8 replies on “5th CD Democratic candidate raising the big bucks.”

  1. A person certainly can’t argue about that kind of fundraising ability, but I think it will take substantially more than money to win this seat. It is a milestone, but I hope people won’t read too much into it.

    I am for David Shreve as it stands right now.

  2. I’ll admit the money is impressive….but I’d still like to hear a plan from either of these gentlemen as to how you beat Virgil Goode in a district as conservative as the Fifth.

    Al Weed ran two campaigns that focused on meaningful issues. He tried to get people to see why the war was wrong, among other things. And he got his hat handed back to him both times.

    If Goode wasn’t vulnerable in the wake of the MZM scandal, why will he be vulnerable now? Outside of Charlottesville, Virgil’s views resonate in the district. I just don’t think anybody can beat him right now….I’d love be wrong.

  3. Thanks for posting on this, Waldo. We all saw last night in Iowa that people are excited for change, and it’s the same story here in the 5th district. The fundraising numbers are exciting, but there’s more to the story.

    A lot of our support has come from independents and moderate Republicans who voted for Virgil in 2006, and we’ve already seen a terrific outpouring of energy from younger voters and first-time activists on college campuses — we’ve logged over 850 volunteer hours already. The momentum and sense of hope are incredible and we’re not slowing down.

    We’ve got the resources and the people-power to build the largest grassroots organization this district has ever seen, and that’s what I’m most excited about going into 2008.

  4. A lot of our support has come from independents and moderate Republicans who voted for Virgil in 2006

    Tom, I don’t particularly want to be a Doubting Thomas, but who are these people? Will you name names? If you’re getting a lot of your support from Virgil supporters (and I hope you are) that’s impressive. But, it seems difficult to believe. What has changed in the past 14 months to cause these folks to alter their views on Virgil?

  5. Good money after bad. Virgil smoked Weed by 27 points in ’04 then 20 points in ’06. Is a different candidate really going to close that big of a gap?

    And I agree with Mr. Landers. Challengers make such claims about their supporters in just about every election. I ain’t buying it.

  6. Hi everyone, I’m Tom Perriello’s communications director. He is on the road campaigning Southside today, and he asked me to post a quick answer. The trend we’re seeing seems to be a combination of 1) people responding to Tom’s message of hope and real results, 2) Goode’s increasing extremism and polarizing rhetoric, and 3) the general national dissatisfaction with Republicans in Congress and the White House. Goode voted against SCHIP, with the credit card companies on bankruptcy, and has walked in lock step with Bush on Iraq. And we’ve been hearing complaints from Republicans that Goode has been ineffective and done little for the district other than grab negative headlines in recent years. All those things are combining to create a perfect storm for change, and Tom’s got the message and dedication to building the kind of district-wide campaign needed to take advantage. I hope you’ll consider getting involved and signing up on our website to volunteer.

    http://www.perrielloforcongress.com

  7. While it’s nice to have Jessica’s comments, she has repeated Tom’s claim, without substantiation. She says “we’ve been hearing compaints from Republicans that Goode has been ineffective and done little for the district other than grab headlines in recent years”. While I certainly agree that Congressman Goode has been ineffective, I’m not a Republican. Again, won’t you please name names? Since this candidacy seems to be, at least partially, predicating its viability upon the support of Republicans, I think it’s reasonable to ask that potential supporters be provided with some substantiation for that claim. Unless it’s just puffery, and not meant to be taken as literally “true”.

    I want to believe; just give me something.

  8. Speaking of puffery, that campaign website is nothing but puffery. I searched every page of it, looking for something — anything — that resembled an actual platform, but it was nothing but gobbledygoop politispeak.

    Candidate Perriello could squeeze all of that feel-good talk into: I’m a smart, nice guy who’s done lots of good things, and I’m in favor of a strong defense and a good economy. Please vote for me.

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