The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

‘Ground Zero’ in Fairfax County

Posted on | July 14, 2012 | 56 Comments

Frederick Peterson III protests outside Obama event in Centreville, Va.

CENTREVILLE, Virginia
When President Obama came to this prosperous suburban community, he was greeted by a contingent of Tea Party activists and local Republicans. The number of protesters were estimated variously between 100 and 300, but their enthusiasm — standing for hours in the July heat, waving signs and shouting slogans — could not possibly be underestimated.

Molly Ball of the Atlantic Monthly thinks Obama may be able to skate to victory in the Old Dominion, but if she’s willing to stake $100 on that proposition, I’ll be happy to cover her bet. Money talks, and Obama’s bullsh*t isn’t likely to walk very far here in Fairfax County.

“This is Republican territory,” Virginia state Del. Tim Hugo told me, standing among the protesters across Union Mill Road from Centreville High. “More importantly, these are the people who will take it on the chin with Obama’s tax increases. These are the job-producers, the dual-income families . . . This is Ground Zero for the Obama tax increases.”

Indeed, Fairfax County is one of the wealthiest counties in America, a place where the median houshold income is more than $100,000 and the average home price is more than a half-million dollars. The western side of Fairfax County is also staunchly Republican. GOP Rep. Frank Wolf carried this district with more than 60% of the vote in 2010. Hugo has represented the Centreville area in the Virginia House of Delegates since 2002 and he was standing with another GOP delegate from Fairfax County, Barbara Comstock, who is statewide co-chairman for Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign.

“We’ve got people out door-knocking,” Comstock said, explaining the strong GOP turnout at an Obama event on a summer Saturday afternoon. E-mail bulletins sent out by Americans for Prosperity and state Tea Party leaders also helped generate an impressive crowd.

“It’s amazing how many people are here,” said Hugo.

“Our people are energized,” said Pat Herrity, a Fairfax County supervisor. “People around here are angry.”

The recent Supreme Court decision upholding ObamaCare has helped inspire Tea Party activists to renewed efforts. “Our attendance has doubled since the Supreme Court decision,” said Ron Wilcox, a Fairfax County resident who is an organizer for the Northern Virginia Tea Party.

UPDATE: Now, for a selection of photos from today’s event:

This is Tami Hurley of Burke, Va., and her button (click to enlarge the photo) says: “”Officially Screwed: Small Business Owner.” Mrs. Hurley explained that her business has 14 employees and is being wrecked by regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency and will be further hurt if ObamaCare goes into effect.

Sarah Falk, her friend Margaret Baker and Margaret’s daughter Emily Baker.

UPDATE II: Still more photos:

Tami Hurley’s sons Brian, 12, and Kevin, 14, with a guy named Henry who didn’t want to give his last name.

Hey, some of us weren’t fooled the first time . . .

Smitty still can’t understand why the Thad McCotter presidential juggernaut fell short. But he’s happy with his second choice.

Barbara Comstock, Pat Herrity and and Tim Hugo talk to a reporter.

UPDATE III: Marooned in Marin has many more photos as well as videos. He estimated the protest attendance as “a couple of hundred.”

UPDATE IV: Linked by Jackie Wellfonder — thanks!

UPDATE V: Jazz Shaw says Obama decided yesterday to get in touch with his inner Elizabeth Warren. He’s 1/64th Cherokee, y’know.

UPDATE VI: Michael D. Shear of the New York Times reports on the president’s Virginia campaign trip:

CLIFTON, Va. — President Obama barnstormed through this swing state on Saturday as his campaign relentlessly hammered at Mitt Romney’s business record, releasing a mocking new ad that shows Mr. Romney singing “America the Beautiful” as it accuses his former firm of shipping American jobs overseas.
Mr. Obama, speaking first to a drenched crowd during a downpour in the Richmond suburb of Glen Allen, and then at Centreville High School in Fairfax County, accused Mr. Romney of investing in “companies that have been called pioneers in outsourcing.” . . .
“My opponent and his allies in Congress, they believe in top-down economics,” Mr. Obama said. “If you cut through all the stuff, what they are really saying is tax cuts for the wealthy, roll back regulations. That is essentially their plan.”

