Still gathering details but it appears that DPVA asked for an emergency Sixth District Committee meeting last night or Levar Stoney, Executive Director for DPVA, simply crashed it.
Levar was in Roanoke for David Layman's funeral which was held Saturday morning. At some point later in the day, the 6th met with Levar present.
The reason I'm thinking it may have been asked for by DPVA on an emergency basis is that some regular channels of communications weren't used and voting members first heard of the meeting while in Roanoke on Saturday morning.
Will let you know more as the situation clears up.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Sixth District Delegate Allocation
The entire process of how the delegates will be selected is now up in the air in the wake of David Layman's passing. Originally folks would caucus by Presidential preference then within that group select the appropriate number of delegates based on Congressional preference. For example, in Bedford the Hillary folks would select a three delegate congressional slate (either Sam or Drew) and the Obama folks would select a three delegate congressional slate. That meant that it was winner take all within a presidential camp by jurisdiction.
However, now there are rumors that the congressional caucuses may be run completely independently of the presidential selection process. If that is the case, then these have just become winner take all further increasing the influence of Roanoke and Lynchburg.
It might also be pertinent to point out that Linda Wyatt, 1st Vice-Chair of the Sixth and presumably the acting Chair, not only publicly supports Sam but has registered to be a pledged delegate for the Rasoul campaign. There have been no public statements yet from Richardson demanding a recusal or Linda on anything relating to the caucuses, although I'm sure the phone has been ringing at both 3:00 and 3:01 AM.
However, now there are rumors that the congressional caucuses may be run completely independently of the presidential selection process. If that is the case, then these have just become winner take all further increasing the influence of Roanoke and Lynchburg.
It might also be pertinent to point out that Linda Wyatt, 1st Vice-Chair of the Sixth and presumably the acting Chair, not only publicly supports Sam but has registered to be a pledged delegate for the Rasoul campaign. There have been no public statements yet from Richardson demanding a recusal or Linda on anything relating to the caucuses, although I'm sure the phone has been ringing at both 3:00 and 3:01 AM.
| Locality | Delegates | Alternates | % of District | HILLARY | OBAMA |
| Alleghany & Covington | 2 | 1 | 1.36% | 1 | 1 |
| Amherst | 7 | 3 | 4.76% | 3 | 4 |
| Augusta | 11 | 6 | 7.48% | 5 | 6 |
| Bath | 1 | 1 | 0.68% | 1 | 0 |
| Bedford | 6 | 3 | 4.08% | 3 | 3 |
| Botetourt | 7 | 4 | 4.76% | 4 | 3 |
| Highland | 1 | 0 | 0.68% | 0 | 1 |
| Roanoke | 20 | 10 | 13.61% | 11 | 9 |
| Rockbridge | 5 | 3 | 3.40% | 2 | 3 |
| Rockingham | 11 | 6 | 7.48% | 5 | 6 |
| Shenandoah | 8 | 4 | 5.44% | 4 | 4 |
| Buena Vista | 1 | 1 | 0.68% | 1 | 0 |
| Harrisonburg | 7 | 3 | 4.76% | 2 | 5 |
| Lexington | 2 | 1 | 1.36% | 1 | 1 |
| Lynchburg | 16 | 8 | 10.88% | 5 | 11 |
| Roanoke (city) | 26 | 13 | 17.69% | 11 | 15 |
| Salem | 6 | 3 | 4.08% | 3 | 3 |
| Staunton | 6 | 3 | 4.08% | 2 | 4 |
| Waynesboro | 4 | 2 | 2.72% | 2 | 2 |
| Total 6th District | 147 | 75 | 66 | 81 |
Friday, March 21, 2008
When Candidates Compensate [Update]
"My sign is bigger than yours"
In case you hadn't heard, Sam Rasoul has had 4x4 signs up all over the district for close to a year now. Only problem is that Botetourt County ordinance explicitly ban political signs from being displayed until 60 days before the election. As such the County Board of Supervisors send a letter to the the County Democratic, Republican and Libertarian Parties reminding them of said ordinances.
