Sic Semper Tyrannis

The Virginia blogosphere is abuzz this afternoon with the potential entry of U.S. Attorney John Brownlee into the Attorney General's race. Virginia Virtucon and Bearing Drift are among those who have their takes.

BD brings up a good point about the potential for another round of NOVA v. ROVA griping in a Cuccinelli v. Brownlee race, but I agree that this one is not so clear-cut. Those who argue that you have to be from NOVA to perform well in NOVA are simply ignoring the facts. Was Gilmore from NOVA? Was McDonnell?

The fact is that many folks who live in NOVA aren't even from NOVA. Therefore geography doesn't matter as much there as it does elsewhere in the state and it is easier to win voters over with your message, no matter where you are from.

Brownlee is in an enviable position of not only having spent the last 7 years in the most Republican area of the state, but also being able to transcend his geographic base in a way that, sadly, Jerry Kilgore was never able to do. I think that Brownlee has the ability to do well in NOVA if he can make himself familiar to the GOP voters up there quickly enough.

In any case, it should be an interesting race to watch and this definitely puts the heat on anyone else (Paul Harris?) who might want to get in to make the move quickly.