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Barack Obama will be in the Commonwealth today and tomorrow, leading up to his announcement of a running mate and also to the start of the Democratic National Convention in Denver on Monday:
Mr. Obama is scheduled to hold town-hall meetings Wednesday in Martinsville and Lynchburg, and will stay in Virginia for events Thursday.
Mr. Obama will be joined in Martinsville by former Gov. Mark Warner and in Lynchburg by Sen. Jim Webb, considered vice presidential candidates until withdrawing themselves from consideration early in the campaigns.
Mr. Kaine has said he will not join Mr. Obama on Wednesday. However, the senator's campaign said late Tuesday the governor will join Mr. Obama at a town-hall meeting on the economy in Chester on Thursday. Mr. Obama's other appearance that day will be in Chesapeake.
If you needed any more evidence - besides the dozens of field offices they've set up in our state - that the Obama campaign is seriously competing for Virginia's 13 electoral votes, I think this might be it. Also, recall that the first stops for Obama after clinching the nomination in early June were in southwestern and northern Virginia. And, of course, Gov. Kaine is being seriously talked about as a top possibility for Barack Obama's running mate.
Speaking of which, that great political guru Tom Davis said yesterday that "You'd have to concede that having a governor from Virginia running on the ticket would be of some help to Obama in Virginia." On the other hand, Sen. John Warner said that "it's hard to see how [Kaine] would bring strength to the ticket in the national security area, which I think the American public will be looking for in the selection." Overall, Sen. Warner said that the Obama vs. McCain contest in Virginia "is a good tight race" and that "every vote counts." I certainly agree with that assessment!
UPDATE: Dave "Mudcat" Saunders says, "Martinsville is the perfect place for [Obama] to go populist...He needs to talk about how the big guys have screwed the little guys and how we're going to screw them back, and Martinsville is the best place in the world to do that." Tom "DeLay" Davis counters, "It doesn't take a lot of courage to go into Martinsville and talk about trade...What would be courageous is for him to come to Fairfax County where you have 362 foreign-owned companies and tens of thousands of employees ... and talk about trade up here." Yeah, right Tom, it would take a great deal of courage to talk about trade in Fairfax County. (***snark***) Sort of like what Jim Webb did in 2006? Whatever.
This is really cool, I don't think I've ever seen a candidate do a live blog using a video as an intro. Obviously, the Perriello campaign is on the cutting edge! :) Anyway, please leave your questions and comments for Tom, and he'll be here on Friday from 12 to 1 pm to respond (presumably in writing, not via video, but you never know - ha). Thanks.
As Joe Biden left his home a few minutes ago with golf clubs, NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli asked him where he was going to be on Saturday.
Biden replied, "Here" and pointed down to his driveway.
As he pulled out of the driveway in the driver's seat of his car, he said to the press gathered near his gate: "You guys have better things to do. I'm not the guy."
Is this a head fake or is Biden serious? If so, combined with the fact that Kaine is literally the only Obama endorser with no announced speaking slot right now, combined with the rumor about a "line of succession" meeting, I'd say it's Tim Kaine. As one friend said to me a few minutes ago, "sometimes if it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, it's a duck." Anybody else hear some loud quacking going on? :)
UPDATE: According to Marc Ambinder at The Atlantic, Tim Kaine will speak on Thursday night of the convention. Given that the running mate speaks Wednesday night, is this a sign that it's NOT Tim Kaine? My god, I'm so confused! :)
A source inside the beltway informed me that high ranking officials throughout Virginia were recently summoned to the governor's office for an emergency meeting which reportedly involved discussions on the line of succession if and when Kaine steps down to become Obama's running mate.
The officials were mandated to leave an out-of-state conference and return to the state capitol in Richmond immediately.
Due to the confidential nature of the meeting, details are scarce but the source said that either Obama will choose Kaine, or Kaine was given the impression that he would be chosen.
Thoughts? Get ready for Gov. Bolling? Ugh.
UPDATE: CBS News is reporting, "Barack Obama heads to Springfield, Illinois on Saturday, where he is expected to announce his running mate."
See here for more about the latest example of this phenomenon from Frank "NOT a moderate" Wolf. This time it's about energy, but it really could be on any number of issues. In short, it's time for a change in the 10th CD. Go Judy!
Perriello Endorsed by Virginia AFL-CIO Pledges Economic Revival #1 Priority in Congress
August 18, 2008-Williamsburg, VA-Over the weekend, members of the Virginia AFL-CIO endorsed Tom Perriello, Democratic candidate for the fifth congressional district, at their convention.
