Actually, nothing funny really happened on the way to the Forum - something funny happened AT the Forum. Funny as in ironic, not ha ha.

On Tuesday, August 21, the NAACP of Martinsville/Henry County in conjunction with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, held a Political Forum at Patrick Henry Community College. Local and statewide candidates were invited to participate and given the opportunity to answer questions posed to them by the NAACP/SCLC members. I attended this event in hopes of finally seeing Roscoe Reynolds answer some tough questions…or any questions, but that was not to be. Due to a “misunderstanding,” Senator Reynolds did not grace the Forum with his presence until almost an hour and a half late.

Roscoe read a prepared statement (off of yellow legal paper, no less) praising Martin Luther King, Jr. and acknowledging the passing of Oliver Hill, took no questions and sat in the crowd instead of the candidates’ table. If there was an apology for his tardiness made to our gracious hosts it must have been made privately. Even his campaign manager, Michael Points, was there a good thirty minutes before Roscoe. But this isn’t the funny part. This is:

Michael Points (and remember, funny = ironic, not ha ha) confronted Alton Foley, campaign manager extraordinaire for Roscoe’s challenger, Jeff Evans, in the hallway and accused him of launching a negative website - one linking Roscoe to homosexuals. Alton informed Michael that this was absolutely false AND offered to address everyone present at the Forum to denounce such an accusation if Michael Points would do the same. Michael Points, of course, declined.

I had recently learned that Roscoe Reynolds had hired Joe Stanley, of Yellow Dog Strategy, to help him with his campaign. When Jim Webb used Joe for his successful bid for the US Senate, I didn’t question his decision - Jim Webb was new to politics in the commonwealth and the internet was the new frontier. I did think it was strange for an incumbent, like Roscoe Reynolds, with twenty-two years in the legislature to require the services of Joe. Joe’s Yellow Dog logo, until recently, appeared on Roscoe’s website.

Reserving a website domain and re-directing that site to another site is a standard practice of Joe’s - he boasted about it in an article by the Roanoke Times. When Alton told me of his exchange with Michael, my impression was that IF such a negative website existed, it was probably created by Roscoe’s camp with Joe leading the charge. Typical. They would deny it and use it to muddy the waters - attempt to divert attention away from Roscoe’s lackluster performance. Typical.

Joe surprised me by going WAY beyond typical - yes, by his own admission, he did reserve a website - one in the name of the Old Dominion Blog Alliance (of which I am a proud member) and yes, he did redirect that site to another site BUT instead of linking to homosexuals, as Michael Points had suggested, he linked us to NAMBLA (North American Man Boy Love Association) - a group that endorses child rape. This was a new low for Joe and more importantly, a new low in Virginia politics.

Thankfully, Joe has removed the link which gives more publicity to the pedophiliac group and the site now shows his pitiful attempt to justify his previous actions. Have I mentioned that in addition to being Yellow Dog Strategy, Joe is also the chairman of the Franklin County Democratic committee? I didn’t? He is. Joe Stanley is the chairman of the Franklin County Democratic committee. Is this the type of behavior Franklin County Democrats expect? Condone? Condemn?

Removing Joe’s logo is a start but it’s a far cry from explaining what part Roscoe and his campaign played in the defamation of the ODBA. The silence is deafening.