Virginia Democratic Party Chairman Brian Moran recently boasted that he is in possession of the Obama campaign’s voter database—a boast that turns out to be untrue, according to Politico.
So excited was Virginia Democratic Party Chairman Brian Moran about the prospect of getting the database for next year’s governor’s race that he announced last week that he already had it. He doesn’t.
Moran, who is soon resigning from his post as party chairman, is better known for his failed gubernatorial campaign in 2009. Moran along with current frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for governor Terry McAuliffe were stomped in the party’s primary by Creigh Deeds. Deeds was defeated handily by Virginia’s current Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell.
Many argued that Moran was not even eligible to be the state party chairman because he was a registered lobbyist. According to Virginia law, "The chairman or any full-time paid employee of a state political party, as defined in § 24.2-101, or a member of his immediate family, as defined in § 2.2-3101, shall not be employed as a lobbyist by any principal."
Moran argued that the statute applied to state, not federal, lobbyists. When asked whether he would quit if named chairman, he said, "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."
He has remained a lobbyist throughout his chairmanship despite blatant conflicts of interest with his party.
Moran is the younger brother of Rep. Jim Moran (D., Va.), who is also no stranger to controversy.
Most recently, the Virginia congressman’s son was forced to resign as director of field operations for his father’s campaign after being caught on video explaining how to commit voter fraud. The Arlington County Police has launched an official criminal probe to investigate.
Jim Moran has faced serious allegations of insider trading. According to Peter Schweizer’s book Throw Them All Out, Moran dumped stock in 90 companies on Sept. 17, 2008, based on a closed-door meeting the previous day on the impending economic crisis.
He also has a history of controversial statements. Moran accused the Jewish community of manipulating the country into war with Iraq in 2003.
"If it were not for the strong support of the Jewish community for this war with Iraq, we would not be doing this," he said at an anti-war rally in Virginia. "The leaders of the Jewish community are influential enough that they could change the direction of where this is going, and I think they should."
He added to his list of controversial statements when he compared the Republican Party to the Taliban in a November 2009 interview.
"I mean, if the Republicans were running in Afghanistan, they’d be running on the Taliban ticket as far as I can see," Moran said.
The Morans, like the Kennedys, appear well placed to curse American politics for years to come.