Well look who's back in the news:
http://www.loudountimes.com/...
Former Gov. Bob McDonnell received sustained applause from several hundred Virginia Republicans on Tuesday evening at a political cookout that marked the former governor's first public appearance outside a federal courthouse since his indictment on corruption charges earlier this year.
"I'm blessed to have a lot of friends," McDonnell told reporters as line of supporters formed to offer words of encouragement to the former governor and have pictures taken with him.
McDonnell and his wife, Maureen McDonnell, were indicted on corruption charges in January. The former first couple are charged with accepting more than $165,000 from a former CEO of dietary supplements in exchange for helping to promote his products. The McDonnells have pleaded not guilty and a jury trial is set to start in July. Maureen McDonnell did not attend Tuesday's event.
Former Lt. Gov. Bob Bolling organized the cookout, which featured speeches from former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney and U.S. Senate candidate Ed Gillespie. McDonnell did not give a speech, but was applauded at length when introduced by Bolling.
McDonnell was once considered a potential running mate for Romney, who has given $10,000 to McDonnell's legal defense fund. Gillespie was the chairman of McDonnell's successful 2009 gubernatorial campaign. - AP, 6/19/14
And of course McDonnell and Romney had nothing but wonderful things to say about his old buddy, Ed Gillespie (R. VA):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
Gillespie (L), Romney (C), McDonnell (R)
Gillespie, a former Republican National Committee chairman, easily secured the GOP nomination this month by courting the tea party and grass-roots activists. He chaired McDonnell’s 2009 campaign for governor.
“I think it’s going to be a very, very competitive race,” McDonnell said. “Ed Gillespie’s a remarkable human being. I’ve appointed he and his wife to boards. I know their heart, and I know their service.”
Romney also endorsed Gillespie, who he said dropped everything to work for his 2012 presidential bid, and slammed Warner over taxes, Obamacare and foreign policy.
“Mark Warner, while he’s a fine fellow I’m sure, . . . but Mark Warner supports a team in Washington and an administration that hasn’t been entirely honest with us, and hasn’t been fully — how would I say this? — just not as competent as you’d like to see,” Romney said. - Washington Post, 6/18/14
Not sure if you want a disgraced Governor and a failed Presidential candidate by your side. Then again, Gillespie never really had a chance at beating Senator Mark Warner (D. VA). he's just doing this so he can gear up for a gubernatorial run. Which might explain why Gillespie is trying to deny he c-founded Karl Rove's group, American Crossroads:
http://www.timesdispatch.com/...
Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, said that while Gillespie and Warner are very much a part of the new breed of candidate, they also fit nicely into a much older Virginia tradition.
“All through the 20th century, the political establishment was well-represented in the group of people nominated for high office. It’s hard to imagine a pair of candidates who are more emblematic of today’s political establishment than Warner and Gillespie,” he said.
For example, Gillespie and his friend, Bush strategist Karl Rove, are often credited with conceiving Crossroads GPS, a super PAC designed to aid Republicans by attacking Democrats. In 2012, it raised and spent more than $123 million.
“I was supportive of (Crossroads), I thought it was a good idea,” Gillespie said last week. “I thought that we needed some organizations on the conservative side to counter what the liberals had done in the election of 2008 to get liberals elected.”
But Gillespie denies having a larger role in the organization.
“I was never a founder of if, I was never an officer of it, I was never on the board, never a consultant, and never got a dime from it,” he said.
Farnsworth said that Gillespie’s past as lobbyist and track record as the RNC’s money man still helps Warner define his rival in the public eye.
“It makes it easier for Warner to argue that he may even be less a creature of Washington than Gillespie is,” Farnsworth said. - Richmond Times-Dispatch, 6/15/14
Oh really? Gillespie was singing a different tune back in 2010:
http://www.bluevirginia.us/...
"And then the American Crossroads and American Crossroads GPS is a group that I've helped to launch along with Karl Rove to offset much of the activity on the left side” [Google and Politico Interview with Ed Gillespie, Citizentube, 9/27/10]
Even an intern on Capitol Hill will tell you that lying about your resume is not a good idea when applying for a job, so why does Ed think Virginia voters will be so easily duped? After all, he and Karl Rove toured the country in 2010 securing donations for the group and Ed even said himself that American Crossroads “is a group that I’ve helped to launch along with Karl Rove.” And it's going to be mighty difficult for him to wash away nearly 150 mentions of him as a founder of the group.
This raises some questions that need to be answered:
· If he wasn't a founder, why did he not ask Crossroads to correct the record with media outlets across the country? Better yet, why did he himself not correct the record?
· If he wasn't a founder, why did he tour the country with Karl Rove fundraising for the group?
· If he wasn’t a founder, why did he wait until the weekend of convention to try to set the record straight?
· If he wasn't a founder, officer or consultant, what was his role? It's clear Gillespie had a role, regardless of the title he gives it.
· If he was a founder, why is he denying it now? - Blue Virginia, 6/17/14
This type of shit will haunt Gillespie now until November and it will come back if he tries to run for Governor in 2017.