I have a confession: I still don’t know who I’m going to support for lieutenant governor.
Not Viola Baskerville. She was very much in play until she spoke here in Charlottesville. I like her personally — she’s affable and interesting. But her schtick makes me angry. In her remarks that evening, she asked, repeatedly, “Can a black woman be elected to lieutenant governor in Virginia?” Since then, I’ve seen that she does this regularly. Her campaign is based substantially on white guilt — on getting liberals like me to vote for her because of her sex and race. I don’t like Viola Baskerville saying “vote for me because I’m black” any more than I like David Duke saying “vote for me because I’m white.” And what I really don’t like is being manipulated. Though I may agree with her on most issues, and I may like her very much personally, I’ve stewed over this long enough, and I just can’t muster a vote for a race-based campaign.
Not Phil Puckett. (Sorry, Brian.) His beliefs are just too far afield from my own. I’d like to see a geographically balanced ticket, but the gap between me and Phil is just way too great.
Maybe Leslie Byrne. I agree with her on just about everything, in both perspective and degree. She speaks powerfully, and I’d like to think persuasively. Given that we agree on so much, she is consequently more liberal than the majority of Virginians. This concerns me.
Maybe Chap!™ Peterson. He’s more centrist than I, and he’s certainly cast some votes that piss me off, but he’s certainly a left-of-center Democrat. He’s the best speaker of the bunch, a smart guy, and obviously passionate in his beliefs.
Do I vote for Leslie Byrne, who I’m not confident can win the general election, or for Chap Peterson, who I think can? Do I vote my heart, or my head?
As with the presidential primary last year, I very well may not decide until I’m in the booth.
IIRC, Byrne hasn’t won statewide anything, but neither have any of the others, and Byrne did successfully run for a national office, which makes me think she may be somewhatr electable.
Chap! won’t be getting my vote because of the votes you refer to, but because he also comes across as a sleazy used car salesman.
I’m voting Puckett, because he seems to know everyone in SW Virginia. If he can charm the old ladies in Gate City, then the ticket might be in business.
Of course Byrne hasn’t won a statewide race. Duh.
Puckett took the same votes as Chap. Puckett isn’t running on anything except for bio and location and to be honest, his personality isn’t going to move anyone except those old ladies you speak of. So I would say Chap is the only one that can win in November.
I’m a Leslie Byrne supporter. She’s been running a solid campaign, she’s smart and I agree with her politics.
Um… by the way. Leslie Byrne has a 30 year record. Am I missing some kind of sarcasm Dan?
**From the Leslie Byrne Site**
7 years of service in the Virginia House of Delegates, a term as Virginia’s first female representative to the U.S. Congress, 2 years as the White House Director of Consumer Affairs, and 4 years of service in the Virginia State Senate.
I’m voting for Chap!.
I think he can win. I don’t think any of the others would come that close. And each of the other three have pretty big liabilities. Baskerville’s foot-in-mouth on Kaine’s tax plan and his relationship with Warner was a big mark against her. Puckett’s fundraising collapsed last period, according to VPAP, and I’m not sure he’s done a very good job of getting known around the state. He’s as conservative as Petersen but he doesn’t come from a vote rich part of the state. And we already have Deeds, who’s outwardly somewhat similar. Byrne is simply too liberal to win, and her bio doesn’t seem to hit the right notes electorally (she’s older, from NoVa, has lost her fair share of races, the party didn’t even want her to try again for the Senate when she was redistricted, and does the Clinton connection even help?). I read on Kos she wasn’t at the shad planking, and, lastly, this is probably the wrong week or two to be closely associated with Howard Dean. She won’t win if she gets the nomination, and she’ll be a drag on Kaine.
I think Chap has done the best job of putting together a campaign that can win. He’s been active statewide on the RV tour, already opened multiple offices, has raised the most money, and comes from NoVa but can’t be too easily sterotyped as a liberal. He’s the candidate who can win in November, so I hope he wins on Tuesday.
