Press Releases

Demo Memo: 6/6/08

Posted by Greg on Friday, June 06

May 30, 2008 - June 6, 2008
www.vademocrats.org

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INTRODUCTION

This week, Virginia was witness to history, when Sen. Barack Obama made his first two campaign stops as our Democratic nominee right here in the Commonwealth.

Virginia Republicans, meanwhile, have spent the week reeling from a chaotic state convention that has left their party bruised and battered for the general election.

I think it's safe to say that our get-together in Hampton next weekend is going to be much more fun. So if you haven't already signed up, don't delay!

Even if you're not a delegate, you'll need a credential, so please register on our website as an attendee.

You can also join Governor Kaine at the Unity Celebration to support our coordinated campaign effort for 2008.

We'll see you next weekend!

Best,

Levar Stoney
Executive Director

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QUOTES OF THE WEEK

"If you vote for me, I will win Virginia. We will win this election. And we'll change the course of history."
- Sen. Barack Obama, campaigning in Bristow [Richmond Times-Dispatch, 6/6/08]

"There isn't an easy solution to the transportation problem -- no one likes paying taxes, and no one likes raising them. But governing isn't about doing the easy thing, it's about doing the right thing."
- House Minority Leader Ward Armstrong [Daily Press, 5/31/08]

"There are some people in our party that will run through a wall for Jim Gilmore, and there are others that won't cross the street to shake his hand."
- David Avella, chairman of the 8th District Republican Committee [Washington Post, 5/31/08]

"I think you are seeing a cataclysmic episode in the decline of the Republican Party of Virginia. It took us 30 years to build up this party, and now it is slipping away... The Republican Party has gotten out of touch with the general electorate."
- Former Del. Vince Callahan (R-McLean) [Washington Post, 6/3/08]

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HEADLINES

Gov. Tim Kaine

Gov. Kaine signs foster care reforms [Roanoke Times, 5/31/08]
Kaine touts transportation proposal [Daily Progress, 5/31/08]
Experts, Kaine urge all Virginians to use water more wisely [Richmond Times-Dispatch, 6/3/08]
Kaine: 'You don't have to do exactly what I ask, but let's act' [Daily Press, 6/4/08]

Sen. Jim Webb

Webb praises GI Bill for veterans [Danville Register & Bee, 6/1/08]
Senator Jim Webb, Choosing His Battles [Fresh Air interview, National Public Radio, 5/20/08]
Questions for Senator Jim Webb - The Contender [New York Times Magazine, 6/1/08]
Webb Joins Majority Standing Up to GOP Climate Filibuster [Raising Kaine, 6/6/08]

General Assembly

McDonnell pressed for roads proposal [Richmond Times-Dispatch, 5/31/08]
Supporters urge McDonnell to join roads debate [Virginian-Pilot, 5/31/08]
Democrats are working on real transportation needs [Del. Ward Armstrong op-ed, Daily Press, 5/31/08]
Better transportation benefits everyone [Bob Chase op-ed, Virginia Business Magazine, 6/1/08]
Compromise in Doubt For Va. Roads Funding [Washington Post, 6/2/08]
GOP plans to send Kaine's tax bill to unfriendly committee [Virginian-Pilot, 6/4/08]
Will special session on roads end up at dead end? [Daily Press, 6/5/08]

Election 2008

Raucous state GOP convention opens [Associated Press, 5/30/08]
To party faithful, Cheney says GOP candidates can win as Bush backers [Virginian-Pilot, 5/31/08]
Gilmore Beats Marshall in Nomination Nail-Biter [Washington Post, 6/1/08]
GOP factions battle party's heart and soul [Virginian-Pilot, 6/1/08]
John Warner Declines to Endorse Gilmore [Raising Kaine, 6/4/08]
Chichester Backs Democrat Mark Warner In Television Ad [Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 6/1/08]
Warner's Senate ideas [Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star editorial, 6/1/08]
The first Gilmore-Warner debate is set for July 19 [The Shad Plank, 6/5/08]
Obama Claims Nomination [Washington Post, 6/4/08]
Obama campaign stop is a message [Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 6/5/08]
Virginia is central to Obama's strategy [Daily Press, 6/5/08]
From Across Region, 10,000 Rally for Obama [Washington Post, 6/6/08]
Appearances Put Virginia On the Map for November [Washington Post, 6/6/08]
Obama Woos Virginia [Roanoke Times, 6/6/08]
Cook Political Report: Thelma Drake is a 'GOP trouble spot' [Raising Kaine, 6/5/08]
Perriello volunteers at adult day care [Martinsville Bulletin, 6/6/08]

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EDITORIAL HIGHLIGHTS

"Former Gov. Jim Gilmore today in Richmond will try to win the GOP Senate nomination at a convention of party activists, turning back the challenge of Del. Bob Marshall of Manassas, an outer-orbit social conservative. Mr. Gilmore, who's often blamed for leaving state finances in bad repair, got unexpected good news when a VCU poll found that 41 percent of Virginians don't know anything about him." [Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 5/31/08]

