The last three months have been hectic, and a lot of ground has been covered, and uncovered.....
Where do we stand today, and what is best for Virginia?
Our country is in a time of transition. We have a President elected with incredible support struggling to deliver on every front, and God willing in the next 12 months we will see the fruits of his efforts. People are impatient and want the economy to turn around, home values to soar again, unemployment rates to go back to under 5%, and we want to return to the fantasy world of 2006! That is not going to happen, certainly not in a hurry. It will be 2-5 years before we recover from the terrible situation caused by the excesses of the past. However, this too will pass and we will once again be a booming economy and a prosperous people.
Our state, the Commonwealth of Virginia, is in a position to take the leadership role in making the turnaround. It is in our hands to lead the way for rest of the nation to follow. We need the right leaders, and we have the opportunity to elect them.
Will we?
There are two critical events that should take place in the next five weeks if we have to see any significant difference in the lives of our people, the residents of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The two events are:
The next Governor of Virginia should be Creigh Deeds
and
Democrats need to win at least 51 seats in the House.
What are the chances that this will happen?
If I, or any one, knew the answer, we would not need an election in November.
Let us examine the different scenarios:
Deeds is not elected, McDonnell is our next Governor and it does not matter who controls the House.
If Republicans continue to control the House, there is not much that they are going to vote in favor of the people, UNLESS they want to make Virginia the showcase state where the Republican Governor and House work in perfect harmony and achieve great things, so the rest of the country drools at our progress and the country is prepared for a Republican comeback in 2012. Much as I would like to see our Commonwealth become successful, even my optimistic mind knows that this is fantasy, and I know that a Republican Governor with a Republican House will not do us much good BECAUSE McDonnell is not compromising and will not meet any one midway - he will stay focused on trying to solve the transportation problems that he can not, and other priorities like Education will go down the tubes.
What will McDonnell do for our Economy? His website has a lot of content, including appointing the presumptive Lieutenant Bolling as the Chief Jobs Creation Officer. He does not talk about what he will do if he has to work with Jody - if his past sentiments are any indication, perhaps she will be pushed into irrelevance?
How will McDonnell work with Steve Shannon as the Attorney General? Steve is a phenomenal candidate, and will be a great Attorney General. He will do a lot of good for Virginia, but he needs the support of a progressive, flexible and middle of the road Governor, and a House that will provide the support necessary for moving forward.
The next possibility is that Deeds is elected, but the Republicans control the House.
Deeds will have an uphill battle, and many challenges to make any progress. However, he is the one "always under-estimated, but over-delivering". I believe he will live up to this assessment as Governor. He will draw on internal and previously not recognized strengths and creativity, and make a difference. He will surely recruit a smart team to help him make a difference - to the extent that he does not need support from the House. Where ever he needs support, he will face challenges and chances are that he will not make much progress as the Republican controlled House will impede positive decisions like they have been doing the last several years. Obviously this is not in Virginia's best interest. We need the Governor, and we need the House.
The best possibility is that Deeds is elected, and the Democrats control the House.
Deeds will take off and really make a difference. What are the chances of this happening? Fairly strong. There are no more than 15-20 close races, as 80-85 are firmly in place. Of these 15-20, the majority are Republican seats. We just need good candidates to win those seats. We already have them.
So what do we have to do?
First, contact your Legislator and ask how you can help him/her retain his seat. Ask how you can help Democratic candidates in neighboring districts, and how you can help other candidates well known to your Legislator.
Second, speak with all your friends, co-workers, neighbors and family members - get on bended knees and ask them to spread the word to support our candidates, and to get out on election day. If some one is not able to vote on election day (like my wife and myself - we will be overseas in Cambodia)be sure to do Absentee voting. Do not lose a single vote, and be sure to vote for every Democratic candidate on the Ballot.
Third, please knock on doors in your neighborhood and distribute any literature that is produced by the candidates. Answer questions, inquire about concerns, and generally inspire the folks to go out to vote, to vote for our candidates.
Finally, contribute what ever you can to the campaigns of the candidates you support. It could be $5, or $5,000 - it does not matter. Just contribute what you can as every contribution helps.
It is great if you can contribute money and time - but please be sure to contribute one or the other, if not both.
Yes, we are in a position to lead recovery in our country. Will we do the right thing and do everything we can to get Deeds, Wagner, Shannon and all our Legislators elected? Will you do what you can?
I will.