Photo Slideshow of the Nationals Last Homestand

Here's a slideshow of photos I took during the game between the Washington Nationals and Arizona Diamondbacks last Monday (August 22). As you can see, I was able to move around the ballpark and get a variety of shots since it was relatively empty -- especially compared to what it was like a few days before that when the Phillies were in town.

In case you didn't know this, you can click on the arrows in the bottom righthand corner and it'll make the slideshow become fullscreen.

Politicians Send Out Hurricane Irene Updates

Like many of you, I'm on dozens (if not hundreds) of email lists and am constantly receiving campaign updates from politicians. The last few days, however, these lists haven't been focused on political events but have instead provided folks with information about Hurricane Irene. The blogger in me wants to point out how this is an example of social media providing a public good, but I'll simply pass along some of the information that I've received since it contains some resources that people could use as we're preparing for the storm.

This email was sent out by Sen. George Barker. I could highlight others, but the others contain very similar information and the one George sent out contained the latest information when I wrote this (8:30 on Saturday morning).

Dear Bryan,
With Hurricane Irene heading our way later today, I wanted to make sure you had key emergency contact numbers and the most current information.


Forecast as of Friday evening:
Saturday:  Chance of showers and thunderstorms.  Cloudy, with a high near 81.  Breezy, with a northeast wind 9 to 12 mph increasing to between 22 and 25 mph.  Winds could gust as high as 36 mph.  Chance of precipitation is 50%.  New rainfall amounts up to a half an inch possible.

Saturday Night:  Tropical storm conditions possible.  Showers and possibly a thunderstorm.  Some storms could produce heavy rainfall.  Low around 68.  North wind 28 to 33 mph, with gusts as high as 47 mph.  Chance of precipitation is 80%.  New rainfall amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible.

Sunday:  A chance of showers before 2pm.  Cloudy, with a high near 81.  Breezy, with a northwest wind between 18 and 25 mph, with gusts as high as 46 mph.  Chance of precipitation is 50%.  New rainfall up to one inch possible.

Sunday Night:  Partly cloudy, with a low around 61.


Utility contact info:
VDOT:  For road issues, such as downed trees or other obstructions, call 1-800-FOR-ROAD (1-800-367-7623).

Dominion:  In the event that you or your neighbors lose electrical service, call Dominion Power at 1-866-DOM-HELP (1-866-366-4357).

NOVEC:  For those with NOVEC service, call (703) 335-0500.


Government services:
Statewide:  For the latest statewide emergency information and tips, please visit the Virginia Department of Emergency Management:  
http://www.vaemergency.gov/readyvirginia

Fairfax County:  To sign up for Fairfax County's emergency alert system: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/cean/ 

Prince William County:  For county-specific information, please check the county's website for continual updates: 
http://www.pwcgov.org/ 
           
 Alexandria:  For city-specific information, please check the city's website for continual updates:   
 http://alexandriava.gov/ 

My office:  As always, you can reach me at (703) 303-1426 and my staff will answer any questions or direct you to the appropriate government contact.     


Stay safe and dry,

It isn't just the candidates currently in office sending out these updates as I've received similar updates from Brian Schoeneman's campaign (he's running against incumbent Democrat Del. David Bulova) and Jack Dobbyn's campaign (he's running against Republican Dave Albo) also sent out an email with some tips on how to prepare for the storm.

Baseball Legend Mike Flanagan Passed Away Yesterday

This is cross-posted over at Ballpark Banter.

I was born in the Northern Virginia suburbs of DC a few months after the Orioles won the 1983 World Series. In other words, I really missed out in terms of major league baseball growing up. Not only did Washington no longer have a team, but I had also just missed out on seeing the closest MLB team win the world series. That didn’t stop me from being a big baseball fan and I was absolutely thrilled when the O’s won the wild card in 1996 and the AL East in 1997. Even during their strong years in the mid 90’s, however, I remember hearing about the glory days in the late 70’s and early 80’s that included players like Mike Flanagan.

I bring this up because as I was watching the Nationals game last night, the news broke of Flanagan’s death and quickly made its rounds through the baseball world. Authorities still haven’t confirmed a cause of death, officials are reporting that his body was found outside his home in Sparks, MD at around 4:30 yesterday afternoon. I never met Flanagan and only saw him play in a few games, but even I was sad to hear the news given how he played for the team I cheered for growing up.

During his 18 seasons in the big leagues, Flanagan appeared in 526 games and amassed a 167-143 record with a 3.90 ERA. His best year with the club was when he won 23 games for the Orioles in 1979 and ended up receiving the American League Cy Young Award. Some of his teammates during that season pointed out that Flanagan wasn’t satisfied with the year because the O’s ended up losing the World Series to the Pittsburgh Pirates. In a time when we have a lot of players moving from team to team and trying to rake up individual accolades in order to score a bigger contract, it’s touching to hear of a player who actually cared more about his team’s fate than his own individual awards.

As I watched the Orioles post game show last night, it was clear that Flanagan’s great sense of humor and commitment to his teammates had a big impact on other players and his coworkers at MASN. Throughout the show, broadcasters and former players alike had to fight back tears while talking about their friend. Jim Palmer, who pitched with Flanagan and later worked with him at MASN, for instance, chocked up as he said “we were family. It’s devastating.”

In an interesting twist of fate, the winning pitcher from the Orioles game last night (Jeremy Guthrie) actually wears Flanagan’s number 46. After the game, he tweeted "From day I was given #46 as Oriole, the fans always reminded me of the legacy Mike Flanagan left behind. This is a sad day for #Orioles family." He later added, “Mike Flanagan was an important person to me & touched the lives of countless people in the baseball family & especially in Baltimore. #RIP”

My favorite player growing up, Cal Ripken, Jr., put it very simply in a statement yesterday that I think truly represents how so many baseball fans in this area feel. “I am so sorry to hear about Mike’s passing,” the Iron Man said. “He was a good friend and teammate and our thoughts are with Alex and his family. Mike was an Oriole through and through and he will be sorely missed by family, friends and fans. This is a sad day.”

Jaime Areizaga-Soto Calls on His Supporters to Work for Barbara Favola

With yesterday being primary day, the big focus of discussion in among activists is how quickly the party can come together. This is especially important this year as the primaries were held several months later than usual because of redistricting, so we only have a little over two months until the general election. Perhaps no place is that more apparent then in the 31st Senate District where Jaime Areizaga-Soto lost a hotly contest primary to Barbara Favola. The negative campaigning used by both camps and the decision of some party leaders to push anybody who wanted to run besides Barbara out of the race early, after all, caused a lot of bitterness during the campaign,

Now that the primary is over, however, Jaime is stepping up to the plate and calling on all of his supporters to do whatever they can to support Barbara in the general. Here's what he sent out on facebook earlier today:

I want to thank all my great supporters, volunteers and team for a great campaign. We ran an energetic, grassroots, progressive campaign. I'm proud of the work we did. I now join all my fellow Democrats in working for a strong Democratic victory in the 31st Senate District and throughout the Commonwealth in the November election. I call on all my supporters to work for a Barbara Favola victory in November.

