Cuccinelli to Announce Run for Governor Within Days?!?

... (0.00 / 0)

No doubt there will be support for Tom Perriello to run for something. He was doing a few events around the Charlottesville/Albemarle area last cycle, so he's still keeping his name in the game with his local base. I think his style of politics would translate well statewide, and would certainly keep progressives happy

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by: corinthian @ Thu Dec 01, 2011 at 05:11:30 AM UTC

For Sure (0.00 / 0)

I fervently hope so.  

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by: glennbear @ Thu Dec 01, 2011 at 07:52:34 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Yeah, but (4.00 / 1)

Perriello is from "Deed's Country," so forget him.

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by: aznew @ Thu Dec 01, 2011 at 14:09:11 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

No, he's not. (0.00 / 0)

Anyone who knows Tom, which I do very well, is well aware that he's not in the least bit like Creigh Deeds, including where he comes from. The biggest issue with Deeds being from "Deeds Country" is that he came across as extremely uncomfortable in more populated/urban/suburban/diverse parts of the state, that he kept emphasizing the dirt roads and pickup trucks - which 90% of Virginians don't experience on a day-to-day basis, and also that he STILL managed to get his butt kicked by Bob McDonnell in "Deeds Country." Tom's as different from/better than Creigh Deeds as is humanly possible.

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by: lowkell @ Thu Dec 01, 2011 at 15:17:39 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Plus, Tom's from C-ville/Albemarle (0.00 / 0)

and has lived/worked all over the world. Last I checked, C-ville/Albamarle and "all over the world" are not part of "Deeds Country." Heh.

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by: lowkell @ Thu Dec 01, 2011 at 15:20:17 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Hard Worker (4.00 / 1)

Tom does not shy away from the electorate by hiding behind press releases. During the infamous health care debate he held more town hall meetings than any other member of congress. Whatever job he runs for the national party will strongly support him as was evidenced by the fact that the only rally that President Obama attended which was for one candidate alone was the rally held for Tom. If he makes a run in 2012 the voters in VA wherever they live will be made aware of exactly who he is and what he stands for. An empty suit like Robert Hurt he is not.  

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by: glennbear @ Thu Dec 01, 2011 at 16:04:15 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Tom is the polar opposite (4.00 / 1)

of Robert Hurt in every way.

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by: lowkell @ Thu Dec 01, 2011 at 16:37:00 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Methinks you doth protest too much. n/t (0.00 / 0)

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by: aznew @ Thu Dec 01, 2011 at 16:26:32 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Methinks you can't stop talking about Creigh Deeds :) (0.00 / 0)

Can we all just agree at this point that it was a big mistake for Dems to nominate him in 2009 and move on? He's irrelevant to statewide Virgnia politics now regardless, so this is a stale argument.  

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by: lowkell @ Thu Dec 01, 2011 at 16:28:44 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Ha - Good one (2.00 / 1)

I don't really want to talk about Creigh Deeds, either. You brought him up.

But you are wrong to say that Tom is not from Deeds country. In fact, I think he would disagree with you. And if you don't think that Tom Perriello adopted a number of more conservative positions in his short time in Congress to better reflect the very conservative attitudes of the district he represented, then you have simply not looked at his record.

I don't say this in denigrating Tom. Indeed, it is something I think that makes him a very appealing candidate.

But, and I'm sorry Lowell, I do object to your use of "Deeds Country" as a pejorative, not because it reflects poorly on Creigh (who I agree is pretty irrelevant at this point, given the 2009 disaster), but because it carries something more than a whiff of prejudice against rural people. We would never tolerate than kind of attitude toward African Americans or Hispanics, and I have never understood why we do not apply the same standard of sensitivity when it comes to non-urban/suburban folks.

Try this one out: If you heard a tea partier says, "The biggest issue with Obama is that he comes across as extremely uncomfortable in less populated rural and small town parts of the country," -- Are you telling me that you wouldn't you read between the lines of such a comment?

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by: aznew @ Thu Dec 01, 2011 at 16:51:42 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I have zero prejudice against anyone. (0.00 / 0)

I'm 100% mocking Deeds arrogant, egocentric, and downright laughable attempt to name rural Virginia "Deeds Country" (and to hide out there for much of his campaign, desperately attempting to avoid showing his face outside of the only place he's apparently comfortable). The fact is, Deeds got his butt kicked in "Deeds Country," disproving once and for all that this he has any claim to call it by that name.  Now, can we please stop talking about this has-been and forget the disaster his nomination caused our party in 2009?

