Byrne has never been part of the Mark Warner/Tim Kaine crowd.  

But here's the key: Tim Kaine wouldn't get involved unless he was certain that he is needed to secure the nomination for Gerry.  Kaine, as a party leader, would not step in unless he thought it was necessary.

Hard to say why Jim Webb endorsed Leslie's campaign but VP considerations aren't part of it. Obviously you know little about Webb and "women" issues. Webb had nothing to do with Tailhook, except to publicly criticize the United States Navy for poorly handling the incident (a failure in the Navy's leadership).

He did write about the physical and moral dilemma posed by women being in close combat (as in Infantry). That was titled  "Women Can't Fight" .... appearing in the Washingtonian Magazine circa 1978.

Leslie's support was important to Webb early on in his campaign, no question. Throughout the campaign she was a very visible and helpful local (NOVA) political figure.

Jim Webb's endorsement is as much about loyalty, appreciation or more .... then political calculations of any kind. He simply thinks Leslie is the best candidate and I couldn't agree more.

Connolly is a pure machine party guy who has calculated his next big  career move. Unfortunate but true. I'd throw my support to Leslie because she supported Jim Webb against the odds and at the expense of any political calculation she could have been making.  

As important as NOVA to electing Democrats in Virginia and nationally, Tim Kaine shouldn't be ignoring the prevailing sentiment at RAISING KAINE.

congressional race - This was just a silly move - and quite frankly - Maybe Gerry has pictures or something.

while Leslie was in congress - it was NAFTA

You don't have much to say in support of Connolly except a long past quote no one cares about except the Connolly supporters and a weak smear (BTW, Kaine won).

As for RK and firefighters, perhaps you should ask Bruce Roemmelt how we feel about those brave men and women who risk their lives to keep everyone safe.

And to answer your question "Why wouldn't Kaine want to endorse the best candidate in the 11th District?" - you got me.  I have no clue why he's picking Connolly instead of the best candidate.

There has been certainly alot of smack being thrown at the Connolly bid on RK and other blogs and it always seems that his quotes are fair game but none of Byrne's or any of her past votes or record on issues. Why is that?
I do not have dog in this hunt really but lets be fair with the facts and statements presented by those running.

As an outsider to this race, I think Byrne should simply focus on one thing and thats her  vote against NAFTA in Congress. She stood up against her own Party and President I think against it and guess what....she was right. That is judgement friends. makes no matter to me what Party she is in....that takes b**** figuretively anyway.

Byrne has no record with Kaine -- except for running on the same ticket as Lt. Governor.  That's lie #2.

"She was a drag on the Kaine ticket..."  That's lie #3.

Care to go for #4? #5? etc?

In order to discount what is being professed as Lie #2 or even Lie #2 how about you guys lay down some specifics. What was posted on RK that attacked the unions? Quote the post.
Demonstrate that there is or is not a relationship b/t Byrne and Kaine. is there a record of them doing something together or working on a project together or campaign other than simply being on the the ballot down ticket.
If you guys have any specifics that would help people out alot.

Citing the NLS 60-part mudslinging? That's low class. Some of the worst blogging ever.

So, the governor endorses Connolly. Leslie has Webb. Big deal. Focus on the issues not the personalities endorsing. Endorsements only ever ensure one vote -- that of the endorsee.

And BTW, Gerry is not a gigantic mistake. If he wins the primary, then he wins the seat and we have a Dem in Congress. Dems should support Dems when the time comes to do so. You'd rather have a lousy R in the seat?  

He has succumbed to big money corporate donors as a member of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. He will almost certainly succumb to even bigger special interests in congress.

He will be an embarrassment to the Democratic Party. Are you glad that William Jefferson (D-LA) is representing the Democratic Party in Congress? Connolly has a brash "I take money from corporate interests and I'm proud of it" attitude. If elected, he will some day rival Jefferson as an embarrassment to our party.

A lousy R would be easier to get rid of than a lousy D who we'd have to primary or wait it out. A lousy first term R we can kick out of there no problem. Just saying...

