VIRGINIA BEACH
Democratic challenger Glenn Nye raised more money than his opponent, U.S. Rep. Thelma Drake, in the latest campaign finance cycle but lags behind her in total available cash.
Nye received $215,564 between May 22 and June 30, according to campaign finance reports filed late Tuesday. Drake took in $150,248 during the same period.
Drake, however, edged Nye for the whole second quarter, raising $281,538 compared with Nye's $261,748 between April 1 and June 30.
Nye, a 33-year-old former foreign service officer, had $409,413 on hand as of June 30 compared with $682,076 for Drake.
Drake, a Republican, is seeking her third term representing the 2nd District, which includes Virginia Beach and parts of Norfolk, Hampton and the Eastern Shore.
Meanwhile, Drake called on Nye to return a $4,000 donation from New York Congressman Charles Rangel, who's facing scrutiny over a possible violation of fundraising ethics rules.
Drake's action comes two days after Nye asked her to cancel a Friday fundraiser with Karl Rove because the former White House adviser last week defied a congressional subpoena. Rangel is under fire for using congressional stationery to solicit corporate donations for a building to be named after himself.
A spokes person for Nye said the candidate won't be returning Rangel's donation and called Drake's request absurd.
Aaron Applegate, (757) 222-5122. aaron.applegate@pilotonline.com
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Have you ever actually seen Drake?
If you have then you know this is exactly what she looks like. On her website, of course her picture is touched up, but in real life, this is it! So what?
Photo Conspiracy?
So I guess this photo non conspiracy is more important than Drake's courting of a sleazy former member of the current administration who is under multiple investigations, or Nye's accepting contributions from someone using his office to score money for a project in his own honor. Unbelievable.
Perception is not an absurdity
It is delusional to believe that a photo conveys nothing more than someone's physical image. The photo conveys images that can be positive, negative or neutral. Drake's photo gives the impression that she is stressed, possibly angry. Her opponent appears calm in in a neutral setting.The VP knew what it was doing when these pics were chosen, and they got their message across. As far as Republicans or Dems, who cares? Both paries are morphing into one entity these days. Obama and McCain could run on the same ticket, since they are both in lockstep on so many issues (open borders/pro amnesty/free trade, etc). The real struggle is between leftists and conservatives, and neocons are pro-business globalists, not conservatives.
The truth is
The con-servatives are scared to death they will lose all their current seated Republicon officals, and they have every reason to be. People are sick and tired of all the lies, cover-ups, and deceptions come from all of them. Enough is simply enough!
I don't see what the big deal is...
The photos pretty much reflect how each of them looks. Now if the photos had been doctored, that would be a different story. To claim this is some bias on the part of the Virginian-Pilot is absurd and paranoid. Thelma Drake has received some good publicity from them in the past, as have other Republicans.
Is Anybody Surprised At This?
Its a given that the VP is a leftist liberal propaganda machine....and it has been since we moved here in the early 1970's. Drake is a conservative politician that cares about the military, their families and particularly the people in her district. I am not in lockstep with her on every single issue, but she is right on target most of the time. The VP has once again shown us a ham-handed attempt at subterfuge with the idiotic photo selection.
"where the Pilot favored a republican?"
"Has anyone ever seen where the Pilot favored a republican?"
Is curtis claiming that the VP has never endorsed a Republican?
My, what short memories you all have
The Virginian-Pilot has indeed endorsed Republicans in the past - including Thelma Drake. They endorsed her in 2006 against Phil Kellam. And if I'm not mistaken they endorsed her at least once when she was in the House of Delegates.
Photos and why this is news
The VP pulled two bad photos here: Nye looks like a happy idiot and Drake looks like a very angry old woman. You would think they could have found better pictures for both of them.
The reason why this is news is a challenger being able to raise more money than an incumbent: this is not at all typical and heaven knows Drake is a champ when it comes to raising political funds . . .
Rep. Drake
Well, you must feel good, Virginian Pilot; another shot at Rep. Drake. Anything you can do to undermine one of the best reps in the country. We know you like Democrats but do you have to be so obvious all the time?
Why would you ever favor a
Why would you ever favor a republican, look what you have managed to do in 8 years.
Glad for Nye
Glad to see he is pulling in the money. She'll do well with Rove in town and the hardcore crowd. However in the end, I think she'll lose this race. We've had enough of her and her poor leadership in Virginia Beach...
Drake follows the money?
Hello? She's a politician. They all follow the money. Do not seek to imply that her Democrat contender holds any special moral high ground. When they show up in DC for their first session, they either sell their souls (for networking & power; they have to go along to get along) or they lose their office within a few years because they can't get anything done for THEIR district. The party affiliation does not matter. The rule is "Sell out or you're gone"!
This system, even though the best in the world, definitely has it's problems. Here's an idea: vote for a third party candidate in the next election. I believe if the Repugs and Demoncats had some serious competition, they'd change their ways at least a little. These days, the two major parties aren't that different from each other (two differnt versions of vanilla if you will). A strong third party is needed to scare the other two back to their principles. The Reform party almost had it, but not quite.
Hazy Memories
Just in case some of you can't remember as far back as 20 months ago, the Virginian-Pilot endorsed Drake for reelection in '06 . . . so much for your smarmy predictions
What will the media ever do?
With all the election coverage garbage, what will the media do after the elections? I don't know about anyone else, but I'm definitely SICK of all of it . . .
When did the Pilot endorse a Republican?
How about last time Thelma Drake ran? The VP endorsed Drake over Phil Kellam in 2006. It was a reasonable choice. I think this time they'll go for Nye though. He's smart, moderate, and an independent thinker. Thelma Drake is consistently rated as one of the least effective, least powerful members of congress. Nye is a better choice for the 2nd district.
Va Pilot
Has anyone ever seen where the Pilot favored a republican?
Both photos are pretty bad!
While I agree that the Pilot is a wing of the Democratic Party, I have to agree that Both photos are pretty bad. All the Pilot had to do was visit either candidates website and they could have found several better photos to use. While we are on the subject, what I would have found far more newsworthy would have been some investgative reporting that shared with the readers WHO are the largest contribuotrs and what business interests do they represent.
I go out on a limb
and say the Pilot is endorsing all democrats this election year.
I don't see anything wrong with the photo
The last time I saw Drake that's exactly what she looked like and that was at the hairdressers. Maybe Drake will improve her fund raising with Karl Rove as the guest speaker in VABEACH. DUH! Can you imagine people paying money to see those two? They obviously have more money then sense. The con-serative Repubs are scared to death that come November they will lose every political position they currently hold. Face it Repubs, we are sick to death of all the lies, and all the do nothing politicans you keep electing. I've learned to hate the word "change", but a big change is gonna happen not only in VA, but across the country. Read my lips, no more Repubs!