Hanover

Your contention that we are in our "own little bubble" when discussing Virginia's connection to national politics is an oxymoron. 

Your statements questioning the interest of people in Danville, Galax, Abingdon, Martinsville, Winchester, Short Pump and Suffolk in the Delay scandals is condescending and insulting to the voters who live in these cities.

Any more comments?

"...your own little bubble?!?" This DeLay thing has been the lead story on the evening news many nights the past few weeks.  More broadly, the growing scandals at top levels of the White House and the Republican leadership in Congress are big national news as well, and could get a lot bigger in coming days and weeks.  People in Galax, Abingdon, Short Pump, etc. will know about all this soon enough, if they don't already.

By the way, YOU guys ae the ones in your own little "bubbles" - of denial, that is.  Do you following leaders who are corrupt, incompetent, and who leak the names of under-cover CIA agents?  What does that have to with conservativism?  Or are you just a blindly loyal Republican no matter what the LEADER does?  Pitiful.

You guys are in your own little bubble.

I challenge you to walk around in, say, Danville, Galax, Abingdon, Martinsville, Winchester, Short Pump or Suffolk, and ask people what they think about Tom DeLay.

You'll get blank stares.

No one cares.  This has nothing to do with Virginia.

This is crazy stuff!  Every republican on the statewide ticket can be linked to very illegal activity this year! 

All three of them have are directly linked in someway to something illegal:
Kilgore: voter fraud & eavesdropping
Bolling: Reciprocal and bankruptcy
McDonnell: pedophiles and money launderers

Why is the press not harping on the fact that all three candidates are crooks??? 

Why the hell are the polls so close? 
 

Hanover:

The "simple folk of Galax" (as you are implying) might not care about the Delay scandal.

But presidential voting Democrats do.

John Kerry finished second in Virginia with 12 million votes.

Mark Warner won the state with 9 million votes.

Get my drift?

You're kidding, right?

Eric Cantor knows Tom Delay; Jerry Kilgore knows Eric Cantor; hence, Jerry Kilgore is a criminal?

There are days when I am amazed and amused by your blog-posts...this is not one of them.

I do believe in a "big tent."  So, I have "no comment" on most of the Lieberman issues addressed above, except to say that the part of his statement (the call for "unity" over Iraq) is an affront to the Constitution, what's right, honest, and American.  We've already learned what that kind of rubber-stamping of Bush  hegemony can do.

Bush may be the prez for three more years, but it's our citizen obligation to speak out against what his been doing on a number of fronts.  All of us want to end terrorism.  Bush isn't (ending it).  And you have to wonder whether he even wants to, given his abysmal approach to ending it.  In a perverse way, he benefits from it by scaring the beejeebers out of all of us.  And even the 9-11 Commission Chair, from his own party, gave him an F for not appreciably improving homeland security.  Wasn't that the point?  To love America means doing so much better better than that. And so, the kind of unity Lieberman calls for is impossible. Note that now that most Americans are shaking their heads at what Bush has unleashed, they (the Bushies and a few Dems) pull this totalitarian gag tactic out of the rabbit's hat again.  There's a new round of bashing critics that's almost as bad as in the summer of 2002.  Shame on Lieberman for buying into it.

FYI, I'm a big Harry Reid fan too.  Out of curiosity, what do you guys think of Nancy Pelosi?

I am not sure whom Dan says is "demonizing."  I did not.  And I don't see anyone else doing that here either.  Or are you speaking of dailykoz?  Even there, discussion is generally healthy.  Why are so many afraid of all perspectives being aired?  You don't have to agree.  But why argue for silence as our own side airs the issue. 

I did take issue with one thing Lieberman said, suggesting limiting discussion, which I think disserves all Democrats, and all Americans.  It is free speech and essential disagreement which Lieberman doesn't seem to support.  It seems like he doesn't get that he's willing to hand over what's left of the Bill of Rights.  And he seems oblivious to the fact that the US had no legitimate (based on facts) business in the Iraq war in the first place.  Oh, yes.  He thinks it did.

Lowell,

Thanks. At another time, we'd have been called Cold War Liberals. Personally, I think that if progressives adopted the Powell Doctrine (ironically, it was the Bush Doctrine until GWB decided that his daddy somehow didn't have final say) to the extent that the GOP has adopted the neocon strategy, it would be a perfect counterbalance. Granted for anti-war types, nothing will suffice.