True. Why, we could have gotten rid of Tom Davis at any point we wanted.  We were just busy with other things.

between Tom Davis being in office for 14 years and someone else being in for 2. The district changed while consitutents were used to Davis, who presented himself as a moderate, and even in the last election, voters were starting to show they were fed up with him. I think it would be very easy to oust a one-term R in the 11th, while getting Gerry out of office would take a primary or voting for an R, which puts us back at square one.

If you want a D in there regardless of who it is, vote for whoever it is. I tend to vote for D's, but if I have a problem with them or a reason I believe it would be strategically better to have an R in the seat, I'll vote for the R.

I will note, as a past example, that while it pained me to vote for a certain state senate candidate last year, I felt the extra push was necessary to gain democratic control (rather than abstain from voting in that race). This is not the case in VA-11 this year, and I'd be happy to wait 2 more years and fight for someone I support in that seat.

Very true as it seems but there is a great study to had by someone needing a disertation on Urban Studies. Why and how has it changed based on demographics and politics over the last 16 years.

And beating a Republican who has served 0.  If the GOP fields a candidate who's good enough to beat either Byrne or Connolly in an open seat election, that candidate will own this seat for the rest of his life--he'll already have defeated one of the strongest possible candidates we could field in the worst possible year to run as an R.

It's a moot point anyway because Democrats aren't going to abstain from voting for the nominee.  Look at the polling a few posts up.  Both candidates are viewed very favorably by the same survey sample of likely primary voters.  No matter who walks away from the nomination, Democrats are going to feel perfectly happy voting for the Dem, regardless of how many ways Ben Tribbett finds to say Gerry Connolly sucks (or, for that matter, how many times Robespierre's Ghost or gmu prof says Leslie Byrne's not a winner).

Whoever the Democratic nominee is in the 11th has a 90%+ chance of winning the seat.  This whole "electability" argument is nonsense, let's just select the best Democrat and the best progressive -- clearly Leslie Byrne! -- to be the next representative.

But I hasten to add that I'm not trying to advocate for either candidate.  Today I'm advocating on the side of reason.  And reason tells me that while I may not live in the district and I don't know Gerry nearly as well as I know Leslie, a whole lot Democrats in the district who do know both candidates clearly think that either Democrat would be an able Representative in Congress, regardless of their personal preference for one candidate over the other.

So I'd suggest scaling back the negativity about either candidate.  Better yet, quit blogging over Memorial Day weekend and go help your prefered candidate ID voters.

You don't know how vindictive he is.

You don't know how he has abused his constituents when they don't agree with him.

You don't know how he has misused the bully pulpit granted to him by virtue of his position as chair.

You don't know how closely he is aligned with Republicans like Tom Davis.

Connolly will eventually be an embarrassment to the Democratic Party. He should not win the nomination.

how he owes his soul to the corporate interests that have given him hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for his approval of their projects.

But the likely primary voters who do live in the district like him by wide margins.  Is the non-blogging contingent of the most politically-engaged likely Democratic voters just stupid?

"Stupid" is a derogatory term that implies lack of intelligence. A lack of knowledge of certain facts does not make a person stupid.

I'm convinced that if "likely primary voters", or any voters for that matter, knew what a vindictive, in-the-pocket-of-developers bully Connolly is, they wouldn't vote for him for dog catcher.

but a candidate having a D by their name is not enough reason for me to vote for them.

A vote is a personal thing, I just thought it might be relevant to point out that your opinion on Gerry Connolly personally diverges from how most voters in the district feel about him.

Please enlighten us to exactly what that means. The polling does not exactly support some great distrust for either candidate so how do "most voters...feel about him" I mean he has been elected by these people in the past.
The question will be can he carry areas in the 11th that are not familiar with him locally maybe and I get that but I fail to see how "most voters" have a real opinion at this put that would not support him.
Question, if Byrne were not the race how would he be sitting against the others? Thats a better indication than taking what those who are strident Byrne supporters from the past and current campaign are chimming in with.
Many here are presenting Gerry as if we were talking about Corey Stweart for Gods sake.

