Strawberries and Sweat: Signs of Success For Tom Perriello in VA-05

I was grateful for the opportunity to see with my own eyes what is going on between Tom and the voters in Southside.

The two events cemented my conviction that Tom will beat Goode in November, especially after seeing the dedication of several of the young people working on his campaign.

The Strawberry Social was at Supervisor Marvin Moss' home, Glen Burnie. There were some competing events in the area, so turnout was apparently less than the Fluvanna Democrats had hoped for, but the small crowd that was there was lively and enthusiastic, and gratefully able to fit in Mr. Moss's lower level, air-conditioned great room.

(Plenty more on the day, including photos, on the flip. Note: this is my first time posting photos, so I hope I got it right.)
Besides Tom, Creigh Deeds was there, and because the crowd was so small, I got to chat with him for a while, which was a real treat for me. Soon enough the race between Del. Brian Moran and Sen. Deeds will heat up. I've met Sen. Deeds a few times, and for me he embodies everything that makes me proud to be a lifelong Democrat. He is a Democrat in the best sense of the term, a Democrat in the tradition of FDR with a genuine concern and feel for the challenges faced by everyday folks, and a desire and an understanding of how to use government to address those challenges and really improve people's lives - not just the folks able to organize into interest groups, but all people -- in a tangible way.

Furthermore, I always walk away from a conversation with Sen. Deeds impressed with his honesty.

Brian Moran was scheduled to attend the event, but apparently he got stuck in Richmond, which was too bad, because I was really hoping for the opportunity to meet him. I've heard plenty of good things about him as well, and was hoping to be able to introduce myself and say hello.

But I was there with Tom Perriello, so let me get back to him. I don't want to hijack my own diary.

Tom is an effective speaker. I think he is much better in this kind of informal setting than in a larger set speech. Here, in this blessedly cool room, talking about how he was going to reclaim and revive the Fifth District, he seemed to really connect with this crowd of Democrats.

The sense among this group that Tom can actually win this race, as opposed to merely fighting the good fight, was real. These were partisans, yes, but also clear-eyed political realists.

The desire for change was palatable. Outside of the several campaign staffers who were there, most of the crowd tended to be older (including me!), but everyone was stoked about the enthusiasm that they are seeing in young people this cycle and the sustainable change that portends for our country. Of course, we've seen young people energized before only to not show up on election day, but among these Fluvanna Democrats, hope springs eternal! The betting there (and I think it is 100% correct) is that this election, because of quality candidates on the ticket like Obama, Warner and Tom who speak to the desire for change and a new, more constructive direction for the nation, turnout will be high. The higher the turnout, obviously, the better for Tom and Virginia, if not all, Democrats this cycle.

Substantively, the contrast Tom offers to Virgil Goode is really striking: Tom talks about hope; Virgil about fear and hatred of illegal aliens and Muslims. Tom talks about changing the culture in Washington, while Virgil is part of a corrupt and ineffective Washington, DC mentality that has brought us to the brink of disaster. Tom talks about finding solutions, while Virgil talks about finding scapegoats. Tom talks humbly about faith as a foundation for a life of service, while Virgil sees faith as a rhetorical tool to demonize people and divide them. Tom is out in the District virtually every day, especially in Southside, meeting voters, working hard, listening to people. Virgil, who gets paid with out tax dollars, won't even provide his constituents with a schedule of his activities.

"Building a fence in Mexico," Tom points out, "won't bring jobs to Southside."

The discussion turned toward the importance of the African American vote in Virginia, in general, and in the Fifth District, in particular. Apparently, only about 50% of African Americans eligible to vote in the District are even registered here (I knew it was low, but not that low). And it isn't only a Southside phenomenon, but exists in Charlottesville and Albemarle as well.

The thinking is that Obama's nomination will help with this, both in terms of exciting African American voters to want to register and vote for our historic nominee, but also because Obama's ground game will be helping to register as many voters as possible.

Tom also spoke about his organizing effort, especially his Fellows for Common Good Summer program in which he has trained 15 volunteer college students to fan out across the District. Tom's campaign now has offices in Bedford, Martinsville, Smith Mountain Lake, Danville, Farmville and Charlottesville. (Some more on the Fellows I met, below).

