Jerome
talks about Virginia politics and spurs a great discussion in the comments. Two points stand out to me in this lengthy and
illuminative comment. The first:
[Democrat Tim] Kaine is a solid speaker -- he speaks off the cuff, and well -- whereas [Republican Jerry] Kilgore leaves a bit to be desired. Kilgore has very, very rarely spoken in public on the record, at least under circumstances where his voice can be recorded for broadcast. There is one simple reason for this: Jerry Kilgore is very, very effeminate. People hearing him speak for the first time are often shocked, to the point at which they don't even pay attention to what he's saying, because it seems so very obvious that he's a gay man. I can't say whether he's gay or not, but I can say that he exhibits all of the stereotypical traits of an effeminate gay man, and that will not play well in Virginia. The media have picked up on this, with the Staunton News Leader referring to "the 'Ned Flanders meets Mr. Rogers' whine that passes for Kilgore's voice," and the Hampton Roads Daily Press saying that Kilgore "left the appearance of being a little, well, French." Papers have been reluctant to come right out and say it -- though that's changing -- in part because it's just so obvious. It would be as if a candidate had a huge, hairy mole sprouting out of the tip of their nose, such that anybody seeing him could think only of that. What's to say?
This is Kilgore's big weak spot. Kaine's campaign will never exploit it, so surrogates must do so on his behalf.
There are other, bigger, more important issues at stake in next year's governors race in Virginia, but it'll be something if Kilgore suffers from his party's gay-hatin' ways.
Meanwhile, current Democratic governor Mark Warner -- hugely popular even in Virginia's reddest areas -- is gearing up for life after the governorship. Virginia governors are limited to a single term, so the big question is whether Warner will run for Senate in 2006, or wait to run for president in 2008.
If Warner runs for Senate, this will be one of the few marquee faceoffs in the nation, as Sen. Allen is a legislative shrimp. Recognizing his weaknesses, Allen is beefing up his campaign team with a GOP all-star consultant team.
Sen. George Allen (R) (who Gov. Warner may well run against in '06) has hired Dick Wadhams, who we all know for his work running John Thune's campaign. He is a pitbull, and a bad man, and his entrance into Virginia politics takes things up a notch. Then there's Jerry Kilgore's hiring of Scott Howell. We all know Howell for his work as a media strategist for Thune, Jim DeMint, Sen. Norm Coleman, Sen. Jim Talent, and Sen. Saxby Chambliss. Yes, Scott Howell is the guy who created and executed the Cleland-loves-terrorists campaign that won Chambliss the seat. Again, that takes things up a notch in Virginia.
Wadhams is also the guy who pulled CO Sen. Allard's balls from the fire and dragged him to victory in 2002, when poll after poll showed Allard trailing his Democratic rival all the way to election day. The guy gives Rove a run for his money.
