Three Conservatives in the Lobby

There's a new poll. I'm not going to discuss it because the representative sample size was too small. 650 thousand people require a larger sample size than 700 registered voters. All that being said, the numbers add up to about what I have seen, although, nothing has been mentioned about momentum. And the momentum isn't with Sam to keep his numbers where they are.

Today information came out that said Sam would align himself with the Blue Dogs. The idea of being a [insert party name here] in name only has always struck me as an odd way to form a government. Let me put this in an analogy: You're on a plane. You get two choices, chicken or beef. And then you choose the chicken because it tastes a bit like beef. You could have just chosen the beef. The political theory is messed up for the sake of semantics and lying to voters. The elementary version of this is that there are two political ideologies, liberal and conservative; these aren't static—Republicans use to be in favor of minority rights, individual rights and so on. Now it's the Democrats who support Constitutional rights and individual freedoms. This is the ebb and flow of the two-party methodology. That's easy enough to understand but to move against the party platform without taking the party with you is absurd.

We now have in this district, effectively, three conservative candidates for Congress. That's not really choice. It's like what the candy companies are trying to sell us: 40%, 60%, or 80% cacao, your choice! It's not really a choice; it's still dark chocolate, just a different intensity.

Why vote for a Democrat who won't vote as a Democrat? Fiscal conservatism is great and all; I don't really get to spend more than I have either, but the Republicans have not acted, lately, as fiscal conservatives, so why align your voting record with them? It's a stupid comment to make in an already stupid contest between three not-ready-for-Congress players.

But there is a bigger reason why this idea won't work. Virginians don't like people who say they are one thing and then act as another. Tom Davis is considered a Republican in name only, as is his wife. Instead of choosing an opponent with similar viewpoints to Mark Warner to run against him for the soon-to-be-open Senate Seat, the Republicans at a Nominating Convention, instead of a (more friendly to the direct democracy crowd) primary chose Jim "No car tax, no terrorism" Gilmore.

So, Sam won't win because he won't stand by the convictions of the Party. At least Allen is honest when she says she'll do whatever people tell her to do. Goodlatte just does what the people who pay him the most will tell him to do. Sam's basis for his choice is because he went to business school. That somehow made him a fiscal conservative, but how have business interests ever coincided with that of the middle class or the worker? To not get too socialist, but the businessperson wants to make money, not provide for the people. If he can't separate the private sector from the business of government then the people of the Valley might as well just stick with the devil they know.

Give 'em Enough Rope...

Wow.

I couldnt make this stuff up if I tried!

I love the drama, folks. Both Dems and 'Pubs come out looking like children in all of this. Especially in the comments sections... those things are priceless!

Macaca

Mmm... a few things have happened this week.

Let’s see. Democrats in the sixth district have lost their privileges. Your keys to the executive washroom, the Toyotas, and upholding the liberal principle that have been a true cornerstone to this Party since 1947 when we lost the dixiecrats... all of them are gone. Garstang has made you reproachable. Honestly what are you thinking, allowing a person to compare anyone to terrorists? And now he's saying he didnt say what we all saw he said?

In politics there are things you try really hard not to do unless you’re making a good, through, well thought out point. You don’t compare people to communists, fascists, Nazis, extremists, or terrorists. This is one of those senseless things that happen in a campaign that costs serious issues for a number of years to come.

This is a macaca moment. It’s an idiot moment.

When a major political party is running an election, one of three people is supposed to take over the actions of the party in the district: The leader of the committee, the campaign manager, or the candidate. This is why Phil Gramm was silenced. That’s why surrogates are so tightly controlled with talking points. As a member of the committee Cliff Garstang has a responsibility to the Party and to the people in the Party. He has shown that the half-truths that Republicans tell about Democrats are at times founded. Garstang showed that he does not know what a terrorist is. He has shown that his is immature and that he has fallen prey to the lowest form of political commentary. He has become a knuckle-dragging plebeian.

Our times demand higher political discourse. The Democrats should be spending time responding to real issues. Point in case, the Roanoke Valley Republicans recent post about Sam Rasoul as not being a viable candidate. As I had been saying, he isn’t drawing the monetary support that he should be getting and now his staff is turning over like a pig on a spit (its summer, you’ve gotta have a bbq reference).

The point here is to beat Bob Goodlatte; not to prove to the 6th district that Democrats are incapable of defending their interests and goals and rising above petty ideas.

This just makes me sick. Not from my home district, not from my home party. Kick him from the party before this becomes something worse.

It doesn’t take a lot of effort to end up on Olbermann’s Worst Person in the World.

Are You Kidding Me?