I should add, on further reflection, that Brian Patton really does do a good job making the case for Puckett. And it’s true he’s the only candidate on TV in Hampton Roads. Maybe my heuristics have led me astray…
Josh, you aren’t missing sarcasm, but you did misread me. I merely said that Leslie Byrne has not won a statewide race, which is true, because the only person on the Dem side that HAS won a statewide race is Tim Kaine.
Byrne is a train wreck in the making. She has the polarizing “liberal” tag of a Clinton without the smarts or populism. She squeaked into Congress, and then two years later in the job performance referendum (AKA the following election) she got beat like a drum in a district that leans Democratic.
Byrne did run state-wide for US Senate, losing to some guy named Mark Warner in the primary. During that race she called Warner “Republican-light”. That worked so well she’s using the same tactic against Chap Petersen. Wonder why she doesn’t have that campaign on her resume?
Most damning is her State Senate “victory.” Firstly she squeaked in with 37 votes. 37! And this only happened because there was a third candidate; an ultra-conservative funded by … wait for it … Byrne!
Lastly, she lectures. There are no plans, no vision — when I’ve seen her she’s out converting Democrats to be liberals with cutesy rhetoric and “Did you know” stories.
Well Leslie, I do know that the guys I go to work with at 6 AM don’t want you waving your finger at them spouting your stances on God, guns and gays. I don’t believe it’s possible for her primary stances to play into the hands of Republicans more. She’ll drag down Kaine with her, the DNC will be convinced that Mark Warner was a fluke, unable to keep Democrats in the top spot, and [poof] there goes Warner’s aspirations for Prez.
Over exaggerating? Well, when she lost the Congressional seat, she helped make way for Newt’s “Contract with America” gang. Maybe it’s because they had a plan and she didn’t. We’re still waiting for her to come up with one. Right now the game plan seems to be, “same ideas, same candidate,” which invariably leads to the same results – Republicans taking the reigns of power.
Chap’s my guy. He wins and he has goals in transportation, education and economic development. Not words and rhetoric but plans! He is also the only candidate who stated he wanted to build the party and work at getting Democrats elected to the legislature. Simple idea, but no one else has even mentioned it! The proof is in a gentleman named David Cox, who is running in the 24th House district. He couldn’t thank Chap enough for his help and insight. (Cox and Del. Lionell Spruill, a senior member of the black caucus, both endorsed Chap last week in Richmond).
A winner who backs words with action — unfortunately these are combinations not often found in the Democratic ranks. People may get a warm fuzzy feeling and talk about “moral victories”, but after years and years I’ve learned that feeling fades and you’re stuck with the people who carried out the actual victory. We can’t change our society for the better from the sidelines. Give Chap your vote so he can follow other pragmatic, populist Democrats like Tim Kaine and Mark Warner.
(stepping down off the soap box… sorry about the ? marks. They’re supposed to be apostrophes and quote marks.)
Byrne. Definitely Byrne.
From all state party level activists, it is a dead heat between Byrne and Petersen.
They say that our usually neglected Hampton Roads area will be the deciding factor.
Petersen has the biggest effort here and has had his people working for at least 6 months already.
Petersen was just endorsed by two of our Dem. notables here.
So based on that, I would bet Petersen has it.
But I am still voting for Byrne. And I don’t find her rhetoric “cutesy”,
I like her and her message quite a lot.
I just am left a bit nonplussed by Petersen. Nice enough guy, but he seems somehow “fuzzy” to me. Lacks gravitas and style.
Thats ok Waldo, I understand. I agree with all of your analysis, but still think Puckett would be the strongest candidate between the four in the General election. Not to mention the benefits of having Kaine travel around the state with a Soutwest Virginian.
Everytime Kilgore, et al. assert some regional defense (and you know they will try that again), Puckett could step to the microphone and just blast Kilgore. That is something Kaine cannot do.
I just want to correct two things:
1- Leslie Byrne barely lost re-election to Congress (52-48). You all might remember the year- 1994- when we lost 56 members of Congress? Since when did Democrats start attacking each other for losing their seats in defense of Bill Clinton???
