Notes from Last Night’s Debate
I’m sure VBDC Chairwoman Susan Mariner and others wouldn’t mind if I posted here some of the Facebook comments on last night’s debate.
Susan writes: “My opinion of the debate: Debate goes to Nye on substance and poise. Golden gets second on style. Rigell gets third for a Sarah Palinesque understanding of issues and freaky animatronic mannerisms. Hope that’s the way it goes in November too.”
“I was proud of Congressman Nye. He was respectful, knowledgeable, and stayed on the message.”
“Rigell was inauthentic and vapid. Main thing I took away from his performance was images of his intermittent and bizarre yelling for emphasis (if you don’t have anything particularly intelligent to say, at least say it really loudly???) and the disconcerting plastic smiles he delivered on cue.”
“I am totally a fan of Kenny Golden’s flamboyant and entertaining style even though I disagree with most of his platform.”
“He [Rigell] said that he opposed the bailout. Of course he also opposed the stimulus plan, and yet he took $400K in Cash for Clunkers money. So I guess his opposition is more about OTHER people getting stimulus money rather than him.”
The best comment however goes to Susan’s FB friend, Cole:
Rigell on the Economy: Fire Pelosi. Tax Cuts. I run a business. Fire Pelosi.
Rigell on Immigration: Leave Arizona Alone!
Rigell on Healthcare: Don’t fund Obamacare. Hehe. I’m clever. Obamacare.
Rigell on Afghanistan: This is Sparta!
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August 20th, 2010 at 1:04 pm
As a fellow Dem who watched the debate last night I have to respectfully disagree. I am no fan of Rigell, nor Golden, but to say Nye preformed well is, in my opinion, just flat out false and completely misleading to anyone who was unable to attend. In reality I can’t imagine his campaign was at all happy with the way things went last night. First when you showed up, though Nye had a good number of yard signs out Rigell had a ton of 4×8s and people out there holding them up. The place was packed with people wearing Rigell shirts and they must have had 3 times as many people passing out lit I mean it was just flat out ridiculous. I don’t know what the hell the Nye camp is doing but their strategy seems bizarre, Rigell has blitzed 4×8s all over, yet I still see no Nye presence whatsoever driving around and just this morning I saw a Rigell TV ad. Alright that was a bit of a tangent but back to the debate. Nye’s biggest problem in my mind was that he just sat there and let them pound away at him, he didn’t respond to anything which made it seem like everything they said was right/true. Not a single remark he made had any passion and it seemed like he could care less to be there or about any of the issues. I mean I know he is a smart guy, so that why its so aggravating…what on earth is he doing? He has positioned himself so well on the issues and its like he’s just throwing it all away. He literally sat there and repeated that he put the people of the second district first. Good god man, what kind of campaign are you running?!?
August 20th, 2010 at 2:24 pm
It was definitely a partisan crowd there with the advantage hugely given to Rigell supporters. However, afterwards I did chat with folks I would label definitely as independents. They thought Nye did very well. They liked his calm, cool and collectedness.
August 20th, 2010 at 6:54 pm
Flamboyant and Entertaining Style? Sounds like Kenny Golden to me. He was my Commodore in 1996 when we deployed to the Mediterranean and pulled 4,000 people out of Albania. He is a first rate guy and as reliable as they come. You all would be lucky to have him as your Congressman.
August 23rd, 2010 at 1:04 pm
Kenny needs to set his sites a little lower. Since he is burning bridges with the Republican Party by running as an independent perhaps he might be willing to run against Wagner for the state Senate seat as a Democrat? The VBDC (Virginia Beach Democratic Committee) seems to have problems coming up with a candidate, and while Kenny might be a little conservative for some Va Beach Dems, think about this. An elected conservative Democrat is better then a defeated liberal candidate. An elected conservative Democrat is better then an elected conservative Republican because the Democrat will not be punished by his base for compromise.
Kenny does have a really impressive resume but he does not stand much chance of success in this election. Perhaps against Wagner, with party backing he could be successful. Can you tell how bad I want Wagner out of office?
August 23rd, 2010 at 2:48 pm
I hear ya’, LD! Wagner is evil incarnate!
August 23rd, 2010 at 4:44 pm
Kenny is overqualified for state office. His expertise is on national issues. He is running because he is undeniably better suited to represent the 2nd district in Congress. Regardless of what you think of his stances on other issues, the vast majority of residents in the 2nd district are employed by the military, are retired military, or are family of active duty military. The economy stems from the military and the decisions made on armed services directly affect the lives of hundreds of thousands in the district.