Looks like people are finally listening to me, only without giving me the credit, of course. Apparently, another one of Allen's supporters has made/is making a feeble attempt at "getting in with the blogs". Only this one seems to have a full on case of the crazies. In fact, he makes Sam's father look tame! He's sitting wherever he is, going on and on about Rasoul's religious beleifs, and how Rasoul is bringing over Palestinians for god knows what. He asks "How many people has Rasoul helped in this manner?" Not that it matters, but isnt generous giving and charity a good thing? I thought it was. There are plenty of non-profit organizations that bring over intelligent, bright children/young adults in order to help them with education. If Rasoul can afford to brighten someone's life, then so be it. I dont see the supporter complaining about Latin American, African, European, or Asian kids coming over to further their dreams...

Lets dissect some of "FaithDefendingJew"'s statements, shall we?

"Rasoul is seeking Congress to stop the support of Israel and these Palestinian organizations are well aware of this likeminded agenda. I believe Rasoul may have issues over the 1967 war and this is his way to return the favor to the Jews. You can take the man out of Palestine but you cannot take Palestine out of the man." I do believe that Sam was born in Warren, Ohio... and been to the Palestinian area twice in his life.

"Generally speaking, I dont bother with a garden variety pagan running for office." Ahh, who would this Pagan be? I'd love ot know who he's talking about, since his rant didnt really allow for the insult to stick to anyone in particular.

"It is my understanding that Goodlatte has refused to support healthcare bills and this would be due to his beliefs. Being a Christian Scientist forces him to ignore the issue of healthcare because they reject sickness and death." It could also be that he refused to support the bills because they would have raised taxes or some other ridiculous Republican sentiment. Not necessarily his religious views. Remember, this is a man who takes money from Merck. You know Merck, right? This man is taking money and looking away while Merck pollutes your waters and kills your fish. (Speaking of which, why hasnt Rasoul pummeled Goodlatte with this?)

"I have done my homework on Salam Rasoul and I have shown his agenda appears very clear to be toward the removal of Israel in line with the mainline Palestinaian convictions." I'd like to see what kind of homework you did. If you mean that one question you emailed him, then thats not homework. What Donna did for me, thats homework. You? You wrote a quick email.

Then we come to Hank Bostwick who runs Teh Harbinger. Considering his odd pseudo-friendship with Allen, we have to wonder where this is coming from:

"Many of Allen’s vocal supporters (Sharon Wright, Moshe/FDJ, Robin Waller, etc.) have made similar claims about Sam Rasoul. At first, I thought there were only isolated incidents of prejudice; however, this thread and the fact that it has been resurrected (excuse the pun) after so long convinces me that, for whatever reason, Janice Lee Allen seems to attract supporters who clearly have issues with people of different faiths and ethnicities. This is problematic for a number of reasons the most important of which is the fact that a Congressional representative must represent people of all faiths and ethnic backgrounds.
The time has come for Janice Lee Allen to step out and disavow the statements of Moshe/FDJ, Robin Waller and Sharon Wright. She needs to make a strong statement indicating that she does not believe in these sorts of comments and that her campaign is not responsible for them. Additionally, the syntax, word choice, sentence structure and subject matter may also suggest that the above individuals are one and the same. In that case, it would be easy for Allen to disavow them and claim they are the work of a sole bad actor with an ax to grind.

This comment thread would be a great place for Ms. Allen to distance herself from such comments."

It probably would, Hank. But something tells me that Ms. Allen is not that confrontational. This kind of xenophobic crap has come up before, and she ignored that, too. But more to the point, Hank sounds oddly familiar! I wonder why?

But in all seriousness... this has to stop. Or, does it? Let Ms. Allen dig her political grave. If she continues to keep this kind of company, it will serve make it easier to exploit later in the campaign.

Some More Stats

The numbers are as follows: (and please remember that these are for $200+ contributions only)


Rasoul

Total Contributions from Northern Virginia: $16,068.00 or 42.85%
Total Contributions from the 6th District: $20,384.00 or 54.35%
Other Total (From Goochland, Charlottesville and Richmond areas): $1,050.00 or 2.8%


Since 41.14% of total contributions from inside Virginia were from one zip code (24064), I decided to investigate. $13,300 or 35.46% of all contributions came from people who's last names were Rasoul within this zip code. That is 65.25% of all the contributions from the 6th district.

The higher concentrations, excepting the zip code previously mentioned, were from 22310 in Alexandria at 17.11%, and 20171 in Herndon at 9.33%.


