Byrne Now Endorsed By Eight Sitting Members of CongressByrne Confirmed as Leading Voice for Ending the War in Iraq in VA-11
Fairfax, VA-With momentum in her favor after reports that the Democratic primary race in Virginia's 11th congressional district is a dead heat, Leslie Byrne announced today that she has now been endorsed by eight sitting members of Congress. Reps. Corinne Brown (D-FL), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) have now endorsed Byrne, giving her seven members of the House's Out of Iraq Caucus and Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) among the ranks of her supporters.
Ending the war is a critical issue for many likely primary voters across the district, making the endorsement of Webb and Out of Iraq caucus members like co-founder Rep. Lynn Woolsey and federal contractor watchdog Rep. Maloney particularly important. Byrne has a well-establish record of opposition to the war, where her opponent Fairfax County Board of Supervisors chairman Gerry Connolly has been accused of hypocrisy and conflict of interest on the issue. The Washington Post reported last week that Connolly and the defense contracting company SAIC may have engaged in illegally soliciting donations, and Connolly has failed to address concerns raised by his employment as a vice president for SAIC.
"I am deeply honored to have the support of so many who have battled so hard on behalf of our troops," said Byrne. "I am looking forward to working with them when I get to the halls of Congress next year to bring an end to this conflict as a member of the Out of Iraq Caucus."
Byrne has signed on to "A Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq" along with more than 50 other congressional candidates, and is calling for the swift withdrawal of all of our troops and a new diplomatic and economic offensive in that nation. She has been publicly opposed to the war from the very beginning, joining 75 other former congressmen in calling on President Bush to put more effort into diplomacy before the invasion took place.Rep. Maloney has proposed a bill to create a federal contractor misconduct database, and serves on the Out of Iraq Caucus founded by Rep. Woolsey and seven other representatives in June 2005 to coordinate congressional efforts aimed at bringing home our troops.. Senator Webb has quickly become a leading voice on Iraq War issues in the Senate and is a leading sponsor of the 21st Century G.I. Bill.
"Leslie Byrne has been calling for a more intelligent approach to Iraq since before we invaded. As a signatory to the Responsible Plan, she is actively working to change the direction of our policy. No one can question her dedication to a diplomatic approach," said Representative Kaptur. "Leslie combines intelligence, experience, and an idealistic desire to serve our nation and the world. I am eager to have that sort of commitment with us on Capitol Hill again."
"The support of those working for more intelligent solutions in Iraq reinforces that Leslie Byrne is the candidate for who voters can trust to provide a real change in direction on the Iraq War and in the way our government works," said Byrne campaign manager Joe Fox. "Senator Webb and the members of the Out of Iraq Caucus are fighting to give our military personnel a voice and to crack down on unethical government contractors, and they have made it clear that Leslie is the ally they want to help them in their fight."
Don't even tell me you don't know who I am....
How many members of Congress have endorsed Connolly?
I suppose that's an intersting point. But equally interesting that Byrne appears to be doing well with those who know best what kind of ally they need in Congress, don't you think?
To a certain extent, sure. I'm not certain that eight members of a body as large as the House is representative of how well she does overall among members of this body, but there is some significance to these endorsements. It's just not all that important, and will probably sway less than 20 people.
How many members of Congress have endorsed Connolly?
I don't quite know of any, though he's doing much better in terms of local elected officials, from Dick Saslaw to George Lovelace. The difference is that some of these folks can actually cast a ballot for him.
Leslie is not without her support, and she would make a very good Congresswoman (again). Unfortunately, she has a lot of shortcomings as a general election candidate.
Leslie is the only candidate in this race to have ever won this district. She won the district in 2005 with 55% of the vote. The Connolly people will raise the issue of her loss to Tom Davis twelve years ago, but that was not the same district.
The District, as the boundaries are drawn today, has been won by only ONE candidate in this race: Leslie Byrne, and she got as much of the vote as did Tom Davis against Hurst in 2006.
In addition, the question mark for Democrats is largely with respect to PWC and the more moderate voters. I respectfully submit that it is, in fact, Gerry Connolly who is going to have a hard sell with the PWC voters, particlarly those who are more moderate.
Given Connolly's position on immigration (which I applaude, btw) he may as well be a raving liberal as far as most voters are concerned. PWC is going to be a huge question mark for Connolly in the General, mainly because he wasn't thinking about his run for Congress when he allowed himself to be so defined in PWC as an "immigration candidate."
With all due respect, it's Gerry Connolly, not Leslie Byrne who has shortcomings as a general election candidate.
She did fine against a guy from Richmond in a statewide LG race--this isn't the same thing. She's fantastic on the issues. Unfortunately, she's also divisive, unwaveringly liberal in a moderate district, and less electable. Gerry will simply not carry the disfavor that she does with moderates. This makes him the better candidate, though far from perfect in his own right.
She won this district in 2005, period, full stop.
Gerry will simply not carry the disfavor that she does with moderates.
No offense, but this is laughable at best. Connolly is HATED in PWC by exactly the voters you are talking about, largely because of his immigration position.
In Prince William County, other than Corey Stewart, there is no more of a divisive candidate than one Gerald E. Connolly. To suggest otherwise is at best myopic and at worst totally dishonest.
apparently you've chosen to ignore all of the evidence to the contrary I've listed above.
"All the evidence"...now that's laughable. All your "evidence" was an unsupported assertion that immigration will fell Connolly in PWC. You're honestly positing that people who would vote against Gerry Connolly because of immigration would consider voting for Leslie Byrne? That's just silly.
And, further, I'm saying that COnnolly-- based on his immigration drama with PWC-- will have a base of voters willing to work hard to see him not elected. Leslie doesn't have that relationship with PWC moderates/conservatives.
Gerry, for better or worse, has already been defined in PWC, that's going to be a problem for him.
The only statistical evidence available to anyone at the moment is that Leslie won this district in 2005, and she's the only in this race who can make the claim.
If anyone who thinks that people who will vote against Gerry on immigration but will vote for Leslie, then I would appreciate their dealer's phone number, because he clearly has the good stuff.
I am using the 2005 election to directly refute the idiotic "electibility" claim from the Connolly campaign.
And my only point about PWC is that nobody can make a credible argument that Connolly is in position to do better in PWC than will Leslie.
Hence, the electibility argument is just complete bullshit. He's no more "electible" than she is, and either one of them will beat Fimian.
It's just intellectually dishonest to claim Gerry is more electible than Leslie. There is no evidence to support it.
The 11th is going Democratic. I know, it's not a sure thing, but there is very little chance an unknown Republican could beat either Leslie or Gerry in today's climate. And I seriously doubt he could beat Doug either. One of the reasons Davis dropped out was certainly that he knew he'd have a tough battle to keep his seat - that would've been a too close call race.
Talking about her or Gerry's win/loss records is utterly pointless for the November race.
He regularly abuses his constituents when they don't agree with him.
He has misused the bully pulpit granted to him by virtue of his position as chair of the Fairfax Board.
He is closely aligned with Republicans like Tom Davis.
He has sold his soul to corporate campaign contributors.
Connolly will eventually be an embarrassment to the Democratic Party. It's not a question of if, only a question of when.
Leslie Byrne will never embarrass us. Connolly will.
It's Gerry who has the problem, not Leslie. It is Connolly who is divisive and has a propensity to piss people off in PWC.
It's Gerry's track record that is the problem here. Leslie won this district in 2005, remember?