"To say that Jim Gilmore and the state Republican Party face a tough fight to retain John Warner's U.S. Senate would be to utter the understatement of the year... Gilmore's history portends a bitter, no-holds-barred fight against Warner, the kind of street brawl campaign you normally would expect to come across in New Jersey or New York." [Lynchburg News & Advance, 6/1/08]

"[O]n a statewide basis, Republicans should be concerned that they are being defined as being so completely to the right as a party... One cannot doubt the influence that the right wing of the party exercised in Richmond over the weekend. But, the question for the fall is how well their message will play out in a statewide election where they need moderate Republicans (and Democrats and Independents) on board with their message to have a realistic chance at retaining a Republican as one of Virginia's senators." [Daily News Record, 6/3/08]

"All in all, the state GOP over the weekend cemented the party's move farther to the right, even as Virginians are moving toward the center... Once so attuned to the mood of Virginia's electorate, the GOP's hard rightward shift over the weekend inspires no confidence that the party has learned the lessons of several recent election defeats, or that it has any intention of correcting its course back toward the state's growing practical middle." [Virginian-Pilot, 6/3/08]

"Last week's Republican state convention brought smiles to Virginia's Democrats. Former Gov. Jim Gilmore barely defeated Del. Bob Marshall for the GOP's senatorial nomination; Republicans deposed a party chairman skilled at building bridges." [Richmond Times-Dispatch, 6/3/08]

"But long shots are one thing, suicides another. The GOP barely avoided one in rejecting Mr. Marshall, a moralist whose legislative wardrobe includes no grays: He once wrote a bill to prevent single women, including young widows, from conceiving babies artificially." [Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 6/3/08]

"We don't necessarily agree with Marshall's views, yet we find ourselves in the odd position of saying, 'congratulations on a narrow defeat.' Here's to many more." [Potomac News, 6/5/08]

"Gilmore's minions are attempting to tar Warner as a 'limousine liberal' and as a tax-and-spend politician, but the facts don't back such an assertion. Warner raised taxes to plug a budget hole created by Gilmore administration policies, but did so with the support of many Republican state lawmakers. Gilmore comes from the no-tax, but still spend, wing of his party." [Bristol Herald Courier, 6/3/08]

"A good weekend for Virginia Republicans? Well, if the idea is to surround yourself with like-minded folks and fight the good fight, sure. But if the goal is to win over the general electorate - an electorate that for 30 years has liked what it has seen in the likes of John Warner - then the 2008 Republican convention may serve up a lasting hangover." [Daily Press, 6/4/08]

"On Wednesday the Greater Richmond Chamber held a transportation conference at Capital One's campus in West Creek. Attendees heard reports regarding the transportation network in Central Virginia and throughout the state... Although Republican legislators may have been in attendance, they did not assume a high profile during the morning discussion. We probably were not the only ones to notice." [Richmond Times-Dispatch, 5/31/08]

"If a history lesson helps, the current GOP approach to immigration is a reminder of how the party of Abraham Lincoln somehow managed to alienate 95 percent of the African-American vote." [Daily Press, 5/30/08]

"The higher education crisis is complex and its solution will require the continuing commitment of state and federal leaders and individual institutions. At the state level, Gov. Tim Kaine and lawmakers made admirable progress this year. A $1.5 billion bond package will help address increased demand for doctors, nurses and other professionals at colleges where those programs are now maxed out." [Virginian-Pilot, 6/2/08]

"You don't have to be a supporter of Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) -- in fact, you don't have to be a Democrat -- to feel good about the fact that he has won enough support to gain his party's nomination for the presidency." [Washington Post, 6/5/08]

"Earlier this year Gov. Tim Kaine put several executions on hold pending a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the constitutionality of death by lethal injection. Republican knees jerked. The GOP accused Kaine of violating his pledge not to interfere with Virginia's process for capital punishment. (Kaine opposes the death penalty but said he would not unilaterally impose his personal views on a state where the ultimate sanction remains legal.) Republicans ridiculed him as a candidate and continue to try to score points on the issue. During the hiatus created by the Supreme Court's deliberations, sneering Republicans in effect said, 'We told you so!' The court eventually decided that lethal injection passed the test. Last Tuesday night the Commonwealth of Virginia, acting on behalf of its citizenry, executed Kevin Greene, who had been convicted of capital murder in Brunswick County in 1998. Kaine declined to stop the proceedings. Justice was served. And we suspect the Grumpy Old Partisans' letter of sincere apologies -- to the governor and to Virginians generally -- will get lost in the mail." [Richmond Times-Dispatch, 6/1/08]

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DPVA PRESS RELEASES

DPVA to RPV: Actions Speak Louder Than Words! (May 30, 2008)

Virginia Democrats Congratulate New RPV Chair (May 31, 2008)

Gilmore's Rudy McRomney Comes to Town (June 5, 2008)

Chairman Cranwell Endorses Barack Obama (June 5, 2008)

McDonnell to Virginians, Business: Stay in Traffic (June 5, 2008)

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Primary Elections
June 10, 2008

Democratic State Convention
Hampton Roads Convention Center
Hampton, VA
June 14, 2008

General Election
November 4, 2008