Before leaving Fluvanna, I would like to say a word about Supervisor Marvin Moss and his very interesting historical home. It was built in 1826 and is on the National Register of Historical Places. Mr. Moss was a gracious host in showing me and several other guests around, discussing his period furniture and artwork, not to mention wall paint that costs $150 a gallon. Imagine being able to stroll around Monticello freely as guest of the owner, not a sightseer, and you can get an idea of what it felt like. If you like being able to see, feel and touch history, as well as read about it, like I do, it was a real treat.

Our nest stop was about 2 hours south at the Uncle Billy's Day festival in Altavista. The Perriello campaign had a tent set up there where they were raffling off $50 of free gas. It was the only political tent at the event. Perriello stickers were a big hit with the kids passing by (in keeping with Tom's faith-based approach - see Isaiah 11:6)

By the way, did I mention it was hot?

As we passed a bank in Altavista, it had one of those electronic clock and thermometers out front showing the temperature was 102 degrees. I think it was using a Fahrenheit scale, but I'm honestly not certain - it could have been Celsius. There was barely a perceptible breeze.

We were drenched in sweat just from the short walk to the fairground from the parking area.

Which leads me to the most impressive thing I saw all day. I cannot say enough about the three Perriello staffers I met at the Uncle Billy's Day Festival who manned this tent ALL day. Drew Lumpkin, Tom's Western coordinator, headed up the team, and he was accompanied by two Common Good Fellows, Jesse, who goes to Swarthmore, and Meredith, a rising third year at UVA.

Drew, Jesse and Meredith had working all day out in the hot sun, and as you can imagine, they too were drenched in sweat. It was miserable. Somehow, these three folks maintained their enthusiasm for Tom and good humor for their work throughout the incredible heat of the entire afternoon.

Everyone felt grungy (Tom later remarked, "I could take a shower in beer right now and feel less sticky."). That didn't stop these five; Tom and Jess strolled around the
Fairgrounds meeting voters while Drew, Meredith and Jesse continued trying to engage people at the booth.

By far, the issue on people's mind was gasoline prices.

Virgil and Republicans have been touting ANWAR as the panacea for high gas prices. It is absurd, but it permits to the GOP to frame the issue as "you're paying $4 at the pump because Democrats don't want to hurts a few polar bears."

The truth is that our current problems are the result of 7 years of mismanagement and bad policy by the Bush Administration, especially the failure to invest both intellectual and actual capital in the development of alternative energy before we were in a crisis.

Not much you can honestly say to folks about bringing gas prices down short-term, and to his credit, Tom did not try to do so. Rather, he took the opportunity to talk about long-term solutions, and how new scientific discoveries would generate jobs and about the importance of leadership in addressing these issues.

Many people seemed willing to chat for a while, and many seemed particularly impressed that Tom was there.

My personal favorite was a lady who insisted I take her picture with Tom, who she thought was very good looking. "Put that in your paper," she pointed at me and ordered me (actually, I don't have a paper, but I said I would). She was quite happily boisterous and seemed really receptive to Tom. A minute later she returned to ask what party Tom belonged to. She was crestfallen to hear he was a Democrat and said she'd be voting for Virgil. Tom asked, "Do you want him to erase the picture?

"No, y'all keep the picture," she said with a big smile and a wave goodbye. I really got a kick out of it.

Tom didn't agree, but come Nov. 4, when she gets in that voting booth, she's voting for the nice young man she posed with for a picture. Yes, I predict she will be voting for Tom. And even if she doesn't, she is the kind of person that Tom is running for, as much as he is running for people like me who are closer to him in political thinking. That woman doesn't know it, but she needs Tom in Congress as much as all of us do.

Photos follow:

Creigh Deeds introducing Tom at the Strawberry Social. Creigh is running for Governor, but he is not looking past this year, and spoke passionately about the need to make sure Obama and Warner win statewide, and that Democrats take advantage of this great opportunity to pick up Congressional seats in the state.

Supervisor Marvin Moss

Marvin Moss' beautiful and historic home

Tom chats with a voter and her son at the Uncle Billy's Day Festival in Altavista. That's Common Good Fellow Jesse on the left, holding the clipboard.

Tom with some more voters

Drew and Meredith at Tom's booth at the Festival. Note the numerous bottles of water and Gatorade on the table, which were constantly being consumed.

Here's Tom with that lovely woman I discuss above. She doesn't know it yet, but in a little less than five months, she will be voting for a Democrat for the first time.

Packing up at the end of a long day. Left to right is Meredith, Drew and Jesse. That is Jessica Barba, Tom's communication director, picking up the sign.

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