Result: Sam gets the Virginia ACLU to send a letter threating to litigate against any action taken against the Rasoul campaign.
81Blue's "thoughts":
In case you hadn't heard, Sam Rasoul has had 4x4 signs up all over the district for close to a year now. Only problem is that Botetourt County ordinance explicitly ban political signs from being displayed until 60 days before the election. As such the County Board of Supervisors send a letter to the the County Democratic, Republican and Libertarian Parties reminding them of said ordinances.
Result: Sam gets the Virginia ACLU to send a letter threating to litigate against any action taken against the Rasoul campaign.
81Blue's "thoughts":
- First off, Sam/ACLU are correct. This is a clearly unconstitutional law and an issue on which the Supreme Court has already spoken on.
- That being said, it is the currently unlawful to place 4X4 signs in Botetourt County.
- Yard signs don't vote (no matter how big)
- Sam is pissing off residents and elected officials of Botetourt County
- Botetourt provides less than 5% of delegates to the Sixth District nominating convention, only 7 of 147.
"I agree with the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors that political (and other) signage is largely a blight on the environment and a disservice to those who enjoy the beauty of this Valley. I also agree with the ACLU that a form of legalized compliance is probably not necessary and likely does infringe upon freedom of speech.
"I believe that common sense, good judgment and particularly respect for the opinions of those members of the community whose support is sought in an election should be sufficient reason for not putting up such signs far in advance of a general election.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Losing a True Leader
I didn't post this earlier because of conflicting rumors but it saddens me to say that it has now been confirmed.
David Layman Chairman of the Sixth District Committee passed away early this morning after suffering a heart attack last night as the Sixth District Committee meeting was getting underway.
David was truly admired by everyone that had the honor of working with him. His hard work and passion for "doing things right" is something that will be missed in the Valley's Democratic family.
All our thoughts should be with his surviving family and if I hear of any family wishes I'll be sure to pass them on.
In all Fairness...
Needless to say I'm currently looking at Goodlatte's reports and they're just a tad bit longer and convoluted. These puppies are gonna take some time to digest, but here are the quick and dirty highlights just looking at the '08 cycle reports.
- Goodlatte has $1.3 Million in the bank on 12/31/07.
- Looking at just the 08 cycle, he has
shaken downraised more money from PACs than individuals. - 96% of his PAC donors are "Business PACs" according to the Center for Responsive Politics
- Goodlatte's own PAC the "Good PAC" (can he say that with a straight face?) has raised $185,000 and spent $152,000.
- Good PAC spent $43,977 at the Homestead in Hot Springs, VA on 8/14/2007 for "lodging and general catering". At those prices, they better have gotten some Client #9 Real Man of Genius level service.
- Of the $185,000 raised for '08 only about $32,000 is from individuals. The rest are from other PACs such as Altria, Capital One, etc... See, here's the thing, corporate PACs can only give a certain amount to Goode's campaign. So Goodlatte sets up a "leadership PAC" essentially allowing his corporate
puppet masterssupporters to "double up" and max out twice. It's really rather convenient how it works. - Goodlatte is on the Agriculture committee supposedly to represent his many agriculture based constituents (we love us some farms in the 6th). Yet, PACs for such corporations as BASF and Bayer are
bribing investing purchasingshowing their support right along with Croplife America, which you may know by their previous name "National Agricultural Chemical Association" which is the trade group for pesticide manufacturers. Not really a farmer-centered "donor coalition" we have going on.
These bullet points are endless and really each deserves it's own post to looked at in more detail and with context. The point I hoped to make is that this man has more corporate backers than the Chamber of Commerce.
Stay tuned same 81Blue cave same 81Blue time we got a lot more where this came from.
