Lowell, the thing different this time around is that almost everything is different.  The war no longer unites Republicans, the economy is not improving in Southside, Congress has gone to sleep under the W machine's wheels and even average folks begin to understand that bad government will hurt them.

Our staff is at a shape now better than we ended with last time and my name recognition gets me an audience to deal with the issues people care about. I am even more disciplined in asking for money.

By the way, I'm just sitting here imagining Virginia's Congressional delegation next year with Senator Webb, plus Representatives Weed, Kellam, Feder, O'Donnell, Nachman, and either Hurst or Longmyer?  Wouldn't that be awesome?

Al, first of all, I just want to say that your personal history is one of the most inspiring I have ever heard.  Back in 04 when I first visited your "Soldier~Farmer~Statesman" campaign Web site, I was really touched by your story.  After meeting you in person a number of times, my respect and admiration for you has continued to grow.  We should all hope that such a genuinely decent, down-to-earth, and honest person could be elected to Congress.

I was very impressed that you started the Public Policy Virginia organization after your 2004 campaign, and I was wondering whether you could give some background on your work with PPV for the RK community.  Do you feel that your work with PPV has changed your approach to your rematch against Virgil Goode?  Are voters in the 5th any more receptive to a progressive platform in 2006 than they were in 2004?

He is one of the smartest people I know. Not only in education, but in common sense and the ways of the world. His background has shaped him due to the experiences he has had on the battlefield, the business world and in the community in which he lives.

I was wondering what your take is on how things have changed in your district between 04 and now, that will increase your chances for victory in November?  I think there are very many changes favoring you, but I'd like to hear your take.

Again, it was an honor meeting you, and I think you and Jim would make a great team running together in the 5th District.

  I will be coming down with a friend to volunteer for your campaign at the end of June.  Obviously I understand that the most important issues in a campaign are those that hit close to home.  What are the two or three most important issues that people in the 5th District are concerned about, and what is your answer on how to address those issues?

-Dan Fleischmann

In this district jobs, rural economic vitality, health care and education (what a surprise)are what people respond to. Sorry, it takes "four". When framed in the context of what Congress should be doing -- and how corruption and one-party domination limit Congressional effectiveness -- people are ready to listen.

Jobs: better staffing to tap into existing federal programs, use of existing tools (HUB Zones, for example), redirection of monies to trade impacted areas and more flexibility on trade programs.

Rural vitality: Bio fuels.  See later answers.

Education: A New College in Martinsville with a real Federal connection and a major research university in Danville.

Health care: Single payer.

And thank you for coming down later this month - we are looking forward to seeing you!

Though Goode has become caught up in this MZM lobbying scandal, the end result was only a handful of jobs. 

How can we simultaneously stop empowering lobbyists and special interests and address the immediate needs of those areas that have been hardest hit economically?

It has been suggested to me by a non-Democrat that a good direction is with small businesses, e.g., 50-200 employees.  That builds in lowered risk because of diversity. What do you think? 

People in the 5th understand that their future is very unlikely to revolve around large employers providing low skill jobs.  They also know that there will have to be a transition between the culture and educational system that thrived under the old economy and something new.

Small business that is based on small and rural communities being fully wired for internet, that is supported by adequate public infrastructure, and that has schools using modern curricula to prepare chidren to compete will be the future. 

Congress can help with this.

I am friends w/ one of your employees Skylyn Hagins.I know he is working hard for you! He sure works hard for the Lynchburg DEMS!

Would you comment on the Senate Primary? Do you plan to endorse either candidate or stay neutral ?

I went down to Rocky Mount last night to stand beside Jim Webb and promise my support.  I think he will run better in the 5th, but I will fully support whoever wins the Primary.

Could you please summarize the differences between high energy-cost corn-based ethanol and the switchgrass proposal you have been making? I am assuming it is a more efficient process that doesn't use as many resources as other plant materials.

Thanks. Keep up the good work.

Mark
Cumberland

The differences are great.

Cost:  Corn is heavily subsidized and switchgrass will be competive with no long term subsidies.

Environment:  Corn is planted very year, needs substantial fertilizer, and creates significant soil and nutrient run-off.  Switchgrass, a native perennial, is 70X less nutrient run-off, 120 X less soil erosion and, because of its deep root system, actually sequesters more CO2 than is created when the fuel is burned.

Energy:  Most studies show that corn yields 25% more BTU out than used to produce -- net positive for sure, but not a lot.  Switchgrass, on the other hand, has a 340% net energy yield.

Fianlly, Virginia's fields have a comparative advantage in growing grass over the mid-west.  (Adam Smith, if you will.)

Also, how much of Jim Webb's political philosophy - "conservative on national defense, populist on economic issues, and a social moderate" - do you yourself ascribe to?  Would you describe yourself as a "Jacksonian Democrat," a "Teddy Roosevelt Progressive," a "Mark Warner/Tim Kaine results-oriented Pragmatist/Centrist," or something else?

Thanks.

I think Webb's biography will be a major selling point in this conservative district.  Also, we will have to swing folks who have been voting Republican all along if we are going to win.  Someone who was one recently, but who is voicing the same discontent that I am hearing everywhere, may encourage that swing.

