Barbara Comstock

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Barbara J. Comstock
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
from the 34th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2010
Preceded by Margaret Vanderhye
Personal details
Born June 30, 1959 (1959-06-30) (age 52)
Springfield, Massachusetts
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Elwyn Charles
Alma mater Middlebury College
Profession Attorney
Committees Science and Technology, General Laws, Transportation
Religion Roman Catholic

Barbara J. Comstock (born June 30, 1959) is an American politician, currently a Republican member of the Virginia House of Delegates. She first won election to her seat in 2009, defeating Democratic incumbent Margaret Vanderhye.[1][2] She was formerly a spokesperson, lobbyist, political consultant; and a founding partner and co-principal of public policy and public relations firm Corallo Comstock.[3][4]

Contents

[edit] Career

Comstock began her congressional career as an intern for Senator Ted Kennedy. After working as a lawyer in private practice, Comstock served from 1991-1995 as a senior aide to Congressman Frank Wolf. Comstock then served as chief investigative counsel and senior counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform from 1995 to 1999.[5]

Comstock worked on behalf of the 2000 presidential campaign of George W. Bush. Her research team built massive stores of paper and electronic data, known as "The Gore File," that were a key source of information on the former vice president for GOP publicists and ad-makers.[5] Comstock is credited with writing the Republican "playbook" defending Bush nominees such as John Ashcroft for U.S. Attorney General.[5] Comstock later served as director of public affairs for the Justice Department from 2002 to 2003.[6]

Comstock's work in opposition research for the Republican National Committee has been praised as "meticulous and thorough," with her research being "one of the most successful parts of the RNC in 2000."[5] Former Solicitor General Theodore Olson has said, "She is tireless. She has an encyclopedic mind and damn good judgment. Those qualities are at a real premium in Washington."[7]

Despite her reputation as a Republican partisan, Comstock has been described by critics such as journalist David Brock as a "very smart lawyer by training"[8] and maintains friendships crossing the political divide. Democratic consultant Donna Brazile said in a 2005 interview, "I've had my [political] battles with Barbara, and won some and lost some. But either way, she has kept her smile and her wit."[7]

Comstock assisted the defense teams of both I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby[3] and former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.[9] In 2005, Comstock was hired by Dan Glickman to lobby on behalf of the Motion Picture Association of America.[10]

Comstock was a consultant on the presidential campaign of Mitt Romney[4] and is a consultant to the Workforce Fairness Institute, which opposes the Employee Free Choice Act.[11]

[edit] Criticism

In his book Blinded by the Right, David Brock discusses Comstock's Whitewater investigative efforts against the Clintons, characterized as "almost unhinged" by other critics.[12] Brock notes that Comstock would regularly make late-night telephone calls with "the latest tidbit she had dug up in the thousands and thousands of pages of administration records she pored through frantically," and visited Brock to "watch the rerun of a dreadfully dull Whitewater hearing she had sat through all day."[8] To Brock, Comstock seemed "especially intent on proving that Hillary [Clinton] had lied about her role" in Travelgate..."[a]s Constock’s leads failed to pan out, and she was unable to catch anyone in a lie, the Republican aide confided that the Clinton scandals were driving her to distraction, to the unfortunate point that she was ignoring the needs of her own family. A very smart lawyer by training and the main breadwinner for her charismatic, happy-go-lucky husband and kids, Comstock remarked that maybe she couldn’t get Hillary’s sins off her brain because 'Hillary reminds me of me. I am Hillary.'”[8]

[edit] References

  1. ^ DiCicco, Mike (4 November 2009). "Republican Comstock Ousts Vanderhye in Close Race". Connection Newspapers. http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=334585&paper=88&cat=104. Retrieved 5 November 2009. 
  2. ^ Gardner, Amy (5 August 2009). "House Call!". WashingtonPost.com. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/virginiapolitics/2009/08/house_call.html. Retrieved 19 August 2009. 
  3. ^ a b Singer, Paul; Tory Newmyer (11 April 2007). "K Street Files". Roll Call: p. 7. 
  4. ^ a b Bolton, Alexander; Brittney Moraski (20 December 2007). "Lobbyists on Obama's '08 payroll". The Hill. http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/lobbyists-on-obamas-08-payroll-2007-12-20.html. Retrieved 19 August 2009. 
  5. ^ a b c d John Mintz (22 August 2001). "One-Woman Wrecking Crew Targets Democratic Leaders: Meticulous Comstock Helps RNC Skewer the Opposition". Washington Post: pp. A17. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A43033-2001Aug21. 
  6. ^ Comstock, Barbara; Lanny J. Davis (20 October 2008). "What's Fair is Fair". National Review Online. http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YTlhN2UxNjY0YmFhMmM4NGIyYjM3NjRjMGZkMmU4N2I=. Retrieved 19 August 2009. 
  7. ^ a b Hedges, Michael (13 November 2005). "When GOP ails, ex-Houstonian has cure". Houston Chronicle. 
  8. ^ a b c David Brock, Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative (2003), pp. 208-09, 227, 273
  9. ^ Allen, Mike (10 April 2005). "DeLay's Backers Launch Offense". Washington Post: p. A4. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40496-2005Apr9.html. Retrieved 19 August 2009. 
  10. ^ Mullins, Brody; Kate Kelly (24 August 2005). "Movie Lobbyist Reaches Across the Aisle". Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB112483748356921206.html. Retrieved 19 August 2009. 
  11. ^ "Highlights on the Show: Jan 12-16, 2008". The Thom Hartmann Program. Air America. 12 January 2008. http://airamerica.com/thomhartmannpage/blog/2009/jan/12/highlights-show-jan-12-16-2008. Retrieved 19 August 2009. [dead link]
  12. ^ Joe Conason, Libby's secret defense fund, Salon, November 15, 2005

[edit] External links

Northern Virginia politicians
Members of the Virginia
House of Delegates
Dave Albo (R) · Richard Anderson (R) · David Bulova (D) · Barbara Comstock (R) · Adam Ebbin (D) · David L. Englin (D) · Eileen Filler-Corn (D) · Charniele Herring (D) · Patrick A. Hope (D) · Tim Hugo (R) · Mark Keam (D) · Kaye Kory (D) · James LeMunyon (R) · Scott Lingamfelter (R) · Robert G. Marshall (R) · Kenneth R. Plum (D) · Tom Rust (R) · Jim Scott (D) · Mark D. Sickles (D) · Scott Surovell (D) · Luke Torian (D) · Vivian E. Watts (D)
Members of the Virginia
State Senate
Members of Congress
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