As for more troops, I'd love for us to start pulling folks out, but a lot of troops who served/serve there that I've heard from or about keep coming back to the same 2 points: 1. We need more folks over there, 2. The Iraqis are nowhere close to being ready for any type of US pullout. Part of the problem with the over-tax armed services is that the War effort undermined Rummy's military transformation plans. At this rate, that problem won't be addressed until the next adminstration. Thus, I say that we cut the $$ from the contractors and put that into rebuilding the forces until the Iraq conflict is over.

Thus, I'd offer a 5-part Progressive national security strategy in the Middle East that the Dems could undertake that could win on a policy and political level:

1. Reinvigorate the Powell Doctrine as standard DoD policy - in the short term double the troop levels in Iraq until the country is stabilized and then have a coordinate hand off/troop reduction to a minimal level,

2. Create & implement a simultaneous "Marshall Plan" for Iraq & Afghanistan with assistance from the private sector, Europe & the MidEast, with USAID as the coordinator and the World Bank and IMF up close and personal.

3. Press forward with Military Transformation Initiatives (w/ Shinseki, Wes Clark & Co.) to deter any more talk of a draft. 1 million+ military personnel already in existence are enough to fight the war, esp. if we cut the level of private contracting and put that money into helping our servicemen & women. We win = more volunteers sign up,

4. Refocus the State Dept by pushing the timetable for the 2-state solution with Israel & Palestine based on the Clinton plan,  developing a package of UN Reforms (like keeping human rights violators off the committee, creating 3 new permament seats on the Security Council for countries from Africa, Latin America, and the MidEast, etc), and pushing debt relief, and

5. A Servicemembers Bill of Rights: the principle is that our folks should only be put in harms way for legitimate purposes and that we should take care of them (not contractors) and their families. Part of this is to have the military experience demonstrated upfront - warts and all - BEFORE people commit.

It's time to fight the neocons at their own game - with good ideas that are rational, principled, and accept the reality that exists.

-- Conaway

Thanks for the clarification, Dan.  I agree with you, that most Americans wouldn't buy into No. 3.  And I think even those who want "immediate" withdrawal understand it would take time (even 6-12 months to accomplish).  I think the people who advocate "immediacy" just want the process to begin. Ironically, Rumsfeldt himself inreaed troop strength, so he could get credited with a draw-down. There's no reason why we couldn't infuse the rebuildidng process through some honest broker (f there really is one).  Leaving the country in a shambles and without key infrastructure could haunt our legacy for years to come.  But the more than two dozen permanent bases there are a real mistake and an impediment to ever restoring the faith of other countries in us.

I agree with you to that Iraqis aren't enamored with Al Qaeda.  Howver, the longer we are there the grater breediing ground for recruits that country will be.

Thanks for bringing this issue up for discussion. I find myself in near total agreement with Lieberman on this issue. The fact remains that even if the intelligence was manipulated, as Colin Powell said, you break it, you own it. The Democrats who voted for this war and its run-up (Patriot Act, War in Afghanistan, etc) cannot flee now by claiming that they were duped. They ran the calculus and made the votes.

I, for one, am beginning to support the McCain option - more troops. We need to get control of this situation and stop fiddling around and letting our troops be targets. We should've had at least a fighting force of 300K, not 150K, and the Democrats shouldn't have the "roses in the streets" liberator story win the day. Withdrawing will send Iraq into the chaos of a 3-party civil war - Kurds, Sunni, Shia - but this can be avoided if we stay the course, up the ante, and allow the 3 factions to have autonmous, federated governance.

This is an opportunity for Democrats and progressives to recover politically from decades of being "weak" on national defense but turning the tables. If the Dems/Progressives can come up with a Marshall Plan for rebuilding Iraq that addresses economic, social, and security concerns, then in the long run, the world will be safer. Otherwise, we'll just witness yet another failed state in this political tenderbox part of the world.

-- Conaway

Conaway:  I agree with the general concept of "you break it, you own it."  It's called "taking responsibility for your actions," and it's not something that seems to be in favor with "conservatives" these days.  I also agree with you that if you're going to fight a war, either do it right or don't do it at all.  In other words, follow the Powell Doctrine: 1) go in with overwhelming force; 2) make sure you've got clearly defined objectives, one of which almost certainly be "protecting U.S. national interests;" 3) make the case to the American people why we need to go to war, and don't base it on lies either; 4) have a defined exit strategy; 5) gather allies if at all possible; etc.