In some parts of this District I will help Webb, in others, he will help me.

I am not sure that I can be compared to any particular Democrat.  On my business cards I use the term "A principled, free-market Democrat."  Progressive, yes, but linked to values that matter to all Americans.

We already have a number of students helping (one has my back as I answer these questions) and expect to have many more working as the campaign develops.  The energy they will bring will give the campaign a fresh look that encourages others to step up.

Also, we want to try to register students who live outside the 5th CD to vote where they study, especially since this is an off-year campaign and there may not be much of interest where they actually live.  The potential for increasing Democratic turnout by thousands should attract a core of students to help us make this happen.

Come on over.

We will focus on his links to the failed Republican governing policies, his failure to stand up to the President on issues that really matter -- the war, our basic freedoms and the deficit -- and his lack of legislative accomplishments. 

Our message will be tight, focused and direct, when we get there.

Two years ago I had the opportunity to have an extended interview with you, one-on-one, as editor/reporter for the Brunswick Times-Gazette. I don't believe I held back any questions: tough ones, personal, intellectual, political, and philosophical. You looked me straight in the eye and answered them from your mind and heart. As a reporter, I wrote what I heard, straightforward and truthful, and although you lost that election, you put up a good showing.

As an individual and also a constituent of the 5th District, I learned alot that day and I am pleased to say you had my vote, and will again this time.

The 5th Dist. extends through agriculture, towns and cities, and everything else inbetween. From the Southside perspective, especially rural Brunswick--the easternmost of the 5th Dist. area--and neighboring Lunenburg, can you brief me/us on your take (an abbreviated version is fine) of how to maintain the agriculture inherent in the region, whether tobacco or other, and balance that out with revenue-generating schematics that the region so desperately needs, such as tourism, small or large business/industry, technology-based business, etc?

In other words, not just places like Danville, Roanoke, and Martinsville are in need of assistance including from the federal government. Not just pet projects of national representatives, which is how it seems to have gone over the past, shall we say, 10 years??!! What do you think you can do to "help them help themselves" in order to regain and maintain the economic income/growth be 'steady as she goes' in the rural sector?

We don't want handouts, just a hand. What kind of hand can you extend, should you be elected in the 5th District?

Thank you, and will "see" you on the ballot in Nov.
Susan Keeney, Lunenburg County

We are sure going to miss you as a working journalist.  You had the sense of the area you covered.

I think one of the least discussed issues in America is the hollowing out of rural America.  When the rural factories close there is not much notice in the news.  Yet, as these jobs disappear, so does the possibility that family farms can survive when one of the breadwinners is un-employed.  (68% of US family farms have one spouse working full time off the farm and I think this number is down from previous years.)

The bio-fuel initiative that we are pushing will provide not only a viable crop for American agriculture, but one that can only be economically competitive in a local area.  Jobs will develop around a new energy economy (see Thomass Friedman) and money will stay in our local areas.  Replacing just 10% of the gas we burn in Souhtside with locally produced ethanol will mean $50,000,00 per year stays in our region.

Government should be our partner, especially as we recover from the effects of free trade.  Handouts only encourage dependency, true partnershp builds new lives.

I want to commend you on your choice to endorse Webb. We need leaders like you and Webb running our government.

I am very impressed with your resume and if anyone has a chance it beat Goode, it is you sir.

Your stance on election reform is right on target. In terms of the whole scope of your vision, you are in line with pretty much every stance I have.

All of the good talk about you is true!! I look forward for a chance to meet you and discuss the issues.

The bottom line:  Al Weed's an amazing guy.

...what does [Mr. Weed] plan to do to help solve Virginia's transportation problems? How about offshore drilling on Virginia's coasts? What about developing jobs for southside and southwest--- maybe a university in southside? How about encouraging research and development of alternative fuels, including liquefaction and scrubbing clean coal from our Virginia mines? And then, of course, what about no-warrant wiretaps and data mining and the erosion of our civil liberties under the guise of "protecting" us.

Let me first say, that you had me with the wine.  :)  I love wine, and also I believe that America needs to strive to work better with and harder for the agricultural communities and farmers across the country.  I see that you also work hard to CONSERVE our great land, and not enough people do.  Well done, sir!

Your military background is also BEYOND just impressive; you are a true American hero! 

As a former NJ/NY-er, your tales of NYC project living tugged at my heart.  It was a great feeling for me, as I know it was for you, to leave the smog and embrace the farmland.

I majored in theatre, and I have now decided to get a Master's in Pub Admin, so your community service work with both just makes me smile and support you all the more.  You are just wonderful!

You know, here:  I am just going to post your whole darn resume, bc I am just so darn impressed!

Resume
Items marked with an asterisk are organizations for which Al Weed was instrumental in the actual start-up, often being the initial impetus and leader. Al hasn't just belonged, he's made things happen.

