Maybe Newt can quit crying now. The last straw embarrassment that revealed his campaign wasn’t all that is about to be fixed.
Rick Perry already filed a law suit, but right now his team is scrambling trying to fix blame on why Perry bombed so badly when trying to run for president.
Big news out of Virginia, which is backed by Republicans and Democrats in the state. Story from Carl Cameron of Fox News:
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is intervening in the Virginia presidential primary dispute and plans to file emergency legislation to address the inability of most Republican presidential candidates to get their name on the ballot, Fox News has learned.
[...] Cuccinelli’s proposal is expected to state that if the Virginia Board of Elections certifies that a candidate is receiving federal matching funds, or has qualified to receive them, that candidate will upon request be automatically added to the ballot. Two former Democratic attorneys general are also backing the move, along with a former Democratic state party chairman and a former Republican state party chairman.
Don’t look now, but Mitt Romney suddenly seems like the Iowa front-runner. …The former Massachusetts governor has carefully tempered expectations in Iowa all year… But as a crowd of conservative opponents keep the anti-Romney vote divided, his odds of a victory in the state that humbled him four years ago have never been better. – Politico [update]
Gingrich’s most recent telling development came when his campaign didn’t qualify for the Virginia ballot, made worse because it’s his current residence. Now he’s going negative after whining about Romney’s negative ads that did the job.
It reveals why Romney, through all the moments of others rising, has always remained the steady bet. Writing a book that covers 20 years of politics, now available in print on Amazon, including the opening salvo of 2012 in the midst of such volatility, I made the decision to come down on Romney being the only real choice in a desperate field, which at times looked ridiculous in the contagion of snapshot moments.
The most important moment so far in the campaign has been the steady rise and prowess of Ron Paul in Iowa. It seems to have awakened Republicans from their self-destructive stupor, with the coalescing wave of consensus the latest rising tide.
In electing a president, we are choosing someone to run the Executive Branch. A leader, to be sure, but not a speechmaker, a bomb-thrower, a quipster, a television personality or an exemplar of ideological purity. At this point in our history, the United States desperately needs a leader who understands the economy, the world of business, and, more generally, how the world works. We have had more than enough of a leader who was good at giving speeches and was ideologically pure, but who had no clue how the economy works or how the federal government can be administered without resort to graft and corruption. It is time for a president who knows what he is doing.
I’m not convinced at all that Mr. Romney understands “how the world works,” as Hinderaker posits. On foreign policy, Mr. Romney doesn’t come close to Pres. Obama’s current standing, though I would argue that Obama’s mirror image of George W. Bush doesn’t provide much of an opportunity for praise from someone like me. But outside of Ron Paul, obviously taking a page from Obama’s 2008 long view strategy, Mitt Romney’s the only one who was prepared for the 2012 campaign slug fest.
Newt Gingrich clearly was not, believing that his bomb throwing Fox News Channel appearances and the memory of his speakership, which isn’t remembered fondly, would carry the day, but it may only be remembered as a way to strengthen his future book sales and speaking engagements.
Over at Townhall, a right wing columnist targets the myth of Romney’s electability, choosing to cite his Mormonism as a problem. It’s a reprehensible line, so I suggest you read Alan Grayson on the subject instead.
The main issue progressives are hitting is Romney’s vulture capitalism past. Steve Benen hit it yesterday, wondering if anyone would find his Bain Capital – Wall Street coziness appealing. In an Occupy era it’s an understandable target.
Hitting Romney on not releasing his taxes and “secrecy,” also citing that he used the tax code to pay less taxes, seems to be something Democrats believe will work against Romney. I’m unconvinced. A story from the Boston Globe before Christmas revealed Romney’s retort on the coming taxes and Bain attack:
“We don’t have any current plans to release tax returns, but never say never,’’ he said yesterday after greeting voters at an Agway farm and hardware store here. “We’ll see what the future holds. We’ve released, of course, all of the information required by law, which is a pretty extensive release. But down the road we’ll see what happens if I’m the nominee.’’
Romney also indicated that he would not shy away from a legal tax break that shelters partners at private equity firms, like Bain Capital, from high tax rates on the largest part of their take-home profits.
“I can tell you we follow the tax laws, and if there’s an opportunity to save taxes, we like anybody else in this country will follow that opportunity,’’ he said.
