I like your stickers (Lowell - 11/10/2008 4:15:10 PM)
Like these.
I just got off the phone with Terry McAuliffe, here's a rough transcript of our 10-minute conversation. Yeah, Terry McAuliffe was talking really fast, thoughts spilling out in a torrent, which means that I was basically scribbling notes as fast as I could, in between trying to ask my questions. In short, Terry McAuliffe - like him or not (and I do) - is a force of nature.
Question: There have been a lot of rumors about you possibly running for governor of Virginia. Are you running, and if so, when will you announce?
Answer: I've been traveling all over the state for Barack Obama. Everywhere I went, large crowds showed up, many people encouraged me to run for governor. I'm going to travel the state for the next 60 days. On January 7, I'm going to make my decision known. I'm going to talk to voters and hear what they have to say. I just filed paperwork authorizing a committee to be formed.
There are lots of things I can do with my life, but I'm excited and proud of Virginia. There's a lot of change that has to happen. Richmond - the House of Delegates, specifically - has not been working for Virginians. I offer big, bold ideas. Unfortunately, Richmond has been a roadblock in a number of areas (e.g., transportation).
The economy is my focus. Right now, Virginia's facing a budget deficit that is forcing major budget cuts. We have to grow our economy so we have the money to pay for the services we need. And who would be better to create jobs in Virginia than me? I would be Virginia's biggest salesman. If you're looking for a guy to review policy papers in Richmond, I'm not your guy. I know people all over the world. Richmond's attitude has been "we can't do that," my attitude is "we CAN do that."
Question: What, if anything, do you bring to the table that Creigh Deeds and Brian Moran don't?
Answer: They have been great legislators, but they've been stuck down in Richmond. I've got a "can do" attitude. I want to connect the entire state - high speed rail, broadband, etc. How do you convince companies to come here when their workers are stuck in traffic? We need alternative sources of energy. I will focus 24/7 on winning the election, which is the most important thing. I will also help make sure we win the LG, AG, and House of Delegates races. I will make sure that these candidates are well funded. I want people who share my vision and are fighters.
Question: How do you respond to critics who say you don't have Virginia experience, that you've mainly been about raising money, or that you're too partisan?
Answer: I started out doing politics, I've raised a lot of money. Noone can run without money. I built the DNC from the grassroots up - women's forum, African American forum. Being able to raise money is not a negative, it's a huge asset. I've been in 50 states fighting for Democrats. Noone has fought harder for Democrats. I want to create jobs, bring better health care and education.
I decided to move my family to Virginia, raised my children here. I could have lived anywhere, but I chose Virginia. Today, what Virginia needs is a new approach. This is my state and I think I can do it. We need to build roads, Metro, etc., and that requires money. You can either raise taxes or cut services, I'd rather grow the economy.
Question: If elected governor of Virginia, would you be willing to stand up to powerful corporate interests like Dominion and Bechtel on behalf of the environment and the public good?
Answer: I have a history of standing up. I have never shied away from a good fight. When I'm elected, I will not be beholden to any special interest. Neither will the people I help to elect in the House of Delegates, I will have helped them so they can fight for my agenda.
We need to prepare the state for the next 25 years. I have a very challenging, exciting, entrepreneurial plan. We need to shake the roots in Richmond. We will build this campaign from the grassroots up and run a positive campaign. I've already talked to people about bringing business and jobs to Virginia. I have ideas for Virginia that nobody else in this country has. I can bring thousands of jobs to this state. I know what Terry McAuliffe can do!
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P.S. Just so everyone knows, I am not working for or being compensated by Terry McAuliffe in any way, shape or form. The only 2009 candidate I'm consulting to - or intend to consult to - is Jon Bowerbank for LG. Also, if any other 2009 Democratic candidates are interested in live blogging or sitting down for an interview here at RK, they are very welcome.
UPDATE: Terry McAuliffe's website is here.
UPDATE #2: Brian Moran's camp says in a statement, "Given Mr. McAuliffe's previous ambitions to run for governor of Florida, he needs to explain to the people of Virginia if he's doing this for the right reasons."
UPDATE #3: Creigh Deeds' camp says, "Senator Deeds has always expected a number of different folks to join this campaign and he looks forward to an open and honest discussion of how we keep moving Virginia forward after last Tuesday's historic election of Barack Obama and Mark Warner."
UPDATE #4: Marc Ambinder reports that former Mark Warner (and Tim Kaine) campaign manager Mike Henry will manage "The Macker's" campaign for governor. With Mike Henry joining a campaign that already includes Mo Eleithee, they appear to be well on their way to recreating the Kaine 2005 campaign.
A bit politician-y at times, and I think it's unfair to knock Deeds and Moran for being stuck in Richmond. But his constant focus on the future and building up the state is very Warner-esque. Whoever our candidate is - he needs to share these values and know how to get it done.
P.S. Lowell, given your demonstrated typing/transcribing skills during all the debates, however, interesting to see you put up the yellow flag finally for McAuliffe. If you have trouble, he might just talk to darn fast for the Commonwealth.
Brian Moran understands the value of local electeds' support, so he did the right thing and asked me for my support!
As a down-state native, I can promise you that he will poll terribly in RoVa. Hopefully, as he travels around the state he will actually engage the locals Dems and get an honest assessment rather than just meeting with his sycophants.
