The Democrat Party of Virginia spent truckloads of money in a futile attempt to defeat Republican Incumbent Delegate John O’Bannon M.D. in the 73rd House District.

The landslide victory saw Dr. O’Bannon receiving an overwhelming 62.3% of the vote while Shields received only 37%, an embarrassing total considering the massive amounts of money that the DPVA spent on totally false smear mailings. It does go to show that the voters of the 73rd are far smarter than Tom Shields and his bosses Tim Kaine and Nancy Pelosi give them credit for being.

I had hoped that this would be a good, clean race on the issues when I first met Tom Shields. I am sorely disappointed in the sleazy race Shields ran. Using the tactic President Obama used last year, the “I am a new and fresh voice for change” and then morphing into a Socialist trick, Shields hoped to fool the voters.

But Shield’s big mistake was exposing his liberal “Pelosi” side. He took off his moderate mask way before Halloween and exposed the ugly, dark hidden truth. He is a complete radical.

But, it has been fun. And I would like to personally encourage Mr. Shields to run again in two years and let Dr. O’Bannon drain some more money from Democratic coffers.

But my guess is, Tom Shields is damaged goods as far as the Democrats are concerned.

If Ann Jones is typical of Democrat Tom Shields’ supporters, he is in serious trouble. “Ann” is one major liar!

That is if Ann Jones exists at all. It appears to be a “pen name”. I wonder who would want to masquerade as Ann Jones? And why.

Well, if you look at correspondence from Ann Jones to Delegate O’Bannon’s office, and compare it to comments “she” left on this blog, one can see that something is not right about Annie.

First, on August 4, “Ann” sent the following bizarre email to Dr. O’Bannon’s campaign manager Richie:

Subject: please respond
From: Ann Jones
Date: Tue, August 04, 2009 7:59 pm
To: richie@johnobannon.com

Richie,

This email is intended for Del. O’Bannon but it is hard to find out how to reach him on his website. Your email was all I could find.

Let me begin by saying I live in the district and have always voted for John. He will get my vote again this year.

However, his website is embarrassing. I cannot believe he would spend time defacing Dr. Shields and run a personal, negative attack on his opponent. To be honest, Delegate O’Bannon flies well below radar in our area. I have never had him or anyone knock on our door. I have never known of his town hall meetings. This is the general consensus in my neighborhood, which by the way is next to his. Dr. Shields has an excellent reputation at the University of Richmond and has taught my children there as well as many of their friends. He is an honest, genuine, intelligent man. I am a Republican, he is a Democrat, that is why John is getting my vote.

John needs to be careful that he doesn’t ruin his own reputation by asking for a retraction from Dr. Shields. It’s pathetic really.

Stick to the issues, defend his voting record, and stop the personal attacks. No one cares but you and your campaign. John needs to be the bigger person. Don’t try and ruin a professor’s life. It’s NOT worth it. We need more educators like Dr. Shields at University of Richmond. We don’t need more arrogant politicians like John O’Bannon who seem to be running a smear campaign.

I am not the only voter who feels this way. Republicans are talking, they are embarrassed that John would stoop so low when at face value, John has been an absent delegate.

Thank you,
Ann Jones

Now, all you need to do is go to the Dr’s Website and click “Contact Us” to get any method of contact you want. But, notice Ann lives in the district and has always voted for Dr. O’Bannon, but then “she” turns quite hostile.

Dr. O’Bannon responded:

Dear Ms. Jones:

Thank you for your email.

I stand firmly behind my recent news release, which I have attached.

I concur with your viewpoint that this campaign should be about the issues. But as demonstrated by the announcement of his candidacy, Mr. Shields does not share our view on this matter. Mr. Shields chose to promote falsehoods regarding my record of constituent service. Making matters worse, accurate information contradicting the false charges he disseminated was readily available. As an educator at my Alma mater, I would have hoped that his standards were higher. Unfortunately, he chose to announce his candidacy by advancing information concerning my record that is entirely untrue. That does not bode well for the tone he clearly intends to employ for this campaign.

As an elected public official, I cannot stand idly by as others – for fleeting political advantage – promote a campaign by deliberately misinforming voters. Ultimately, I hope that Mr. Shields will redirect his campaign to the high road, take responsibility for promoting these falsehoods, retract them, and apologize to the voters of the 73rdDistrict.

Although we disagree on this matter, I appreciate your expression of support. I am also pleased that you took the time to write me to express your views. I would love to stop by while I’m going door-to-door and talk with you more about your views. In your email you said you lived near me, but you didn’t specify an address. Please provide me with your address and I’ll make it a point to stop by in the near future.

Sincerely,

John M. O’Bannon III, M.D.
Member, House of Delegates

Ok. Dr. O’Bannon has the right to defend distortions of his record. It is not a personal attack to do so, but when someone goes negative and starts sling mud and false information, you must set the record straight.
Dr. O’Bannon offered to personally stop by her home and talk with her. But “Ann” strangely refused to tell Dr. O’Bannon where she lived.

Here is her response, keeping in mind the “attacks” in question were pointing out the misinformation from Shields:

From: “Ann Jones”
To: johnobannon@comcast.net
Sent: Thursday, August 13, 2009 8:51:24 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: please respond

John,

I do appreciate your response to my email.

I whole heartedly disagree with your personal attacks on Dr. Shields. My children have been canvasing with Dr. Shields and have encountered your team (and certainly NOT you) on the same territory. Your campaign team, young and old, are disrespectful. They have told my daughters that they “pity her” for being on the Shields team. They meet many families who say “your opponent’s team members do not have very nice things to say about your candidate.” That is absolutely embarrassing.
By the way, seeing as Dr. Shields does not have a voting record, you are clearly attacking him personally.

Having always been a Republican, this will be my first vote for a Democrat. I will not vote for you one more time. It is time I vote for our future and when my children feel threatened by the rude and angry tone of your campaign, I know it’s time for new leadership.

