About two weeks ago, George Mason University political analyst Stephen Farnsworth seemed to praise the moderation that Virginia House Speaker Bill Howell and gubernatorial nominee Bob McDonnell were attempting to bring to the Virginia GOP:
"This is of course why people like Howell and McDonnell are working to create a more moderate image of the Republican Party," he said. "If you lose the suburbs you lose Virginia,and Republicans have been losing the suburbs."
The good professor might want to revise his remarks:
The speaker is Catherine Crabill, who is running against Democratic Delegate Albert Pollard, who ascended to the seat by special election when Republican Rob Wittman was elected to Congress.
The part of her fiery address to a tax revolt rally that is getting the most attention is this one:
"We have a chance to fight this battle at the ballot box, before we have to resort to the bullet box. But that is the beauty of our second amendment right. I am glad all of us enjoy our firearms for hunting, but make no mistake, that was not the intent of the Founding Fathers. Our second amendment right was to guard against tyranny."
The last sentence is debatable for some, but on balance somewhat unimpeachable. Having just revolted against tyrannical rule, prevention of tyranny is certainly a plausible reason to assume the Framers decided to specifically codify the Second Amendment.
Where a lot of folks are going to have a quarrel with Mrs. Crabill's logic is the idea that losing an election cycle or two, as the Republicans have done since 2004, is a form of "tyranny."
The big question now is whether some of those folks who might have a quarrel with that belong to Mrs. Crabill's own state party apparatus.
One has to wonder if "moderating influences" like Speaker Howell and the man who wants to be governor will have something to say about the notion that losing an election is tantamount to tyranny.
Someone should probably ask them about that.
UPDATE: (per TeacherKen): Crabill's people are claiming that the video, which is getting pretty wide circulation, has been edited in a way that distorts the context. TK has the whole video, and does not find legitimacy in the Crabill team's complaint.
(hat tip: NLS)