Bringing Out the Long Knives for Jeff Frederick

Lobbyist and one-time RPV director Ken Klinge's email calling for current RPV chairman Jeff Frederick's head is making the rounds...much to the glee of some.

There can be little doubt that Frederick has rubbed a lot of folks the wrong way. That's especially true of more establishment Republicans who feel "their" party is being run into the ground by an tyro. But there are others, too, who wonder if the chairman is right for the job, for a number of reasons.

I tend to believe that squabbles over party chairmen generate little of substance and actually fail to address the larger problem:

Virginia Republicans have, since 2001 but with a vengeance since 2004, gone out of their way to undermine their own cause. Yes, things have gotten better for them, at the margins at least, with the departure of people like John Chichester. But they remain ill-served with a leadership that has no agenda, with members who, generally, tend to wait until January to focus on the road ahead and an overall message that is neither coherent nor energizing (quick...what does the GOP hope to accomplish in the next session? One priority...just one...will do).

This intramural spat may make some feel good and it certainly will make for delicious gossip. But until the underlying matters are addressed, it's just theater. And bad theater at that.