In Lowell's diary earlier today expressing concern over the shape of the race in 2009, he asked for suggestions about what could be done to avoid a nasty primary battle between Creigh Deeds and Brian Moran.
The impetus for his email was several events this past week in which spokespeople for both candidates took aim at the other's campaign. I don't wish to rehash those events, except to say there are those at RK who would disagree with my assessment and contend that all the negativity was on Sen. Deed's end. I acknowledge, but don't agree, with their points of view.
I suggested a petition to both campaigns from the netroots (that's us) expressing our concern and simply letting both campaigns know it is an issue for us.
(More on the flip)
Toward that end, I have drafted such a petition, which is below.
Do folks think it is a good idea? A dumb one? Unnecessary (I don't want to overstate the importance of a small skirmish)? Is the wording right? Am I a naive dreamer to think this will matter one bit?
Anyway, I put it out there, good or bad, dumb or smart. What I really want to express early on is that no matter who we support (and for the record, I'm for Deeds), we are most committed to defeating McDonnell in 2009, and will do our best not to allow the Deeds/Moran primary to divide us like the Obama/Clinton one did.
Dear Sen. Deeds and Del. Moran:We, the undersigned, are the bloggers and readers, respectively, of the major progressive blogs in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
As such, we are some of the more politically active and informed citizens in the State. Online, we do research, help organize events and provide a forum for ideas to be debated, criticized and honed.
Many of us are also the foot soldiers in your campaigns and for the Virginia Democratic Party. We are the canvassers, the people who register voters and the people who help raise money.
The consensus among us is that either of you would be an excellent Democratic Party candidate for Governor in 2009. Some of us are neutral in the contest at this point; some of us have publicly declared our preference for one of you and argued on your behalf in posts and commentaries at the respective blogs on which we particpate.
But all of us believe that far more important than the issue of which one of you emerges as the Democratic Party candidate is that the Democratic Party candidate wins the election in November of 2009.
For the past eight years, Governors Warner and Kaine have led our state in the right direction, fixing much of the mess left over by Jim Gilmore, but much remains to be done in areas like the environment, education and transportation. What's more, uncertain economic times mean that many of our fellow citizens will be at greater risk than ever before with respect to jobs, health care and housing. A Republican victory in 2009 will spell disaster for many of these people.
In this light, we respectfully request that both of you and your campaigns remain cognizant of the need for all of us as Democrats to remain together through your upcoming competitive primary.
Several recent events and comments from both your campaigns that seem unduly harsh have left us, as observers, concerned that each of your efforts to win the nomination will leave the victor too wounded to prevail next November.
The bad feelings left by the recent Obama-Clinton battle are fresh in our minds. While the party has coalesced around Barack Obama, some bad feelings remain from that bitterly fought contest. We do not want to see that happen in Virginia.
It is not our place to tell you how to run your campaigns, and we certainly recognize the legitimacy of criticism in political campaigns. We simply request, as concerned and involved citizens who share the same ultimate objectives as each of you - the election of Democrats - that you focus your campaigns on your positive visions for Virginia, on what you would bring to the job of governor, and on all the reasons why Bob McDonnell is not the direction we want to go in Virginia.
Thank you.
Signed:
Any feedback will be appreciated. If enough people think it is a good idea, I'll get some help getting the logistics set up.
Please feel free to respond here, or email me privately if you prefer -- aznew@comcast.net.
Thanks,
Alan
Let's look at this from the Deeds campaign's perspective. They know that their advantage is a previous statewide race. They can start the whole thing early. Which is exactly what they've done. They announced early, they got endorsements early, they've gone negative early. They are moving the timeline up. Moran is clearly planning on a long haul campaign -- hence the big fundraising and big staff.
This kind of negative crud is one thing in a general, but in a primary it should be tamer. The Deeds team needs to get some perspective and hold off until after November.