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Terry McAuliffe 
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Tue May 19, 2009 at 11:30:20 PM EDT
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 Brian Moran launched a radio ad on prodominately African American radio stations which makes the argument that Terry McAuliffe should not be the Democratic nominee for the next Governor of Virginia because he worked against President Barack Obama's election during the 2008 Democratic Primary, while serving as Chair of Hillary Clinton's campaign for the nomination.
I'm disturbed by this ad on many levels. While I know why the campaign would target African Americans, just as this did with an ad featuring the testimonial from former Delegate Mary Christian of Hampton, and that running this ad directly counters McAuliffe's ad taking credit for the election of Obama, this sort of identity politics, or "race baiting" as Ben Tribbett would say, bothers me. This is the sort of politics that Howard Dean, on the eve of Barack Obama's inauguration, said was over.
The Moran campaign is playing catch-up with African American voters who are currently favoring McAuliffe in the polls. From the onset of his campaign, McAuliffe has targeted this demographic; perhaps hoping that the energy of 2008 will carry over to 2009. Every candidate in this race, including the Republican nominee, is trying to bank on Obama's popularity, directly or indirectly.
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Mon May 11, 2009 at 04:13:00 PM EDT
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(Mon May 11, 2009 at 07:50:00 PM EDT - promoted by Kenton Ngo)
Non-DC denizens may not have even heard of the DC Examiner, but, probably because it is free, it is omnipresent in and around the capital. It's also important to note that it draws upon many of the same models employed by Fox News to maintain its relevance: exploit racial fears? Check. Owned by far-right religious conservative billionaire? Check. Mouthpiece for Republicans? Check. Corrupt business model? Got that one too... twice actually...
Anyway, I'm not blogging today because I want to bring attention to an also-ran rag that barely even merits mention as a bit part in the Republican noise machine... To me, if a tool like Anschutz wants to throw good money after bad into a money-pit in support of the all-but-irrelevant Republican Party... well, somebody needs to feed Byron York. If he's shameless enough to collect his wingnut welfare check, I won't begrudge the arrangement...
But...
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Mon May 11, 2009 at 03:13:26 PM EDT
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The GOP is looking to rise from the ashes and rebuild their party. Virginia is ground zero and Terry McAuliffe is their lighter fluid. As political analyst Mark Plotkin put it:
"Republicans want to run against flashy McAuliffe. They think he will be the easiest to beat in November." -- Mark Plotkin, WTOP Radio (May 2, 2009)
McAuliffe represents everything that was wrong with the Democratic Party before Barack Obama broke through the wall of corporate money and backroom deal cutting McAuliffe created as DNC chair. The national GOP would use McAuliffe's background of cutting himself in on political deals to build his personal wealth as a way of making him toxic. They wouldn't need to lie or exaggerate and they would be quoting from the NY Times and Washington Post, not FOX News.
The GOP would make Virginia a referendum on everything that is wrong with the Democratic Party today and try to begin a Republican comeback. This would hurt our entire slate (Gov, Lt Gov, Atty. Gen.), our chances of taking back the House of Delegates, redistricting, the 2010 Congressional election and the re-election of Barack Obama in 2012.
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