"On behalf of the 150,000 Virginia union members represented by the Virginia AFL-CIO, we are proud to endorse Tom Perriello for Congress," said President Jim Leaman. "Rep. Virgil Goode has failed Virginia's working families year after year as we have seen more jobs shipped overseas and more plants closed. Tom Perriello's bold vision for economic revival is exactly what the fifth district needs to reverse the damage of the last decade and get our economy back on track. The Virginia AFL-CIO will work hard to help Tom get elected in November."
"I am grateful to receive this endorsement from the hard working men and women of the fifth district," said Tom Perriello. "As I have said over my economic R.E.V.I.V.A.L. tour over the past month, bringing jobs back to Southside will be my number one priority in Congress. I pledge to work a double shift every day in Congress for economic security, because the least I can do is work just as hard as fifth district families do every day just to put food on the table and fuel in the tank."
(I've been going back and forth on this in recent weeks, but right now my gut feeling is in agreement with the diarist that Obama's running mate will probably be Tim Kaine. We'll see soon enough. - promoted by Lowell)
I recently wrote about my personal feelings about Kaine as Obama's VP pick a few days ago. I think it will be bad for Virginia, even if it's good for Obama and ultimately our country.
That being said, I'm positive that Kaine will be the nominee. I've been pretty sure he would be for awhile, but now I'm making my prediction public. The Kos people have it wrong. It's going to be Kaine.
Why am I so convinced?
Kaine and Obama have been working together very closely since February. The Obamas and Kaine are more than just co-workers or people united in a common political goal, they are close friends.
Yesterday, Senator McCain came before you. He is a man who has served this nation honorably, and he correctly stated that one of the chief criteria for the American people in this election is going to be who can exercise the best judgment as Commander in Chief. But instead of just offering policy answers, he turned to a typical laundry list of political attacks. He said that I have changed my position on Iraq when I have not. He said that I am for a path of "retreat and failure." And he declared, "Behind all of these claims and positions by Senator Obama lies the ambition to be president" - suggesting, as he has so many times, that I put personal ambition before my country.
That is John McCain's prerogative. He can run that kind of campaign, and - frankly - that's how political campaigns have been run in recent years. But I believe the American people are better than that. I believe that this defining moment demands something more of us.
If we think that we can secure our country by just talking tough without acting tough and smart, then we will misunderstand this moment and miss its opportunities. If we think that we can use the same partisan playbook where we just challenge our opponent's patriotism to win an election, then the American people will lose. The times are too serious for this kind of politics. The calamity left behind by the last eight years is too great.
Essentially, John McCain has been suggesting that Barack Obama would have us lose a war just so he can be president. As TPM Election Central points out:
Here you have the Roveian strategy at its most naked: Keep repeating that your opponent's strong point -- his judgment in opposing the war, something that majorities agree was a bad idea -- is a negative.
Also, it bears repeating that here McCain is basically accusing Obama of treason...
Not only is John McCain no Teddy Roosevelt, as Bob Herbert points out this morning in the New York Times, he's also no John McCain. At least, he's not the John McCain of 2000, having sacrificed all his integrity and supposed "independence" in order to: a) win the Republican nomination; and b) win the White House. We'll see if it works, but hopefully the American people will see right through this. On second thought, wasn't that the theory in 2004 as well? Ugh.
The VP picks are getting close, and first comes Barack Obama's selection. According to the New York Times:
Senator Barack Obama has all but settled on his choice for a running mate and set an elaborate rollout plan for his decision, beginning with an early morning alert to supporters, perhaps as soon as Wednesday morning, aides said.
[...]
Mr. Obama had not notified his choice - or any of those not selected - of his decision as of late Monday, advisers said. Going into the final days, Mr. Obama was said to be focused mainly on three candidates: Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana, Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware.
My personal favorites are quite different than the names on this list, as I prefer someone with strong foreign policy and national security credentials PLUS preferably an "outsider" (or at least not a clear "Washington insider"). But barring a miracle (unfortunately), Jim Webb's taken his name out of the running and it doesn't look like Obama's going to pick Wesley Clark. Frankly, I tend to agree with Kos when he writes:
...I'd love to see him pick a fresh face in politics who reinforces Obama's message of change. Biden doesn't. Clinton doesn't. Bayh certainly doesn't. If holding out for Sebelius is too much to ask for, and if Obama is going to pick a guy that has been around for decades, then pick Kerry. Or even Daschle.
