 After the third straight year of disastrous elections for Democrats here in Virginia, you'd expect a great deal of ferment among Democratic committees, including DPVA. In the case of the DPVA, of course, we're not seeing that, as the culture of non-accountability for failure is deeply entrenched there. Bottom line: at DPVA, it's much more about who people "like," maintaining their exclusive club, racial/gender/regional politics, etc., than about competence and merit. In other words, DPVA seems well beyond hope.At the local committee level, though, we're seeing a bit more ferment right now. Over at NLS, Ben reports that "In York/Poquoson, the new Chair is Jake Evans, a 21 year old local student." Congratulations to Jake, talk about a youth movement!On a far less pleasant note, Ben reports that "Party switcher Chris Wade who ran for Supervisor as a "Democrat" this year (voting in his first Democratic Primary for himself) was elected Co-Chair of the Braddock District Democratic Committee." Now, to be clear, I have ZERO problem with party switchers from "R" to "D." Recall that I "drafted" one of them -- Jim Webb for Senate in 2006 -- and worked for his campaign. So what's the difference between Chris Wade and Jim Webb (other than that Chris Wade is NO Jim Webb in any way, shape or form)? Simple: Jim Webb explained, repeatedly and persuasively, the thought process that led him to move from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party. In Chris Wade's case, there STILL, believe it or not, has been no explanation for how he went from self-identified "strong McCain-Palin supporter" in 2008 (3 years ago) to suddenly a "Democrat" today. So, what's Wade doing as a Democrat, and what in bloody you-know-where is Wade doing being ELECTED to a Democratic Committee?!? What I'm hearing is that, for whatever reason(s), Wade is seen by certain "powers that be" as a potential Democratic candidate in the future. Why, I have no idea, but it's certainly not based on Wade's efforts for Democrats over the years, that's for sure. Terrible choice by the Braddock District Democratic Committee. In other news, I'm hearing that Evan Macbeth (pictured with Mark Warner above) is highly likely to be elected the next chair of the Loudoun County Democratic Committee on January 7 (he was the only announced candidate as of a few days ago, after Andy Resnick pulled out of the running). I think that's great news, as LCDC is in desperate need of having strong, energetic, dynamic new leadership, which Evan will provide. Evan's challenges basically involve picking up the pieces -- actually, more like rubble -- from the Mike Turner years as LCDC chair. That includes a 9-0 Republican Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, former LCDC members running around endorsing against their own party, and general dysfucntion all around (come to think of it, LCDC isn't that dissimilar to that other Macbeth - Shakespeare's, including the intrigue, backstabbing, deceit, etc.). I wish Evan Macbeth the best of luck in pulling together all the REAL Democrats in Loudoun County and in reenergizing the LCDC! Lots more on the "flip," including the coup attempt against Bruce Roemmelt and the wackiness in FCDC that needs to be stopped. |
| lowkell :: Evan Macbeth to Be New LCDC Chair? Coup Attempt vs. Bruce Roemmelt in PWC? Plus, Fairfax Wackiness. |
 Meanwhile, in that other big, exurban NOVA county, Prince William, I'm hearing that there's a possible coup attempt going on against current PWCDC chair (and progressive champion, two-time candidate against "Sideshow Bob") Bruce Roemmelt. The revolt's apparently being led by former Del. Paul Nichols, and that he's attempting to get Harry Wiggins (Nichols' former aide in Richmond) elected chair instead. Apparently, Nichols et al. believe that Bruce didn't do a good job with the 2011 elections. I'm hearing rumblings as well that the Connolly folks weren't thrilled with the job Bruce did in 2011 either. My understanding is that the election for chair will be held January 10. Barring some REAL reason to replace Bruce Roemmelt as chair, I hope that PW County Dems will stick with him, as he's a great guy, hard worker, and strong Democrat ("from the Democratic wing...").Finally, one last word on Fairfax County. Remember this story, in which a unauthorized/sham/shell organization (no website, no Facebook page, no Twitter account, no donations in 2008, 2010 or 2011, a whopping $100 raised in 2009) calling itself the "Fairfax League of Conservation Voters" -- which Virginia League of Conservation Voters (LCV) President Lisa Guthrie described as an "independent PAC...not a chapter or affiliate of Virginia LCV" -- actually endorsed the anti-environment, Tea Party/Cuccinelli-favorite John Cook (R) for Braddock District Supervisor over passionate environmentalist Janet Oleszek (D). Well, now, believe it or not, the head of that "organization," Tania Hossain, is running to be Chair of Precinct Operations for FCDC. Clearly, that is not acceptable, after this individual endorsed John Cook over Janet Oleszek just a few months ago, potentially costing Democrats a County Board seat; that is if you believe Cook's use of the phony "LCV" endorsement could have won him 371 more votes (out of almost 25,000 cast) to defeat Janet Oleszek by that slim margin. I definitely believe that, and it truly infuriates me to this day. I urge both Democrats running for LCDC chair -- Barbara Caputo and Cesar del Aguila -- to address this situation ASAP. I swear, I'm tempted to endorse whichever candidate takes the most forceful action against this travesty.(UPDATE: That last statement was mostly rhetorical, but hopefully it makes my point.]
