Today, the Fairfax County Chamber was highlighted in two stories in The Washington Post. The first, was a general discussion on Chambers in the region and can be seen here.
The second - which PolicySoup suspects will garner more comments - focused on the PAC's decision to endorse Jerry Kilgore for governor. Consider today's posting an open thread for Chamber membership to discuss their feelings on the story. The second Washington Post story is available here.
Monday, November 21, 2005
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15 comments:
I saw this story this morning and am so angry it takes all of my composure not to have this post be explitive-laden. Those quoted in the article are the same folks who wanted Potts in the debate and who railed against the Chamber's endorsement of Kilgore. WHY DOES NO ONE NOTICE THIS. Messrs. Gurnsey and Carlin and Anzilotti should be removed from our Board of Directors. Theirs is nothing but a self-interest. Amazing how 10 people can RUIN an organization made up of over 1,000. Most of us don't care about politics. The percentage of the membership that does should keep their fights INTERNAL. NEVER GO TO THE MEDIA with your concerns. Work for the Democratic state committee if you want to act like a baby. Otherwise, work for the good of an organization we all invest in and stop wrecking the good name of a great organization. Kudos to the Chamber for putting this post out there.
I concur. These handful of activists are going to ruin something that has been good for my business. Bringing in the staff of the Chamber (who was not given a chance to respond in the article) is low. The Washington Post has a credibility problem in my eyes. I'm a Democrat and disagreed with the Chamber's decision, but this tactic is ridiculious.
Are Mr. Carlin or Anzilotti on the PAC? The article mentions that Guernsey is. If they are not then they acted unethically. If all three gentlemen have been coordinating their tactics from the beginning then they are doubly unethical. Credit should be given to the 10 or so past chairmen who decided to sign the original letter inviting Potts to the debate, but then backed off the attack following the endorsement. As for the rest, they should take their ball and go home or be part of the team.
The first article does not express how much of a more powerful Chamber this is than the rest. The second one is unfair. I am a government contractor, Kilgore is stronger on the issues I care about. Period. Kaine hasn't lifted a finger to help the most important sector of Northern Virginia's economy in 4 years. He's not going to help now. Anyone who disagrees with the decision and then took this less than reputable route should be ashamed. They were duped.
Low class move by the past chairs. I don't follow politics closely, but I do monitor the organizations I invest in. This is a big investment for my small business. I attended the PAC's breakfast with delegates and found it valuble. I hope that opportunity is not diminished by a weakened organization. I hope the current chair would never do such a thing when he moves on.
I am glad this message board is so unified (for once). Too bad it has to be against our own. While I would ordinarily advocate against eating our young (or in this case our past) - the ex-chairs are dead wrong. I wish the Chamber would take some sort of official action to admonish them.
We are all in this Chamber because of self-interest, so I don't criticize you for being self-interested. However, this would be like one VP in my company blasting the others in the news media for a decision they disagreed with. We would not take kindly to that. I doubt those interviewed for this story would either. I'd like to see them live by their own standards.
Lots of anger on the board this morning. Redskins did well so I don't understand it. Should we really be surprise at the actions of those who spoke out against the Chamber here? They have an agenda. We all do. I think most people here are being a bit harsh. And I am never accused of being the warm and fuzzy type.
I do not think this blog has been too hard on these guys at all. If we all act with total self interest and go out separate ways, this group will collapse. I doubt anyone (including those who disagreed with the decision) would want that since we all pay dues. What Messrs. Carlin, Guernsey and Anzilloti did was wrong. No excusing that. Chairman Lewis gave a great case for the endorsement. The reporter showed bias. Bad day for the Chamber, but there will be better - if we all try and move it to the same goal and keep us the powerful business group we currently are.
Absolute nonsense. No reason for Chamber members to be attacking other Chamber members - regardless of ideology. Seems we have a consensus on this blog. Glad to see the Chamber is more unified than the Washington Post would have the world believe.
Total embarassment and shows a true misunderstanding of how the Chamber operates. More importantly, as active Chamber members, these gentlemen should know better - or they are being intellectually dishonest. I hope this is the last time a stunt like this gets pulled and that we can all move on.
I think the attacks on those who spoke out against the Chamber are over the top. Everyone needs to relax. I know this is how politics gets sometimes, but we are all beind made to look foolish. Yes, it may have been a mistake to conduct such interviews with the Washington Post etc, but the viciousness on this board has gone too far. The election is over. Kaine's spokesperson said the governor will work with the Chamber. It seems like it is water under the bridge with the exception of a few dozen Chamber members. Please do not allow this endorsement to dominate the agenda any further.
I don't think Chamber members (assuming that's who everyone on this blog is) are being too hard on those that would criticize the Chamber at all. Those past chairmen made their decisions about the course of action they would like to take. Quite frankly, I'd like to see them removed from the Board. They made their beds, time to lie in it. At the very least, their future suggestions should be ignored by the rest of the membership.
When did this blog shift its focus from an account of the "Angels and Demons in Virginia Politics" to the "Angels and Demons of the Chamber"? We all need to get over this and move on. Too bad if some of the bloggers got their nose bent out of shape. Tomorrow will come and we must all move on to more important things and not have political fights into the new year.
Those that ran to the Washington Post with their problems went too far. Taking them off the board is way off base and I'm not sure that's even allowed under Chamber rules. Their future recommendations should be looked at through this prism, however.
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