I can only be thankful that you have not had an opponent for the last nine years. No one appreciates dirty politics and that is exactly what you are playing.

I will NOT provide you with my address. There are plenty of Jones’ residence in your district and I will be curious to see if you work as hard as my children (and Dr. Shields) to spread your message by personally knocking on my door.

Ann Jones

Oh. Now Ann is NOT voting for O’Bannon. His “negative” messages correcting Shields incorrect information turned her off. But Shields’ accusation that Dr. O’Bannon wanted to kill Alzheimer’s sufferers is just fine with her.

Well, Ann Jones showed up again this week commenting on one of my posts seen here.

Ann Jones
October 29th, 2009 at 1:45 pm · Edit

“Those who can, do. Those who can’t teach.”

Did you really just post this?

Seems to me that fat sucks like yourself seem to have nothing to do but blog.

I sure as hell hope that you don’t have children and if you do, keep them home because their teachers will hate you.

You have a nice, hot spot waiting for you in hell.

To which I responded:

I am guessing that you are Tom Shields’ sister. I believe her name was Ann Jones. And from the venom spewing from your keyboard I can see you are as unstable as old Tommy Boy.

And Ann Jones, who lives in Dr. O’Bannon’s District and claims to have voted for O’Bannon responds:

Ann Jones
October 29th, 2009 at 2:19 pm · Edit

Try again Tom. I am unrelated to the candidate and I don’t live in the 73rd. I didn’t even read the post beyond your disrespectful the quote. But, no one knows venom better than you. Actually, looks like everyone can learn about hatred and venom just by reading your blog. Shame on you.

Ann Jones, You’re BUSTED!

You have claimed that Dr. O’Bannon never came to your door and you live in the district. You are a liar. Plain and simple. There is not one word of truth in your emails or your commonts on my blog.

I know how to read log files. When I posted a response to the last comment, Ann went away. IP Addresses can be traced. And, Ann, I know you are aware that I installed the University of Richmond network backbone when I worked there. You are aware that I have been working on networks for at least 20 years. Because I told you that when we spoke in person.

How dare you accuse Dr. O’Bannon of political dirty tricks? This tactic is the most dispicable thing I have seen from you yet.

It is proof positive that there is no honor and no truth whatsoever with the Tom Shields campaign.

By the way, exactly how did you manage to contact Shields to “work” for him? Unlike O’Bannon who has an office address, phone numbers, email addresses and more, all I can find on Shields’ website is a form. No address, because he is in the Democratic Party HQ, no phone because he does not want to be bothered, and no email for the same reason.

Ann, I know who you are. Why don’t you come clean?

Note: For “Ann’s” protection, I used XXXXXX for part of the email address. All emails and posts from Ann carry the same email address.

Democrat Tom Shields is desperate. His internal polls show a big loss for him next week.

Laughably, he is trying to challenge Dr. O’Bannon in O’Bannon’s own field: medicine. His attack over the weekend (see this post) met with a polite correction from O’Bannon. In his response, Obannon said:

As delegate, he (O’Bannon) has sponsored major biotech legislation promoting stem cell research and supported a budget amendment providing $100,000 for the Richmond Biotech Park. And just last year, Dr. O’Bannon was the recipient of the Alzheimer’s Advocate Award from the Alzheimer’s Association of Greater Richmond for his extensive work on behalf of those who suffer from this disease.

This prompted Shields to respond:

UNABLE TO DEFEND VOTES AGAINST LIFE-SAVING STEM CELL RESEARCH, O’BANNON LASHES OUT AGAINST OPPONENT

This response drives home the old saying “Those who can, do. Those who can’t teach”.

Or, to put it another way:

Shields: “You want to kill old people”
O’Bannon: “Actually, I have won awards for helping them”.
Shields: No you didn’t!

And I think O’Bannon has far too much class to respond to taunting such as this.

I think someone needs to let Ben over at Not Larry Sabato know about Shields desperation. He has compiled a list of desperate Democrats that have resorted to outrageous lies to attempt to make a race of it when their own polls tell them it is helpless. Read Ben’s post here.

You see, Shields only platform has been to say “yes” to every project his potential voters asked for, which looks like it would add $1 billion to an already out of balance budget, and all problems can be solved by tossing more money into Education.

Shields’ answer for unemployment? More money for Education.

Shields’ answer for crime? More money for Education.

Shields’ answer for Education? More money for Education. (Ok, this one has some merit, but pouring more money into Education and seeing diminishing returns demands other solutions.)

Shields’ answer for pollution? More money for Education.

And the one that really blew me away was Shields’ solution for the Transportation crisis. Are you ready for this? More money for Education. I suppose if we are educated enough, we can simply transport ourselves from place to place using only our minds.

Doesn’t it seem odd that Shields wants to blame a Neurologist for not curing Alzheimer’s instead of calling for more money (that we don’t have) for Education?

Now, don’t get me wrong. Education is important, but it really looks like Shields wants to make sure his paychecks keep coming more than he wants to solve Virginia’s problems.

And he wants to help his family, too. He has said many times his Mother is a Teacher, His Father is a Teacher, His Brother is a Teacher, His Goldfish are Teachers. Ok, maybe not the Goldfish, but the rest are true.

Seems Tom Shields comes from a long line of those who can’t do, so they teach.

If you were to show both candidates a picture of a stem cell and a picture of a skin cell, who do you think could tell the difference?

Tommy boy, you are out of your league challenging a Neurologist on medical research in his own field, just as you are out of your league challenging Dr. O’Bannon for Delegate. You are simply clueless.

Here’s a thought. If you really cared about Alzheimer’s patients, don’t you think the $121,000.00 you spent on false mailers in two months throwing mud at Dr. O’Bannon could have been used to find a cure for Alzheimer’s instead?

We see how you waste money belonging to your party and your campaign. Why would anyone let you NEAR the state coffers?

