Dave “I’m-So-Busy” LaRock – Serial Debate No-Show

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Where in the world is Dave LaRock?

Republican Delegate Candidate Dave LaRock is a serial debate no-show in this Fall’s General Election line-up for the House of Delegates in the 33rd District.

Dave’s just so busy doing “something else,” and we’re talking “scheduling conflicts” here, that he can’t show up in person in Loudoun to say why he should be our delegate.

Apparently he believes we, the Loudoun voters, should rely on his caustic witty one-liners in expensive glossy multi-colored oversized postcards that he’s stuffing into our mail boxes.

This man’s Franklin-Covey day-timer must be a blizzard of conflicting activities that would challenge the skills of an Amtrak scheduler.

For the record, before last week, Dave had ducked the Clarke County Debate Forum as well as the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce Debate Forum. Now that’s news! What candidate of either party ever ducks the Chamber’s well-attended high class opportunity to chew on issues that are well-framed and widely covered in the media? Our Dave did. Dave also refuses to answer the Chamber’s written questions on the issues. Thus, we have Dave the politically obscure and obdurate.

Last Wednesday evening, at 7 PM, there was a Debate Forum convened by the Purcellville Gazette at the Carver Center, not that far from Dave’s home.

There was a good size crowd. We all just got so cozy in our folding chairs about 7 PM with free cups of high test java and fresh made cookies and settled back, waiting to hear Dave tell us why he should be our next rep in the Northern Hemisphere’s oldest deliberative body.

While sitting there, I thought of the Monty Python lyrics, “Brave Sir Robin,” and thought we should sing instead of our “Brave Sir Dave” while we were waiting:

Bravely bold Sir Dave
Rode forth from his Loudoun home,
He was not afraid to debate,
Oh brave Sir Dave,
He was not at all afraid
To be beaten in nasty ways.
Brave, brave, brave, brave Sir Dave.

We then learned Brave Sir Dave had “declined” to show.

In my mind’s ear, I heard Britney Spears’ “classic,” “Oops, I did it again.”

Dave how could you? Nor was Dave’s absence overlooked. One hand-written question from those constituents Brave Sir Dave would represent, asked the Libertarian and Democratic candidates exactly how, as elected officials, would they handle a scheduling conflict, when “invited to attend an important constituent forum?”

Mary Daniel, the Democratic candidate, first up, asked, “such as this one?” Mary concluded, “I would change my schedule to attend an important constituent forum.”

Patrick Hagerty, the Libertarian candidate agreed with Mary, “Absolutely,” he said, “I would make time for you all. A vote in Richmond is the only time I would not be here.”

Mary and Patrick fielded many more questions for an hour and a half including whether we needed a transportation bill. Patrick said it was unnecessary. Brave Sir Dave wasn’t there to tell us whether he still agreed with Patrick. Mary said she was “not afraid to follow the truth,” as Jefferson had instructed, “as long as reason is left free to combat it.” We heard no “truth” from Brave Sir Dave. The topics encompassed when may or should the General Assembly restrict a local government, do you favor inclusion or discrimination, what would you do about gerrymandering, are there taxes you find tolerable, fees you believe are necessary, should homeschoolers play on public school teams, need we revise eminent domain, should we expand Medicaid, do you believe extremism in defense of liberty is no vice, are you for background checks for guns, do you think there’s too much money in politics.

When the community and media asked Brave Sir Dave about his no-show trinity, he said he didn’t think the Clarke County forum was fair, and insisted he was busy the night of the Gazette forum (not saying at what) and the Gazette wouldn’t give him any alternative dates; the Gazette Editor said she most certainly had and has offered Brave Sir Dave another forum, “just choose the date.” As Bill Cosby might say, “Right.”

I leave you with this further revision of Monty Python’s lyrics:

When danger reared it’s ugly head,
Dave bravely turned his tail and fled.
Yes, brave Sir Dave turned about
(“I didn’t!”)
And gallantly he chickened out.

1 thought on “Dave “I’m-So-Busy” LaRock – Serial Debate No-Show”

  1. Epluribusunum

    The lie told by the LaRock campaign was so shameless and bold that the Purcellville Gazette was compelled to release a statement refuting it. The editor’s disgust with his behavior is palpable. Legitimate candidates for public office do not behave this way:

    “Last night there was a HD-33 debate in Purcellville sponsored by the Purcellville Gazette. The Gazette contacted our campaign last week asking if Dave could participate in the debate, but we explained that Dave had a scheduling conflict and could not be there. We offered that Dave might be able to participate on a later date, but the Gazette went ahead with promoting and holding their event knowing that Dave could not be there.”
    ~ David LaRock’s campaign website

    The Purcellville Gazette would like to make clear its position regarding claims made by the David LaRock campaign about our campaign forum held Wednesday evening, October 16th, at the Carver Center in Purcellville.

    Mr. LaRock’s campaign manager, Daniel Davies, was directly asked on the telephone on Tuesday, October 8th whether they were declining to attend the October 16th forum. Mr. Davies refused to rule out Mr. LaRock’s participation, telling an editor they might be able to attend the event, schedule permitting. When offered the opportunity on multiple occasions to provide a specific date that would work for the campaign, Mr. Davies said no such dates were available and that any participation would have to be considered based on a “cost-benefit analysis.”

    In clear terms: When the LaRock campaign was asked to say “yes” or “no” regarding participating in our 33rd district campaign forum, they responded with a “maybe.” When offered the opportunity to provide an alternative date for the forum, they declined to provide one.

    To come out after our well-attended public event and suggest we misled readers about Mr. LaRock’s participation, is unfortunately consistent with his campaign’s behavior regarding public debates. As with the Berryville forum, in which he refused to attend at the last minute claiming it was a “set-up,” and also with the Loudoun Chamber of Commerce’s forum, in which he refused to even contribute written answers to the Chamber’s standard Q&A, Mr. LaRock has shown contempt for the basic mechanisms of the democratic process.

    To suggest the Purcellville Gazette misled our readers when, in fact, Mr. LaRock was side-stepping his opponents in public, is disappointing.

    Even still, we welcome the LaRock campaign to provide us with a specific date and time in which he would be willing to engage in a public debate with the candidates of the 33rd district. Nothing would please us more than to inform our western Loudoun readers that a forum will finally be held before the election that will give voters an opportunity to hear Mr. LaRock state his positions publicly. This is his opportunity to say to Loudoun County voters, “I’m willing to stand up for and defend my views in public.”

    The ball is in your court, Mr. LaRock.

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