Goodlatte:

Total Contributions from Northern Virginia: $21,450.00 or 6.42%
Total Contributions from the 6th District: $286,820.00 or 85.78%
Other Total (From Richmond/Charlottesville Areas): $26,100.00 or 7.81%None of the names on the Goodlatte list were the same as his, however that is not to say that his family did not donate to his campaign. The higher concentrations of donations were from 24014 in Roanoke at 11.84%, 24018 in Roanoke at 9.91% and 24503 in Lynchburg at 10.44%.

Donna...Shaming People One Math Problem at a Time

Let's face it, Rasoul is not getting the support he needs, inside Virginia and inside the 6th, to be the candidate. Allen still hasn't posted anything-supposing she hasn't spent more than $5,000 this is all legal-but someone should be filing something to get a hold on her receipts (hint hint). It's not dirty if it's illegal.

I've examined Donna's excel sheets (excellent job). Even the people who do monetarily support Rasoul in Virginia come from Northern Virginia; by large numbers (as people will see later today). This will not be acceptable. As I've been attempting to put across: If you are going to take money to run for office, then you should be able to prove that the constituents will support you with monetarily and therefore have "stock" in you as their representative. Allen has begun taking money, as of yesterday, according to her website. So her main support, thus far, comes from vocal (and annoying) supporters on line and in the newspapers.

You don't need lots of money to win an election, but you do need smart people and support behind you. Rasoul and Allen, both, have talking heads that make no real sense and act a bit like sycophants instead of level-headed soldiers of policy.

Speaking of weird people...Drew Richardson, raging Democrat, former FBI terrorism kung-fu master, and week-long candidate for Congress decided to come out in favor of Allen and fire a few shots against the Augusta Free(dumb) Press. So, yeah, Democrats are one big giant happy congruent family in the District. That shows up well in the latest slap fest that is the News Leader.

Also, what was with Belle Rose coming out in favor of T. Boone Pickens? I mean, honestly, an oil guy, a Republican, Swift Boat supporter, giver of money to George W. Bush, and supporter of RUDY Guilliani's Presidential campaign. Too many people are hearing a man with a Texan accent saying nice and pretty words and thinking he's some messiah of the environmentalist movement. How many times, honestly, what will it take until you people get it through your heads that these people are not our friends. Making money isn't wrong, no; lying to people, making your living off of lying, living in a state of hatred of fellow Americans and attempting to push policy that does not in anyway make sense... that is wrong.

In other news, soon I will be putting together some questions which I will be emailing to all three candidates. I wanna know some details. And I will make a promise to you dear readers: I will not edit one word from their answers.

Raw Statistics

*Note: These numbers do not include statistics for the less than $200 contributions, which account for approx. $87,436 or 45.9% of total contributions from the Rasoul Campaign, and (a very large number which I havent the mental strength to figure out) from the Goodlatte Campaign.
**Also note I am not seperating out 6th district contributions from the rest of VA.

Sam Rasoul:

Out of VA Total: $58,684.00 or 57%
Inside VA Total: $37,702.00 or 36.6%
Candidate Total: $6,565.00 or 6.4%
Total Contributed Above $200.00 (since inception of reports to FEC): $102,951.00

Robert Goodlatte

Out of VA Total: $37,400.00 or 10.2%
Inside VA Total: $331,120.00 or 89.8%
Total Contributed Avoce $200.00 (since 2007): $369,020.00
-I decided to find out what percentage outside of Virginia the DC contributions made.
Total Amount from DC: $9,150.00 or 24.5% of total out of VA


I have taken all of the data from the FEC website, as it stood, and created an Excel spreadsheet detailing location and contribution amount. If anyone would like a copy, please email me, and I will be glad to forward it on.

Please notice that I am not politically analyzing these numbers. That is for the person with the ancronyms after their name to think about.

Stay tuned tomorrow for a full statistical analysis of the numbers by zip code! Exciting!

Clears throat...

As of 6/30/2008, Sam Rasoul has raised $190,387. As of May 4, 2008, he had raised $148,646. That's a gain of $41,741...dude couldn't even put a decent down payment on a house. There's nothing really new here, small contributions work when you can draw from 300 million people-like Sen. Obama, but let's be honest, it doesn't work as well in the Congressional race. It would be symbolic and wonderful to see party leaders donating substantial amounts to the campaign: If they aren't willing to back up their candidate financially, then why should the people vote for the person?

Somewhere I read that Rasoul is good for Congress because he has worked closely with members of Congress, yadda yadda.... But if so, wouldn't those Congresspersons then contribute to Rasoul's campaigns through their leadership PACs? Hmmm. Sounds like a candidate that has woefully been found wanting.

Sam Rasoul is an exceedingly nice guy, but he is not a good politician. Go forth and find a real politician who will be able to get serious cash to fight Goodlatte on the level. When the time comes, if he wants, Goodlatte will be able to plaster every house in the district with his name. If we're lucky, Rasoul can get enough signs to cover a bridge on I-81.