There isn’t an American in this country with wealth, Democratic, Libertarian, Independent or Republican, who wouldn’t do the very same thing as Romney. As for Bain, Romney’s already got an answer prepared and it’s in defense of capitalism. It may not be popular with progressives and Occupy, but it’s a pure form of Republicanism that has won before, many times.
I’ve never wavered from the belief that Mitt Romney would prevail to become the Republican nominee. Ron Paul’s now helping hasten that inevitability.
The quicker Republicans get a nominee the faster we can get to the next political moment of 2012, which is whether outside candidates will emerge as anything other than a side show.
When you look at the anti-democratic actions of Ohio’s Gov. John Kasich, or Gov. Scott Walker in Wisconsin, not to mention the war on women being waged by right-wing zealots across our country, it’s amazing that Democrats aren’t flying high.
It’s too bad today’s Democratic Party has chosen to capitulate and compromise with Republicans, which we’ll see further when the “super committee” comes in with its recommendations, instead of taking their advantage and pushing it to aid the people. Democrats today no longer have the courage of their convictions or the principles on which the Party has stood for decades.
Gov. McDonnell had the good sense to blast these despicable efforts. Unfortunately, he didn’t say what needed to be said, which is that Pres. Obama is our president and any such dangerous images are un-American and should be investigated by the Secret Service. McDonnell should also fire the entire staff in Loudon Cty.
Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) called the e-mail “shameful and offensive,’’ his spokesman Tucker Martin said. “He calls on those involved to apologize for their actions, and to immediately ensure that such imagery is never used again. The governor has long stressed the need for more civility and respect in our politics. An e-mail like this one undermines those goals, offends all Virginians and discredits our entire political process. It will not be tolerated.”
The e-mail, first reported on the blog Too Conservative, has “Halloween 2011” in the subject lines and has several other images, including one of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, whose face has been made to look deformed with one eye bulging out of its socket.
The e-mail invites supporters to a Halloween parade. “LCRC members and Republican candidates: We are going to vanquish the zombies with clear thinking conservative principles and a truckload of Republican candy…It’s fun and a great way to represent our candidates to a ton of voters (and their kids) just before the election.”
Rush Limbaugh translation: It was a joke.
This is who the Republican Party is today, because they’re being run by a bunch of ignorant, some would say crazy, cretins who have no impulse control.
In Gov. McDonald’s Virginia, where I live, George “macaca” Allen, is actually running for Senate again. That he’s being challenged by Tim I-blew-the-2010-midterms-because-I-didn’t-have-the-guts-to-make-an-economic-message Kaine seems fitting. Allen and Kaine representing the perfect examples of everything that’s wrong with both parties.
The same actually goes for Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, both men having a weak ideological core, but no problem saying one thing on the campaign trail and another to the Wall Street jackals who fund their campaigns. Two politicians who are the epitome of the type of men who rise to the top in both parties, toting craven allegiances that leave we the people out in the cold, because it’s all about the best politician money can buy.
So, until Republicans get a handle on the people inside their party who trade in such dangerously racist, violently misogynistic, and anti-American rhetoric and campaign tactics, they don’t deserve a single vote.
But considering what Democrats, as well as progressives in Congress, are letting Republicans get away with, their cowardice doesn’t exactly deserve praise or a vote either.
This, in a nutshell, is American politics as it stands today.
Our birds began freaking out just minutes before it hit, so I knew something was up. It was a very respectable tremor that sent our kitties flying. It lasted more than a 10-count where we live.
Today is primary day in Virginia, so it will be interesting to see how this will impact it.
As a long-time former Southern California resident, I experienced the Northridge quake when I was living just down from Sunset Blvd, which was epic.
I’ll likely not see the beasts the rest of the day… Our classic champagne flutes survived.
UPDATE 2: The tweet of the day, via Howie Klein. Oh, I just can’t stop laughing…
UPDATE: NBC’s Robert Bozell said something interesting; that the harder environment on the east coast versus the softer ground on the west coast made the tremor travel further and wider.
Gov. Robert F. McDonnell, reviving a controversy that had been dormant for eight years, has declared that April will be Confederate History Month in Virginia, a move that angered civil rights leaders Tuesday but that political observers said would strengthen his position with his conservative base. – McDonnell’s Confederate History Month proclamation irks civil rights leaders
When I drive the GW Parkway on my way to Washington, passing into Alexandria, Virginia, this is the statue I pass at Washington and Prince Streets of an unarmed soldier marking the spot where units from Alexandria left to join the Confederate Army.