I'm not entirely clear what the thrust of your argument is because you may have not realized that I'm trying to point out that I'm not trying to say Gerry is evil, but rather that most Democrats like him.  But you asked what I'm basing my assertion on.  It's based on a poll--not just any poll, but Leslie's most recent poll, the most pro-Leslie, anti-Gerry poll you can find.  It's a scientific survey of likely primary voters.  This was a poll of voters who live in the district.  It includes voters from areas who don't know him as well.  And the sample is still overwhelmingly supportive of both candidates and should indicate that how Byrne's most strident blogger friends feel about Gerry Connolly differs wildly from how most regular primary voters feel about Gerry.

I'm not comparing the A or B section to see who wins because this leads to the falacious conclusion that people voting for Leslie are voting against Gerry.  Rather, I'm looking at the favorable unfavorables in the poll that don't pit candidates against each other.  Among the most likely primary voters, 64% responded favorable to Leslie.  62% responded favorably towards Gerry.  In the same sample.  That means that even if you push both candidates to the fringes and assume that as many voters as possible only feel favorably towards one candidate or the other, somewhere around 20-25% respondents like both Leslie and Gerry.  That's the bare minimum of overlap; it's probably much higher.  But even if we do assume it's only 25%, that's still pretty high--Gerry's unfavorables in the same group is only about 20%.

So how do you break down the statistics on that?  If we assume that every anti-Gerry respondent was pro Leslie, then of the 64% who like Leslie Byrne, less than a third dislike Gerry.  At least one third of people who like Byrne also like Gerry.  And the remainder (less than a third) don't have a positive or negative impression of him.  And this works both ways, incidentally.  The overwhelming bulk of people who are pro-Gerry are also either pro-Leslie or don't have a positive or negative impression of her.

Conclusion: this primary is not nearly as polarizing in the real world as it is on the blogs.  The blogs are out of touch with how the public at large is going to be voting on Gerry v. Leslie.

1. Kaine was tight with Connolly on the transportation package last year.

2. Kaine & Connolly are in agreement about the tunnel.  For some reason, Kaine is very angry about this whole tunnel thing.  This slap at Leslie is for her position on the tunnel.

3. I bet that Kaine's people are convinced that Leslie's not a team player and won't work well with Frank Wolf or others.

There's several layers to this, but that's what's going on.

Here's what this is:

The pragmatic/moderate/poll-based/"results" wing of the Party v. the Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party.

If you believe in estate tax cuts, working with the Chamber of Commerce, and governing by polls, Kaine & Connolly are your boys.

You voters in the 11th vote in a good Democrat.

We'll do our part in the 10th and replace Frank "Bush's lapdog" Wolf.

Both are "moderate" Democrats with almost more in common with Republicans.  

Kaine took advantage of Leslie Byrne's true progressive Democratic credentials to help him win in 2005.  His campaign failed the party on both the left (Byrne) and right (Deeds) .  For him to endorse Connolly would be further proof he's only interested in himself and not in building the Democratic party in Virginia.

Perhaps it is time for Raising Kaine to change it's name to something like Raising Democrats.  

 

I am a little confused. Either way in your view an endorsement by Kaine supports a moderate. How is supporting one over the other not "building" the Party?

I notice a change in the masthead...

Is a change in the site URL to www.rk.com in the near future?

I do not live in the 11th.  But I do plan to volunteer from a distance (and maybe travel to NOVA) for Nov. IF, and only if,  Leslie Byrne is the nominee.

If it's Connelly, count me out. And I won't donate to him either.  He's not right (though he is "right" in another sense) for the party, his district, or Virginians in general.

I hope Tim doesn't do this.  If he does, I'd have to think about further implications.  But with respect to his future aspirations, if any, my confidence in Tim would be shaken.

Kaine vs Kilgore was a no brainer.  I enjoyed supporting Kaine against that flunky.

However, Kaine supporting Connolly would be sad if true, sad enough that I'd have to consider support for some other candidate than Kaine.

Am I fickle?  No, I am true to my own self.

Start considering your support, I guess.

I guess Kaine figures he's never running for statewide office again -- or at least won't have to win a primary to do so.

I'm with Kathy and tx2vadem -- this makes me drastically re-think my opinion of the governor, on top of the Dominion power plant lack of leadership and the rail to Dulles non-leadership.

Heading into '09, I am going to be keeping my eyes and ears wide open and want to hear EXACTLY what Creigh and Brian have to say about energy, transportation, and funding these priorities before I commit -- and then I want to hear how they're going to be held true to their words.  

