I look forward to discussing this diary or any questions regarding my campaign.  If you join late, I'll get to your answers later tonight or tomorrow

about which I have posted both here and at dailykos.  I am perfectly aware that Chap often has a picture of himself with his daughter at her school.  Thus he in no way hides the fact that his wife is Korean by background and thus his children are Eurasian.  And this shouldn't be an issue, and certainly was not for Jim webb with Hong.

But given how the Republicans have desperately turned to immigration as a hoped-for silver bullet, and also given the hateful bashing of Muslims in some recent attacks that wer so bad that some Republicans even disavowed them, I cannot help but wonder - even if JMDD wanted to put out the contact information, was including the pictures deliberately intended to incite racial animosity as well?  I have not chatted with Chap since this happened, but wonder if any of the harrassment was in fact racial.

I think this was well over the line, and I was disappointed that the Post did not bother to send someone to Chap's press conference, and treated it largely as a "he said, she said" kind of event.

Agree, and I can only surmise on why they did what they did. 

I'm on Fairfax County Boards, and as a declared candidate, I've had to submit lots of financial information to Fairfax County and the U.S. Government.  But if someone were to use pictures of my kids to attack me ... that would make my blood boil.

Why did they publish Chap's and his family's personal information, to include his children's names and their address?  Why would anyone think this was a safe thing to do?  Political families have enough to deal with; they shouldn't have to worry about their physical safety.

Hi Mr. Denneny.

Thanks for agreeing to appear here and answer questions.

I admire your optimism about "probably" being the Dem nominee next year for VA-11, based on your presently being the only declared candidate, but we all know that others are likely to join you.  Assuming you are joined in the race for the Dem nomination, will you pledge to campaign positively against your opponents and maintain the high ethical standards you describe in your post here?

Great question.  I will post my position on my website soon on ethics.  Here is a preview.  Tell me what you think:

I believe my campaign is a reflection of who I am and a demonstration of my personal integrity

I will treat my opponent, the public, and the media with respect

I pledge to be truthful and refrain from irrelevant personal attacks

I will conduct my campaign with civility, and I expect the same of my opponent

My campaign activities will be conducted as if the world is watching everything we do

I demand the highest level of integrity from all who represent my campaign.

The test, of course, will come if/when the other side violates these principles.  Then what do you do, if it could affect whether you win or lose?

If attacked, I will respond.  The response may be a simple reiteration of the facts, a denouncement of the attack, and a restatement of my vision for a better 11th Congressional District. 

I'll respond, clarify, and re-engage.

My response will be swift and truthful.  If needed, it will be passionate and overwhelming.

Regardless of the type of response, I'll be transparent and completely straight with the voters, the media and my opponent.

Over at NLS, Ben says this about the Chap-JMDD race:

...Her huge network TV buy forced Democrats to respond with money that could have gone elsewhere.  The decision was a good one because Democrats can't win the Senate without a Chap victory, but changed some of the momentum of the cycle where Dems had been on the money offensive otherwise.

Any thoughts on the 34th Senate race or on the overall outlook for November 6?

Thanks.

We will have two very close races up here for the Senate, but I am confident that Chap and George will win.  They have the right candidates, campaigns, and messages. 

The big media buy by JMDD was expected, based on what Tom did to Andy Hurst last year.  GOTV efforts will decide both races now.  We need to get every Chap and George voter to the polls.

To answer your last question, pure speculation, we take the Senate, the House of Delegates is a toss-up.

so what are the other Senate races you think we will win?

I am pretty confident about Schultz, and feeling decent about Miller and Pollard right now.  Beyond that I don't know.

I think Janet has a great shot.  She has an excellent message, and an opponent that is outside of the mainstream with some new financial revelations.  But she has tough demographics.  We need the Republicans to stay home and the Democrats need to come out and vote. 

I haven't been following the other Senate races well enough to agree or disagree with you.  An overused cliche, but it is a horrible year to have an "R" next to your name. 

this article, "Will the Republican Blogosphere Blow Their Integrity for Jeannemarie Devolites Davis?"  Specifically, what do you think of these two paragraphs?

