Republican Ed Gillespie: A Reagan conservative tries to appeal and prevail in the age of Trump

Richmond Times-Dispatch ^ | 11/4/2017 | Patrick Wilson

[leaymane]

When he was attending Catholic University of America, Ed Gillespie worked three jobs, one in a campus dining hall, one as a short-order cook and one parking cars at the U.S. Senate.

Through the job as a parking lot attendant, Gillespie learned of an internship opportunity that led to a job on Capitol Hill, and he has not stopped working in politics and public affairs since.

Gillespie, communications ace, former lobbyist and senior aide to President George W. Bush, will find out Tuesday if Virginia voters will send a Reagan conservative to the Virginia governor’s mansion in the era of Donald Trump.

Should Gillespie succeed, he would become the first Republican elected statewide in Virginia since Bob McDonnell led his party’s sweep of statewide offices in 2009. He would likely have a GOP-controlled legislature to pass a broad agenda of bills he could sign into law.

“Job creation, getting Virginia growing again, is central to my campaign,” Gillespie said in an interview Thursday. “I truly think we should be first in the country. ... I’ve been talking about this from day one.”

The race between Gillespie and Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam is considered close. Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump by 5.3 percentage points in Virginia in November, but with lower turnout expected in this year’s governor’s race, Gillespie has given hope to Republicans.

This is Gillespie’s second run for statewide office in Virginia, after narrowly losing to U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., in a low turnout 2014 election.

[Seruzawa]

Not really. It’s too bad it has to be like this.

[HokieMom]

From Breitbart's facebook page:

Bannon embraces Ed Gillespie

Bannon: Trump, Stewart Voters Going to Win Virginia Governorship for ‘Bush Guy’ Gillespie

Following headliner Stephen K. Bannon, executive chairman of Breitbart News, populist-nationalist 2018 U.S. Senate candidate Corey Stewart addressed the Remembrance Project National Conference in Washington, DC, Saturday. The event, at the capital’s famous Willard Hotel, featured a “who’s who” of leaders in the fight against illegal immigration, including headliner Bannon, Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton, and Colorado gubernatorial candidate Tom Tancredo, in Remembrance Project’s largest annual event to honor Americans killed by illegal alien crime and the “angel families” they left behind.

Stewart, speaking afterwards with Breitbart News, called Bannon “the most powerful political figure in the United States today.” He agreed with Bannon’s assessment of the political winds in the country. “There’s momentum in the country to destroy political correctness, to do something about illegal immigration, to build the wall, and enforce immigration laws,” he said.

Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie made “Mara Salvatrucha,” or MS-13, a focal point of his campaign as Tuesday’s election draws near. Fueled by illegal aliens, the transnational criminal gang has become a gruesome feature of the once placid Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC.

The issue, that has come to define the race in the last month, is no news to Stewart, who extensively raised the alarm on MS-13 and the refusal of Gillespie opponent Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam to endorse banning the “sanctuary city” policies that fuel transnational criminal organizations in other states in his primary campaign.

Just Thursday, the Department of Justice unveiled indictments for murder against four more alleged MS-13 members from Anne Arundel County, Maryland, just over the state line from the Northern Virginia communities, about which both Gillespie and Stewart have raised concerns.

“MS-13 is not just a Northern Virginia problem. It’s not just in Northern Virginia and tidewater,” Stewart told Breitbart News on Saturday. “It is spreading down the [Interstate] 81 corridor and is becoming a statewide issue … It’s an issue that will drive not only conservatives but independent voters who are concerned about it.”

Stewart, who lost to Ed Gillespie by the narrowest of margin’s in June’s GOP primary, thought his one-time opponent has done well for himself by making illegal immigration-fueled crime the central issue of his campaign. “As he’s moved to the right,” Stewart told Breitbart News of Gillespie, “as he’s embraced the issues of protecting historical monuments and cracking down on illegal immigration, I don’t think it’s a coincidence his poll numbers have improved dramatically.”

The left, including the incumbent Democrat, arch-Clinton ally Terry McAuliffe, has tried to shame Gillespie’s populist turn as “racist.” Most prominent is the response of leftist PAC “Latino Victory Fund,” placing in circulation an ad showing a Gillespie supporter with a confederate flag on his pickup trying to run down Muslim and Latino children. The ad, now conclusively linked to the Northam campaign, has been called “vile” and “despicable” by the Washington Post editorial board.

Corey Stewart called the ad “by far the dumbest move by the left in the last year.”

Bannon, in his own address, broadly agreed with Stewart’s understanding of the path of the Virginia governor’s race. When he mentioned Gillespie’s name, cheers of “Corey! Corey!” erupted from the crowed. “For the Senate in ’18,” was Bannon’s reply.

“That’s a horse race now,” Bannon said. “Gillespie, what was he? Eight, ten points down two weeks ago, two and a half weeks ago?”

Gillespie is now running even or ahead in many polls.

“If Gillespie … a Bush guy … wins, and I do believe that Gillespie’s going to pull this thing out,” Bannon continued, “it will be because of the underlying message of Corey Stewart and what he believes in, and the Trump voters in Virginia who are gonna turn out!”