...The FEC Letters
Well this is certainly a lot more negative than I planned on opening with but how can I not bring this up for public discussion? I certainly hope Sam's new Campaign Manager can fix this quick. Howell stated in his email that his reason for resigning from the Rasoul campaign was that when employed as Sam's CM, Sam outright refused to show him any financial documents. Can someone please let Sam know that he needs a professional finance staffer to fix this before we lose the most visible Democrat we've seen in the 6th.
If the Richardson campaign had sent you to this link on the FEC website you would have noted that the Rasoul campaign has already received THREE letters from the FEC demanding more information and threatening audits and "enforcement actions".
Some reasons for FEC letters to Rasoul for Congress
If the Richardson campaign had sent you to this link on the FEC website you would have noted that the Rasoul campaign has already received THREE letters from the FEC demanding more information and threatening audits and "enforcement actions".
Some reasons for FEC letters to Rasoul for Congress
- "Your report fails to include an FEC form 3Z-1. Form 3Z-1 is used to disclose the total gross receipts...
- "All contributions and disbursements... are designated for the 2008 General Election" (note: I thought we were in a primary here).
- "Your report discloses a contribution from a unincorporated partnership/limited liability corporation/sole proprietorship... as a reminder, contributions from campaigns are prohibited"
- "You have itemized disbursements for which you have failed to include the complete name, complete address and/or purpose"
- "Contributions and/or loans from the personal funds of the candidate... failure to disclose... please correct the discrepancy" (note: emphasis in the original)
Sam has made Campaign Finance Reform and the "evils of money in politics" THE centerpiece of his campaign. Is it unfair to ask that he himself fully disclose where he is getting his funding from? Is it too much to ask of candidates that we support to figure out how to file a simple finance report and uphold minimal disclosure law?
There is a silver lining to all this though. Sam raised over $100,000 in 2007 as a first time candidate before he even had staff in place. Not shabby at all. While I am very seriously concerned about his troubles with the FEC I think the Richardson attack of pointing out his out of district funds was a little premature. I'm sure right about now Drew has realized that there aren't that many Democratic donors in the Sixth and he'll probably have to raise out of district cash himself if he plans on being competitive.
Sam has shown he certainly deserves to win rookie of the year, possibly even nationwide, and will certainly be someone we will be hearing about for decades to come. Let's just hope his new Campaign Manager can mold him into the Michael Jordan of VA politics and not the Sam Bowie (the guy Portland drafted instead of picking MJ)
For the record I want to point out that Drew Richardson does not have any publicly available finance report since he had not raised or spent $1,001 or more as of 12/31/07, which is the last reported date with the FEC. Of course, the reason being was that he was not even a declared candidate at that time. When his financials come out in mid-April that cover through March 31st, I will be looking very closely at those as well.
WTF! Call the Lawyers?
Nothing is better than catching a campaign lie while on the attack so I did a little fact checking on the Richardson campaign. I went ahead and looked at Sam's FEC finance reports as Rick suggested and either Drew is holding back some serious heat or they need to hire someone more competent at opposition research.
The first thing I noticed is that Sam has filed each finance report THREE TO FIVE TIMES, that's an original filing plus two-four amended reports for EACH and EVERY Quarter. Anyone who has even thought about doing campaign finance knows that there are more red flags in that than there are at a Chinese military parade.
Even more interestingly is that the original reports were filed and signed by campaign Treasurer Kathleen D Tucei. Many subsequent reports were filed and signed by Treasurer Sam Rasoul. This is perhaps the most absurd move in campaigns since Dukakis wanted to play bobblehead in a tank.
A person who signs an FEC report as Treasurer is personally liable for the report. Let me be clear: Sam Rasoul THE CANDIDATE is now liable for both criminal and civil actions the FEC would bring against the Sam Rasoul for Congress Campaign.