And since Harry and Paul didn't have PWCDC control in the first place,it would be hard for either to "retake" control they never had. But that's a very minor flaw in your comment,PWVoter.I believe your second paragraph to be accurate, although I don't know the reason(s) for the absences - I think Harry may have been out of town the evening of one of the meetings he missed. He's normally a regular committee meeting attendee, and I wouldn't criticize him for missing a couple of meetings.
Some committee members, myself included, have heard that Harry is now a candidate. And I think it's logical that Paul would have asked Harry to run, although I have no direct knowledge that was the case. I didn't realize that Paul was so unhappy with Bruce that he was trying to recruit a candidate to run for chair. If this was so important to Paul, why didn't he run instead of asking Harry to run ? T.C.
So you are saying you will make a decision to support a particular candidate for Democratic Chair of the most important jurisdiction in Virginia, which is one of the most important states next year, soley on whether they repudiate a candidate for a Vice-Chair position because that candidate is the head of an organization that endorsed Cook last year?That is a little short sighted isn't it?
I was a big Oleszek supporter and was furious at the LCV Cook endorsement, but it was the organization that endorsed, not Tania. Fairfax County delivered a 112,000 vote margin for Obama in 2008 and we will probably have to deliver an even larger one this year. We need a strong and experienced Chair to do that and that person is Barbara Caputo. To support someone other than Barbara over an issue like this is pretty silly to put it mildly.
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either candidate for FCDC chair would do a fine job. In other words, FCDC is in good hands in terms of the chair position, that's not a concern at all (thankfully). As for Tania, she heads a phony "environmental" organization which endorsed Republican John Cook for Braddock District Supervisor in the recent election. Unacceptable.
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You are right in that both of the candidates are competent and capable. But if you are talking head to head experience, qualifications and vision, there simply is no comparison. Barbara is clearly the best candidate. Cesar is a great guy and has alot of potential. However, we have probably never had a candidate with the experience of Barbara. She has also been full-time at FCDC. Alot was made of the fact that Cook was a part-time Supervisor in the Braddock race. True, but a county supervisor has staff. This is a volunteer organization. Don't under estimate the value of that full time service combined with the experience.
2008 is a critical year. We have a choice between someone with proven experience who will hit the ground running full time versus someone who will be cutting his teeth part time. The choice is clear.
That fact that Cesar is not incompetent does not mean he is a better pick than someone of the caliber of Barbara Caputo!
To not forcefully distance her from the likes of Chris Wade and Tania Hossain.
