Ben Tribbett - Not Larry Sabato Watch

Ben Tribbett - the love child of Jimmy and Cartman?

2009-11-08T19:58:00.000-08:00

2009-09-11T10:18:00.000-07:00

Tribbett sent out this retweet today:

rt @AdamRhew USCG exercise on Potomac on 9/11 is prime example of govt folks being "in the bubble" and forgetting what reg. ppl would think

So Tribbett thinks that our military is full of "govt folks" who aren't "regular people". The Coast Guard does this same routine training mission four times a week, and the only reason why this was a big deal is because CNN got the story completely wrong.

Talk about living in a bubble.

Fucking idiot.

It Just Hit Me

2009-09-07T10:28:00.000-07:00

Ben Tribbett.

Virginia's own "liberal" version of Glenn Beck.

Ben Tribbett = Greg Letiecq

2008-04-13T16:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Ben Tribbett wrote a post saying that he is removing BVBL from his blogroll because of content. Apparently Greg Letiecq, the main (only?) author at BVBL, put up a post about a guard dog for sale who has nothing left to do because there are no more illegal immigrants in the neighborhood.

He also put up a video that shows ordinary citizens criticizing Corey Stewart because of his close association with Greg.

Right before that post was an entry about Mark Warner sponsoring Not Larry Sabato for the 08 election season. My entry about nobody wanting Ben around is apparently wrong, because I guess Mark Warner does.

So my question is, if Corey Stewart can be attacked for his association with Greg Letiecq, why doesn't that same standard apply to any politician that associates with Ben?

Ben has truly written some disgusting shit on his blog which would make anyone cringe. I'll throw one out there, and see if you can come up with other Ben Tribbett hall of fame posts:

Falsely accusing a school board candidate of sexual harassment based on a frivolous lawsuit and embarrassing an apparently honorable man running for School Board.

Does this post not "cross the line from a political statement, to comments that are not a joke, not funny, and are totally unacceptable to make"?

Feel free to email hall of fame posts to bentribbettwatch@gmail.com or put them directly in the comments, and then hold Leslie Byrne and Mark Warner accountable for supporting this garbage.

Ben Tribbett? Oh, he's not wanted.

2008-04-02T08:28:00.001-07:00

Sorry about the lack of posts lately, you can blame Ben for that. Apparently he's too busy with his new "job" to write anything completely insane and outrageous.

Anyway, I've been thinking lately about how no one really wants Ben around, even if Ben is a fervent supporter of that person, candidate, or organization.

Everyone knows Ben is a borderline stalker of Hillary Clinton, and word on the street is that the Clinton campaign welcomes bloggers who support Hillary and tries to bring them into the campaign as much as possible. They even let blogs use an official Hillary Clinton graphic. Did Ben ever have one on his website? Nope. Seems the Clinton campaign really wanted nothing to do with him.

Tribbett has removed "the official transition office of Leslie Byrne" from his website. I guess Leslie didn't want to have anything "official" to do with Ben Tribbett.

Over on RK there was a post about bloggers being "embedded" at the DNC convention, with a link to Chris Cilliza's blog. Chris lists blogs from all 50 states that would be a welcome addition to the convention...you would think "the most widely read ~~tabloid~~ blog in Virginia" would be on that list. But Not Larry Sabato was nowhere to be found.

Another post on RK had a ton of pictures from a Leslie Byrne fundraiser, and where else would Ben be other than at this fundraiser giving her a piggy back ride. Tons of pictures were posted. Not one of Ben or with Ben in it. And you know you can't miss that fat piece of crap.

No one wants Ben around. No one.

Flashback: Ben is a Racist

2008-02-28T15:02:00.000-08:00

It started out with chain emails.

Then the Tennessee Republican Party did it. Which was repudiated. By Republicans.

(Republican) Gov. Phil Bredesen today called an anti-Sen. Barack Obama press release from the Tennessee Republican Party “offensive” and said it showed “prejudice.”

Now a respected national conservative talk show host has done it.

He [McCain] also said that it was not appropriate to invoke Mr. Obama’s middle name in the course of the campaign.

“I absolutely repudiate such comments,” [McCain] said. “It will never happen again.”

Via Raising Kaine, there is another blog posting about it.

Don't insult your intelligence or mine by pretending that John McCain's plan for this race doesn't rely on hundreds of Cunninghams -- large and small -- across the country, and the RNC and all the GOP third party groups, to be peddling this stuff nonstop for the next eight months because it's the only way John McCain have a real shot at contesting this race.

