Connaughton Crowned Least Conservative
The VEA has officially endorsed Kaine, Connaughton, and a whole host of Democratic candidates for the LG nomination. I'm not sure if this is going to gain Connaughton any votes in the primary since many conservatives (and thus Republican Party primary voters) have something of an aversion to the VEA. In fact, it will definitely hurt him in some quarters. In most people's minds (including many people in his own Prince William County GOP unit), this confirms their belief that Connaughton is not a conservative at heart, but is merely parading as one for the Republican primary process. That said, Connaughton claims to stand the right way on all the issues that really matters, and there is no reason to believe he's posturing necessarily. There simply isn't a history of activism and passion for those issues in his background. Bolling has voted the right way on all the conservative social issues for some time, so he's a known commodity.
posted by Lighthorse Harry at 12:49 PM
17 Comments:
The big difference here is Connaughton has never had the opportunity to vote on these issues that make Bolling such a commodity.
I hear Sean is actually more conservative then Bill on most issues. Isn't Sean a strict pro-lifer while Bill has exceptions???
1:35 PM
The fact that the VEA endorses Sean should indicate one thing and one thing only: that they believe that he will do more to protect and enrich the education of our children than his opponent will. Prince William County schools continue to be regarded as one of the top systems in the country, and this is a tribute to Sean’s commitment to education and the tangible results of his leadership.
The previous poster made an interesting point: “The big difference here is Connaughton has never had the opportunity to vote on these issues that make Bolling such a commodity.” We’re certainly comparing apples and oranges here. The General Assembly continues to fail in its responsibilities to fund education at all levels. As a result, the burden to fully fund educational needs is pushed down to local governments, which of course means that we as property owners shoulder the additional burden. If our state representatives, including Mr. Bolling, did their jobs in Richmond, our local governments could create budgets that were easier on the average taxpayer. So, the big difference here isn’t that Sean has never had the opportunity to vote on these issues. He’s been dealt very questionable hands by the state legislature and, through his leadership and creativity, still managed to win hand after hand. Bolling has had his opportunity to show his commitment to education, and the VEA is quite understandably unimpressed. They obviously believe, as do I, that it’s time for a new dealer.
2:12 PM
Interesting headline. I looked hard for the VEA's determination that Connaughton was "least conservative." Where did that come from? I'm not sure you or I ought to trust VEA to make that judgment in any event. A little clarification of where you found that would be helpful. Were they comparing Connaughton to all candidates in both parties or just Bolling? If the latter, wouldn't a group of teachers (even if they are really trade unionists) be grammatically driven to say (even if factually incorrect) "less conservative"?
VEA is pretty out of touch on this one, I'd say. I guess it isn't the first time for VEA to be out to lunch. Connaughton's conservative credentials are bullet-proof on all issues as far as I've ever been able to tell.
Maybe the endorsement reflects the tremendous job Prince William has done in providing new schools and attracting good teachers to Prince William County over the course of Connaughton's leadership. They've been building schools up there like crazy and Connaughton has worked well with the school board to resolve some daunting issues in one of Virginia's fastest growing jurisdictions. If that's the basis of the endorsement, maybe we should applaud VEA finally getting its head out of the sand and getting behind someone who is really making a difference for the kids and the teachers.
Let me know when you get to the bottom of that headline you used. It's a bit puzzling without more.
3:35 PM
I guess you aren't familiar with the longstanding feud between teacher's unions and the Republican Party. The very fact that Connaughton was endorsed by VEA is in and of itself evidence of his lack of conservative credentials.
7:10 PM
Sorry, guess I dozed off. So where did VEA say that Connaugthon should be "Crowned Least [or "Less"] Conservative?
8:08 PM
So is the suggestion here that "good conservatives" shouldn't vote for anyone endorsed by the VEA? I certainly hope that our electorate is engaged and intelligent enough to look at our candidates a little closer than simply voting the way one special interest group tells them. That's almost as ridiculous as only voting for candidates who sign the "anti-tax" pledge.
8:38 PM
You evaded Max's point, Light Horse. How unlike you. Try to focus. On what issues is Connaughton not conservative? Rights of the Unborn? Education? Public Safety? Distinguished military record? Fiscal discipline? Public and private morals? LImited Government?