News Release

Democrat nominee accuses recipient of last year’s Alzheimer’s Advocate Award of working against those with Alzheimer’s
Richmond, VA, October 26, 2009: Delegate John M. O’Bannon III, M.D. (R-Henrico) today decried the most recent of his Democrat opponent’s negative mail pieces, which 73rd District voters received this weekend.
The latest in a series of negative mailers, all of which were authorized by Tom
Shields and paid for by the Democratic Party of Virginia, claims that John O’Bannon has not only worked against people suffering from Alzheimer’s, but is also to blame for the lack of a cure for this disease.

Although Shields has conducted an almost exclusively negative campaign against O’Bannon since August, the Henrico Delegate, a neurologist, expressed his surprise at the topic and tone of this latest assault.
“Personally, I find the accusation extremely insulting,” O’Bannon commented. “As a neurologist, I have several patients suffering from Alzheimer’s. For a college professor teaching “leadership” to challenge my knowledge of this disease and my commitment to treating it is way out of line. This attack is false, outrageous, despicable and desperate.”
The only practicing physician in Virginia’s House of Delegates, John O’Bannon specializes in the treatment of neurological disorders and has devoted his life to treating people with neurological diseases. As delegate, he has sponsored major biotech legislation promoting stem cell research and supported a budget amendment providing $100,000 for the Richmond Biotech Park. And just last year, Dr. O’Bannon was the recipient of the Alzheimer’s Advocate Award from the Alzheimer’s Association of Greater Richmond for his extensive work on behalf of those who suffer from this disease.
“This offensive mailer is further proof that Tom Shields lacks the judgment and temperament to be an elected official. My opponent has yet to bring forth the sort of honest, productive dialogue that he promised in the beginning of his campaign. Rather, he has cheapened the democratic process and shortchanged the voters of the 73rd District by opting to throw mud and spew misinformation.”

Delegate O’Bannon is currently running for reelection to the House of Delegates in the 73rd district, which comprises parts of Henrico County and Richmond. The only doctor in the House of Delegates, O’Bannon has lived and worked in the community for over 30 years and has represented this district since 2001.

Democrat Tom Shields has virtually withdrawn from the 73rd House District with his latest ad, mailed by his bosses Tim Kaine and the Democratic Party of Virginia. His campaign has also taken money from Acorn / SEIU sources and supporters.

If there were any voters left that had not decided to vote against Tom Shields, this mailer should do the trick. The desperation is unmistakable and the accusation laughable and downright fraudulent.

Seems Shields’ beef is with Delegate O’Bannon’s position against using Virginia’s dwindling funds to support fetal stem cell research. I personally heard Dr. O’Bannon, a noted Neurologist, tell Shields that fetal stem cells have shown far less potential than adult stem cells.

This is Dr. O’Bannon’s field of expertise!

Shields is not a doctor and has no expertise in the medical field. Stem cell research is closely related to Neurology and the potential discoveries are watched and monitored closely by O’Bannon. As a physician, if fetal stem cells has shown any promise over adult stem cell research, Dr. O’Bannon will always do what is in the best interest of his patients.

See, those with no understanding of stem cell research like Shields really don’t care about the issue. Shields simply sees this as a way to force more abortions to harvest such cells. This is nothing more than a nod to the radical pro abortion lobby that own Tom Shields.

Voters are smart enough to realize a fraud when they see one. Tom Shields fits that bill perfectly.

While Shields whines about laughable issues like this, his party plans to place a massive tax on pacemakers, stents, artificial heart valves, defibrillators, automated wheelchairs, mechanized artificial limbs, replacement hips and knees, surgical gurneys, laparoscopic equipment and more.

If Shields were really concerned with others, wouldn’t he be screaming that Obama is trying to kill us all? Especially seniors by making these devices which help the elderly live fuller lives unaffordable?

Vote no to Shields and send him back to New York where he came from. Tell him we don’t need his radical politics in Virginia.

In this video, Delegate O’Bannon clearly shows why he is the only choice for the 73rd District. As the only Doctor in the House, his expertise is desperately needed as the Federal Government attempts to take over your health care.

Democrat Tom Shields is running in the 73rd Virginia House District and calling himself a “New Generation Of Independent Leadership“.

His opponent, Republican John O’Bannon M.D. has pointed out at several debates that Shields’ office is in the Democratic Party of Virginia Office Suites and that the Democrats are sending mass mailings on Shields behalf that are not truthful and totally dishonest.

So far, Shields has refused to acknowledge Dr. O’Bannon’s claims.

So, the latest fund raising figures are out and Tom “Mr. Independent” Shields issues a press release proudly proclaiming that he raised more money than O’Bannon. But Tom Shields dishonestly hid the truth. He is hoping the voters will not realize his soul is bought and paid for by the Democrats.

In order to hide the embarrassing truth that he is not “Independent” as he claims and he has been lying to voters all along, Shields hides almost $68,000 that the Democrats donated with the untruthful mailings.

Here is the truth in the table below. You can also check it out for yourself on the VPAP website.

TOM SHIELDS – YOUR DISHONESTY HAS BEEN EXPOSED!!! HERE IS THE $67,853.00 YOU ARE HIDING FROM VOTERS. IT’S TIME TO COME CLEAN WITH VIRGINIA!

$12,618	Democratic Party of Virginia	09/15/2009
$10,325	Democratic Party of Virginia	09/30/2009
$9,069	Democratic Party of Virginia	09/17/2009
$9,069	Democratic Party of Virginia	09/21/2009
$9,069	Democratic Party of Virginia	09/23/2009
$8,911	Democratic Party of Virginia	09/28/2009
$8,792	Democratic Party of Virginia	09/25/2009

Thank goodness for the disclosure requirements of Virginia and the Virginia Public Access Project. Otherwise, it would be hard to unmask this dishonesty.

And that’s not all. With half his money coming from the Democratic Party that he fails to mention, he also forgot to tell voters that a large portion of the rest of his fund raising prowess came in the form of a loan from James Ukrop. And of course more union money to add to the Acorn/SEIU cash.