I disagree that we could send in more troops at this point. For one thing, there would be almost no public support for that course of action.  For another, the already-stretched military would probably collapse, meaning you'd probably need to reinstitute the draft - a political nonstarter, it would appear.

Finally, I agree with you that Dems/Progressives need to recapture the spirit of the Marshall Plan, of Harry Truman and JFK.  In other words, a realist approach to world affairs that is, nonetheless, guided by American ideals and values.  The trick, of course, is finding the "sweet spot" - the right balance between realism and idealism.  On that point, I'd say that the neocons have gone overboard in the "idealism" direction, without sufficient realism...

Good job with the morphing. Especially with the hands!

Where are the "Kaine wants to tell you where to live" anti-smart development people now?

Who in the world is repsonsible for this travesty?  I used to live in Mansassas, and I can assure you that this is just ridiculous!

So if I were a young professional who lived in a townhouse in Manassass with two roomates that aren't related, beecause none of us can afford something on our own quite yet, would two of us be evicted too?

I see Richmond is looking at it.

Nice, I guess I can plan on being evicted!

Seriously, this is absurd. Not to mention (I believe) against our civil liberties.

Don't the police and lawmakers have better things to do?

Extended family as understood in many cultures is not understood in America, especially when the nuclear family (one man, one woman and offspring) is the current religious ideal. On the other hand, did the nephew park his car on the lawn since there was no place in the driveway for an extra car? Were there more than just the nephew-- his rowdy buddies, for example? his unmarried girl friend(s)? How many are crowded into the dwelling-- there are public health regulations about this in order to prevent unsanitary (to us modern folk) conditions, and to keep the area from degenerating into a slum. There are other things to be considered here, but as presented it sounds like a truly draconian piece of government interference. It has the smell of bigotry and discrimination, I agree. Like most laws, it will come down to just how it is enforced. Or not.

I think it's appalling that Jerry W. Kilgore would snub not only the leader of his party but the leader of our nation and the leader of the Free World in this way!

sickening

Ahh, SoccerMom, you raise a valid point.  I had not thought of that.  Very wise you are!  Gotta keep the money flowing. 

But you know us liberals better stop asking questions, we are just trying to make thtrouble.

We need to shut up and just realize that money comes from everywhere, unless of course you are putting a husband through college, and have a daughter who needs shoes.  Then you have work 8-5 (commuting almost an hour each way), and wait tables in the evening to buy the shoes you will never see your kid wear.

Where the hell did the money come from, Mr. McDonnell?
Pat Robertson? 
Delay? 
Abramoff?

If someone gives you that kind of money, you should at least give them the credit!  Really, Bob, have some manners!

Come, friends, let us "nuance" together and explore the subtleties of the problem that Jerry Kilmore must confront as he decides what to do with this "BIG" decision.

Maybe, JUST MAYBE, Jerry is trying to PROTECT THE PRESIDENT.  You see, if that nasty old liberal media that is just so against Jerry (and, by extension, the Prez) catches on that there is some connection between Jerry and the Prez' Really-righthand Guy, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove and the Republican National Committee that COINCIDENTALLY helped pay Virginia Democrats more than a MILLION dollars in that nasty EAVESDROPPING CASE, then the LAZY Liberal Media might just get off its tail and start adding some numbers and asking some questions like:  WHERE DID BOB MCDONNELL GET THAT HALF-MILLION he won't tell anybody where he got it and just maybe some snoozey newsy reporters will wake up and ask WHY VIRGINIA is like, uh....the CAYMAN ISLANDS WHEN IT COME$ TO HAVING TO DISCLO$E CERTAIN DETAIL$ about how money get$ funneled between Republicans in Virginia and Republicans in Washington, D.C. 

So, you see, Jerry isn't snubbing the President.  Oh, no. He's trying to protect the Republican money/oil pipeline.  That, and keep the heat off of Tom deLay, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove and Dubya.  Mostly, he's trying to protect the money. $$$$

I am with you Jim.  Really, the leader of the free world and the republican party comes to town talk about protecting our homeland and he is snubbed by Kilgore!  Wow!  Jerry has no love for his own party. 

