Friday, December 08, 2006

All's fair in politics and infidelity...

UPDATE: It has come to my attention that some readers feel that I am actually hurting Jeff by posting this. However, from what I can see here and in other places, I feel that this race has now gotten a lot more attention than it had yesterday, and I hope everyone who is on Jeff's side donates and volunteers to bring another good Virginian into office as part of the Democratic party.

I apologize for the way this has come off to some of you. I hope you all understand that I meant no harm, and I support Jeff although I am not in his district.

I felt it was appropriate and necessary to call out the Republican blogger for his hate and ignorance. Gay rights are very important to me, as it affects my immediate family. Sometimes, as I have learned, while it may seem "smart" to ignore the right-wing bloggers and their inane arguments, counter-attacking them can help in the long run by making their abhorrant behavior PUBLIC. Personally, I hope that Mike May CONDEMNS this hateful attack, and focuses on the ISSUES throughout this election.

I feel confident that Jeff Dion will.

Again, I am sorry to offend any of you if that is the case.

Now go donate and sign up to volunteer.




















Well, I see that the right-wing blogosphere is at it again, attacking Democrats for behavior they find unsavory. To save yourself from having to click on their venomous site, here is the rundown on their latest attempt at creating a scandal:
Jeffrey R. Dion is the Democrat running for Occoquan Supervisor in the special election to be held on January 30th, 2007. We’ve heard a lot of nice things said about Jeff, who has done a good job helping crime victims. But there’s some other critical information that the Democrats haven’t been too interested in talking about that might help inform voters about how Mr. Dion values his commitments.

Back sometime around 2001, Jeff who was married to his wife Jane, and had a five year old boy and a one year old baby girl got divorced. To many folks that just one of those unfortunate things that happen to too many people, and is just another minor tragedy amongst a sea of similar tragedies. What makes this different is that Jeff is now an openly practicing homosexual who lives with his gay partner. To an outsider like me, it sure looks like he left his marriage and destroyed the stability of his family in order to pursue a homsexual "lifestyle."
Well! Looks like the hate machine is running at top speed, eh?
In the midst of this homosexual "lifestyle" Mr. Dion by all accounts raises these two children, who are now six and ten years old, in a 3BR 1-1/2 BA house of a little more than 1100 square feet that he bought for $90,000 back in 2002. Meanwhile, his wife who has since remarried, lives in a 4BR 2-1/2 BA house she bought for nearly $300,000 in 2002. From the press releases by Vic Bras and his statements to the press, the clear impression given is that Jeff has full-time custody of the children despite the evidence that his ex-wife has a better home for the children both in terms of space, but in the natural and nurturing environment that only a marriage can provide. Given that Mr. Dion is also a member of and contributor to the gay "rights" organizations that fought against the overwhelmingly popular Marriage Amendment, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that he would also value his gay "lifestyle" over his marriage and want to expose his children to it on a daily basis.

This is to my knowledge the first time that the Prince William County Democrats have selected an openly gay candidate. I am surprised they would want to first test these waters with someone who appears to have left a marriage and broken up a family in order to live as a gay person. It’s doubtful that Jeff Dion can get much traction as a candidate given this demonstration of what a commitment to a marriage and a family means to him, however. For many of us that commitment to our marriage and our family defines who we are, and how we honor that commitment speaks volumes to how we honor all other commitments.
As always, the right-wing blogosphere is trying to hide their hate and displaced anger behind a thin veil of "reporting the facts." There really is so much stupidity to attack in that piece, but the blogger is right-wing; he's EXPECTED to be hateful and ignorant. So, let's get to the point.

Now...it seems that the right-wing blogosphere wants to continue their personal attacks on members of the Democratic party, eh?

Well, fine, I say; two can play at THAT game.

Upon further investigation, I have learned three very important things concerning the Republican party of Virginia and some of their members.

1. Tom Davis has three children, and he too left his wife and his childrens' mother. Now, he may not be "in the midst of a homosexual lifestyle", but I'd still like to know why he left his family. Could it be that he left her for his new wife?

