Jenna Bush's father-in-law sees his political fortunes sour (GOP changing faces)

A few weekends back, John Hager was the proud papa of the groom, no doubt beaming with pride and joy as his son, Henry, married President Bush's daughter Jenna at a relatively low-key wedding near Crawford, Texas.

This last weekend, the elder Hager had little reason to celebrate -- he was ousted as chairman of the Virginia Republican Party at a confab in Richmond.

It is awfully tempting to assume that Hager's fate just goes to show that there's little political percentage in getting too close to Bush these days.

Tempting, but off point.

Hager, 72, was defeated by 32-year-old Jeff Frederick (of no known relation to your dutiful blogger). The winner offered himself as a more conservative, vigorous leader for the Virginia GOP. And if there was a connection that was hurtful to Hager, it was his link to former Democratic Gov. Mark Warner. Hager held a midlevel job in the Warner administration, proof of moderate credentials that the state's Republican hard core didn't much appreciate.

Warner, who after a successful term as governor briefly flirted with launching an '08 presidential run, is back in the political news as his party's candidate for an open Senate seat in Virginia. And at the same convention where the state's Republicans consigned Hager to the sidelines, they picked as their candidate a former governor and a onetime (though very brief) presidential contender, Jim Gilmore.


http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/06/jenna-bushs-fat.html

the conservatives made a big showing trying to throw out the moderates. Basically the cons are making a last stand. It was generally considered that throwing them a bone with a Gilmore nomination would appease them but they aren't going away quietly. The Repubs here are nuts if they think that conservatism let alone the radical "zero taxes and zero services" brand of it is going to sell in this day and age especially since the #1 issue in Northern Va and Souteast Va is transportation which HAS TO BE a state function.

The cons are dragging them down out of principle. They are completely clueless.

With any luck, they'll sail off the edge of their 6000YO flat earth, never to be heard from again.

The green and the democratic parties

:sarcasm: