WE’RE ALL BEHIND DEEDS, WAGNER, AND SHANNON!

Sunday, June 28, 2009

(Arlington County Democratic Committee)

Report from the Chairman

Peter Rousselot

I am delighted to report that Virginia Democrats immediately came together after the June 9 primary to back our great statewide ticket of Creigh Deeds for Governor, Jody Wagner for Lieutenant Governor, and Steve Shannon for Attorney General.

The mood at the quarterly meetings of the Democratic Party of Virginia (DPVA) earlier this month was happy and confident, recognizing that we have lots of work to do. It was quite a contrast to what I saw three years ago at the comparable meeting after Jim Webb won his primary against Harris Miller. At that earlier meeting, most of the traditional DPVA hierarchy had backed Harris, and were still upset and disgruntled by his loss. It took a wonderful speech by DPVA Party Chair Dick Cranwell to break the ice. What a difference three years make!

This year, Virginia Democrats had already come together behind our statewide ticket before we ever arrived at the meeting! We all admire and respect our ticket, and are ready to do everything it takes to elect them. This ticket has geographic, ethnic, and gender diversity, and the Deeds and Virginia Coordinated Campaigns have been quick to reach out to great leaders of DPVA and the McAuliffe and Moran campaigns to tap their pool of campaign veterans.

We’re going to need this outstanding pool of talent to keep Virginia moving forward in the great tradition of Mark Warner and Tim Kaine.

So, what do we know about the head of the GOP ticket? Who is Bob McDonnell? In the words of an old, rightly-discredited commercial for Camel cigarettes, Bob McDonnell is a “Smooth Operator.” He seems to lack the “hard edges” that drove Virginia voters away from Jim Gilmore in his 2008 Senate race against Mark Warner, or that alienated Virginia voters from Jerry Kilgore in his 2005 race for Governor against Tim Kaine. We also know that Bob McDonnell is a capable fundraiser and presentable candidate. But most importantly, we know that Bob McDonnell is wrong on almost every issue that’s important to Virginians, and we need to be sure that our Arlington voters learn the facts about Bob McDonnell.

Bob McDonnell opposes a forward-thinking energy policy. He opposes an additional $125 million of unemployment benefits for laid off Virginia workers. He opposes stem cell research to find cures that will help Virginia families. And he opposes a woman's right to choose – even in cases of rape and incest. Bob McDonnell has an extreme social and economic agenda that is antithetical to everything that Arlington Democrats believe.

Help us spread the great news about our own terrific statewide and Arlington candidates, and let every Arlington voter know the facts about what would happen if the Republicans were to win. Please sign up to help our 2009 Arlington Joint Campaign team!

PETER ROUSSELOT