With that being said, it'll be interesting to see what happens in this race moving forward. Obviously it helps that Jaime has at least put out a statement calling on his "supporters to work for a Barbara Favola victory," but Barbara will need to really step it up if she wants to get a lot of the grassroots supporters to really do the work necessary for her campaign. That's going to be hard after she clearly pissed off a lot of them by doing things like telling a potential consituent (who also happens to be one of the most popular bloggers in Virginia) that Jaime couldn't win because he's Latino. Since the redistricting process turned the 31st from a solidly blue district to one that could potentially be won by a Republican, she'll really need Jaime's supporters to help get people out to the polls so I hope she does reach out to them soon.

The Nats Might Have Won, but the Phillies Dominated the Stands

In my very first post over at Ballpark Banter, I talked about how “some of my earliest memories are of running around in baseball uniforms and using my backyard to pretend as though I was the star player in a crucial game.” Like most daydreaming elementary school baseball fans, those pretend games included me stepping up to the plate with the bases loaded and two in the bottom of the ninth. Inevitably, it would come down to a full count and I would blast a game winning grand slam. While that never happened to me in a real game, that’s exactly what happened last night when Ryan Zimmerman capped off an amazing comeback with a walk off grand slam a little before 12:30am.

Moments like that are exciting no matter who they’re against, but it was extremely rewarding to see it happen against the division leading Phillies -- especially considering how many of their fans made their way to Nationals Park last night. Considering how close Philly is to DC and the team’s reputation for traveling fairly well, I figured that there would a lot of folks making the 2.5 hour drive down interstate 95. Heck, I even went to last night’s game with a friend of mine who’s a Phillies fan. What I didn’t expect, however, was that I would almost feel like they had taken over the stadium and that we would have a 2.5 hour rain delay to get cozy with one another while taking cover on the concourse.

According to ESPN, Nationals Park has had an average attendance of a little under 24,000 fans per game this season. While it’s hard to give a good estimate since the team colors are so similar, I would guess that about 2/3 of the 37,000 people who came out to the park last night were Phillies phanatics. Their presence was so large that we didn’t even need to wait for the game to start before it was felt. As soon as I made my way onto half street after exiting the Metro, for instance, I was immediately surrounded by people wearing Phillies jerseys -- and this was two and a half hours before game time.

Once I got through the gates, my friend and I went down to the Red Loft section in center field to watch batting practice. This is something I do almost every time I get to a game early enough for batting practice because it’s usually less crowded than other sections and is a good place to get balls that batters hit out or other players toss up into the stands. The section tends to have some regulars that have been using it for years (access to section was actually limited in past years and not everyone‘s caught on that it’s now open to everyone during BP), so I began recognizing familiar faces once I’d used the section to watch BP a few times. During yesterday’s game, however, there was already a fair number of fans there -- most of whom were wearing Phillies gear. (As a side note, Zach Hample -- a guy who travels around to all of the ballparks trying to snag balls and has even written books about how to get a souvenir ball -- was in the section and had already had several very successful days at Nats Park during the series against the Reds).

Since there weren’t too many balls being hit into the section and the Phillies contingent there was continuing to grow, we decided to leave the area a little earlier than I usually do to grab a bite to eat and wait for the gates to the rest of the stadium to open up. As I was enjoying my hot dog and a diet coke, I found it amazing how many fans were already lining up to get into the rest of the stadium. On an average day, there’s a few fans waiting to get into right field because they want to sprint after balls they saw go into the stands earlier or they want to try getting some autographs as the Nationals make their way off the field after their batting practice. Even a good 15 to 20 minutes before the gates opened up yesterday, however, there was about 100 people lined up (about 75 of them were wearing Phillies gear).

Considering how many of the Philly fans who were at the game were making a weekend trip (or at least had the afternoon off to allow for driving time before the game), it shouldn’t be too surprising that I felt like the only Nats there during the first hour or so that I was there. I figured we’d start gaining some ground once people made their way over to the Park after getting off of work. That didn’t seem to happen though because any big gains we might have made compared to the number of Philly fans seemed to be wiped out by the rain as it was mostly local fans who decided to leave during the 2.5 hour rain delay.

It was actually during the game that the way Philly fans took over the park really began to be frustration. There were several loud chants of “let’s go Phillies” or “Ruuuuuuuu” after catcher Carlos Ruiz came up to bat. It was Jason Werth who received the loudest response from the Phillies fans as he was taunted by their fans in right field (one of whom had a sign saying “Pence is Werth more” proudly displayed) and was booed extremely loudly whenever he came up to bat.

Now some of the blame for Philly fans being able to dominate the stadium should be given to Nats fans. As much as I hate to admit it, after all, if more fans showed up to the games then there wouldn’t be as many tickets available for the visiting team’s fans to purchase. That doesn’t make it less frustrating as I began to feel like I was the one supporting the visiting team and was forced to listen to fans mocking my team when Ian Desmond made a careless error at short or Livan Hernandez was getting hit pretty hard during the third inning.

So it’s with that in mind that I was thrilled when the Nationals silenced the Philly fans by coming back in the ninth. As the Nats continued to rally after they tied it up at 4, it was beginning to sound like a Nationals crowd and went absolutely crazy when Zimmerman hit his walk off grand slam. After being at the ball park for 8 hours at that point, it was a great feeling to be able high five the Nationals fans who, like me, had stuck with the home team during a long evening. Even the friend who came to the game with me all decked out in her Phillies gear stuck her hands up and said “helluva game” with a big goofy grin on her face as we slapped five.

Dave Mills: McDonnell Needs to "put the McGimmicks aside and put Virginians first"

I wrote a post a couple days ago about how Dave Mills called out Bob McDonnell for spending too much time trying to advance his national profile and lobbying for the VP spot on the GOP ticket in 2012. Perhaps in response to comments in the blogosphere that the DPVA should be focusing on the misleading information that the McDonnell's been putting out about Virginia's budget, Dave is once again going after the governor. This time he released a statement that criticized him for using "McGimmicks" to make it it look like Virginia has a large budget surplus.

“Bob McDonnell continues to tout a 'surplus' built with unpaid bills, unmet obligations and fiscal gimmicks. No matter what he calls it, the balance he announced today isn't enough to pay our outstanding bills to the Virginia retirement system and make the investments we need in education, public safety, mental health, and other services that create opportunity for working Virginia families.

McDonnell's self-congratulation over his 'surplus' is similar to a family refusing to pay their mortgage for a year and then celebrating the balance in their savings account.

In his rush to appeal to the Republican presidential field the Governor has chosen boosting his image over being straight with Virginians. Its's time for him to put the McGimmicks aside and put Virginians first as they struggle with a tough economy and the loss of 14,000 jobs in the month of June alone. In short, working families need more Bob's for Jobs and less Bob's for Bob."

I agree with Dave here. Virginia needs a governor who is willing to bunker down and do the hard work necessary to get Virginia families back to work and our economy on the road to recovery. Unfortunately, I'm not too confident that we'll actually see him focusing in on the Commonwealth anytime soon. In the last week or so, for instance, I've heard from folks living in upstate New York and Philly about how McDonnell "seems eager" to be part of the national political scene.