I don't understand why Terry would consider Brian Moran's and Creigh Deeds's time doing the hard, often boring, and complex work of legislation a down side when he lacks any similar experience to theirs.
No mistake about it, Terry McAuliffe is a terrific political operative and a gung ho fundraiser. Seems to me, though, that being governor is about more than having boundless energy and raising a lot of money. It's not like Creigh and Brian are saying they think broadband and alternative means of transportation are a BAD thing, nor are either of them helplessly flailing their arms and saying they wish they could just DO something. If we did not already have two excellent Democratic candidates for the governorship ready to hit the primaries I'd wish him good luck and root for a win, but we have two really good candidates with a lot of legislative experience and their own high energy. A McAuliffe run would only serve to muddy the waters.
I agree that McAuliffe would do miserably downstate. (My ROVA-cred: raised in central Va., and have lived in Blacksburg, Charlottesville, Richmond and VB.) He is just fundamentally a national-party guy, and outside of NoVa it's not really the norm to have just moved here, unless you're in Hampton Roads and in the military.
What's more, I can't see how this candidacy (assuming for the moment that Terry got the nomination) would help the state party over any kind of long run. Seems to me that if we ran a Clinton-era money-raiser as our top candidate, we'd be sucking the oxygen out of the top level of state politics for our homegrown pols. I can't decide right now if this would be more true if Terry won or lost to McDonnell.
As far as the electoral side of this, McAuliffe will have the money to be competitive, but in terms of his electoral base he's basically pulling from parts of McLean/Fairfax. I see Moran winning Arlington/Alexandria by nice margins, edging Deeds out in Hampton Roads, Richmond probably tilts strongly Moran, while Deeds does wins along the 81 corridor and in the hills of the Blue Ridge.
I'd guess it'll be a low-turnout primary (maybe 18-22 percent of the electorate for a June primary -- probably higher than the 2006 Senate turnout, but far lower than the March 2008 presidential primary).
In the end I'd be surprised if McAuliffe was able to crack 25 percent statewide.
Either way, he'll have a chance to make a case for his candidacy.
Also, he's "in it to win it!"
Im just sayin......
I know people are excited that we've got a national political figure running for governor of our great commonwealth. However, has anyone remembered that being a governor is about governing? It's about setting precedent for your party and reaching across partisan divides to acomplish legislative goals.
Is there one major issue McAuliffe can point to that he deeply cares about? Warner was about saving the economy of this state. Kaine came in talking about education and our roads. What does McAuliffe care about?
I support Brian Moran because I know that he deeply cares about making Virginia a better place for his children and his neighbors--whether they be from Alexandria, Norfolk, Page or Lee County.
Does McAuliffe know anything about America besides raising money and losing elections?
I think that pretty much nails his reasons for running for Governor in Virginia.
He can raise the money and lose the election simultaneously.
I'd be curious to hear what McAuliffe's reasoning is for running. Just in terms of the electoral politics -- what case could he make to a prospective large donor about his chance in Virginia? Why Virginia over some other state where he might have some more natural electoral advantages (New York and to a lesser extent Florida)?
Why not run for Congress first?
In terms of state politics and demographic, McAuliffe could be a potentially very strong challenger in the 10th District. If there is one place in the state that would seem to line up pretty well with his strengths that would seem to be the one. He'd need to work hard to flip votes in Loudon, but I see a path to him winning the 10th district and beating Wolf. As far as the VA Governorship goes?
He doesn't know Richmond from Little Rock.
I personally think Judy Feder needed more money to beat the Wolf. If she couldn't ride on Obama's coattails, then we need to work harder. He could bring in those funds, seriously.
Of course, I haven't read where he stands on the issues yet, which is an issue but Creigh Deeds will definitely not get my support. I hate to reignite a NoVA-RoVA debate, but unlike Tim Kaine & Mark Warner who understand BOTH NoVA & RoVA, Creigh Deeds is more partial to the rest of Virginia. And I'm not sure Brian Moran can appeal to RoVA.
Someone like Terry McAuliffe is partial to BOTH, I personally feel. As for the carpetbagger argument, he's lived in Virginia for the past twenty years and has a lot of experience; after all, he led the Democratic party for four years.
Hate to break the news to you, Terry ol' pal, but being governor means being stuck down in Richmond for four long years!
His navel-gazing "autobiography" (though he probably prefers to think of it as a memoir) is a revealing political document. It has the intellectual effect of an exclusive diet of cotton candy.
It's remarkable how he goes on breathlessly and interminably and yet never once offers even a single insight of any substance at all. Or at least none that are original to the author.
It's like Acheson's "Present at the Creation" but written by Zelig.
Other than money, ambition and ego, he's the San Diego of contemporary national Democratic Party politics. Oh, and I also think he's an anachronism now.
Read his horrifyingly flatulent book. Then read, oh, I don't know, say...anything Webb has ever written (not the least of which would be "Born Fighting" or the 2006 WSJ op-ed piece where he dared use the words ... class struggle) or thoughtful speeches by Warner and Kaine.
As I said elsewhere on this thread, Terry Mac's book is like Acheson's "Present at the Creation" but written by Zelig.
(All that being said, if he wins the primary, I'd carpetbag over the state line to knock on doors for him, as I did for Barack, Warner and Sam Rasoul this fall...assuming I haven't already changed my residence to Virginia by that time.)