Whereas Obama and the Democrats want to raise taxes on everybody and regulate everybody out of a job. That is essentially their plan.

Welcome, Instapundit readers! The Professor quotes Centreville readers who point out that (a) many of the supporters attending the Obama rally were from out of the area, including some from Maryland; and (b) Obama skipped the larger facility at nearby George Mason University to speak in a high school gymnasium but didn’t fill up even the smaller venue.

Still no word on whether Molly Ball is willing to bet $100 on Obama winning Virginia. Is she bluffing? C’mon, Molly, bet me.

 


Category: Barack Obama, Election 2012, Virginia

Comments

56 Responses to “‘Ground Zero’ in Fairfax County”

  1. Jackie Wellfonder – Raging Against the Rhetoric
    July 14th, 2012 @ 9:05 pm

    […] Virginia (The Other McCain) When President Obama came to this prosperous suburban community, he was greeted by a contingent of […]

  2. smitty
    July 14th, 2012 @ 9:07 pm

    @rsmccain Frederick Peterson III answers the question: What if Robert DeNiro had patriotic bone #1 in his Commie carcass?

  3. lillymckim
    July 14th, 2012 @ 10:21 pm

    Love the Party! Thank You!

  4. Union Million
    July 14th, 2012 @ 10:49 pm

    This was down the street from my house. Go Mitt

  5. M. Simon
    July 14th, 2012 @ 11:23 pm

    If we want liberty we will have to give up our fears. All of them.

    Keep up the good work Stacy and Smitty. 

  6. Obama Faces Serious Opposition In Virginia » American Glob
    July 15th, 2012 @ 12:02 am

    […] Other McCain begs to differ… CENTREVILLE, Virginia – When President Obama came to this prosperous suburban community, he […]

  7. purusha
    July 15th, 2012 @ 12:48 am

    It really depends on how many poor voters the Republicans can disenfranchise with poll taxes.

  8. Jorgxmickie
    July 15th, 2012 @ 12:59 am

    Look at it this way.  If Obama is right and businesses start and succeed only because the government provides roads and bridges and teachers and stuff, then we shouldn’t need a jobs program because everyone ought to be able to start a successful business with practically no effort at all.  End of high unemployment, easy peasy.

  9. TJParker
    July 15th, 2012 @ 1:27 am

    God, what a parade of sad rednecks.

  10. Miles Allen
    July 15th, 2012 @ 1:29 am

    Potemkin village, anyone?

  11. Aristotle120
    July 15th, 2012 @ 1:52 am

    It really depends on how many illegal aliens the Democrats can get to the polls.

  12. I Aim to Misbehave
    July 15th, 2012 @ 1:54 am

    If requiring ID is what you call racist, you better add Eric Holder and the Massachusetts Democrat Party to that list. Both required valid identification into their events within the last few months.

  13. JFM
    July 15th, 2012 @ 2:37 am

    Really? Asking to show a state ID is a low, low bar. Why don’t you think about all the other things you CAN’T DO without a state ID and ask yourself why people don’t have one. I live in a state that requires picture ID to vote, first voted when I was 18. Now I’m 52. Never has been a burden.

    If having a state ID is a bar people can’t cross, maybe they shouldn’t be voting in the first place. 

  14. new class traitor
    July 15th, 2012 @ 6:45 am

    try voting in any of those countries libs admire so much – France, Belgium, … – without both (a) a valid national IDcard; (b) a personal voter’s summons.

    Same in Israel. Your name is actually checked against the voter registration rolls and the fact that you voted logged.

    Gee, couldn’t be that one party has a vested interest in making cheating easier in the US? /sarc

  15. JeffWeimer
    July 15th, 2012 @ 7:45 am

     It seems Obama can’t even half-ass a Potemkin rally if he can’t fill up a high school gymnasium in NoVA with supporters from MD.

  16. gitarfan
    July 15th, 2012 @ 7:50 am

     You wouldn’t know a redneck until he came up and kicked you in your balls, if you have any.

