Because we need a lift.

lynchburg, virginia

Point/Cantor-point

McCain joins the battle of the could-be Virginia veeps

Sure, most of the swing-state chitter-chatter in recent weeks has focused on Barack Obama’s mighty push to swing Virginia into his electoral column come November, with the loudest chatter (and most kinetic chitter) swirling around whether or not the senatorial wunderkind would try to cement his prospects by picking our very own Governor Tim Kaine as his official "in case of emergency, break glass for alternate supply of hope" second-in-command.

Since Virginia is in play this year and has 13, possibly deciding, electoral votes it may not be a bad idea for Obama to announce his running mate there. Speculation is running rampant with the convention just a week away and thus far Obama's last announced appearance this week is in Martinsville, Virginia.

Since he'll be there Wednesday everyone has been speculating about Tim Kaine getting the nod. But there are a few other possibilities with Virginia relations.

Today two new offices opened in Virginia.  One is in Tappahannock and the other, The Middle Peninsula Office, is in Gloucester at the York River Crossing Shopping Mall.   The Gloucester office is a joint office for Obama, Warner and the 1st CD candidate Bill Day.  Bill was there to introduce himself and gave an inspiring talk.  He is running against Rob Wittman who was elected in a special election last December after the Death of Joan Davis.  Wittman's voting record for the short time he has been in congress is very bad. We hope to make this a big issue during the campaign. This is the first time an office for a presidential candidate has been opened in this region so history was indeed made today!  Obama's staff people were there today and made an impression on all there because of their organizational skills and enthusiasm.  They signed everyone up to participate in running the office, phoning, and canvassing.  More below the break.

"Nobody knows anything."

- William Goldman, "Adventures In The Screen Trade"

In a Northern Virginia Starbucks tucked snugly away in a featureless shopping center not far from Washington D.C., a man, once solid, but now thickening in late middle age, looks around furtively, almost warily, before he leans in to his companions, and says, loud enough for me to overhear,

"This country will never elect a black man president."

The two middle-age women, one stylish in a pink silk t-shirt, Cartier watch and diamond rings, the other older and frumpier in a "Cougars for Hillary" sweatshirt, nod knowingly. The older woman sighs,

"He's too young. He has no experience."

The younger woman shakes her head in agreement,

"I can't bring myself to vote for McCain though."

"Oh what a horrible dilemma," the older woman laments.

"It's not good," the man agrees.

"How's the diet going?" the younger woman asks, suddenly brightening.

Politics now safely behind them, the three make small talk for a few minutes before the man says his goodbyes and leaves. I watch as he exits the store and climbs into a brand new Mercedes convertible.

The man is African American, as are his two women friends.

Virginia continues to be a key state in setting the political tone in America. I have believed since 2004 that Virginia is a state that can be slowly turned blue. The elections of 2005 and 2006 support my belief. This year the trend continues as we may well easily win the VA Senate race, and Barack Obama is consistently tied with McCain in this once safe-red state. But the House races also interest me, both because of our chances of winning a few, but also because the Dem candidates seem to be a particularly good bunch. I think we have a shot at winning VA-11, VA-10 and VA-2, and, with a little more effort, maybe even VA-5. And in each case the Democratic Candidate offers experience that America definitely needs after 8 years of Bush mismanagement. Let me give you a rundown of these four candidates. For all of them you can help by donating through my Virginia Act Blue Site or by volunteering through their websites.

Short and sweet- we're doing an interview of Sam Rasoul, the Democratic candidate for Congress this Monday morning, the 18th, at 10:30AM EST. If you want to participate in the interview, or simply submit questions, let us know ASAP. Hopefully, we'll be able to podcast the interview. We will hopefully also be doing the same thing with Tom Perriello, of VA-05.

If you want to get interested, drop me a line!

I just got off the phone with DNC Chairman, Gov. Howard Dean, who I had a chance to interview one-on-one as his "Register for Change" bus tour comes rolling through northern Virginia tomorrow (Saturday).  I didn't record the interview, so here's a rough transcript of my questions and Gov. Dean's answers. (Note: thanks to Gov. Dean for taking some time to speak with RK, and I encourage everyone to help with Gov. Dean's voter registration drive!)

[Note: originally posted on RK.]

What a great choice!

I'm not a fan of Tim Kaine's. But the way I see it, the Obama campaign has correctly identified Virginia as a takeable state that McCain can't afford to lose.

