I’m a stranger in this DK world, relatively speaking. I only joined to support my friend, Eileen Bedell, in her surprising, inspiring, uplifting run for Congress. If you look, it’s not hard to figure out that there are a few of us who bounce around in this website doing the best we can to move the needle in her favor. We talk, we make strategy, we kibbitz. Our strategy was pretty straightforward, and I think — I think; It’s hard to know out here in the ether — that we’ve made a difference.
As we’ve been talking about the closing arguments, if you will, nothing I’ve come up with, nothing we’ve discussed has made sense to me.
Writer’s block. Now? Good grief.
I’ve now realized, however, why. Simply, it’s because we, it’s because I, haven’t done enough to explain why Eileen is the right person for the job. So that’s what I’m going to do.
Now, if you’re on this website, I don’t need to bore you with policy comparisons between her and her opponent, Dave Brat. You’re smart enough to figure it out for yourself, I’m quite certain, maybe without even looking. No, instead, I want to talk about this amazing person that I’ve know for the vast majority of my life, and put what her candidacy means to me in the bigger context for Virginia and these United States.
I’ve known Eileen Bedell since we were teenagers, which is a pretty long time ago now. We’ve stayed in and out of touch over the years, if you know what I mean, but in any case, it’s one of those friendships that no matter what, we just know each other, and picking up wherever we are at the next meeting is a pleasure and not a chore.
When she told me that she was running for Congress, I was moved to chills because of her courage, her passion and because it JUST. MAKES. SENSE, on so many levels. And even more levels became clear as she got further into her campaign. And I was — and am — proud of her for doing something too few in our generation see as important or valuable.
In a fantastic coincidence, my family and I were headed south this summer, and we put her and her family on our itinerary. Honestly, along with catching up with my friend and meeting this miracle baby that had recently arrived in their lives, I figured if I was going to volunteer my time to her campaign, I should at least look her in the eye and make sure that there was the right kind of “there” there.
And there was.
And months later, she’s only gotten stronger.
So with no fancy graphics, no pictures, just testimony from a friend, from a fellow Virginian, from a patriot, and from someone who has spent his life around politics in many different forms, from the Hill to the furthest corners of the globe — please indulge me while I explain why it’s important that Eileen win:
First, about Eileen:
- I know of no better way to say it, except that she’s wicked frikkin’ smart (I’m a Virginian at heart, but some New England-isms have snuck in over the years. Add a South Boston accent when you read that, it makes more sense). Savvy is another good word.
- She’s a Virginian, born, bred, and devoted. It’s almost crazy to think that in this world of constant movement she’s never lived in another state. Phi Beta Kappa at Va. Tech undergrad, William & Mary law. Mostly in and around Richmond since. A true child of the Commonwealth. Not many, including her opponent, can say that.
- She quotes Jefferson.
- She’s creative, a problem-solver and a deal-maker. Years of being a litigator for the little guy will do that.
- While, as a red-head (I know of what I speak ... or at least I used to before my red hair left me), she can sometimes be a little stubborn, she’s not an ideologue who will sacrifice the greater good for selfish idealism.
- She genuinely cares about people. All of them.
- She may not agree with you, and that disagreement may not always be able to be resolved (she has a couple issues that she is firm on — look’m up), but she will always be respectful of other’s opinions, she will listen, and she will find that middle ground if it exists.
- She’s a hoot to hang out with. (There, see — some southern bona fides. People up here couldn’t use “hoot” in a sentence if an owl was sitting in front of them.)
- She’s got skin in the game. Her kids are growing up in Virginia and she is vested in making their future bright.
- She’s professional and thoughtful, not interested in name-calling or the politics of “I’m going to take my ball and go home” when there’s a disagreement.
Why this is right for Virginia:
- Having worked in the weeds of businesses (hers and others) she knows where the pitfalls lie for expanding businesses and growing the economy and has ideas to fix them.
- She already has a relationship with VP Nominee Kaine and if you don’t think that’s important currency (if HRC/TK win) for Virginia, you don’t know politics.