Why would they put themselves in that situation?? Richardson worked for the god damned FBI, do you really think he's not looking into this deeper than Howell's email suggests? A simple arithmetic mistake on those reports would lead to a letter from the FEC and allow Drew to say something along the lines of "Not only was the Sam Rasoul campaign found to be filing inaccurate finance reports, but Mr. Rasoul himself has been personally implicated in actions brought by the FEC. In fact, he signed the reports himself which yada yada yada"
It's going to take me some time to look over the FIVE reports Sam filed for January 1 - March 31 2007 and rinse repeat the process for Q2, 3 & 4 but I'm very curious to see what "amendments" needed to be made four times over.
Did this have something to do with both Kathleen Tucei and Rick Howell leaving? Enquiring minds want to know.
The first thing I noticed is that Sam has filed each finance report THREE TO FIVE TIMES, that's an original filing plus two-four amended reports for EACH and EVERY Quarter. Anyone who has even thought about doing campaign finance knows that there are more red flags in that than there are at a Chinese military parade.
Even more interestingly is that the original reports were filed and signed by campaign Treasurer Kathleen D Tucei. Many subsequent reports were filed and signed by Treasurer Sam Rasoul. This is perhaps the most absurd move in campaigns since Dukakis wanted to play bobblehead in a tank.
A person who signs an FEC report as Treasurer is personally liable for the report. Let me be clear: Sam Rasoul THE CANDIDATE is now liable for both criminal and civil actions the FEC would bring against the Sam Rasoul for Congress Campaign.
Why would they put themselves in that situation?? Richardson worked for the god damned FBI, do you really think he's not looking into this deeper than Howell's email suggests? A simple arithmetic mistake on those reports would lead to a letter from the FEC and allow Drew to say something along the lines of "Not only was the Sam Rasoul campaign found to be filing inaccurate finance reports, but Mr. Rasoul himself has been personally implicated in actions brought by the FEC. In fact, he signed the reports himself which yada yada yada"
It's going to take me some time to look over the FIVE reports Sam filed for January 1 - March 31 2007 and rinse repeat the process for Q2, 3 & 4 but I'm very curious to see what "amendments" needed to be made four times over.
Did this have something to do with both Kathleen Tucei and Rick Howell leaving? Enquiring minds want to know.
Mud Meet Sling
Drew did they teach you that at the Academy?
Drew sent a clear warning shot at Sam in his opening salvo. Well I should say first mass communication, because this isn't the first time Drew has taken a jab at Sam. In his original stump speech a few weeks back Drew had the line "Being a Congressman isn't an entry level position". I know at least a few folks who thought that was a little too harsh. Then again, they are committee members who publicly support Sam. I haven't heard that line for a few weeks now or any recent "OMG, can you believe he said that about my BFF Sam" recently, so seems that particular line of attack has been axed.
The new line came to us courtesy of the Richardson campaign in an email signed by Rick Howell. That's Sam's very own former Campaign Manager Mr. Rick Howell. Who also reposted his comments on his blog Rick Howell Speaks.
Drew sent a clear warning shot at Sam in his opening salvo. Well I should say first mass communication, because this isn't the first time Drew has taken a jab at Sam. In his original stump speech a few weeks back Drew had the line "Being a Congressman isn't an entry level position". I know at least a few folks who thought that was a little too harsh. Then again, they are committee members who publicly support Sam. I haven't heard that line for a few weeks now or any recent "OMG, can you believe he said that about my BFF Sam" recently, so seems that particular line of attack has been axed.
The new line came to us courtesy of the Richardson campaign in an email signed by Rick Howell. That's Sam's very own former Campaign Manager Mr. Rick Howell. Who also reposted his comments on his blog Rick Howell Speaks.
he's only raised 1.9 % of his funds from the Sixth District. Keep in mind, too, that we're talking about someone who has been campaigning for more than a year.
Before Democrats nominate a candidate with caucuses in April, and a convention in May, I don't think it's too much to ask that Mr. Rasoul explain exactly why he's so dependent upon money from Ohio, Wisconsin, Florida, Illinois, and, specifically, Louisiana (where, for example, he raised slightly more than $29,000, nearly 39 percent of his total for 2007). What's up with this?
There's also a troubling matter of non-disclosure about some of his donors. The Center for Responsive Politics noted that a full 9% of his donors had "no information about the donor's employer and/or occupation ... listed." Bob Goodlatte, by the way, had fully complied with the disclosure requirements.
So, again, as I said before in my previous post, about this race, Democrats in the Sixth District have to absolutely pick the best candidate, the one with the most experience to run a credible race against the incumbent. All this again suggests very strongly that Drew Richardson is the best choice here.
note: emphasis in the original
Drew Richardson Initial Thoughts
Note: These are my initial thoughts on Drew Richardson. My thoughts on Sam Rasoul are in the post directly before this post.
Besides being an undecided active Dem I haven't really looked into the candidates more deeply than the average voter yet, but these are my thoughts as where I stand now and what the "word on the street" is. As I start researching the candidates, their campaigns, facebooking their staffers for embarrasing pictures from that night at the Frat party they can't really remember and so on my undecidedness may change but I don't foresee that happening until a few days before my County Caucus.
Keep in mind that I'll certainly praise and probably offend both candidates and their uncles on this blog but don't take it as outright support or a race altering endorsement unless it has the words "I support" in the post title.
Pros: According to his bio he not only was a Special Agent at the FBI but the man was the inspiration for Nicholas Cage's role in "the Rock". How F'ing cool is that! Okay, that's a slight exageration on my part, but he did consult Cage which is still pretty awesome. Having a guy who put in 25 years at the FBI's chemical and biological anti-terrorist lab would probably be a good person to have around the capital building in case crazies start mailing in anthrax again or W re-asks "do you know what the F*CK you can do with an aluminum tube??!!??". Of course the correct answer would be "well, not enrich uranium with these particular not-to-spec aluminum tubes".
Cons: Sorry, who are you again? Sam has a one year head start on Drew and has already locked up some key votes in what is sure to be a low turnout caucus. Drew has the better resume, but he may have gotten too late a start. Drew also doesn't have a political history. Granted he was under the Hatch Act while at the FBI (for some reason if you carry a gun and a badge they don't let you campaign) but it's been a few years since he's retired and could probably have started earlier.
He also seems to be a conservative Democrat. A pretty middle of the road Creigh kinda guy, not some crazy Zel Miller Democrat which would help in the general but may hurt in the activist dominated caucuses against Sam "Liberal Champion" Rasoul.
81Blue's "thoughts" Drew had professional staff on the day he announced almost two months ago. He has hired Adam Sharp, a native of the Valley, who also has some electoral experience in these parts. Adam ran Bruce Roemmelt's campaign last year and was heading up the Karen Schultz campaign until the Senate Caucus took over and replaced him with a team of Washington consultants that pretty much screwed the pooch on that one.
One interesting tidbit. I've been hearing a lot recently that the state leadership of the Virginia Young Democrats are not too pleased with Sam, in fact they may actually personally dislike the guy and want him to lose. This is in spite of the fact that Sam is 26 and will be a VAYD for another 9 years!! Adam is a former member of the state VAYD committee and their former blogger. Now that may just be a coincidence, but an experienced former leadership YD with extensive blogger connections doesn't seem like an accident to me...someone get the popcorn I got dibs on the front row.
Besides being an undecided active Dem I haven't really looked into the candidates more deeply than the average voter yet, but these are my thoughts as where I stand now and what the "word on the street" is. As I start researching the candidates, their campaigns, facebooking their staffers for embarrasing pictures from that night at the Frat party they can't really remember and so on my undecidedness may change but I don't foresee that happening until a few days before my County Caucus.
Keep in mind that I'll certainly praise and probably offend both candidates and their uncles on this blog but don't take it as outright support or a race altering endorsement unless it has the words "I support" in the post title.
Pros: According to his bio he not only was a Special Agent at the FBI but the man was the inspiration for Nicholas Cage's role in "the Rock". How F'ing cool is that! Okay, that's a slight exageration on my part, but he did consult Cage which is still pretty awesome. Having a guy who put in 25 years at the FBI's chemical and biological anti-terrorist lab would probably be a good person to have around the capital building in case crazies start mailing in anthrax again or W re-asks "do you know what the F*CK you can do with an aluminum tube??!!??". Of course the correct answer would be "well, not enrich uranium with these particular not-to-spec aluminum tubes".
Cons: Sorry, who are you again? Sam has a one year head start on Drew and has already locked up some key votes in what is sure to be a low turnout caucus. Drew has the better resume, but he may have gotten too late a start. Drew also doesn't have a political history. Granted he was under the Hatch Act while at the FBI (for some reason if you carry a gun and a badge they don't let you campaign) but it's been a few years since he's retired and could probably have started earlier.
He also seems to be a conservative Democrat. A pretty middle of the road Creigh kinda guy, not some crazy Zel Miller Democrat which would help in the general but may hurt in the activist dominated caucuses against Sam "Liberal Champion" Rasoul.
81Blue's "thoughts" Drew had professional staff on the day he announced almost two months ago. He has hired Adam Sharp, a native of the Valley, who also has some electoral experience in these parts. Adam ran Bruce Roemmelt's campaign last year and was heading up the Karen Schultz campaign until the Senate Caucus took over and replaced him with a team of Washington consultants that pretty much screwed the pooch on that one.
One interesting tidbit. I've been hearing a lot recently that the state leadership of the Virginia Young Democrats are not too pleased with Sam, in fact they may actually personally dislike the guy and want him to lose. This is in spite of the fact that Sam is 26 and will be a VAYD for another 9 years!! Adam is a former member of the state VAYD committee and their former blogger. Now that may just be a coincidence, but an experienced former leadership YD with extensive blogger connections doesn't seem like an accident to me...someone get the popcorn I got dibs on the front row.
Sam Rasoul Initial Impressions
Note: These are my initial thoughts on Sam Rasoul. My thoughts on his primary opponent Drew Richardson are in the very next post.
Besides being an undecided active Dem I haven't really looked into the candidates more deeply than the average voter yet, but these are my thoughts as where I stand now and what the "word on the street" is. As I start researching the candidates, their campaigns, facebooking their staffers for embarrasing pictures from that night at the Frat party they can't really remember and so on my undecidedness may change but I don't foresee that happening until a few days before my County Caucus.
Keep in mind that I'll certainly praise and probably offend both candidates and their uncles on this blog but don't take it as outright support or a race altering endorsement unless it has the words "I support" in the post title.
Sam Rasoul
Pros: Is a 26 year old business man whose bio states he got started by creating several small businesses in women's fitness, tanning, movie rentals and real estate. Hey, if I had an MBA at 22 and my father owned some commercial properties I could rent on the cheap I'd probably some "small businesses in women's fitness, tanning" myself. If you ever have the honor of meeting his foxy wife, you probably would too. Since then he has gone on to start the American subsidiary of a German medical supplier.
His bio also highlights his work with The Hope Fund a charity which benefits Middle Eastern students with a focus on the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
Cons: Where's the beef? I'm not entirely sure that Sam has the experience to either be a Congressman or take on Goodlatte. He has made several rookie mistakes such as beginning his campaign stating that he was pro-life, initially using the website samrasoul.us which no one would find, and blowing through half his cash on hand by the 12/31/07 report. He's a really nice guy and I think he's in this for all the right reasons but someone has to ask "why would the conservative voters choose a 26 year old medical salesman over their Congressman they know and love?"
81Blue's "thoughts": Sam has run the most energetic Democratic campaign the 6th has probably ever seen. During the past year he has met with anyone willing to listen regardless of their political stances spanning the gambit from getting the endorsement of the former Chair of the Virginia Green Party to meeting with a local group of Ron Paul supporters. The blogosphere and activists have generally rewarded him for it. Sam has garnered early and public support from VA blogs and local Democratic Committee Members. That's the kind of campaign we need to unseat Goodlatte in November.