Not happy about it, but now my support for Kaine will have to be considered, political, and qualified...  Should he run against the likes of Kilgore or Gilmore or Allen; he still gets my support; but that does not really say much, does it?

Kaine and I are finished.  

I put all kinds of unrelated interests on my general blog, but limit the stuff on my RK diary to politics (though most diaries here are cross-posts with the political stories on my blog and LJ).

I think I read a very interesting comment from you on the blog a bit ago, we disagreed I think - but you have good points.  Thank you for commenting if that was you.

I like all your different blog areas but linked I think to your political blog. I do not always see eye to eye with March to a Different Drummer and yours but enjoy and in fact need such dialogues to really form an objective view. people need to wise up to different realities we all share and listen to those from different sides of issues more. I thinkwe are getting away from that and get wedged out by those who seek only to divide along lines. I think a better apparoach is to leverage first what people can agree on and the only way to go down that road is listen to folks, not just hear, but listen to where people are coming from. Sometimes you agree and sometimes you don't but without a dialogue we all lose in the end.

Tim Kaine ran with Leslie Byrne one slot down on the ballot in 2005, and if he does choose to endorse someone else in this particular district, I'm sure he has a compelling reason because he knows Leslie Byrne as a candidate as well as or better than most of us.

I'm not sure I'm going to believe Kaine endorsing anyone unless I see it with my own eyes.  In all the Democratic primaries that took place during 2007, Kaine only endorsed two candidates, which would make this endorsement highly unusual.  Both of them, incidentally, won by wide enough margins that I have to disagree with Dan that Kaine only would endorse if he thought Gerry couldn't win without the endorsment.  Kaine's endorsed primary competitors would have won with or without his endorsement.

Finally I want to say this to everyone who is knee-jerking towards hating Kaine or calling him a "DLC type."  Please get real.  Kaine was the first Governor in America to endorse in the Presidential primary and he endorsed Obama.  He delivered the Commonwealth for Obama through his own political organization.  Raking him over the coals because he might make an endorsement you don't like when he was the most vocal and active supporter of the presidential candidate you support is beyond fickle.

I'm hoping Leslie wins, in case anyone cares.  I don't live in the district but I feel like I probably identify with her on some important issues (though she is a bit to the left of me on others).  I have no idea where Gerry stands on a lot of stuff.  Just wanted to throw that out there before everyone troll-rates me for deigning to disagree with the conventional wisdom of the blogs.

For those who don't remember....Kaine endorsed Lieberman in 2004.

Just ponder that for a moment...

I spent 30 seconds typing up the beginnings of a response but I honestly don't know how to take this attempt at a politically-profound statement seriously when you don't even know what year Joe Lieberman stood for reelection.

Ponder that.

Tim endorsed Lieberman for President in 2004 and was his state Chair.  

So we are all glad you didn't type up a longer response.

you probably should have spent more time actually typing a response since instead you made a fool of yourself.

As has already been pointed out....Kaine endorsed Lieberman for president in 2004.

That's right, just think about that, Kaine endorsed Lieberman over Edwards, Kerry, Dean, Clark....hello? You get the point?

He's been a complete disappointment to progressives who helped him get where he is today....it's a complete slap in the face.

...most people didn't know Lieberman was batfuck insane back in 2004.

I will never vote for Kaine again in my lifetime.  His nonsense on transportation and his lovefest with Dominion are enough for me.  But to endorse someone other than Byrne will be the last straw.  I would rather vote Republican than see this man hold any public office again.

...and say that to me again with a straight face.

I agree with you on that point--does any real Democrat really think they'd vote for a VA Republican before Governor Kaine?

Now, in a future primary, say for Senate or another statewide office, I certainly will be voting for a progressive who is squaring off against Kaine!

That was just me exaggerating.  I need to work on using the emoticons.  =)

You know on being Governor, I am probably being too hard on him.  But I really am disappointed that every time Dominion wants something Democrats roll over and play dead.  And that every solution has to include taxes that affect the fewest because no one will notice or complain.  And I am super happy that Abusive Driver Fees that are the ultimate representation of that theory of revenue collection blew up in their faces.