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by: lowkell @ Thu Dec 01, 2011 at 16:57:03 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

First off (0.00 / 0)

I do not think you are prejudiced against anyone.

And, you know, I don't even disagree with your analysis. The gubernatorial election in 2013 probably will be a battle of bases, and Democrats will do better with a candidate from an urban area.

But I also think one of the reasons behind that is, IMHO, a certain amount, mostly subconscious, of prejudice against rural people. And the mockery of "Deeds Country" on some level both derives and reinforces that, notwithstanding your intentions. And, in many ways, your explanation and the examples you cite (Kaine, Webb) only reinforce that.

I am fascinated sometimes by the inability of people of all political stripes to examine, confront and admit our own prejudices and biases, even as we can see them so clearly reflected in many ways in our political opponents.

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by: aznew @ Thu Dec 01, 2011 at 19:46:50 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Not at all. I'd be 100% for a rural Dem candidate (0.00 / 0)

if I thought they could win and if they were at least somewhat progressive. For me, it's all about winning and ideology. In Creigh's case, I saw no reasonable chance that he'd do better than 2005 (when he lost to Bob McDonnell), and he was far too conservative for my tastes on a # of issues. That's it. As for "Deeds Country," that was just laughable, as there's no such thing, and to claim there is reeks of arrogance, hubris, and idiocy. It would be like if Brian Moran or T-Mac had gotten the nomination and had emphasized that they were from "Deep Blue Country" or "Latte Land" or whatever. That would have been really, really stupid.

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by: lowkell @ Thu Dec 01, 2011 at 19:57:47 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

It was a strategy that worked before... (0.00 / 0)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Pause 15 seconds into this video.

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by: Isaac Sarver @ Thu Dec 01, 2011 at 21:46:09 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

That EXACTLY proves my point. Thank you!!! (0.00 / 0)

Warner did the OPPOSITE of what he was - a northern Virginia businessman who grew up in Connecticut - and made himself a friend of "mountain people"/residents of rural Virginia, which he most definitely would NOT have been seen as a priori. That's very, very, VERY smart, because it doesn't just hunker down in one's narrow comfort zone/area of strength, it reaches out far beyond that, into territory that often is a challenge for Democrats.  Its additive and dynamic, not static. In short, "Warner Country" (including the song) was a brilliant move by Mark Warner, Steve Jarding, Mudcat Saunders, etc!

In stark contrast, Deeds stupidly doubled down on the Bath County angle. Why would a candidate running STATEWIDE do that? It's almost-beyond-belief bad strategy, as it does NOTHING to expand one's appeal, does not reach out to NEW voters - ones who don't know you already, aren't from your neck of the woods, etc. -  and simply keeps you in a small box politically, with no chance of expanding your appeal. Did I mention how stupid this strategy is? Oh yeah, I guess I did. :)

In sum: Warner Country=Brilliant, because Warner was NOT from there and because he needed to expand out of his NOVA/urban base, strategically speaking. Deeds Country=Imbecile-level Stupid, because Deeds was already from there, because he badly needed to expand his appeal to Hispanics, African Americans, urban/suburban professional whites, young people, etc. (aka, "the Obama coalition"), and because frankly he was going to get walloped in deep red rural Virginia even WITH "Deeds Country".  I couldn't believe they were doing it at the time, and I can't believe to this day that they actually did it.

P.S. Just to clarify even more, what would have been utterly idiotic would have been if Warner had made Alexandria, not rural Virginia, "Warner Country." That would have just been doubling down on the "Warner's from liberal NOVA yada yada"  meme. Any political strategist who advocated that should have been fired immediately!

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by: lowkell @ Thu Dec 01, 2011 at 22:02:34 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

In contrast, I thought that the Webb campaign's use (0.00 / 0)

of his strong family and cultural ties to rural Virginia, especially far southwestern VA, was pretty effective (although Webb still lost to Allen in those "red"-leaning areas, if I recall correctly).