I think you're falling into a crude trap. There are more than a few politicians out there in this fine Commonwealth who think that calling themselves "conservative" is a meal ticket. Empty suits with hollow words. They don't have to walk the walk, they only have to talk the talk. These jokers (if I let them get away with it) debase the value of my conservatism, honed in every national campaign since Goldwater in 1964. You can let VEA dictate your choices, Harry, but I'm going with guys who have actually governed from a politically conservative perspective and who can show results based on conservative principles. Connaughton is one of them. There are very few of these "action conservatives" in staewide politics. If they have a proven ability to attract voters from across the lines, better yet. We have to govern, not just spout. don't let VEA cause you to charge their cape, Harry. Be excited that we have a conservative candidate who has done well by the teachers and kids in Prince William and who can pull people in from the liberal wasteland. And, btw, what are the answers to Max's questions.?
8:53 PM
Thank you everyone for calling me out. It's good to know that I'm going to be held accountable for everything I say about these candidates. And I apologize for my hasty comments in response earlier. Let me attempt to explain my post and let's see if this makes any sense:
Here is the VEA's policy site:
http://www.veaweteach.org/legislative_agenda.asp
If you look at VEA's policy positions, you will find that they come in conflict with the Republican Party and Jerry Kilgore on several key positions. I wouldn't ever assume that Sean Connaughton also takes those positions, but the organization that takes those positions feels that he is more closely aligned with their goals and objectives than the alternative (in this case Bill Bolling). That much is clear.
First, the VEA wants to repeal HB 751, the Affirmation of Marriage Act. Does Sean Connaughton support that? I doubt it, but the organization did endorse him.
Secondly, the VEA opposes all legislation involving vouchers or tuition tax credits...not exactly a conservative position to say the least. In fact, Jerry Kilgore just came out in favor of tuition tax credits.
Thus, the endorsement of the VEA is not a conservative credential. Yes, the Prince William County schools are excellent, but they were that way before Sean was Chairman of the Board of Supervisors as well. And yes, I agree that is an unknown commodity because he has not had to vote on these issues that we are discussing. In fact, I said that in my post which you don't give me credit for. I apologize for perhaps the confusing and presumptive headline, but I was attempting to analyze a conservative primary voter's response to the endorsement.
Finally, I have the utmost respect for Sean. I like him personally. I've enjoyed meeting and find him a warm and personable fellow with a strong family. In fact, I'm looking forward to supporting him if he should get chosen as our nominee. I think he will make an excellent candidate.
12:25 AM
If you're going to let other organizations/individuals tell you who is most/least conservative, you could at least let some more trustworthy individuals do it. Ten thousand dollars from Rev. Pat Robertson of Virginia Beach, VA to Connaughton for Chairman in 2004, along with 25K for Kilgore and 25K for McDonnell (two clearer frontrunners, plus McDonell is a hometown guy for Pat, so I'd say 10K for Sean is a strong conservative endorsement. And I read it right here on SST that VCAP gave Sean twice as much money as they gave any other candidate. Admittedly those donations were almost token nods of affection to the full slate of contenders, but still it sends a signal. For a Richmond based organization who is staking out its territory at the far right to give this supposed "NoVA moderate" twice as much money as they giver their hometown "super-conservative" boy it should make every self-proclaimed conservative and supporter of Sen. Bolling's almost 5 year long campaign for LG take a second look. I don't listen to Pat Robertson or VCAP when it comes to making my decisions about who I support for LG, but if you start to play the endorsement/contribution game Sean holds up a lot better than any Bolling fan is willing to admit.