Well, I know this wont be popular but unlike many local party members, Chris Wade actually did show up to volunteer on a regular basis for Democrats in Fairfax County in 2011 (after his primary loss). I agree there was not enough of an effort to introduce him and address his party switch. That was a mistake. I definately like Janet Oleszek a great deal but just because she is a good, long standing Democrat doesn't make Chris Wade a bad person. I worked with Chris, putting up 4x8 signs for Sharon Bulova and saw him at the Springfield campaign office several times this past cycle. To talk to him in casual conversation, you would think he is more liberal than most of our elected Democratic leaders in NOVA. We need all the people we can get. Especially ones who volunteer and work to get our people out to vote.On Tania Hossain, there are few people in Fairfax County that could claim they have done more than Tania to get Democrats out to vote. I don't understand the Farifax LCV issue and I would like to know more about that but if it's a straw front group, they may have used Tania's name without her knowledge? I would consider Tania to be more liberal than Lowell (very hard to do) and I know Tania has worked very hard for FX Supervisor Linda Smyth, who I thought was the most progressive environmentalist on the board? Tania was also a long standing leadership member of Brigades until she had to step away because of a serious health issue this past year.
On a slightly different but related note, I have a co-worker who lives in Fredricksburg and has been a staunch Republican for most of her life. However, she is on Wellbutrin to help her stop smoking (also anti anxiety) and she has just this morning been cursed out online by a second old friend of hers, who has accused her of being a bleeding heart, liberal Democrat for defending foreign healthcare systems compared to ours. Hmm? Anti anxiety drugs?
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and she was also well aware that they were endorsing John Cook over Janet Oleszek. Explanation? Still haven't received an even semi-plausible one. As for me being "liberal," as I've said many times - and I mean it - I'm much more of a Teddy Roosevelt-style Progressive than a "liberal" or (certainly not) a "leftist." I believe in good government, environmental protection, progressive taxation, equal rights for all Americans, strong checks and balances against corporate power versus labor power (e.g., Citizens United is a disgrace, corporations are not "persons"), a strong military but also cooperation with other nations and the use of all "tools" of diplomacy, etc. Basically, I'm right in line with the Teddy Roosevelt era Progressives, updated to the year 2011.
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I just saw this:
Invoking Teddy Roosevelt: Barack Obama loves to invoke famous past Republican presidents. He paid tribute to Abraham Lincoln when he officially launched his presidential bid in Springfield, IL. During his primary battle, he said he admired how Ronald Reagan was able to change the trajectory of American politics. And today, he heads to Osawatomie, KS, where Teddy Roosevelt delivered his "New Nationalism" speech more than 100 years ago on Aug. 31, 1910. In this speech -- which the 26th president gave after leaving office and which marked his more progressive turn -- Roosevelt called for a "square deal" for all Americans, he advocated for stronger government regulations, and he said that the "right to regulate the use of wealth in the public interest is universally admitted." When President Obama delivers his major economic speech from Osawatomie, he'll refer to Roosevelt's 1910 address.As TR might say, "bully!" Follow me on Twitter. Follow Blue Virginia on Facebook and Twitter.
I still want to hear an explanation from him as to how on earth he went from "strong McCain-Palin" in 2008 (think about that - Sarah Palin?!?!?) to a "Democrat" in 2011. Maybe he had a dramatic event in his life or something, I have no idea, but why won't he just ANSWER A SIMPLE QUESTION (as Jim Webb did in December 2005 and throughout 2006 as to why he became a Dem)?
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about wanting more of an explanation. However, it could also be a sincere set if reasons but nothing as good or as sharp as Webb's explanation and therefore not easy to explain? We have another situation where a local resident is interested in joining our local Democratic committee but was the campaign manager of a Republican endorsed candidate for school board. School Board is non-party, non-partisan but each party endorses and the candidates accept the endorsements. I'm told the person is a Democrat in all forms except over specific issues related to the school board.
There is a morbid curiosity over wanting to hear the explanation of how you could support a Republican endorsed candidate, especially in Virginia, where the RPV engages in such widespread voter suppression. Either way, we need more people who are willing to do the work of getting voters out to vote but we also need to keep an eye on people with crossed motivations. Joining the party includes agreeing to support Democratically endorsed candidates but it should also include agreeing to do the things that a party should do. Abraham Lincoln explained the purpose of a political committee about 170 years ago when he was a Whig and it should still apply today. "The whole state must be so well organized that every Whig can be brought to the polls. So divide the county into small districts and appoint in each a committee. Make a perfect list of the voters and ascertain with certainty for whom they will vote... Keep a constant watch on the doubtful voters and have them talked to by those in whom they have the most confidence... On Election Day see that every Whig is brought to the polls." -- Abraham Lincoln, Letter to a friend, 1840
my problem is, he shouldn't be a candidate nor in charge of a district that chronically underperforms until he has been a Dem longer than my free 1-year trial subscription of Time magazine.
