Teacherken on Terry, Brian and Creigh

I respect "Teacherken" (Ken Bernstein) a great deal, and although I certainly don't always agree with his conclusions, I almost always find his thought process to be fascinating. This morning, we have yet another example of this, with Teacherken's endorsement of Creigh Deeds for Governor. Here are excerpts from Ken's writeup on each of the candidates, and my comments afterwards.

Terry McAuliffe

I began the this campaign as a skeptic about Terry McAuliffe. As I have gotten to know the man some since December, I have been impressed by his willingness to listen and learn. I have seen that he now knows a great deal about Virginia. He seems committed to making the Old Dominion the best state he can. He has not only refused to criticize his opponents, he has found things to praise about them: we have at Blue Commonwealth been running front page stories in which we ask for only positive comments about each of the candidates...

There is no doubt that Terry can bring money into the race, as he has already demonstrated. The quality of his campaign has been impressive, and in his case perhaps made me more willing to consider his candidacy. And as noted yesterday, the current structure of the race seems to indicate the likelihood that he will be the nominee. But I don't vote for someone just because I think s/he will win.

Like Ken, I began as a skeptic of Terry McAuliffe when I first had a chance to meet with him one-on-one last fall. Much of what I had heard about Terry had come from the progressive blogs, and sadly, there are many people there who seem to blame Terry for everything from the way we finance campaigns in this country to the common cold. When I sat down with Terry, I asked him every question I could think of and was pleasantly surprised by his responses. Now, watching his superb, positive, "big ideas" campaign for Governor, I'm more impressed than ever. Which is why I strongly endorsed Terry, and feel that way even more strongly today after watching the superb campaign he's run. Just like with Barack Obama, my attitude is that how you run your campaign tells me a great deal about how you'd be in office if elected. In Obama's case, it worked out great. I'm convinced it will work out great with Terry as well.

Brian Moran

Brian Moran has much to commend him. He has dedicated most of his adult life to public service. He knows Virginia. He has demonstrated an ability to work across partisan divides - something extremely important in these critical times - at the same time as he has worked hard on behalf of other Democrats to increase the Democratic numbers in the House of Delegates. As much as I like Brian, and believe he would be a good governor, I have to acknowledge that I have been disappointed by a campaign that I have found too negative for my taste. His is the only one of the three campaigns to make me less inclined to vote for the candidate. That by itself is not something that disqualifies him for my support, otherwise I would not be inclined to strongly support him should he win the nomination.

I agree with most of this, particularly being "disappointed by a campaign that I have found too negative for my taste." Beyond the negativity -- which included threatening the livelihood of my friends, attacking them personally and questioning their integrity at every turn -- I drifted away from Brian Moran over last summer and fall because I simply wasn't inspired by his candidacy. I kept looking for clear, definable reasons - like a strong, compelling vision for where he wants to lead Virginia - to support Brian, but I never found one. I also kept looking for a competently run campaign, but I never found that either (spending nearly as much money as it brings in; lurching from one thing to another; having the candidate himself be the lead attack dog - all really bad moves). Finally, I've been troubled by the Moran campaign's distortions and overstatements on their candidates' past record, whether on environmental issues, gay marriage, or several other issues. It's sad, because I agree with Ken that "knows Virginia" and has "dedicated most of his adult life to public service." In the end, though, that was not sufficient for Ken, Josh Chernila, Lee Diamond, the LCV, Dan Sullivan, me, and many other Virginians - to support him for governor.

Creigh Deeds

Creigh has been an exemplary public servant. He has taken on and won difficult races before, and he certainly has not shied away from doing the hard work of a state legislator, both in the House of Delegates, where he - like Brian - served as Democratic Caucus Chair, and in the State Senate where he has advocated for causes such as non-partisan redistricting.

Creigh's passion for Virginia and its people is palpable. It is what drives him to public service. When people disagree with him, he is willing to listen, and sometimes to change. For example, on the matter of the anti-gay marriage amendment, Creigh says that he is a work in progress. People can grow when they encounter ideas that challenge their preconceptions, especially when they see the reality of the impact of those preconceptions on the lives of others.

I agree with all this, so why aren't I supporting Creigh Deeds for Governor? Very simple. Out of the three candidates running, Deeds is the least progressive on the issues I care most about, particularly the environment, but also "social issues" like gay rights. That's pretty much it for me; if Creigh had been stronger on energy and environmental issues from the beginning, I would have seriously considered supporting him for governor. But he wasn't, and I didn't.

In the end, I think this race comes down to one great choice (Terry McAuliffe), one excellent choice (Creigh Deeds), and one choice that...well, could have been good (Brian Moran). Personally, and with great respect for Ken Bernstein, I'll go with "great" every time.