A Battle for the Hearts and Minds of Fauquier

I am always interested in knowing how a 22 year old with no life experience thinks he’s going to be so helpful to me.   Colin Harris’s latest propaganda mailing which polluted my mail box yesterday focused on how Harris is going to find me a better job.  How nice!  I have two decades of work experience more than Mr. Dartmouth College, having started life by detasseling corn as a teenager, but he thinks he can get me a better job.  Super!  Maybe he means to provide me with a job at the Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP, law firm in Washington DC.  You know, daddy’s firm.  

After all, the Virginia Access Project says, "Colin Harris reported a personal stake of more than $10,000 in the following businesses, partnerships, corporations and rental property" and that he was a "paid officer or director" of the firm as well.  Wow!  He's some go getter!  A paid officer or director in a law firm at 22.  For only being 22 years old, Harris is also quite wealthy.  Check out these apples, 'er investments.  

It gets even better.  Daddy, while a Harvard lawyer, is also a special kind of lawyer.  He was formerly the chief legal officer for the Department of Energy appointed by President Obama.   He brags that he "began the Department's first systematic effort to enforce its energy efficiency regulations."  How nice!  I'm sure the regular employees of the Department of Energy love hearing that they weren't doing their jobs before.  

Out of $115,607 in donations to Harris, it is interesting that only $8.001 has been received from Fauquier County residents (VPAP figures slightly out of date).   The largest amount of donations have come in from Washington DC, Maryland, and California.   Additionally, $36,800 in donations have come from the Law industry alone.  Just $250 was donated from agriculture.   What the hell does California know about Fauquier politics and economy?  Check out where the Harris contributors live.  Yeah, most of them don't even live in Virginia, let alone Fauquier.  

Contrast this to Michael Webert.  He has raised $99,081.   For personal wages and salary Webert reports that he has been paid by the Culpeper Farmers Cooperative and that he is the general manager of his grandmothers farm Locust Hill.   His donations have also come from a wide range of interests from Business, Energy, Finance, Agriculture, Real estate, Health Care, Technology, and others mainly all Virginia groups.  Additionally, his financial net worth at more than a decade older than Harris doesn't even compare.

And what about those campaign supporters?  Turns out most of Webert's supporters live in Virginia.  The out of state contributions mostly come from relatives.  

Again, the only major black mark on Webert's record is the "Va League of Conservation Voters PAC" an eco fringe group connected to George Ohrstrom.  Webert is the only republican to ever get money from that group.  99% of their donations go to democratic candidates.   Since PEC is playing both sides of the aisle in this campaign, that tells me they are nervous about all the exposes' that have been conducted on them this year.

But why here?  Why Fauquier?  Why has this no-nothing, done nothing 22 year old picked this race?   Yeah, he likes rockets.  So what!  Fauquier farmers and wineries are in the battle for their lives.   In the end it really has nothing to do with Fauquier at all.  The Democrats are looking to increase their control in the state and they carefully calculated how much of the Fairfax brain dead influence has entered Fauquier and might at last finally turn this county their way.   What it really comes down to is, is Webert as vulnerable as they think?   And has the Fauquier new money "We hate farmers" attitude destroyed Fauquier enough to throw a farmer out of office.  

The choice this election seems to be clear.  A Marshall farmer with in-state and local support or the wealthy son of lawyers with the majority of his support coming from Washington DC, Maryland, and California.  It's your vote, you decide.