Tom Shields are so indebted to the Democrats, Acorn/SEIU, Unions and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered lobby it will take you a decade in office to pay back your new masters.

Tom Shields thought he could fool the voters, but his deceitful, sneaky scheme has been exposed!

Virginia Delegate John O’Bannon airs the first of his Television ads and you can view the ad first here. Unlike his opponent, O’Bannon has a positive message and a brilliant track record of working for Virginian’s and the 73rd House District.

Delegate O’Bannon has taken the lead on numerous issues, but his expertise as a physician has been invaluable in shaping Virginia Laws and programs.

Enjoy!

Beneath the calm exterior of a pseudo intellectual, Democrat Tom Shields’ heart beats for the Drag Queens. And Bisexuals, Gays and Lesbians. And he thinks the state ought to keep it’s nose out of any type of mix and match marriage these “individuals” can manage to come up with. Morality be damned.

In a debate last Thursday, October 1, 2009 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church with incumbent Delegate John O’Bannon in the 73rd Virginia House of Delegates race, both candidates were asked if they supported the Virginia Marriage Amendment and what they would do to strengthen families.

Shields answered that he would repeal the Marshall-Newman Amendment (The Marriage Amendment). He “strongly believes in ‘equal rights’ for LGBT couples and the government should not be in the business of regulating loving relationships.” Shields mumbled the LGBT part and a member of the audience requested clarification as to what that was. Shields again mumbled something unintelligible and another member of the audience blurted out “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender” to the horror of the mostly Catholic audience.

For the moment, let’s just skip over the Lesbian and Gay arguments, I will return to those in a moment.

In order for a Bisexual Marriage to work, there has to be a minimum of three persons involved. A Ménage à trois. Not necessarily all at the same time, but a minimum of a three way sexual relationship with at least one person of the same sex and one person of the opposite sex, in addition to the party in question.

So, I would assume Shields would also seek to repeal Virginia’s Polygamy laws, as these would “discriminate” against bisexual marriage, as well as the Marriage Amendment.

In addition, Shields throws in “Transgendered” individuals, also known as Transvestites and Drag Queens, though I am told these are no longer “politically correct” terms. You will just have to deal with my lack of desire to appease the queens.

Now, to be honest, I was not aware that Drag Queens married one another. I am not sure why Shields lumps this particular sexual deviation in with the rest. But he definately does not want to discriminate.

Well, I think discrimination is sometimes acceptable. For instance, if that nice old lady that walks through the ladies locker room and tidy’s up for you were really a man with a wig and falsies, would you change health clubs? How about at your daughter’s school? Shields wants no discrimination at all.

My opinion is that I hope the Public Option that is about to be rammed down our collective throats covers mental health, because these folks need a lot of it.

I swear, Tom Shields reminds me a lot of Jerry Springer. You never know what type of perverted nonsense is going to come up next. I am still waiting on an answer on the Acorn – Child Prostitution thing, which is even more topical in light of Shields’ affinity for the seedier side of life.

Now, as promised, on to the Gays and Lesbians.

Just as I was beginning to think that the argument I keep hearing for same sex marriage had some merit, mind you not enough to sway my opinion that Holy Matrimony is between a man and a woman, Shields comes out and lumps you in with bisexuals and Drag Queens.

The argument that Gays and Lesbians form deep physical and emotional bonds and remain monogamous and faithful to one another, and want to consummate that bond into a lifetime commitment has not fallen on deaf ears. I have many friends and family that are Gay and / or Lesbian and I accept them as they are. Commitment, yes. Marriage, sorry. That’s taken. Find another institution or create one.

And the one argument against same sex marriage I had cast aside as stupid and ridiculous was the argument that gay marriage would lead to polygamy.

Thanks to Shields, I can say I was wrong. When you lump bisexuals and Transvestites in with Gays and Lesbians, the monogamy things goes right out the window.

Shields has reaffirmed my resistance to same sex marriage, and I imagine a lot of others as well. Shields is not doing the Gay and Lesbian community any favors with this type of radicalism.

And I really don’t want to think I was wrong about the people I considered crazy that said gay marriage would lead to people marrying hamsters and dogs.

View the video below to hear it right from the horse’s mouth.

Recently, a self professed supporter of Democrat Tom Shields has been posting some rather curious comments on several of my posts concerning Shields and his ties to Acorn. He goes by the name Alter of Freedom and that is apparently the name of his blog. Some of his comments give details of the results of canvasing Tom Shields has done, and the Blog has numerous pro Shields posts.

One of the more disturbing revelations in these comments is Alter’s claim that they are telling retired seniors to blame Delegate O’Bannon because they have not received their State tax refunds.

Alter commented:

By the way I spoke with about two dozen “retired” folks in the 73rd that as of yet still have not received that State Tax refund…..ummm guess who they blame for that…and it ain’t Tom Shields….I guess the shortfall is worse than O’Bannon has been saying….

So, a supporter claiming to be on the inside of the Shields campaign is telling retired seniors that their refunds are being held up for a lack of State funds, and Delegate O’Bannon is to blame. In an email, Alter claims he has told the retired seniors:

“I have informed them to repeatedly, as in daily, to call their Delegate.”

Note: The email is printed below minus personal info.

In a reply to his notion that O’Bannon is to blame for late tax refunds I replied:

And a State Tax Refund? They are all pushed out and no refund is being held up for lack of money in Virginia. California, yes. But the one in charge of the VA DOT is the Governor and the Treasurer. So, I would guess Tim Kaine and Jody Wagner are who they blame. Democrats all. Delegate O’Bannon has nothing at all to do with the Dept. of Taxation. He is a lawmaker, part of the Legislative Branch. The Va Dept of Taxation is part of the Executive branch of State Government.

And if anyone has filed a tax return and it has been several weeks, they need to call the Dept. of Taxation to find out what is wrong. My refund took just over a week. I filed electronically.

Delegate O’Bannon can give them the same info I just gave you, but he is not authorized to write a tax refund.