Business and Farming
Founder, Virginia's Oldest Winery, Mountain Cove Vineyards - 1973 *
President and CEO, General Wood Processors, Easley, SC 1980-81 *
Founding Partner, Weed & Crabill Public Accountants, Lovingston, 1976-1980 *
Assistant to the Chair. & Dir. Arthur Lipper Corp.(Investment Bankers), NY, NY 1972-73
Assistant to the US Ex Dir. & Temporary Alternate Dir., World Bank, Wash. DC. 1970-72
President and Director, Nelson County Chamber of Commerce, 1974-77
Director, Jeffersonian Wine Grape Growers Society, 1988-2002
President, Virginia Wineries Association, 1983-84, Director 1994-95 *
Member, Virginia Agri-Business Council's State Advisory Committee, 1989-92
Member, Virginia Winegrowers Advisory Board (VWAB), 1990-96 *
Member, Virginia Farm Bureau Wine and Grape Committee, 2001-present
Author, Legislation to establish the funding for and operation of the VWAB, 1984

National Security
US Army Special Forces (Green Berets) with service in Viet Nam, 1965-66
Command Sergeant Major for Special Operations Command, Europe, 1996
Retired from Special Operations Command, Joint Forces Command, Norfolk, VA, 2002
Contract trainer for airport baggage security personnel, 2002

Conservation
Member, Nelson County Comprehensive Plan Update Committee, 1993
Member and Economic Committee Chair, T. Jefferson Sustainability Council, 1994-2000
Founding President, Rural Nelson, 1999-2003 *
Vice President, Advocates for a Sustainable Albemarle Population (ASAP) 2002-present *
Trustee, Virginia Land Conservation Fund, 2002-present

Community Leadership
Founding Chairman, Public Policy Virginia, Inc. 2005-Present *
President and Trustee, Jefferson-Madison Regional Library, 1976-80
Founding President, Nelson County Tourism Council, 1992-94 *
Founding President, Nelson County Historical Society, 1975 *
Charter Director, Nelson Jaycees, 1974-77 *
Organizer and Chairman, Nelson County Summer Festival, 1991-94 *
Chairman, Capital Fund Drive, Blue Ridge Medical Center, 1990-94
Member, Leadership Council, Virginia Tech College of Agriculture, 1995-present
Trustee, Horizon Institute for Policy Solutions, 1998. President, 1999
Director, Nelson County Drama Foundation, 1996-1999

Lay Leader
Senior Warden, Lay Reader, Trinity Episcopal Church, Oak Ridge, 1975-2001
Chairman, Stewardship Committee, Episcopal Diocese of SW VA, 1990-92
Member, Standing Committee, Episcopal Diocese of SW VA, 1994-96 

Education
B.A., cum laude, Latin American Studies (With Highest Honors) Yale University, 1968
M.P.A., Woodrow Wilson School of Public & International Affairs, Princeton University, 1970

Truth be told, I don't think so.  Truth also is that losing by such margin is something most people don't recover from.  I learned a lot, developed a strong volunteer base, and come back not diffident, but confident.

We expect to be the exception that proves the rule.

Two facts about me:
1. I spent 33 years working to get the wine industry where it is today -- I don't give up easily.

2.  I made my last military parachute jump at age 59 years and 11 months at Ft. Pickett, VA.  I don't stop.

What about no-warrant wiretaps and data mining and the erosion of our civil liberties under the guise of "protecting" us on the national level.  Care to comment on negotiations with Iran over their nuclear program?

And, finally, do you have any comments on 1) No Child Left Behind as it is presently working (or not working) and 2) the continued use of state National Guard units in overseas deployments, which diverts them from domestic disaster or emergency use?

We don't need off-shore drilling if we move to bio-fuels.

Jobs: see above.  A research university in Danville is key to re-vitalizing that urban center as well as providing jobs, new energy and ideas to rebuild the economy.  A university creating new knowledge that has 10,000 students will generate about 200 million in the Southside economy.  Martinsville will benefit from a 4-year college that is tied to rehabiltating war veterans and severely handicapped students.

Burning swtichgrass (co-firing) with coal can reduce the pollution from Virginia coal.  Tech has done a great deal of research on this and proposals are being advanced as we speak.  It would be good if we can get cleaner coal, but using open-cycle fossil fuels, however clean, increase the CO2 load that leads to global climate change.

The entire eroison of civil liberties (and you didn't even mention the Presidential signing statements) is a reflection of a Congress dominated by Bush loyalists (including Virgil) that is more concerned with their power and perks than they are with protecting our freedoms.

Iran:  Don't you find it interesting that Iran moved towards nuclear weapons after GWB listed them as part of the Axis of Evil with N. Korea and Iraq -- and then invaded the non-nuclear Iraq?  I am not sure we can put the genie back in the bottle, but should try.  Note also, our decline in credibility as a world leader, is making it difficult for us to influence Iran on this vital issue.

NCLB: too many mandates, too little funding.

National Guard: The reserve structure is being broken by the overuse of these citizen soldiers in a war that should be fought by a larger active military.  Reserves were never meant to be used in this long term way.  One reason I am supporting Webb is that his experience, as Assistant Secreatry of Defense for Reserve Affairs, will give him a major role in helping America rebuild the Guard and Reserve.

The first link has a nice one-liner:

If successful, this initiative would reduce emissions, reduce runoff from fields, produce wildlife habitat, and help address global warming.