tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10563856.post5248616590736770357..comments2023-10-23T11:10:05.945-04:00Comments on Karen Duncan: Life in the Time of Coronavirus: The Survival of the Progressive Virginia BlogosphereKaren Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13954405672195734097noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10563856.post-6803327894255048692009-03-31T22:56:00.000-04:002009-03-31T22:56:00.000-04:00Ladies, I couldn't agree with you more. And perhap...Ladies, I couldn't agree with you more. And perhaps I could solicit your help. I'm the editor of our new Raising Moran report (weekly e-newsletter). If you haven't gotten the premiere issue, let me know and I'll send it to you. It's all positive stuff about Brian. We are working on building up our mailing list so if you have friends, family, co-workers that you would like to see receive it, let me know. eileen@vbdems.org<BR/><BR/>Thanks!Eileen Levandoskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01783722203049706434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10563856.post-83400321442678641722009-03-31T21:56:00.000-04:002009-03-31T21:56:00.000-04:00Catzmaw, you said some really brilliant things tha...Catzmaw, you said some really brilliant things that I want to expand on in a post some time, and give you credit for being the originator.<BR/><BR/>I really like your suggestion that Brian should, indeed, be the Happy Warrior - an expression I hadn't heard in years and what a tragedy that this country didn't elect Humphrey (though in 68, when I was 14, I didn't realize it). I think we would have been a far different, far better place if we had.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, I agree with everything you said. I have always found Brian to be a warm, engaging, down to earth and sincere person with good ideas. He's labored in the trenches for Virginia for years.<BR/><BR/>I'd like to see him stick to the positives. He's moving ahead in the polls. If he concentrates on his vision for Virginia's future, I think the momentum will continue to build for him.Karen Duncanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13954405672195734097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10563856.post-78308516793301407362009-03-31T11:28:00.000-04:002009-03-31T11:28:00.000-04:00Karen, I have also been very dismayed by the negat...Karen, I have also been very dismayed by the negativity of the Moran campaign. I've known Brian for two decades. He's not a negative type of person and does not revel in sticking it to opponents. So I agree, this tone is set by others around him, and it really is to his detriment.<BR/><BR/>Brian is an incredibly engaging, intelligent, hardworking, and charming person. He has a great track record and plenty of natural talent. Why, then, the resort to such negativity? This focus on the negative has deprived his campaign of a very strong, positive message. His inside knowledge of Virginia politics cannot be matched, yet I see no emphasis by his campaign on this, his greatest strength. <BR/><BR/>Brian could easily run as the happy warrior, the positive force, who has the gravitas and inside understanding of Virginia politics which Terry McAuliffe lacks. Is T-Mac charming? Of course. Is Brian charming? Hells yes. Then why isn't he using his natural charm to draw away those who are enchanted by Terry's charm and haven't given much thought to what's behind the curtain? Why isn't he pointing to his accomplishments and his superior background in Virginia politics while gently laughing off T-Mac? Why isn't he telling us that it's one thing to have bold ideas and proposals and quite another to get a fractious and divided legislature to help you enact them? Why am I not hearing any of the stuff that would actually appeal to the average Virginia voter?<BR/><BR/>It's quite disheartening.Catzmawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09009812244200263064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10563856.post-731431036968101162009-03-30T21:24:00.000-04:002009-03-30T21:24:00.000-04:00Catzmaw, I too am a Moran supporter but I have be...Catzmaw, I too am a Moran supporter but I have been equally dismayed at some of the negativity coming out of his campaign. That's not the Brian I have known and revered for years. I feel a lot of his professional staff is misleading him.<BR/><BR/>I was at a campaign kickoff on Sunday, with a lot of others from one of the delegate districts within Braddock District. It's for one of my favorite Virginia delegates, David Bulova. And other Moran supporters approached me with their concerns that Brian is going too negative. That was after hearing him on Kojo Nande. These are not blog readers. They are both grassroots activists and party insiders.<BR/><BR/>Frankly, I lay the blame on Joe Trippi and Jerome Armstrong, whom I believe ought to be fired. If Brian listened to Jean Jensen and other Virginians, his campaign would be taking a more positive tone that we could be proud of.