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by: lowkell @ Thu Dec 01, 2011 at 17:03:03 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

More broadly, the issue is that we need candidates (0.00 / 0)

who are either FROM the areas where the vast majority of Democratic voters live in Virginia, OR have the ability to appeal to voters from outside their region. Thus, Mark Warner was a "good ol' boy from up in NOVAville" as the song said, and it worked! That's right, a guy who grew up in Connecticut, lived in urban/blue/liberal Alexandria, etc., was able to connect to voters in rural Virginia because: 1) he made the effort; 2) he spent a lot of money making the effort; 3) he was very talented, as were his campaign people (e.g., Mudcat and Jarding), at figuring out how to do that; 4) he seemed sincere in his interest in NASCAR, bluegrass, etc.; and 5) he didn't just pander, he offered substance on the issues people in rural Virginia care about (e.g., "Mark Warner for public education!").  In all of those areas, Creigh Deeds was no Mark Warner -- to put it mildly.

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by: lowkell @ Thu Dec 01, 2011 at 18:54:24 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

And, of course, it can work the other way around as well (0.00 / 0)

A rural Virginian can absolutely win in the urban/suburban "crescent," as long as they have the political skills to connect with voters in said "crescent." If not, they'll lose, because rural Virginia leans heavily "red," and because the vast majority of Dem voters in Virginia at this point are in the "crescent," plus a few other places like C-ville and Roanoke City.

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by: lowkell @ Thu Dec 01, 2011 at 18:55:53 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I think... (0.00 / 0)

the voters of the 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 9th (at a minimum) would disagree with that characterization. Large swaths of those districts (which comprise just under half of the state's population) are rural in nature.

One of Tom's gifts is the ability to speak to rural voters on progressive issues. I remember my first trip down to the Rocky Mount office for Tom Perriello in 2010. The new literature piece at the time had a picture of Congressman Perriello in jeans, a white pickup truck, and spoke to rural issues like jobs, benefits for veterans, and health care reform. You might also recall his personal faith and "tithing" of volunteer hours. Those themes were a major emphasis of his campaign.

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by: Isaac Sarver @ Thu Dec 01, 2011 at 17:04:00 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Exactly, Tom can go anywhere in the world (0.00 / 0)

and relate to people. He's truly extraordinary in that regard, and it's extremely unfortunate that he's no longer working hard for the people - rural, urban, suburban, whatever - of his district.

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by: lowkell @ Thu Dec 01, 2011 at 17:06:08 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

It's actually good news, all in all (0.00 / 0)

I cannot think of anything that would motivate VA Dems more than running against such a fanatical right wing bully.

Think about it: the two biggest names at the top of the VA Repub ticket over the next two years will be George Allen and Cuccy.  That's a gift to Democrats -- not to mention to progressive blogs, since tirades against these clowns pretty much write themselves.

I expect what we'll see is more pragmatic Republicans like McDonnell and John Warner endorsing the more boring conservative Bolling, while the foaming-at-the-mouth crowd goes gaga for Cuccinelli -- which should help sow discord in their ranks.

Now all we need is for them to complete their ticket of horrors -- maybe Corey Stewart for AG and Dick Black for LG?

Impeachinelli! Now on Twitter.

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by: kindler @ Thu Dec 01, 2011 at 13:34:23 PM UTC

IMO, there's no doubt at all that Corey will run for LG. (4.00 / 1)

With a landslide win over Lateef for his PWC BOCS chair re-election, Corey has made the case (he thinks) with the RPVA and the GOP in general that he is their strongest LG candidate. Never mind that we had a very week candidate, there's no other GOP LG candidate that can claim that large a margin of victory.

I expect Corey to make an announcement soon, maybe not long after Kooch makes his Gov. candidacy official or early spring 2012 at the latest.

If Corey does win the GOP nomination for LG, I fully expect him to resign from his PWC BOCS chair job (which he told me and several other people I know a couple of years ago that he HATES) so he can campaign full time. Then, we will have an open chair position and IF we can come up with a stronger candidate we'll have a real shot at electing a Dem. as PWC BOCS chair.

Corey is one of the stupidest campaigners I've seen. Every time he goes off script he has gaffs that make George Allen look smart. I just hope we have a strong Dem. LG candidate in 2013, and I think we will. Corey is the GOP gift to us who just keeps on giving, and we need to be ready to take advantage of these gifts.

                        T.C.

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by: Tom @ Thu Dec 01, 2011 at 14:54:21 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Of course.... (4.00 / 1)

The big assumption is that this is a gift only if they lose.   But every candidate, no matter how appalling, should be treated with the assumption that they can win, even if they do not have the institutional support that both Cuccinelli or Allen obviously have (and will have) from the RPV.

