Of all the insidious and malicious characterization lodged at the Democrat Party by Republicans in Virginia, one thing they cannot accuse us of is our lack of candidates with diverse opinions and perspectives. It seems that all the Virginia Republicans are "rubber-stamps" for the Bush Administration. "Want to drill in the Chesapeake?" Why of course Mr. President" "Want to cut veteran's benefits that affect the thousands of military families living in the Commonwealth? Where, do I sign up sir?" "Want to raise Medicaid rates for the Commonwealth's most vulnerable seniors? How can I be of assistance, Master?" "Want to reduce access to student loans during grim economic times, while the public is in massive debt already?" I'm headed back to Washington for the vote right away, King George!"In Virginia, we have a number of excellent candidates. We have Phil Kellam, the well-known and well-respected public servant in Southeast Virginia. We have Al Weed, the progressive military veteran pushing alternative fuels. We have Andrew Hurst, the young attorney who won't take PAC money and isn't afraid to lose to stand up for what he believes in. We have James Webb, the former Secretary of the Navy and best selling author, who has been a hero of conservatives and liberals alike. And then we have Dr. Brad Blanton, a therapist from Washington DC, who ran as an independent in 2004, and got the largest percentage of the vote for any independent in Virginia history (25%) against one of the best fundraisers in Virginia, Eric Cantor.
In the 7th District, which Blanton accurately describes as "heavily gerrymandered," Cantor has been the king of the castle. He raised $7 million in 2004, which he provided mostly to other Republicans across the country. This year, however, Blanton is running as a Democrat and Cantor is more vulnerable with his close ties to Jack Abramoff and the general frustration Americans have with the Bush Administration.
Blanton believes in Radical Honesty, which is also the title of his best-selling book. Among other things, radical honesty involves being honest and listening to opinions other than your own. Blanton says that while most people practice "sporadical honesty," they "deserve a gold star" compared to the Bush Administration constant lies.
In all honesty (pun intended), Blanton is taking his race against Eric Cantor extremely seriously this time around. For instance, Blanton sold his house in the DC metro area and is putting up $100,000 of his own money into the campaign. Whether or not he wins, Blanton will be spreading his Democratic message around the 7th District, and forcing Cantor to compete. Blanton is actually planning to walk from one end of the district to the other; from Richmond to Stanley. The route will cover approximately 130 miles. He will knock on doors. He will talk to people on the street. He will talk to people in bars. He will tell them about what it might be like to live in a country where politicians promote honesty and understanding of people's problems. He is creating a conservative-progressive alliance based on common sense. He says he has a lot of conservatives supporting him who are tired of the big government incompetence of the Bush Administration. He wonders why, if Bush is an economic conservative, his policies don't have anything do with "conserving" anything.
Blanton does have some controversial beliefs and ways of stating them. He believes that the exit strategy in Iraq should be to "pick up your crap and get out of there." He supports gay marriage, claiming that gays "have the right to be just as miserable as the rest of us." He believes that in everyday communication, there is a problem with "whoever is richest" controlling the discussion and "whoever is poorest kissing their ass."
As part of his solution to what ails society, Blanton points to the concept of "co-intelligence," whereby regular people can get together and solve problems together by talking about issues and listening to one another and finding solutions together. This tactic is commonly used in corporate focus groups. I myself participated in such a group in Colorado, regarding the charitable donations of the Coors Corporation. (People get paid to do this, by the way).
Blanton has done this for people concerning relationships and building communities. But he is now trying it with political issues in the 7th District. He is bringing Democrats and Republicans together at the same table. One interesting idea that has already come from these meetings was about the relationship between government and corporations. One man had been an alcoholic and was in AA, and suggested that government and corporations enter into a 12-step program where they recognize the addiction to money over social progress. He said that the first step was admitting that there is a problem.
When I talked to Blanton face to face about his plan, I asked him about young people like me and told him that it is hard to get young professionals in DC to get to know each other (even your neighbors) with our scattered, busy lifestyles. Blanton smirked, and asked, "what about Friendster?" I said, "but Friendster doesn't work that well, does it?" He said, "true, but it proves that people are trying to get to know other people. They are trying to build communities, but don't know how."
This is what I like about Brad Blanton. He is very insightful and very honest. His race against Eric Cantor may be "David versus Goliath" (to use Blanton's words), but Blanton at least is trying. I wish him the best.
The Democrats RK endorses only differ from well-financed incumbents by not being Republicans and not beholden to PACs and lobbyists. Anyone who is for real progressive change is ignored by RK.
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How totally refreshing. But is the public ready for this? I hope so.