At some point and this in no way is a reflection on you tx2vadem we have to stop blaming people for the lot we are left with. We have to look to our communities and the apathy really that exists when only 35% of registered voters actually vote. Hopefully Obama may change that in the General but historically its been like 30 to 35% turnout. I know many here are very active, but we have stop blaming Kaine or blaming Republicans in the General Assembly in so much as they are a product or mirror of ourselves. When we seek no compromises and have a break down in the GA the way we have this is what results. I would love to have a Gov thats all thing to all of us but it doesn't work that way. We have to ask ourselves what kind of leaders we want to lead from the front.
If suddenly we are willing to throw Kaine away like yesterdays newspapers because of one endorsement or one issue then we must come to grips with the fact we leave ourselves wide open to be defeated by one issue as well.
If Warner embarced Connelly would we all suddenly not vote for Mark in the Fall under the same premise. Lets be careful how we present such frustration.

...before I go jumping to conclusions, like apparently so many of you have decided to do.

Now, what are your "conclusions?"

So I was, you know, waiting for an actual release from Kaine endorsing him.  One that, at the time this post was first put up, was not present.

all the proof you need that Kaine is a hack:

Kaine Endorses Connolly for Congress
Fairfax Supervisor Called a 'Standout'

By Amy Gardner
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 21, 2008; B08

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has endorsed Democratic congressional candidate Gerald E. Connolly in Northern Virginia's 11th District, an increasingly blue-leaning territory where Democrats are betting heavily on gaining a seat now that Republican Rep. Tom Davis is retiring.

In a statement released yesterday, Kaine said that Connolly, who is chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, is the strongest candidate among the four competing in the June 10 primary. Kaine said Connolly has been a "partner" on a range of issues, including strengthening the economy, toughening environmental standards, fully funding schools and fighting for a Metrorail extension to Dulles International Airport.

"As a former elected local official, I appreciate Gerry's practical approach to problem-solving," said Kaine, a former mayor of Richmond.

Support from a popular sitting governor is seen as an advantage for Connolly against former representative Leslie L. Byrne, former Navy pilot Douglas J. Denneny and physical therapist Lori P. Alexander. Such an endorsement, although not unprecedented in a primary, also speaks to Kaine's assertive style as a party leader who is willing to take sides in Democratic contests. Kaine endorsed U.S. Sen. Barack Obama for president more than a year ago.

"Gerry brings passion and integrity to public service and a deep sense of commitment to all he undertakes," Kaine said in the statement. "I believe that this race has attracted four worthy and capable candidates, but for me, Gerry Connolly is the standout. He will serve the 11th Congressional District with honor and distinction. I fully endorse and will actively work for his election, and I encourage voters in the 11th Congressional District to do the same."

Connolly and Byrne lead the primary field in name recognition, contributions and endorsements, but Connolly holds an advantage in those categories over Byrne. Byrne has received endorsements from a long list of progressive organizations, including Emily's List, the National Organization for Women and more than a dozen union groups. Byrne also has the support of seven state lawmakers. And she has the backing of U.S. Sen. James Webb, whom Byrne supported long before many other Democrats did when he first ran for office two years ago.

Connolly has the support of several unions, too. He has also been endorsed by a dozen state lawmakers, including several senators who worked alongside Byrne when she served in the Virginia Senate several years ago.

"I don't dislike Leslie," said Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax), adding that he committed to Connolly when Byrne was still running for lieutenant governor three years ago. "I've worked with people who are a lot harder to work with. But Gerry's never lost an election, and there may be an apprehension there. Leslie had a congressional office and didn't hold it. I think some people don't want to gamble again. The loss to [Lt. Gov.] Bill Bolling probably didn't help."

Kaine has a history with Byrne, too: She was his running mate when he ran for governor in 2005. But his "pragmatic" approach to running government and building consensus is more aligned with Connolly, both said.

"I'm very honored," Connolly said. "The governor and I have been comrades in arms in a lot of battles in the General Assembly. It's a common-sense, results-oriented coalition that we've always put together."

Byrne was not available for comment yesterday, but her campaign manager, Joe Fox, said in a statement: "There's one statewide officeholder who understands what the war in Iraq is costing us in lives lost and dollars spent, and that's Sen. Jim Webb, and Leslie is proud to have his support. Leslie Byrne looks forward to a unified Democratic effort to help reclaim this seat in November."