The most noteworthy part of these conversations was that they weren't hearing about what he hopes to do as governor, but instead about how he might be able to bring some swing states into play if he's the VP candidate. I don't know about you, but when you combine that with how he's actively lobbying for the VP nomination, but I don't think it sounds like Bob McDonnell is really interested in remaining Virginia's governor.

Who will win: Professor Right or Professor Wrong

Great video from Move On.

Dave Mills: We've suspected for awhile that it wasn’t Bob for Jobs but it was Bob for Bob

With Rick Perry launching his campaign for president, Bob McDonnell has now moved in to fill his position as Chair of the Republican Governors Association. The RGA chairmanship will give him opportunities to travel across the country and meet with a lot of big wigs in the GOP. It also means he can travel to some of the early primary states like New Hampshire. Despite promising Virginia voters during the 2009 campaign that he was “absolutely planning to serve four years,” it appears as though McDonnell is willing to use his new high profile position to help him gain the stature needed to abandon Virginians for a more powerful position -- the VP slot on the Republican ticket.

After McDonnell quit his job as Attorney General in order to run for governor, Virginians should take notice when he’s now actively campaigning for the VP nomination. He’s already quit on Virginia once when he saw an opportunity to move up politically, so it wouldn’t be something new if he did it again. It appears as though he doesn’t even feel the need to hide the fact that he’s going back on campaign promises because he told Politico in an interview that’s received a lot of attention that he’s “very interested” in the VP slot.

With that being said, I just got off a conference call with David Mills -- the executive director of the DPVA. He said that he’s “suspected for awhile that it wasn’t Bob for Jobs but it was Bob for Bob” and this latest development simply reinforces that concept. He continued by pointing out that we need a governor who will be focused in on the local economy during a time when Virginia is still recovering from the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression. In the month of June alone, for instance, Virginia lost 14,000 jobs but McDonnell is more focused on GOP national politics then keeping his commitment to the Commonwealth of Virginia.

As can be expected, he was asked about how this compared to the speculation that Tim Kaine was on the short list of potential VP’s for Obama. David quickly pointed out that one of the major differences is that McDonnell is actively campaigning for the job despite specifically stating that he would serve out his entire term. Kaine didn’t do that and kept his commitment to Virginia. “I think it’s safe to say [Kaine] didn’t actively lobby for the spot,” Mills said on the call. “The bottom line is that he kept his commitment to Virginia families.”

So the question now becomes, will Bob McDonnell keep his promises and try to be “Bob for jobs,” or is he already fully committed to being “Bob for Bob?”

Photo Slideshow of Stephen Strasburg's Rehab Start with Potomac Nationals

As you might have already heard, Stephen Strasburg made a rehab start with the Potomac Nationals on Friday. You can see my reaction to the game by following this link, but I wanted to share the following slideshow of some photos I took during the game.

Democratic Primary for Braddock District Supervisor is Getting Interesting

The Democratic primary for Braddock District Supervisor has become a very interesting to watch. There were rumors of several Democrats being interested in running for the seat, but it was Chris Wade who stepped up very early to challenge incumbent Republican John Cook. When it looked like none of the other rumored candidates were going to enter the race, Chris quickly received the support of some party insiders who wanted to make sure the Democrats had a good campaign infrastructure in place during the fall -- especially since Wade didn’t have very much name recognition (heck, even most folks who are extremely active in the community hadn’t heard of him because saying “he doesn’t have much civic engagement experience” is putting it nicely).

Concern about Wade’s candidacy really started being expressed by some Democratic activists when it became clear that he had been identifying himself as a strong supporter of the McCain/Palin ticket in 2008. Now as Lowell points out at Blue Virginia, switching parties is perfectly acceptable and one of the biggest successes for Virginia’s progressive blogs was when they helped draft Jim Webb (a former Republican) and gave him a big boast during his campaign for US Senate back in 2006. Jim Webb, however, had a history of standing up for populist ideas and speaking out against some of Bush’s military policies. Chris Wade, however, appears to be a very nice man but doesn’t bring a history of public service to the table and has failed to make it clear what Democratic values he holds dear.

So while Chris had gotten the early support of some activists, Janet Oleszek stepped up to the plate and decided that she would also be seeking the Democratic nomination. I got to know Janet during her time on the school board and her campaign for the state senate back in 2007. I went out canvassing and phone banking for her at least a dozen times as she was running against Ken Cuccinelli and was proud to do so because she has a history of standing up for the working class. As someone who has done a lot of organizing around education issues over the years, I also like the fact that she spent time on the school board and could therefore be an effective voice for the public school system if she was elected to the Board of Supervisors.

Based upon email threads and conversations I’ve had with folks about this race, a lot Democratic activists share these sentiments. Unfortunately for Janet, a lot of people had already committed to supporting Chris Wade's candidacy and are reluctant to go back on their word. Others like her political philosophy but have a lot of questions about tactics she used back in late 2009 when Democrats were deciding who would run to fill the seat Cuccinelli vacated when he became Attorney General. Those questions might not prevent them from voting for Janet on primary day, but they have unfortunately kept some people from volunteering for her (at least until after the primary is over).

Whatever you think about the motivations some people have for either continuing their early commitment to Chris Wade or deciding specifically to remain silent on the race, there’s no denying that this history means it’s worth paying attention when Janet Oleszek picks up a big endorsement like she did today from the Virginia Partisans.

Responding to the endorsement by the PAC Board, Terry Mansberger, LGBT Caucus Chair stated, "Janet has been a long time personal friend of mine and the LGBT community for many years and was a leading advocate for safe schools for all our kids as an At-Large County School Board Member. I'm thrilled to see the VA Partisans PAC return that support and look forward to Janet's strong progressive voice for full equality on the Board of Supervisors for Braddock District and our Fairfax area LGBT community!"

Mansberger went on to say, "While we are all focused on the State Senate this year, we must not forget the importance of these local races that also have a direct impact on the lives of our families. The fight for equality and protection from the extreme agenda of the Cuccinelli machine in Virginia begins here in Ken's back yard. It's time to take this seat back and send a message. . . the tea party is over in Fairfax."

It will be very interesting to see if this endorsement now gives some more party insiders and grassroots activists motivation to speak up in support of Janet’s campaign in the final two weeks before primary day. You can also see the full statement from the partisans blow “the fold.”

Gerry Connolly Sponsors Bill to Give Back-Pay to Furloughed FAA Employees

Most of the outrage over Congress going on recess before solving the situation with the FAA was the fact that thousands of people were being furloughed and Congress decided to go on vacation instead of passing legislation that would give them their jobs back. Fortunately there are some members of Congress who realize that action was wrong and are taking action to rectify the situation. Rep. Gerry Connolly is joining with Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) and the Chairmen of the House Transportation and Homeland Security Committees in introducing legislation that would allow the employees who were impacted by Congress’s failure to act to receive the salary and related benefits they should have received during the 13 day partial FAA shutdown.

The “Furloughed FAA Employees Compensation Act” would use the federal Aviation Trust Fund to cover the costs of the back-pay and benefits for the 4,000 employees -- almost 1,000 of which work in the DC area.