If only someone had $900,000 sitting around somewhere. Oh, and wide, sweeping support in the district.

Hate Mail Redux.

I would like to thank Truth-teller for raising my profile.

The problem with people, who claim to tell the truth, and in fact claim to be tellers of the truth, is that they often fall prey to sycophantic dilemmas where they end up being self-serving grabbers of attention. See, I look at truth as a philosophical proposition. The purpose of thinking individualy is to advance a person closer and closer towards absolute truth (…without ever being able to reach it). The problem with Truth-teller (and those like him/her (can I get a gender?)), is that they feel they have a firm grasp on this truth.

But truth is like a freshly caught fish—the more tightly you grab hold of it, the faster it flies out of your hands. In other words, for my pedantic readers, truth is relative. It was acknowledged early in the election season that Allen should get out of the race and support Sam. That was in April, it is now July. She’s not only still kicking, she’s gaining a wider support base and, yes, the DNR does support her, as does Teh Huffinger. Let me support my ideas here:

In a quick few stories, Jeff Mellot took hold of Allen and began to flatter her by incorporating her into the political process-bringing her into stories that should have only been about Sam (i.e. the cheap gas stunt). The Color Purple article from Teh Huffinger, geez, where to start. By calling her “purple,” she seems like she’s uniting the ideas of the Democrats and the Republicans (Blue + Red = Purple). This is dangerous. The idea that the ideological differences can be whitewashed into a pragmatic path is not true. Everyone must realize that.

Regardless of how Obama and McCain voted today on the FISA bill (both aye), the two parties are different—it’s what I spend my day doing, making sure the differences are evident in all points possible.

To correct truth-teller’s inaccuracies, I don’t agree with the Virginia First deal. In my previous post (about the Color Purple Huffinger article), I said that the first response to the "Politics of Place" article was from a guy who felt that native-born Virginians should be the only people allowed to run for governor. And I said that these were the types of people who Allen was going to get the support of and if there were enough of these people lying around, a “silent majority” of nativist/racists, and if she gets enough votes to get a 40/40% plurality with Goodlatte, then Democrats in the district are done. And the 6th district will be a black hole of Republican ideologues.

As for the marriage amendment that truth-teller feels sealed the deal on gay rights in the Commonwealth; try telling that to the Moral Majority when it comes to Roe v. Wade and women’s rights. Just because there is a law, a SCOTUS ruling, an amendment, does not mean it is exempted from revision. No, he doesn’t have to raise forth a rainbow flag, but yes, he should make his opinions known. The Democratic Party is the inclusive party, how are we to feel about a candidate that does not conform to even the most basic ideas of the party? Gay rights may not play well in the Valley, but neither does being Muslim, really. However, Valley Dems seem happy to take up the religious fight, why not take aim at other biases?

As for Mr. Garstang. As far as the 6th district Democratic Committee website is concerned, he is a member of the committee, making him a party elder. The idea that he is some sort of old man and blogger only is as erroneous (hint: scroll to comments), and if he really feels as such he should just find a rocking chair and a porch and accept his fate to end his life staring at the Blue Ridge. It doesn’t change the fact that I was right. Whether or not the list is old, it is the only list available on the Federal Elections Committee website, thus making it the official list. It is the list we real politicos go by. The list includes donations through about the third of May, 2008. As of this time, influential party members were not giving en masse to the candidate.

What I am outlining here is a Democratic party who does not have the funds to back up its promises. I am no advocate for Goodlatte or Allen. I hope that I have made that clear. If you don’t want to force Allen out of the race, fine. But the Democrats are not showing themselves as serious. Going all over the place and visiting people is great and all, but it has to be backed up with money and it has to be backed up with local support. The next financial report will be telling. It’ll be interesting. Hopefully I’ve convinced some of you to give more, and give often—to the max. You need signs, TV and radio ads, etc. But first, Sam needs a stable campaign, a manager and someone who can really control the vision of the campaign.

Locally, Democrats need to show their die-hard support and rally people. By doing so it will gain the interest of the DCCC. Without them, the Rasoul campaign will lose loads of free cash and advertising.

Goodlatte’s on Judiciary and the FISA bill passed…please move on this. Republicans like privacy. Show them what they are losing. Rally real support. Stop talking amongst yourself and go gain some converts.

Hate mail.

Quick note... when writing/creating/sending hate mail, please keep in mind to do so while using correct grammar (TT) and knowing how to utilize the interface... I'm lookin' at you, Keller. Thanks.

