Weighing In On The 51st District Controversy

This is waaay out of my normal range for the statewide political scene, as I tend to focus more on the Northern and Central Shenandoah Valley. However, I've got to talk about the GOP nomination race in the 51st District of the House of Delegates.

Namely, I've got to talk about some of the slung mud going on from the lefty blogs on this one, especially towards Faisal Gill.

I read the Washington Post article on Gill's hiring of Tom Kopko (chair of the Prince William County Republican Committee) to create a campaign website for him, and that Kopko was paid a fee of $2000.00. There is nothing illegal about this, the transaction even took place before PW County School Board member Julie Lucas decided to enter the race for the nomination. Simply put, Kopko was paid for services rendered (in my opinion).

How is this illegal? Gill paid Kopko to make a website, which Kopko did...and all of this took place while Gill was the only GOP candidate at the time of the transaction. Now Julie Lucas wants to make an issue of this.

Well, a few lefty blogs in Virginia have jumped on this one as "another example of Gill's corruptness". Apparently, some are attempting to say that Gill is trying to "buy" his nomination for paying s. Gill apparently endorses and promotes terrorism (while having worked for the Bush administration, whose M.O since 9/11 has been going after terrorists), and called the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Argentina "a worthy operation" (even though that statement was actually made by Abdurahman Alamoudi, some have attributed it to Gill, since Gill was once employed by Alamoudi). Gill has also been labeled a "Bush crony" since he used to work for the administration.

I don't know, seems like a stretch to me when you call someone a supporter/endorser of terrorism, then call them one of "Bush's cronies", and attribute their former boss's quotes to their lips.

Now, does Gill really stand for these things...well, maybe he does, I don't know. However, I would like to see something other than loose labeling and drive-by accusations by a known liberal rag (WaPo, I'm talking to you) before I start calling someone an enabler of terrorism.

Especially when they're Pakistani in origin...ya know?