Denneny dismissed news of Kaine's endorsement. "The only endorsement that matters is the one from voters on June 10," he said.

Sorry - that really was in bad taste - I gotta ask WTF?  So let's get this straight - Connolly had alread asked for and received support from key party leaders for the 11th Congressional District when he ran for re-election to the BOS?  Did he really just snowball the hard working people of Fairfax county?

Voting for someone just because they have a D or R next to their name gets us into situations like this

See, this is what I was waiting for.  Not "some sources say."

Is if you want Republicans to hold onto this swing seat. Governor Kaine made the right decision in supporting Connolly who is a proven winner (something Byrne is NOT).

except of course that Byrne is the only one of the two of them to have ever actually held this seat before.

In Connolly's own polls...he doesn't even have 50% of the vote and he just ran for Supervisor last year. His support is weak, weak, weak.

Both Connolly and Byrne are proven winners and both would have a very good chance of taking that seat.  The odds are in our favor no matter who wins the primary.  

It's not a question of R vs D, it's a question of which D would be better representing us in Congress.

Its obvious you guys dont like him and the rest of the state doesn't like him because the only solution he can come up with is to raise taxes.  Kaine is a self-serving typical politician makes sense he would endores Connolly.

With all this talk about Gerry never losing (at least from the Connolly camp) we've lost sight of the fact that Gerry didn't have the guts to enter the race until Davis announced he wouldn't be running.  Cherry picking your battles is a good way to keep a clean record.

At least there is real competition this time.

Leslie with her raffle of tickets to Jon Stewart's show.  That's it, I am not on her payroll.

As far as Gov. Kaine is concerned, we here at RK have disagreed with him vehemently on a long list of issues -- Dominion Power reregulation, Metro to Dulles, the Wise County plant, abuser fees, the estate tax repeal, the transportation "monstrosity," stem cell research, offshore drilling, his endorsement of Linda Smyth, his endorsement of Gerry Connolly -- but we have overwhelmingly restrained ourselves from attacking him.  To the contrary, we have supported 99% of Democrats (including raising thousands of dollars, working our butts off, etc.), with the exceptions of people like "Benedict" Lambert (who endorsed George Allen) and corporat-o-crat Gerry Connolly.  Yet that makes us "Dumping on Democrats."  OK.  Even today, as unhappy as we are, all we've done is take down the "Raising Kaine" banner in protest and have posted nothing else. What do we get in response from you?  Attacks, including accusations that I'm lying.  So, you'd prefer that we just fall into line with Democrats no matter what we do?  Of course, then we'd be accused of being hacks, etc.  

As the saying goes, we "can't win for losing" with people like you.

Fill in the blanks...

Jim Webb is a __________
Mark Warner is a _________
Leslie Byrne is a _________

Ok, I'm bored already and your assertion is about as idiotic as they come.

Yeah, beside Connolly there are a few other Democrats we've had not-so-nice things to say about during the past three and half years.  But as Lowell points out, those politicians are NOT STANDING UP FOR THE VALUES WE BELIEVE IN.  

So let's try another one to help you understand this concept...

When Tim Kaine stands side by side with House Republicans vowing support of the Abuser Fees, Kaine is acting like a _______.  Hint: If you fill in the correct answer all this will make sense.

We have raised tens of thousands of dollars (actually, millions if you count the Webb campaign and my role as netroots coordinator).  We have fought for Democrats all over Virginia to turn this state blue. In primaries, we have fought for the most progressive choice. That's why we do this blog. If you don't like it, well that's just too bad.  What have YOU done to elect Democrats?

n/t

Adam Sharp says it best over at DailyWackjob:

You told me you would deliver land use reform, but you caved to the developers instead. You could have been our first environmental governor, but you caved to Dominion instead. You could have vetoed the transportation compromise last year and made the Republicans eat that disaster, but you caved instead. You could have been a real force for progressive values in Virginia, but you repealed the estate tax, made compromises with the Republicans on 2 budgets and have nothing to show for a legacy regarding the environment or education.