I am sorry for the way Ms. Allen's parents died. But, many people die this way, and it is no more or less tragic than thousands of other deaths. The term tragic, when it relates to death, usually means that the death was preventable or otherwise incidental (i.e. Africans in Darfur and Kenya being hacked to death with machetes or a new born dying in an airplane crash).

Sam's campaign cash is regrettable. The truth is, there's no money on the list from important Democrats in the districts (case in point, Mr. Garstang over at cobalt6 and Mr. Deeds going to Richmond-but can't become attorney general...). This is why Democrats in the district are in the doghouse with the state party and the DCCC-by now wouldn't you think the DCCC would have some adviser, some form of financial support, set up? Yeah... but the local Democrats aren't doing enough. Look at the red to blue page on the DCCC website. No mention of Rasoul. No mention of my beloved district. Why? Because of Truth-Teller, the-writing-challenged, and his/her groupies of fat, blog-writing, pedantic, white, middle-class, wannabe, hopelessly lost, careless, feckless, pseudo-polymath, pseudo-intellectual, troglodytes.

I don't mean to be so harsh to the heart land (yes I do), but get it through your heads: There will literally be no Democratic Party if Allen continues to receive support and the Democrats choose to ignore her.

Attack

This is why Democrats in the 6th district cannot be trusted to run, handle, or win a campaign. Teh Huffinger has given Allen a complete and utter out on the xenophobic-side of her campaign. On top of obliterating their former warning that she and her supporters are racist idealogues, teh Huffinger's English teacher has now made it clear that they support Allen's candidacy. So now there's the Daily News Record and teh Huffinger. Rasoul is losing the battle of the press, and of course none of the television news stations are covering anything of this because it's too bloody boring.

Every time Allen gets good press, every time someone comes out and says she's a good person or that she's a moderate... it steals votes away from Rasoul.

There are not enough liberals in the Valley to allow Sam to win and he is not good enough as a politician to pull all the sides together (far left to left center to beat out who Allen can get). Explain how she can get press like this? How she can come off as the amazing "bringer together of people" and at the same time be against gay marriage? Rasoul has been more or less silent on the issue of gay marriage. And through all of this, Goodlatte has spent nothing, not one cent.

Of course, this type of media-bias hurts Goodlatte too, and if she can back up her popular support from the newspapers and vocal blog responses with actual funds, then Goodlatte will come out hard against her.

With very little money the Democrats should have already taken her down. She was a Democrat, don't any of you know anything damaging about her? She has a son, whom she apparently raised by herself; who is he? And of course she has an ex-husband' where is he, what does he do? She's been in real estate, yet has she ever done anything wrong? Not gotten a permit, lied on a loan, taken people to court? Have her current and previous renters been interviewed for their knowledge? How do you find that information; go to the courthouse and look up the deed records, search the database to find out what she owns! Then go to those places and find out who lives there, how much she collects in rent, what type of people she rents to, what kind of person she is.

It's not dirty; it's politics, and as she opened up in teh Huffinger: "What are their motives, and ultimate goals in running for office...[w]hat is their agenda?" Why is she running? Honestly, how does her mother's "horrible death" (How did her mother die? Was it really horrible? Check the newspaper.) lead to theology degrees, and then to political office?

This woman is a full-time quack. Who has she worked for in her life? What are her finances? Bring her down, and quickly, because if you don't, there are going to be serious problems in August, September, and October. The new story won't be that Goodlatte won, it'll be the questions surrounding how one old woman got more votes than an organized and motivated Democratic Party.

This woman has not had a video on youtube, nor an organized speech. Yet somehow she's kicking the ass of the Ass Party. She is capable of being stopped and you have to stop this syphoning of support away from (moderate) Democrats and independents before the whole damned thing implodes. What happened when the State Party chair or the chair of the DCCC looks in on this and wonders what the hell happened? In this year when the Republicans are weaker than ever, the year when Barack Obama (My Hero) could win between 38 and 40 states, the Democratic Party of the 6th district of Virginia couldn't beat a stooge like Goodlatte because Allen pulled enough support away to get a 40-ish percent plurality with Goodlatte! Then it'll look like the Democratic Party and Sam Rasoul stood in the way of change in the district, and in two years Allen will be able to come back and knock every single one of you down on your asses because she'll have respect, a name, and motivation. And you people will have to sit and shut up or else face becoming known as the Ralph Nader's of the Valley.

Bring her down before the end of September, before she can get money, and before she can get in front of television cameras.

You're a bunch of freakin' loons and Allen's going to get enough supporters for a Beer Hall Putsch that will change the Valley. The first comment on teh Huffinger's latest love letter to her shows her exact demographic-a person who would love it if only Virginians were good enough to govern Virginia. If she continues to get traction, there's going to be no such thing as a Democratic Party in that district.

