Three for Thursday: David Englin, Virginia Delegate from the 45th

So many great Democrats, so little time.

In an attempt to cover the broad array of brilliant Democrats striving to represent Progressive Principles in the Commonwealth of Virginia, Raising Kaine offers ?Three for Thursday?. Every Thursday we will ask three questions of the candidates, office holders, activists and volunteers striving to put Responsible Government to work for all Virginians.

Three for Thursday: David Englin

In their new book, Crashing the Gate, blogging greats Jerome Armstrong and Markos Zuniga open with the following line:

We have a Republican Party that can't govern, a Democratic Party that can't get elected, and little doubt that a great nation is suffering as a result.

Virginia is a testament to the incontrovertable truth of this statement.  Virginia is a clear example of how people prosper when Democrats do get elected.  Under Governors Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, Virginia government has gone to work for the people, but it's been an uphill battle.  Standing against responsible government and social justice are a core majority of Republican Delegates devoted to an extreme political doctrine that is crushing America. Republican Delegates are willing to allow roads to degrade.  Republican Delegates are willing to allow education to go under funded.  Republican Delegates are striving to make women and homosexuals in to  second class citizens.  Republican Delegates are rapidly turning the world's oldest continuously meeting legislative body (founded 1619) against the interests of the people of Virginia.

Fortunately, there are some Democrats who can get elected.  Enter David Englin.  David Englin is a graduate of the US Air Force Academy and earned a Master in Public Policy degree from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.  During his 12 year career in the Air Force, he was deployed to the Balkans on active duty and was serving in the Pentagon when it was hit in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. 

In 2005, his successful bid for the nomination to the Virginia House of Delegates from the 45th district (Alexandria) was a sensation.  David and his crew of volunteers created a dynamic of grassroots activism that reinvigorated progressive politics in Northern Virginia.

Mr. Englin was kind enough to answer a few questions for us about House Republicans, anti-gay Bigotry, and the future of Progressive activism in Virginia.

Raising Kaine 1.  Tim Kaine was recently quoted as identifying five (5) key political cohorts in state government:  The Kaine Administration, House Democrats, House Republicans, Senate Democrats and Senate Republicans.  Of these, four remain fairly consistently aligned on many issues.  As the lone holdout, Republicans in the House seem stridently devoted to derailing the responsible execution of Virginia Government.  One need look no further than Tim Kaine's effort to transform transportation, or the shameful way House Republicans defeated Tim Kaine's nomination of Dan LeBlanc for Secretary of the Commonwealth to plainly see there's something wrong here.  What is happening with House Republicans? Is it good for Virginia, and what does it tell you about the future of the Republican Party in Virginia.

David Englin:  As a freshman legislator, you learn very quickly that it's a numbers game, and what the majority wants, the majority gets.  Considering that this is the third time in five years that the Republican-controlled General Assembly has failed to produce a budget on time, it's clear that the Republican Party is not good for Virginia.  Virginians want their government to work for them and to deliver results.  Both in Richmond and in Washington, the Republican Party continues to prove over and over again that it can't govern.  They cling to a narrow, failed ideology that doesn't put bread on the table or heal the sick or create jobs or get people out of gridlock or make our communities more safe or our country more secure.  Republicans in the House of Delegates are among the worst.  While there are still a few reasonable moderates among them, as a caucus they are so consumed by their one-note anti-tax theology that they're blocking us from completing the budget, even while the majority of the General Assembly -- Senate Republicans, Senate Democrats, and House Democrats -- plus the Governor are all basically on the same page.  Since moderate Republicans in the General Assembly -- most of whom are in the Senate -- tend to be older and closer to retirement and extreme right-wing Republicans tend to be younger, I fear that we can expect more of the same. . . unless we Democrats continue to build and to organize and to pick up seats.

