By Lynn Mitchell
Tea party delegates came in by the busload Saturday morning to vote at the 7th Congressional District Convention in Richmond, Congressman Eric Cantor’s district. They were there to vote for Fred Gruber, someone put up for the position after no one else would run. They rallied around him and made him the poster boy of defeating “establishment” Republicans. Fred Gruber is head of the Louisa Tea Party.
On Saturday Gruber beat long-time chairman Linwood Cobb, the most successful Republican chairman in the state who has raised almost $1 million for candidates, and runs two of the largest Republican events in the state behind only the Republican State Convention.
When the vote was announced, they cheered. They screamed. They high-fived. They danced around wearing their t-shirts and lapel stickers. They were overheard saying, “They said it couldn’t be done!” They gathered in groupings for photos holding signs.
Hope they are ready to work as hard as Linwood and his 7th Congressional District Committee.
Today, the Democrats’ grins got wider as they watched the continuing implosion of the Republican Party of Virginia. One young black man wearing Cantor stickers, after the vote was announced, turned toward the door and said, “I’m done.”
Wonder how much damage has just been done….
Thank you, Linwood, one of the hardest working men I know. Thank you, Congressman Cantor, for your leadership in Washington. You both are appreciated by Republicans who know what all you’ve done.
UPDATE: Democratic sites Daily Kos and Blue Virginia have compiled comments from Republican bloggers covering the convention.
LynnRMitchell.com 
I was at that meeting today; it was ugly.
The sulfuric stench of the unruly, disrespectful and unwashed rednecks and anti-Semites supporting Gruber and Brat turned my stomach. The 7th District was over-run by that lot. And their victory is the Republican Party of Virginia’s great LO$$ in Cobb’s defeat today.
God Save America and the VA Republican Party.
Michele, I am a jewish farmer (redneck) and I support Gruber, who in no way resembles an anti-Semite. That is over the top Ms..
You made that!
Wow! Is there something wrong with wearing t-shirts and lapel stickers in support of your candidate? Is there something wrong with delegates coming to a convention in a bus? or must we all arrive in limousines?
Now those who supported Gruber are ‘unwashed rednecks and anti-Semites’? And they ‘turned your stomach’? Wow. Just wow. Name calling from people in my party turns my stomach. I find it to be completely disrespectful, unruly, and disgusting. I never thought we’d sink as low as democrats but apparently we have. Let me know how that works out for you. I want no parts of a party that makes fun of other party members, name calls, and thinks they are superior to others. I don’t blame that Black man (why is his race at all pertinent?) for leaving. I too would have left such a hostile crowd, a crowd that name calls and is shocked when delegates celebrate their win and on top of that, they wore t-shirts! And lapel stickers! And they road on buses! Outrageous! Scum like that right there in the vaulted republican party!
How disgusting and snobby you all are. I want NO parts of your republican party, it’s nothing like me.
I’m not a redneck or an anti-semite, and I supported Gruber. Why do you have to be so hateful and personally insulting? Why can’t you take your loss like an adult?
Reasonable people reject your broad-brush hateful stereotyping, and you should be ashamed. But I guess if you had any self-awareness, you wouldn’t have posted this at all.
Eric- really? Do you want to know what actually is offensive? Having a man elected as a party leader who publicly compared my dad, Linwood Cobb, and Eric Cantor to Nazis. I am so sad for the Republican Party of Virginia that the Tea Party has become a group that is SO divisive and selfish. My dad would have worked 8 days a week for whatever republican candidate we had. I hope Fred Gruber will do so as well even though he has blatantly said he won’t. People wonder why young people are so turned off by politics? This is why!! My friends do not understand my interest and all say”ugh I hate politics. Everyone just attacks each other.” Case in point. I send my prayers to the 7th district from North Carolina.
No, Gruber didnt do that. That is the spin you likely read on blogs. If you’d like to back up your claims, link to it here.
The hatred towards the tea party isn’t new…we’re used to people rejecting calls to adhere to the republican creed, to get the dirty money out of politics, and to govern with honor.
You want to talk divisive and selfish? Your father barred me from poll-watching for Ken Cuccinelli. I was to mark off voters as they hit the polls for Cuccinelli, then we would call voters who hadn’t yet shown up to the polls. Well because your dad didn’t like my brutal honesty regarding Bill Bollings treachery, he tossed me from working for Ken. Yes, a hard working, dedicated volunteer for the republican candidate, tossed aside by your father.
Don’t get all indignant about “divisiveness”…because it rings hollow. You might need to look in the mirror.
Sarah, your dad is not the problem, he is the victim of his closed alliance with Eric Cantor. As for the Nazi comparison, I dont think that is fair to call anyone involved a nazi unless it is light humor and off the record. After Fred Gruber referred to a black SUV, some of your dads friends twisted and repurposed his words and turned them into tactical war words and it failed.
Your dad has served Eric Cantor despite the many members of the party that Cantor has marginalized. I ask your dad to have a come to Jesus meeting with Fred and the movement that ousted him so we can get on with the business of electing a nominee to replace Mark Warner. That is a fight we should all be preparing for right now. Wouldnt you agree?