Since 2005, it's been enough for progressives that Tim Kaine was not Jerry Kilgore.  We sucked it up through the estate tax capitulation, transportation monstrosities, and the environmental degradation of the commonwealth.  

Now we're getting slapped in the face with this endorsement.

There's only so much you can suck it up.  We don't just need MORE Democrats, we need BETTER Democrats.  Tim Kaine simply doesn't understand.

I think everybody here is overreacting.  Yes, it's bad.  It feels like Governor Kaine should stay out.  But i've read a lot about people turning their backs on Kaine, and refusing to support Gerry in the fall.

First of all, how quickly we forget all that Tim Kaine has done for Barack Obama.  We jump and call him a DLC Democrat, and I know Ben is now referring to him as "Governor Bloody Hands."  But Kaine was the first Governor, and one of the first elected officials to endorse the only candidate for President who was against the War from the start.  Do I disagree with Governor Kaine's endorsement?  Absolutely.  But I think no less of him because of it, and admit that I can disagree with his preference in the 11th without deciding he's now a traitor.

Second, Democrats cannot allow ourselves to be divided in the fall.  I support Leslie, and have given money to her.  And I still hope she'll be the nominee.  But if Gerry is the nominee in the fall, i'll support him.  Is he perfect?  No.  But I'm gonna support the Democratic Nominee.

Dan, you are frequently wise beyond your years.

In fact - this is going to be two for two with the women in this state.  His JJ preformance and blanted - almost state mandated pep rally for Obama - upset A LOT OF REALLY GOOD DEMOCRATS.

I say stay the hell out of the race.  Let the candidates campaign and win on their own accord.

I do believe I said I think Kaine should've kept out of it.  That being said, I'll support the Democrat in the Eleventh regardless, and I'm not going to give up on Kaine simply because I disagree with his choice in Fairfax.

This didn't hold true for you with Hillary Clinton though.  Now party unity trumps all, aye?  You would still be defending Kaine had he endorsed Clinton?

Need to get off their butts for the next 20 days and canvass, call and contribute to Leslie.

Show them what grassroots can do instead of corporate roots.

Thank you.

Leslie Byrne is not a WINNER. She doesn't WIN. That's the problem. She lost Lt. Governor despite the fact that Tim Kaine won governor. She lost her 11th District seat. She's not a likable candidate. That's why I'm supporting Gerry Connolly.

At the Fairfax JJ Dinner, voters made their voices heard and voted for Connolly in the straw poll because they knew he represented a winner. Across Fairfax, his name is symbolic with change in politics. I hate how Democrats have sucked up to him to win because they know he can and now are dumping him in the water.

GO TIM KAINE! He realizes that Leslie is not a winner and Gerry is. I'm assured that Gerry will win by at least 10 points on primary day. There was a poll back in March by Lee Research Group that had him with a commanding lead.

CONNOLLY FOR CONGRESS!

Considering Gerry Connolly was too chicken shit to enter the race until Davis decided not to run.

We need a fighter representing us in Congress, someone who is not afraid to take on a tough fight. That candidate is Leslie Byrne.

And that gerrymandering caused the 11th to be more Republican.  Had they not done the gerrymandering, Leslie would never have lost the district to Davis in 1994.  Well - may be not - to be fair we don't know.

Since her record is so good, I am willing to giver her another chance.

The funny thing is that the 11th, even after redistricting, has trended more Democratic over the years...  partially due to more and more educated liberal voters moving into the district, partially because the Republican party has done such a crappy job while in power.

It is Democratic leaning enough that Davis will not run again.

It is Democratic leaning enough that four candidates are in the race as Democrats because the smart money says the winner of the June 10th primary is likely the winner of the general in November.

So this claim that Byrne is not a winner is pure Bullfeathers.  If you like Connolly, by all means, vote for him and tell us why you like him.  But please drop the tired old saw that Byrne can't win, she clearly can and has won over and over again.

in electing Tim Kaine in 2005.  For instance, Leslie suspended her campaign activities several times during the 2005 campaign to meet with Kaine and pro-choice women to secure their support -- even though their support for Kaine was lukewarm and they had told Kaine that without Leslie on the ticket, they would have endorsed Russ Potts and worked actively for him.  In short, since women elected Kaine, he would not be Governor without Leslie.  Period.