As I pointed out in an earlier post, Gerry has made it clear that he appreciates the work that the folks at the FAA (and federal employees in general) are doing and the services that they provide the community. During his recent town hall, he even highlighted how some FAA airport safety inspectors used personal funds to continue to travel and do their jobs without pay. He continued to express that sentiment today in a statement about the legislation when he said “I applaud their dedication to public service, but it is shameful that they were required to reach into their own pockets to keep our airports safe.” He also added that “we need to make these federal employees whole and make sure that we prevent future political shenanigans in Congress that resulted in this shutdown.”

Since Gerry represents so many federal employees, it shouldn’t be too surprising that he’s making a point to make sure they’re treated fairly and this isn’t the first time he’s sought back pay for federal employees who were furloughed through no fault of their own. In March 2010, for example a Connolly bill passed Congress that awarded back pay to 1,922 employees of four DOT agencies who were furloughed when the Highway Trust Fund was allowed to lapse.

There’s clear precedent for compensating federal employees for such furloughs that goes back further than just the ones that Gerry has signed onto. A prime example is that here was one after 26-day government shutdown affecting 800,000 federal workers in late 1995 and early 1996 during the Clinton Administration. It’s worth noting that it was a Republican-controlled Congress that voted to compensate all of those employees. So with that in mind, Gerry said that “it was the right thing to do then, and it's the right thing to do now.”

David Englin Endorses Jaime Areizaga-Soto, Decries "Good Old Boy" Mentality

The Democratic Primary in the 31st State Senate District has been getting fairly heated. Some would even say that some of those involved in the race are getting rather petty. One example of the pettiness in the campaign is how Barbara Favola made a stink after one of the debates and refused to shake Jaime Areizaga-Soto’s hand, which is what most respectful candidates do even in the middle of the most heated campaigns (anybody remember Sarah Palin asking Biden if she could call him Joe while shaking his hand at the VP debate in 2008?). The pettiness by some of those in the Favola camp doesn’t end there. After having previously made public statements lavishing praise on Areizaga-Soto’s time in public supporters, one of Favola’s key supporter has now flip flopped on that statement because he’s making grounds on Favola. Despite those previous statements, this Favola supporter has now tried to belittle Jaime’s public service by implying that he was just an intern -- a statement obviously meant to imply he’s a liar that inflates his resume and doesn’t have the experience to serve.

This truly is a shame because a Democratic primary should be an opportunity to build up campaign infrastructures that could serve progressive candidates and causes in the future. Just look at what Jim Webb’s campaign did in Virginia back in 2006 (the Brigades formed from many of his supporters and is still influential in Northern Virginia). While I believe Jaime is the better candidate in this race, Favola does bring some positive traits to the table and obviously brings some of the more establishment types into the fold. I therefore believe we could have seen a positive discussion about the two candidates that really motivated various factions of the Democratic Party -- something we really need after two very tough years for Democrats in Virginia. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened and we now are looking at a lot of people who are simply frustrated with the behavior we’ve seen from certain people.

Delegate David Englin is one of those who has expressed frustration with the way things are going. In a statement endorsing Jaime Areizaga-Soto, David not only spoke about Jaime’s qualifications but lashed out at some of Favola’s biggest supporters by saying their behavior “smacks of an earlier era of ‘good old boy’ Virginia Democratic politics that most of us soundly rejected long ago.”

The most senior Democratic leaders in the Virginia Senate continue to attack and belittle Areizaga-Soto, who would be the first Latino elected to the Virginia Senate, because he has the nerve to seek his party's nomination against their hand-picked choice. They are so incensed by his candidacy that they have spent tens of thousands of dollars to attack him that could otherwise be used to defend their tenuous Democratic majority. This smacks of an earlier era of "good old boy" Virginia Democratic politics that most of us soundly rejected long ago. I have nothing against the other candidate in this race, Barbara Favola, with whom I have enjoyed working on Arlington County issues over the years. But the seat she and Areizaga-Soto seek belongs to the people of the 31st District, not to party bosses or the retiring incumbent to bequeath to the successor of their choice.

It’s worth looking at what David has to say here because he is a Member of the House of Delegates who has generally been highly respected by both the grassroots and the establishment. As a relatively young rising star in the Democratic Party, he also has a good chance of moving up in the party leadership. He therefore also has a lot to lose by speaking out so publicly while criticizing some of his colleagues in the General Assembly. As a result, his statement carries a lot more weight than some of the other folks who have been outspoken in their opposition to the behavior we’ve seen in this race.

I not only agree with David’s endorsement of Jaime Areizaga-Soto’s candidacy, but I strongly encourage everyone to take his statement to heart. When the evening August 23 rolls around, after all, we will have a Democratic nominee and we’ll need to rally behind our candidate. That will be a lot easier to do if we don’t have to get over folks putting pettiness and a “good old boy” type mentality ahead of progressive values in the final weeks of the primary.

You can check out David Englin’s full statement below “the fold.”

Prince William Park Authority Authorizes $150,000 For Upgrades to Pfitzner Stadium

This is cross-posted over at Ballpark Banter. I wrote this for a baseball blog, so it obviously has an emphasis on the baseball aspects of the decision. I think it's worth discussing here, however, because of the decisions made by the Prince William County Board of Supervisors and the Park Authority Board to help in the funding of upgrades to the stadium. While this does mean more investment from the County, it could prove to be very beneficial to the County and local businesses if these upgrades mean more fans make their way out to the park. After all, those fans will be purchasing tickets (which will generate tax revenue) and will be spending money at gas stations and restaurants near the stadium.

When it was announced that Bryce Harper would skip playing High A ball with the Potomac Nationals and head straight to AA, there was a lot of speculation that this move was due to the poor field conditions at Pfitzner Stadium in Prince William County. This wasn’t the first time Potomac got the short end of the stick in regards to the top Nats prospects as Stephen Strasburg never came to Woodbridge even though the original rumors were that he’d start his professional career with the P-Nats. It appears as though some action has been taken to start addressing concern about the field, however, as the Prince William Park Authority Board authorized $150,000 to make improvements to the field.

Some of the specific concerns are about the inability of the outfield to properly drain, which can lead to safety concerns for outfielders like Harper. The lack of drainage also causes a lot of games to be postponed due to rain that wouldn’t be postponed elsewhere. While this isn't as big of a concern as the safety issues, the unnecessary postponed games could put the development of crucial prospects behind schedule when they happen so often. When you combine this with the fact that the training facilities are so outdated that trainers have to go to the concession stand just to get ice for the players they’re treating, it’s really sad to see how poor the stadium has become over its 30 year history.

This isn't just local fans expressing frustration at missing out on top prospects as the drainage issues, poor training facilities, and other problems with the playing field are so bad that baseball officials sent a letter to Prince William County saying that the stadium absolutely had to be improved.

Fan frustration is an issue though as attendance at P-Nats games has been so low that there’s been talk about moving the team to a new stadium instead of investing the money in a 30 year old stadium. Part of the reason that the now go by the Potomac Nationals instead of the Prince William Nationals, for instance, is that the team’s owner, Art Silber, has been looking for ways to get private capital for a new park that could potentially bring in more fans. Part of his so far failed tactics to get a new stadium was to look at other areas in the region for the team to play. The switch to Potomac as the team's identifier instead of Prince William was made as a marketing decision several years ago in case an opportunity for a new stadium was found in Loudoun or Fairfax County.