Ben Tribbett seems to fit perfectly into the "small Cunningham" description that the author is talking about, but I bet he never thought that group would include fellow "Democrats" as well.

Ben Tribbett has Problems

2008-02-28T09:36:00.001-08:00

In what is sure to go down as one of the most idiotic moves since running his sorry ass down to the post office to "investigate" a Tom Davis appearance there, Ben "Not Larry Sabato" Tribbett has gone down to Richmond to stalk legislators hanging out in a hotel room. What exactly does he hope to accomplish? And updating his website to let everyone know there is not one, not two, but THREE, count them THREE newspapers outside that door in the morning....those are some mighty fine investigative skills. That must mean there is some real nefarious stuff going on in there. As one comment said:

Dude....are you mad that they won't let you in or are you mad that they're smoking?

Do you know which party started all this stuff?...I can tell you don't. I guess you've never been to Del. Vic Thomas' poker game in the Holiday Inn.

Also, I wouldn't try to get into the basement of the Commonwealth Club if I were you....they'll bounce you out onto Franklin Street.

There are probably 10 more of these kinds of "illegal" gatherings you can't get invited to.

Ben, people are laughing AT you, not with you.

More on THE Example of Ethical Blogging

2008-02-20T09:04:00.000-08:00

And the comments keep on coming. This could go down as the best NLS post of all time.

"I am on the panel as the example of ethical blogging."

ROFLMAO!!

Whatever helps you get through your day, sparky.
Ben speaking on ethics is like Bill Clinton talking about marital fidelity.
The editor of the National Enquirer will also be there to talk about ethics in journalism. Be sure you get your tickets now!!
Be careful Ben, it sounds like a trap to me. It might be some kind of intervention.

If they grab you and stick you in a white van, well, we'll miss ya, ole buddy.

And what will certainly be one of the best comments that has ever appeared on Ben Tribbett's blog:

Let's see-

The whole Kate & Phil divorce controversy as "news." That was weird.

The "buying votes" scandal in Tidewater. Weird.

Rushing down to the Post Office because Tom Davis was reportedly harassing postal workers about a flyer going out for JMDD. Weird. Calling for the Governor to intervene. Even weirder.

The breathless large-point fonts and repetition of "scandal" and "resign" in many headlines. Weird.

The fixation on personal score settling. Connolly, JMDD/Tom, Obama, Janet O., "South County Bitch", and what list would be complete without Dave Marsden? Again, a little weird.

The letter to Senator-elect McEachin with Lowell. Weird.

The whole "babes of the blogosphere" on-going theme. Weird.

I'm sure they want Ben on the panel, but perhaps not for the reasons he is thinking....

Thank you, Interested Observer.

The Most Outrageous NLS Post EVER

2008-02-19T13:52:00.001-08:00

Sorry for the downtime folks, but Ben hasn't said anything too crazy lately. But now, the most outrageous post ever. Ben "Not Larry Sabato" Tribbett says, and I quote:

I am on the panel as the example of ethical blogging.

Right. Here is just a few of the serial NLS commenters on this subject:

If you live long enough, nothing surprises you anymore.
You the example of ethical blogging? I can't stop laughing....
You sure it isn't because they wanted an example of how not to be ethical .
It's sorta like asking t to be the keynote speaker at this year's "Queers for Choice" extravganza.
Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

If you read NLS for no other reason, do it for the entertainment of reading the thoughts of people who Ben thinks are his friends.

Ben Tribbett is a Hack, Part III

2008-02-12T15:45:00.000-08:00

At 2:17 today, Ben Tribbett called Virginia for Barack Obama.

This means one of two things. Either a) he wants you to think he's soooooo smart and has all the inside information to be so bold as to call Virginia at 2 in the afternoon or b) he wants to depress turnout for Obama.

If it's option a? Good for Ben, he can read polls. Almost every poll says that Obama is up by nearly 20 points in Virginia. Real bold prediction there, Ben.

If it's option b? Ben shows, yet again, that he is detached from reality and that he thinks his blog actually has influence over Election results. No one, besides the campaign insiders that read his tabloid for pure entertainment and the few people that actually take it seriously, read or even know that "Not Larry Sabato" actually exists. And those that read it already have their mind made up.

Ben is a hack, pure and simple. Oh, and don't forget douchebag. Because Ben is certainly that.