2- Her district was not Democratic. It was central Fairfax and Prince William. In the 96 Presidential election in those precincts Bill Clinton got 48%.
Please don’t revise history. Today that district is Democratic. In 1994 it wasn’t.
Bill, I’ve fixed those weird bits in your post.
What gets to me about Chap is that I don’t really like him. I don’t dislike him. He seems like an affable enough fellow, I suppose. But he strikes me as a bit mean, even bitter. That said, I’m not totally hung up on liking a candidate — I’m not voting for my new best friend, after all, I’m voting for lieutenant governor.
And, Brian, every time I think about this race, I reconsider my position on Phil Puckett because of you. I don’t actually dismiss him as readily as I described above, but that remains my (tentative) conclusion.
Not to repeat myself too much, but I don’t think the Lt. Gov question can be considered in a vaccum. Nominating Byrne would reinforce, among moderate Republicans and the press especially, the idea that the Democrats are only interested in pushing a narrow, liberal agenda. It would do so in a way that nominating Petersen or Puckett or Baskerville would not. And, if there’s considerable and well suppoted doubt as to her ability to win the election (indeed I’ve never read an explanation of how she expects to win), why even nominate her and risk the chance of her being a weight around Kaine and Deeds? I’m not totally sold on Chap either, but I’ve never seen it suggested that his temperment is anything more electorally dangerous than the spectre of the type of liberalism Byrne is pushing. If she can’t win in November, she shouldn’t win now.
Chap all the way. No one else has a chance of winning (other than Puckett, who won’t get the nomination). That’s enough of a reason for me.
One thing I can’t grasp – where did all of this support for Byrne come from? Why Byrne? Why? Most people just say, “Well she’s ultra-liberal, just like me.” or some variation of that. Wake up, people! You’re in Virgnia!
It’s often been said that an election isn’t a horse race — you should vote for who you want to win. While this is true, a primary certain is a horse race. You’re betting on the winner.
I’ll start by saying I’m a big fan of Chap, even though I’m a LIBERAL Democrat from Arlington, and was a strong Dean supporter. I didn’t agree with a couple of Chap’s votes on social issues (abortion and gay-rights), but I can see past individual votes to the larger picture. Chap is pro-choice, but he’s pro-choice in a majority Republican district in which he represents a lot of pro-lifers. So he’s cautious when it comes to wedge issues. Sometimes he votes my way (parental notification), sometimes he doesn’t (partial-birth). He’s the same way with gay-rights. He (like Tim Kaine, John Kerry, and most other elected Democrats) doesn’t support gay marriage. But he voted with Equality Virginia on everything else!
Meanwhile Chap has worked his ass off to get Democrats elected elsewhere in the state in BATTLEGROUND DISTRICTS. Look at Steve Shannon, look at Paula Miller, and you can bet he’s going to go to bat this fall for Greg Werkheiser, Linda Crandall, David Cox and whoever wins the primary in the 37th. He’s a leader after two terms. That’s the record that’s going to promote Pro-Choice interests in Virginia in the long-run. And eventually those efforts are going to keep hateful legislation like 751 off the House floor to start with.
So that, in my view, is why a liberal Deaniac should vote for Chap Petersen, and why I’ll be excited when he wins on Tuesday.
I’m taking another look at Chap. Not decided, but there are pretty convincing arguments here and I admit that my support for Byrne was based only on her candidacy and position. This is the first I’ve heard of Chap’s devotion to party building. If it’s true, he’s got my support. This is our chance to leverage Warner’s success into enduring wins for the party statewide. For me that’s job 1.
Josh… that was really what sold me (allbeit a couple of months ago). Party building is really one of his biggest issues. I’ve heard him speak at least twice about what we need to do to win back three seats in the State Senate in 2007. He enumerated the seats that we can win back (can’t remember which he mentioned — one was in NoVA and one was in Tidewater) and convinced me he has a plan to do it.
Look at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/08/AR2005060801601.html
Although I don’t know why he’s doing talking about it as the biggest issue facing his jurisdiction, he talks about the need for party building in his Post profile.
