PHOTOS: Special Election Day

by: Kenton Ngo

Thu Jan 14, 2010 at 02:19:53 PM EST

Death to the Incumbent Nomination Advantage

by: Kenton Ngo

Sat Jan 09, 2010 at 09:20:15 PM EST

This is, on its face, insane. Republican Delegate Lee Ware has pre-filed a bill to repeal this incumbency bonus, but it remains to be seen whether 140 incumbents want to vote away their best weapon against upstart intra-party challenges.

Invariably the incumbent--who typically has better name recognition--will choose a primary, and win. Very rarely do incumbents in this state find themselves overthrown in a primary (Delegates Bob Hull from 2009 and Gary Reese from 2005 come to mind, but they are exceptions).

Both parties have areas of the state with heavy one-sided party alignment, but eliminating the incumbent advantage in nomination contests is more important for Democrats, who have a stranglehold on majority-black districts that often reach up to 70-90% Democratic performance. Senators and Delegates who are elected in single-party areas of the state are practically guaranteed their seat until they give it up, and can choose whatever method of nomination they believe will be most advantageous to them.

Of course, this doesn't eliminate any pro-incumbent bias in the political party committees that would make this selection--but that's the party's problem. I hope that Virginia's legislators have the courage to eliminate the statutory incumbent protection.

Democrat Richard Anthony Announces for Congress in Virginia's 10th District

by: DanielK

Tue Jan 05, 2010 at 12:32:30 AM EST

Fair Oaks, VA - Richard Anthony, a veteran of the Army Reserves and workforce development consultant, formally announced today that he is running to represent Virginia's 10th Congressional District in the U.S. Congress.

"The current political system, and Congress, too often fail to hear our voice and fail to solve the urgent problems we face," said Anthony. "We are facing one of the most serious economic challenges of our lifetime, and yet, Congress continues to be mired in political gamesmanship and backroom deals for special interests. Whether on health care, the economy, financial reform or national security we have seen time and time again that Congress just doesn't seem to get it."

"I'm not a career politician. I'm running for Congress to bring a renewed focus on the needs of our community and the country," Anthony continued. "I have dedicated myself to making a difference in people's lives, and I am committed to listening to people to find solutions that actually help. In Congress, I will put that dedication and passion to work."

Anthony served in the Army Reserves for six years, and served as President and CEO of the NETWORK Consortium. Today he works as a workforce development consultant. He has served as President of his Home Owners Association, Vice President of the PTO for his children's school, coach for his son's countless CYA Soccer and Baseball teams, and as a frequent volunteer for the National Kidney Foundation. He serves on the Sully District Area Plan Review Task Force, and is an active member of Northern Virginia Democratic Business Council and the Dulles Area Chamber of Commerce.

Anthony is a graduate of Bowling Green University. He and his wife, Michele, live in Fair Oaks and have been residents of Fairfax County since 1995. They have two children, Katie and Max, ages 11 and 9.

As a resident of the 10th Congressional District since I moved to Virginia back in 2004 I've seen many election cycles where Frank Wold has easily won reelection.  He is without a doubt an "entrenched incumbent" even though he lives in a substantially blue district in Northern Virginia. The numbers in Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William should be enough to overtake the strong red areas of the 10th, like Warren, Page and Frederick (My new home this year)  but for some reason Democrats can't solve the puzzle. Rich Anthony will be that candidate to solve the Frank Wolf puzzle.  Here's a few reasons why I like Rich as a candidate.

Personally, after serving in the military I have a special place for those who have served and want to continue their service in public office.  More importantly, there are many thing I see in Rich that I currently have and am experiencing right now.  We both grew up in middle class upbringings without any college savings accounts and have had to work our way through college to pay for our educations.  Those two points in my opinion make a winning combination for me as a voter because it makes Rich a candidate who as Congressman can truly represent me and majority of the people in the district.  Often times there is a disconnect between our elected candidates and their constituents and one experienced by the constituents of the 10th congressional district.  

Richard Anthony is the candidate who can bring that connection back to residents of the 10th!