Raising Kaine 2.  On the third day of your freshman year in the Virginia House of Delegates, you gave a brave and impassioned speech denouncing the "Virginia Marriage Amendment" as a flat statement that gays are "not welcome in Virginia".  Unfortunately, the amendment passed overwhelmingly.  Now it goes to a statewide referendum.  Some estimate that it will take a million votes to defeat it.  Does marriage need to be protected against homosexuals and how are progressives organizing to defeat this referendum? 

David Englin:  People keep using words like "brave" and "courageous" about my speech, but my gay and lesbian friends and neighbors are forced to live each day with the fear and insecurity that stems from our collective failure to live up to our nation's founding principles.  They are the ones with real courage.  Since I asked in my speech how civil unions and domestic partnership contracts and even same-sex marriages could possibly threaten my own marriage, I still have yet to receive an answer.  That's because the notion that gay and lesbian relationships threaten conventional marriage is a complete, absolute, and utter sham -- nothing but anti-gay bigotry.  (Statistically, economic insecurity increases the likelihood of divorce.  If people really want protect marriage, try raising the minimum wage!)  The progressive community is just now starting to get organized to defeat the amendment.  Recent polls show that, while a minority of Virginians support same-sex marriage, nearly 60 percent of Virginians do support allowing civil unions, and an even stronger majority supports granting basic equal legal rights, all of which this amendment would ban.  We need to stop talking about it as "the amendment to ban gay marriage" and start talking about it as "the amendment to ban civil unions and private contracts."  Moreover, as much as this amendment is intended to target gay and lesbian Virginians, we need to keep reminding people that it is so broad that it will harm straight people too.  For example, when Ohio passed this same amendment, it made many domestic violence laws unenforceable between unmarried couples.  It will take a massive grassroots effort to spread that message across Virginia, which means that we each have an opportunity to stand up and make a difference.  If you're interested in getting involved, Equality Virginia is a great place to start.  I'm confident that we are on the right side of history, and that I will dance at my gay friends' weddings in Virginia in my lifetime.

Raising Kaine 3.  Your greatest recent political challenge came in last year's primary in the 45th.  Alexandria is a progressive stronghold and the Democratic nominee is unlikely to face credible challenge from any Republican.  Nonetheless, once you had secured the nomination, you and your volunteers worked extremely hard to win for the TLC ticket and for candidates in other competitive districts.  Looking forward to the 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009, what kind of organizational efforts will you and other Democrats be enacting to continue our winning ways and to win competitive races across Virginia?

David Englin:  It's true that the 45th District is solid Democratic territory, but I take nothing for granted.  I'm already out working the Metro stops and knocking on doors just to update my constituents on their General Assembly and to hear their thoughts and ideas about transportation, the budget, and other issues.  There's no substitute for an elected leader personally connecting with the people he or she represents, and that will be part of my leadership style and my lifestyle as long as I continue to serve.  During the 2005 primary and general election campaigns, we worked hard to build the kind of grassroots organization that would transform people into empowered citizens who understand how they can personally change the course of their community and their country well beyond the life of our campaign.  Considering how many members of Team Englin are now regular activists either in their local party organizations or on various Democratic campaigns, I think we were successful.  My personal focus for the time being is fundraising, since I'm still in debt from the 2005 campaign cycle (you can give online at www.davidenglin.org!) but you can certainly expect my Vote Strong Volunteers to be out knocking on doors, making phone calls, and fighting for progress for years to come.  We plan to hold our famous "Knock and Rock" events every year -- probably one in the summer and one in the fall -- where an ever-growing army of Vote Strong Volunteers will keep pushing Democrats to victory.

David Englin is the kind of young leader Virginia's Democratic Party needs; principled, strong, smart, open, and fearless.  The Virginia House of Delegates could use many more like him.  In the years ahead, his example and leadership will be instrumental as Democrats strive to retake the House.  For the sake of Virginia, we need a Democratic party that can get elected, because unlike Republicans,  Democrats can govern. 

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