From the blog, "Elect Al Weed", comes the following news from last night by Michael Snook:
Tonight was "Mega-Monday" in 5th-district-caucus-speak. There were nine Democratic caucuses deciding on 113 delegates. I'm proud to inform you that Al took 67 of the 98 delegates we've heard about so far, bringing his total to 92 (of the 143 we know of and the 101 he needs for the nomination; still waiting to hear about 15 from tonight)...
Unless I'm missing something, and no offense to Weed's Democratic rival Bern Ewert, but it looks like Weed's just about got the Democratic nomination in the 5th CD locked up. Which brings us to the next question: can Weed do better against Virgil "MZM Scandal" Goode this time than he did in 2004, when he (Weed) won only 36% of the vote? Well, here's what Michael Snook had to say in front of 150+ people last night in Charlottesville:
I'm a newcomer to Democratic activism, and Al's the reason I'm here. I've heard a lot of talk about electability tonight, but maybe we need to rethink our definition of electability...This election will be won by volunteers and small-dollar donors, so when you think about electability, think about who inspires you as a Democrat, who inspires you to put your time and your money where your mouth is, who stands up for the values that make you proud to be a member of this party. Al's 2004 race was his first investment in his 2006 victory...and if you've ever seen him in southside, talking to voters, connecting with community leaders, you'll see a new definition of electable, and it's Al Weed.
Well, that certainly sounds encouraging (and inspirational), and I sure hope Michael Snook is correct! Apparently, Michael got a large round of applause for his short speech. I say, "good for you, Michael!" Virgil Goode may seem invulnerable, but as John Belushi says in Animal House:
Over? Did you say, 'over?' Nothing is over until WE decide it is! Was over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!
That's right, you tell 'em John. You tell 'em, Michael. And you go get 'em, Al Weed!
Al raised more money in the 1st qtr than Virgil, and although to Virgil that must not mean much, it means that to anyone else looking, people are not crowding around Virgil and donating like they used to. (Paging Mitchell Wade, Mitchell Wade to the White Courtesy Telephone)
Virgil will be Al's opponent after the convention, and every 5th District Democrat should get behind him and work hard to make this once in a long-while opportunity pay off for us. Virgil is vulnerable. His stance on Immigration is disgraceful, his ideas are draconian. He hasn't produced for the 5th District and should lose his job because of that alone.
Also, he is a crook, part of the Republican Culture of Corruption that needs to be dismantled this year and in 2008. Anybody ever hear Virgil complain about the lack of body armor in Iraq? How about complaining about the poor response to Katrina? How about the burgeoning Federal Deficit, something I thought Virgil and Republicans didn't like?
What does he do up there three days a week?
I can tell you. Collects a paycheck on us, and collects bribes from military contractors. I guess that makes him sort of a 'war profiteer' doesn't it? Well, doesn't it?
And then there's the Goode missteps. The MZM thing wasn't even on the radar back in 2004, and even then, between 1/3 and 2/5 of Goode's dsitrict still wanted him gone. Goode's district includes Dem-leaning Charlottesvile and Nelson and Albemarle Counties, and Republican backing in Southside VA is soft; Kerry and Kaine got better than 40% in many of those counties, which had once been the heart of Wallace territory in Virginia.
Weed has a much better shot now than he did before. Goode's party has higher negatives, plus there's specific dirt on Goode that wasn't known 2 years ago.
As soon as Harris goes away, we can give Virgil the attention he deserves in order to win this one.
About a year ago we brought home two cats from a local shelter. Yesterday we received a brochure from them, and it turns out that they received a nice contribution from Virgil. Probably it's some of that MZM money, and I think of it whenever the cat rubs on my leg. blech.