And I asked Alter to send me their names:

Send me the names and numbers of the three who have not received their tax refunds and I will see that they receive help. I can’t go to any Delegate or Senator, because of the privacy act. But I can advise them who to contact. Or, Dr. O’Bannon’s office could do the same thing.

Tom Shields needs to get control of these people that are working for him. While Alter may be totally clueless, to continue allowing these types of blatant lies to be spread by his workers is a level of dishonesty I have not seen since… well since looking at the Acorn tapes exposing the same deceptive practices that Acorn employs.

No wonder Tom Shields refuses to repudiate Acorn and his mentor, Congressman Bobby Scott. He obviously approves of this type of dishonesty.

If there are any Seniors living in the 73rd that have not received their State tax refunds, and filed in May (as Alter claims), you should immediately visit the Department of Taxation’s WhereIsMyRefund website or call them at (804) 367-2486.

And do not believe the misinformation from Tom Shields workers that any member of the House of Delegates or State Senate is holding up any money due to you by the state. This claim is not only ridiculous, it is completely false.

Shame on Shields for these Acorn like tactics.

Please read the post and the comments here.

Below is the email I received from Alter of Freedom:

I have forward you info to those concerned. It is up to them whether they wish to proceed. I was asked how “credible” you may be and frankly I really do not know you or your heart enough to give you there emails so they can contact you should they choose. I will leave it up to them. I have informed them to repeatedly, as in daily, to call their Delegate.

The person whom I think will certainly contact you is the former Director of Risk Management for the Commonwealth of Virginia who now retired lives in the 73rd….

As to the canvassing, the list comprised identifies those homes of “likely voters” who were engaged and either were undecided or “leaning” but not sure regarding their vote…..as to visiting three times….thats called follow-up….and frankly the same tact worked wonderfully during the Webb campaign. I would know. I can attest for some ten thousand meet & greet on the doorstep late summer 2006 and for seeing Chesterfield cast more votes for a Democrat for Senator in a long long time….it may not be the best strategy to underestimate campiagns.

By the way, how many of those “facebook friends” belong to the GOP committee in Henrico (GOP Henrico) and I wonder what the demo is…..the 73rd I would bet you has a significant number of voters in the higher demo that really is not the facebook crowd. How many “individuals” have contributed to O’Bannon in relation to his corporateand special interest donors Tom……thats hardly a netroots or grassroots value…………………….

Tom Shields is running for the 73rd Virginia House District. He has taken money from his Mentor, Congressman Bobby Scott, for whom he worked for almost 5 years.

Scott sent him money, as did the SEIU, which is an arm of Acorn.

Delegate O’Bannon has called on Shields to repudiate Scott’s vote and return the money from Acorn/SEIU immediately.

View this new video that tells the explosive Acorn story and the Shield’s connection!

I really misjudged Tom Shields in my earlier posts on the man. Not only is he taking money from Congressman Bobby Scott, SEIU/Acorn and others, he still refuses to abandon his support for Acorn. Even after the child prostitution tapes were shown. He is trying to raise money, calls Delegate O’Bannon names for pointing out Shield’s Acorn connection and now, O’Bannon’s signs are being damaged and stolen. And not just a few.

I believe the Tom Shield’s campaign is the most despicable one Virginian’s have seen in a long time. Anti-Catholic attacks, support for Acorn, and lies and distortions on O’Bannon’s record. This is a win at all costs campaign that has fallen so far behind that attacks are all he has left.

It has been a week since we first called on Tom Shields to renounce Scott’s vote to fund Acorn and Acorn itself. Not a peep!

Voters of the 73rd district deserve better than a scoundrel like Tom Shields. So does Virginia!

Below is a Press Release from Delegate O’Bannon:

Greetings!

Our campaign has been very busy lately. We’ve been putting up yard signs, hosting meet and greets, attending candidate forums, going door to door, and making phone calls. We are doing everything we can to make sure we keep John O’Bannon in the House of Delegates.

With so much going on, we wanted to make sure we keep you updated on everything and let you know where you can help out.

In case you missed it, last week we included a link to a blog that has been covering our race. The post we linked was one in which the blogger wanted to know whether or not Tom Shields supported Congressman Bobby Scott’s vote to continue funding ACORN with taxpayer money even after video’s surfaced containing evidence of corruption and illegal activity.

This was a legitimate question for 3 reasons:

1. Tom Shields worked for Bobby Scott for almost 5 years.

2. Tom Shields has been claiming that, if elected, he would stand up to his Party leaders when they made the wrong decision.

3. If Tom Shields is demanding that Delegate O’Bannon comment on a college thesis that is 20 years old, surely he should be expected to comment on corruption that is occuring RIGHT NOW.

Apparently, Tom Shields takes it personally when someone asks him a question, because he chose to respond by claiming that our campaign had accused him of supporting child prostitution and asking his supporters to donate money so he could beat “disgusting” John O’Bannon.

Friends, if you receive anything from Tom Shields claiming that we made any accusations against him, please know that it is a total lie. We simply agreed with a blogger that Tom Shields should let the people know where he stands on that sort of corruption by organizations like ACORN and if wanted to know if he would stick to his word and scold one of his Party leaders for making a bad vote.

Please view our Press Release and if you think we deserve an answer to that question, email Tom Shields (tom@shieldsfordelegate.com) and ask him if he agrees with Bobby Scott’s vote or if he will publicly denounce it and ACORN’s dispicable practice.

NRA Endorses John O’Bannon

This week, Delegate John O’Bannon was honored to be endorsed by the National Rifle Association. The NRA also gave Delegate O’Bannon an “A” rating for his hard work on behalf of protecting the 2nd Amendment.

Yard Signs, etc.YARD SIGNS AND 4X8′s

If you’ve driven anywhere in the district lately, you’ll notice that we have put out a ton of yard signs and 4×8′s. Unfortunately, many of these signs have been vandalized recently. Some people have even had their signs stolen multiple times. If you had a sign that was vandalized or stolen, please let us know asap so we can get a new one out to you.