At least Russ Potts had the personal conviction to to step away from the republican wacko party but not Jerry!

On a separate but related issue, I was in the elevator this afternoon and a gentleman, in Army fatigues spotted bumper stickers in my bag, and asked if he could have one.  I gave him enough for his friends too.  He stated his friends would be excited, and he could not wait to put his on his car! 

So we have soilders for Kaine.  Perhaps that is why Jerry snubbed Dubya!

Some kindhearted person with good skills at managing schedules should really volunteer to help out the Republicans.  They're having so much trouble with scheduling lately -- Kilgore couldn't attend a presidential address in his state because of "scheduling conflicts," Karl Rove had to cancel a fundraiser with Kilgore (at the last minute, no less) because of "scheduling conflicts"...  I mean, really you'd think they could hire someone competent to handle these things!

plunge:  Good question.

We've yet to see snow here on the Peninsula...probably won't happen until January.

Not to worry, I made my Ukrops run yesterday . . . but then again one can never have too much toilet paper . . . gotta go!

I'll make at least 100. 

Is there anything Chad Dotson prints that isn't basically a draft of a Kilgore press release?  I mean, I get the Kilgore emails too.  But I don't reprint them as my own thoughts.

I hope this info setting the record straight gets out to the MSM bigtime.  Kilgore shot himself in the foot with ads--Bolling needs to be taken to task as well via the news media.

To: I. Publius, Please tell Bolling his smear campaign is only  slightly less disgusting than Kilgore's Hitler ads. Is it true that Republicans cannot run a campaign without lying? It would appear so.  And now you know one of the many reasons I left the Republicans behind.

"Loving grandmother prior to her first Presidential Campaign"?

And you would suggest?

How about a caption contest for this pic?

I was talking with a woman in my neighborhood about the campaign yesterday.  She had heard Kilgore speak for the first time.  She asked me if the voiceover on the TV commercials had been digitally altered to make him sound "male".

I told her I didn't know, but couldn't help but laugh my head off after making sure she'd be voting for Tim Kaine on November 8 and asying goodbye.

Funny Josh!

I am so glad the debate will be running.  People do want to know.  I have had people who are republicans ask me where they could view the debates.  I promptly forwarded them the links to view on line.  Really, the more people whoe see the real Jerry Kilgore (www.therealjerrykilgore.com) the better!  Voters deserve to make informed decisions on Election Day, and to me this debate demonstrates why Jerry Kilgore deserves no votes!  Kilgore is not a leader never was and never will be!

Kudos to Cox Cable!! 

I want Hutchenson to be right. I want the WP poll to be wrong. Kaine shouldn't win by 2 or 3 points. He should win by 15-20 points. That's how much better of a candidate he is. That's how far off i think the WP poll is.

2 points is good, 3 points is a little better. But it's still WAYYYY too close. We need to get our asses into the Democratic headquarters around the state and make some GOTV calls. We should all pledge to make at *least* 100 phone calls this week. Shoot, i'll pledge 300.

Finally, Virginia gets some national notice. Nothing The Nation says, however, comes near to portraying the utter disgust most Virginians apparently feel at these ads, even those wildly in favor the death penalty. Kilgore's amanuensis Scott Howell (I may have the relationship wrong; it may be the other way around, in this case) has obviously read the Old Dominion wrong. We do NOT appreciate seeing these ads, which, as I said before, prostitute private grief for public political purposes. I would have hoped that his Mama had taught Kilgore better; he wasn't raised properly, he just growed.

It doesn't matter. Deeds is done. Stick a fork in him. Letting child sex predators off doesn't play well.

I really hope Creigh bounces back from his coming slaughter next week.  Bob's going win easily, probably by 15 points or more.  This will be the first race called on Tuesday night, so have your hankies ready early, folks.

I Publius, your complaint about Creigh's record reflects sour grapes that in the case of Megan's Law, Deeds managed to get passed what others could not. Work in any body of government involves compromise and collaberation to ensure that good laws get passed. For this, Deeds has a superb record.

As far as HB 570/1998 (Megan's Law) is concerned, the only bill that passed was the one that Deeds served as principle patron and author.

