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11.04.09 - 12:16 PM
Lying Down With Dogs
John Garamendi
With all the grim noise about GOP victories, it should be noted: John Garamendi, a progressive Democrat and supporter of single-payer health reform, won the other Congressional race, in California. And the GOP gubernatorial victory in Virginia was over a GOP-lite Democrat who abandoned any vaguely progressive stand he might have ever held, thus alienating any vaguely progressive voters who might have bothered to get off the couch and go vote for him. Lesson: You have to earn our support. More here and here.
Virginia's Democrat Creigh Deeds trying not to commit to anything
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19 Comments so far
Show AllMaybe Deeds doesn't like being touched by minorities?
Hardly. They're just playing a distance game even though both of them are shameless "centrists". Pathetic is what they are. I just checked the election results in detail. Even Northern VA went mainly for BM with the exception of Arlington County going for Deeds. Deeds stood with Obama on mountain top removal, opposed single payer for all Virginians, gave very vague ideas on solving transportation woes, and ran a very lame campaign on women and social issues to cover up his "centrism". I voted for Brian Moran in the primaries but sat this election out. There wasn't even a third party on the ballot unlike before.
Even Northern VA went mainly for BM...
As someone who grew-up and lived there for many years, The northern VA suburban area (aside from urban Arlington and Alexandria) is at least as conservative as any other part of the state. Virginia in general is a classic example of the causual relationship between the car-and-big-box oriented suburban/exurban environment, an economy that depends on the defense industry, and conservative politics. It is becoming a big Orange County CA, or Cobb County, GA.
In 2004, Fairfax County started treading Democrat. In 2005, Prince William and Loudoun counties followed suit. I have lived in Loudoun for over 10 years and have witnessed its transformation from rural to exurban. There is some suburban sprawl but it's not as bad as Fairfax County where it is always a crowded hell. The foreclosure hell hit Prince William and Loudoun counties the most. Last year, Obama won those two counties strong unlike this year where BM reversed that. People had hope for Obama to possibly reverse the crisis but nothing has changed. I wasn't surprised to see my county go back to red now that everyone has been up in arms all throughout this year about Obama continuing to fight for the banks with very little for the homeowners. Contrary to what most media outlets report, Deeds was associated with Obama negatively and his centrist campaigning was the lamest I have seen in 10 years.
Orange County, CA and Cobb County, GA according to www.uselectionatlas.org still stayed Republican in 2008. The Northern Virginia suburbs were beginning to tread liberal but Mark Warner and Obama are forcing them to go back to red. Webb is ok but too often silent most of the time. If Obama continues like he has, Webb will lose in 2012.
Hampton Roads was swing last year but solid red this time. Turnout was very low among Latinos, Afros, and the young in general but mighty high for the seniors and disabled vets. I knew that Deeds was up in smoke yesterday morning when I saw that kind of a crowd.
"There is some suburban sprawl but it's not as bad as Fairfax County where it is always a crowded hell."
Bit off topic, but any new/old urbanist would tell you that the problem with Fairfax county isn't it being too crowded, but not being crowded enough. The far denser older places like Arlington, the District, and where I now live in Pittsburgh, don't have traffic headaches, because the density means there are alternatives to driving because everything is closer and ther is viable public transit. The sense of community, public-space, and engagement with neighbors in such places leads to much more progressive politics. That's why city-dwellers are so left-wing compared to suburbanites.
I don't know Northern VA as much as Carla probably does but I can basically say that Loudoun, Prince William, and Fairfax are nowhere as conservative as the suburbs in Hampton Roads. I live in a suburb myself, VA Beach to be specific, and have met plenty more suburbanites who are open to going liberal. The problem with Deeds was he tried to run a "centrist" campaign and suburban voters took offense to his pandering to the wrong side. They're not conservative necessarily but they don't tolerate pandering for political points.
Public transportation in the suburbs is possible but there's always pressure to keep it off the radar and keep suburbanites deluded into staying hooked on driving.
Deeds could have been a progressive populist and the suburbs would have stayed heavily Democratic and put Deeds over the top but he did it all wrong and depressed the Democratic turnout.
I grew up and lived in NOVA from 1961 to 1991. Most of my large family still lives around there (one moved to near Charlottesville) although they now live further south as Fairfax County has become unaffordably affluent and expensive. They are all rather conservative and have been moving only further right recently.
My experience, and the position of profesional planners, is that it is very difficult to provide public transit that car-owners will use by choice in the typical suburban development pattern. A traditional main-street-and-block development pattern is needed, with at least 8-10 lots per acre. Many suburbanites think such densities lead to noise and traffic congestion, but just the opposite occurs. walkability, access to transit, much shorter and fewer car trips lead to a community that is quieter, and far more livable. Aside from a living in a rural area. The quietest neighborhood I lived in probably had 50 dwellings (townhouses) per acre. Lots of healthy interaction with neighbors, children playing outside and other goos stuff too.
The sense of common purpose in this environment leads to more "progressive" politics too. Maybe the shift to democrats in Fairfax County is related to it's higher densities - although it's affluent yupppie demographic tend to be social liberals but economic elitist - just like Obama. One sees this in the rich, trendy "old townes", as NOVA people call them, like Leesburg or Middleburg.
Obama's poor showing on the economy and health care spilled into local races. Deeds chose not to run on a populist platform and went down in FLAMES for it. At least Abby understands what we VA voters really want and don't want. Thank you.
Exactly. This wasn't just a vote against Obama; he isn't perceived as a leader anymore. This was a vote against Goldman Sachs in particular and a strong warning to zionsts that the people have had it with our Iraeli/Wall/War street government.
Goldman Sachs should see its stocks getting dumped with Corzine defeated. We got more of them to hunt down.
Deeds ran like a republican "Lite". Anytime voters have the chance to vote for a Republican or a Republican lite, they will choose the Republican every time. If Deeds had run as a real progressive, he would have won.
It is bad enough but they definitely don't want this getting out---the notion that unapologetic progressives win.
It is better to run as a conservative and lose than posture as a progressive to win and then betray those who voted for you.
I have never known but one intelligent Virginian. A former Marine Officer and today is a Senator in D.C.
I'm a Virginian but I am not dumb. I chose none of the above but that doesn't make me dumb.
Mr Deeds Goes to Washington....state.
"The only means of strengthening one's intellect is to make up one's mind about nothing, to let the mind be a thoroughfare for all thoughts." - John Keats
Everyone is worried about the economy. As if this poor economy is the progressives fault and Health care will make it worse. But The conservatives with their pro-life love of deadly, destructive, bloody wars have brought down the economy of America. This was the goal of Osama bin Laden. Do Americans really know how much these wars are costing in wasted Afghan and U.S. lives and the outrageous amount of money that could be spent saving lives? They are saying that the Republican, conservatives, who gave tax breaks to the wealthiest and started 2 major wars that cost trillions of dollars leaving no money to pay for infrastructure safety or affordable health care for all Americans, won because the public is worried about the economy.They tell me that I am negative because I am against war but I believe that war is the ultimate negative collective act.
I live in California's 10th district. Garamendi did say he supports "single payer". But he also pledged to support Obama's healthcare reform, which is not single payer. It's not clear to me just how hard he will fight for true single payer healthcare.
I don't know for show what the author means by "Lying Down With Dogs", but one could certainly do worse. Dogs are super.
Craig Deeds lost my vote years ago when he introduced a bill amending the Virginia Constitution to declare hunting and fishing a Virginia tradition. I swore from that time on that I would never vote for him.
Frankly, I am fed up with voting for the lesser of two evils. I doubt very much if either a Democrat or a Republican will ever again receive my vote.