Virginia Focus: Three Important Congressional Races

There are three particularly important Congressional races in Virginia. Two are challenging particularly awful Republicans (VA-1 and VA-7) and one is defending one of the best, most capable people in Congress (VA-5).


Krystal Ball for Congress (VA-1)

KB from Shannon Prasad on Vimeo.

From Bloggers for Ball:

This year, Democrats will select a nominee to take on Rep. Rob Wittman, a politician who has voted 92% of the time with Eric Cantor and John Boehner, against the economic recovery act, against the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, and against strong health care reform legislation. In short, Wittman is a cookie-cutter, lockstep, knee-jerk Republican loyalist who apparently has lost the ability to think and reason for himself. Instead, Wittman just votes "no," "no," and "no" to everything, along with the rest of his party.

Obviously, it's time for a change in the 1st CD. Fortunately, there's an excellent Democrat running who will work to bring that change. Her name is Krystal Ball, the clear choice for a large number of reasons. Aside from her energy, enthusiasm, and intelligence, Krystal Ball is a strong "pro-growth progressive" who I believe is clearly "from the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party." Among other things, Krystal believes in "strong environmental and financial regulation," "a robust public option," "strong unions," "government’s basic role as a social equalizer, " "civil liberties, the right to choose for ourselves in marriage, reproduction and self-defense," " full LGBT equality at every level," and "aggressive mandatory renewable energy standards for vehicles, appliances, etc."

Krystal Ball: Gen Y Does Politics:



Krystal Ball Interview on Young Turks:



Find out more about Krystal Ball at her campaign website.


Tom Perriello for Congress (VA-5)

Tom Perriello, though a Blue Dog, is one of the best Congressmen elected from either party. I was proud to endorse such an accomplished person when he first ran and I am proud to endorse him for re-election. From his website:

Fighting for Solutions in Conflict Zones

After receiving his law degree from Yale University, Tom accepted an assignment working to end atrocities in the West African countries of Liberia and Sierra Leone, which had suffered long civil wars fueled by blood diamonds. Tom’s work with child soldiers, amputees, and local pro-democracy groups in Sierra Leone played a significant role in the peace and reconciliation process that ended twelve years of violence in that country. Tom then became Special Advisor and spokesperson for the International Prosecutor during the showdown that forced Liberian dictator Charles Taylor from power without firing a shot. After this success, Tom served as a national security analyst for the Century Foundation. He has worked inside Darfur and twice in Afghanistan.

After Bush's disastrous policies, this is PRECISELY the kind of person we need in our government.

Tom Perriello on Job Creation:



Tom Perriello at the opening of his Farmville campaign office:



Check out Perriello's website for more information.


Rick Waugh for Congress (VA-7):

Rick Waugh is challenging one of the most obstructionist of Republicans, Eric Cantor. Here is Rick Waugh's statement on running:

My name is Rick Waugh, and I’m running for Congress in the 7th Congressional District of Virginia. I am a pragmatic progresive, and I am running for one simple reason – I feel that my voice and the voices of many of my fellow citizens are not being heard in Washington. While there are once again record profits on Wall Street, Main Street has been left high and dry. Even worse, I can think of little Eric Cantor has done in his 10 years in Washington to support the regular folks of this district...

I am running for Congress because I believe the citizens of Virginia have not been getting a fair shake from Washington, D.C. I am running because of the clients whom I have seen as a counselor. I am running because I know that our education system is still leaving children behind; I am running for the citizens of our District who cannot find the work they need to support their families; and for the citizens who have gone to Eric Cantor for help only to feel ignored. I am running because I know we can do better.

I am proud to have the nomination of the Democratic party. I believe that the Democratic Party is more about solving problems than blind partisanship and ideology. The attitude I intend to bring to Washington is that of listening to the voters; not party bosses, special interests, or those who are entrenched in Washington. I will bring solutions to the daily struggles we all endure.

This campaign isn’t about me, it is about every citizen of the 7th district. We are building a movement, but we need your help. If you believe, like I do, that we need a government in Washington of, by and for the people, and not a government of, by and for the lobbyists and special interests, I need your support. I need you to sign up to volunteer with this campaign, I need to tell your friends and neighbors about what we are doing here, and I need you to write a check. Together, we can build a campaign that will make us all proud!

Meet Rick Waugh from Rick Waugh for Congress on Vimeo.

Visit Rick Waugh's website for more information.