Anyway, we'll know soon enough, with the announcement very possibly made while Obama is in Virginia tomorrow or Thursday. Stay tuned.
As far as John McSame is concerned, The Politico is reporting that he'll announce his selection on his 72nd birthday, August 29, at a large rally in Dayton, Ohio. Here's what The Politico has to say about who McSame's pick might be:
Senior Republicans are in the dark about who he'll name, although they say former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty are prime contenders after a trial balloon by McCain gave him very negative feedback about the idea of picking an abortion-rights running mate such as Tom Ridge, the former governor of Pennsylvania and the first secretary of homeland security.
Sources close to McCain say he has wrestled with the choice, torn between a high-stakes, high-reward pick like Ridge or Connecticut Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman - the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2000 - or a safer and more conventional selection such as Romney or Pawlenty.
Friends say he has yet to make a final decision, and is not expected to do so until after Sen. Barack Obama announces his choice.
On the Republican side, I don't really have a "favorite" because I don't like any of them very much (if at all). I suppose my "favorite" would be the one who would help McSame the least, but I'm not clear on who that would be. As to the timing of the announcement, TPM Election Central says:
...it could really cut one of two ways: McCain's pick could have to share media time with the post-game coverage of Obama's speech, and thus lose some of the bump that often comes with VP coverage. Or it could work to McCain's advantage and completely overshadow the post-Denver coverage, thus depriving Obama of his own post-convention bump.
It's an interesting point about the "post-convention bump," although I wonder how much Obama would have gotten regardless, given that the Republican convention starts on September 1, just 4 days after the Democratic convention ends. One thing's for sure; the general election campaign is finally about to begin in earnest, 1 year and 9 months after it all began back in the early days of 2007. And, in just 2 1/2 months, it will all be over and we'll have elected a new president. Given all this country's problems right now - the economy, the deficit, foreign policy, energy, the environment, health care, etc. - let's just hope we make a smart choice.
Just when you feared that 33 Campaign for Change offices in Virginia were just not enough to win...
Here comes another!
Opening this Saturday -- the brand new offices of Falls Church for Obama
Come to the Grand Opening -- Saturday, August 23, 11am - 2pm. Enjoy free BBQ and meet the local staffers and volunteers. And learn how you can help put Virginia in the Democratic presidential column for the first time in 44 years!
The new office will be located at 350 S. Washington St., Falls Church 22046. For more information, call: 571-294-7222 or email: FallsChurch@fairfaxforobama.com
The Independent Greens have collected 70,000 signatures to put NY Mayor Mike Bloomberg on the ballot for President. Ron Paul is listed as his runningmate. The only hold-up is the fact that Bloomberg himself hasn't given them his permission. Oh, and according to the NY Daily News, if Bloomberg turns them down, the Idiotic Independent Greens may turn to ultra right-wing Constitution Party presidential nominee Chuck Baldwin.
A liberal Republican, a libertarian, and a wingnut. What do they all have in common? Nothing...except for the Independent Green Party of VA. That's a real principled outfit they got going over there.
The now defunct Unity '08 group morphed into the Draft Bloomberg for President effort, which fell apart months ago after it generated zero interest nationally. Those people all got the message when Bloomberg himself said that he would not be a candidate for President. The Independent Green Party of VA, unlike the folks in the other 49 states, didn't get the memo.
Congratulations! We heard you are credentialed for the 2008 DNC convention in Denver - you'll be on the ground covering history in the making!
Of course, with great responsibility comes 18-hour days and surviving on little sleep.
The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity is here to help. In fact, we've prepared a "survival kit" just for you! It's our way of saying: we understand your plight.
Visit the following link to order your free survival kit.
www.americaspower.org/kit
Your username is xxxxxx
Your password is xxxxxx
Thanks,
Brad Jones, ACCCE Western Region Communications Director
bjones@cleancoalusa.org
703-xxx-xxxx
www.americaspower.org/election
By the way, the "mission" of the "American Coalition for Clean Coal Energy" is this:
...the robust utilization of coal - America's most abundant energy resource - is essential to providing affordable, reliable electricity for millions of U.S. consumers and a growing domestic economy.
Of course, they want to do it in a "clean" way. Heartwarming, eh?
On, and this other group, America's Power? This is "a partnership of the industries involved in producing electricity from coal," the membership of which can be found here.
