Comstock attacks are over the top

By Matt Colt Hall
Guest Post

As a young Republican, I have felt frustration while watching the Virginia Republican Party move farther to the right. That would be fine except we have completely thrown tactics and the ability to govern out the window.

Sadly, the Libertarian-tea party blog of Northern Virginia known as the Bull Elephant continues to demonize rational Republicans almost every day but on Tuesday they reached a whole new level of hatred and vitriol. Their columnist Jeanine Martin wrote a piece entitled, “Barbara Comstock votes with Democrats to fund DHS through August.” I don’t want to give Ms. Martin’s post the publicity it so desperately wants but one section was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me. It read:

“If Comstock continues down the path of voting with democrats, and cozying up to Eric Cantor and John Boehner, Republicans in the 10th district will be able to choose her replacement in a convention in 2016.”

As my hero and the greatest president once said, “There you go again.”

I would think Ms. Martin would rather have Barbara Comstock as her congresswoman, who probably votes in agreement with her at least 80 percent of the time, rather than John Foust who would have voted with her zero percent of the time.

I have never worked for Mrs. Comstock and have only met her twice. I live in Roanoke almost 200 miles away from her congressional district. But Congresswoman Comstock is an amazing leader for our party and for the conservative movement as a whole. She beat her Democratic opponent John Foust by 17 points — 17 whole points — last year. She won a six-way primary. She’s a strong conservative woman who believes in good conservative governance. She worked for Congressman Frank Wolf, the Republican National Committee, and the Bush Administration Justice Department, and also had a solid record as a Virginia House of Delegates member. No one should question her conservative credentials.

Ms. Martin has continued to harp and gripe and badmouth Republicans, and this is just the latest example. Want to heal the party? Stop the nonsense of Jeanine Martin and the Bull Elephant who continue to threaten every single Republican every time they don’t vote the tea party way.

This is hardly a vote that deserves a primary challenge. It’s a vote to make sure our airports stay open and our country stays safe. The tea party is clueless to governing. They would shut down the entire government until Obama is out of office if they could just so they could have their way. Governing is essential, even when you don’t get your way.

Do I like the bill? No. Am I happy that my Congressman (quite honestly, surprised) voted against it? Yes.

That all being said, I am happy that Mrs. Comstock is in Congress. She does a great job and is a very intelligent and thoughtful leader in the Virginia Republican Party. It’s time to stand up for people who want Republicans to win elections and govern. It’s time to stand up to the people who use fear to govern. It’s time to stand up for every rational Republican out there.

Update: RedRVA has a synopsis of comments around the blogosphere (see Virginia votes on DHS funding, blogosphere responds).

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Matt Colt Hall is the proud son of two blue collar workers from Carroll County, Virginia. He has been in the Republican Party since the age of 16, and along the way has interned and worked with many great Republican candidates. Matt is a graduate of Ferrum College, where he graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Political Science degree. He currently lives in Roanoke with his amazing wife Lauren and is a member of both the Roanoke Valley Young Republicans and the Roanoke County Republican Committee.