There have also been a lot of rumors that the team was hesitant to invest in the stadium because it wanted to get so bad that the County was all but officially forced to put some public funding into it or risk losing the team (which is essentially what’s happening now). This not only impacted the quality of the playing field, but also meant the fan experience was negatively impacted by a small and severely outdated stadium.

A prime example of the poor conditions outside of the playing field can be seen in the stadium’s scoreboard. Up until about halfway through last season, the P-Nats had a scoreboard that was more outdated than those seen at most local high schools. It was so bad that when they posted the information about who was up to bat, there were so many lights out that it was sometimes difficult to make out the player’s number and batting average. Thankfully, they finally realized last year that enough fans were getting fed up with the conditions at Pfitzner Stadium that they bought a new scoreboard.

With the rumors about the moving, the letters of reprimand from baseball officials, and the frustrated fans, it’s good that Prince William County and the P-Nats have gotten the hint that action needs to be taken. Hopefully the team and county won’t stop at just bringing the playing field up to the bare minimal standards and adding a new scoreboard. If they make the stadium an attractive place to play and take in a game, after all, we could see the Nationals be willing to have their top prospects play in Woodbridge. This not only will help the P-Nats, but will improve the local economy as Nats fans from all over the DC area make the trip to Prince William County to see the future stars of the Washington Nationals.

Gerry Connolly Applauds FAA Deal, Calls Out GOP Leadership

During his telephone town hall last night, one of Gerry Connolly’s constituents said he was “appalled” that Congress went on recess before coming to an agreement on the FAA funding bill. Gerry quickly agreed that it was the wrong move and added that he had shared his concern with the leadership before they left. Considering how we’re in the middle of a debate surrounding how to reduce the deficit while also spurring job creation and economic growth, Gerry (like me and the town hall participant) thought it was wrong for Congress to leave for a month while 4,000 FAA employees and tens of thousands of construction workers were out of work and we were losing out $200 million a week in airline fees to the federal government.

Fortunately, it looks like the Senate has reached a deal that would allow a brief extension of funding while Congress works out the details of a long term deal. Gerry applauded the deal and said he hoped the Senate can use unanimous consent rules to pass the legislation. “Both bodies can wrangle over the contentious issues that are stalling the FAA bill when they return to Washington in September, but right now we need to pass some funding to put FAA airport safety inspectors and 70,000 other workers back to work,” he said. “These FAA workers and airport construction workers are not getting paid, their jobs aren’t getting done, and the taxpayers are being robbed of $30 million a day.”

Both during last night’s town hall and during his statement on the FAA compromise, Connolly praised the FAA airport safety inspectors who are using personal funds to continue to travel and do their jobs without pay. “I applaud their dedication to public service, but it is shameful that they are required to reach into their own pockets to keep our airports safe.” Interestingly, the dedication these safety inspectors

In my opinion, the action taken by the safety inspectors also shows how members of the general public realize that there are some programs like the FAA are truly worth a strong investment. The Republican leadership in Congress, however, doesn’t seem to be willing to listen to this concept as it was holding up the legislation to push for new restrictions on the right of airline workers to organize and to seek additional flight slots at Washington National Airport. Gerry also had some issues with the GOP leadership on this as he said “it’s ironic that the same crowd that preaches budget cutting was willing to let the federal government lose hundreds of millions of dollars and leave tens of thousands of airport workers without paychecks to advance their political agenda.”

UPDATE: The Senate did end up using the unanimous consent option today to pass the short term extension.

Rob Dibble: Strasburg's Only Coming Back "To Put Butts in the Seats"

This is cross-posted on Ballpark Banter. Since so many of my readers are also Nationals fans, or at least DC sports fans in general, I will post some of the stuff I write for that site on Left of the Hill. I definitely recommend going to Ballpark Banter to check out my baseball writing, however, because there will be a lot of pieces I don't cross-post.

Shortly after Stephen Strasburg got hurt last season, Rob Dibble claimed that he needed to “suck it up” and get back to pitching. Dibble has a reputation for letting his opinions be known even if they rub people the wrong way, so I wasn’t terribly surprised to hear the remarks. They were unfortunate, especially after it became clear that Strasburg torn ligament would lead to him needing Tommy John surgery, but it was Dibble being Dibble. Of course, the Nationals didn’t take it as lightly as I did and Dibble ended up being fired from his position as the color commentator on MASN.

Now that Strasburg will be starting his path back to playing with the Nationals by making a rehab start in Hagerstown, it looks like Dibble has even more to say about Strasburg’s pitching career. On his radio show yesterday, Dibble abandoned his argument that Strasburg needs to “suck it up” and instead said that the only reason that “he’s too valuable” to bring back now and that the only reason the Nats are doing it is “to put butts in the seats.”

Via the Nats Enquirer, here‘s a transcription of his remarks (above link is to the audio).

"There's absolutely no reason, other than to sell tickets and to put butts in the seats to bring Stephen Strasburg back, to make a few starts at the end of the season. He's too valuable. He's too talented to even think about stuff like that. But in their case, you know, having worked with those people, the only thing I can say is that there are some people there that think they invented the game of baseball. Which they did not."

And so they think they can do things differently than 29 other teams in the game. That's the problem I had when I was working there, and now, even when I've been working on this channel for the last seven years. It's pretty simple stuff. You want guys to play 15-20 years, you don't need to rush a guy back just to get a couple starts in so you can sell out the stadium and stuff like that. You know, they've been talking about 2012, and what kind of team they're gonna have in 2012 and stuff like that. And you know, if that's the case, and you don't want to put a Bryce Harper in the major leagues until you think he's ready, there's really no point in rushing this kid back just to get a couple starts out of him for this year."

My immediate reaction to the comments was “where was this sentiment last year?” After all, Strasburg’s current trajectory has him getting back to the big leagues about the same point in the season that he got last year. Despite Dibble’s passionate flip flop in position on bringing Strasburg back this late in the season, he’s absolutely wrong that a pitcher can’t benefit from coming back at the end of the season after having Tommy John surgery.

If you’re looking for an example of how making a few starts at the end of the season can help, all you have to do is look at the Nationals’ Jordan Zimmermann. After having Tommy John surgery, Zimmerman made came back to the Majors last year and made seven starts beginning in the last week of August. Just like this year, it was pretty clear that the Nats wouldn’t be making the playoffs and Zimm’s performance wouldn’t have helped their efforts even if they were in contention. But he has come back this year stronger and has done relatively well for the Nats this year.

While every pitchers recovery process is obviously going to be a little different, Zimmerman’s experience with the Nats and the fact that Strasburg has been consistently hitting his rehab goals suggest that coming back this season could be beneficial for his recovery. Considering how the team as a whole has also been progressing and even Dibble admits folks have been looking towards 2012 for awhile, having their star pitcher better prepared at the beginning of next season also means this move could greatly benefit the organization as a whole.

What this all means is that Rob Dibble is once again receiving a lot of attention for loudly being on the wrong side of Stephen Strasburg’s recovery process.

