Va. GOP Leader's Tenure at Crossroad

Va. GOP Leader's Tenure at Crossroad
Election Losses, Missteps Too Much For Some Activists

By Anita Kumar
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 5, 2008; B01

RICHMOND, Dec. 4 -- Several prominent Republican activists want to remove the state chairman after a series of missteps, internal disagreements and the party's worst losses in Virginia in a generation.

Del. Jeffrey M. Frederick (R-Prince William) campaigned for the job of chairman six months ago as a young, energetic leader who blamed his predecessor for failures at the polls. But many now consider his short tenure a failure.

The state party's governing body might try to remove Frederick at its meeting at the Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, Va., on Friday or at an unscheduled emergency meeting in the next couple of months, several party sources said.

"He's not the right face for our party," said James Rich, chairman of the 10th Congressional District Republican Committee and a member of the State Central Committee. "There's no credibility there. He's a joke, like something you would see on Jay Leno."

Last month, Republicans lost a U.S. Senate seat, three U.S. House seats and their 44-year-old hold on Virginia's 13 presidential electoral votes. Frederick's critics said his lackluster fundraising, his disputes with Sen. John McCain's campaign team and his ill-timed remark comparing Sen. Barack Obama to Osama bin Laden did nothing to help.

Longtime Northern Virginia GOP strategist J. Kenneth Klinge, who has been helping elect Republicans in Virginia for more than four decades, sent an e-mail to thousands of activists blaming Frederick for the outcome and calling on him to resign.

"I know a bad chairman when I see one," wrote Klinge, who has also donated to Democrats. "Frederick ranks as the worst state chairman in the history of the Republican Party of Virginia."

Frederick, one of the House's most conservative members, acknowledged that he has been unable to meet all his goals because of the time spent preparing for the Nov. 4 election. But he said he plans to focus on those priorities now instead of worrying about keeping his job.

"Many of the things are on track, and I'm excited by the opportunity we have," he said. "I can't spend a bunch of time looking behind. I have to focus on what we need to do to win in 2009."

Still, Frederick has been trying to calm concerns by calling State Central Committee members and elected leaders, including Attorney General Robert F. McDonnell, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, House Speaker William J. Howell (Stafford) and Senate Minority Leader Thomas K. Norment Jr. (James City).

Although frustrated, some Republican activists have said that Frederick has allayed their concerns and that they intend to give him more time. "He's working hard to bring about organizational changes, and I think we need to give him a chance to do that,'' Bolling said. "We need to give him a chance to succeed."

Frederick does have a small circle of defenders who credit him with increasing the party's ranks.

"I do not blame individual leaders for the historic loss. I certainly do not hold Jeff Frederick personally responsible," said Gary Byler, chairman of the 2nd Congressional District Republican Committee and a member of the State Central Committee. But, he added, "My view is not universally held."

State Central Committee members who were interviewed said it is unlikely that Frederick will be removed Friday when hundreds of activists gather at the posh mountain resort for the annual GOP Advance. The committee did not put a discussion of Frederick's future on its agenda. If 75 percent of members agree to waive the rules, they say, they could add it.

"The Advance is his chance to explain to State Central Committee why he is the one to lead," said Jerry Kilgore, former attorney general and the Republican nominee for governor in 2005.

The 86-member committee that controls Frederick's fate includes the influential chairman of the state's 11 congressional districts.

Frederick, 33, stunned Republican leaders in May when a coalition of social and anti-tax conservatives helped him defeat party elder John H. Hager, a moderate former lieutenant governor, for the top job. Frederick announced a 100-day plan, pledging to shake up the staff and change operations by boosting technology.

But some have complained that Frederick failed as a fundraiser and delayed improvements, including updating the party's Web site. Frederick fought with McCain's campaign team over strategy and resources. In mid-October, tensions between the two camps worsened when Frederick compared Obama to bin Laden, saying "both have friends that bombed the Pentagon." The remark generated hate mail, national media attention and a public rebuke from McCain.

"The comment didn't need to be said," Frederick said this week. "It wasn't wrong. It wasn't false. But was it worth everything? No."

The party has swapped leaders four times in as many years, and some Republicans say it would be detrimental to change again. Next year, Virginians will elect a governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general as well as all 100 members of the House of Delegates.

McDonnell, the likely Republican nominee for governor, would not say this week whether Frederick should stay. He said the "party apparatus" would decide the future of the chairman's job and that "effective candidates," not a chairman, are the most important factor in next year's elections.