I get it that a lot of Republican bloggers support her candidacy as the best shot at holding on to the state Senate this year. But to defend her actions or explain this away with the same lame excuses that JMDD herself has given just doesn't pass the smell test. It's rotten and it reeks.

That's especially true since a major tenet of the Republican Party, one which the most conservative of the local bloggers proudly promotes, is personal responsibility. Is that just for other people, or do they really mean it for everybody, including themselves and their candidates?

Thanks.

They say that integrity is doing the right thing when nobody is looking.

So now everyone is looking and it appears that only a handful of Republican bloggers have the integrity to denounce her.  Good for them, bad for the rest.  Great for us.

Let's face it, it is crunch time in this campaign.  They made a big mistake by conceiving, approving, and running this mail piece.  The story would have been over if the candidate had reflected on it and said, "I need to denounce my own ad.  It was inappropriate, I was tired, I wasn't thinking clearly when my husband and I approved this ad.  I apologize for any duress I placed upon the Petersen family."  End of story.

She might have even received a positive bounce out of the whole ordeal.  Instead, this may be the final nail in her political coffin. 

If the Republican bloggers would have beat her up on this a little bit ... they might have applied pressure that nobody else wanted to apply.  Her husband and her carry a lot of weight in the Republican party ... a party that probably isn't interested in taking them on over this.  The bloggers could have filled that void.

We all make mistakes, but we only lose when we can't admit our own mistakes.

 

Mr. Devolites Davis, aka, "Tom," is going to run for re-election in the 11th?  How does it affect your strategy if Tom Davis stays in or retires?  Thanks.

Great question.  I entered this race last summer as the only democratic candidate, and remain the only filed and declared democratic candidate for this office.  I'm not running for any other office this cycle, and I never filed an exploratory committee to "test the waters".  I'm in this to win and to bring common sense back to this congressional district.  So Tom's decision will affect me, but I am plowing straight ahead to win this seat regardless of what he decides, and what my rumored potential rivals decide. 

I think it is "interesting" to watch potential rivals twist in the wind as they weigh the pros and cons of deciding whether or not to enter the race.  The question all potential candidates need to ask is, "Do you want to serve the people or are you just calculating your own political future?"  I want to serve the people.

I'm exceptionally well-qualified to serve as the Congressman from the 11th CD.  I'm excited to speak plainly and truthfully to the voters, to represent strong democratic values and to represent all citizens of the 11th CD.

I want to continue my public service that began when I entered the Naval Academy at the age of 17. As an Iraq war veteran who has served on Capitol Hill and wants to bring the troops home, as a community leader who is on two County boards, as the president of my large neighborhood citizens' association, as a long-time un-wavering proponent of the tunnel through Tysons, and as a leader who is the only "change agent" in this election, I will be the strongest candidate to win a primary election (if there is one) and will defeat Tom Davis or any other Republican who will challenge me next November.

For now though ... I'm focused on getting our great slate of state and local democratic candidates elected.  After November 6th, I'm excited to step up my campaign and begin the process to win this seat in November, 2008.

Hey, where have I heard that one? :)

Doug: I respect your right to run but please do not ascribe motives to my exploratory committee that are not there(especially under the title of "Ethics in Campaigning". My wish is to focus on this November 6th and getting our Democratic candidates elected.

I will be phone banking for Chap Monday night. Where will you be? Regards, Leslie Byrne

I think rough and tumble primaries are good for the eventual nominee and the party, but I'm kind of surprised to see a big-time candidate like Leslie Byrne caring about some pretty innocuous references on a blog by a relatively unknown candidate.  Maybe Doug represents more of a threat than I thought.

"I am the only Democratic Candidate for the 11th Congressional District,"

Excuse me?  Has Leslie not formed a committee to run? 

That kind of statement could mislead donors, and reeks of Andy Resnick who Doug has hired on his campaign.  Yes, the same Andy Resnick who led the Miller campaign into calling Jim Webb a racist, a sexist and at the end accused him of jew-baiting.

This is strike two Doug...