You can’t make this stuff up folks. It’s now illegal to have birthday parties on your property because it doesn’t comply with ZONING?
There is a civil war raging across the nation between establishment Republican leadership and grassroots activists who see that leadership as a massive betrayal to Republican principles. In Fauquier County, Virginia, a decidedly conservative community with a strong Republican representation, the past two years have seen that divide raging over the issues of property rights and the rights of small farmers VS unyielding county controls and regulations under the excuse of environmental protection and control of growth (Agenda 21). Fauquier County is a glaring example of the growing corruption of local government brought on by influence from non-elected, self appointed stakeholder groups fueled by federal grants. Below author Mark Fitzgibbons gives an excellent account of the battle. He is an attorney who has helped to lead the fight for the pro-freedom side in the county, even writing legislation that just successfully passed the Virginia legislature to protect the rights of small farmers. – Tom DeWeese
Conservative Critics of Government Are ‘Freaks’ Who ‘Will Need Kevlar’
By Mark J. Fitzgibbons
Conservative critics of government are “freaks,” are “in for a pretty rough ride,” and “will need their Kevlar,” i.e., bullet-proof vests.
These statements didn’t come from the Obama administration or some radical leftwing organization. They are Facebook posts of a Republican elected official in Virginia’s Fauquier County.
Fauquier drew national attention in 2012 for charging farmer Martha Boneta with violating the law by having a birthday party for eight little girls without a permit and zoning site plan.
The highly charged posts of county supervisor Holder Trumbo came shortly after two recent events, and are emblematic of the civil war taking place within the GOP in Virginia and nationally.
One event was bipartisan passage of a Virginia state law that limits how and when local governments may require permits for farm sales and activities. Boneta and her supporters pushed for this law that gives consumers the choice of buying produce directly from farmers without red tape. The law is an embarrassing defeat for Fauquier County as well as the Virginia Association of Counties that lobbied on the taxpayers’ dime to protect zoning power abuses.
The other event was an election of Fauquier County’s GOP chairman and other members of the local party committee. The race for chairman was between a tea party proponent and the man supported by Trumbo and members of the Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC), a 501(c)(3) organization. Boneta had sued Trumbo, other county officials, and the PEC for collaborating to harm her by shutting down her farm under threats of fines of up to $15,000 per day.
Democrat Peggy Richardson, a former IRS Commissioner and friend of Hillary, sits on the board of the PEC. Martha Boneta was audited by the IRS after taking on the PEC. When news broke that one Fauquier County elected official was aware of the audit before Martha was, the farmer’s home was vandalized.
It was in this tinderbox setting that the recent county GOP committee election took place, but was made even more controversial after county Democrats supported the slate aligned against conservatives. The anti-conservative candidates for this GOP committee included Democrat donors and a board member of the Virginia League of Conservation Voters, which donates heavily to Democrats.
At the polling location, one of the conservatives running for the GOP committee was told she “would regret ever coming into this county and [her] days here would not be long.” She is a 10-year resident of the county, whereas the candidate for chairman backed by Trumbo and his bully allies has been in the county less than a year.
Establishment Republican Trumbo’s gloating Facebook posts speak to his allies, and reveal in unfiltered ways a crude and obnoxious elitism:
“These freaks are out to overturn the will of the voters, rule from outside the county, and establish their rule that anyone who disagrees with them (or has most of their original teeth) is not capable of participating in their own destiny. Facebook friends, are you going to let this happen?”
“Why can’t you face the fact that no one here wants what you’re selling and remember when it comes to lies, your little cult practically invented the concept in Fauquier. Loser!”