T-Mac Speaks at Northern Virginia Democratic Business Council Breakfast

This morning at the Northern Virginia Democratic Business Council's monthly breakfast meeting, the guest speaker was Terry McAuliffe. Here's some video from the event; I'll post more as it gets uploaded to YouTube. I'll also have a few comments later. Meanwhile, thanks to NVDBC president Jim Hock for inviting me!









A few highlights:

*"We clearly could have and should have won the election."
*We lost because we didn't get Obama voters excited, motivated to come to the polls. "Republicans were motivated, Democrats were not." We didn't give people a reason to vote Democratic.
*Bob McDonnell became the jobs candidate, even stole Terry's slogan, "New Energy For New Jobs."
*"I have never seen such angst that you see across the country; people are angry, and they're going to take it out on incumbents."
*Terry is Chairman of a new company, Green Tech Automotive.
*2010 is "going to be a tough year" for Democrats. We've got about "100 seats overall that are potentially very competitive."
*Allowing earmarks in the stimulus package was a big mistake for Democrats. And whoever invented the term "shovel ready should be locked in a closet for the next 100 years...that term has killed us."
*"President Obama is doing everything he said he would do," including on healthcare. *"The economy was on the verge of total collapse when he took office."
*"My gut is we're gonna get something done on health care, it may not be what everyone in this room wants."
*Once we pass health care reform and turn the jobs numbers around, "I think the entire psyche will change," but "right now it's a tough environment."
*This will be a slow recovery. "Unless we start getting green energy and new industries here in America, it's not gonna happen."
*"President Obama is going to win reelection."
*Obama was dealt a really tough hand, "noone remembers that George Bush was president of the United States, they forget about Katrina, they forget about Terry Schiavo, they forgot about the two wars, they forget all that.."
*Obama is "doing a great job."
*On redistricting, "I have no illusions how tough they're going to draw these lines; the problem is, we're going to have to live with these lines for the next 10 years."
*"I cannot tell you the irreparable harm and damage" the "climategate" memos have done.
*"My gut today is you're not going to see [cap and trade legislation] out of the Senate."
*"The other side has been very effective" in claiming that climate change legislation will cost us jobs.
*People are angry, and rightfully so, that we bailed out Wall Street and they're getting huge bonuses. We should have negotiated a better deal, like Bill Clinton did with the Mexican bailout.
*Republicans are "negative on everything," that's "all they have going for them," "they're hoping President Obama falls." "Some of them I know, they're not against health care, but...if they give [President Obama] a success, that will hurt them politically...that's the worst reason to be in politics."
*"It's not like the Republicans, but we've lost" (primarily with independents).
*Bush "left us in a very vulnerable position."
*Small business "can't get credit...If you really want to turbocharge and get our economy moving again...we've got to send a signal to the banks, they've got to start lending again."
*"We should have won the election" in Virginia on November 3. "We could have beaten Bob McDonnell, we had to lay out our plan of why...vote for the Democrats."
*We would have been better off with a Democratic governor. Terry would have called President Obama "every hour" to get stuff for Virginia.
*Virginia's budget is down to the bone, another $3-$4 billion that will need to be cut. If we cut education, transportation, it's going to be very hard to attract business to Virginia.
*Democrats shouldn't just be obstructionists, block everything Gov. McDonnell wants to do.
*"[Bob McDonnell] is going to have a very tough four years."
*"We've got to get the state party going, we've gotta get new staff in there...we've gotta raise money...and we've gotta hold Bob McDonnell accountable."
*Bob McDonnell will have his hands so full with economic problems, he won't have time to push a right-wing social agenda. Republicans could overreach, but McDonnell is "smart enough to know what he's got to deal with."
*"Our first big test is we have a big election coming up, Dave Marsden, we've gotta help him...our folks better be mobilized to come out and vote."
*Interesting discussion about the "barnacle encrusted establishment" in the Democratic Party of Virginia wanting to keep out new people - young, minorities, etc. - and protect their "turf." (Terry's comment - "what turf?")
*"There was noone more active for Creigh in the general election than me...I didn't give up, I kept swinging and fighting right to the end, I was the guy they kept putting on TV, 'we're gonna win this thing,' [laughter] I have a history of doing that." [loud laughter]
*Democrats' job is not done. President Obama "needs you now more than ever...you can't ever relax [in politics]...they are motivated on the other side." We have 60 seats in the Senate, an 80-seat majority in the House, and look at how tough it is now. "Can you imagine after 2010 as we head into 2012 how difficult it's going to be? Now's the time we've really got to fire it up!"