Sam might also have enough time to recover from some earlier mistakes. He has recently hired Mario Piscatella to be his Campaign Manager. Mario has some Caucus experience which may come in handy for Sam having been a Field staffer for Chris Dodd in Iowa and a "Caucus Organizer" for the Nevada Democratic Party helping them set up for their huge turnout caucuses.
Besides being an undecided active Dem I haven't really looked into the candidates more deeply than the average voter yet, but these are my thoughts as where I stand now and what the "word on the street" is. As I start researching the candidates, their campaigns, facebooking their staffers for embarrasing pictures from that night at the Frat party they can't really remember and so on my undecidedness may change but I don't foresee that happening until a few days before my County Caucus.
Keep in mind that I'll certainly praise and probably offend both candidates and their uncles on this blog but don't take it as outright support or a race altering endorsement unless it has the words "I support" in the post title.
Sam Rasoul
Pros: Is a 26 year old business man whose bio states he got started by creating several small businesses in women's fitness, tanning, movie rentals and real estate. Hey, if I had an MBA at 22 and my father owned some commercial properties I could rent on the cheap I'd probably some "small businesses in women's fitness, tanning" myself. If you ever have the honor of meeting his foxy wife, you probably would too. Since then he has gone on to start the American subsidiary of a German medical supplier.
His bio also highlights his work with The Hope Fund a charity which benefits Middle Eastern students with a focus on the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
Cons: Where's the beef? I'm not entirely sure that Sam has the experience to either be a Congressman or take on Goodlatte. He has made several rookie mistakes such as beginning his campaign stating that he was pro-life, initially using the website samrasoul.us which no one would find, and blowing through half his cash on hand by the 12/31/07 report. He's a really nice guy and I think he's in this for all the right reasons but someone has to ask "why would the conservative voters choose a 26 year old medical salesman over their Congressman they know and love?"
81Blue's "thoughts": Sam has run the most energetic Democratic campaign the 6th has probably ever seen. During the past year he has met with anyone willing to listen regardless of their political stances spanning the gambit from getting the endorsement of the former Chair of the Virginia Green Party to meeting with a local group of Ron Paul supporters. The blogosphere and activists have generally rewarded him for it. Sam has garnered early and public support from VA blogs and local Democratic Committee Members. That's the kind of campaign we need to unseat Goodlatte in November.
Sam might also have enough time to recover from some earlier mistakes. He has recently hired Mario Piscatella to be his Campaign Manager. Mario has some Caucus experience which may come in handy for Sam having been a Field staffer for Chris Dodd in Iowa and a "Caucus Organizer" for the Nevada Democratic Party helping them set up for their huge turnout caucuses.
About 81Blue
Q. 81Blue, yeah it sounds like a food additive so why name a blog 81Blue?
A. Y, because we love you M O U. Sorry about that, okay back on track. Well because we are covering the Sixth District which is basically I81 from I66 down to Roanoke, the "Route 81 Corridor" as some like to call it. The Smurf reference is because we're Democrats (no seriously, Democrats in the 6th, you better believe your sweet...just believe it).
In all seriousness though, the 6th has been represented by Goodlatte for way too long and 81Blue is just a tad bit excited that we not only have a serious Democratic challenger this year, we actually have 2.5! The extra 0.5 comes from Goodlatte's own record, it reads like a horror story, but more on that later.
We have two excellent candidates in Drew Richardson and Sam Rasoul that are vying for a heads up match at the final table against Goodlatte. Let's see what happens.
If you just want Goodlatte to lose in November you can donate to the VA-06 Democratic Nominee Fund which is held in escrow by ActBlue and is transfered once we have a nominee. Let's not wait 'til the May convention in Lexington to start building up the resources we need to defeat the 'Honorable' "I vote for torture" Goodlatte.
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