Hi All,
Rick Waugh is the Democratic Party nominee in VA-7 running against Eric Cantor, and he will be doing a liveblog on Daily Kos THIS WEDNESDAY, July 28, at 12:00 p.m.
He will be happy to discuss strategy and campaign plans for field and communications; Rick also will be glad to discuss his personal story of how he got involved in politics and why he decided to challenge Cantor; he also is willing to discuss his thoughts on why Cantor is particularly bad for the people of our country in general and Virginia in particular.
Below is a statement Rick wrote for the Daily Kos community to introduce himself to the Daily Kos community before the liveblog. Please join Rick on Wednesday at noon!
Thank you,
Christina Giaimo, Deputy Campaign Manager, Rick Waugh for Congress
I'm Rick Waugh and I'm running for Congress
Hi, my name is Rick Waugh and I'm running for Congress in Virginia's 7th Congressional District. I'm challenging Republican Eric Cantor to hold him accountable for his record of obstruction and pay-for-play politics. I want to take this opportunity to introduce myself to the Daily Kos community and to ask you for your help.
Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I was brought up in a military household. My dad spent 20 years in the Navy, and when I was growing up, we would move from base to base every three years or so. Eventually, my family settled down in Virginia, and I have made Virginia my home for the past 24 years. I went to high school and college here. I opened a small business here. I met my wife Bobbi here, and she and I are raising her children from a previous marriage here. I consider them my own, and they light up my life. I am a social worker and I help people overcome the challenges that bad luck, bad choices, and bad policy can create.
I spent a lot of time in my job a few years ago seeing the harm caused by the mismanagement of Eric Cantor and George W. Bush and that led me to become a grassroots leader during the 2008 campaign. I learned how important it is to listen to people and to win elections voter by voter.
When I received the Democratic nomination in May, I felt honored to be representing my community under the Democratic banner. I am a pragmatic progressive, and my values are those that I believe best serve all Virginians. I hope you will be proud to stand with me. Together we can show the people of the 7th District that the Democratic Party is more about solving problems than blind partisanship and ideology.
This is a battle that must be fought. Eric Cantor must be held accountable for his actions and his obstructionism. As a primary architect of the Republicans' "Party of No" strategy, he bears responsibility for the harm this policy has done to the American people. Cantor cannot be given a free pass: he must be called to account for the damage he has done.
Eric Cantor is, after all, the kind of self-styled "leader" who shamelessly believes he can use the federal deficit as an excuse not to extend unemployment insurance while advocating for a permanent repeal of the estate tax and trillions more in tax cuts for the wealthy that would leave the deficit bloated indefinitely. For Eric Cantor, logic is trumped by his desire to hand boatloads of cash over to his friends and campaign contributors. Let me correct myself: for Eric Cantor, logic never mattered in the first place. Once the people of the 7th District know the score, I firmly believe that they will reject these immoral policies and the politicians, like Eric Cantor, who espouse them.
This campaign will set an example for all who are in Washington - an example of humility and attention to voters. After I get to Washington, I will continue to listen to the voters of our District. I will never forget that I am there for them, not for the party bosses or the special interests. I will work to bring about solutions to the daily struggles so many Americans needlessly endure, by listening first, then attacking problems.
This campaign isn’t about me: it is about every citizen of the 7th District. We are building a movement, but I need your help. If you believe, like I do, that we need a government in Washington that is of, by and for the people – not a pay-for-play government of, by and for the lobbyists and Eric Cantor's friends – then I need your support.
I need you to sign up to volunteer with this campaign, I need you to tell your friends and neighbors about what we are doing here, and I need you to make an online donation. Together, we can build a campaign that will make us all proud.