Sunday, March 13, 2005 :::
The Whiteness of the Whale
With Jeff Shapiro out on vacation (or in recovery from last week's nasty bout of columnist fever), I'll turn my sights to the site that has gotten some notice recently -- Recall Potts.
As a piece of political theater, it is just delicious. While Virginia, unlike some other states, lacks a recall provision for elected officials (regrettably), the site will serve to irritate the Great White One no end. He deserves ever nettle, every jab, every burr that comes his way.
However, if the site is tied to Mark Tate as Commonwealth Watch guesses, then there's the possibility that it could fall under some sort of nasty campaign reporting requirements that might limit the site's potential to sink the harpoon deep into the Whale's milky hide.
But if that comes to pass, we still have the man himself, swimming with all his might against the tide. From Pottscentral, we can read all sorts of wonderful accounts of Russ's wanderings through the Commonwealth. Here's one stop he made in Virginia Beach, where in a Jim Hidges piece for the Daily Progress, we learn:
On Friday night, he told a hotel ballroom crowd of about 300 [members of the Virginia State Police Association]that he intended to champion car-tax reform. Included in that crowd was Senate President Pro Temp John Chichester, R-Northumberland, an ally in Richmond if not in the governor's race.
Chichester said he wouldn't endorse any candidate "before the veto session is over," meaning that he would wait until Gov. Mark R. Warner considered all of the legislation passed in the recent General Assembly session before announcing a favorite candidate. "That's one of the great things in our American system," Chichester said, smiling. "Anybody can run."
It will be a surprise if Chichester doesn't endorse Kilgore, his party's candidate. Even Potts would be surprised. "John Chichester is a great man," he said, "but I did not get into town yesterday on a truck."
Yes, it would be an enormous surprise to see "Maximum" John endorse Russ. But it would also be a mild surprise (to me) to see him endorse Jerry Kilgore.
Then there's Bacon's Rebellion own Barnie Day, channeling Potts through the medium of Uncle Remus to ironically urge "right wing blogger goons" like me to keep lashing away at poor ol' Russ. S&M freak that he is, Russ wants to be lashed, beaten and bloodied as often as possible to ensure a steady flow of free media. Who knew Russ was so kinky? Who knew Barnie Day was a mind reader? Who cares?
There are more glowing tributes to the Great Cetacean...but you get the idea. In the end, I still doubt whether Russ will even appear on the November ballot. It's possible, and even likely, I suppose. But will he make a difference in the outcome?
No. Not a chance. Russ has made one lasting difference, however. He has guaranteed that there will be a new Senator in the 27th district in 2007.
::: posted by Norman Leahy at 3/13/2005
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