Stewart was similarly optimistic about the effect of the momentum Gillespie has stirred up with his embrace of Virginia’s populist energy. “A Gillespie win or a narrow loss means there will be a lot more national money and resources going into Virginia in 2018,” he told Breitbart News.

[JLAGRAYFOX]

Best vote you will ever make...why? because electing Gillespie insures that “CONSERVATIVE, Corey Stewart” will politically slaughter the Obama/Clinton, Tim (the loser) Kaine, next year!!!

[kabar]

Personally, I'm more enthusiastic about voting for him than Trump in 2016.

Joined a month ago. Troll alert. Gillespie is no Reagan conservative. He is a Bush RINO Rep.

[scooby321]

He will win

Fox News Poll has him down by 5 Points LOL

[jospehm20]

I agree. A Bushie is not the same as a Reaganite.

[jospehm20]

You a Bush guy? Gillespie is.

[COBOL2Java]

Virginia voters......all!!! Turnout, massively, Tomorrow, Election Day, Tuesday, November 7, 2017, and cast your vote for Republican Ed Gillespie to become the next Governor of the great Commonwealth and State of Virginia,

Here is three solid, good reasons to do so. First Ed Gillespie becomes your Governor, tomorrow evening, Second, Corey Stewart is aligned to become the next Virginia, U.S. Senator next year as he totally wipes out, useless, Clintonite, Democrat, Tim Kaine in the Mid-term election of 2018, and, finally, third, the victory by Gillespie, delivers an almost fatal political blow to the entire “National” Democrat Party!!! D0 it!!!

TURNOUT, TURNOUT, TURNOUT!!! MAGA......Elect, Ed Gillespie, Governor of Virginia. Go, Gillespie, go POTUS, Donald J. Trump.

"Gimmie a 'G'! Gimmie an 'O'! Gimmie a 'P'! Gimmie an 'E'"

"What's that spell?"

"Cheap Labor Express!"

"What's that spell?"

"UniParty!"

"Yay!"

[tennmountainman]

Good observation. She Posts a thread, but does not even stick around
to participate in it.

[Lurkinanloomin]

Reagan got suckered by the Cheap Labor Express Republicans.
He thought they really would implement the enforcement that was in the amnesty bill to prevent another from being necessary.
George HW Bush was the President who was supposed to implement the law and he had other plans.
He wanted to make the USA into North Mexico.

[SoConPubbie]

FAKE NEWS!

Ed Gillespie, though unquestionably better than the Democrat running, is no more a Reagan Conservative than GWB was/is.

[rightwingintelligentsia]

Are you Gillespie’s press agent?

[Lurkinanloomin]

LOL!

[trebb]

I guess the salient question is - is Gillespie better than the Dim running the dirty left-wing moonbat campaign against him? Would putting an R in the Virginia seat be better or worse for Trump's agenda?

Lots of us have only really heard of him because of this particular run but some who are up there in Virginia seem to be very hopeful for him - like I tell my wife, even a so-so pizza is better than a great pizza....

[Pollster1]

Given redistricting, gun rights, and other long-term issues, this is the time to vote Ed Gillespie, with or without enthusiasm. The time to challenge moderates was in the primary. During the general election, we have to take the best choice we’ve got.

And for purists? During WW2, we allied with Stalin of all people, because that soviet socialist was slightly less of a danger than the national socialist we fought against. If we can side with Joseph Stalin, who was almost as far left and as anti-American as Hillary Clinton, we can side with Ed Gillespie.

http://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Ed_Gillespie.htm
http://www.ontheissues.org/Ralph_Northam.htm

Northam agrees with me on about 20% of issues. Gillespie agrees with me on about 80% of issues, including all of those that Northam got right.

Or as the greatest President of the last 150 years said:

“The person who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally - not a 20 percent traitor.”
- President Ronald Reagan

[central_va]

Ed Gillespe a Reagan Conservative? Are you out if you mind?

This is truly the silly season.

[central_va]

The lies and the half-truths will drive you crazy!

[rrrod]

Main reason to vote for the GOPe is it will hurt the RATs....

[SamAdams76]

Gillespie is far from a perfect conservative but a step in the right direction. Not to mention the fact that his victory would be extremely demoralizing to the Democrats and will set the stage for flipping Virginia back to a red state in 2020.

A step in the right direction...

Back in my young days, when I rented a ratty apartment, my dream was to have a four-bedroom house with a big yard and a golden retriever. I knew that it was not possible to go from that apartment to that kind of a house. So I bought a small ranch fixer-upper for my first home. I fixed it up and flipped it a few years later at a profit so I could get a bigger fixer-upper. Repeat. Each house was better than the last. Finally, I was able to get the house I really wanted.

My point is, you can't always get what you want right when you want it. Gillespie might be a RINO hack but he's better than the Democrat. Consider Gillespie that fixer-upper that will lead to something better down the road.

[Lurkinanloomin]

A never Trumper two faced double talking weasel.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Exactly.
The only reason he is using the ads about MS-13 is he knows it resonates with the citizens.
He refused to renounce amnesty or go after Warner’s vote for Rubio’s amnesty when running for Senate.
The ads only say anything about illegal alien hard core criminals, he still wants to amnesty the rest and will resist efforts to remove more than those convicted of crimes here.