Economy is the Main Issue During Connolly Town Hall

One of the big trends among folks on Capitol Hill has to hold telephone town halls with their constituents because it’s an easy way for them to reach out to thousands of people at one time. Rep. Gerry Connolly has been a big advocate of using this type of forum and he held his 11th telephone town hall since being elected (2nd of this Congress) last night. With so much attention given to the debt ceiling compromise, it shouldn’t be surprising that the economy and that vote were the main topics of discussion during the call.

In his opening statement, Gerry spoke out against the “overly partisan” tone of negotiations the led up to the debt ceiling compromise. He noted that even though Congress had taken the action to raise the debt ceiling at least 75 times, there were some people in Congress who were willing to put their political agenda ahead of the country’s ability to meet its obligations. I’ve heard Gerry take this position during statements on the floor of the House and to members of the press, so this was nothing new. Neither was his explanation that he voted for the package because he felt “the vote was between this package and a catastrophic default” and “not between this package and the ideal.”

What I hadn’t heard Gerry talk about was the impact that the debate had on the local economy. He expressed a lot of concern, for instance, about how Moody’s credit agency has said that the way things are going surrounding the negotiations might cause the bond rating agencies to downgrade the ratings of Fairfax and Prince William counties because of how closely the region is tied into the federal government. I’ve sat through countless meetings at the state and local level during my years as an organizer in Northern Virginia and I can’t even begin to tell you how many times keeping a AAA rating directly impacted how elected officials cast their votes on a certain issue. Perhaps in a hint of why that happens, Gerry pointed out on last night’s call that his experience on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors showed him how having the AAA rating allowed taxpayers to save hundreds of millions of dollars through lower borrowing costs.

After making his opening statement, Gerry took questions from folks on the call. To give you an idea of the questions, you can check a few highlights below “the fold.”

Cantor's Constituents Speak Against His Threats to Cut Safety Net Programs

As Congress is preparing to form the debt ceiling super committee that will make further reductions to the deficit, most Americans want Congress to take a balanced approach that addresses the deficit but doesn‘t destroy crucial programs. It’s simply not right, after all, to cut programs that impact the middle and working class while not asking the uber wealthy to share in the burden as well. Only one day after a debt ceiling deal was reached that only guaranteed substantial cuts, however, Eric Cantor told the Wall Street Journal that he believes we need to cut things like Medicare and Social Security without asking the rich to return to pay a little more in taxes.

Cantor, who primarily represented the tea party‘s interests in the first round of debt ceiling negotiations instead of those of his constituents, said that "promises have been made that frankly are not going to be kept for many.” This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Cantor put promises to his wealthy donors and wall street bankers ahead of the millions of Americans who are struggling to get by as we’re still recovering from the worst economic disaster since the Great Depression. Even when Paul Ryan’s plan to do away with Medicare as we know it and turn it into a voucher program was facing fierce opposition, Cantor was one of Ryan’s biggest supporters.

While Cantor might think it’s okay to break promises to the American people, his constituents realize the policies he’s promoting are wrong. Candace Graham, for instance, is a Chesterfield resident who joined a large group of Virginia’s at Cantor’s Glen Allen office a few weeks ago to protest his support of cuts to safety net programs. After hearing about her Congressman blatantly threatening the working class while saying the rich should get off without making sacrifices, Candance (through Virginia Organizing) released a statement making it clear Virginians aren’t standing by his abhorrent policies.

“As a constituent of Rep. Cantor’s I take exception to my congressman saying that the majority of his constituents want cuts to Social Security and Medicare. Poll after poll suggests that people of all ages would like to see the wealthy pay their fair share instead of cutting Medicare and Social Security. Rep. Cantor’s remarks are just one more reminder that he and many of his colleagues in Washington are out of touch with their constituents.”

“Rep. Cantor seems to have the absurd idea that those of us over the age of 55 have no concern about the retirement security of our children and grandchildren so long as our benefits are not attacked this time around. I am not content to tell my children to ‘adjust’ their lives to deal with the cuts to the safety net made by legislators who only represent the interests of the wealthy and corporations. Rep. Cantor said that ‘the math doesn’t lie,’ yet he ignores the math that suggests that ending the Bush tax cuts, closing tax loopholes and returning the tax rate to what it was under the Clinton administration would eliminate the need to raid our safety net.”

Candance isn’t alone in her opposition to Cantor’s remarks and Virginia Organizing is helping empower Virginians as they stand up for the middle and working class. Throughout the summer, for instance, they’ve had a Social Security Outreach program that’s made about 300 presentations (lead by 8 interns and a couple volunteers) that talked about the need to strengthen, not cut, Social Security. While that program ends in about a week, they will continue to organize against unnecessary cuts in the next round of deficit reduction.

Chris Cillizza: Bob McDonnell Biggest Winner From Perry Presidential Campaign

Bob McDonnell has gained a fairly large national profile since he defeated Creigh Deeds in the 2009 gubernatorial campaign. He’s even gained some support from Republicans to be their party’s nominee for Vice President in 2012 and is currently serving as the Vice Chairman of the Republican Governors Association. As Chris Cillizza pointed out in a post over at the Fix, his profile could grow even more if Rick Perry decides to enter the race for president.

If, as expected, Texas Gov. Rick Perry decides to run for president in 2012, the biggest winner may well be Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell.

Perry would vacate his [RGA] chairmanship if he were to pursue the presidency and McDonnell would step into a job that has emerged as a powerful perch and potential springboard into national politics in recent years.

While no McDonnell supporters wanted to speak on the record about the opportunity such a move would afford the governor, one ally acknowledged that it would “continue McDonnell’s steady move into the national political arena” and added: “The greater exposure should just mean a greater opportunity for him to play a larger role in the current political debate, and, potentially, open up future doors as well.”

Chris did point out that if Perry ends up winning the GOP nomination, it would essentially ruin McDonnell’s chances of being named the VP nomination because the party probably wouldn’t want to nominate two white male southern governors. At the same time, however, McDonnell might be a prime candidate for RNC chair under a President Perry if the GOP ticket performed well in Virginia and won the general election.

Republicans Mock Jaime Radtke for Wanting an RV

Earlier today I wrote a post about how recent polling suggests that she isn’t doing well among GOP activists because she’s running a poor campaign, not necessarily because of her political philosophy. A prime example of this type of sentiment can be seen over at Bearing Drift, one of the most popular conservative blogs in Virginia.

JR Hoft wrote a post a few days ago that highlights how Radtke has been asking for donations to help fund a campaign RV. Apparently it would cost about $1,000 per month to lease the vehicle, with an additional $1,400 per month going towards fuel and insurance. If she wants the fancy wrap that we see when politicians go on bus tours, it would be a one time payment of $7,500. If used correctly, these stats could be beneficial while trying to raise the necessary money because potential donors could see it as a way to get a better sense of where their money is going to be used.

While going on a bus tour and asking donors to fund specific projects are relatively commonplace, Hoft took this as an opportunity to go after Radtke’s campaign tactics. He pointed out that she’s trying to get an RV despite the fact that her “campaign is apparently underwater,” for instance, and ended the post by saying “as if traffic in Virginia wasn’t already bad enough.” While it’s been clear for awhile that Hoft isn’t a big fan of Radtke’s, the comments left by readers also suggested she’s not running a smart campaign.