In the case of Amber Alert legislation both Deeds and O'Brien agreed to allow their bills to be substituted by SB 1204/2003, for which both joined as patrons.

Just because O'Brien couldn't manage get his act together to things passed, hardly makes it a cut against Deed's record.

But more to the point, Creigh is running for attorney General against McDonnell, not O'Brien.  Your supercilious resentment is ill-placed and completely irrelevant to the current election. In fact, the points you make actually underscore Deed's skill and finesse in ensuring that this kind of very important legislation is passed and enforced.

McDonnell, for all his empty rhetoric about sexual predators, lacks Deed's strong record in developing legislation that actually helps solve the problem. Indeed, his major legislative characteristic has been matching sponsorship of severely punative legislation with underfunding the law enforcement necessary to carry out McDonnell's draconian legislation. Essentially, McDonnell's been writing a series of rubber checks to the state of Virginia.  That's not good government.

What makes I. Publius so sure? Does he know something we don't, being apparently close to the inner cabal of Republicanism-- such as, "we already have fixed the absentee ballots so we'll win?" or, like Mayor Daley (the Old Mayor Daley), hold the vote from some precinscts until we know how many we need? Or, "we've jiggered the electronic voting machines so they'll record Repubs enough votes to win?" Past observation of Repub dirty tricks does make one wonder.

Easy Teddy, you wrote:

"McD turns to smears and lies and personal attacks. Deeds is the one who originated and passed Meagan?s Law and the Amber Alert."

Who's lying to whom?  If you check the record, neither the Amber Alert nor Megan's Law were originated by Deeds...  If you check the record, you'd tip your hat to Republican Jay O'Brien for those bills, which he carried TWICE and which were defeated by Deeds Democratic collegues.  After O'Brien ceded the legislation to Deeds to pick up the few neccessary Democratic votes, Megan's Bill became Megan's law.

Don't worry though, I don't expect you guys to let the truth get into the way of a good attack.

Spare me Mary...  You may have no memory, but I do...  Just ten short years ago, the Dems had a significant majority in the GA, and O'Brien TRIED, but the DEMS beat the bill back.  O'Brien Tried AGAIN but the DEMS BEAT HIM BACK AGAIN....

DEEDS didn't "AUTHOR" anything, he STOLE it.  The Republican miniority voted for it AGAIN, and  a FEW DEMS came along, and it passed. 

And yes, O'Brien isn't on the ballot, you are correct, but HE IS the originator of the bills in quesiton, and he DOESN'T support the text theif, Deeds, but instead, is actively working to elect Bob McDonnell.

That in itself speaks VOLUMES.

Walt are you referring to sex predator's like McDonnell's previous campaign manager?

I agree the attorney general should go after sex predators, even if they are close friends. Will McDonnell do that?

I just went to a rally in Norfolk and watched Creigh hug a little old lady that was about 2 feet shorter than him.

Creigh has my vote because he's a proponent of stronger Crystel Meth controls. To my family that's a big deal. My wife is a Pharmacist and has explained to me what Crystal Meth does to the human body. That stuff is scary.

How can Kilgore sleep at night siding with the drug manufacturers over reducing Crystal Meth production in Virginia?

Teddy:  Yeah, but think about who Jerry's Mama is!  Like mother, like son, that's what I say...

Walt Ball apparently has been swallowing whole McDonnell's lies. Like all Republicans when the going gets tough, McD turns to smears and lies and personal attacks. Deeds is the one who originated and passed Meagan's Law and the Amber Alert. He's a decent, fine man, a good lawyer. And honest, too. I think he's bewildered by the vicious lies and smears McD piles on in the Republican's many ads paid for by out of state money, the source of which McD is carefully not revealing (in contravention of the law requiring him to do so).

Excellent points, Teddy.  "Taliban Bob" would be a major embarrassment as Attorney General.  Creigh Deeds would do our state proud.  This choice is as clear as anything I can imagine:  a corrupt, wacked-out, right-wing radical (McDonnell) or a sane, sensible, super-competent moderate (Deeds).  Frankly, this election should require no more than 2 seconds of thought for anyone except Pat Robertson.  If there's any justice in the world, Deeds will soundly defeat McDonnell 9 days from now.

