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It's not so much the amount of your donation as it is the fact that you gave it. Wouldn't it be great if Creigh gets flooded with small donations in the first few days after he announces? That would send one hell of a message to the public about what kind of broad support this Democrat really has.

Creigh was great in the Brennan campaign. He even gave me 10; 4 x 8 signs from his first campaign for senate, so I could make large "Connie Brennan Delegate" signs that went up in Nelson, Buckingham and Appromattix Counties.

When ever their is a fund raiser, Creigh is there through out the state.

It is now pay back time $5, $10, $15 or what ever one can afford at this time of year.

If you have a reason to doubt this allegation, do tell.

How about looking at some other contributions?  If we're going to play smear the candidate for receiving certain types of contributions there's plenty of room for both.  For instance, the tobacco industry gave Deeds $4,250 to $3,000 for Moran.  This constitutes almost 2% of donations to Deeds while it's less than 1/2 of one percent to Moran.  Guess Deeds is in the pocket of Big Tobacco, huh?  

Let's talk highways.  You think Moran's all about the HOT Lanes (a very popular concept here in Traffic Jam Land), but Deeds has received $4,750 from private highway companies while Moran has gotten $5,500.  When you consider that traffic isn't one of the most pressing issues in Bath County whereas it's a major crisis in all of Northern Virginia, I'd say the contributions to Moran are not exactly out of line, nor are they a huge percentage of the contributions he's received.  The contribution to Moran is less than 1% of contributions while the contribution to Deeds was more than 2% of contributions he received.

Who's the greener candidate?  Well, Deeds got $2,950 from Waste Disposal/Landfill companies while Moran got $2,250.  Oh heck, all this math is making my head spin.  Why don't I just stop now and let you ponder my point, which is that the fact that Moran is a money making machine when it comes to political donations is not necessarily a bad thing, especially considering that he invested almost $1 million in the 2007 election campaigns and helped increase the number of Democrats in both the House and Senate.  He was a major player in the Webb campaign and has worked tirelessly on behalf of Democratic candidates.  Maybe he hasn't shaken that Boston Irish accent of his, but boy has he got the instincts of the classic Boston Irish pol.  

You can disagree with Brian Moran's positions if you like, but please stop trying to paint him as corrupt or venal.  I've known him many years and he is neither.  He's a fine man who is doing the best he can to accomplish something for this Commonwealth and this country, and his best turns out to be pretty good.  So let's try to keep the debate about substance and not about character attacks.  Deeds and Moran know and respect each other, consider each other friends, and I don't think they want this to be about trashing each other, either.    

The purpose of a primary is to flush out each candidate on the issues, not to merely shine the apples for a favorite candidate.  Certainly, I'd take another Webb in a New York second over either.  I urge you to be open-minded.  

My subject line is just to remind all of us (myself included) that both of these good men will work very hard for Dem. candidates in 2008 and will not distract our Va. Dem. "boots on the ground" volunteers (the best that money CANNOT buy as we said about ourselves during the Webb campaign)from the 2008 election campaigns. I really do like the obvious idea of each of us giving a little bit now (hopefully, some will be able to give more later) which won't divert much money from the 2008 candidates' needs but will send a powerful message of broad grassroots support for both the candidates and the party. Remember DEMPAC(Democrats for an Enduring Majority)?

As for the debate we're seeing with respect to who has accepted the most from various corporate or other "special interest" contributors, the most important point is that both of these good men are above reproach and cannot be bought. I believe this speaks volumes for our great good fortune of having two of the very best qualified and honorable candidates in this great Commonwealth.

More to come from me later, and I hope and expect from all of you as well.

BTW, don't worry too much about saying things that some might feel is a little negative. There is nothing any of us can say that would provide any ammunition for the GOP opposition -- because there isn't any. The GOP, on the other hand .... well you know the story there.

                     T.C.

Senator Deeds Announces Campaign for Governor

Pledges to Continue "Warner-Kaine Brand of Leadership"

Running to "Keep Our State the Best Place to Live, Work, and Raise a Family"

Video Available at www.DeedsforVirginia.com

RICHMOND-Virginia State Senator Creigh Deeds announced his campaign for Governor today in an online video posted on his new campaign website, www.DeedsforVirginia.com. The longtime lawmaker and 2005 Democratic nominee for state Attorney General pledged to continue the progress of Governors Mark Warner and Tim Kaine before making an appeal to support his gubernatorial bid.

"I've spent my career as a consensus builder-a listener-someone who fights for your values and delivers results," Deeds says in his announcement video. "Now, with your help, I'm running for Governor with a mission: to keep our state the best place to live, work, and raise a family...the best place for all of us to call home."

Citing the historic progress under the leadership of Governors Warner and Kaine, Deeds said: "But sadly, there are politicians who want to turn back the clock on the progress we've made-politicians who embrace the attack politics and policies of George W. Bush's wing of the Republican Party. We cannot allow rigid ideology to dictate Virginia's future. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine have shown us there's a better way. That better way-an optimistic, commonsense approach to solving problems-is how I will lead Virginia forward if given the privilege to serve as your next Governor."

About Senator Deeds

Senator Deeds has spent the last two decades serving constituents from all walks of life-from his start as Bath County prosecutor to his current position as a State Senator representing the City of Charlottesville and a district that stretches to the West Virginia border. Whether he was working to clean up one of Virginia's largest Superfund sites, fighting for economic development, or writing some of the toughest legislation to keep our families safe and secure, Deeds has built his career as a consensus builder who delivers results.

He wrote Megan's Law, which allows public access to the state sex offender registry, and sponsored the Amber Alert Program to keep our children safe. Using his relationships with law enforcement officers and his experience as a prosecutor, Deeds wrote the state law that has turned the tide against homegrown illegal methamphetamine drug labs.

In addition to his work to cleanup the Kim-Stan landfill Superfund site, Senator Deeds also wrote one of the most progressive laws to preserve open space and protect the environment. For his leadership and advocacy, he received the Leadership in Public Policy Award from The Nature Conservancy and the Preservation Alliance of Virginia named him Delegate of the Year.

When Virginia was in a financial crisis, Deeds worked with Governor Mark Warner to put the budget back in order: cutting waste and protecting important priorities. The 2004 bi-partisan budget agreement invested more than $1 billion in education, eliminated the food tax, and put more police officers on the streets with the tools and the training they need to keep us safe.

Today he's working with Governor Tim Kaine to keep Virginia moving forward with an energy policy that will cut greenhouse gases by 30 percent over the next two decades and a pre-kindergarten program that will put children on the path to success from the start.

Senator Deeds was first elected to the House of Delegates in 1991, winning reelection five consecutive times before leaving the House to fill the seat of the late Senator Emily Couric in a special election in 2001. Four years later he was the Democratic nominee for state Attorney General, losing that race by the closest margin in Virginia history. He attended Virginia's public schools and after completing undergraduate work at Concord College, he received his law degree from Wake Forest University in 1984. He and his wife, Pam, live in Bath County at the western end of the 25th Senate District. They have four children: Amanda, Rebecca, Gus and Susannah.

But also - I'm in the camp that we should focus first on the session, and then on the Federal Elections of 2008.  Still... it looks like the slugfest has begun up and down this blog pitting Deeds supporters against Moran supporters.  This is no one-sided Webb vs Miller fight on the blogosphere.

Hopefully the fighting will die down for the better part of a year once this announcement wears off.  For now, I won't take part in the conversation, just know that as a Heart-of-Northern-Virginia raised Democrat, College Student, and Deeds supporter, I'll agree with just about everything James Martin has to say on this matter.