Taking Back Virginia

Yes, the elections of 2006 are now over (almost - there are some recounts and challenges).  But I am not yet ready to look to 2008, because I live in the Old Dominion, aka the Commonwealth of Virginia.  And all 140 seats in our General Assembly, 40 in the State Senate and 100 in the House of Delegates, are up for grabs in 2007.  Based on what we have seen in 2005 (Tim Kaine elected governor) and 2006 (yep, Jim Webb), we have a real chance to take control.  

Tonight I went to an event in Fairfax City that addressed this.  Tomorrow I will be at an event in Webb headquarters where a number of people for Raisingkaine will discuss precisely this issue.

But you can read about it now, here in this diary!  So read on, and understand why many of us Virginia are not yet ready to look to 2008, even though we may have an open US Senate seat.

The occasion of this event was a fundraiser for the Blue Dominion Majority Pac.  Virginia is a Dominion, blue is our democratic color, and we are aiming for a majority.   Simple enough, right?
The feature person at this event was Chap Peterson, who used to represent Fairfax in the House of Delegates, until he gave up his seat in an attempt to be the Dem nominee for Lieutenant Governor, losing the nomination to Leslie Byrne.  Chap was an active participant in the Webb campaign, appearing as an endorser at the first public event in Arlington.  I remember him at the Falls Church Memorial Day parade, where he had to explain to Jim that you don't just march down the center of the street, but go side to side to greet the people.  We reminisced about that, and about how much Jim grew as a candidate.

And yes, everyone there was talking about Jim's op ed in today's Wall Street Journal, but this is not a diary about Jim Webb - after all, I have already written my last Jim Webb diary, right?

Chap will be running against Mrs. Tom Davis.  Okay, she got elected in her own right before she married the congressman, as Jeanne-Marie Devolites.  Oh, and she is a big-time lobbyist.

Chap has a real shot against her, and after what we have seen recently in the Old Dominion, with the right candidates a whole lot of seats come into play.

Perhaps that is why there were so many public officials, candidates past and future, and political activists.

Among those present were State Senator Creigh Deeds of Bath County, who lost the AG race in 2005 and is positioning to run  for Governor in 2009.  So was his principal opponent, Delegate Brian Moran of Alexandria (yes, he is the brother of the Congressman), who is the current Democratic caucus leader in the House.  His Senate equivalent, Mary Margaret Whipple of Arlington, was also present.  So was State Senator Dick Saslaw, and Delegates David Marsden, David Bulova, Chuck Caputo, and State Senator Mark Herring.  Also present was David Ashe, who lost the 2nd CD in 2004, several other interesting former candidates, several people already preparing to jump in the race, and Larry Robert of Arlington who chaired Tim Kaine's successful gubernatorial bid.  And I can't omit Ben Tribbett, aka Not Larry Sabato, who managed Chap's first race for the House of Delegates.

Oh, and I forgot when I first put this up, our own Ralph Parrott and his wife Betty were there as well!

So these names don't mean anything to you?  Why is teacherken writing about all of this?  Because there is a real enthusiasm in Virginia right now.  After Jim's win, the Republican party of Virginia is in disarray.  This indicates opportunity.

That is why a number of very active volunteers from the Webb campaign  who also post at Raisingkaine are getting together at the volunteer celebration at headquarters tomorrow night (4:30-7 for potluck and libations and mutual congratulations).  We are planning to see how we can organize with the goal of ending the election with at least 21 senate seats and 51 in the house - hence the 21-51 project, leading to a Blue majority.

While there is no maximum an individual can contribute to a state campaign in Virginia, most races are not won by how much money you can raise because spending funds on television is usually not effective.  What one has to do is build a volunteer base, to identify voters early and lock them down in their support.  

We hope to use our base of volunteers for Webb and get as many as we can committed to this project.  we hope to raise money, to help in getting literature out, in building a database of possible supporters early.  

Jim Webb ran a US Senate candidacy from start to finish in just over 9 months:   he decided to run February 8 and was elected on November 7.  We need to start now.

What we are doing has national implications.  Any organization we build will be in place for the presidential race and for our Senate seat should John Warner retire as expected.  I might remind people that Virginia has 13 EVs which have not gone blue since 1964.  Deny these to a Republican nominee and it becomes much harder for him/her to reach 270.  

It has more important implications for us here in Virginia - if we can gain control of the General Assembly, it will facilitate Tim Kaine being able to implement his agenda.  

Chap pointed out tonight that this is not just about transportation (although Republican blocking of raising taxes to address transportation is an issue that will play a huge role not only in NoVa but also in Tidewater and in parts of Southside and Southwest as well). He focused on why our three most important state institutions of higher education want to go "charter" all but withdrawing from official state control.  The state spends only about $9,000/student for its instate attendees at UVa, Va Tech, and W&M.   Compare this to the $27,000+ spent in California.  These three schools have national reputations, but cannot maintain their excellence without a greater degree of financial support  The Universities are engines of our economy, and if we do not maintain or even increase their excellence, the implications for the Commonwealth could be devastating.

I am friends with one potential presidential nominee, Tom Vilsack.  I greatly admire several of the others:  Wes Clark and John Edwards, for example.  While I might give nominal amounts to people, or even occasional blog about them (as I will about Vilsack), I have no interest in endorsing or getting involved in a presidential campaign until after November 6 of 2007.  Until then my focus has to be upon the Virginia General Assembly (which is was we call our legislature).  It is one reason why I have applied to the (part-time) program for political leaders at the Sorensen Institute of the University of Virginia.  This forthcoming election cycle is of great importance.

In the past few years we have seen Democrats take back legislative control in states in the Mountain west and in NH, and take control of legislative bodies in a variety of other states such as Michigan.  I think we can do so in the upper South as well.

That's my major political focus.  I will still work on educational issues, for Yearlykos and nationally.  I will still blog on other topics - books, music, national politics,whatever strikes my fancy.

This cycle I focused on Jim Webb, but also tried to help candidates across the country.  IN 2007 I will be much more narrowly focused.

And unless you are in Kentucky with a governor's race (right?), odds are there is nothing going on where you live as important as our general assembly.

So pay attention, even if you live elsewhere.  You can always give money, and if you have some free time, during the summer or on weekends, I am sure we can find a place where you can be of use.

I promise to keep you informed.

Now, you can do with this diary whatever you want.  But remember, teacherken is trying to educate you about the importance of this task.

Peace.

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