But the RUF (Republican Underbrained Faithful) will all be taxied in to vote the next day by chauffeurs of the moneied class. Will the SHARPPS (Smart Happy Able Rational People's Party Supporters) vote in sufficent numbers? So it still comes down to the ground war.

Look at the difference between what Kilgore says to Christians and what he says to people he thinks are progressives:

LIES

This is from an email I had with another group.  Maybe if people call the news outlets we can change their minds and make this a "news" worthy event.

Thanks, Rick, for this list.  I decided to operate on the assumption that newspapers might not be the best medium for this story since people might not read them before voting tomorrow. 

So I emailed the TV/Radio contacts you provided.  But I also called Channel 7.  The person who answered said she was aware of both stories (brochure and phone calls) and that the producers had decided to cover the campaign activities today but not to cover those stories.  I asked to speak to a producer and was given the news director?s voice mail.  I left a message asking them to serve the voters of Virginia by exposing the Kilgore campaign?s dirty tricks. 

Perhaps if more people call it would help?  I really have no idea, but it?s a possibility.  This is the number I used:  703-236-9555.  You would have to ask for a producer when someone answers ? or perhaps the news director.

Thanks. 

I have e-mailed a letter to everyone on the list, and a few of the extras as well; the subject was "Tip: brand new dirty political trick.  I suggest you all do the same. I'll call WTOP in the AM. The letter follows:
NEWS ALERT:

Sirs,

We Virginia voters are receiving robocalls purporting to be from the Kaine campaign which begin ?I?m Tim Kaine and I want you to know where I stand on the issues.?  The calls are clearly intended to suppress turnout by normal Kaine supporters through subtle distortion of Mr. Kaine?s positions, and are in fact paid for by the so-called Honest Leadership for Virginia.  The Honest Leadership group is in fact a front organization affiliated with the Republican Governor?s Association and supports the election of conservative candidates, having given 100% of their money ($2,852,603) to Republicans. The calls cannot be excused by pretending they represent Mr. Kaine?s statements elsewhere.  They are fake, the sort of thing one might find happening in a banana republic or an adolescent student body election in high school.

This sort of dubious and unethical endeavor, along with similar dishonest attempts to link Kaine and Hitler in death penalty ads, and the fake Potts literature drop last week, have so debased the electoral and political process that the entire political system of our Republic is in peril.  This unscrupulous behavior is exactly why I am no longer a Republican, after 64 devoted years as a committed member of the GOP.

Unwary voters of Virginia must be notified of this most recent dirty trick from the Republicans, and the news must be announced at once, before the election.  Please undertake this task immediately.  The Honest Leadership for Virginia PAC is located in Alexandria, phone # 703-751-0612; the treasurer is, I believe, Mary Clancy, mclancy@rga.org.

Please inform the public what is going on. We Virginia voters are perfectly able to think for ourselves, and we only want to have an honest election to decide Virginia?s future; we don?t need an organization representing governors of other states meddling in our affairs, especially in such an unethical manner.  We have seen so many scandals, manipulation of news and intelligence, so much stonewalling, so many recent scandals in our America, and now this.... I am in despair and fear for my country, Please help.

Thank you,
Theodora Goodson
tgoodson@earthlink.net
3852 University Drive
Fairfax, VA 22030
#703-273-6526

thanks for staying on top of this
I'm too tired.

I sent emails to several papers and intend to call the State Elections Board to registar a complait.

Kilgore will say anytning to get elected. 

James: Actually, it's "those EVIL Republicans." Gotta get your terms straight.  And yes, the Pat Robertson wing of the Republican Party IS like a bunch of Taliban...intolerant, extreme, rigid, nasty.  Here's a deal for ya: I admit I don't like the International ANSWER wing of the Demodratic Party; you admit you don't like the Pat Robertson/Bob McDonnell Republicans?  Or is that too much for a "righty" like yourself?

Lt Gov and Attorney General are ALOT closer than I expected so far.

Take a peek at the Brunswick County results.  With half the vote there recorded, it's 97% Kilgore to 1% Kaine.  Kilgore is given 97,000 votes in Brunswick county!  That has to be some sort of error. 

Somebody at the Kaine campaign better be making some phone calls to get that cleared up.

Urban areas always report last, so I think if the dems are even close when they get to 60% reporting, they'll have it in the bag.

