The political terminology employed by our new all-Republican board of supervisors here in Loudoun County, and by their masters in the local Republican Party Committee, can be a bit confusing to the uninitiated.
As a public service here is a guide to some frequently used terms.
Business-friendly. Friendly to businesses that contributed to the election campaigns of current Republican officeholders.
Business. Commercial real-estate developers.
Citizens. Commercial real-estate developers, major campaign contributors, and local Republican Party Committee functionaries; excludes longtime residents of the county, Democrats, independents, conservationists, and owners of businesses that do not involve the operation of bulldozers.
Ethics pledge. An outmoded concept in which elected officials undertake to disclose financial conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from voting on zoning appeals, legal settlements, or other matters directly affecting major campaign contributors; unnecessary in a business-friendly environment.
Government Reform Commission. A panel of citizens (see above) empowered to make the county more business-friendly (see above).
Illegal. Against the law, such as placing real-estate or political signs in the public right-of-way or failing to disclose financial conflicts of interest, except when such actions are carried out by Republican officeholders or their major campaign contributors.
Nonpartisan. Obsolete; archaic. An obscure term apparently once held to be a virtue in local government; its precise meaning has been lost.
Open meeting. A session at which secretly arranged undertakings are ratified in a public, 9–0 vote.
RINO. Acronym for Republican In Name Only, an epithet applied by members of the local Republican Party Committee to describe Republicans who merely subscribe to the principles of Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt.
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