That being said, Kenny told me he won’t ever run for office again if he doesn’t win. He is 60 years old, he wants to serve his country the best he can. This is the best shot an independent has to win. He doesn’t care about what bridges get burned with the GOP, he just wants to give the district a shot at adequate representation in Congress.
While you say a conservative dem is better than a defeated one, I say a competent, straightforward representative who you disagree with on some issues is better than an inexperienced candidate who will never tell you where they stand. Kenny is always ready to listen and always ready to help. He would give you the shirt of his back if you asked for it.
August 24th, 2010 at 4:21 am
Rep. Nye has served the military very well during his first term (almost to the exclusion of everything else).
Golden is more likely to attract conservatives who don’t like Rigell. Democrats won’t vote for someone they disagree with on all the issues they care about. Well qualified to lead in the wrong direction is not effective marketing.
August 24th, 2010 at 8:56 am
It will be once the voters get a taste of the GOP and DEM attack machines…
August 25th, 2010 at 12:44 pm
@Chris Meeropol
If Kenny is willing to give me the shirt off his back, how about him giving me some of that retirement check he gets as a retired officer? I’m retired enlisted and my check is tiny while his in comparison is huge. You said he’d give it if I asked and I am asking. Surely he understands how unfairly the military retirement compensation deal is tilted in favor of the officer and against the enlisted service member so perhaps he will personally be willing to correct this injustice.
For those of you unaware: military officers receive a significantly larger slice of their total compensation package in the form of base pay versus allowances then do enlisted. While on active duty, these allowances are not taxable income and great for the enlisted member as the base pay is taxable. But once retirement comes around, the retirement check is figured off base pay so the enlisted service member gets a tiny check while even a retiring warrant officer is rewarded handsomely.
August 25th, 2010 at 7:52 pm
I do believe that if you look at Kenny’s military record, he has more than earned every penny of his retirement check. I am by no means trying to demean anyone’s record, but in my opinion, being the instructor pilot entitles you to more than doing maintenance and commanding a task force entitles you to more pay than being the head enlisted on an ship. I’ve never served in the military, but that is just my opinion. It was your choice to be enlisted your entire career, Kenny started out as enlisted too and got selected for the Aviation Officers Candidate Program.
August 26th, 2010 at 5:03 am
Golden just got stabbed in the back by the Hampton Roads Tea Party, 912 First Landing Patriots, and Campaign for Liberty, who just lined up behind the Republican establishment candidate.
August 26th, 2010 at 6:16 am
@Chris Meeropol,
Yes, officers should get more compensation. Active duty officers are not overpaid. The problem is with how the retirement check is figured. The retirement check is figured off of base pay only and a larger portion of officer compensation while on active duty comes from base pay then what is true for the enlisted.
I’m not really griping, I was aware of this while I served and I am getting what was promised me. However you said Kenny would give me the shirt off his back, so I asked for it.
August 26th, 2010 at 2:02 pm
The article says that Karen Hurd, “founder” of the HRTP and “chair” of the “board” is supporting Rigell. Karen destroyed all her credibility when she endorsed Loyola in the primary. If that wasn’t enough, there is a letter from Karen about Rigell still on the HRTP website. It goes through exactly why no one should vote for him if they call themselves conservatives. She doesn’t speak for the Tea Party, she speaks for her own egotistical interests. I’ve been CCed on tons of emails today of angry libertarians and tea partiers calling for Hurd’s head because all of them despise Rigell. Rumor has it that the HRTP needed money to operate and some cash may have changed hands. I think you know as well as I do that Rigell is not afraid to throw money around to gain support.
Also, the article says Campaign for Liberty supports Rigell. I got a call from their rep down here saying that he had nothing to do with this pledge other than suggesting the audit the fed plank. Other Tea Party groups, such as the New Republic Patriots are furious with Hurd for trying to speak for them. What RIgell just did is piss off the entire rank and file of the Tea Party by claiming support from them when really all that happened was he pressured and/or payed off Hurd to support him.
Anyone who knows Karen knows she is not respected or liked by the members of the Tea Party. She is egotistical and disingenuous. She said we need to destroy the GOP then goes and endorses the candidate she was disgusted with in the primary. She had no credibility. Besides, aside from the pilot article, see what results pop up when you google “scott rigell tea party.” They are all incredibly negative towards Scott.
Mark my words, this has and will continue to backfire on the Rigell campaign. Hurd is done for in local politics and she will be removed from her position or made irrelevant in the coming weeks.