Mark Warner is far more popular in Virginia than Kaine. Choosing Kaine by himself would likely just give one more data point to the usually correct notion that VP candidates don't make much difference in their home states. But with Warner setting him up the day before, Obama is telling Virginians in capital letters that they matter. And he's tying the popular Warner, who'll be on the ballot for Senate himself, to the emotional context in which Kaine will be seen by Virginians.

With an uninspiring candidate, an enthusiasm gap and a host of fundamentals against them, obstruction and suppression is really all the Republicans have left.  You can see exactly where they're worried from this story:

As Barack Obama tries to draw hundreds of thousands of new voters to the polls, Republicans are beginning to scrutinize registrants' eligibility as both sides draw a major battle line over voting rights.

Republicans are moving to examine surges in voter registrations in some states. A Republican lawyers group held a national training session on election law over the weekend that included campaign attorneys for Sen. John McCain and other Republican leaders. One session discussed how party operatives can identify and respond to instances of voter fraud.

There are two battlegrounds:

I've been doing this newsletter for over 5 years.  It started with DC for Clark and only recently has it become the "DC for Obama" newsletter although I've been on the local Obama grassroots team for a long time.  After the election it will go back to being about progressive events in the DC region.  Anyway, I had stopped posting it to Daily Kos but several people at Netroots Nation asked me to post it here.  

The SurveyUSA poll released today for VA shows Obama trailing by 1 point, 48-47%. This is fine for Obama, especially since AA votes seem to be undercounted and disproportionately for McCain. Still, it does represent a loss of lead in a state that could put him over the top.

On the other hand, PPP shows him holding the lead in Colorado. The margin is 4 points, 48-44%. This may be the most important state in Obama's winning coalition

mysterious African-Americans for McCain.  Yes, once again SUSA's state polling shows double-digit black support for McCain.  This time 14% in Virginia.  Despite national polling showing less than 5% African-American support for McCain.  That Obama is essentially tied with McCain in Virginia despite this is encouraging.

Poll was done between Friday and Sunday.

Last week I had a huge influx of readers interested in my piece on Eric Cantor. Seems I'm not the only one thinking McCain might just pick Cantor. I think it's a longshot, but possible.

Things are getting very hectic personally. This may be the last newsletter for a few weeks or more. We will be on vacation in California for a couple of weeks and I will have Grand Jury duty after that. Plus work is exploding for me and Joy's dissertation is overdue. Even politically, I will need to put some extra effort into my friend, Devin Cohen's primary election September 9th. But this newsletter I cover some pretty critical stuff.

Cross-posted at Project Vote's blog, Voting Matters

Weekly Voting Rights News Update

By Erin Ferns and Nathan Henderson-James

We spend a lot of time in these news updates showing how charges of voter fraud are used to discredit voter participation efforts and prime the pump for voter suppression efforts, such as the passage of voter ID bills, pushing for proof of citizenship, engaging in draconian voter purge efforts, and imposing sever restrictions on voter registration drives. We have also spent a lot of time carefully delineating the politics behind these efforts, starting with our March 2007 report The Politics Of Voter Fraud and continuing on in these diaries to name but two venues.

The following is a short biography of Governor Tim Kain of Virginia.  Please read it and express your opinion on Barack Obama selecting him as his VP nominee:

   * Birth Date: February 26, 1958
   * Birth Place: St. Paul, Minnesota
   * Undergraduate Degree: University of Missouri, 1979
   * Law School Degree: Harvard, 1983
   * Family: Married to Anne Holton; three children
   * Religion: Catholic
   * Party: Democrat

During Governor Kaine’s tenure, Virginia has been recognized as the most business-friendly state in America (Forbes.com 2006, 2007 and 2008; CNBC 2007), the top-performing state government in America (Governing Magazine 2008) and the state where "a child is most likely to have a successful life (Education Week 2007)."

Virginia's 1st District Candidate, Bill Day with Governor Tim Kaine

Daily Press Newport News,VA
Democrats put up new opponent to Wittman
Bill S. Day Jr., of Warrenton, will replace Dr. Keith Hummel in the November election.
By KIMBALL PAYNE  August 6, 2008

Free Lance Star Fredericksburg,VA
Warrenton man new 1st District candidate
By Chelyen Davis  August 6, 2008

Richmond Times Dispatch - Richmond,VA
1ST DISTRICT DEMOCRATS CHOOSE FAUQUIER BUSINESSMAN TO RUN
By Tyler Whitley
Times-Dispatch Staff Writer