  17. gitarfan
    July 15th, 2012 @ 7:52 am

     Enjoy that Kool-Aid. If they are poor and on government assistance, they have an ID. Are you really that mindless or do you spout this stuff on purpose?

  18. Obama Loves High Schools | Lady Liberty 1885
    July 15th, 2012 @ 8:04 am

    […] MCCAIN REPORTS FROM anti-Obama protests in Fairfax County. Meanwhile, reader James Wink emails: “I live about a mile away from where President Obama is […]

  19. SDN
    July 15th, 2012 @ 8:43 am

     Obviously another user of Obama logic where a “mandate” to have any of multiple forms of ID is a “tax” when convenient….

  20. SDN
    July 15th, 2012 @ 8:45 am

    We don’t step in dog squeeze…..

  21. JeffS
    July 15th, 2012 @ 9:03 am

     Nice display of bigotry there, TJ. 

  22. JeffS
    July 15th, 2012 @ 9:09 am

    You might want to look up the definition of a “Potemkin village”, Miles.  Better yet, check out all those “counter-protests” at Tea Party rallies where the “protestors” were being paid. 

    And you might want to check with a shrink about your projection problem. 

  23. jsn2
    July 15th, 2012 @ 9:44 am

     The poll tax was a Democrat invention along with the KKK and gun control to keep black people in line. 
    Racism has always been a part of the  democrat play book, still is.

  24. jsn2
    July 15th, 2012 @ 9:52 am

    An ObamaBot is by definition mindless. Leeches don’t have brains.

  25. JeffS
    July 15th, 2012 @ 9:59 am

    Since we have a troll infestation,  time for an injection of humor:  How do you tell a Romney supporter from an Obama supporter?
    Romney supporters sign their checks on the front; Obama supporters sign them on the back.

  26. A.c. Volper
    July 15th, 2012 @ 10:04 am

    And Jim Crow laws, let not forget them

  27. Credo
    July 15th, 2012 @ 10:07 am

    Good running into you Smitty. I was the guy with the 4×8 Romney sign. A fellow alumn. I got a crowd estimate of 300. The Centreville Wildcat basketball team fills the gym much more than our Dear Leader and they don’t have to import people from Maryland.

  28. goodspkr
    July 15th, 2012 @ 10:41 am

     TJ, do you have any idea where the term “rednecks” come from?  And how elitist it makes you sound?  Probably not, because I find most people with your political persuasion to not be very well versed in history since you keep trying to repeat it even though you think it is for the first time.

  29. goodspkr
    July 15th, 2012 @ 10:42 am

     And how many times they can get to same voters to vote again.

  30. goodspkr
    July 15th, 2012 @ 10:45 am

     I assume you are talking about Obama talking at a high school since he knew he couldn’t fill the local college’s auditorium.   A perfect example of a Potemkin Village.

  31. JeffS
    July 15th, 2012 @ 11:03 am

     Don’t forget “Voting the cemetery”!

  32. LouAnnWatson
    July 15th, 2012 @ 11:49 am

     nice one!

  33. LouAnnWatson
    July 15th, 2012 @ 11:51 am

    elitist name calling know nothing

  34. LouAnnWatson
    July 15th, 2012 @ 11:54 am

     you need to learn how to read a book before you shoot your mouth off…obamabots always believing what they say is fact…and kudos to gov rick scott for telling the obama administration to shove it on fla voter purge

  35. Dianna Deeley
    July 15th, 2012 @ 1:06 pm

     The poll tax is a “head tax”, and it’s ancient. It’s managed to inspire rebellions forever – see the Peasant Rebellion, led by John Ball and Wat Tyler in 1381.  It’s always unfair and irritates people.

    This just demonstrates that the Dems have no new ideas. In particular, it shows that they’re wedded to ideas that don’t work. Ask Margaret Thatcher. Toward the end of her PM-ship, she proposed a Poll Tax. It really didn’t work out well.

  36. JackieLynn
    July 15th, 2012 @ 1:08 pm

    Fanfreakintastic!

