I thought it might be helpful to provide my top 10 reasons to vote FOR Leslie Byrne. Here they are.
1. She was there for Jim Webb when he needed her the most, in early 2006 and throughout the primary and general election campaign that year. In essence, Leslie Byrne gave Jim Webb the "Democratic Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval," and it made a huge, positive difference. For that, all of us Webb supporters should be eternally grateful.
2. Jim Webb has endorsed Leslie Byrne. For those of us who greatly respect Jim Webb's intelligence and integrity, that means a great deal.
2a. For those of us who want to see Jim Webb on the ticket with Barack Obama, a victory by Leslie Byrne would be a nice feather in Webb's cap on June 10.
3. Leslie has already proven that she can carry this district, having done so with 55% of the vote in 2005 (Bill Bolling received 45% of the vote).
4. Leslie is a strong progressive and has proven that her entire career. Given that the 11th CD is a highly likely pickup opportunity in November, the Democratic primary on June 10 offers a great shot at sending a real progressive -- just like Donna Edwards in Maryland - to Congress.
5. If elected, Leslie will reclaim her seniority in Congress. That could be very helpful to the 11th district, especially given Leslie's previous service on the House Public Works and Transportation Committee. Did someone say "transportation is one of the most crucial issues in the 11th CD?" Yeah, I thought so.
6. In 2007, Leslie endorsed Chap Petersen and campaigned for him. That was tremendously helpful to Chap, and let's just say a glaring contrast with what one of the other candidates did (or, more accurately, didn't do) to help defeat Jeannemarie Devolites Davis.
7. While in Congress, according to Wikipedia, Leslie "introduced and passed more legislation than any other freshman representative." That's impressive and effective. Oh, and Leslie was elected whip by her fellow freshmen. Not bad!
8. Leslie also "played a role in preventing cuts in federal workers' wages and benefits." Obviously, this would be important to a district with such a large number of federal workers.
9. Leslie has the right priorities; while in Congress, she helped pass full funding of Head Start and the original Family and Medical Leave Act.
10. Leslie has the guts to do the right thing, even when it's politically tough. Evidence? Back in 1993, she voted against NAFTA out of concern for labor rights and the environment. Today, 15 years later, we see that she was right.
Any other POSITIVE reasons to vote FOR Leslie you'd like to add? Please put 'em in the comments section. Thanks.
In short: Leslie is a Progressive Democrat who will work to change the philosophy of government and the tone of politics in Washington. That's why I am supporting Leslie Byrne,
Interestingly, I got a call from her campaign earlier tonight, so it looks like the phone banks are working.
(not that I have anything against Leslie, but citing wikipedia is like citing my brother's friend's dad who told me xyz...)
While I use Wikipedia a lot for a starting point, it has to be looked at for what it is: something that anyone can change at any time. The best thing to do with a wiki page is look for their sources and read them. I think that attitude comes from being a History major and having to cite every single little, insignificant, tiny detail, so maybe I'm biased.
Perhaps Byrne's most memorable legislative victory pitted her against powerful special interests on behalf of Virginia motorists. Byrne's law now requires all trucks carrying debris, sand or rocks to cover their loads during transport on Virginia's highways.
I remember this very well because the wife of a friend of mine worked for her and they were very excited when this passed. And, it really was a common sense piece of legislation. AND I did have two rocks hit and crack my windshied before that. So yes, I always appreciated this law.