A Response to the Unjustified Outrage of Judge Urbina's Blackwater Decision

by: DanielK

Sat Jan 02, 2010 at 06:28:45 PM EST

------Original Message------
From: Tom Orange
To: info@newdominionproject.com
Subject: for DanielK: scahill's "hatred"
Sent: Jan 1, 2010 2:57 PM

dear NDP,

could someone please ask DanielK why jeremy scahill and others "let their hatred (whether justified or not) blind their reasoning in accepting this decision," that is, why is it "hatred" (and hatred of what exactly) that "blinds their reasoning" and could it not be instead and in fact what reason itself enables scahill and others to see clearly, namely that privatized military security forces are deeply and inherently flawed precisely because they are apparently accountable to no legal jurisdiction or process and seem to answer to no one but corporate boards and CEOs?

sincerely,
tom orange

Since Mr. Orange didn't want to comment on this I decided to write another diary in order to further explain my position and in a more narrow sense.  

Since the alleged massacre, and I use the word alleged because they have never convicted in a court of law but convicted in the court of public opinion Jeremy Scahill has been at the forefront of the investigation of Blackwater and their practices in Iraq.  Nearly all of what he has reported on and discovered has been an eye opening experience for many Americans, including myself and should definitely not go unnoticed.  It is without a doubt that Scahill does not like Blackwater, now known as Xe and Erik Prince based on their previous.  Their connections to the Bush administration and contracts raises many questions but this case and decsion is not about that.  This case is about the rule of law in our country and our Constitution which is non negotiable and applies equally to all, no matter how heinous the offenses.  Now, I will address each point raised by Mr. Orange.

Scahill and others have been focusing incorrectly on the crime when looking at this decision.  Their "hatred" for Blackwater is blinding the understanding that Judge Urbina's decision had absolutely nothing to do with the guilt or innocence of the involved contractors.  Over on RebelReports, Scahill opened an article titled: "Fed Judge Gives Blackwater Huge New Year's Gift, Dismisses All Charges in Iraq Massacre" with the following:  

A federal judge in Washington DC has given Erik Prince's Blackwater mercenaries a huge New Year's gift. Judge Ricardo Urbina dismissed all charges against the five Blackwater operatives accused of gunning down 14 innocent Iraqis in Baghdad's Nisour Square in September 2007. Judge Urbina's order, issued late in the afternoon on New Year's Eve is a stunning blow for the Iraqi victims' families and sends a clear message that US-funded mercenaries are above all systems of law-US and international.

Clearly, Scahill does not attempt to hide a bias again Blackwater in his opinions and writings and that bias is clearly clouding judgment and ability to view this decision rationally.  Again, this has nothing to do with the alleged massacre that took place because the 90-page opinion never once referenced it in the reasoning.  What the ruling did reference were clear and blatant constitutional violations that could not have been overlooked by even those most law and order, anti-defendant conservative judge.  Scahill has continually talked about how this decision sends the message that "mercenaries" are above the law and that statement coming from Scahill is extremely unfortunate.  This is not an issue of being "above the law" and to make such a statement would be to equate it when an accused killer or rapist has their charges dismissed because of Constitutional violations by law enforcement investigators.  This case correctly does not involve or focus on whether or not private military contractors should be in Iraq and who, if anyone they are held accountable to.  The courts must take a narrow focus on the specific issue at hand (whether statements and evidence were obtained in violation of the Constitution) and that narrow focus is what many people, including Scahill refuse to acknowledge or understand.  If it is a "gift" that a federal judge did not ignore blatant Constitutional violations by the government against defendants not matter how angry the public and a country (Iraq) will get is a "gift" I'll happily accept.

What Mr. Orange and Scahill refuse to acknowledge also is that this decision had nothing to do with the guilt or innocence of the accused Blackwater contractors.  I cannot understand at all Mr. Orange's statement that

apparently accountable to no legal jurisdiction or process and seem to answer to no one but corporate boards and CEOs?

As someone with a pretty deep understanding of the criminal court process and reviewing the facts and decision of the case and initial investigation I cannot imagine a single judge that would have not dismissed the charges based on the violations and taint that resulted.  Our judicial system is responsible for upholding the law even if those decisions are unpopular to everyone except the defendant.  We would not expect a criminal defendant to have his Miranda or 4th Amendment rights violated without the court remedying the violation so I do not understand why these defendants (No matter how guilty in the court of public opinion they appear) should be held to a different standard.

In closing, I challenge everyone to think of a few things regarding this case.  Over the last eight years we heard a lot of criticism of the Bush administration's attack on the Constitution.  Much of that criticism in certain instances was substantiated through federal and Supreme Court decisions overturning certain practices by the Bush administration.  Keeping that in mind, if we demand that the accused Blackwater contractors are not afforded the same Constitutional protections as all other defendants accused in our court system then we are no different than the previous administration that we were so outraged against.