5th District Tea Party Debates in my Hometown

The 5th District Tea Party Debates were held last night in my hometown - just outside the ground of my University. That's right, beautiful Charlottesville.

Each of the 7 candidates had agreed beforehand to be there - although one refused to be there unless there was a change in the moderator. So, accommodations were made for State Senator Robert Hurt.

There was a packed house as each of the candidates showed up - well, sort of - to promote themselves as the best choice for the Republican nominee and to tout their knowledge of the Constitution. Senator Hurt reneged on his promise to be there, but was represented instead by a cardboard cutout with his face on it, dressed in a suit. Politicians are said to be empty suits from time to time, but Sen. Hurt literally was.

After going around the will of the people and the other 6 candidates (who all supported a convention for - among other reasons - the ability to save the state $250,000 at a time of fiscal difficulty) to secure a primary via the good old boy network, he now snubbed the people who showed up to hear what he thought on the issues presented.

There were several references made to him (or his suit) specifically on the question of whether or not they would vote for a tax increase if a government shut down were at stake. Lawrence Verga said he would absolutely shut the government down, then said "how about you Robbie?" Mike McPadden said that there was just that situation in Richmond in 2004 and the Republicans held the line and went toe to toe with the Democrats, until the line buckled and somebody gave in. At this he turned his head and cast a sideways glance to Hurt's empty suit. Ron Ferrin perhaps gave the most memorable response when he said, "Personally, I think the Congress does it's best work in August when they aren't in session." At this the crowd gave a loud round of applause and agreeable laughter.

Any way you want to slice it, not only is Tom Perriello clearly in the crosshairs of the Tea Party and the public, but if Robert Hurt keeps up his smug dismissal of the people, he will be too. After last night, every political opponent he faces in the future will be using photos of his empty suit and he may have just ended his political career.

The 400+ people in attendance last night bore witness to the fact that there are 6 good candidates in the race, 1 that doesn't care about them, and of the 6, 2 that are better than the rest at thinking on their feet and public speaking: Ferrin and McPadden.