Ben Tribbett will be Speaking about Ethics

2008-02-08T10:12:00.000-08:00

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Ben Tribbett will be Speaking about EthicsBen Tribbett will be Speaking about Ethics Ben Tribbett will be Speaking about Ethics Ben Tribbett will be Speaking about Ethics Ben Tribbett will be Speaking about EthicsBen Tribbett will be Speaking about Ethics Ben Tribbett will be Speaking about Ethics Ben Tribbett will be Speaking about Ethics Ben Tribbett will be Speaking about EthicsBen Tribbett will be Speaking about Ethics Ben Tribbett will be Speaking about Ethics Ben Tribbett will be Speaking about Ethics Ben Tribbett will be Speaking about EthicsBen Tribbett will be Speaking about Ethics Ben Tribbett will be Speaking about Ethics Ben Tribbett will be Speaking about Ethics Ben Tribbett will be Speaking about EthicsBen Tribbett will be Speaking about Ethics Ben Tribbett will be Speaking about Ethics Ben Tribbett will be Speaking about Ethics Ben Tribbett will be Speaking about EthicsBen Tribbett will be Speaking about Ethics Ben Tribbett will be Speaking about Ethics Ben Tribbett will be Speaking about Ethics Ben Tribbett will be Speaking about EthicsBen Tribbett will be Speaking about Ethics Ben Tribbett will be Speaking about Ethics Ben Tribbett will be Speaking about Ethics HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Meanwhile, Ben says he's going to a fundraiser for Hillary. You would think that the most widely read blogger in the state who also happens to be a die-hard Hillary fan would get an invite to be on the list of 100-Member Virginia Committee, but no, looks like they don't want anything to do with him. Except of course take his donations. From an email tip:

Just a quick tip. I saw Hillary announced her top Virginia activists today. The Washington Post blog had it. Very interesting list. Ben isn't on it. However, Virginia politics luminaries such as aif Khan, a former member of the VCU student senate and J. Alden Leonard, a W&M Student Government representative made it. Ben's friends such as Leslie Byrne's husband and her former chief of staff made it. Even heretical democrats like George Burke and Johnny Joannou made it. People who's only affiliation listed is as YD officers made it. (And don't forget that Ben was a president of the Fairfax YDs). Even humiliated losers like Carlos Del Toro made it. But where's Ben? Does he have so little influence that he's not even more important than these jerk offs? Or is his blog so despicable that Hillary doesn't want to be associated with it? Or is Hillary just using him like a $5 whore?

Ben Tribbett is a Hack, Part II

2008-02-07T09:00:00.000-08:00

A few weeks back I wrote a post showing how Ben has no idea what he's talking about. Oh I know, I didn't believe it either, but apparently it's true.

Ben seems to be the only one who doesn't realize that Hillary is in some major trouble. His obsession with Hillary Clinton continues with idiotic claims of a Hillary landslide victory on Tuesday. Even though Obama won the most delegates. Even though Hillary Clinton had to lend her campaign $5 million to even come close to what Obama got.

To sum it all up, check out Five reasons why Hillary should be worried, which completely blow any arguments of a "Hillary Landslide" out of the water.

And to top it all off, in a post worthy of "Irony is Dead, Part V", Ben Tribbett claims, yet again, to have a high accuracy rating.

Ben Tribbett has Inside Information

2008-02-06T18:52:00.001-08:00

In an NLS Exclusive, in a BIG GIANT FONT, Ben had the inside information on a Hillary Clinton trip to Northern Virginia. How does Ben get all this information?

I can't even remember how many time he changed it, but I'll do my best to recreate it here.

Post 1: *NLS EXCLUSIVE* HILLARY IN NOVA ON WED
Post 2: *NLS EXCLUSIVE* HILLARY IN NOVA ON THURSDAY
Post 3: *NLS EXCLUSIVE* HILLARY AT GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY ON THURSDAY
Post 4: *NLS EXCLUSIVE* HILLARY AT ~~GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY~~ ON THURSDAY
Post 5: *NLS EXCLUSIVE* LOCATION TBD UPDATE: CHANGED TO ~~GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY~~. EVENT BEING MOVED. MORE SOON.

Wow, Ben has some really great sources. Keep up the great work!

Ben Tribbett is a Racist

2008-02-01T11:06:00.000-08:00

Guest Post by Not Jasmine Byrne

Back in December, Bob Kerrey endorsed Hillary Clinton and said

"It's probably not something that appeals to him, but I like the fact that his name is Barack Hussein Obama, and that his father was a Muslim and that his paternal grandmother is a Muslim," said Kerrey, a former governor and the current president of the New School in New York City. "There's a billion people on the planet that are Muslims, and I think that experience is a big deal."

