Phil came to Stafford on Saturday and did some needed fence-mending. He's got the Stafford Democrats in his corner, he's setting up a local HQ (5 minutes from my house, which is great) and I think there's a lot of enthusiasm considering we're still tired from two weeks ago.

Stafford delivered around 17,000 votes for Jim Webb. Everything I've heard so far is that this figures to be a 12-13% turnout election at best. What are you projecting total turnout to be?

Thanks for your help CADeminVA!  Phil Forgit is a really great guy and would be great in Congress. 

Everybody... Please agree to donate a minimum of one day's effort to this race.  In order to win, Phil's going to need to get folks who are outside of the 1st to help him!!!

Also everybody please start contacting anyone you know who lives in the 1st district who would consider voting for a Democrat and ask them to come out for Phil on December 11th.  We know we can win this race but only if everyone who wants to see it happen works to make it happen.

Phil's working smart and he's working tirelessly.  Let's help him get over the top! 

I contacted Phil Forgit's campaign a few days ago and am willing to spend some volunteer time in your area over the next few weeks working toward his election on December 11.

Please contact me at your earliest convenience so we can discuss how I can best assist in Phil's campaign.

Thanks!

Steve McGraw

Will do.

And congratulations on your recent victory!  Sounds as if you really took advantage of the targeting provided by the DPVA in the VAN. 

The updated technology, with increasingly accurate information and excellent targeting in it, makes the tried and true techniques of phone calling and door knocking much more efficient. 

We really saw the power of that combination here in Hampton Roads. 

In order to really progress in building the party on the local level, which is the number one goal of the DPVA and the DNC, we will need our Democratic committees and activists to be an integral part of continually updating the database by knocking on doors in their neighborhoods throughout the year.  That is the future of our party, and the direction we are heading in here in Virginia and throughout the country. 

In the words of DNC Chairman Howard Dean, "Election by election, state by state, precinct by precinct, door by door, vote by vote... we're going to lift our Party up and take this country back for the people who built it."

So thank you for your willingness to lead in that effort in your area and in the 1st CD, which is a long way away from the 9th!!!  Can't wait to see you again, Steve!

My best,

Susan

Kerry/Edwards got 122,771 votes in VA-01 in 2004

NC's starting work now on establishing their base for 2008 (a year ahead) with a project just announced called:  Constructing Victory: Do-It-Yourself Democracy 2008.  They describe the project in their pledge and on their sign up page: 

"I want to take my country back. I pledge to put my boots on and do my part. I will contact 25 voters in my neighborhood at least 3 times between now and Election Day 2008. I will also work to find more Democrats to join the Crew."

Virginia Dems needs to work on establishing their base and keeping in constant contact with them.... else we just keep starting over with every campaign that comes along.

THANK YOU!

Learn more about the 50 State Strategy and how Democrats can and will win in every state, every county, and every precinct.

And to be frank, local committees are just too weak in most of these areas to provide any type of substantial GOTV efforts.

How about the DPVA?  LOL!  How can we expect them to deliver?  For the most part they are a collection of political hacks who have been given jobs due to their  loyalty to Kaine rather than their political skills.

So, as one of the writers suggests in their comment above- we are at the mercy of the DCCC.

In an election like this in particular, we need local committees with a GOTV plan that has been established.  We need an absentee ballot program, preferably run by the DPVA.  We need tons of phone calls made.  But most of this will not happen because of weaknesses throughour our party.

Why doesn't the DPVA set up a system which could be run through their website so all DEMS statewide could be calling into this district for GOTV efforts?  It's a simple system to set up.  Volunteers can sign up on the website and register.  Once registered, a block of numbers are assigned to a volunteer within the website and the responses the volunteer receives can be recorded right on the website.  Then on election day, those voters ID'd can be called by volunteers to get them out to vote.  Volunteers can make calls directly from their home, saving tons of money for a camapign or joint campaign.

But it seems the DPVA has no vision on how to win elections and if we really want to become a blue state, a vision has to be developed.  How do we do that? 

A state party chair is needed with REAL experience on how to develope an infrastructure from the grass roots up.  Having a legislator as party chair does not work.  They are more interested in protecting their own interests and getting their buds reelected in the legislature rather than building the party. 

The state central committee has to have some back bone and not allow a future Dem governor to appoint the exec director of the DPVA - that is how we keep coming up with political hacks in these positions.  The only interests they have are the governors and most do not have the experience for the jobs they hold. And then when the governors term is over, they all leave and the next group of political hacks are brought in.  All of this leaves party building as a third or fourth priority.

We have to stop treating our leaders like celebrities and give them everything they want if we really want to build a party structure that can actually deliver results.  And we have to do it soon and stop relying on groups like the DCCC to deliver. A state party needs to be free of any ties to our elected officials if we really want to build this party from the bottom up and turn this state blue.  It sems like we are all waiting for the population of NOVA to swell another 30% to turn this state blue rather than being proactive. 

But I guess a lot of what I have written are pipe dreams too.

And I agree that many committees BELONG TO CANDIDATES (and/or celebrities) and those candidates direct what gets done (for their re-election)in the committee!!!

Committees still have websites that are pitiful and the DPVA should have helped in that area a LONG TIME AGO. 

The "celebrities" need us more than we need them.  When they realize that, maybe things will change. 

DPVA:

SEND US DEMOCRATS OUT HERE A NEWSLETTER TO TELL US WHAT IS GOING ON.  WE HAVE AN ELECTION HERE IN THE 1ST DISTRICT AND WE'VE YET TO HEAR FROM YOU!!!!!!!!!!  ANYBODY HOME THERE???????

It's always been that winning an election in Virginia is mostly up to the individual campaigns. Democratic candidates shouldn't believe that the Party can do much to help them win a race.

But, the Republican Party of Virginia ain't in much better shape. In addition to being structurally weak, they are splintered between the moderates and extremists.

Fogit better put his efforts into organizing as much as he can.

Shawn has the right idea. He has a lot of skills in grassroots organizing, but this time the organizing would have a goal and a purpose.

I will be calling my precinct's voters from my home for Forgit. I don't belong to the local committee but am willing to work hard for Democrats.  So why doesn't the DPVA feel the same way? 

That the DPVA doesn't feel it important enough to notify all it's constituency in the 1st District to get out the vote for a Democrat running for US Representative (when it's so important politically ... Virginia is trying to turn blue), is nothing other than shameful and disgraceful.  And don't give me the excuse that things are going on in the background that we don't see. 

When the DPVA, itself, participates in the actual spirit and method of grassroots organizing, only then will Virginia truly have a chance to turn rightfully blue.  They have the money to help the committees improve themselves.  They have the staff to communicate to all the voters.  Now do it. 

As to GOTV, I've been taught from serious campaign managers and read a copious number of books on winning campaigns and the lesson all comes down to identifying Democrats early and calling them repeatedly to keep in contact and to make sure they come out to vote.  If there's an election in November, then voter identification should begin in January.  But what I see year after year is a last minute scramble to get a list of voters to call to try to convince them to vote for a particular candidate not the party.  That is a serious mistake. 

May we hear from the Chair of the DPVA, the Communications Chair, the Executive Director?

It is a very legitimate and very urgent request. Thank you Susan. But where is it?  Buried as a comment in an RK diary.  Richmond should have gotten that message out long ago.