Amy Frederick calls GOP leadership “broken”
Media General News Service
FILE PHOTO: Jeff Frederick and his wife Amy leave a rally Saturday before the meeting of the Republican State Central Committee.
Published: April 28, 2009
Updated: April 28, 2009
Amy N. Frederick, wife of embattled Del. Jeff Frederick, announced Tuesday that she will not seek her husband’s seat in the Virginia General Assembly.
Amy Frederick had filed to run for the Republican nomination for the House of Delegates’ 52nd District, which includes Southbridge, Quantico, Dumfries, Triangle, Montclair, most of Woodbridge and a small part of Manassas.
But she never officially announced her candidacy, and Tuesday she e-mailed a letter to supporters saying she would not run.
Frederick wrote that she didn’t want to serve under “broken leadership.”
“Unfortunately, some in the leadership of the Republican Party have demonstrated a greater interest in playing politics than in advancing our conservative principles and making life better for the families and the citizens of Virginia,” she wrote.
The move essentially gives the GOP nomination for the seat to former Dumfries town councilman Rafael Lopez, who was the only other candidate to file.
Del. Frederick said he would not run for re-election if elected chairman of Virginia’s Republican Party. And he did win that job last year, though he was ousted early this month by the GOP’s State Central Committee.
The hubbub surrounding those events would have been something Amy Frederick would have had to overcome to win election.
But she didn’t mention that issue in her letter.
Instead, she called out House Speaker William J. Howell, saying he compromised “principle for what he perceives as immediate political gain.”
“What so many entrusted with leadership in our party fail to recognize is that ignoring our core principles in pursuit of titles and power without purpose is exactly the behavior that severely reduced our ranks in the House, handed the Senate to the Democrats, and has resulted in one statewide loss after another,” Frederick wrote.
She didn’t identify Howell by name in the letter. But, in an interview Tuesday, she said she was particularly upset with the Republican’s compromise on a statewide smoking ban for restaurants.
Howell and Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, a Democrat, announced bipartisan support for the measure earlier this year. The ban will go into effect July 1.
Frederick said that, as a customer, she “can’t stand” smoking.
However, as a conservative, she doesn’t like the government putting restrictions on private enterprise.
“Most Republicans are private business owners,” she said.
Frederick said Howell “caved” to popular opinion on the smoking ban because he was afraid of being linked to campaign contributions he received from Henrico County-based Altria Group Inc., parent of the Philip Morris USA tobacco company.
Howell has received $100,783 from Altria since 1996, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, a nonprofit that tracks campaign funding.
But he declined to respond to Frederick’s charges Tuesday.
“We certainly wish them well in whatever life holds in store for them,” G. Paul Nardo, Howell’s chief of staff, said about Frederick and her husband.
Similar well-wishes came from the two candidates for the Democratic nomination in the 52nd District.
“I wish her the best, both she and Jeff,” said former Secret Service agent Mike Hodge of Montclair, who said he had spoken to the Fredericks only once.
“Now that both Jeff and Amy Frederick have announced that they are not running for the House of Delegates, I would like to wish them both all the best in the future,” said Luke Torian, pastor of First Mount Zion Baptist Church in Dumfries. “We look forward to the discussion about the new leadership that this district needs, free of the pursuit of titles and power without purpose.”
Lopez, the sole GOP candidate in the district, could not be reached Tuesday.
Amy Frederick declined to express support for another candidate now that she’s out of the race.
She said that if Lopez stands for the conservative principles in which she believes, he’ll be her man.
However, she said the Democrats are strong candidates, as well.
Her husband has publicly spoken well of Torian, and even tried to get him to run as a Republican. And Hodge is a “great, great person,” Frederick said.
There has been speculation that Del. Frederick would try an 11th-hour bid to run for re-election. But he said Tuesday that that’s not going to happen.
“The bottom line is Amy’s not running, and I’m not running,” he said.
Staff writer Jonathan Hunley can be reached at 703-369-5738.
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Reader Reactions
Let’s be honest Amy, shall we?
What broke the VA GOP was puttting Jeff in as Chairman. Stating that he would not run for delegate again, but would continue raising money in case you ‘wanted’ his seat didn’t help much, since I think we still elect officials, not appoint them.
At least be honest enough to say that you realize this is an election you could never win. The VA GOP would never put money into your campaign and without their help you’re done. I see the “Draft Amy Frederick…Encourage Amy to Run” front page has been removed from Jeff’s website. Probably a good move.
P.S. As previously stated, most people support the smoking ban, so try next time to come up with something better.