Find the information, embarrass her and end this.

Veep Hunting

I highly recommend MSNBC's Veepstakes. It's like March Madness, but far more worth your time. It's fun to watch, because it's a way to see what people think. Chuck Todd got all the people together and the obscure people have lost, the tv-friendly people are winning.

Currently, the Republican contest is in its final round: Mitt Romney v. Colin Powell. Really? Either the Republicans that use this site are idiots, moderates, or Democrats are looking at it, voting, and then going "this is exactly what we want to see! The odds on favorite in the halls of Congress are Mitt Romney or Bobby Jindal. Colin Powell will never work because his trustworthiness has so faltered that it's just not worth it. Anyway, Powell still has a shot at being made Obama's Secretary of Defense....

Mitt Romney, though, would help. He's got loads of cash and is an excellent manager. He's also young enough to, you know, lead when/if McCain keels over behind the Resolute Desk. I like the fight though, and right now Barack is so far ahead that don't you just sort of feel "blah" about the election? Like we should just go ahead and give Barack his eight years to put us back together? This is why I'd love to see Bobby Jindal become the Republican Veep. Think about it, he's young-younger than Barack. He's a minority, a Catholic, and as a member of the House and Southern Governor has shown he can work past the racist tendencies of people. He's lively and has vigor. Jindal doesn't have Romney's money though and this race will come down to money-they all do.

As for the Democrat, geez, it's down to Hillary, Wes Clark, Evan Bayh, John Edwards, Mike Bloomberg, Joe Biden, Kathleen Sebelius, and Sam Nunn. Sheesh, it's difficult to know where to start. There is already a Obama/Bayh website. So someone is really hoping for something. During the primary I qorked with the John Edwards campaign, with tendencies towards Dennis Kucinich's beliefs and use of language.

I was out not long ago with a few staffer friends and the talk had a lot to do with Jim Webb, there was much agreement that if he left the Senate to be Vice President that it would cause such issue within the Senate that it would be a generally bad thing for the country. Bayh is so boring that it's a bit amazing that anyone has mentioned him at all or that we don't get daily updates on his heart rate. He's quiet and unassuming, that's not going to help once the Veep debates come around.

Who do I want? Russ Feingold. We need first and foremost to move beyond what this current administration has given us. And while I love Barack, I want someone in the executive branch who can say they were there in 2001, and that they saw through the lies and "man-behind-the-curtain" tactics of the Bush Administration. He voted against the PATRIOT Act. He voted against the resolution to allow force in Iraq. Feingold has shown clear and nuanced leadership when no other (or few) Democrats had the courage. I have no doubt that Feingold could stand against any Republican VP in debates.

Who will it most likely be? Webb. There's a lot of support for him in the popular arena. He speaks well and can boost the credentials of the Democratic Party when it comes to war and the military.

Anyway, the cabinet is being set. Edwards is in there, so is Richardson, Clark is setting himself up for SecDef. Clinton's war debt will go away and she'll be a Johnson-like leader of the Senate or else Gov. of New York.

Imagine though, how cool would it be to see a debate between Russ Feingold and Bobby Jindal? If you love politics than you'll understand. If not, and if you still think I'm some type of closet Republican, then so be it.

20 hours in America

Excuse the absence. I've been handling job things. The problem with D.C. is that there are always events to attend and people to talk with.

I wanted to talk about some things I overheard about the Veepstakes, but there's been an eruption on our already scheduled broadcast. Teh Harbinger, I believe, has called me disreputable! I shall email the writer of the article, of the online blog that seems to fancy itself as a Huffington Post for the...less in-the-know. But more importantly, what I believed would happen has happened. When I discussed Sam, I discussed his father's ideas. I chose not to talk about the Hathihe Ramallah newsletter (get the link from Teh Harbinger), because Allen had already stated it. It was out there. It is still out there.

Hank Bostwick, is the creator of Teh Huffinger (this it shall stay). He's an English teacher at Patrick Henry High school. This in and of itself doesn't mean anything, but follow along. As a "journalist" he is supposed to do what is considered fact-checking exchanges. For him, it seemed honest enough to take Janice Allen's words for truth-that she found information and wanted it out there. And the truth is, it is still out there in pdf form and has not been changed. Mr. Bostwick chose not to continue the fact check by contacting the newsletter to see if these statements could be backed up by audio or video tape or at least other people who witnessed the talk.