I agree with Todd. Of course, there were legitimate questions about nominating unproven Chris Wade as the standard bearer for Democratic values in the Braddock Distict. However, he has demonstrated that he wants to get involved and promote Democratic candidates. The latest example was his decision to co-chair the Braddock Committee. I was at the Braddock Committee meeting last night and he did a fine job. At this point, we should all be welcoming him to the party.
I don't know - Certainly needs to if he is going to run for office again (0.00 / 0) [delete comment]
You think a former Republican McCain-McDonnell supporter should be a Democratic Committee Chair without explaining what changed???? Just when he is a candidate???
Charlie Hall seemed like a doufus to me? I don't know why one would have supported him. I've been told by current and past Chairman of FX that Linda Smyth has been the one leading the push for environmental issues like the "Cool Counties Initiative," LEED certified county buildings, tree conservation, tele-work, green vehicles, recycling etc.
So far as I've heard, Sue has done a very good job as chair of the Precinct Operations Committee so I don't see why she wouldn't be re-elected if she has been doing a good job. Granted, Tania is a hard worker but why not stay with the person who has been doing so well ?BTW, why is a subcommittee chair an elected position in the FCDC ? None of the PWCDC subcommittee chairs are elected positions, they are appointed by the county chair and the appointed chair typically asks for committee member volunteers who are willing to do the hard work to help the chair.
The PWCDC doesn't (yet) have a standing Precinct Operations Committee and as soon as Bruce is re-elected chair I'll ask him to first create a temporary Precinct Operations Committee, modeled to some extent as appropriate after the FCDC Precinct Operations Committee and the manner in which Sue has managed her committee, especially including monthly meetings. My next step will be to offer a PWCDC by-laws revision proposal to add a Precinct Operations Committee as a permanent standing committee, with a requirement for monthly meetings likewise modeled after the conduct of the FCDC Precinct Operations Committee. My intention was to try to attend one of the meetings conducted by Sue, so obviously I have a bias in favor of Sue being re-elected because I know she has the hands-on experience as chair that I think the PWCDC could learn from and take advantage of. T.C.
as Sub committees, but as Functions that have officers of which they are also the "chair" of the committee that supports that operation.VC - Technology
Is chair of the technology committee VC - Precinct Operations Is chair of the precinct operations committee. There are executables for the committee that need just as strong a voice and vote as a Chair, VC region, etc.
Our PWCDC committee is significantly smaller than the FCDC, and it's not always easy to find someone who wants to chair a sub-committee, so we probably couldn't have that many additional Vice Chair elected officer but the concept does seem to make a lot of sense for FCDC. T.C.
I'm another voice chiming in in support of Chris Wade. We've all seen the sharp turn to the right that the Republican party has taken even since 2008, and Chris no longer identifies with the Republican party as it has become. And what's more, he has worked very hard for Democratic candidates.So I am very happy to welcome him as Braddock Co-Chair. (Disclosure, I also serve on the Executive Committee, as I'm the Treasurer of Braddock District.) I support Chris 100%, and I was a die-hard Janet supporter during the primary. Braddock is a sort of cranky district (which is why I love it) and there is always a lot of cross-over voting here. Chris is going to be able to reach out to a lot of voters that someone like me can't reach (just as I can reach out to voters that would be more difficult for someone like Chris) which should make the Democratic turnout in Braddock stronger.