Down the street is historic Christ Church, where George Washington and Robert E. Lee were regular worshipers, with the church having been divided, with supporters of Washington sitting on one side, Lee’s supporters on the other. They talk about this even today, a church historian telling me where I could sit on Sunday depending on my politics.
Anyone paying attention to Bob McDonnell’s resume when he was running for governor shouldn’t be at all shocked at this latest development. Democrats have absolutely no room to whine, because they let this guy in.
Let’s remember Bob McDonnell is the guy Democrats couldn’t beat, and now is the template Republicans want to repeat.
This is the man that Creigh Deeds lost to by double digits, because Virginia Democrats couldn’t peg a loser on sight.
This is the Pat Robertson conservative who the Democratic Party, with Barack Obama leading as president, and Tim Kaine (former Virginia governor) running the DNC, couldn’t get exercised about to fight against. (Pres. Obama saved his capital for Deval Patrick.)
Not surprisingly, Gov. McDonnell, while setting out to honor the Civil War southern soldier, forgot one thing: slavery.
McDonnell speaks of shared history, yet does not cite slaves. Southern heritage includes not only those who supported the Confederacy but those who welcomed the Union armies as liberators. McDonnell recognizes that the past must be interpreted within the context not only of its times but of ours. The inexcusable omission reduces the slaves and their descendants to invisibility once again. – Times Dispatch
Bob McDonnell doesn’t see an issue. David Frum doesn’t either.
You know, because we’re all in a post-racial era and we wouldn’t want to raise a fuss and disturb the natives.
UPDATED: Gov. McDonnell apologizes, adds a paragraph that should have been included in the first place.
WHEREAS, it is important for all Virginians to understand that the institution of slavery led to this war and was an evil and inhumane practice that deprived people of their God-given inalienable rights and all Virginians are thankful for its permanent eradication from our borders, and the study of this time period should reflect upon and learn from this painful part of our history. …
The most significant change came among independent voters, who solidly backed Democrats in 2006 and 2008 but moved decisively to the Republicans on Tuesday, according to exit polls. In Virginia, independents strongly supported Republican Robert F. McDonnell in his victory over Democrat R. Creigh Deeds, while in New Jersey, they supported Republican Chris Christie in his win over Democratic Gov. Jon S. Corzine.
For months, polls have shown that independents were increasingly disaffected with some of Obama’s domestic policies. They have expressed reservations about the president’s health-care efforts and have shown concerns about the growth in government spending and the federal deficit under his leadership. …
Obama’s bailout was a disaster, but as far as “health-care efforts”, you can argue that too little has been done leaving voters empty, while they wonder why Wall Street is flying high, with health care unfortunately now part of that mix.
The model win for the night was Bob McDonnell in Virginia who didn’t run ads identifying himself as a Republican even though he’s farther to the right than most on the national scene.
In other words, in the age of Obama, it’s now more about personality power over party ideology even more than it was before. However, when you have someone like Deeds who isn’t as talented as Obama, and send them out into an election without core principles on which to campaign and fight, they’re going to get shellacked.
It’s not for amateurs.
After watching a brief clip of Mr. Hoffman on the late night version of “Hardball” last night, all I could think of was how in the world did he get this far? Worst politician I’ve seen on camera at this level in a very long time. But he and his tea party friends managed to knock off Scozzafava, even as she helped knock him off. We Democrats, salute you.
The New Jersey loss is the big one, which will likely send shockwaves through the Blue Dogs, as well as the Bayh, Lincoln, Nelson and Lieberman coalition in the Senate. This bodes ill for real health care reform and big accomplishments, which is the only way Dems can make the case in 2010, because Obama won’t be on the ballot next year either.
Hey, but a least we’re not Republicans, who are in the throes of a political war. Democrats don’t have that kind of passion to worry about at this point. We’re all hoped out. See Maine.
multiple updates below (Post originally logged @ 8:38 pm)
Earthquake in New Jersey, according to Fox News and CNN. On top of the independent voter news, this is huge. But in NY-23, the tea party activist candidate Hoffman is on his way to a loss, with the Dem possibly winning in a district we haven’t won in 200 years, though final tallies won’t be ready until tomorrow. Tea party activists came close, but maybe not enough. Though not long ago a Hoffman supporter said, “it’s over.” To tea party activists it will be a disappointment, but it won’t matter. It was about more than winning for them. It was about backing people they want in office, no matter the costs, even if they lose. Message sent. For Republicans, the civil war continues.