Governors is at 36% reporting and Kaine is up 52-45.

Lt Gov and Attorney General are neck and neck.

Kilgore won Chesterfield County by 7000 votes.

As of 8:13:

Office: Governor

Precincts Reporting: 957 of 2426 (39.45%)
Registered Voters: 4,452,012  Total Voting: 756,782  Voter Turnout: 17.00 % 
  Candidates  Party Vote Totals Percentage
  T M Kaine  Democratic 394,570 52.14%
  J W Kilgore  Republican 346,182 45.74%
  H R Potts Jr  Independent 15,403 2.04%
  Write Ins  627 0.08%
  Vote Totals: 756,782 
Office: Lieutenant Governor

Precincts Reporting: 827 of 2426 (34.09%)
Registered Voters: 4,452,012  Total Voting: 665,436  Voter Turnout: 14.95 % 
  Candidates  Party Vote Totals Percentage
  L L Byrne  Democratic 332,666 49.99%
  W T Bolling  Republican 331,583 49.83%
  Write Ins  1,187 0.18%
  Vote Totals: 665,436 
Office: Lieutenant Governor

Office: Attorney General

Precincts Reporting: 763 of 2426 (31.45%)
Registered Voters: 4,452,012  Total Voting: 614,264  Voter Turnout: 13.80 % 
  Candidates  Party Vote Totals Percentage
  R C Deeds  Democratic 312,453 50.87%
  R F McDonnell  Republican 301,204 49.03%
  Write Ins  607 0.10%
  Vote Totals: 614,264 

You guys have definitely 'Raised Kaine' and deserve a big fat pat on the back. 

Congratulations for your fortitude and thank you for your efforts.  We're all winners tonite because of you.

OHHH this is exciting

Oops, didn't read the entire post.

My bad...

Hell yeah!

Raise Kaine!

Yeah to you from the Clarkies in Tennessee!

WE SURE RAISED KAINE!!!!!

Congrats guys. 

Can't stand Kaine, but Kilgore's disgusting campaign has done lasting damage to my support for the Virginia Republican party.  Just hope he has the good sense to govern as thoughtfully as Warner has and not act as irrationally as the pinko Mayor of Richmond.

In either case, congrats and thanks for beating that POS Kilgore.

Btw, I voted for Deeds (he was endorsed by the NRA after all).

The offer still stands to take any of you shooting and show you why everything the gun banning lobby has fed you is complete and utter BS.  Just send me an email.

NEWEST VIRGINIA DEMOCRATIC BLOG!!!

Check it out!!!

From the hills of Southwest Virginia comes the newest Democratic blog to take the state of Virginia by storm( I hope )!!!

WAY TO GO TIM!!!!!

personally, i don't think byrne will win, but deeds is close, so we can only hope!

Oh, I hope I hope I hope!!

Way to go VA from Clarkies in Tennessee!!

We may end up with Kaine winning, but losing one of the two down-ballot races (I suspect the Lt. Gov slot).  Still hoping of course!  There are a lot more votes to be counted!

But it does look like we will have Raised Kaine before the night is out.

Congrats guys. 

Can't stand Kaine, but Kilgore's disgusting campaign has done lasting damage to my support for the Virginia Republican party.  Just hope he has the good sense to govern as thoughtfully as Warner has and not act as irrationally as the pinko Mayor of Richmond.

In either case, congrats and thanks for beating that POS Kilgore.

Btw, I voted for Deeds (he was endorsed by the NRA after all).

The offer still stands to take any of you shooting and show you why everything the gun banning lobby has fed you is complete and utter BS.  Just send me an email.

Hyland conceded, thats the word from the Shannon campaign
Los

Yep, and MSNBC also called it for Kaine.

Now let's pray for Leslie and Craig.

Just heard unofficial from City of Fairfax: All 3 statewide Democratic candidates carried every precinct in City. Bulova also appers to have beaten Mason in City, which means he's in, as the County part of 37th is undoubtedly his.

News Channel 8 just said Fairfax all went to Kaine.

Channel 8 has just reported that the AP has called the race for Kaine!!!!

yep just saw that...still too close for me though

DEEDS IS SO CLOSE, COME ON!!!

fox news just called it for kaine!