Was it an accident or was he purposely trying to spread the rumor that Barack Obama is a muslim? Either way, it caused a big enough uproar that it elicited an apology from Kerrey. I guess he didn't want to be fired the way Billy Shaheen was.

Now, two times in three days Ben Tribbett has referred to Barack Obama as "Hussein". Of course, Tribbett doesn't feel bad about doing this, because this is just what Republicans are saying. Just like he didn't feel bad about calling a School Board member the "South County Bitch" because he didn't actually give her that name.

Bullshit. Tribbett is purposely perpetuating these rumors and trying to equate Barack Obama with Saddam Hussein. In other words, Tribbett wants the readers of his blog to be well aware that Barack Obama's middle name is the same as Saddam Hussein, so Obama is no better than an evil dictator who gassed thousands of Kurds. This is using someone's race and ethnicity against them and it's no better than calling him the n-word. Furthermore, from a comment the other day:

Is he aware that there are millions of Arab American Democrats? Some of them named Hussein? Or do his Republican bosses at New Media Strategies not care?

Ben is a fanatical supporter of Leslie Byrne. It's almost scary how far up her ass he is. But do we really want a Congresswoman representing Virginia's 11th District who has probably been in hundreds of pornographic movies? I mean, Jasmine Byrne has been in hundreds of adult movies, so I'm sure Leslie has as well. That's all we need...Leslie Byrne using the Capitol as her own personal movie set.

Irony is Dead, Part IV

2008-01-30T15:05:00.000-08:00

Now that I'm pretty much 95% sure that Ben Tribbett was working for Chap! Petersen using Duke Advisors LLC, it seems natural to go back and revisit some of his posts from September 2006.

There's a post called Paid Bloggers and one titled Unacceptable, where writes, wait for it...wait for it...

It is totally fair to hold the candidate accountable for what his paid staff says on blogs.

Someone needs to just come out and ask Chap! if he was paying Ben through Duke Advisors, and if so, hold him accountable for what Ben wrote during the campaign.

Irony is Dead, Part III

2008-01-27T20:25:00.000-08:00

I'll say this about Ben Tribbett: that guy has one set of gigantic balls. This mental case tries to call out the Washington Post for blogging about something that hasn't been substantiated. Ben says:

Let me walk you through this. I will talk very slowly so you understand.

Lori is running against someone she clearly doesn't like (Leslie). She claims someone poked her who is a Leslie supporter. She won't say who it is. The Post runs it. I am saying someone I don't like (Gerry) peed on my leg. I named the person who did the urinating. Even though I clearly have an agenda, the Post should run this because I have provided more information about this "incident" than Lori did about hers.

Is that clear enough for you?

Of course, an anonymous commenter calls him on his bullshit:

Oh, so you mean that the WP *BLOG* is being run by the same pathetic
journalistic standard as the NLS *BLOG*, and you're bitching about it?

Pot, meet kettle.

Jeez, you usually hide your hypocrisy a little better than this.

Which is pretty much 100% accurate, except that Ben doesn't try to hide his hypocricy. He doesn't have any pride or integrity whatsoever. So hypocricy be damned, he just doesn't give a shit. Ben also says that in his original post he was giving an example of how absurd the story is. Because Ben never writes anything absurd or unsubstantiated. Ever.

BREAKING BEN TRIBBETT SCANDAL

2008-01-24T08:01:00.000-08:00

BEN TRIBBETT INVOLVED IN MAJOR SCANDAL THAT WILL ERASE ANY REMAINING CREDIBILITY HE HAD.

SEE HERE AND HERE FOR BACKGROUND.

update- An email tip:

the CEO of New Media Strategies, Pete Snyder, is a former Republican political consultant who worked for Guiliani

But that's not even the best part. Ben's new boss is a contributor to Tom Davis for Congress!!!!!!

update- As noted in the comments, Ben hasn't said one bad thing about Tom Davis since accepting the job.

Ben Tribbett. Bought and paid for by Chap Petersen and Tom Davis.

Ben Makes New Media Strategies Proud

2008-01-22T12:35:00.000-08:00

Ben has another post about Tim Craig and his alleged role in "Borat". It hasn't even been confirmed that it is actually Tim Craig, but NLS and BVBL continue on as if Tim's name were in the actual credits.

