Thursday, June 05, 2008

We Endorse!

Members of the community Northern Virginia progressive bloggers proudly endorse the following candidates in their primaries on Tuesday, June 10th:

Leslie Byrne, 11th CD Congressional candidate
Judy Feder, 10th CD Congressional candidate
Jim Moran, 8th CD Congressional candidate


RK has an excellent write up on each of these candidates and the reason why Blueweeds, Bryan Scafford, Leesburg Tomorrow and Not Larry Sabato are joining me and RK in this joint endorsement. Here is our joint endorsement.
Jim Moran - 8th
While the corporate media only seems to focus on Jim Moran when he makes a misstatement or a mistake, the truth is that Jim is working hard for Northern Virginia and the nation on a wide variety of issues everyday. Jim was an early vote against the war in Iraq and has continued to oppose the war, even moving away from his former DLC allies over this and other issues (e.g., "free trade" vs. "fair trade"). Jim has been a strong voice for Northern Virginia on the House Appropriations Committee, has done great work on the BRAC issue, and is a strong environmentalist. In addition, Jim and his office have been great friends of the netroots and the Virginia progressive blogosphere. In contrast, Jim's opponent is an unknown who has made no case for replacing the 9-term incumbent. Elections are not about achieving the perfect, they are a choice between the candidates on the ballot. In this matchup, it's Moran by a mile.

Judy Feder - 10th
The 10th CD primary offers Democrats an easy choice. In 2006, Judy Feder gave Frank Wolf the toughest race he's seen in more than a decade. This year, Judy is building on what she accomplished the last time around. For 2008, she has started earlier, is raising more money, and has built a highly capable campaign team -- all in a district that is trending blue and in a year which has seen record Democratic turnout across the country. Needless to say, the Republicans are worried, and justifiably so; perhaps that's why they've already begun attacking Judy.

Electability is essential, but Judy offers much more. First and foremost, she is one of the leading experts in this country on health care. This could prove to be a tremendous asset to President Obama as he works to ensure that all Americans have access to high-quality, affordable, universal health care coverage. In addition, as a veteran of the health care battles of the 1990s, Judy will help President Obama and the Democratic Congress avoid past pitfalls in getting this done.

In addition to health care, Judy believes in balancing the federal budget, paying as you go, getting out of Iraq responsibly, ending our oil addiction, and protecting our environment. As a member of Congress, she will bring her tremendous work ethic and intellectual rigor to these and other issues. We strongly and enthusiastically endorse Judy Feder for Congress!

Leslie Byrne - 11th
We join Jim Webb, Chap Petersen, Donald McEachin and many others in enthusiastically endorsing Leslie Byrne for Congress.

Leslie is a proven winner, having carried the 11th district in 2005, with 55% of the vote. Leslie is a strong progressive, something she has proven her entire career. Leslie is effective, having introduced and passed more legislation than any other freshman representative while in Congress. Leslie has principles; in 1993, she voted against NAFTA out of concern for labor rights and the environment. Leslie has guts; she did the politically risky thing and voted for President Clinton's tax package. Several Democrats lost their seats because of this vote, but it was the right thing to do, leading to balanced budgets and contributing to the years of prosperity in the 1990s. Finally, Leslie has her priorities straight, fighting for working people as opposed the powerful special interests and the super-rich. We strongly urge all Democrats in the 11th CD to vote for Leslie Byrne on June 10.
This is the last weekend before the June 10th primaries in NoVa. I urge you to get out and work for any of these fine candidates in this last GOTV effort the rest of this week and this weekend. And certainly, get out next Tuesday and VOTE!

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