If you haven’t requested a sign yet, you can do so by sending us an email, signing up on our website, calling HQ or just stopping by and picking one up. Since it looks like our opponent is going to keep taking signs, we need to get as many out as possible to help offset the ones that get stolen.

We also have some 4×8 signs left. If you’d like to trade in your regular sign for a big one, we’d be happy to upgrade you! Just let us know and we’ll deliver one to your house and set it up for you.

Please make sure to let us know if your sign has gone missing. No matter how many times we have to, we will keep replacing them until Election Day. We need to show our opponent’s supporters that resorting to these childish tactics will only make us more determined!

Once again, thanks for your support. We couldn’t do this without you.

Team O’Bannon

Editor’s note: A few days ago, Tom Shields made the following ridiculous statement:

Yesterday, Tom Shields called on his opponent, incumbent John O’Bannon to repudiate Bob McDonnell’s beliefs that working women, contraception, and child day care are detrimental to society. Shields also called on O’Bannon to explain his own extreme record on women’s issues. O’Bannon has yet to distance himself from Bob McDonnell’s radical views or explain his own voting record in support of that agenda.

Even more troubling is Shield’s support of his mentor Bobby Scott’s vote to continue funding Acorn. With Acorn’s support of child prostitution, Shield’s sees a 20 year old thesis as an “extreme record on Women’s issues” as the more important issue. I can think of no worse exploitation than what Acorn was seen doing on the tapes. At this point, the only logical conclusion one can reach is Shields supports ALL of the actions of Acorn. His silence and acceptance of money from Scott and the SEIU (an Acorn affiliated union) speaks volumes.

Tell us where you stand, Mr. Shields, because we have no idea. The Tapes show Acorn willing to support the most extreme degradation of women and children! Surely that is enough to make you repudiate Scott’s vote and return his donations and those of SEIU and pledge to shut down Acorn.

Press Release from Delegate O’Bannon:

PAID FOR BY O’BANNON FOR HOUSE
AUTHORIZED BY JOHN M. O’BANNON III, CANDIDATE FOR DELEGATE, 73RD DISTRICT

News Release
Shields dodges questions about ties to Bobby Scott and bad vote on ACORN

Richmond, VA, September 22, 2009: Recent revelations concerning employees of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) encouraging or assisting tax fraud, illegal immigration, and child prostitution have caused the organization to be condemned by Democrats and Republicans alike.

Despite widely reported media accounts and extensively documented and videotaped evidence depicting ACORN employees dispensing advice to undercover filmmakers posing as a pimp and prostitute, Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA3) was one of 75
Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives who last week voted to continue funding the organization with taxpayer dollars. The vote to prohibit further funding of ACORN passed the House by a vote of 345 to 75.

Congressman Scott has actively supported the opponent of Delegate John M. O?Bannon III, M.D. (R-Henrico), Tom Shields, sponsoring a fundraiser for his campaign and donating $250 to it earlier this year. Shields served as a Legislative Assistant to the Congressman from 1992 to 1996.

Since Scott?s vote to continue taxpayer funding for ACORN, Tom Shields has been silent on the issue, failing to denounce either continued funding for the organization or Scott?s vote. Conversely, he attacked Delegate O?Bannon in an email sent Monday entitled “Disgusting,” because O’Bannon’s campaign’s website featured a link to a blog that asked Tom Shields to take a stand on the ACORN issue.

“The voters deserve to know whether or not Tom Shields approves of the actions of his former boss, Bobby Scott, in continuing to provide federal funding for ACORN,” declared O?Bannon. “While he attacked my campaign for providing a link to a blog that questioned his position on ACORN funding, Tom Shields conveniently avoided declaring his position on ACORN?s corrupt practices and continued taxpayer funding.
“The fact that Tom Shields is unwilling to speak out against his former mentor or ACORN is further proof that all his talk about bringing „a new generation of independent leadership? is just that – talk. This is clear evidence that when push comes to shove, Tom Shields will fall right in line with the Democrat Party bosses every time.”

“Tom Shields tells voters he will be independent and pragmatic, but his silence on this issue is deafening.”

First elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 2000, John M. O?Bannon III, M.D. represents the 73rd District, which is comprised of portions of Henrico County and the City of Richmond.
###

The Swing State Project, which looks at Campaign and Election News – Covering Key Races Around the Country predicts that the floundering Tom Shields campaign that many Democrats once had high hopes for is going lose to Delegate O’Bannon in the November election.

From Swing State Project:

Suburban Richmond is home to John O’Bannon, who has $175,000 in the bank and is being challenged by college professor Thomas Shields. Shields has a lot of catching up to do to match O’Bannon’s fundraising.

Perhaps Shields lack of honesty with O’Bannon’s record have taken a toll. Voters look to have already voted with their wallets.

Tom Shields called for Delegate O’Bannon to repudiate Bob McDonnell, and it seems he has some repudiating of his own he needs to do. What’s fair for the goose and all.

We asked Democrat Tom Shields to repudiate Congressman Bobby Scott’s vote to continue funding Acorn. Scott was one of the 75 Democrats that voted to continue funding for Acorn in spite of the many videos released to date showing a systematic pattern of the Community Organizer group at 5 offices (so far) around the country to assist in child prostitution and tax evasion. Even funding political campaigns with the ill gotten gains from prostitution.

These explosive videos can be seen at BigGovernment.com. If you watch the Mainstream Media, you may not have seen them. You need to watch these videos to understand the vile and disgusting advice these Acorn workers are giving out.

We asked Shields to respond and to repudiate his mentor Bobby Scott for supporting a group that does these horrible things.

And what is Shields response? He blames Delegate O’Bannon for exposing him. In an email he said:

In an email to supporters on Friday, O’Bannon linked to this blog post accusing me of supporting child prostitution. As the parents of three young girls, Anne and I are disgusted by this vile accusation that goes well beyond differences in politics or ideology.