The fact is that "clean coal" is clear and complete nonsense. As Dan Becker, director of the Sierra Club's Global Warming and Energy Program, has said:
There is no such thing as 'clean coal' and there never will be. It's an oxymoron.
Ah, but there WILL be a "survival kit" for you if you're a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Touching, isn't it?
I've got news for John McCain, MY plan isn't going to bring about economic disaster, we already have economic disaster from JOHN MCCAIN'S PRESIDENT--GEORGE W. BUSH, and we can't afford another four years or eight years of George W. bush policies, and that's why we are going to BEAT John McCain in this election to put America on a new path!
There must be a silver lining in all this; if someone can find it, please let me know. Thanks! :)
GOVERNOR KAINE'S PREPARED REMARKS TO JOINT MEETING OF THE SENATE FINANCE, HOUSE FINANCE & HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEES
RICHMOND - Governor Timothy M. Kaine today addressed the joint meeting of the Senate Finance, House Finance and House Appropriations Committees. The prepared text of his remarks follows:
"Chairman Putney, Chairman Colgan, Chairman Purkey, and Members of the General Assembly: Good Morning.
Each year, I come before you to present an end-of-year report on the Commonwealth's economic and fiscal performance. My message today is far more challenging than my previous reports. And yet, despite our challenges, I am confident that we have the fiscal tools and innovative spirit to succeed even in difficult economic times.
As you all know, our nation is struggling with a significant economic downturn. Virginia is not immune from the effects of this economic decline. Across the country, other states find themselves in similar situations, as we all struggle with the fallout of a national economy that is continuing to slow.
We all know that coal poisons our planet, removes our mountains, and pollutes our precious water sources. A connection that we often miss, is how big coal and fossil fuel industries have a significant hand in dirtying up American politics.
Appalachian Voices and Oil Change International are proud to release a new interactive tool providing the first comprehensive look at the cash mined by Members of Congress from America's coal industry. Check out how much coal money is going to your member of congress at FollowtheCoalMoney.org
By searching for your Congressman, you can see a "relationship map." Unlike a physical map, where points are positioned at a geographic location, the icons for the companies and legislators are placed so that they are that they are as close as possible to whomever they contribute to or receive contributions from.
If Colorado, a bigger coal-producing state than Virginia, can do this, why can't we?
When Colorado voters were deciding whether to require that 10 percent of the state's electricity come from renewable fuels, the state's largest utility fought the proposal, warning that any shift from coal and natural gas would be costly, uncertain and unwise.
Then a funny thing happened. The ballot initiative passed, and Xcel Energy met the requirement eight years ahead of schedule. And at the government's urging, its executives quickly agreed to double the target, to 20 percent.
In Colorado -- a state historically known for natural gas and fights over drilling -- wind and solar power are fast becoming prominent parts of the energy mix. Wind capacity has quadrupled in the past 18 months, according to Gov. Bill Ritter (D), and Xcel has become the largest provider of wind power in the nation.
Now, it doesn't have to be wind necessarily in Virginia, although there's tremendous wind potential off our coasts. But the main lesson from Colorado is that the Colorado state government, despite kicking and screaming from Xcel - their equivalent of Dominion Virginia Power - imposed a MANDATORY renewable portfolio standard (RPS), and the utility not only reached it but exceeded it. In fact, Xcel now wishes it hadn't opposed the push for an ambitious RPS, to the point that now it's even endorsed DOUBLING the RPS to 20% by 2020.
And no, the sky didn't fall nor did the world come to an end when Coloradans told Xcel to change its ways. To the contrary, Xcel is doing just fine, renewable power is booming in Colorado, the industry is bringing THOUSANDS OF NEW JOBS to the state ("Vestas, a Danish wind turbine company...announced Friday the construction of two more manufacturing plants and 1,350 new jobs, bringing the company's total in Colorado to 2,450. ConocoPhillips announced this year that it will locate its alternative-fuels research operation in the state"), and basically everyone is better off. Is this a no-brainer or not?
Again, keep in mind that all this is occurring in a state that produces MORE coal than Virgina, not to mention more oil and natural gas. And it's also taking place in a politically "purple" state like ours.
The big difference? Leadership, backbone, courage. Along those lines, I would strongly urge Gov. Kaine to speak with Gov. Ritter of Colorado and find out how he's done it. Then, do the same thing - with modifications, obviously, since Virginia is not the same state as Colorado - right here in the Commonwealth. The fact is, this really isn't THAT hard, although it might be uncomfortable given that Dominion's contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Kaine (and many other Virginia politicians) over the years. Dominion is even hosting a major shindig in Colorado Sunday evening"honoring Governor Tim Kaine."
