How can you tell when Sean Connaughton is lying?

His lips are moving, of course.

Just got a blast e-mail from the campaign. It's interesting stuff. Persuasive, even. That is, unless you've been unfortunate enough to be a Prince William County taxpayer for the going-on six years that Sean has been Chairman.

But it's interesting to read his campaign's propaganda (with appropriate rejoinders)

Dear Friend [OK, Name on a Mailing List; whether you're a friend or not, I define friendship these days by who gives me money],

I wanted to take a moment to update you on my campaign for Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the tremendous success we are having across the state [Bill Boling is kicking my a--, and I need money!].

As you know this campaign is about making Richmond live up to the expectations of Virginia [Having spent profligately in Prince William County, my overweening ambition demands that I go to Richmond and do the same thing]. As the only candidate with the proven record of executive experience, I need your help to make sure our campaign is successful so we can make sure our Commonwealth lives up to its potential [I'm probably not going to be able to con the Republican voters of Prince William County a third time, especially now that they've got two real Republicans --- Corey Stewart and John Stirrup --- to choose from].

As the first Republican Chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, a community of 355,000, I have steadily and methodically driven down property tax rates every year I have been in office [I've virtually ignored skyrocketing assessments, and the average taxpayer has a bill 50-60% higher than when I took office]. I have already capped property tax bill growth in Prince William County so taxes cannot sky rocket if the value of your home increases [Now that taxes are 50-60% higher, I can posture in an election year by saying that I'll limit increases. 'Course, if you fulfill my ambitions, I won't be around to have to keep that promise]. And I imposed fiscal discipline and long term sound budgeting policies in our county while taking on the liberal ACLU to defend the traditional family values of Virginians by installing porn filters on all the computers in our public libraries [Thank God I made a few good appointments, and those rubes on the Library Board were willing to take the heat!].

I also committed myself to fixing Prince William County's transportation nightmare by building over 75 miles of new roads during my term and increased our community’s support to public safety [Never mind that the bonds were approved long before I ever took office].

Due to our hard work and dedication to the conservative values of the Republican Party, we have created in Prince William County the highest job growth rate in the nation in 2004 and the lowest crime rate in our history. When I took this record back to the people of Prince William in 2003, I was re-elected with more than 85% of the Republican Primary vote and 70% of the General Election vote [And thank God those Democrats ran two buffoons against me. 'Course, it might say something that 15% of Republican voters (in a race with few cross-overs) couldn't stomach voting for the only candidate in the race who didn't have the backing of the Democrat Sheriff....].

Now I need your support to take this record of achievement to the voters of Virginia in my campaign for Lieutenant Governor. With your help we can get our message out so we can ensure that Richmond lives up to the promise of Virginia [GIVE ME MORE MONEY!].

Our campaign to win the Republican primary nomination on June 14th is taking off in every corner of Virginia and we are experiencing incredible momentum with voters from all over the Commonwealth [Bill Boling is waxing my tail in every debate, and I need to get on the air to tell lies about him].

Well, you get the picture. Poor Sean. All that ambition. And so little principle behind it.