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One thing I can tell you -- the current executive committee of Braddock is very involved, and very (VERY) opinionated, not to mention the committee as a whole. One thing the Wade-Oleszek race should have taught us is that Braddock doesn't sit back and let people dictate how we should vote. I think we've put together a really good committee, and our GOTV for the race in 2011 is something I'm very proud of. But no decisions are made without a tremendous amount of discussion, and opinions from all sides. Chris has been a great voice to add these past few years, and I look forward to his more prominent role.
I don't believe I witnessed any of it, so please tell us more Gretchen.
They are usually completely disorganized and completely ineffective. This year, they were mostly disorganized and only below average when it came to effectiveness. That's a major step up, really. When Sharon Bulova is running for something, she rallies all of the old timers in Braddock to go out and do a little work. When she's not on the ballot, most of that effort isn't there. That's been the pattern for well over a decade now. I think they did ok to win the school board seat, although the very poor candidate that Republicans ran there helped out more than anything else. But I think the whole Chris Wade fiasco this year hurt them a lot more than it helped, and when you lose an election by 1.5%, a couple hundred votes out of 25,000 will swing the deal. Trying to ram Wade through, with Janet coming in at the last minute to salvage the operation, was very bad politics.
Whenever there's a special election that covers any part of Braddock, volunteers from other magisterial districts need to flood in to pick up the slack in those precincts. That's understandable in Springfield and Sully, but Braddock should be a solidly reliable Democratic district with a well-functioning committee, and shouldn't need all of the assistance it always receives from other districts.
That the "Bulova machine" I hear so much about was actually as powerful as so many people seem to think it is. What I see is a lot of people, some of whom have personal ties to Sharon but many who don't (including me -- I supported her wholeheartedly, of course, but I don't have any strong personal relationship with her) working very very hard to get Democrats elected.
He became a Democrat last spring. So he claims. But even if we accept that, it's less than a year that he has been such a "great voice", not "years". But those kinds of exaggerations really do call the rest of what you say into question.
had never seen Chris Wade nor heard of him prior to when he suddenly decided to become a "Democrat" and run for County Board about 6 months ago. Now, he's been a Democrat for years? And here I thought we were supposed to be the reality-based party. Oh well...
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really sets me on fire...
still haven't met him.
Well, I have known him for two years through Democratic events. I've seen him there in person. And he's been very supportive and very vocal. You don't like the guy, fine. You don't like Braddock, fine. So you all can just keep doing what it is that you need to do to get Democrats elected, and I'll keep doing what I need to do (and helping Braddock do what it needs to do because this is, you know, where I actually live) to get Democrats elected, and we'll just have to agree on that.
Name an event you saw him at before 2011. I'm calling you out- this is just not true.
I distinctly remember Chris from the 2010 elections and the meetings beforehand. The first time I had a personal chance to actually sit down and talk to him was at the thank you dinner for Braddock volunteers that we've started doing every November after the election in 2010. Now, if you want to get nit-picky (and this is a blog, so we do!) you can make the argument that this still isn't "two years" but it is definitely two election cycles, which is how I was thinking. I am NOT speaking for Chris, but I do think that the primary election of Keith Fimian for Congress made a lot of moderate (especially socially moderate) fiscally minded Republicans take note that maybe they weren't welcome any more. That may not be good enough for some, and I respect that. But I respect people who come in and do the work (and Chris has) a great deal.
Why hasn't he simply explained publicly, since he was running for PUBLIC office as a "Democrat," why he became a Democrat? This has gone on for months now, making me think he either really isn't a Democrat, or he doesn't have a plausible explanation, or he just doesn't think the public deserves any explanation, or...??? I mean, this is about as basic as you can get in politics. Do you think Republicans wouldn't ask a Democrat-turned-Republican why he became a Republican? Of course they would. Any party would, and we should demand the same for anyone who would seek office or leadership positions as a Democrat. End of story.