Anyway, a commenter on NLS sums it up perfectly:

Ben has a genuine disdain for Tim Craig, and why shouldn’t he? After all, Craig is a professional reporter, something Ben will never be. But wait, Ben just got a job, right? He now works for New Media Strategies. I guess we now know that firm believes personally attacking reporters for the largest circulation newspaper in Virginia constitutes best practices in public relations. New Media Strategies obviously approves of its employees making personal attacks on Washington Post reporters, or else Ben never would have posted this gratuitous and scurrilous item in the first place. I’m sure Ben’s employer will gain lots of new clients based on this novel approach to media strategy.

Ben's Unhealthy Obsession with George Barker

2008-01-15T09:11:00.000-08:00

Ben Tribbett had a post the other day where he said that Donald McEachin and Chap Petersen were the biggest losers of the session because they had to sit next to George Barker and his terrible body odor.

Seriously. Look at that fat piece of crap. His fat ass probably breaks a sweat when he climbs a set of stairs, and he doesn't even look like he knows what the hell deodorant is.

Anyway, Tribbett backed Barker's primary opponent and in typical Ben fashion, he said or did anything to get him elected.

He implied that George Barker is a racist.

He claimed the Barker campaign was in shambles, but then went on to win the primary and the general.

He photoshops George into pictures that, well...just see them here and here.

He claims George was "swiftboating" Greg Galligan, which was absolutely ridiculous.

Ben, just get it over with and tell everyone that you're gay and in love with George and don't know how to properly express your feelings. It would certainly put this whole thing into perspective.

Irony is Dead, Part II

2008-01-11T16:35:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Ben posted this, saying that Kerry's endorsement of Barack Obama proves that he is unelectable.

Funny, Ben didn't seem to think that when Kerry endorsed Jim Webb. Who later went on to be elected Senator.

Such. A. Tool.

(h/t anonymous comment and NLS comments)

Ben Tribbett Watch Has Hit The Big Time!

2008-01-10T12:24:00.000-08:00

You know you've made it big time in Virginia Blogs when you get a shout out from Daily Whackjob, and Ben Tribbett Watch has done just that. Tuesday DWJ posted this and gave us here at Ben Tribbett Watch all sorts of warm and fuzzies. Yesterday, however, DWJ gave us a good tongue lashing by posting this about the Duke Advisors LLC theory.

The only crime here is the name of that Law Firm and that the jackasses who run
Ben Tribbett watch are as bad as Ben when throwing out accusations without proof.

To be clear, Ben Tribbett Watch was never meant to be better or a higher quality. Let's go back to our introduction post:

These tips and/or stories should be rooted in at least 5% of the truth, since that’s often how much truth is in Ben’s posts.

In other words, Ben Tribbett Watch is playing the game by Ben's rules, not by the rules that the rest of the civilized world plays by. Nevertheless, I believe there is about a 75% chance that Ben Tribbett was getting paid through Duke Advisors LLC, well above the 5% threshold Ben has established.

The intro post also included this:

Also, this blog is going to be mean. Ben doesn’t hold back when he writes, and neither will I or should you in the comments.

When Ben calls people down ballot douchebags, racist, photoshops people into someone taking a shower, and whatever else he feels like on any given day, I have no problem with being mean when it comes to Ben. That's what I find it funny that the infamous Aimee would say that "The comments section on Ben Tribbett Watch is getting a little out of hand as well."

It's been well documented on NLS that Aimee is one of his little groupies. She provided ammunition for Ben's hatred for Oleszek campaign manager Johnathan Murray, she gave him emails from James Walkinshaw about the Connolly Campaign, and there are rumors circulating that she was sleeping with Ben (excuse me while I go vomit).

Sorry Aimee, you are defined by who you surround yourself with. You're fair game.

Ben Tribbett is an Idiot

2008-01-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

Ben Tribbett is a Hack

2008-01-08T22:49:00.000-08:00

I got an email last night from one of Ben's little groupies who claims that Ben is some kind of genius because he predicted Hillary Clinton's win in New Hampshire last night. Sorry kid, you're way off base.

Ben's predictions for New Hampshire:

Hillary Clinton- 1st
Barack Obama- 2nd
John Edwards- 3rd

Mitt Romney- 1st
John McCain- 2nd
Ron Paul- 3rd

Actual Results

Hillary Clinton- 1st
Barack Obama- 2nd
John Edwards- 3rd

John McCain- 1st
Mitt Romney- 2nd
Mike Huckabee- 3rd

That's a 50% accuracy rating. At least he did better than Iowa.