2. Jeanmarie Devolite-Davis (Tom Davis's NEW wife) ALSO left her husband and their four children. Again, no homosexual "lifestyle" here, but why DID she leave them? And what does it have to do with Tom Davis? Most people who divorce their spouse and then quickly move on to a new spouse usually have a relationship with the future spouse BEFORE the divorce is final. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

3. Now isn't this interesting....it looks like Mike May, who is running against Jeffrey R. Dion (the subject of the right-wing attack against equal opportunity and rights) has an interesting prior work history. It seems that Mr. May is a former staffer of Tom Davis. Wow. Anyone shocked?

So, my question is this: where is this report on Jeff's private life coming from? Is it just some "scandal!" that a blogger has created to get blog hits? Is it coming from someone in the Democratic party who is angered by the choice?

Or is it coming straight from Tom Davis's mouth, by way of a blogger in order to keep himself clean?

More to come as the facts unfold...

32 Comments:

Blogger Terry Carter said...

I still haven't gotten an answer frop "Greg L." as to why Jeff Dion has custody of the kids and not his "more fit to raise them" wife...

2:58 PM  
Blogger Phriendly Jaime said...

Please. Virginia courts wouldn't give him the kids bc he is gay unless there was a good reason, like she is a drunk or a pill popper like Blow-han.

He obviously is the better parent; gay has NOTHING TO DO WITH IT!

3:04 PM  
Blogger Terry Carter said...

Clearly. I'm just saying though, Greg seems so pissed off that Jeff has custody and his wife doesn't. I want to know what Greg thinks is the reason for that...clearly he didn't think there might actually be a good reason behind it. But no, it just must be that the judge was a left wing liberal nut.

3:20 PM  
Blogger JMUDuke said...

I understand what you're doing, and I respect you Jaime. I will simply say that you look better from the high ground than down in this mire. This crap is bush league and below civilized people, of which I consider you one.

3:20 PM  
Blogger Doug in Metro DC said...

Donate to Jeff Dion at his web site using secure Paypal:

http://www.jeffdion.org/Contribute.html

Do it now. Every incidence of bigotry deserves a $20 donation, at least.

3:40 PM  
Blogger Phriendly Jaime said...

Thanks, JMU. And yes, it's touchy, and I definitely debated posting it. But the gay bashing on the Republican site is too much for me, and generally, I just felt the need to fight back a bit.

But I appreciate what you are saying, and I thank you.

3:53 PM  
Blogger Phriendly Jaime said...

Oh, and Terry-I gotcha; had you the whole time. :)

3:56 PM  
Blogger JMUDuke said...

Tom Davis is in my opinion a great example of why this is all crap. He does a pretty good job representing me (I know you may disagree). But the bottomline is that what's happened in his bedroom hasn't influnced his record of service at all. The famous West Wing quote goes: "Republicans love small government, so small that it fits into my bedroom." This is an opportunity for people who think the Republicans have lost their way to pick up ground on yet another issue, if you keep the high ground. Settle this on the field and elect Jeff Dion.

3:57 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think it's funny that a skanky whore is criticizing the morals of others.

3:57 PM  
Blogger Phriendly Jaime said...

JMU Duke-defintely don't disagree, bc he doesn't represent me. I agree with you on the bedroom issue, and it looks like ehere we are differing is that you feel I should have let sleeping dogs lie. And, I almost did. But, I chose the scandal path, I guess. I really do see your point though, and thanks for disagreeing with class. I can learn from you.

:)

Anon-I would delete, but that's just too precious. Skanky whore, huh? Seriously, if you knew me, you would know how wrong that staement is. But, hey...Republicans are violent and angry, I expect it from you.

4:05 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Not a Republican, but I know you. Your house is glass. Put down the stones.

4:09 PM  
Blogger JMUDuke said...

I don't think I'm advocating a let sleeping dogs lie approach, more a do not interfere when your opponent is in the process of beating himself approach. The rhetoric of fear and hatred has been bread and butter for a lot of Republicans for a while (not all). But eventually enough people are going to grow disgusted to make real change, and at that time it'll be better to have stayed out of this type of politics. Elevate the discourse, let them stay down in mud-trough if they want.