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(and that shouldn't be very long) I'll ask him personally to speak up about his own story. I agree that it is a reasonable question to ask.But one other general point, and then I'll let this go. Both parties do so love converts and do give them a disproportionate amount of power oftentimes than they would someone who has been loyal all along. I say this as someone who is intensely passionate about Democratic ideals and has been fighting for them since she was a child, but lives, day to day, in a way that would make most Republicans (even the most socially conservative religious ones) blush. My husband is in a field that is intensely Republican. I can say with great certainty that if we were to "defect" that the plums on the other side would be pretty sweet, and they have been offered (but obviously, never accepted.) Even blogs are littered with "former Republicans" and "former Democrats" who are often more respectfully listened to because they have that "bipartisan" credential. And while it is reasonable to think that someone coming from one party into another isn't a true believer, it is also true that coverts are often the MOST true believers, because, after all, they have the most to justify, even if only in their own minds.
So that's my philosophical follow up. And I will ask Chris about this directly next time I see him.
Is it acceptable that the Braddock District Democratic Co-Chair refused to put Janet's sign up in his front yard this election?
every Democrat would have had signs in their yards. I do personally prefer for people to rise above things. But in the real world, unfortunately, many times we do not. I've known many Democrat, not just Christ, that have lost in primaries (or decided not to be in a primary) that were unable to whole-heartedly embrace the other candidate. Most of the time they simply stayed quiet out of respect for the party. And you know what? I understand that. Because it's human. I would like to think that I would rise above that, but I've never been a candidate, so maybe I wouldn't, and until I've done that, I don't like to judge.Also, Chris wasn't Braddock Co-Chair when he didn't put up the sign. Yes, I realize this is splitting hairs, but so much of politics is. At the time of the election, he was only a member of Braddock District, that is all. It isn't a requirement in the bylaws that you put a sign in your yard -- although maybe it should be! :)
And I also realize this isn't the yes/no answer, but I'm also the type of person who failed true/false tests because I could usually see both sides. (Multiple choice questions were only marginally better. But I rocked the essay questions!)
and sounding absurd in the process.
I have no insider knowledge of that in any way, shape or form. I have no personal tie to the so-called "Bulova Machine" or anyone else's, and ANY inference of ANY kind regarding that taken from my words above would be an absolute distortion of the GENERAL point I was making.I cannot state that any stronger.
1. I don't even know Chris Wade, don't like or dislike him personally. I'm just commenting on his strong support for John McCain and Sarah Palin in 2008, his sudden conversion (changed in the VAN) this past spring to being a "Democrat," just in time to run for Board of Supervisors, the fact that many people I've talked to in FCDC had never seen nor known of him prior to this past spring, and the fact that he has STILL not provided an explanation for why he became a Democrat. Why is the latter so difficult? I could give you a ton of reasons why I moved from being a Republican back in the late 1970s to a Democrat since then. How hard can this be?2. I think Braddock District is fine, I've just heard from a bunch of people that several key members of the committee were hostile to Janet Oleszek, didn't help her campaign much (if at all), etc. That's not cool.
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I'm no longer in Prince William, so I don't know all the ins and outs, but I think Bruce is a great guy who really REALLY helped build the party in super red northern PWC and has done a terrific job as chair.
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I was in the opposite situation, I moved from FFX to PWC. Bruce is the best. (4.00 / 1) [delete comment]
Bruce is one of the hardest working county committee chairs in the state. I was a little dismayed that even some of the PWCDC members (even MD chairs)don't realize and/or appreciate how hard he has worked and how much he has accomplished this past year. But very recently I've seen that his distractors are actually starting to realize how much he has done, often with little/no help from MD chairs or rank-and-file committee members. And those folks who are starting to wake up and discover all he has done for us I think are beginning to appreciate what he has done and I'm hopeful will not only tell him so but also express their appreciation in the form of their votes for his re-election.I suppose I should stop right here before I start to make this a campaign testimonial for Bruce. I'll just close it for now by saying that for a long time I've been referring to Bruce as my "Super Star", and that he has been and I'm very confident that when (not if) he is re-elected he will continue to earn and re-earn that "Super Star" status.
T.C. |
Evan Macbeth to Be New LCDC Chair? Coup Attempt vs. Bruce Roemmelt in PWC? Plus, Fairfax Wackiness.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Bruce did a great job for the Prince William campaigns and deserves a full term to try and fix this sinking ship.