But look what happened in the past week. Ben's comments on the race:

January 4th - "In four days Hillary will win New Hampshire and she will be our nominee."
January 5th - "No question after tonight Hillary will be on the rise once again!"
January 6th - "Hillary needs to get on track here, this is getting out of control fast."
January 7th - "With Iowa gone, New Hampshire going up in flames and Clinton's very weak campaign team in Nevada, I have almost given up hope for a comeback."
January 8th, in his signature 72 point font, "MSNBC JUST CALLED IT!!!!"

Conclusion? Ben can read polls. Polls had Obama up by ten all week, so Ben had given up hope. Ben is no more politically insightful than Chris Matthews. And that's not very insightful. And the funniest part of Ben's rants? He says Hillary has a very weak campaign team in Nevada. (One of) Ben's arch-nemeses, Nate Dela Piedra, points out that the only reason for Ben's comment is that the same guy who ran Dave Marsden's campaign is running Nevada for Hillary. Nate predicts:

1. Hillary loses NH, and Obama's momentum causes her to lose in Nevada.
2. Ben points out that Hillary's Nevada Director is Robby Mook.
3. Ben points out that Robby managed Delegate Marsden's 20 point win in 2005 (in a 50/50 district that had been represented by a Republican for 32 years).
4. Ben blames Marsden for the following 8 years for any problems that occur during an Obama administration.

One didn't end up being accurate, but I would put money on 2-4.

Ben Tribbett's Diary

2008-01-08T09:12:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, I've been incredibly busy at work. Again, if there is anyone out there that would like to post their own stories about Ben Tribbett, feel free to email me at bentribbettwatch@gmail.com. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up the pace soon.

In the meantime, here is another site dedicated to Ben. Enjoy.

Crappy NLS Predictions

2008-01-04T11:15:00.000-08:00

Some of Ben's loser groupies really like him because they think he is always so accurate with his predictions, when in reality he is actually pretty bad. Well, this is a perfect place to expose Ben for the fraud that he is. Take, for instance, his predictions on the Presidential race and what would happen in Iowa.

Here were his predictions:

Clinton- 1st
John Edwards- 2nd
Barack Obama- 3rd

Mike Huckabee- 1st
John McCain- 2nd
Mitt Romney- 3rd

Actual results:

Barack Obama- 1st
John Edwards- 2nd
Hillary Clinton- 3rd
Mike Huckabee- 1st
Mitt Romney- 2nd
Fred Thompson- 3rd

Out of six predictions, Ben got two right for a 33% accuracy rating. Yeah, that guy is a political genius alright.

We'll go back and look at some of his other predictions soon.

Irony Is Dead

2008-01-02T20:18:00.000-08:00

So says someone in an anonymous comment, and anyone who has ever read NLS would whole heartedly agree.

Ben Tribbett calling to get behind the Democratic nominee. Like he got behind Dave Marsden? Like he attacks anyone he doesn't like personally, even if they are a Democrat?

Ben Tribbett not only has credibility issues, he also has mental health issues as well. He could benefit from some of Tim Kaine's and Ken Cuccinelli's proposals on the mental health system in Virginia.

BEN TRIBBETT IS SCARED

2008-01-02T09:26:00.001-08:00

In his signature 92 point font, Ben tried to make a scandal out of Gerry's announcement, where there was of course, no scandal.

Looks like someone is scared that his handpicked candidate could go down in a primary.

I noticed he has "offical transition office of Congresswoman-elect Leslie Byrne" at the top of his website. I wonder if Duke Advisors LLC will show up on her finance reports or if they'll find another way to cover up his paid involvement in her campaign.

Ben Tribbett = Duke Advisors LLC??

2007-12-30T20:23:00.000-08:00

So after a nice holiday break, I've gone through Chap's finance reports and Ben Tribbett's name is nowhere to be found.

This means one of the following:

Ben Tribbett was a full time volunteer
Chap somehow covered up Ben's disbursement
Chap broke a campaign finance law

I spent a few days thinking about it and couldn't come up with an answer. Finally I went back and looked one more time. On the October 29 filing period, under the Itemization of Expenditures, there are 14 expenditures listed as "salary". Out of those 14 expenditures, 13 have individual names by them. One does not. The one that does not is listed as Duke Advisors LLC.

I refuse to believe Ben Tribbett would work full time for free. So either Ben Tribbett started a consulting company and got paid through Duke Advisors LLC, or Chap broke the law.