Accusing Shields of supporting child prostitution? Hardly. Read the post. Here is what was said:

So far, Tom Shields has been silent on the Acorn matter. Is Shields in favor of prostitution, especially child prostitution?

It is time for Tom Shields to come clean and let us know if he is still a radical, molded by Bobby Scott, or if he will repudiate Scott for such an outrageous vote in support of the exploitation of children.

Shields was asked a question. Are you in favor of prostitution, especially child prostitution. There are no accusations in the post, and Shields knows that. You want to be a politician, Tom. You need to let the voters know where you stand. We are asking you to explain, in plain English, your feelings about Scott’s vote and Acorn’s actions. You have not done so. In an email, posted on Lowell Feld’s Blue Virginia, Shields failed to repudiate Scott, and also failed to answer the question. But he remembered to ask for money. Several times.

The questions still remain. Will Shields repudiate Scott for his vote, or does he hold Acorn in high esteem. If Shields prefers, we can ask the question at his next Town Hall meeting.

The voters of the 73rd district need to know if Shields is a left wing radical that will fund organizations like Acorn despite their horrible dealings with Virginian’s hard earned money. Rather than express outrage at Delegate O’Bannon for blowing the whistle on Shields’ connections to a radical congressman that wants to allow Acorn to continue to assist in obtaining housing for prostitution, Tom Shields needs to address the real issue.

And voters in the 73rd District need to ask themselves if someone like Tom Shields, that has a problem with O’Bannon pointing out his radical associations, but is careful not to speak out against Acorn and Scott’s vote would work in the best interest of voters. And to try to turn this into a fund raising venture rather than repudiate Acorn speaks volumes on where Shields’ stands.

Answer the question, Tom. Voters deserve to know!

Will you repudiate Acorn and Scott for his vote, or continue to blame O’Bannon for exposing your radical history. Are you a New Generation of Independent Leadership as you claim, or simply using the “Title” to hide a radical agenda. Here’s your chance to lead and show you are truly Independent.

So far, all we see is a Bobby Scott Protege.

The Times Dispatch Corrects Democrat Tom Shield’s FALSE charges against Delegate O’Bannon:

The Republican incumbent in a hotly contested House of Delegates race in Henrico County is rejecting charges by his challenger that he opposes emergency contraceptives for rape victims.

“That my opponent continues to make false claims about my record is disappointing,” said Del. John M. O’Bannon III, R-Henrico. He is seeking a sixth term in the 73rd District, which includes portions of Henrico and Richmond.

UPDATE – 9/21/2009
Many of the comments below are from the IP address range 141.
166.X.X which is the class B subnet assigned to University of Richmond back in the early 90′s. Has Tom Shields asked his students to make comments here? If you have been asked, please comment about it.

And be sure to read the latest post on the subject concerning Shield’s response.
Tom Shields called for Delegate O’Bannon to repudiate Bob McDonnell, and it seems he has some repudiating of his own he needs to do. What’s fair for the goose and all.

Democrat Tom Shields who is challenging Republican Delegate John O’Bannon for the 73rd District House seat has spent a great deal of time with radical Congressman Bobby Scott. In fact, Shields was Scott’s Legislative Assistant at one point.

Shields attempts to paint himself as a “New Generation of Independent Leadership”, but anyone that hangs around with Bobby Scott is not likely to be an independent anything.

As a left wing radical member of Congress, it was no surprise today when Bobby Scott voted to allow Acorn continued funding with taxpayer money.

Scott apparently was not bothered by the 5 tapes showing Acorn workers in 5 different cities helping undercover journalists with prostitution, tax fraud, child prostitution and smuggling illegal aliens.

So far, Tom Shields has been silent on the Acorn matter. Is Shields in favor of prostitution, especially child prostitution?

It is time for Tom Shields to come clean and let us know if he is still a radical, molded by Bobby Scott, or if he will repudiate Scott for such an outrageous vote in support of the exploitation of children.

We are waiting for an answer, Tom.

The University of Richmond hosted a debate last night between Henrico Republican Delegate John O’Bannon and Democratic Challenger Tom Shields in the Alice Hanyes Room of the Tyler Haynes Commons on campus. Political Science Professor Dan “The Buzzer” Palazzolo moderated.

Note: A basketball shot clock was used to keep time, and several times, the buzzer designed to be heard in the entire Robbins Center accidentally went off. LOUDLY! Thus the nickname for Professor Palazzolo who did an outstanding and professional job.

Summary:
The difference between the two candidates was apparent during the entire debate. Delegate O’Bannon appeared relaxed and comfortable, was in ready command of the facts and is actually a wealth of knowledge on the history and evolution of each and every issue, and the problems or benefits of each. Tom Shields stammered and stumbled over words, had no solutions or ideas and was, in general, ill prepared for the debate. His main thrust was to attack O’Bannon for being partisan, attack Republicans for being obstructionists and generally try to affix blame for any and all problems on O’Bannon and House Republicans. Shields claims to represent a “New Generation of Independent Leadership” who will reach across the isle and foster bipartisan solutions to problems. Problems he blames on the people he wants to reach out to. First, he needs to learn the issues, then, come up with solutions, and lastly, control his partisan anger and blame. With his attitude, it will be impossible to do anything except grow the partisanship in the House. Perhaps the most partisan statement of the evening was when Shields said he thought the Governor had done a good job over the last two years. That brought groans from the audience.

I spoke with local businessman Mike, who identified himself as an undecided independent during the debate. He is concerned about his small business and wanted to see who had the better ideas to help him. He said that, after watching the debate, Tom Shields was too angry and hung up on slamming his opponent, where Dr. O’Bannon was gracious and well up on all of the issues. He made his decision last night to vote for Delegate O’Bannon.

And I spoke with several other independents who said the same thing, but only about half of them had made up their minds. Those that had were going to vote for O’Bannon.

Please view the video clip at the end of this post!