Eric- please feel free to tell me how my dad personally marginalized and offended you. I can tell you that as an elected official my dad would NEVER attack someone the way Fred did. I am so disappointed because the way that the tea party originated was honorable, but that is no more. And actually, yes, Gruber did do that. Government nazi car? I hope he isn’t expecting the government to buy him a car. My dad has bought himself a black SUV ever since I was in elementary school, and I am now 26.
James- I totally agree that Mark Warner needs to be our focus for defeat. I live in North Carolina now but really wish I could vote for Ed Gillespie to defeat Mark Warner! I hope we can all be on the same team.
I do want to make a point that I do not wish failure for Fred Gruber. I hope you puts in as much personal time, money, and dedication that my dad did. After all, aren’t we all supposed to be on the same side??? Can we please shift out focus away from fighting within the party and beat the democrats??? We are tearing each other apart!!
Mark Warner loses ONLY if we pull the doors off the tent this time. EVERY R COUNTS, EVERY R IS INCLUDED. Thank you Sarah.. LETS ROLL..
I hope he puts**
Just to clarify….at no time did Gruber liken either Linwood or Eric to Nazis. He made a comment about VEHICLES.
And about stopping of the fighting and tearing each other apart…I completely agree. Which is why it would have been great of you to respond in-kind to Michelle’s post that called all of us unwashed, redneck, antisemites.
I’m sure you would agree that her comments were unhelpful and unfair, right?
Sorry I think my phone is being funny about updating the blog comments. I did not see everything. I would never agree that everyone from any side can be grouped into one category, no matter what that category is. However, I say this while I have been biting my tongue. The lies and attacks spread about my dad through this process are unbelievable Nobody on either side should use words like nazi, anti-semite, or anything related.
On the same note, we all should have the same class to not be booing our house majority leader. We all have families who are seeing this play out. Eric is a person, a GREAT one at that who has raised a great family, and his mother spent her Mothers Day weekend witnessing this event. We are all human beings and that is being lost in the politics of it all.
The problem Sarah is that Eric is using that as a human whiled of sorts while betraying many active Republicans. Eric Cantors YG Virginia has people threatening district chairs and others such as myself with bodily harm. Eric Cantor refuses to deal with this despite MANY attempts to communicate with him about the thugs threatening physical brutality that are on his payroll. This is bullying plain and simple and Eric Cantor will not stop this. Eric Cantor is a bully by proxy and I will say it, he is propagating some of the worst stereotypes about jews with powerful political positions and money. Eric Cantor does not represent me and I can tell you first hand that more than a couple of wealthy and influential conservative Jews are nauseated by Eric Cantor. Eric Cantor is not a conservative, he is not. Define the man by his actions, his votes and how he conducts business and he is borderline moderate at best.
typo: Whiled should read Shield.
The Conservatives are simply taking back the party from the Progressive Republicans that have usurped it. Mr. Cobb lost, not because he is a bad man or because he has done a bad job, but because Eric Cantor has become so out of touch with the district that he is no longer representing us. $14 trillion of the $17 trillion in debt has Cantor’s DNA on it. People are tired of the broken promises and underhanded tactics like slating and we will not stand for it. If there is anyone to blame for Mr. Cobb’s loss, it is Cantor and especially Ray Allen. This party will never heal until Allen is purged from the entire state. Marcus is a traitor and Allen is as dirty as they come. I actually like Linwood Cobb, but his closeness to Cantor and Allen has tainted him. And Lynn – the people getting off the buses you mentioned were from Orange. And every one was given a Cantor sticker as they got off the bus. We watched that.
Eric and Sarah, the only NAZIs I know of in the United States are the Communist-NAZIs of the Communist NAZI Party, AKA the “Democratic” party!
Oh please,Ray Allen is definitely not the biggest worry for the RPV. I am now remembering why my dad has always taught me to respect others opinions and stay away from responding to the negativity. None of our opinions would matter if there weren’t dissenting opinions, but I am really sad for the future of the party that it has to come to this much attacking and negativity. All of Jamie Radtkes puppets are tearing the party apart while the democrats are smiling at the implosion. I am actually glad that I could not make it home for the convention yesterday because I would not have had as much grace and composure as my dad and Eric did while they were booed and treated with such disrepect.
Sarah: You were doing so well until you made it personal again. Why are people with differing opinions “puppets”? Couldn’t one reasonably posit that Eric Cantor’s “Young Guns” who conducting openly provocative slating actually doing the tearing apart? No one’s hands are clean here, and I think you’ll do yourself a disservice until you come to terms with that.
Hope you and yours have a happy Mother’s Day!
Eric- I am still coming to terms with what happened yesterday to the most important man in my life, my father. So if the worst word that I use is “puppets” then I think I’m doing alright. Believe me, there are so many moe words I want to use.
I do not even want to open the “slating” can of worms but would be happy to talk to you offline about that issue.
Agreed- happy Mother’s Day and god bless everyone. I hope that the anger within the party can be let go soon.
Lets beat the taste out of Mark Warners mouth with the same level of energy we are using against each other.
Agreed!
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