Note: Cross-posted from Anonymous Is A Woman
It appears that Gov. Tim Kaine just lit a match, threw it on a pile of kindling and ignited a fire on the blogosphere. In other words, he endorsed Gerry Connolly in the 11th CD primary. According to today's Washington Post, he said:
"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."I'm not sure I agree with the "integrity" part, unless the good governor has a different definition of that word than I do.
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.What appears strikingly apparent to me is that much of this mirrors the Jim Webb-Harris Miller primary in 2006. The state legislators and the firefighters' union lined up with Miller while the progressive blogosphere and activists went with Webb. This is a continuation of the rivalry between the moderate pro-business Chamber of Commerce picked candidate and the more liberal elements, including the majority of unions, who are once again lining up with the more progressive candidate."As a former elected local official, I appreciate Gerry's practical approach to problem-solving," said Kaine, a former mayor of Richmond.
Meanwhile, Ben and Lowell are definitely infuriated. Indeed over at Raising Kaine, the logo has been removed from that blog. I don't blame them one bit for the sense of betrayal they all feel over there.
Kaine began splitting off in a direction that has roused the ire of environmentalists for quite some time. He supported the elevated Metrorail track through Tysons Corner rather than the underground Tysons tunnel, which disappointed the RK crowd, along with a lot of others who understand that the tunnel provides the best option to turn the crowded Dulles corridor into an environmentally sustainable, mixed use business-residential center. The tunnel would encourage development of a walkable "downtown" area.
Not only is that a better environmental and business option for the area, but many health professionals believe that our increasing suburban sprawl, with spread out highways and parking lots and no walkable downtown centers, is a leading cause of the obesity epidemic in this country.
In addition, Gov. Kaine has shown an appalling lack of concern for the health of Virginia residents by his continued support of coal. I am very sympathetic to the union support he gets for this because, for labor, it's a matter of protecting jobs. Indeed, I've played Devil's advocate over at RK, in the past, on this issue, trying to present labor's point of view.
The truth, though, is that protecting the fading jobs of a dying industry rather than investing in the careers of the future, including green technolgy, is a foolish choice. That's especially true when that dying industry has been quite literally responsible for the deaths of so many of its own employees through diseases like black lung.
Here, I have to admit, is one of the few times that I break with organized labor, which remains committed to protecting those jobs. Again, I sympathize with them but think it's only a costly delay of the inevitable, which is green energy and technology. The governor and labor would do better if they instead supported investing in the infrastructure for green technology and job retraining for displaced coal miners. That would create a healthier state environment and safer jobs in the long run.
The governor also would have done well to stay out of the 11th CD race. Then, whoever won, he could have been a healing and uniting force. I generally don't fault those who support a different candidate than me and I'm not about to end friendships with people I respect, like Kris Amundsen, the Bulovas, and the Marsdens over it. But the governor is not just wrong but by jumping in where he didn't need to be, he blew a valuable opportunity to be the party's uniter in November.
Sometimes, Governor Kaine, it's good to be a statesman rather than a politician.
To start with, Jim Webb and Leslie Byrne have more in common than you would think, starting with the fact that both come from working class families. Both knew hardship when they were young.
Next, Leslie didn't cost Creigh Deeds the Attorney General's race. Creigh Deeds cost himself that race, regardless of the fact that he was an excellent candidate.
Increasingly, voters are sophisticated and split their votes. It is just as accurate, in fact, to say that Tim Kaine cost both Leslie and Creigh their races because his coattails weren't broad enough. The conventional wisdom is, after all, that the top of the ticket will carry the rest of it into power. That doesn't happen all the time any more, especially in a state like Virginia, which is trending purple. People are splitting their tickets.
As for the Mark Warner charge, it's a canard. In the heat of a campaign, Leslie quoted a line from Lily Tomlin about those who win the rat race being rats. It was a joke. I doubt she believes Mark Warner is a rat.
The reason Leslie has lost races in the past is because the 11th CD, at one point in time, was more conservative than it is today. It was a moderate Republican district. Leslie never altered her message. She was and is a progressive and she was honest about her views. She lost honestly and honorably.
Gerry Connolly, a "proud moderate," cherry picked his races. There were times when the Democratic Party would have been thrilled to see him run against Tom Davis. Back in the 1990s, he was their great hope of competing with Davis. But Gerry always played it safe.
He waited until Davis was ready to leave. If you play it safe in your views and pick your races and choose the easy ones, of course you'll always win. Leslie didn't go for the easy wins. That's why I respect her so much. She was always there when it was tough.
As for who Leslie endorsed in the presidential race, that's her business. She has a record as an honest progressive.
Oh, and nobody is censoring you. We're debating you!
http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-n...
Not only is AIAW right that it was a joke, arguably it wasn't even directed at Warner as much as at the process.
In other words, both the anti-Leslie and anti-Gerry folks look completely ridiculous because they're out of touch with the real world. Take a look at the polling numbers a couple posts down and you'll quickly see that you couldn't describe either Democrat as anything close to hated. They're both incredibly popular, and it doesn't matter how many times people say Gerry Connolly sucks or Leslie Byrne's a loser, that's not going to change.
So ideally I think both sides should wear mittens for the next month so they don't feel tempted to post delusional tirades, but if we're going to have 60-part series entitled "Gerry Connolly Sucks," that's linked to from this blog, I think we ought to expect the sort of response people are troll-rating. What's good for the goose ought to be good for the gander.
So either let everyone spew their hate, or let no one spew their hate.
People often confuse their right to "free speech" protected from governmental censorship, with private speech. Try this experiment: Post on an Internet site nasty things about your employer or boss, and you will quickly see that your "free speech" rights are rather limited (really, though, don't try this).
She has worked for the people of a slightly different 11th CD before the 1994 election; and she did a damned fine job then.
Connolly has done nothing grossly wrong that I can put my finger on, but I get the feeling I have been slimed by big business interests whenever he is in the same room. He certainly helped George Barker in 2007, and for that I am hugely appreciative. I really like Walkinshaw, who aside from working Connolly's campaign is also my local Democratic district chair. Having said those positives about Connolly, he represents the sort of big-machine politics that kept me away from the Democratic party for nearly a decade even after I became disgusted with the Republicans in the mid-1990s. His big-business buddies are all too apparent, which brings lots of money in, but usually has big strings attached. Given how corrupt the Bush administration and Tom Davis are, I want no hint of corruption on our incoming Democrats....
For me this is a no-brainer. Leslie Byrne for congress.
Vis a vis coal Kaine is in a difficult position. In SW VA the industry provides jobs where there are few other economic opportunities. What is Kaine supposed to do? Take away those jobs? Maybe he has to strike some middle ground or ground that you don't want him to stand on.
"Retraining" is nice but those folks need jobs until new industries come into their region. What are they supposed to do in the meantime?