I consider both Del. Brian Moran and Del. Lionell Spruill friends, and pretty smart guys, to boot. So I was a bit taken aback when the financial reports came out showing Moran paying Spruill during the General Assembly session. I have no problems with Moran paying Spruill for working on his campaign – heck, everybody these days gets paid to work on campaigns. (That is, of course, a topic for another post for another day.) What gave me a bit of heartburn was that the payment was being made during session. Although not illegal, it did carry the unmistakable stench of impropriety.
In response to an editorial in The Virginian Pilot, today”s newspaper printed a statement from Mame Reiley, the director of Virginians for Brian Moran.
In light of the concerns raised, Moran plans to introduce a change to the General Assembly rules that expands the current ban on fundraising during the legislative session to include a ban on employment of any legislator by any candidate for public office or political committee during the same time period.
In addition, whether the House adopts our proposed change or not, Spruill will take unpaid leave from the campaign during next year’s regular General Assembly session.
That is exactly the correct response. We all have blind spots and make boneheaded mistakes. The key is to recognize them and rectify them. This approach does both.
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And kudos to the Pilot for putting this response online. In the past, these Objection! responses were only available to newspaper subscribers. It’s good to see them available to all.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Proud Dem, maybe YOU should put your self out there and run for office, I would love to see how you feel then. Spruill is not a doctor, lawyer or indian chief like others in the general assembly, he is a retired blue collar worker. The GA members do not get rich at being elected. Just the opposite, they put out much of their own money supporting other people in thier campaigns or in their charity events. Being a DNC members, you again travel to quarterly meeting across the country at your own expense, on your own time. Do you have a problem with lawyers in the GA standing in front of the Judges they appoint and then receive payment from their clients. Del. Spruill has a right to earn a living, and what he is getting paid is nothing compaired to what some people make in the campaign game. Maybe you are uspse with him for other reasons and just see this attack as a way to experess something else lurking deep inside.
Lionell Spruill aside, and not to stir this up again, but there does seem to be an implicit deal in this area between Republicans and Democrats to have certain seats go uncontested by the other party. When some upstart who didn’t get the memo poses a challenge nonetheless, they don’t get party support.
That’s changing, but not fast enough. My guess is that practice is the source of the frustration proudvadem’s sources are expressing.
sj – out of bounds. I know what you’re implying and I know that sort of thing has been in vogue among Democrats during the Clinton/Obama primary, especially among a certain group of bloggers. But when we go down the road of using racism to disqualify the legitimate opinions of people who disagree with ours simply because it’s convenient, we forfeit our ability to confront legitimate, honest to God bigotry when it manifests itself. Lets maintain some perspective and recognize that people can say things like “I wish Spruill hadn’t taken that money” and “I think OJ did it” without holding racist attitudes — before someone takes things to far and starts looking like an idiot.
I can say without reservation that Lionel Spruill helped Connie Brennan and her campaign last year by appearing in Prospect for a community meeting/meet the candidate event.
He came and spoke, staying until most guests had left, and I understand he didn’t have to do it. He was involved in order to work for a majority in the House of Delegates.
I can say that Mr. Spruill gave more time and effort to the campaign than Mr. Armstrong did, which was troubling.
I have a great deal of respect for Delegate Spruill, and I wish we weren’t already going down this road when we have so much to do this year.
“[There] does seem to be an implicit deal in this area between Republicans and Democrats to have certain seats go uncontested by the other party. When some upstart who didn’t get the memo poses a challenge nonetheless, they don’t get party support.” -spotter
Spotter, the whole point of “Whistling Past Dixie” was that the Democratic Party could command a governing majority without wasting money in the South. The same strategy applies in Virginia. There are HoD districts in which the Democrats simply cannot win, and others in which the Republicans simply cannot win. If an opposition candidate decides to run in one of those districts, then he is on his own. Neither party should waste money in districts they cannot win, but should concentrate their resources on those races that are competitive.
I hate it that Anon E. Mouse got more out of a book on Democratic political strategy than some Democrats.
That’s why I read all kinds of things — both what I agree with and what I don’t.
One can learn something from anyone. I had a neighbor with Down’s Syndrome, but I still learned things from him. He had experiences, such as being in the Special Olympics, that I will never have, and I learned from his telling me of his experiences. I learn from reading books such as “Whistling Past Dixie” and “God’s Politics,” which I just finished last night. (Thank you, Spotter.) I do not agree with Willis’ thesis, but there was still information in the book that I did not know before, and in my efforts to develop counter-arguments to his thesis, I learned even more.
One cannot simply dismiss a thesis by saying, “I call BS on anything XXXXXXX says. (Insert whomever you don’t like — Limbaugh, Colter, Gore, etc. — for the XXXXXXX.) That will never convince anyone of the correctness of one’s position. Facts presented must be debunked, new facts must be presented, and logical fallacies must be illuminated.
SJ- I have no desire to run for office but will fight like hell to elect Democrats,
that being said- I spent 6 years as Virginia’s representative to the YDA (National committeewoman). I know all too well the expense of traveling around the country for quarterly meetings and to this day, I am STILL paying off the credit cards that I maxed out. And yeah, I did this as a college student so I DO know how expensive it is. I also knew that was part of that job.
SJ- all I’m saying is officials should not put themselves in situations where there are “grey” areas.
Spruill should make a living- but as an elected official NOT put himself in a situation that could (will ) be used against him during the next cycle.
It’s been all over Bearing Drift and the GOP looks for things like this. I would hate to see him lose his seat. Although the GOP is in a freefall, something like this could hurt him. So, SJ I’m not “upset” with him- I just hate seeing elected officials make boneheaded moves that can hurt the party.
And if you are inferring any kind of racism AT all, let me tell you that this NAACP member does not condone it all and never will. I’m also a member of the SCLC for that matter. My emphasis as an undrad was in African American studies while my majors were Poli Sci/Comm. I don’t feel like I need to justify myself to you but race is an issue that I feel very, very passionate about. So- DO NOT go there. SJ, I do not think that you have ever met me, but your veiled accusations are WAY off the mark.
Again, as my S/N says I am a PROUD VA DEM and love my party. Period.
And Spotter is correct- there are many, many “gentleman’s agreements” out there and you nailed it! I stepped far away from the party for 5 years because I was tired of the “old guard” treating up and comers like crap. I cannot begin to count the many excellent candidates who worked like hell but the good-ole-boy network hung them out to dry. Finally, there became seats where only “sacrificial lambs” would be put up only to go down in flames in November. This is a huge source of frustration with Virginia Dems, because it’s not like this in many other states.
Glad to see y’all had a good conversation while I was out today 🙂