  37. RLTSJSM
    July 15th, 2012 @ 1:30 pm

    I’m with you.  I am hispanic and for me it is an honor to show my ID-nothing racist about it.
    I am sick and tired of the Obama campaign repeating over and over again the same talking points about how racist it is to ask minorites to show their ID.    They act like we are unable to get an ID-  how insulting!
       An ID is the sure way from preventing “dead
    people” from voting-like the Chicago thugs would like to perpetuate forever.

  38. J. Belle
    July 15th, 2012 @ 1:44 pm

    Same old class warfare crap from Obama; this isn’t Russia in 1912 – he really needs to step into the modern era and leave his ever-shifting mirage of leftist illusions behind.

    At least the kool-aid in the line to get in was good; it seemed to be the main attraction.

  39. ctmom
    July 15th, 2012 @ 1:50 pm

    LOL. Why can’t dems come up with anything new? Why do you think poor people are too stupid to get photo id?

  40. richard mcenroe
    July 15th, 2012 @ 2:17 pm

     Spell it out for him in short words:

    http://tinyurl.com/293vwnu

  41. Sunday Afternoon Grumpy Daily Headline News | Grumpy Opinions
    July 15th, 2012 @ 2:34 pm

    […] ‘Ground Zero’ in Fairfax County : The Other McCain […]

  42. Obama to Business Owners: You Didn’t Build That, Somebody Else Made it Happen | The Lonely Conservative
    July 15th, 2012 @ 2:52 pm

    […] his or her own. He’s a statist through and through.In related news, at another campaign stop the Tea Party had a little surprise for Dear Leader.google_ad_client = "ca-pub-1395656889568144"; /* 300×250, created 8/11/08 */ google_ad_slot = […]

  43. Lovettsville Lady
    July 15th, 2012 @ 3:18 pm

    Another great video in Centerville yesterday:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVLOZuGM1BM&feature=player_embedded

  44. Obama in Virginia « Virginia Virtucon
    July 15th, 2012 @ 3:52 pm

    […] coverage of the event here and here.   The protest was also picked up […]

  45. Greg Letiecq
    July 15th, 2012 @ 4:05 pm

    Video from the event: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVLOZuGM1BM

  46. Aquastar
    July 15th, 2012 @ 5:42 pm

    Unlike your party we don’t tax everything in sight.

    It’s called Voter ID and requires a picture ID.

    How burdensome is it to prove who you are before you vote.

    I imagine the disenfranchised can’t go anywhere because it’s required in libraries, to cash a check, etc. 

     It’s a part of everyday life and only a rabid leftist would see it as a conspiracy to disenfranchise anyone.

  47. purusha
    July 15th, 2012 @ 5:50 pm

    There have been almost zero cases of voter fraud in the US. When the top priority for Republicans is to fix a problem that doesn’t exist, it makes a person wonder what their real goal is. Everyone knows that the goal of voter ID laws/poll taxes are, but Republicans can’t admit it.

  48. Red Dawn
    July 15th, 2012 @ 6:32 pm

    And if “demand” was all that was required for prosperity, then we could just all live off of our credit cards forever.

    The Obama drones are seriously detached from reality and that seemed particularly evident in the variety of loons who waiting in line yesterday to see the Hawaiian Allende.

  49. Aquastar
    July 15th, 2012 @ 7:17 pm

    So asking people to produce documentation they need in everyday life is voter suppression?

    I think it’s your side that is looking for an issue to energize the base with.

    As for zero cases tell that to the Attorney General in NY who used indicted people for that charge.  And watch O’Keefe’s hilarious undercover work showing that even Eric Holder’s ballot is accessible to anyone who walks in and asks for it.

    You are deliberating missing the point.

  50. Northern Virginia Tea Party Protests Barack Obama, Supports Mitt Romney In Centerville, 14 July 2012 : The Other McCain
    July 15th, 2012 @ 9:02 pm

    […] In Centerville, 14 July 2012Posted on | July 15, 2012 | 2 Commentsby SmittyStacy McCain already laid down the 5 W’s on the protest yesterday, but here are more pictures to keep the Tea Partiers stoked. Clicking on […]