Health care freezes now. Blue Dogs and other Dems won’t budge on big legislation. All this with the Republican brand in tatters.
In Virginia, where 30 percent of voters identify themselves as independent; 65 percent cast their ballots for CNN’s projected winner, Republican Bob McDonnell. That’s according to early CNN Exit Poll data. Democrat Creigh Deeds earned the votes of 34 percent of independents.
In New Jersey, Republican Chris Christie took 58 percent of the independent vote while incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine, a Democrat, got only 31 percent. Independent candidate Chris Daggett got just 9 percent of the independent vote. Independents made up 28 percent of the voters in New Jersey race.
Polls over the last couple of months have revealed a trend away from Democrats. It now seems to have manifested. We shall see as the night deepens.
Six in 10 New Jersey voters said Tuesday that President Obama had no effect on their vote in this off-year gubernatorial election, according to early CNN Exit Poll data. – CNN
Except on Fox, where Bill O’Reilly and Karl Rove said the opposite. I know, you’re shocked.
As for Creigh Deeds, standing for nothing has consequences, as does running as a Blue Dog in a state that likes strong. Deeds saying he would “opt-out” of the public option was the end for Democrats. See conversation with my friend Mash (a Virginian) @ Facebook.
A majority of voters in both states said they are worried about the direction of the nation’s economy over the next year. 85 percent of Virginia voters said they are worried, as are 90 percent of voters in New Jersey. These percentages were similar on Election Day in 2008.
In both states the economy topped the list of issues that mattered most to voters in their choice for governor – in Virginia health care was second, while in New Jersey the second choice was property taxes.
… Still, majorities of voters in both states (55 percent in Virginia and 60 percent in New Jersey) said President Obama was not a factor in their vote today. Those who said Mr. Obama was a factor in New Jersey divided as to whether their vote was a vote for the president (19 percent) or against him (20 percent). In Virginia, slightly fewer voters said their vote was for Mr. Obama (18 percent) than against him (24 percent).
Vast economic discontent marked the mood of Tuesday’s off-year voters, portending potential trouble for incumbents generally and Democrats in particular in 2010. …
The White House is stepping back from lending its heft to a bellwether gubernatorial race in Virginia, party strategists say, seeking to conserve its political capital and avoid close association with a candidate who might lose. – White House Steps Back in Virginia Race
The White House hasn’t been shy about butting in to state races, so everyone knows what this means.
I’m a newcomer to the DC area, so I won’t pretend to have historical insights on Virginia, particularly. However, anyone who believes the problems of Creigh Deeds’ candidacy is all about politics in Washington isn’t seeing the whole picture, regardless of what Mr. Deeds says. Via Politico:
“Frankly, a lot of what’s going on in Washington has made it very tough,” Deeds said in a “Battleground Virginia” interview sponsored by ABC 7/WJLA-TV, POLITICO, Google and YouTube. “We had a very tough August because people were just uncomfortable with the spending; they were uncomfortable with a lot of what was going on, a lot of the noise that was coming out of Washington, D.C.”
Shorter Deeds: Don’t blame me because I can’t overtake McDonnell. It’s “Washington’s” fault.
Ah yes, that amorphous blame Washington excuse, as if anything could make up for Deeds’s pathetic campaign, even with the gift of McDonnell’s thesis. Seriously, nothing could have offered a more advantageous opportunity. Remember what Jim Webb did with one George Allen “macaca” moment?
That said, Virginians sure do seem to have bailout blues, representing their biggest beef with Obama so far.
But really, this was all just so predictable. After all, Deeds lost to McDonnell once before. So, I just don’t understand what Virginia Democrats were thinking in the first place.
Even while behind, Deeds refused more debates, then used the old my staff made me do it excuse. According to Creigh Deeds, nothing is his fault.
The Obama administration has all but abandoned plans to allow Guantanamo Bay detainees who have been cleared for release to live in the United States, administration officials said yesterday, a decision that reflects bipartisan congressional opposition to admitting such prisoners but complicates efforts to persuade European allies to accept them. …
But should President Obama determine that Alexandria needs to play a reasonably limited role in a nationwide effort to bring justice to the Guantanamo detainees and close this unfortunate chapter of American history, I am confident that Alexandrians will stand strong as they always have: gritting their teeth, stiffening their spines and carrying the load required so that the American values of justice and the rule of law are not overridden but, rather, respected and honored, as is our heritage as a great nation.