As a conservative—a bit more moderate than the Fredericks, however—I consider their departure from the local political scene as promising. I think as these two get a little older and add the benefit of experience to their already substantial passion, they will be assets to the Commonwealth. But right now, at this moment in Virginia’s political history, the Republican party is dwindling into a fractured and fractional party representing about 25% of the population. The party needs to reach out to conservatives of all stripes and rebuild it’s coalition or we’re going to wind up with Terry McAuliffe as governor for 4 years! The Fredericks, despite their admirable passion, are a force of division.
I find it fascinating that the Fredericks cite the smoking ban as an excuse to castigate Speaker Howell… if something is supported by 70% of your constituents it’s probably a good idea to get behind it. Limited government is a central tenet of the conservative movement… but so is responsible government. And the smoking ban is just that: responsible. It’s responsible from a public health perspective, it’s responsible from a business perspective, and its responsible from a common sense perspective. Banning smoking in restaurants is no more an intrusion into a business owner’s rights than requiring his kitchen staff wash their hands and sterilize their dirty dishes. It’s no more intrusive than telling them they can’t sell alcohol to minors. It’s no more intrusive than telling them the minimum wage they must pay their workers. It’s no more intrusive than telling businesses where they can or can’t dispose of waste. Government has a regulatory role to play to ensure businesses operate fairly and honestly and in the best interests of society. I’d respectfully submit that today’s financial crisis is Exhibit A that the failure of government to perform responsibly in it’s oversight role is at least partially, if not largely, to blame for double digit unemployment and collapse of our 401ks.
Limited government means DC can’t deny her citizens the right to own a gun; limited government means the government can’t tell consenting adults what they can or can’t do in the privacy of the bedroom; limited government means we trust individuals to make good and responsible choices but establish rules to prevent our pursuit of individual liberties from adversely affecting the public good. Thus we can drink but we can’t drive after drinking; we can peacably assemble but can’t shout “fire” in a crowded theater; we can adhere to any religion we want but can “make no law respecting an establishment” of one or another.
Today’s Republican party has forgotten that diversity of opinion is a GOOD thing. IT not only opens us up to a broader range of ideas from which to choosew, it also helps us to galvanize our ideas and articulate them better to others. Sadly, the Fredericks hold an all-too-common belief that conservatives who aren’t conservative enough for them aren’t really conservative at all. That’s destructive and it marginalizes the Republican party. I only hope this destructive mentality can be overcome before November. I’m not optimistic.
joni6100,
Unfortunatley, PHDEE a self proclaimed expert on racism is indeed ignorant on the subject.Enlightened liberals don’t know how to retort without the name calling. PHDEE ignores their own actions of name calling, but are actively call out others who don’t share their extreme political views. PHDEE is no more an expert on any subject than Madonnna is.
ph you crack me up….all I did was enter a short phrase into google and those articles came up…
when you are proved to be less informed than you think you are, ...your next posts make you sound ridiculous…
and my daughters aren’t black either…so, don’t try and EDUCATE me on what racism is…time for you to accept that people differ in their opinions, and while I may think you are wrong, I respect your right to think it, but I also respect my right to point out that I disagree and why.
People like you are so transparent, your attacks are ridiculous, but you have the right to disagree with me and everyone else, I disagreed with more than 50% of what Fredericks stands for, (which is why I do not support the GOP these days which you would know if you had bothered to read my posts over the last few months) but I RESPECT HIS WIFE’S CHOICE TO STEP AWAY FOR HER CONVICTIONS…
and as you said, she seems to be a nice person, so why would I think she lied about why she pulled out???
Joni6100:
You apparently are a “pick and choose” individual, that is, you read several articles by opinion columnists and then select the one that mirrors your views on the subject, as if that columnist’s views are “facts”. I notice you omit the publications titles - right wing perhaps? I can read right or left wing articles anywhere, including in this newspaper. However, I don’t immediately scoop them up as being “factual”; after all, ANY columnist can be biased. And of course if you read it on the internet, then it has to be tgrue. Right?
Racism is not confined solely to whites or any race. IU grew up in the South and I consider myself an expert at recognizing racism. And there are tons of them on this website and in PWC.
I find it hilarious that people in Pa. don’t want a stimulus or other govt programs. My spouse is from Pa., and the folks I know there don’t sing from your sheet of music. Thge “former Rep. must be rural and out of touch.
phdee…forgot to add…this is just some of the news out there about Spector..that guess what I DIDN’T MAKE IT UP… AS YOU SPEW YOUR HATRED, MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE ATTACKING…there are some of us who may actually be a bit smarter and better informed than you. A little more reading it reading might help you…
Why Specter Did It—And Had To Do It
By Eric Kleefeld - April 28, 2009, 12:48PM It has become clear to me that the stimulus vote caused a schism which makes our differences irreconcilable. On this state of the record, I am unwilling to have my twenty-nine year Senate record judged by the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate. I have not represented the Republican Party.