If the answer is that Ben got paid through Duke Advisors LLC, there may be a number of reasons for this. Pick how many ever you think apply:

Chap was embarrassed to have Ben on the payroll
Chap thought of Ben as a political liability
Chap thought NLS was influential enough to have an affect on the outcome of his election, so he paid to have Ben write good things about him
Chap didn't think NLS was influential, he just didn't want bad things written about him in the blogosphere

If Ben is in fact Duke Advisors LLC, I guess all the campaigns now know how to get good press from Not Larry Sabato. Just pay him off.

And Ben Tribbett's credibility takes another hit.

Not Larry Sabato Goes After Tim Craig

2007-12-21T07:31:00.000-08:00

With a comment on BVBL, J. Geils sums up the whole story perfectly.

Have you no shame?

What is the point of this post? Why would this be of interest to “our elected officials in Richmond”? How can BVBL claim to know the specific details of the filming of this event and why should readers rely on his account?

This entire posting strikes me as a tad convenient. Consider the order of recent events. Key members of the Virginia Democratic blogosphere get their noses (not to mention their inflated egos and, potentially, their wallets) out of joint because Tim Craig writes a column questioning the wisdom of Judy Feder and Leslie Byrne in aligning themselves with some of those same bloggers as a strategy for victory. Then, Tribbett and Feld go after Craig. Next, Roll Call publishes a story naming the DCCC’s 40 top districts and Virginia doesn’t make the cut, thus reinforcing one of the points in Craig’s column. Since Tribbett and Feld can’t attack Craig directly based on his private life, they leave it to their favorite scribe in the Virginia Republican blogosphere, BVBL, to make the slam. Finally to make the smear complete, Tribbett links to BVBL from his blog so that everyone can read the even-if-true-irrelevant information.

Tim Craig is employed by the Washington Post. Although that publication has a liberal slant, it still has to adhere to journalistic standards that blogs such as BVBL, NotLarrySabato, and RaisingKaine do not. Craig is something that BVBL, NotLarrySabato, and RaisingKaine are not and will likely never be: a professional reporter. This posting, and what is fast becoming a cyberspace-food-fight against Tim Craig by NotLarrySabato and RaisingKaine, represents the kind of writing that discredits the blogs.

This all began because Craig wrote a column suggesting that Judy Feder and Leslie Byrne might face more of an uphill struggle than their enthusiastic supporters might realize. Even if there was something that justified highlighting an event in Craig’s life in an attempt to subject him to public ridicule (and I don’t think there is or ever could be), fulfilling the requirements of his employment by penning a column of basic political analysis certainly is not it.

Without even knowing for a fact whether that was Tim Craig or not, they put it on the internet claiming it is. And even if it is Tim Craig, who cares?

Tim Craig said it perfectly when he responded to a previous attack by Ben:

As for you assertion, it is laughable for you to lecture me or any member of the Richmond press corps on journalistic ethics.

Also, I'm not done with Chap's finance reports. When I get some time this weekend I'm going to look into it more.

MAJOR SCANDAL

2007-12-20T08:46:00.000-08:00

OK, not really. But by Ben's standards this certainly is a mega-scandal, so I'm going to treat it as such.

This blog has gotten a lot more readers than I thought it would and I have received numerous tips about Ben so far. Don't worry, whether they are credible or not they will all be posted at some point, but this one is too interesting to wait.

Apparently it's pretty well known that Ben was working out of Chap Petersen's office full time. However, according to my source Ben's name is nowhere to be found on the Chap! financial reports.

I haven't looked to confirm this since I don't have time, but since we're using "Not Larry Sabato" standards, it's not really necessary to confirm something before posting it. And I don't believe for one second that Ben was a full time volunteer.

What's going on here?

Virginal Ben

2007-12-20T07:28:00.000-08:00

Someone in the comments labeled this blog as a hate site. I don't think that's an accurate description. Instead, think of this more as a watchdog site, in the same mold as CREW. We're just here to keep an eye on him and to give him a taste of his own medicine.

Virginal Ben is a Ben Tribbett hate site, one of the originals in fact. I wish the author would fire it back up.

This One Really Pissed Ben Off

2007-12-19T13:12:00.000-08:00

Ben claims that "this is beneath acceptable discourse".

How many photoshops has Ben done and how many things has Ben written that are "beneath acceptable discourse"?

Ben Tribbett is a Hypocrite with No Credibility, Part I

2007-12-18T13:33:00.000-08:00

When Ben Tribbett feels someone should be elected, he will write anything about anyone running against that person. It doesn't matter if it is a primary or general election, Ben will spread vicious rumors, false accusations, and manufactured "scandals" which only he thinks are actual scandals.