There has been a scare campaign ever since Obama announced what was right, following up on what Adm. Mullen and Gen. Petraeus have also said was important: closing Guantanamo.
However, one community paper in Virginia responded vehemently, with what has become the usual ignorance on the subject as the guide. A letter to the editor in another Alexandria paper said no, too.
It doesn’t help that people like Sen. James Webb are against transfers as well. Another Virginia politician, Rep. Jim Moran, who wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post about Alexandria taking some of the detainees was greeted not so happily by his constituents.
An article in the Washington Times acts as a press release for Sen. Tom Coburn, while stating unnamed military sources are advising Congress against the transfers.
There is absolutely no reasons that Alexandria or other municipalities with facilities like this city cannot handle detainee trials. Or that supermax prisons can’t handle detainee transfers from Gitmo.
But in the end something else is at issue. Indefinite detention is un-American and anti-constitutional. Anyone suggesting that as an option should understand what they’re actually suggesting. Bush-Cheney may have gotten us into this mess by establishing Gitmo, but it will be Obama’s embarrassment if he can’t figure out a way to solve it.
When it crashed down this morning I thought the house was going to collapse. Thunder like I’ve not heard since I was a kid. In fact, I have to go back to when I was a girl growing up in Missouri to recall such crashes. Then the rain came, with this morning bringing with it a downpour on a day when sun was hoped for. It’s the big showdown between Deeds, Moran and McAuliffe. Most people go to the polls before they go to work. Only the strongest survived that plan, because Virginia weather just didn’t cooperate.
I’ll be out this afternoon for a while, attending a foreign policy lunch that should be quite interesting. I’ll blog it or tweet on Twitter if I can keep from getting my keyboard sticky. It’s with Mustafa Barghouti, someone who should definitely be interesting to meet.
In the meantime, I wonder how many took in Newt’s speech last night at the big Republican Senate House Dinner? If there was ever a doubt that he’s running for president, last night should have obliterated that notion.
We’re new to the D.C. area. So when we started paying attention to the Virginia governors race it was late in the game. But because I don’t write about these issues, I wouldn’t have even commented on the race if it hadn’t been for McAuliffe being attacked for backing Hillary Clinton in ’08. That’s how petty it’s gotten.
It didn’t take long, however, for my blue collar husband to take sides. I haven’t, except that Brian Moran isn’t an option for me, because he’s still fighting ’08 primary fights against Terry McAuliffe through Clinton. That turned us off from the start. So it’s between Creigh Deeds and Terry McAuliffe, though not for my husband. There’s only one choice for him. That’s McAuliffe. I’ll explain in a minute. For those of you not familiar with the race, here’s where it stands today, according to FiveThirtyEight:
[...] Most public polling is showing Deeds and Moran gaining and McAuliffe dropping, but the numbers are close enough that a good GOTV operation could make the difference for any one of the three candidates. I see the most likely outcome as a Deeds win, but McAuliffe could still win if Deeds and Moran continue to split the “non-McAuliffe” vote. If Moran’s supporters begin to defect to Deeds then there is probably no way for McAuliffe to win what would then be functionally a 2-person race against Deeds.
As with all close races, it’s about GOTV.
People must be a little worried, because a couple of posts have lately picked on Terry McAuliffe. One post a bit earlier took issue with something I’d written and even goes so far as to completely misrepresent a post I wrote in order to target McAuliffe. The post I wrote was about Moran targeting McAuliffe through Hillary. Believe it or not, this post takes out after McAuliffe for backing Clinton too.
What does that have to do with Virginia? As my husband looked for work, he wanted to know that too.
After having the same job since he was in his twenties, when we moved he took early retirement, which meant my husband was looking for work once we landed. Even as talented as he is it was daunting. He can build anything; give him two beams and you’ll get yourself a shopping mall; he can also fix anything. He was offered a couple of jobs, then landed a really good one, but the hunt had an impact. That’s when McAuliffe’s ads started showing up. He also heard Creigh Deeds, coming to the judgment that he “sounds like a solid guy.” But McAuliffe’s ads had a bigger impact on him. What my husband heard from McAuliffe was a man who can widen his job options if he goes hunting again. He also heard enthusiasm and someone who he believes has the dynamic optimism to convince businesses to choose Virginia.
