the surface. And you have never presented an actual true fact about anything,
just the talking points you get from radical right wing sitesw, Faux news and the likes of Rush Limbaugh. Actaual spending under President Obama has increased less than under any President innthe past 75 years, much less than under any Republican President. The deficits are the result of already committed federal sopending projects combined with significant decreases in govt. revenues due to the Bush Tax cuts and the Bush Recession. If spending under Obama had not increased one dime, we would still be running huge deficits and adding to the National Debt. The fact that 8 million jobs were lost due to the Bush recession, half of those inthe first year of the Obama administration before policies could be established to reverse that trend is completely lost on you wingnuts. And the fact that since that time over 4 million of those jobs have been regained in just under three years is similarly ignored. You wouldn’t know the truth if it hit you over the head.
“She says he’ll interpret her stance against foreign aid as anti-Israel, and she said he’ll cast her as a 9/11 “Truther” because she was dissatisfied with the 9/11 Commission’s report and has said the damage at the Pentagon was more consistent with a missile than a jetliner.”
That’s absolutely the definition of a “Truther,” you dingbat. You’re saying that our government somehow pulled off a massive conspiracy that no one involved has spoken about, claiming that we shot a missile at the Pentagon. There’s no case here and she’s a moron.
She was on the helipad lawn at the Pentagon on the morning of 9/11/01, AndrewHWK. Where the hell were you? Tell me what your personal observations, at the scene of the Pentagon or NYC, or Shanksville, on that morning?
You have to be quite ignorant to believe the fable as expressed in the 9/11 Commission Report.
No Dave Briggman, you “have to be quite ignorant to believe the fable as” presented by right wingers and truthers. The government is always lying to you because you don’t understand what truth is. That alone will lose the primary for her and she has zero chance of beating Kaine in the general. Zero.
Bob Goodlatte and his voting record brings shame to the 6th district. It’s been mentioned above, but his support as a Co-sponsor of SOPA and his ‘Yes’ vote for CISPA, condemns him beyond return in my eyes. These bills will erode our 4th amendment rights on the internet and they will kill innovation and investment in the tech sector which is one of the brightest spots in our economy.
Can anyone who supports Goodlatte actually defend him and his voting record, or are you going to continue repeating the rhetoric I’m seeing above?
@ Sandi we are talking about Congressional race, not the Senate race. If you are referring to Jaime Radtke, I agree; she has zero chance of beating Kaine.
Sorry, I confused Kwaitkowski and Radtke, neither of which do I expect to win.
@18 Sandi:
For what it’s worth, Kwiatkowski and Radtke will be appearing together on Thursday in Harrisonburg. Here’s an excerpt from a Kwiatkowski news release:
Senate Candidate Jamie Radtke and Congressional Candidate Karen Kwiatkowski will speak about the important issues at stake today at a joint appearance at 6:30 pm pm on Thursday, June 7th at the Cornerstone Christian School, 197 Cornerstone Lane, Harrisonburg.
The theme of the event is “A Question of Liberty” and questions will be taken after the formal remarks by both candidates. We expect to discuss both long term trends in the United States, as well as current issues of concern such as Internet freedom and economic freedom, the 2nd Amendment, and NDAA “citizen detention” provisions, to the Patriot Act, DHS, TSA, and law enforcement’s domestic use of military drones for surveillance, among other things.
I don’t think we’ll probably be making the trip to north to cover that event, but it’s worth noting.
– Mason Adams
I really don’t think they do themselves any favors by appearing together and I would be missing that event if it was held in my back yard.
Ha…you’re an Obama supporter…hardly makes you qualified to voice a coherent opinion on anything political…
How’d that recall election, in Wisconsin, work for you and your fellow supporters looking for that “Hope and Change”? I bet it just ran a tingle right up your leg.
I don’t live in Wisconsin, but I certainly feel their pain for having a TP/GOP bought and paid for Governor.
Seriously, Dave Briggman, you are backing stupid one world conspiracy theories and dare to talk about anyone having “a coherent opinion”? That is too funny.
Dear Republican Party of Virginia, we are on the “Political DO NOT CALL” list & if you don’t stop robo-calling us or even calling us in person, we will never vote Republican again…FYI, we are independents & consider robo-calls, especially aroung supper time a gross intrusion into our private lives. Thank you for removing us from your list. Very sincerely, Sarah Kelley