If commenters weren’t saying there “more urgent ways for her to spend the campaign money she doesn’t have” or why she didn’t just ask for an airplane while she’s at it, they were questioning the figures that she used to estimate the cost of the RV. The few people who appeared to be Radtke supporters spent most of their time launching attacks against Hoft or George Allen -- not really a way to win over supporters or spread information about a candidate who 77% of GOP primary voters have an opinion about.

PPP Polls Virginia GOP Races

While we have state and elections here in Virginia coming up in November, there has already been a lot of attention giving to the races in 2012 and beyond. With that in mind, PPP released a poll yesterday that showed George Allen with a huge lead in the Republican primary for US Senate.

Despite the fact that we’ve seen the Tea Party taking over the Republican Party all across the country, Allen appears to have been able to ward off any serious challenges from the far right. In fact, Tea Party candidate Jamie Radtke only has 6% of the vote and the poll also shows him with a 58-23 lead over a “a generic more conservative challenger.”

While the Tea Party candidates aren’t doing well in the Senate race, it would be wrong to assume this means the Virginia GOP has escaped being taken over by the extreme right. It looks like Jaime Radtke’s low numbers aren’t because of her political philosophy, for instance, but because of a poor campaign. Despite being in the race for months, 77% of those polled (likely GOP primary voters) didn’t have an opinion of her candidacy. Even some political insiders that I’ve talked to on both sides of the aisle said they either didn’t know much about her, if anything at all. And those who did, weren’t very impressed (a concept that’s also supported by the polling). This tells me that George Allen’s name recognition and lack of quality opposition are why he’s going to get the GOP nomination -- not because the Tea Party likes him.

The polling PPP did in other races, however, does suggest that the Tea Party has a strong influence over the Virginia GOP. I say this because a hypothetical match up between Ken Cuccinelli and Bill Bolling for Governor in 2013 has Cuccinelli leading 45-23 an Michelle Bachmann has the lead in the presidential primary. Plus, Rick Perry also has his strongest showing outside of Texas here in Virginia. This is important because the top of the ticket in 2012 and 2013 will have a very strong influence the debate in other races going on. In other words, George Allen will likely have to cater to the far right and associate with the Tea Party if he wants to get his party’s base excited about his candidacy too next year.

Sen. Mark Warner Wants to be on Supercommittee

With President Obama signing the debt ceiling compromise yesterday, Congressional leaders now have 10 days to appoint people to the bipartisan joint committee responsible for coming up with another $1.5 trillion in deficit reductions. With the decision regarding the appointments having to made relatively soon, Virginia’s Sen. Mark Warner has been actively lobbying for a spot on the commission.

As we‘re coming off of a tough negotiations that almost lead to a catastrophic default, Warner is using his credentials as a centrist as part of the reason why he wants to be on the committee. He told the Richmond Times Dispatch, for instance, that his “fear is that this could be made of a group that could be the more ideologically rigid in both parties, and [he’s] not sure that gets us to where we need to be."

Warner then went on the Fox News Channel to talk about the deal and some of the work that the new committee would have to do. He pointed out that he believes we need to take bold steps towards addressing entitlement and tax reforms -- something that would receive a significant amount of resistance from members of both parties. Perhaps showing a little lack in confidence that anything very productive will be accomplished by the committee, however, he said that “the fact that I’m willing to do that probably means that I’m not actually going to get on the committee.”

During his lobbying efforts, Warner has also pointed to his experience as a member of the “Gang of 6” and claims this helps to illustrate how he’s been intimately “working on this issue for the last year.” Some pundits have also pointed out that this was the only group that actually came up with a bipartisan proposal (though it didn’t end up receiving much support beyond the group and there was definitely a lot of disputes that even lead to members leaving the group at one time).

While I tend to think that Warner should be considered because he does have a lot of experience on the issues and his reputation as a centrist might help ease tensions, I think his appointment should only come if he’s also surrounded by some strong progressives. I say this because while he would bring a lot to the table, we’ve seen the Democrats give up a lot more than the GOP has given up in recent compromises. I therefore would like to see the Dems appoint some liberals to help ensure we have some strong voices for progressive values in the discussion.

UPDATE: Here's video of his appearance on the Fox News Channel.

Democrats Nominate Adrianne Bennett in 21st HoD Race

In 2009, Republican Ron Villanueva defeated incumbent Democrat Bobby Mathieson by 14 votes in the 21st House of Delegates district. Since Bobby has since become the US Marshall for the Eastern District of Virginia, he won’t be trying to regain his seat this year. As a result, we won’t see a rematch of the extremely close race. According to a press release from the Virginia Beach Democratic Committee, however, we will be seeing a solid race as Adrianne Bennett has officially received the Democratic nomination and will be challenging Villanueva in the general election.

Bennett is an attorney who is in a private practice and a public defender for the City of Norfolk, working on the behalf of underrepresented children and those in the foster care system. She was born in Norfolk, moved to Virginia Beach at the age of three, attended Kings Grant and Holland Elementary Schools, Lynnhaven Middle School, First Colonial High School and graduated from Cape Henry Collegiate School in 1990. Bennett earned her Bachelor of Science in Political Science with a minor in Sociology from Virginia Tech, and her Juris Doctorate at the University of Baltimore School of Law, graduating Cum Laude in 1998.

“Less than two years ago, in an unprecedented election year for Republicans, Democrat Bobby Mathieson lost the 21st District by 16 votes. We are committed to helping Adrianne win back this seat”, said Joel McDonald, the Democratic 21st House District Chair. “Adrianne has the proven ability and commitment to being an outspoken and dedicated voice in Richmond. I look forward to her representing all of us in South Hampton Roads.”

As somebody who has spent a significant amount of time organizing around education issues, I’m very glad to see that she has publicly said that “she is dedicated to making sure children have access to quality education, from early childhood to college.” In the race to cut our federal and state budgets, it’s far too often students who suffer since most aren’t old enough to go to the polls. These cuts, however, have a huge impact on our communities because they prevent students from obtaining the skills they need to lead a successful life -- which obviously has a harmful impact on the area they live in.

It’s also good to see that Bennett has a history of serving as a public defender. This is tough work and shows a commitment to ensuring that our justice system works as fairly as possible. Far too often we see the poor get rail roaded by the system because they don’t have the resources to properly defend themselves. Having strong lawyers serve as public defenders helps make sure everyone has their rights defended.

As Joel McDonald pointed out over at Virginia Beach Progressives, this has the potential to be very close and it’s important to Democrats since no Democrats currently hold a Delegate seat “primarily representing Virginia Beach.” In other words, it looks like Democrats have nominated a good candidate in what could prove to be a crucial race this November.

Gerry Connolly: It was Between This Proposal and Catastrophic Default Today

As the debt ceiling bill has now passed, Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have been making the rounds explaining why they voted for or against the bill. That included Gerry Connolly, who had a conference call with reporters this morning to explain why he voted in favor of the bill.

Even before the final deal was reached, Gerry was strongly advocating for a compromise so that we could avoid a “devastating default.” When it looked like we had a strong chance of failing to reach a deal over the weekend, Gerry took to the floor of the House to go after the GOP for acting as though compromise was a dirty word and being “more interested in scoring political points than ensuring the stability of the U.S. economy and preserving the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.”