When I told him I hadn’t decided whom to vote for, though neither of us will vote for Moran because of his negativity, he looked at me like I’d just insulted him. “How can you not vote for the guy?, meaning McAuliffe. “He’s so optimistic. You just know he’ll tell businesses they have to come to Virginia and they’ll come.” Of course, my husband doesn’t know a thing about the progressive push against Terry McAuliffe, so when I told him he just laughed. After looking for work and seeing the job market after so long, he’s looking for someone who can pitch big companies, get them to Virginia and help people like him have more choices. As far as he’s concerned it’s McAuliffe. “You’ve gotta vote for him,” he now simply says.
I just don’t know. With Moran hitting me wrong from the start, looking at Creigh Deeds, he seems solid, his record a good one. The Washington Post endorsement was impressive. But…
“One of the underlying concerns that many thoughtful Virginians have about McDonnell are his ties to the Christian right,” Sabato said. “I can’t tell you how many times senior people have asked, ‘Who will Bob McDonnell appoint to the 4,000 appointments he gets?’ ‘Who will run the college boards of visitors and the state agencies?’
“The reasons these questions matter to the people asking them is they fear it will be the far right and the Christian conservatives,” he said.
So, it gets down to who can beat McDonnell for me. Nothing else matters. I’m just not sure it’s Creigh Deeds.
“The other big issue is electability, and Bob McDonnell has already beaten Creigh Deeds.” – Terry McAuliffe
And this is the last post I thought I’d be writing today, because I rarely weigh in on state races, which aren’t my thing (Webb and Sestak were my two exceptions in the last years).
For those of you who don’t know, Moran is running in the Virginia gubernatorial primary against Terry McAuliffe and state Sen. Creigh Deeds. Moran is trailing McAuliffe, who is leading, according to the latest PPP polling, done on May 5. So now Moran’s desperate and it’s showing.
I hope McAuliffe trounces him. Hey, but if you don’t like Terry McAuliffe, give your vote to Creigh Deeds. Call it a vote for the underdog. Just don’t vote for Brian Moran.
That wasn’t my feeling until today. But when reading in the Washington Post a report that Moran took his campaign for governor to a new low, basically saying that Terry McAuliffe shouldn’t be elected because he supported Hillary Clinton in the primaries, that was it. But if that isn’t bad enough, Moran’s running targeted ads in African American communities that are really low considering Hillary Clinton has one of the top spots in President Obama’s cabinet. But that’s not good enough for Mr. Moran, who would rather dredge up primary battles.
In a fundraising appeal to supporters yesterday, McAuliffe’s campaign called Moran’s ads “a new low,” and said they were “deliberately designed to deceive voters into believing Terry opposed Barack Obama’s candidacy last November.” It released a video of McAuliffe campaigning for Obama before the general election and a radio ad with McAuliffe saying he worked as hard for Obama in the general election as he had for Clinton during the primaries. … “He is rewriting history,” Moran said yesterday. “There’s some audacity with him taking credit for helping elect Barack Obama when there were so many volunteers who worked diligently over many, many months to get him elected.”
No one and I mean no one wants to rehash the primaries. Something that Scott Surovell, chairman of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee, reminded Mr. Moran today. But with his latest campaigning, Moran also proved he doesn’t have the gray matter to be governor. Because he’s an idiot if he believes McAuliffe and all the other Hillary Clinton supporters, including Clinton herself, didn’t help elect Barack Obama president, with no Clinton supporter believing he or she played a bigger role than the die hard Obama fans who took him across the finish line. But a short memory and primary desperation has led Moran to a tacky, stupid campaign mistake that deserve to cost him with Virginians.
You likely know a lot about Terry McAuliffe. For the record, I’ve met McAuliffe, who’s got more energy than any ten people, and who has finally turned from supporting the Clintons to his own campaign. But it’s unlikely you know much about Creigh Deeds. So here’s a bit about him, someone I do not know, nor have ever met, but who has a solid record in fighting for Virginia.