<BR/><BR/>Brian, personally, is incredibly courageous for standing up to several union internationals, the Building Trades and Miners among them, and opposing Surry. I've written my thoughts about that and what I think of coal. My family has lung problems. To put it bluntly, in my family we die from lung diseases. Of course it's personal to me, even without the mounting science of climate change and global warming.<BR/><BR/>But the tone coming out of the campaign troubles me because I think he will lose because of it.<BR/><BR/>That concerns me even more than the blogosphere. He's too good not to have a great campaign. He doesn't now.<BR/><BR/>Having said all that, I really believe the reconstituted Blue Commonwealth will be different. It will be under somewhat new management so, hopefully, it will get beyond the personality conflicts.<BR/><BR/>But I still think Trippi and Armstrong are the problems in the Moran campaign. Of course, I've thought that about Trippi since Dean melted down in Iowa, though.Karen Duncanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13954405672195734097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10563856.post-63130774593865566342009-03-30T20:55:00.000-04:002009-03-30T20:55:00.000-04:00I have mixed feelings about the demise of Blue Com...I have mixed feelings about the demise of Blue Commonwealth. As someone who doesn't spend quite as much time in the blogosphere as others I've relied upon other bloggers for information and coverage; however, I was dismayed at the kind of slant seen at BC. I'm a Moran supporter - no big secret there - and do not like all this personal venom directed not only at him, but at anyone working on his campaign. <BR/><BR/>Have some Moran supporters done inappropriate or objectionable things? Sure. But in reading BC every day I got the distinct impression of a double standard at work. There was a lot of anger at Moran supporters even for pointing out legitimate objections to the other candidates - particularly T-Mac, while it seemed okay to just bash the hell out of them and out of Moran for anything and everything, no matter how attenuated the connection to his campaign or how minor the issue complained of. <BR/><BR/>The last diary before the sudden decision by BC to close down really tore it for me. I saw a very personal attack directed at Jerome Armstrong, whom I don't even know, but when Moran supporters responded in kind they were excoriated while the attack on Jerome Armstrong was not even mentioned. Folks, if Armstrong had not been so inappropriately attacked there would not have been a response such as what caused the sudden shutdown of BC. That much is obvious just by reading all the comments. Moreover, it seemed to me that the same people promoting the agreement about standards against personal attacks were now engaging in them, then criticizing those who reacted on the same level. <BR/><BR/>If BC is going to come back it should either declare itself a partisan blog and be done with it, or if it asserts itself as a balanced voice of all progressives and Democrats then it should be just that. That comment about bringing BC back for bloggers who wish to conduct themselves appropriately will carry a lot more weight with the likes of me if I actually see such standards enforced for ALL involved and not just those who happen to support a candidate NOT supported by the majority of the BC inner circle.Catzmawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09009812244200263064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10563856.post-60675992470264515462009-03-30T18:35:00.000-04:002009-03-30T18:35:00.000-04:00Thanks for stopping by, Eileen. I agree with you ...Thanks for stopping by, Eileen. I agree with you that New Dominion Project is a great blog and its writers are a very talented group. It also has shown that younger people can often be more civil and mature than the supposed adults.<BR/><BR/>But I don't think they post enough or have enough contributors to fill the gap. <BR/><BR/>Anyway, I think there is room for two major blogs. Unlike newspapers or magazine, I don't think we compete for readers so much as share them. Indeed, how often do we all cross-post? Every blog I know encourages it, something no mainstream media publication would do. They would demand exclusive publishing rights from their writers. So, I don't see more blogs being threatening.<BR/><BR/>You know that the more blogs out there linking to each other, the more links we get and the higher the google ranking (btw, I think Repubs have figured this out by now so I'm not revealing any secrets). So, I'd still encourage BC to come back.<BR/><BR/>But I'd like to see it more civil than the last time. I hope none of us repeats the mistakes we made in the past.Karen Duncanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13954405672195734097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10563856.post-88516841696439184802009-03-30T17:38:00.000-04:002009-03-30T17:38:00.000-04:00I'd like to see New Dominion Project develop to fi...I'd like to see New Dominion Project develop to fill that void in the community blogosphere. We don't need anymore repeats of "Blue Commonwealth".Eileen Levandoskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01783722203049706434noreply@blogger.com