This editorial comes from the Roanoke Times. The fantastic thing about this is that the Times is probably the most conservative paper in the most conservative area of Virginia.
Editorial: Please don't fire Jeff Frederick
The chairman of the Virginia GOP offers too much entertainment value.
The economy is in full-blown recession. Home values are dropping. The commonwealth is shedding jobs. State and local services are being cut to the bone. During these dark days, Virginians needs a distraction. They need the comical antics of state GOP Chairman Jeff Frederick.
Some Republican leaders have had it with Frederick, who took over the party less than a year ago. On his watch, Democrats have fared well. Barack Obama carried the state, Mark Warner won an open Senate seat, and the Ds now have a majority of the commonwealth's congressional delegation.
Last week, members of the party's State Central Committee issued an ultimatum to Frederick: Resign or be fired.
They failed to oust him at a party meeting in December. For the sake of the commonwealth, Virginians should hope they fail again. This guy is just too entertaining to let go so easily.
He manufactured allegations of massive voter registration fraud in Virginia where none actually existed.
He stood before campaign volunteers and said, "Both Barack Obama and Osama bin Laden have friends that have bombed the Pentagon. That is scary."
He blew a Republican coup in the state Senate. When a Democrat was ready to switch parties, Frederick announced the news via the online service Twitter before it happened, giving Democrats a chance to change the senator's mind.
The guy who announced he wouldn't seek re-election to the House of Delegates and promptly urged voters to support his wife for the seat.
The guy who reinforced the perception that his party is anti-science by denouncing Charles Darwin on the House floor on Darwin's 200th birthday. MSNBC's Keith Olberman gave him a "Worst Person in the World" award for that bumbling presentation.
We couldn't make that sort of stuff up.
Virginians need a laugh these days more than ever. The GOP shouldn't deny them Frederick.