Virginia AFL-CIO president throws support behind DLCer Kerry

[Freddie Stubbs]

WASHINGTON — With the Democratic presidential campaign moving south and west in the wake of the New Hampshire primary, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry picked up an endorsement Tuesday from Virginia’s most important labor leader.

Daniel G. LeBlanc, state AFL-CIO president, stressed that his decision was personal and not connected to his union job, but his backing could give frontrunner Kerry a major boost as the remaining candidates turn more of their attention to Virginia’s Feb. 10 primary.

“Sen. Kerry is best-positioned, based on his service during the Vietnam conflict, based on how he was instrumental in getting us out of the Vietnam ... his service in the U.S. Senate,” to defeat President Bush in November, LeBlanc said.

Like many union leaders, LeBlanc supported Missouri Rep. Richard Gephardt until Gephardt’s withdrawal from the race after a disappointing fourth-place finish in the Jan. 19 Iowa caucuses.

more: http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=65262&ran=229419

[diamond14]

1. Go Virginia...we're very much for Kerry....a DECORATED

Vietnam WarVeteran KERRY to beat the Vietnam War Deserter bush*....


and here in Virginia, home to the Pentagon, Fort Belvior, Navy shipyards and MORE....we can't be fooled by the old "I had a bad-back, give me a medical-deferment so I can ski in Aspen" excuse for avoiding military service...

Go Kerry...beat bush*
http://www.JohnKerry.com

[Freddie Stubbs]

2. Dean was leading in the last poll that was conducted in VA

Bush, Dean lead poll of Virginians

December 11, 2003

By David Lerman
Newport News Daily Press


WASHINGTON -- Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean holds a commanding lead in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination in Virginia, a new statewide poll found.

But President Bush remains the clear favorite in next fall's election, leading any potential Democratic nominee by at least 15 percentage points.

The Mason-Dixon poll, conducted last week for the Daily Press and other media, confirmed that the race for the Democratic nomination is still up for grabs in the final two months before the state's Feb. 10 primary.

In fact, more Democratic voters were undecided - 28 percent - than were committed to any of the nine presidential candidates.

more: http://www.mason-dixon.com/news_text.cfm?news_id=174

But that was over a month ago and very well may have changed.

[diamond14]

9. December 11, 2003 poll....that's really stretching it and is really

unfair...and strategically avoiding putting the date on the header..


is 'may well have changed'???? a fair way of stating the situation?

[blm]

3. yeehaw....

Go Kerry.

[dolstein]

4. Terrific -- support a candidate with ZERO chance of carrying Virginia

John Edwards from neighboring North Carolina would actually have a shot. But Kerry? Not a chance.

[SaveElmer]

6. No Democrat will carry Virginia

Unless they were actually from Virginia, and even then it would be up hill.

[diamond14]

10. Virginia has a Democratic Governor, AND Alexandria VA has a

Democratic Congressman, Jim Moran...and recently, for the first time in HISTORY...Alexandria elected a democratic BLACK mayor and has an entire Democratic City Council

Virginia came very very close to voting against bush*...

so, as a PROUD Virginian, I announce that Virginia is going Democratic and proudly throwing off her racist shameful history...

[Freddie Stubbs]

11. Virginia was not close at all in 2000

Bush won by over 8%

http://www.uselectionatlas.org/USPRESIDENT/state.php?year=2000&fips=51

[spooky3]

18. Thanks, Freddie, Actually that's closer than I realized.

Especially if you put the Nader votes in the Dem column.

[mobuto]

12. Alexandria?

Alexandria is great and all, but its hardly representative of Virginia at-large, which is far more conservative. Alexandria is just an outgrowth of 90% Democratic DC. Now Roanoke, the area around Richmond, Hampton Roads, Fairfax and Loudon Counties - these are places where Democrats can make inroads.

National Democrats do have a shot in Virginia, just as they do in Georgia and North Carolina, if they can appeal to working-class largely-rural whites. Warner did just that in 2001, by emphasizing jobs, rural development, infrastructure and education. The flip side has necessitated the deemphasis of social issues like abortion, religion and gun control, but my guess is that if a Democratic Presidential candidate were able to run on a platform promising jobs and national security, and were to visit Roanoke, VA and Charlestown, WV and Asheville, NC to demonstrate his interest in these regions, he could pick up a couple of states.

[diamond14]

14. Kerry will have a BIG event in the 'heart of the confederacy' Richmond

Virginia...you downplay the influence of the HEAD of the Democratic Party in Virginia...Democratic Governor Warner.....

your claims that Alexandria Virginia is a "just an outgrowth of 90% Democratic DC" are wrong....there is nothing to substantiate that at all...Alexandria maintained racial segregation of schools, school sports, and libraries up to an including the 1960's...and you suggest that is the same as DC???? Alexandria people here, who are in their 50's, remember clearly when the high school sports team was forced to integrate (BTW, the lawsuits which made that happen came from lawyers in the NAACP in DC...DC and Alexandria have a very long history being at odds with each other)...

[spooky3]

17. Arlington and to a lesser extent, Alexandria, have a high

% of Latinos, Asians and other groups, and a lower proportion of African Americans, than DC. Many whites are affluent Dems in these suburbs. Old Town Alexandria is filled with wealthy people (and the home of the Governor when he was a venture capitalist). Fairfax and Loudon are more Repug. Why do you think Dems can make inroads there?

A & A are basically small towns that grew up and became part of a bigger metro area; they have a different character from DC. They are what Loudoun etc. may be in years to come.

A & A were originally part of Washington DC. The land was given back to Virginia in the 1850s because they just could not get along :-).

[spooky3]

16. Arlington has been solidly Dem since the 1940s.

The problem is that there is a lot of growth in the outer suburbs of DC and these lean Repub. Arlington and to a lesser extent Alexandria are sort of land/Potomac locked and can't grow much.

Tidewater has a high African American population in part because of the strong military presence there (too bad many businesses can't do as good a job as the military in recruiting eh?). Richmond and most of the rest of VA is rather fundy Repub.

[Zech Marquis]

19. my area of Tidewater

from Portsmouth, part of Noroflk and up to Newport News--our voting district is a HUGE democratc stronghold--see Rep. Bobby Scott :-) AND it has alot of African American voters--like myself--so that will be a key to victory here

[spooky3]

8. I believe that if JE had enough time (and all other candidates

had the same amount of time) to dedicate to Virginia he would win it over both for the primary and the general election. It would be an uphill battle, but if Mark Warner (D) could do it as governor, Edwards could do it too. Warner won people over by meeting and greeting exhaustively. Actually with the number of military people here, I think Clark would have an equal shot with Edwards, if he used the same strategy.

[sangh0]

5. Working people know who the best candidate is

Go Kerry!

[spooky3]

7. Sadly, organized labor is not very powerful here in VA. I am not sure how

much this endorsement will matter in terms of delivering votes.

[molly]

13. The long shoremen are being hurt here in Delaware

by the Patriot Act. To make matters worse - the Dean campaigners were holding signs outside of the Kerry headquarters here in Delaware last week. WTF is that all about?

[wyldwolf]

15. Virginia AFL-CIO president throws support behind DEMOCRAT Kerry

Good!