While I could have been writing a fabulous, if somewhat redundant rant based off of
E.J Dionne's article on why Democrats should stop blaming Kerry, and how this is related to the current circular firing squad around Howard Dean, I figured that all the sides of that debate have been pretty much covered and then some, and I would be doing the community much more good by continuing with my coverage of Tuesday's primary in Virginia with a comparison of the two real Democratic contenders:
Leslie Byrne and
J. Chapman Petersen (referred to as Chap! by many on previous threads).
So gear your self up, Virginia folk and DC folk who happen to live in Virginia but are in general blind to local and state politics, cause Tuesday is the big day.
I'll warn you to start off with that I'm leaving out all ways in that this race might affect Tim Kaine's race, but this is a really important factor, and not one that you should ignore at the ballot box.
First, let's take a look at Leslie Byrne, as her name is first in the alphabet and I've already pulled up her campaign site. I'll start off by saying that Leslie's received some very hard knocks, and not entirely in a justifiable way. On the other hand, you have to expect that when you're as progressive as she is in a state like Virginia. Perfect pro-choice record, and experience in the Clinton White House and the Howard Dean campaign, Leslie will be the first to tell you that she has the resume for the job. She also has the advantage that everyone knows her name and many, myself included, recognize her stickers from one of the various other races she has run in the past.
This also is one of her downsides. I mean, she's run for pretty much everything, and did not get re-elected. Byrne supporters may say that this is because she was redistricted out of politics (or they tried anyway), but she did make way for the era of Davis, and quite a few Northern Virginians have not forgotten this. Her personality also is rumored to be, well, grating. Basically, she brings a lot of baggage to the table.
Her plus side is mainly that she falls on the progressive side of every issue. In a state where Democrats are often pro-life, pro-gun, and take it as a compliment to be called Republican Lite, Leslie is true blue Democrat. This is possible for someone from Northern Virginia, but begs the question, what the hell is she going to say to people downstate? Don't expect a Sportsmen for Byrne chapter opening up anytime soon.
She's also had major problems raising money, which is not a good sign for someone running on seniority within the party, Northern Virginia money ties, and experience.
This brings us to Chap. Chap is more of a mixed bag on the issues. In terms of the ideological divide of our party currently, Chap comes squarely in the moderate base. He's fifty fifty on women's issues. In fact, you could say he's fifty fifty on a lot of bread and butter Democratic issues, but good on bread and butter resident issues (property taxes, transportation and the like). However, he has got some style by trotting around the state in a van. He also, I would say, is the best example around of a Warner protoge, reaching out to the rural counties a lot. However, he is the polar opposite of Byrne when it comes to experience. He's a two term delgate, and considering that the Lt. Gov's job is to oversee the Senate, it would be quite interesting to see how he handles the question of "But you've never SERVED in the Senate?"
True, the Lt. Gov's position is largely ceremonial, but you can't really overlook the fact that being Lt. Gov is essentially training to be Governor one day. So when you look at Chap, or Leslie for that matter, you have to ask: Is this who I want running for Governor in 2009?
He's raised quite a bit of money, which reminds me even more of Warner. In the end, though, the question is bound to rise: how much sacrifice should Virginia Democrats take in order to win?
So there. Public good=served.
Update [2005-6-10 14:59:26 by VirginiaBelle]:
By public demand, here is a bit of Baskerville and Puckett.
Baskerville is expected to do well within the Richmond area, which is her base of support. She's the only minority running, and is counting on high turn-out and support from minority populations. Her goal is to advance women and minority-owned businesses, an issue which, while important and noble, has a limited area of appeal in a state like Virginia. She's like Byrne without the baggage, but also without a lot of the clout.
Puckett is running as the rural Dem, and considers himself solidly pro-life. His voting record backs this up. He has the most Senate experience of the bunch, winning a special election in 1998 and currently in his second term. His previous work includes revitalizing areas in Southwest currently abandoned by Tobacco with computer companies (Warner's Technology corridor on Int. 81). He's had difficulty being heard outside of that corridor, however.