- She’s enmeshed in Virginia’s diverse constituencies — from business to cultural. She knows how and where to reach out to them, and will actually do so.
- She will listen to her constituents about what they feel is important, and act accordingly. She won’t make trips home from D.C. just to share the news, she’ll do it to make sure she’s doing the job of representing her people (and to see her family, of course).
And why this is right for America:
- I’ve been trying to avoid talking about Dave Brat. I want this to be about Eileen. But I would be remiss in my duty as an American if I didn’t say this: Dave Brat, Donald Trump, Mike Pence, Steve Bannon, the Alt-Right, Kelly Conway, Laura Ingraham, David Bossie, Jeff Sessions — all of whom are on the same team — are dangerous for America. I know I’m preaching to the choir here, but as a student of history and politics, in cannot be overstated that their quest for power, their efforts to create a bulwark against their fears, their desire to control others to do so, if allowed to gain further footholds in the political realm, could easily and soon bring an end to the incredible experiment that is America. And this is something where erring on the side of caution is important. 20/20 “Oops, we were wrong on that one” hindsight could look like internment camps by any other name. Maybe there is a constructive way for that cabal to bring their grievances forward (and Eileen has the right attitude, intelligence and experience to help figure that out), but as it stands now, the only answer is that they must be repudiated. I’m not talking all Republicans, conservatives, or righties, I’m just talking about these people who are too easily connected to hate and fear.
- Both Trump and Pence have come to Virginia in the last couple days — a state where they are at least a few points behind. In fact, Pence went so far as to make an unannounced pizza delivery to Brat’s campaign HQ in Richmond for a photo op. Just today, Jeff Sessions has been dispatched to help Brat. It just seems like something else is going on here. This is more than them trying to rally the troops. They clearly value Virginia in ways I may not fully understand -- perhaps in terms of the future of the alt-right movement, perhaps since Virginia is Steve Bannon’s home, perhaps since Brat was Bannon’s first victory and they don’t want to lose him — whatever the reason, we need to make sure it doesn’t work. Not to be too dramatic, and maybe I need some fresh air, but I just don’t feel like I’m exaggerating when I say that the VA-7th Congressional District is an important battle in the greater war for the soul of America. Lord knows Virginia has seen its share of those.
- All that awfulness and, admittedly, speculation, aside, there are real fissures in this country that need to be carefully mended. Eileen is a person who actually wants to do that, to right the ship, to change course. She embraces both our rich past and its idealism, but gets how to apply it in the reality of our present, something her opponent does not. She thinks to the future if for no other reason than she has to: she has young kids, and she is fighting for them, and what better reason is there than that?
- And lastly, this is about equality and respect, and achieving the promises inherent in American idealism. The Virginia 7th Congressional district has never elected a woman to the House of Representatives. Across the country, the 7th isn’t alone in that distinction — not be a long shot, and that’s crazy. And it has to change. Virginia has been integral in American history in these kinds of changes before, just ask Dr. Fergie Reid. What better time to continue on that journey than alongside the first woman President? And with a candidate as right as Eileen Bedell? It would be flat-out stupid to miss this chance.
So please, Eileen is so close or else the DCCC and the Virginia Democratic Party wouldn’t have invested in her over the last couple weeks to get her over the hump. They believe in her. You should, too.
Share this message: here on DK, out of FB and Twitter and wherever, or if you live in or near the district, help get out the vote tomorrow, or maybe print a couple Bedell for Virginia signs on regular ol’ paper and tape them up in your car window (not the front or rear ones, of course) and drive around, proudly, knowing that you are doing the right thing — for the 7th, for Virginia, and for America.
Vote for Eileen Bedell, Democrat for Virginia 7th congressional district.
Vote for a realistic vision of American idealism for the 21st Century.
For more information on how to contribute financially (they can spend the money up until the bitter end, don’t you worry), how to help tomorrow, or to learn more about someone who wants to be a part of the solution, not the problem, to learn about my friend who I am so very proud of for having the courage to stand up and do what’s right,
go to these places:
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