This is all one big Chap lovefest. Awesome. Hopefully that’s a prediction of things to come.
I am for Puckett. If you don’t think the Southwest is important
than why do you think Warner and Kaine picked the new chair from down there
I also like his tv ad, it worries me a little bit that no other candidate could muster the
ability to be on TV during the campaign. How are you going to compete with the Republicans
if you can’t get your message out to the 90% of the voters who will never meet any of the candidates
or read about them in the newspaper. You really have to worry about what kind of lackluster
campaign the other three are running
Yeah, the only problem guys is that we are down four seats. How the heck does he not know that?
I’m torn between voting for Phil Puckett and the Barnie K. Day option.
Byrne I’d dismiss simply because of her statement ‘Southwest Virginia doesn’t matter.’ While that may be true in terms of populations density, it matters very much to those of us who live here.
Nothing, so much as that statement, puts across the divide that exists in Virginia. while NoVa has its transporation issues with overcrowded roads, we here have another problem entirely – roads don’t exist.
Scott County RADA recently had to get a client to his home using – get this – a logging wagon hitched to a team of mules. That may be a non-issue to the ultra-sophisticated NoVa ‘tech central’ bunch and even in Urban Richmond, but believe me, it does make a difference that Puckett understands … more than Kilgore ever could … what Southwest Virginia is like.
Don’t be so quick to discount the little old ladies in Gate City. To quote Sherry Lee Wilson, ‘once you turn loose the little old ladies, you can’t put them back in the box again. Richmond doesn’t understand that.’
Rick, don’t give up on Puckett, I think he has a real chance of winning the primary and seems like the only viable candidate for the fall. In talking to “average” Democrats they know Puckett and really don’t know the othersrs. And by the way I don’t live in Southwest, but I think it is the key to winning in the state, just ask Warner or Kaine
The key to winning in November is to campaign statewide and I think the only candidate that has shown thus far that he has the ability and willingness to campaign statewide has been Chap! Unfortunately the other candidates have not shown a willingness to campaign statewide, especially in the southwest or southside. They have mainly stuck to their home bases or to the “vote rich” parts of the state like NoVA, Richmond and Tidewater. Warner and Kaine both know how important the southwest and southside were to their victories and Chap! has taken a page out of their playbook by visiting those areas. This article from the Danville Register Bee illustrates my point.
http://www.registerbee.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=DRB/MGArticle/DRB_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031783242934
After reading through the literature this weekend, I’m coming out for Chap. I think he’ll be a great partner for Tim Kaine in the months, and hopefully, years ahead.
I do like Bernie Day’s idea about crashing the Republican primary and voting for a real loser.
http://www.loper.org/~george/archives/2005/Jun/992.html. Kinda sounds like dirty tricks, but after the last few years in GWB’s ~america, I don’t think anything’s too dirty for politics anymore.
Leslie Byrne has been helping candidates in northern Virginia win for more years than Chap! has been around. In fact, when Chap! was running for the first time, he used Leslie’s fundraising list. As for her electoral history, by most accounts she lost her congressional seat because she voted against NAFTA, which is in keeping with her 100% lifetime COPE rating. In retrospect, with all of the US Businesses moving out of the country, was she wrong? As for the claim that she funded the third party candidate’s campaign, that is preposterous. The Republican party brought Virgina Dobey on themselves when they wouldn’t run a primary against Jane Woods, Dobey got peeved and ran as an independent. Leslie is more a populist than a liberal, and as far as SW Virginia, her message of state jobs in phone banks being shipped to India instead of SW Virigina seems to be a fair point. I was at a Dem meeting in NOVA where Chap! was rude and went over his allotted time, so much that one of the members, actually called him on it. He was openly hostile when being questioned about his choice votes. Nothing that Leslie says is a lie. I for one am glad that she isn’t apologizing for being a true Democrat. Isn’t that how we got “W” in the first place, people didn’t know where Kerry stood? With Leslie, not a problem.
The real question is….who did waldo decide to vote for?