4:11 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The right-wing blogosphere's attack on Dion is unconscionable, but not surprising given the GOP's proclivity for below-the-belt attacks.

What is surprising is that this blog and others would provide the right-wingers an echo chamber to spread this filth about Dion by quoting verbatim large sections of the attack on Dion for even more people to read.

The first rule in politics is when you respond to an attack, don't help the attacker by making his case for him.

This diary doesn't help Dion. It aids the Republicans who want to spread the nasty rhetoric about Dion.

George Burke, Chair
11th CD Democratic Committee
(Prince William County's Occoquan District is in the 11th CD)

4:24 PM  
Blogger Phriendly Jaime said...

Thanks for coming by, Mr. Burke. I apologize for the way this has come off to you. I hope you understand that I meant no harm, and I support Jeff although I am not in his district.

I agree with you on the fodder issue, but unfortunately, I felt it was appropriate and necessary to call the Republican blogger out for his hate and ignorance. Gay rights are very important to me, as it affects my immediate family. Sometimes, as I have learned, while it may seem "smart" to ignore the right-wing bloggers and their inane arguments, it can help in the long run to call them out on their behavior. In reality, this was obviously going to come out in the election process. And the source of the Republican attack is unclear.

Frankly, I was under the impression that since the sexuality issue was going to come into play in the end anyway, that perhaps we could help Jeff by countering their attack early.

Again, I am sorry to offend you.

4:41 PM  
Blogger Phriendly Jaime said...

anon-who are you, then? I seriously doubt it, since I don't associate with people that call women whores or skanks. And I am pretty sure you don't know me considering you won't post your name. But, hey...I can always check your address.

4:42 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dems scream bloody murder over Allen's sealed and private divorce records and insinuate he beat his wife with absolutely no proof yet a Republican questioning the grounds of the divorce of a Dem is wrong? Tut tut.

4:47 PM  
Blogger Phriendly Jaime said...

Oh, come off it. He is pretending to question the divorce; he is ACTUAALY outing Jeff and trying to appear "concerned."

There's a word for that: LIAR.

5:25 PM  
Blogger Megan said...

Should have made the "A"'s bigger....

5:50 PM  
Blogger Terry Carter said...

I don't understand why NLS is pissed off that you are calling out BVBL just like he did...???? Someone explain....

9:25 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What you did here Jaime was a service to America.

10:06 PM  
Blogger Catzmaw said...

As someone who has been involved in numerous cases concerning custody and care of children I would urge people in this forum not to presume that they know who is the best parent in the Dion or any other marriage for that matter, or that they know what's best for these particular children. As for Mr. Dion, he may be a nice enough guy, but it's never a good thing to be a parent who has left his marriage in order to pursue his own lifestyle. It may be what he wanted or needed, but there's no way it doesn't have a negative impact on his ex and the kids. It's not hateful to say this; it's just the fact of the matter.

Even then, my experience is that a broken marriage is a broken marriage, and when children are involved someone always gets hurt, whether the breakup is due to homosexuality or other issues.

As for those who think the courts have a flat prohibition against a gay person's custody of his or own biological children, this is not true. Custody is determined by a "best interests" analysis in Virginia, which identifies a number of factors to be considered in making an award of custody. The sexual preference of a parent is not one of the factors to be considered; however, the behavior of that parent, including involvement with members of the opposite or same sex, may be taken into account by a court. In many cases custody is resolved through negotiations between the parties or through mediation. Hope this helps folks to understand.

11:04 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

My post had nothing to do with Jeff's sexual preference. I could care less. I support Jeff for his experience and integrity.

My message would be the same regardless of the issue.

Simply stated; We should not amplify the message of the opposition.

The Republicans issue these hit pieces to push your buttons and gain attention -- and you are playing right into their hands.

I respect and admire everyone's passion, but we need to think and act strategically, not emotionally.