POSTED: 12:01 pm EDT April 28, 2009
UPDATED: 6:11 pm EDT April 28, 2009President Barack Obama is offering Specter full support and says the Democratic Party is “thrilled to have you.“ Specter says Obama has promised to campaign for him in next year’s Democratic primary in Pennsylvania.
ATT NEWS By Thomas Fitzgerald
PHILADELPHIA _ Conservative former congressman Pat Toomey made it official Wednesday, signing on for a rematch with moderate Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter in the 2010 Republican Senate primary.
Starting with a talk-radio interview in Allentown and a video on his new campaign Web site, Toomey said he was running to stop the “bailouts and the spending stampede” and because Specter had consistently supported “increased government spending and a liberal agenda on social, labor, immigration and national security policies.“
By Bradley Vasoli, The Bulletin
Monday, April 27, 2009
Survey data from Rasmussen Reports shows former U.S. Rep. Pat Toomey would beat U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., by 21 percentage points in a match for the incumbent’s Senate seat.
The actual contest is a long way off in Nov. 2010. But Mr. Specter has already provoked widespread dissatisfaction on the part of many members of his own party due to his vote in favor of President Barack Obama’s $787-billion spending bill earlier this year.
A Rasmussen poll from just a few days ago put Toomey ahead by a 51%-30% margin. Specter was viewed unfavorably by 55% of the GOP electorate, compared to only 42% favorable. The pollster’s analysis also pointed out that 79% of them had a favorable view of the Tea Parties—not exactly a receptive audience for a pro-stimulus Senator
phdee,
you seem to have a real problem, maybe you should get some help, or maybe what you accuse others of is the way you really feel….like a racist, people who know me know that that is not true, and it is just your way that when you have nothing constructive to say, or any way to “attack” you scream Racism…
It might interest you to know that my children are not white,so I think they would find it very funny to know you call their mother a racist…
All I said was that these people stood up for their convictions, and it was too bad more slimy politicians on both sides don’t do the same.
I am so far away from right wing GOP than you can imagine…I am completely liberal when it comes to social issues and I think the government should stay out of people’s lives, I feel the government should stay out of abortion issue, and I think gay people have the right to be married like anyone else…
The only thing I am right wing about is the security and defense of our nation and OUT OF CONTROL GOVERNMENT SPENDING.
Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day, teach him to fish and he eats forever…the government should learn this lesson and so should you…oneof the reasons CLinton was such a success is that he knew programs like welfare did nothing but further destroy people and he made great changes to the system, unfortunately, we are heading back into a “Nanny State” country, and for that, I am distressed…
Sounds to me like they both lack courage and she is obviously a whiner. But what’s new. No wonder Arlen Specter finally jetisnnded that whole nasty crowd. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
Joni6100:
Why don’t you cease this big “pretend game” of being neutral in politics and not being a racist. One can analyze you postings and clearly see your leanings. You are a hard core rightwing Republican, and a racist. You obviously don’t like Obama and you don’t like the black 52 Dist. candidate. You are plugging the Fredericks as wholesome and pure, yet there were GOP allegations of how he used his business to process campaign contributions, and we all know his racist statements made during Obama’s campaign. You obviously consider such actions as reasonable and appropriate. Frederick is out of touch with everyone except the GOP hard line wingnuts and racists.
From your postings, I can’t help but wonder where you get all your information (“facts” is what you and other rightwingers call them). Actually, you just make them up. What is your source about the Dems making some sort of agreement with Specter? And youj allege the people in Pa, are against the stimulus—- ha ha. I’ll bet. I’m aware of Jingal, Sanford, and the Texan playing that “refusal”, especially the SC governor (but his Repub reps don’t seem to be). People don’t turn down money - unless you are a dumb and stupid Republican - the just say “no” and who obstruct everything the Dems are doing to try to get the country out of the mess created by 8 years of Bush and Republican disaster.
JVA…the reason the GOP threw him out was because he refused to sell out the Conservative Values he holds to “get elected”. The GOP was running so scared, that they are willing to throw out their moral values to “appease” those who are on the fence. Both of these people refused to “sell out” and refused to “say anything to get elected” and so they are now, gone…“They should both come over to the DEMS” is not realistic when the reason they left was because they were too conservative..
In this day and age of lying, corrupt, slimy politicians, it is refreshing to see someone hold on to their values…too bad more aren’t like them….(even if I do not agree with many of their stances….I still respect their value system…
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