Sonya:  The point is, the Democratic Party needs to be open to new methods as well as the old ones. Personally, I think robocalls are a complete waste of money.  I'm not sure about signs either.  Don't these just annoy people?  Have their ever been any serious studies on the effectiveness of any of these methods?  I've looked around and haven't found a great deal.  And what about TV ads, the $64 million elephant in the room (to mix metaphors)?  How effective is advertising on TV?  I wonder sometimes...

Shayna:  Here's Greg's response, which he requested that I post...

I don't necessarily think that she's making a valid comparison, because the ads envisioned here are for a different purpose. The goal is passive absorption of a simple message. Comparing it to how many people purchase a product online immediately after seeing an ad is really apples and oranges. We weren't trying to sell the latest 50 Cent CD.

As for "passive" vs. "active," there are a lot of people who can't be reached with traditional GOTV activities, especially high rise residents. Many people also are turned off by being pestered and put on the spot by strangers. My  experience in Canton, OH last year included many people who I knew were home, yet they didn't answer the door. Many people also consider phone bank calls just another form of annoying telemarketing, and screen calls using caller
ID. The volunteers performing these activities are highly interested in the race -- the marginal voters who need to be reached, however, are not.

Shayna:  I talked to Greg some more about this today, and the issue clearly is that Dems need to try new technologies and strategies like his Yahoo plan.  Unfortunately, the media consultants who dominate the Democratic Party right now have a STRONG interest in deep-sixing such strategies, becaue they threaten their own TV- and mass-mail business model.  That's a big problem.

Also, Greg pointed out that his 1%-2% was NOT for "click through," but for possible increased turnout among "federal voters," most of whom wouldn't focus on a race like Kaine-Kilgore unless they were convinced Kilgore was a threat.  Like, let's say, having him paired up with Pat Robertson or George W. Bush?  That could have worked really well, possibly even more than 1%-2%...certainly 400 more votes, enough to have elected Creigh Deeds, does not seem in the least bit unreasonable here, at least to Greg and me. 

Lowell, the ads of course are not stand alone, in that people are still seeing all the other parts of the campaign to try and bring them out.  Microtargeting towards certain groups unlikely to vote, but who would be for us if they did vote is a great idea because you can take them a message the campaign didn't have time to (i.e. choice).  I think you could have made a difference.

The McDonnell lead continues to shrink.  According to the VBE website this AM,it's only 410. It was about 513 yesterday (Sat).  With 2426 precincts, this is an amazingly small difference. 

Lowell - I'm completely with you re: robocalls.  There is actually tons of research, and it all says that they're worthless. 

Signs is a bit more complex - are you talking yard signs or right-of-way signs?  Signs in people's yards can be invaluable, especially early on in a campaign, and especially for lesser-known or controversial candidates. 

I'm of the belief that right-of-way signs are largely pointless.  Why?  Because they're passive.  Just being provacative here: how are Yahoo ads any different than right-of-way signs?  If an online ad will motivate someone to a poll, why wouldn't the dozens of right-of-way signs that person passes to and from work, errands, etc, every single day?  They're both just so much passive messaging that surrounds people every day. That said, I'd never be the campaign that tests the right-of-way canard.  :-) 

I definitely don't want to get bogged down, because I do think it's critical that we think differently about how technology in general and the internet and blogosphere in particular can be used in support of Democratic victories.  I think we can much better use it to push stories, motivite activists, and help with accountability.

I also think it's demonstrable, though, that we need to invest first and most heavily in those things that have been proven again and again to both persuade and turn out voters - personal voter contact,  first and foremost at the doors.  If I had an extra $50,000 to spend for either Byrne or Deeds in the final weeks of the campaign, I would have dumped every single penny into canvassers for the "Final Four" - Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and E-Day.

The Republicans have done a better job than us at a lot of things, not least being heavily data-driven in their campaigns.  The reason they have invested in the "72-hour plan" is that the research shows that, when properlly implemented, it makes a tremendous difference.  During the 2002 Congressionals they did studies comparing side-by-side precincts.  When two precincts with the same historic turnout and performance numbers were compared - one the subject of the 72-hour plan, the other the subject of less voter-contact-heavy GOTV efforts - the 72-hour-plan precinct blew the other away EVERY SINGLE TIME. 

Talking to voters, person-to-person, is the key to the realm.  It's also the hardest work.  Figures.  :-)