Senator Deeds has spent the last two decades serving constituents from all walks of life–from his start as Bath County prosecutor to his current position as a State Senator representing the City of Charlottesville and a district that stretches to the West Virginia border. Whether he was working to clean up one of Virginia’s largest Superfund sites, fighting for economic development, or writing some of the toughest legislation to keep our families safe and secure, Deeds has built his career as a consensus builder who delivers results.
He wrote Megan’s Law, which allows public access to the state sex offender registry, and sponsored the Amber Alert Program to keep our children safe. Using his relationships with law enforcement officers and his experience as a prosecutor, Deeds wrote the state law that has turned the tide against homegrown illegal methamphetamine drug labs.
In addition to his work to cleanup the Kim-Stan landfill Superfund site, Senator Deeds also wrote one of the most progressive laws to preserve open space and protect the environment. For his leadership and advocacy, he received the Leadership in Public Policy Award from The Nature Conservancy and the Preservation Alliance of Virginia named him Delegate of the Year.
Tom Daschle, Obama’s presidential campaign co-chairmen, just endorsed McAuliffe yesterday. Of course, that doesn’t surprise anyone, because insiders stick together, especially ones in the Democratic elite. However, will.i.am has also endorsed McAuliffe.
Moran’s moves to make Hillary Clinton the scapegoat for his inability to catch McAuliffe are despicable. Note to Brian Moran: Mrs. Clinton is now Secretary of State, doing a good job by anyone’s objective standard, serving President Obama well, no looking back.
Let’s hope Moran’s cheap shot doesn’t influence Virginia Democratic primary voters. He’s proven he doesn’t have the class to represent such a great state.
So if you’re a Virginia Democrat, vote for Terry McAuliffe or Creigh Deeds. They at least have their eyes on what’s important. Brian Moran does not.
UPDATE: VA. governor debate was streamed online today, so it was easy to see the candidates in action. Brian Moran opened his mouth once too often removing all doubt that he’s a jerk; sniping at McAuliffe without landing a blow; saying he didn’t have time to teach McAuliffe about how VA works. McAuliffe didn’t flinch, just smiled, while the audience audibly grimaced. Moran only hurt himself with his negativity. Deeds was good and on message, detailed, obviously qualified. As for McAuliffe, he showed a fuller grasp of business and the need to wheel and deal with companies to bring them into Virginia. His claim that he’s created jobs clearly ticked Moran off, but McAuliffe just kept repeating his talking point that zeroed in on job creation, job creation, job creation. Quote of the debate goes to McAuliffe: “I apologize for being optimistic.” Ask anyone. That’s his trademark characteristic. Compared to Moran’s sour puss it was a tonic.
Virginia’s Republican-run House of Delegates rejected a proposed expansion of unemployment benefits Wednesday, along with $125 million in federal stimulus cash to pay for it.
On a mostly party-line 46-53 vote, the House turned down amendments by Democratic Gov. Timothy M. Kaine that were necessary to make Virginia eligible for the federal aid.
… Wednesday’s vote makes Virginia among the first states to definitively repudiate the unemployment insurance expansion.
The vote was also a stinging rebuke to Kaine, Obama’s hand-picked chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and becomes a major issue in Virginia’s elections this year for governor and all 100 House of Delegates seats.
… Kaine’s amendments would have expanded jobless benefits for the first time to part-time workers and doubled the period during which people who have lost their jobs can receive benefits if they are in retraining programs.
The beef is the “unemployment insurance expansion,” which Republicans, but also some Dems, believe is a new tax increase on employers. However, Virginia’s Kathy Byron (R-Campbell County) may come to regret this comment: “It is not stimulus. Paying workers not to work does not promote economic growth.” There’s that old GOP bootstraps argument, never mind if the unemployed have no bootstraps.
“There’s an awful lot of people who are hurting in Virginia, and the message to them seemed to be: ‘We don’t care. Fend for yourself.’” – Gov. Tim Kaine
I don’t know about you, but I’m already seeing TV ads targeting Republicans running across my brain. They’re making themselves a big target for workers and Democrats.
Capitalism Out of the Closet **UPDATED** Would we be any worse off with Stephen Colbert as president? I doubt it. Politifact has watched the video [...]
Not Disappointed in Pres. Obama **Postscript added** President Obama is now neck and neck with a generic Republican challenger in the latest Real Clear Politics [...]
Fan Politics Despite rising public concern about the federal budget deficit, Americans favor keeping Social Security and Medicare benefits as they are [...]