1:23 AM
Light Horse: Very interesting thread. Your last comment was a fair one. The story here is that it's unusual for VEA to endorse a Republican (anywhere, but particularly in Virginia). It is also the case that given VEA's record, such an endorsement is probably not welcome from a guy running statewide in a Republican primary. That was the story and you could have led with that. But the other commenters are making very important points. Our party is getting very knee-jerky and not very analytical about the labels we use. That can hurt us in the quest for valued governance (I hope that's what we're trying to achieve). Inferior candidates can paste labels all over themselves, win GOP primaries and get slaughtered in the general. I live in Fairfax, next door to Prince William. We could use a massive dose of Sean's conservativism here. After watching for a number of years, I've concluded that this guy is a phenomoneon that breaks down barriers and attracts new blood to the party. Probably no one is more surprised (perhaps even annoyed) at VEA's endorsement than Connaughton, but it's of a piece with his pulling of votes from all sectors. in his last election he polled over 80% in the Republican primary and aroune 70% in the General. He has governed well on issues that, up here, seem intractable, particularly schools and transportation. He's very blunt about his beliefs and I'm certain he neither sought nor compromised in VEA's eyes. What they were attracted to, I suppose, is that he and they have found agreement on one central point: government must see to education of the children. It's in all of our best interests. So for me, this is a sign of hope for VEA, not a knock on Sean. Everyone knows he disagrees with the points in VEA's legislative agenda you mention. He's persuading them, not the other way around. Your lead-in line remains up. Do you think VEA is saying that Sean is "least conservative" compared to anyone? Less conservative than Viola Baskerville or Leslie Byrne? I don't even think they're saying he's less conservative than Bill Bolling. I think they're saying "this guy got something done for education in an important part of the state and we aren't going to ignore that for partisan political reasons." That's not much given VEA's record, but it's something, and I choose to call it good news.
6:42 AM
First of all, great responses to this all around.
Lighthorse Harry: I think the main concern expressed by most respondants was the title of the post and what many may feel, myself included, was an unfair leap in logic. Blogging is still a relatively new phenomenon, though gathering steam quickly. I've found it to be a great source of varying viewpoints and often the quickest way to get new information. I'm afraid, however, that there is, and will continue to be, the impression by many outsiders that bloggers are geeks who lack credibility. While I don't agree with your view, I absolutely understand your logic behind it and know that many would come to a similar conclusion. In the end, though, I think the title and suggestion that Sean is therefore "Least Conservative" hurts your credibility.
Keep up the good work. I really enjoy following these posts.
9:01 AM
Of course, the other candidates should do the same so that there is a basis of comparison. I bet if you can arrange that, we will have some interesting reading.
9:03 AM
Good debate fellas. Mission accomplished.
I'm going to email the Connaughton and Bolling campaigns respectively and request that they release their answers to the VEA questionnaire. I think it's a legitimate question to wonder what Sean told them to get their endorsement, which was the reason for my contentious post in the first place. It was not attempt to actually assert that Sean was the least conservative of anything, espeically not compared to the democrats obviously. It was MERELY an attempt to state how many conservatives might see that. I had no idea it would provoke such a firestorm, but this has been quite entertaining.
And Rick Smith, I definitely lack credibility, but come on...a geek? That's low.
9:45 AM
And Ali, thanks for the info about Pat Robertson. That's eye opening, I must say. I hadn't heard that.
9:50 AM
The geek comment was all in good fun. I'm in the technology field and am constantly battling the misconceptions.
9:51 AM
For my random tid bits...
Does anyone remember the last big conservative Republican to be endorsed by the Educators Association???
Ronald Reagen.
12:47 PM
Connaughton's endorsement by the VEA is reason enough to vote for his opponent, even if you forgot about the tax bills that have gone up 50-60% in Prince William County. It's an indication that Chairman Sean will pursue the radical agenda of the VEA/NEA, which includes public employee monopoly bargaining (i.e., giving bureaucrats a preferred place at the table for public resources), forced-unionism (repeal of the Commonwealth's Right to Work law, and thus, perpetuation of Democrat campaign funds and machinery), weakened national defense, opposition to school choice, support for abortion, support for homo rights, and just about everything else on the far Left agenda.
Anybody who confuses the VEA's agenda with "protect[ing] and enrich[ing] the education of our children" simply hasn't been paying attention. But then again, Rick Smith demonstrates his ignorance by equating more spending with better education ("The General Assembly continues to fail in its responsibilities to fund education at all levels."). The GA's only failure is in the fact that it has failed to whittle down the education bureaucracy, one shared with Chairman Sean, since only about half or less of the education dollars in PWC actually get into the classroom. And it's certainly not education spending which has accounted for all of the exorbitant spending increases imposed on Chairman Sean's watch.
Hey, I know this guy, and I'm paying his bills. He won't even direct County bureaucrats to write a budget which wounldn't impose a tax increase. That would be the mark of a true Conservative, even if he also sought a budget and tax increase.
I'm suspicious of someone who calls himself a Conservative, but fears creation of a document which could be used to demonstrate that he is not.
10:16 AM
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