Monday, April 06, 2009

Conservatives Lose Struggle for Virginia GOP

The Virginia Republican Party Central Committee ousted its conservative chair on Saturday, signaling that it intends to follow the more moderate path being advocated by its probable candidate for state governor this year.

That gubernatorial candidate, Robert F. McDonnell, along with other top Republican elected officials in the state, says he wants to play down the conservative "focus on ideology and such hot-button issues as gun rights, immigration and abortion."

No, really.

The state party chair did not go easily and vowed vengeance after he was voted out. His conservative supporters screamed "mob lynching."

The ousted party chair -- his name is unimportant; he could be any one of a dozen state GOP party chairs across the nation -- had distinguished himself last year by refusing to coordinate with the less-than-pure John McCain campaign and had compared Barack Obama to Osama bin Laden. He's that kind of conservative.

But apparently, Virginia is not that kind of red state any more.

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