Best
of Blog
Conspiracy
theorists unite! The
Bacon’s Rebellion blog became ground zero for
double-dealing, backstabbing tales of Republican
political intrigue. Rebellion
wonks took the best seats on the grassy knoll in the
run-up to Russ Potts’ independent bid for governor and
provided vivid insider speculation.
Phil
Rodokanakis’ A
Backroom Deal? got things started, charging that
Jerry Kilgore refused to sign a no-tax pledge because he
had come to an agreement with pro-tax GOP legislators.
Was Kilgore playing it smart, or was he being set
up as a patsy?
When
Jim Bacon innocently posted on the Kilgore
campaign spin on Potts’ candidacy, the “Blue
Dog,” Steven
Sisson, could not hold back.
His source, “Red Dog,” had information
“that pro-tax Republicans have brokered another
political deal with the Governor to split the GOP vote
this election so choirboy Tim Kaine can win.”
Phil
revealed that rumor had the Kaine-Potts deal sealed long
ago. Potts,
hurting for money and on the verge of retirement, would
run as an independent, stealing the election for Kaine.
Kaine would reward
him with a cushy six-figure job in his
administration, bolstering Potts’ pension.
So,
was that the conspiracy? Pro-taxers
dealing with the Governor and Potts conniving with Kaine
for a fistful of silver? Or
was it even more sinister—was a Kilgore confidante
involved? Phil
shared an email anti-tax Republican operative Paul
Jost sent to Ken Hutcheson, Kilgore’s campaign
manager—the same “Kenny” who had taken fees from
pro-tax Republicans like … Russ Potts!
Phil stirred
the pot even further, asking, “What kind of hold
does "Kenny" have over Kilgore?”
These
Byzantine machinations may be enough to bring the
Reluctant One, Pat
McSweeney, into the blog fold.
When
they weren’t sneaking through Republican corridors,
the Wonks found time to ponder Jim’s question, is
Virginia
becoming more culturally
conservative?
Mattaponi
, Ray
Hyde, Paul, and Scott all contributed strong comments.
In
the same vein, Will Vehrs noted national commentary on bible
study in Staunton. Bob
Griendling and the “Blue Dog” battled
in the comments, while Jim did the almost unthinkable:
changed his mind during the course of the discussion.
The
mother of all point-counterpoints in the short history
of this blog (length-wise at least), was this epic
series of comments among EM Risse and Ray Hyde over
Risse’s post, The
Mother of All Dysfunction. They might still be
drafting new comments.
-- February 28, 2005
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