Of course, you're talking to someone who has been "represented" by Allen, Cuccinelli, AND Corey Stewart!  Blech.  I avoided Dick Black, but still had Bob Marshall as my delegate for years.

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by: GretchenLaskas @ Thu Dec 01, 2011 at 16:32:52 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Agree 100%. This isn't a "gift" at all unless (0.00 / 0)

we take advantage of it. Is everyone confident we can beat Cuccinelli, despite how crazy we know him to be? My assumption is quite the contrary, that he is the odds-on favorite to be our next governor, as horrifying as that prospect may seem. Now, let's get the strongest candidates and work as hard as we can to make sure that does NOT happen!

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by: lowkell @ Thu Dec 01, 2011 at 16:36:12 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Well said, Lowell and Gretchen. (0.00 / 0)

And I certainly do agree that unless we come up with strong Gov. and LG candidates and work as hard as (or harder than) many of us worked for Webb in 2006, it's us and the rest of the Commonwealth residents who have wasted the "gift".

You are spot-on that at this moment, these sub-human creatures are odds-on favorites. You didn't say Corey is an "odds-on favorite", but he will be if we don't nominate a strong candidate and work hard.

I'll never forget how we were so strongly motivated to work so hard for Webb when we knew he was a few % behind, and that memory does still motivate me to try to help find and get nominated the strongest candidates possible, and help rebuild the strong grassroots boots-on-the-ground army possible.

                         T.C.

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by: Tom @ Thu Dec 01, 2011 at 18:01:03 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Much (0.00 / 0)

as I like Tom he is too young and unknown to run for governor yet. I think he should do some time in the state legislature, make a name for himself and then run in a few years.

We need to put someone up for gov. who can actually win.

The thought of Kookoonelli being gov. just freaks me out pretty much. I mean O M G.

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by: VADEM @ Thu Dec 01, 2011 at 15:58:11 PM UTC

Kookinelli's announcement (0.00 / 0)

Courtesy of the Kaplan Post:

You have likely heard in the media the many rumors about an announcement of a run for governor. While I wanted to wait to announce a candidacy until after the General Assembly session, as the rumors swirl, I find it necessary to put them to rest.

After much prayer and consideration, I have decided to run for governor in 2013. I have always intended to let you know before the media. Shortly after you receive this email, I will be sending a statement to the media announcing my candidacy.

Being attorney general is the best job of my life, and working with so many bright and dedicated professionals in this office has made it a true joy.

We have protected vulnerable citizens from fraud, worked to get gangs off the streets through intervention as well as prosecution, saved taxpayers from millions in Medicaid fraud, fought for fair utility prices for consumers, provided our clients with official legal opinions that have never been overruled by any court, and stood up to the federal government when it broke the law and infringed on the sovereignty of Virginia and the liberty of her people.

We will continue this work together until the last day of my term. Just as I had intended not to resign as attorney general to run for a second term, I will not resign as attorney general to run for governor. The people of Virginia trusted me to be their attorney general, and I intend to give them their full four years. I also think it is important to see these lawsuits against the federal government all the way through, as they are unprecedented battles for liberty in our lifetimes.

I am committed to you and to the citizens of this commonwealth to leading this office and making this job my priority. I have no right to ask the voters for a promotion if I cannot continue to do my current job well.

I know many of you are wondering why I decided to run for governor instead of for re-election. As so many former attorneys general know from being legal counsel to every agency of state government, this job gives you tremendous insight and perspective on the inner workings of state government that no other job can provide.

Being governor of the commonwealth and all its agencies is truly a massive task, and with only four years to do it, there is little time for on-the-job training. That is especially true when Virginia and the entire country are facing unprecedented economic challenges, a bullying federal government, and financially strapped citizens who are demanding that we ensure every dollar taken from their families to pay for government is a dollar that is spent wisely. When Governor McDonnell finishes his successful term, I am convinced his successor needs to hit the ground running to keep the momentum moving forward in the face of federal and economic challenges.

I hope you have known me long enough to know that I do this out of my love for our commonwealth and to further the principles on which this country was founded. Although I originally expected to serve as attorney general for another term, my job is that of public servant, and I feel that two years from now, I can best serve the people of Virginia from the governor's office.

Thank you for your dedication to this office and to the people we serve. I look forward to our continued work together and our successes during the remaining two years of my term.

Ken

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by: lowkell @ Thu Dec 01, 2011 at 22:15:32 PM UTC