Jeff's special election and the 2007 races are not statewide races. One size doesn't fit all. Be careful and think before you blog.

George Burke, Chair
11th CD Democratic Committee

11:32 PM  
Blogger Terry Carter said...

Hey Jaime have a look at this.

God those people are pathetic.

12:03 AM  
Blogger Phriendly Jaime said...

I know. That guy (who is really spank that donkey, he is not fooling anyone) and Swac Girl are OBSESSED with me. They spend a frighteningly long time on my blog and leave weird comments...I just ignore them, as I am sure their families do to them as well.

7:09 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It was common knowledge among the FCRC that Tom Davis and Jeannemarie were having an affair, and we all looked the other way. I'm sick of him getting a pass. Jeannemarie's daughter was recently released from jail after serving time for armed robbery, so it has obviously affected their children. I feel bad for all of them. I have always said, Jeannemarie will be Tom's downfall.

11:50 AM  
Blogger General Grievous' Dogs said...

Bad dog, go home!

12:24 PM  
Blogger Terry Carter said...

Oh, believe me I know. I enjoy reading her rants about how she doesn't like personal attacks, but her ENTIRE post is doing JUST THAT, and then linking that that "Spank Dog" or wtfever it is that's dedicated EXPRESSLY for attacking left wing bloggers.

12:52 PM  
Blogger Karen Duncan said...

First, George, I understand and appreciate your point about not repeating ugly charges, which helps the Republicans get more attention for them.

However, we've learned time and again, from unsuccessful elections, that to not answer attacks doesn't make them go away. The Republicans have their own echo chamber on the blogosphere anyway. The only way to combat them is by answering every rumor, inuendo, nasty remark or attack measure for measure.

Greg L's post was beyond the pale because it dragged a candidate's family life into the fray, including innocent children and an ex-wife who has nothing to do with this campaign. When Greg had a similar situation and a blogger was insulting his child, he was rightfully incensed. And I defended him on that. So, I don't mind calling him out this time.

As for Jeff Dion's family situation and why he has custody, please don't assume without evidence that his former wife is an unfit parent. They may have arrived at an arrangement where he has custody of the children because they are two mature adults who realized that he was better suited tempermentally to care for the children.

Assuming all women are naturally nurturing is in itself a sexist assumption. Most women are more nurturing, but that's not true of every woman. Humans have a great deal of variety in their individual makeup.

Also, how do we know that she does not have health issues that prevented her from having custody? We don't know any of this and it's mostly not our business.

That's what makes BVBL's post so dispiccable. If Greg wants to debate the gay lifestyle, in general, he's welcome to. But this was no more than an ad hominem attack that even threw in how much Dion's condo and his ex-wife's new house cost. It was ridiculous.

As for Tom Davis and Jeannemarie, I think the rumors about their relationship were there for a long time. But since neither Davis nor his wife have attacked Jeff Dion, it would probably be a good idea not to drag them into this fray. After all, it's not their fault that Greg L has taken the low road. Greg probably actually doesn't like them all that much either since they more than likely don't pass his ideological purity test.

What Greg did was wrong, reprehensible and should be condemned by the saner part of the Republican blogosphere. But there's no sense in spreading mud to hurt those who have done nothing to hurt Dion. Greg is the only one responsible for this attack and only he should have to answer for it.

1:42 PM  
Blogger Howling Latina said...

I don't think Jeanmarie or Tom would start nasty rumors about ANYTHING.

The creep may have been a Tom Davis staffer but I can almost guaranty it has absolutely nothing to do with the Davis couple!

9:26 PM  
Blogger General Grievous' Dogs said...

Yo Latina,

Five comments in a row. Very impressive.

Woof, woof!

9:56 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Devolite and Davis have had an affair for years, at least since 2003/04. Davis was caught escaping her house at some point... so yes, they left their spouses for each other.

11:03 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Devolite and Davis have had an affair for years, at least since 2003/04. Davis was caught escaping her house at some point... so yes, they left their spouses for each other.

11:03 AM  

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