Conclusion:
This was a clear victory for Dr. O’Bannon. The Shields camp cannot be happy with the stumbling, disjointed and angry performance by Mr. Shields. This debate strongly delineated the calm confidence and command of facts that only comes from experience. Dr. O’Bannon was able to be a gentleman and a professional while Tom Shields seemed angry and petty. Shields’ lack of experience was obvious and it was hard not to see he was completely out of his element.

Blow by Blow

The candidates opened with their opening remarks. Challenger Tom Shields was selected to speak first. Shields opening remarks contained a number jabs at Delegate O’Bannon accusing him of being negative and a partisan politician.

O’Bannon’s opening remarks remained positive and highlighted his accomplishments and his record as the 73rd House District elected Representative.

The first question was on the recession. Specifically, what can the state do?

O’Bannon said we need to protect the core services, Education, Transportation and Public Safety. These are the primary functions of State Government.

Shields said the budget is poorly conceived and filled with waste. Shields failed to mention that the Democrats are the ones that crafted the budget, and ultimate responsibility is with his own party.

On Education, O’Bannon mentioned the 1/2 % increase in the sales tax that was provided for Education, but also mentioned he was against the tax increase. Shields would like as much money as possible to be poured into education at any level. Of course, being a teacher, this is no surprise.

On transportation, Shields said he see this as a jobs and economic issue, wondering if traffic congestion in Northern Va. and Tidewater might convince companies to look elsewhere. He offered no solutions or ideas on funding. O’Bannon said we need to reopen rest areas, as this is a safety issue. O’Bannon said that the Virginia Dept. of Transportation was the third largest in the country, even larger than California. In most states, the roads are built by the state, then turned over to the localities to maintain, with a budget provided by the state. He said Henrico County has done this since 1936 and is extremely frugal with the funds. Implementing this in other areas could stretch our transportation dollars further.

During his rebuttal on this question, Shields emphasized that he does not support a gas tax for transportation, but believes the money would be better spent on Education.

On Gay Marriage, Tom Shields supports it and disagrees with the Marriage Amendment. O’Bannon supports the Marriage Amendment.

The Subject of Health Care was next. Shields accused O’Bannon of cutting $8 million from children’s health insurance. O’Bannon corrected him and said there was actually an increase, although proponrnts wanted more. There were other programs where O’Bannon thought that money would do more good. o’Bannon, the only Physician in the House, said we need Tort Reform, we need to put a halt to Defensive medicine and he wants to keep the medical decisions between you and your doctor.

During a question on Energy, O’Bannon pointed out his opposition to Cap and Trade and challenged Shields to iterate his position on Cap and Trade. Shields ducked the question. Obannon supports using Virginia’s resources to make sure energy is cheap and plentiful.

Concerning Jobs and employment, Shields accused O’Bannon of being out of touch with Qimonda and voting against $14 million in grants for the high tech computer chip company. Shields said O’Bannon was told they were in trouble. O’Bannon responded their talks with Qimonda produced no such information, and that Delegate Joe Morrissey (many in the audience moaned at the mention of Morrissey) made a speech, as he is prone to do, but offered no proof or evidence. Besides, said O’Bannon, Qimonda was doomed already because they were making obsolete chips and any money given to them would be tied up in German courts, as the parent company filed for Bankruptcy.

Shields also challenged O’Bannon on the $125 million Unemployment Stimulus. O’Bannon responded that if it came without strings, they would have taken it. But, adding part time workers onto the backs of businesses, who are the ones that pay for the unemployment insurance, would delay or reverse any recovery, according to the small business men and women O’Bannon has talked to. Shields thought paying unemployment to part time workers so they could go to school was a good idea.

On the subject of taxes, neither candidate supports raising taxes. O’Bannon pointed out that Shields had advocated $600 million in new spending and has not suggested a way to pay for it. Shields still wants to reach across the isle to the Republican party of “no”.

If Shields is serious about a bipartisan effort, he should first stop attacking Republicans and blaming them for any and all problems. At one point Shields blamed the House for killing a bill, and O’Bannon pointed out that the bill was actually killed by the Senate, which is controlled by Democrats.

Nothing is too low for Taliban Tom Shields. The voters of the 73rd Virginia House District are now watching as two Catholics, Tom Shields and his Campaign Manager Tony Coppola toss aside their Catholic faith and go on a vicarious attack against Bob McDonnell through Delegate O’Bannon. Taliban Tom claims to be a member of St. Bridget’s Catholic Church on Three Chopt Road. I wonder what Reverend Carr thinks about Taliban Tom now? Has Taliban Tom actually listened to the teachings at his Church? Does his Pastor believe Bob McDonnell’s views on abortion are radical? His views on contraception and birth control?

The “radical” views Bob McDonnell wrote about in his Thesis are the views of the Catholic Church. If we are in the repudiation game full on, will Taliban Tom Shields repudiate the views of Reverend Carr and the Pope? Will Taliban Tom denounce the Pope’s radical views and explain the Pope’s own extreme record on women’s issues?

Taliban Tom, your Jihad against Christians scares me. Have you been a member of the Catholic Church just to learn about your enemy? Are you a Hypocrite or a Heretic? It would be great if you let people know before November if you plan to begin a campaign to remove Crosses from Churches and Cemeteries that can be seen from public roads. The Taliban in Afghanistan destroyed all signs of any religion not Muslim. You are following in their footsteps.

Our religious freedoms are in jeopardy. Tom Shields is attacking Christianity EVERY DAY.

If your faith is important to you, you will run to your church and pray that the voters of the 73rd District don’t fall victim to Taliban Tom and his henchman Tony Coppola.

It is bad enough the Taliban Tom has distorted Delegate O’Bannon’s record with blatantly false claims on his voting record. To be honest, not one thing that Taliban Tom has stated is true concerning Delegate O’Bannon’s voting record with the exception of ONE vote the Doctor missed in 8 years.

False statements and an Anti Christian Jihad is all Taliban Tom Shields has to offer. If you are a Catholic, please go light a candle for Tom Shields and pray for his soul. He has surely lost his faith.