Such was the case in the primary between (Senator-elect) George Barker and Greg Galligan. There were many posts on this race, each one more outrageous than the last. The one that is relevant to this discussion is a post called "Barker's Alliance With Republicans". This post wasn't even close to one of his worst, but the funny thing is he ends it with
"Barker owes all Democrats an apology for this cavorting."
Pretty unbelievable considering Ben was just featured with a defacto endorsement on an ultra-conservative Republican's mail piece who he would've ran against in the general election had he won the nomination.

One example out of many of why Ben Tribbett, aka Not Larry Sabato, has no crediblilty whatsoever.

The Obligatory "Ben Was Kicked Out of the Democratic Party" Post

2007-12-18T06:53:00.000-08:00

In 2005, Ben actually thought he could be a member of the General Assembly, so he ran for the House of Delegates (it probably would have been the end of this great Commonwealth had he made it there). Luckily, he ran against Dave Marsden, a moderate Democrat and former Republican, in the Democratic Primary.

To make a long story short, he lost or dropped out or something and ended up endorsing Republican Michael Golden on Not Larry Sabato. Michael Golden, mind you, was about as conservative as they come, probably to the right of Jerry Kilgore.

Michael Golden took that post from the former Democratic candidate and did a mailing with it:

Of course that post and that mailing prompted this from the Fairfax County Democratic Party:

Ben hilariously claims that he is going to sue someone over this because he wasn't actually kicked out of the party, instead he just decided not to pay his dues. Yeah. Ben Tribbett is going to sue someone over something they said about him.

Either way, Ben actually got kicked out or they tried to kick him out. Like I said, no one wants anything to do with this guy.

(Thanks to Daily Whack Job for hosting the images)

Why Ben Tribbett Watch?

2007-12-17T10:33:00.000-08:00

Ben Tribbett is the writer behind the popular political blog “Not Larry Sabato”. He specializes in Virginia politics, writing most frequently about Northern Virginia politicians, candidates, campaigns, and their role in the General Assembly. His blog is one of the most popular in Virginia, widely read among politicians, insiders, campaign staff, and party officials. It has grown in popularity mainly to his analysis of voting history in campaigns that people find insightful. By his own account “Not Larry Sabato” has approximately 1,179 readers a day.

But there is a problem. Ben Tribbett is nothing but an irresponsible, hypocritical, reckless hack. In addition to his evolving “predictions” and bullshit analyses, he uses his blog to attack people he doesn’t like personally, spread vicious rumors, advance his own political agenda, and often uses photoshopped pictures to insult people he doesn’t like. I put predictions in quotes, because Senator Ken Cuccinelli put it best when he recently wrote:

"Unlike one of my infamous constituents, Not Larry Sabato, I don’t continually refine my long-term predictions and then tell you how smart I am because my predictions the day before the election were ‘so accurate.’”

No one likes Ben Tribbett. Neither political party wants him. The only two politicians that want anything to do with him are Leslie Byrne and Chap Petersen, and even they try to conceal any collaboration. He has no real friends, although he thinks he does. If anyone is friendly to him it’s merely out of political expediency because they don’t want to be attacked by him.

Ben Tribbett’s bullshit has been documented all over the internet, mostly in the comments section of his own blog. To his credit he will often leave up critical comments, although many times he deletes the ones he doesn’t like. Other blogs have exposed Ben for the fraud and hack that he is. “Ben Tribbett Watch” will take these comments and blog posts and put them all in one place. There will be some original content here, but my job is easy since I only have to go back and find what other people have written and fact checked. We’ll go back and focus on some of the more outrageous and stupid things he’s written in the past and will keep an eye on his current posts as well.

How long will “Ben Tribbett Watch” last? I don’t know. Probably until I feel that there is sufficient information in one place to show that Ben Tribbett is nothing but a piece of shit with a blog. Also, this blog is going to be mean. Ben doesn’t hold back when he writes, and neither will I or should you in the comments. I’ll use photoshops of Ben, just like he does of other people. There will not be a lot of posts to Ben Tribbett Watch, maybe one or two a day, if that. Unlike Ben, I do not live in my parent’s basement and am forced to have a full time job like most normal adults.

It’s well known that Ben has made a lot of enemies and I’m sure there are a lot you who have stories or tips you would like to share. For tips about Ben Tribbett, and I’m sure there are plenty out there, email them to bentribbettwatch@gmail.com, confidentially guaranteed of course. These tips and/or stories should be rooted in at least 5% of the truth, since that’s often how much truth is in Ben’s posts.

This should be fun.