This is the importance of vetting candidates. The easiest way to vet a candidate would be to google their name and see where that takes you. Meeting a person and talking to them does not count as vetting, you have to know everything about them: The 6th district Democrats obviously did not do this. Googling does get you to his words in the newsletter. He has said to Mr. Bostwick that he didn't say them, but what proof do we have other than that? Rasoul is given the benefit of the doubt, Allen will "say almost anything...." Why isn't she given the benefit of the doubt, how would she know that the words were false?

This brings me to where we have to question Sam's, and Teh Huffinger's culpability in allowing falsehoods to exist. It is claimed in the same article, that Rasoul has teamed up with Jewish-American peace activist Joel Segal. Again, Raoul seems to be playing a shell game. The two have created an organization (born a blog) called: The Interfaith Solidarity Committee for Peace in Israel and Palestine. They call for a two state solution and the joining together of all faiths. But wait, there's a problem.

Other than being Jewish and Rasoul being Palestinian, do either of them have anything to do with peace negotiations currently underway in the regions? Nope. According to Segal's bio on Progressive Democrats of America, he is listed as being: "a senior legislative assistant covering Social Security, veterans affairs, housing, HIV/AIDS in Africa, and poverty issues for Rep. John Conyers." Also, he is "an activist for universal health care, affordable housing, and environmental and public health." And finally, he "is the grassroots coordinator for the new Incarceration & Sentencing Policy Caucus." Also, created the Free China Movement-a group that seeks peace and democracy in China.

Where exactly should I start? Segal has no experience in Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. He knows a lot about domestic issues and he's got this random Free China thing-that just sounds like imperialism.... If Sam was serious, why not team up with a group that is more serious? There are a lot of groups in the Directory of Israeli and Palestinian...Links and Resources. There are serious groups out there, do we expect two neophytes to somehow make it all better? And anyway, Segal is a leader of a PAC-are we not against those? If not, then the Dems in the Valley need to stop screaming about where Goodlatte gets 43% of his funds-and you all better get use to growing Sugar!

It has now become obvious that Sam wasn't vetted. He's not strong enough to do this and it makes me sad. Daily it becomes more and more obvious. Goodlatte will be sitting in a chair tomorrow keeping it warm for himself.

Allen is an idiot for not fact checking and making sure what she found was correct. I have no doubt that since he did admit to speaking at the function, at a group that dislikes Israel, and calls for recognizing Palestine that he must feel some type of sympathy towards them. It would be like claiming that David Duke had no sympathies to the Iranians when he spoke at their conference. (And don't get angry that I sent you to David Duke's website).

This is all a mess, and Goodlatte and his staff are laughing. Why? Because the real issues, which I've already discussed, are being ignored because two knuckle heads-one supposedly vetted and the other a bored boomer can't stop fighting with each other.

Get back on message.

Allen update since last evening...

Donna has been so kind to find this. Teh Harbinger has found much more info on her by directly talking with her through emails, including where her PhD is from; some evangelical degree mill. But what of the MBA, Harvard? Yale? Billy Bob Joe's College of Buisness?
The wheels are turning, and as I said, was only a matter of time before she presented herself as a racist. Sam being a Muslim has nothing to do with the race if his policies make sense (which they don't, but that's besides the point).

In Excelsis Deo

So, she's got that distant "I'm already a leader" stare down coooold. And she's a "god person" as others have called her. She's a self-professed theologian, who won't say where she got her degrees...except for here, the Source Watch Wiki. We get more info, a masters from Virginia Tech. But we don't know where she got her MBA or theology degrees-so much for transparency in government and the officials in government.

Most people would say I've given a third party candidate too much time, but we must examine all the examples. And anyway teh (sic) Star City Harbinger has given her props for having the most vocal supporters. With support that's willing to sound like loons, you have to take it seriously. Why? You provincials may ask.... Because at one point Hitler was an insignificant member of the lunatic fringe. You have to examine the small threat to reality before they place their reality upon us.

Examine her support: They are xenophobic, as the Harbinger suggests. And the Harbinger is an apt name for the only news organization that covered this as it was. Other newspapers have ran this stuff without question. The Harbinger, while relatively new, is showing itself to be efficient in its insight. At the same time, she has received the support of the Independent Greens of Virginia. One can only wonder why. Allen's issues mention nothing about transportation, mass transit, or trains. Is it just that the Greens want to support someone? One has to imagine that somewhere in between the environment and the racism there has to be the National Socialists or anarchists; somebody or something that ties it all together. She's stated that she'd drill in ANWR and we can assume off shore.

To not say completely bad things about those who try, her website is better than Rasoul's.

