Crosspost at BlueCommonwealth.com - Virginia's Enduring Voice of Progress
As a progressive observer of the Virginia Gubernatorial race, this hasn't been a very enjoyable time. Creigh Deeds and Brian Moran are two of the best Democrats to have emerged over the past two decades and either of them would do a fantastic job in Richmond. We may not agree on every issue, but if I wanted a Governor I could always agree with, I'd need to run myself. The problem is that neither of them has organized a campaign or found a message with the power to lead the commonwealth and defeat Bob McDonnell.
Nature abhors a vacuum, and Terry McAuliffe entered this race as a force of nature. He quickly developed a powerhouse campaign based on his well-honed media skills, fund raising expertise, and surprising understanding of Virginia issues. Most importantly, Terry came out with a real message, easy to understand and comprehend. McAuliffe has a solid grasp of issues, takes strongly progressive stands and is able to both communicate and fund his message.
I was personally holding out for Brian Moran for quite some time. As far back as a year ago, I personally advised his campaign to find a strong, simple, clear message. A year later, I have yet to see what Brian wants to do as Governor or how he'll get it done.
Virginia Democrats were overjoyed in 2007 when Senator Barack Obama addressed our 2007 JJ dinner. Tim Kaine became the first Governor outside of Illinois to endorse the Senator, and it was a true show of strength by the fantastic volunteer organization the campaign had organized in the state - I'm looking at you Kip. It was the biggest plated event in Richmond history, but for many Democrats considering an early decision to support the upstart Obama, it was a disappointment. Hoping for a message, we got a wonky talk about health care. Hoping for a speech that would take us to the mountaintop, we got something much much less. A few months later at Iowa's JJ Dinner, Obama did give that speech, and it marked a true turning point for his campaign.
I held that feeling of unfulfilled hope for Brian Moran up until his speech at this year's JJ Dinner. I had hoped that Brian would give us a speech at this year's JJ dinner that would finally answer my questions. In fact, at the JJ I was overjoyed to hear not only much of what Brian had to say at the JJ, but how he said it. Finally, he achieved a voice and a presence at the JJ that could carry the emotion and reason we need from our leaders. Unfortunately, that major advance was overshadowed not only by a broadside attack against Terry McAuliffe, but also by a string of cringe-worthy non-jokes which exposed an untenable weakness. It was one step forward and two steps back. Time has run out.
We're now less than 100 days away from the primary, and it's time for the campaigns to show what they've got.
We need to stay focused on victory in November not just in retaining the Governor's Mansion, but in purging George Allen's Roadblock Republicans from the House of Delegates. Pragmatic progressivism requires that Democratic electoral victory and progressive legislative accountability remain at the forefront. For us to continue on the path to our Enduring Progressive Majority in the Commonwealth of Virginia, we need to make tough, pragmatic decisions and build on excellence to achieve victory. Terry has the message, the campaign, and the perspective to make this November a resounding victory for Virginia and for Virginia Democrats.
One final note. The Virginia political blogsphere has recently seen a few examples of some really poor research and over-the-top attacks against Terry McAuliffe and his supporters. This has been really sad, pitting some of Virginia's best activists against each other. Primaries are full-contact, we get that. But in June we're going to have to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and get to work to defeat Bob McDonnell the ideological heir of George W. Bush and George Allen. I feel that it's time for the Netroots to begin making a clear decision about this year's race, and it won't be made by attacking each other, but rather with an eye towards victory in November and the long-term viability of progressive politics in Virginia and our beloved United States of America.