I feel compelled to write a little bit about Catherine Crabill (R), who is running for delegate in Virginia’s 99th district against incumbent Albert Pollard (D).  Normally you don’t hear much about local delegate races unless you happen to live in the area, but in this case she’s caught the attention of the mighty Huffington Post after her ballot box and bullet box remarks were caught on tape by a tracker.

The main reason this story caught my attention is that “Crabill,” like “Krehbiel,” is a derivative of the old Kräyenbühl family name, so it’s possible that we share a common ancestor somewhere in history (or, more likely, her husband and I do).

As for her remarks, strictly speaking, she is absolutely correct:  The Second Amendment does theoretically protect us from the possibility of a tyrannical government taking over, but she falls off a cliff when she tries to characterize the Obama administration as tyrannical.  There’s plenty to dislike about the Obama administration, but it’s a long way from tyranny.  And her position that Obama’s victory represents, in her own bold-faced words, a “socialist power grab” is somewhat delusional.  This country’s slide toward socialism began long before November 2008.

Be that as it may, Crabill fell into hot water because you can’t just go around telling people what you actually believe in a modern political campaign -- where Big Brother… I mean… trackers are watching your every move.  In this case, trackers paid for by the DPVA.

So I feel bad for Crabill - and to some extent, America - now that she has the full force of a new media smear campaign focused on her.  Sure it might keep one crackpot out of office in Podunk Virginia, but in the big picture it will ultimately erode the democratic process.  When people repeatedly see the kind of treatment they can expect if they try to earnestly participate in democracy for their community -- without paying off… I mean… hiring the right consultants -- who can blame them for sitting out?  This is one reason why politics is dominated by the rich while the lower and middle classes remain unrepresented.

On her site, Crabill presciently quoted (I assume) Saul Alinsky’s Rule #5 from Rules for Radicals:  "Ridicule is man's most potent weapon. It is almost impossible to counteract ridicule. Also it infuriates the opposition, which then reacts to your advantage."

Wise words taken to heart by new media consultants.