Here's why she's doing better (and will do better) than Rasoul unless things change. She's trying. Just the exact right amount. Rasoul is out there, but he hasn't made a point of asserting his dominance over issues. His videos show a 20-something with very little speaking experience and who diddles around with words (and a camera person who knows nothing abotu audio or camera angle). Many congresspersons are bad at speaking (believe me), but to beat Goodlatte it will require the type of speaker that motivates complacent people to do something; vote. Rasoul has only a small facebook, etc following. Of course, Allen has none.

But Allen isn't counting on young people, and there aren't enough young people in the district to carry Rasoul over the finish line (one of the ways our man Obama hopes to win). There are a lot of old complacent people tucked into their houses and ancestral areas of the district. People have been commenting, there are new people moving to the area (The Harbinger made that clear), but there are a lot of old people who remember segregation, who supported segregation, and who still use one of the two "n words" to refer to Black people. These are Allen and Goodlatte's supporters. In a perfect world, Rasoul would be able to pull off a Woodrow Wilson, 1912 win. But there are too many people not supportive of Rasoul, the statistics never lie. Goodlatte will win a plurality unless Rasoul can come out and be vocal and effective.

Allen has to be soundly silenced too. We already have too many Virgil Goode's in the halls of Congress and it's only a matter of time before we hear Allen and her supporters shouting about Palestine, Islam, and what happens if, as McCain is hoping, there's another terrorist attack?

Close your eyes and think of England

He wants us to know he's an "Amurrrican". In case we did not know that, there's the good ol' stars an' stripes behind him. The biggest problem I've heard that the Democrats have with Sam is that he'll sell anything-any idea-to get ahead. From what I've seen and read, I think he'd gladly stand behind the Stars and Bars if it got him enough votes to get elected. He hasn't yet proven that he won't-after all he did, as I mentioned earlier, buy gasoline for people-perhaps annoying, possibly illegal. Either way, this case, specificly, makes him not the right type of candidate for federal office...yet.

He opened himself up way too much. There was no point to provide any reason for Bob Goodlatte, Janice Lee Allen, the FEC, the Republican Attorney General, or the U.S. District Attorney to look into him. To win in the 6th district should be easy.

1) Make Bob Goodlatte look like a Bush neo-con... (hint, scroll down and see the patriot act votes)
2) Show all the stuff he's done wrong (see 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7)
3) Get all the Republicans together who are active and angry because Goodlatte promised a term limit.
4) Make it widely and loudly known that Bob Goodlatte voted against clean water, specifically protecting and conserving it.
5) Goodlatte sits on the House Judiciary Committee-he voted, and stumped, in favor of illegal wiretapping, the Patriot Act, and others.
6) Connected to number 5, Goodlatte sat on the subcommittee for Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. From 2003 to 2005. He sat there with all the data available on illegal wiretapping and other horrible terrorism information as it happened.
7) His largest contribution is 10,000 dollars from American Crystal Sugar. I've been away for awhile, but did the district start raising sugar cane (punny raisingkane reference)?

See, a good politician could easily beat Goodlatte on the issues. Instead, Rasoul is busy with his own agenda.

Here's some open-source research. Sam Rasoul's father (who one, supposed, Rasoul Campaign Supporter compared (inadvertently) with Osama) is a writer. He's educated, and as far as I know, and has always been a good American. But, in his book The Naked Truth, he describes how the ATF charged his family members with felonies. I searched the names and found out that Rasoul's cousins and uncle were represented by...wait for it...Goodlatte's law firm. Is it possible, at least in rumors around my office, that Rasoul may be running a weak campaign to secure Goodlatte (a weak candidate) the election?

Democrats should really just close their eyes, pull the leaver, and think of England.

Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc

A lot has been going on in the sixth district, most due to the new faces in the Congressional Race. There's Sam Rasoul-whose birth name is Salam. And then there is Janice Lee Allen-who use to be married and used to go by the last name of Boyd.

From what I gather from their websites, newspaper interviews, and other media (such as blogs and youtube), they are acting like normal candidates in a campaign. Each have done irritating, if not illegal, things. Sam doesn't refer to Israel as Israel, but as Palestine (annoying). Allen is self-funded (apparently), with nothing reported to the FEC (maybe illegal). Sam paid for constituents' gas (maybe illegal). And Allen has groups of supporters (I have a feeling some of these may be Goodlatte's people) running around making the ever so slightly racist comments (annoying).

Either way, in all of this Bob Goodlatte, the sitting Republican has been quiet, gaining money to plaster his name across the air-waves this Fall. As the trees turn, so will the billboards and lawn signs to GOODLATTE FOR CONGRESS.

The point to be made here is that these two challengers, Rasoul, the Democrat, and Allen, the independent, are being normal candidates and must be looked at on merit. Hey, that'd be a good two-part analysis for you people.

Next time.