Is that nauseating or what? How about the Virginia delegation take a stand by boycotting that event, or by attending and letting Dominion know that what's been happening in Colorado is going to happen in Virginia as well, whether Dominion ("Global warming starts here") likes it or not!
This could have both short-term and long-term political implications for Virginia.
Virginia has added nearly a quarter-million registered voters since the 2004 elections, and about half of that growth came from increasingly Democratic Northern Virginia.
[...]
Democrats are especially targeting younger voters, black residents and people who have recently moved to the state's fast-growing outer suburbs, such as Fredericksburg.
Since the start of the year, 202,000 people have registered to vote in Virginia. Of those, 64 percent are younger than 35, a demographic Obama expects to win handily.
State election officials and the Obama campaign expect to add tens of thousands more voters by the deadline. Fairfax County, for example, is processing, on average, 1,800 registration applications a week, county officials said recently.
In short, Virginia has added a quarter million new voters since 2004, the vast majority of whom appear to be young, African American, from "increasingly Democratic Northern Virginia," etc. All this in a state which was almost evenly divided in 2006 between Jim Webb and George Allen, the most recent statewide federal election in Virginia. Assuming that 70% or so of those quarter million new voters vote Democratic (and I frankly believe the percentage is higher, probably around 80%, given where the registrations are coming from and who's pushing them), and we're talking about a net Democratic gain of around 100,000 votes right there. That's huge, and it's probably a low estimate, considering that Democrats are hard at work registering tens of thousands MORE voters before the October 6 deadline.
On the flip side, check this out:
...many counties in southwest Virginia, which is expected to be a Republican stronghold in the presidential race, have seen a slight dip in the number of registered voters compared with four years ago. Wise County, in Virginia's coal country, has 1,070 fewer registered voters than it did when Bush was reelected.
The bottom line is that voter registration in Virginia is surging in Democratic strongholds and demographic groups, falling where Republicans have historically been strong. All that adds up to a potential game changer in the November elections:
"The Obama campaign is changing the map. They are not accepting the rules of the game," said Scott A. Surovell, chairman of the Democratic Party in Fairfax, where there are 21,000 more registered voters than there were in 2004. "They are putting more voters in play. Obama has decided to put more cards in the deck, and they are dealing themselves more kings and queens."
The question is, will all these "kings and queens" add up to a winning hand come November? We'll see in 2 1/2 months, but if I were a Republican, I'd be really, really worried right now. I'd also be increasingly worried about what all this might mean for 2009 and beyond...
(Great diary, thanks for the report! - promoted by Lowell)
The juxtaposition of historic events is just too rich to ignore and the story too full of fun and promise not to tell.
Our little town of Culpeper in red, RED Virginia opened it's Obama office Saturday (8/16) -- the first Democratic presidential headquarters in this sleepy village since 1964 (Probably not coincidently, that is also the last time that a Democratic presidential candidate won the state). Let me repeat that for emphasis: The Democrats have not had a presidential candidate office in this town for 44 years!
So opening any office at all is a really big deal for the fellowship-starved, lonely progressive souls out here in the Virginia hinterlands. But where the office is located, perhaps, is as much of a tale. You see, about 175 years ago, our Obama office was the boyhood home of Confederate General Ambrose Powell Hill.
This saga [complete with photos] continues after the jump....
Karl Rove is about the worst of the worst, so it's great to see Tim Kaine slamming him. Watching this video, though, I've gotta say that my main question was whether or not Tim Kaine's left eyebrow would leap off the TV screen, hunt down Karl Rove and strangle him. Ha. :)
Barack Obama will be in the Commonwealth 
If true, 
Go 
From 
The VP picks are getting close, and first comes Barack Obama's selection. According to the 
Just when you feared that 33 Campaign for Change offices in Virginia were just not enough to win...
The Independent Greens have collected 70,000 signatures to put NY Mayor Mike Bloomberg on the ballot for President. Ron Paul is listed as his runningmate. The only hold-up is the fact that Bloomberg himself hasn't given them his permission. Oh, and according to the 
There must be a silver lining in all this; if someone can find it, please let me know. Thanks! :)
We all know that coal poisons our planet, removes our mountains, and pollutes our precious water sources. A connection that we often miss, is how big coal and fossil fuel industries have a significant hand in dirtying up American politics.
If Colorado, a bigger coal-producing state than Virginia, can do 