After going after the GOP for promoting the “rigid orthodoxy” instead of what’s best for the American people, Gerry practiced what he preached and voted for a compromise yesterday even though he admitted that there were several things he didn’t like about the bill. Both in a statement released last night and on the conference call today, for instance, Gerry pointed out that there was nothing in the bill that addressed revenue reform. Despite these disappointments, he said that when it came down to casting a vote it "wasn’t between the ideal and this proposal, it was between this proposal and a catastrophic default today.”

Since there’s been a number of outspoken folks on the left who have expressed opposition to the deal, it shouldn’t be too surprising that Gerry took some time on his call today to discuss what Democrats could like about the compromise. He started out by saying that there “was something for everyone to love and everyone to hate” in the bill, which would obviously explain why there’s people on both the left and right who have come out both in support and in opposition to the deal. Specifically in regards to Democrats, however, he pointed out that one of the major wins we had was that the bill gets us past 2012. Gerry also highlighted how this adds more stability than the short term deal that the GOP was trying to ram through at the last minute.

While it’s true that the entire deal gets us through 2012, I’m not fully buying into that argument because the joint committee still has to come up with a deal for the second round of deficit reduction. With the way things have been going lately regarding tough negotiations, I’m not sure how confident we should be that something actually will get something done. And with the rumors already circulating that Boehner and McConnell won’t appoint anyone to the committee who would support revenue reform, I’ve all but given up hope that we’ll see anything addressing revenue come out of this deal.

Gerry appeared to have more hope on this than me though because he believed that the enforcement mechanisms put in place are disdained by enough members on both sides that folks will be motivated to make a deal that could pass. The Congressman also went on to say the actual spending cuts are relatively low in the first two years, so that provides us some more room to recover before the impact of the cuts are felt. While that’s not terribly comforting, it is better than having to face the full blunt of the cuts while we still haven’t fully recovered from the worst economic disaster since the great depression.

All in all, what this means is that Gerry Connolly believes the debt ceiling deal was far from perfect but needed to pass in order to prevent a “catastrophic default today.” While it might not be extremely politically popular, I think that position and the action he took prior to the vote are an example of the strong leadership we need in Congress right now. He fought for progressive values, went after those who were preventing progress, and eventually voted for the best interests of the American people even though we didn’t get everything he wanted.

Video Statement From Mark Warner on Debt Ceiling Deal

Mark Warner was elected, in part, due to his business experience and his knowledge of financial issues. When you combine that with the fact that he's a "radical centrist" and was a member of the "Gang of 6," he definitely has a history of working across party lines when it comes to economic issues. People from both sides of the aisle realize this, which is why he was elected with a strong majority, remains one of the more popular politicians in Virginia, and has earned the respect of his fellow Senators. As a result, I think Warner's thinking on the debt ceiling deal is not only important to folks in Virginia, but to those who are following the economic talks on the Hill in general.

So with that being said, here's a video statement that Warner's office put out about the debt ceiling deal. Perhaps what's most noticeable, is that he joins most of those who voted "aye" by not being a real champion of the bill, but arguing that they needed to pass the legislation in order to avoid going into default.

Giffords' Office: "No decision has been made about 2012"

In the middle of a fierce debate a friend of mine referred to as “petty partisan bickering,” Gabby Giffords’ presence on the House floor for the first time since being shot almost 8 months ago resulted in a standing ovation from members of both parties. It was an inspirational moment that briefly reminded all of us that there are elected officials out there who are truly dedicated to serving their country. It also almost immediately lead to pundits speculating about whether or not she would be running for re-election next year.

With all the speculation brewing about her future, however, her office has released a statement saying that "Congresswoman Giffords is focused on her recovery” and "no decision has been made about 2012." While that is the official position as of now, Giffords’ campaign has still posted some very good numbers through the help of friends and being named as one of the DCCC’s “Frontline” candidates for 2012.

A prime example of the support Giffords’ has received regarding fundraising came through what one of her closest friends, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, said on Morning Joe earlier today. The DNC Chairwoman made it clear that the Giffords’ friends are making sure she has the resources necessary to run for re-election if she’s made enough progress in her recovery. "We're certainly getting her ready to make sure she can run for reelection at the point that they're ready to decide on that," Wasserman Schultz said. “Her supporters in Arizona and across the country and her colleagues are making sure that she doesn't have to start from scratch when she makes that decision."

As I have reported several times before, her Congressional staff has also been making sure that her constituents have been properly represented in the House of Representatives. On the Armed Services Committee, for instance, her staff has been working with Rep. Adam Smith on details as small as making sure questions she might ask are brought up during committee hearings. What this all tells me is that if Giffords were to run for re-election, should would have the support of both a good campaign team and solid Congressional office.

Gerry Connolly's Statement on Passage of Debt Ceiling Bill

The following is a statement put out by Rep. Gerry Connolly regarding the debt ceiling vote tonight in the House of Representatives. The heart of the statement was that the bill was not perfect, he was "disappointed" that a balanced approach that included revenue wasn't initially taken for instance, and we still have a lot of work to do. At the same time, there were some silver linings such as no immediate cuts to federal workers pay and benefits. Most importantly, we saved the country from going into default, which would have had an extremely negative impact on our country's economy.

I agree with Gerry's take on the bill. It's not something that we should be thrilled about, but it did avoid a default. In my opinion, that could have lead to economic disaster which could have completely reversed any recovery that we've made. For all of those on the left who have decided to attack Dems who voted yes, it's important to remember that these cuts might take away resources that are desperately needed, but the cuts are still a lot less harmful than what would have happened if we went into default. With that being said, however, it is important that we hold our elected officials accountable and ensure that they move forward with responsible legislation in the future. The good news is that progressives like Gerry appear to understand that they must stand up to the Tea Party as we move forward.

And with all that in mind, here's the statement that Gerry released.

Tonight’s vote for the debt ceiling agreement averted a catastrophic collapse of the economy. After months of an overly-partisan process, and a dangerous game of chicken played by House Republicans, the House passed the debt ceiling bill by a vote of 269 to 161.

The choice we faced was not a choice between this proposal and the perfect. But rather, it was a choice between this proposal and default by the United States tomorrow. All of us in Congress have a responsibility to do what’s in the best interest of the country and protecting the credit-worthiness of the United States is most certainly in the best interest of the country. The United States has been a creditworthy nation since Alexander Hamilton was Secretary of the Treasury in George Washington’s first cabinet, and I was not willing to vote to reverse that.

I am disappointed that revenue is not included initially, but under this agreement it will be on the table moving forward and we can live to fight another day. It is absurd to propose that we can solve our long-term debt problem only on the spending side of the ledger. Right now we’re spending 25% of GDP, which is too high, and we are bringing in revenue of just 15% of GDP which is too low. Moving forward, we must address both.

The agreement includes no immediate cuts to federal workers’ pay and benefits, although the spending cuts imposed on civilian agencies will certainly have an impact. Moving forward, I will be working to make sure that federal workers are not forced to bear an inordinate share of the burden of deficit reduction.

They have already sacrificed and further reductions will threaten their ability to provide the vital services we all count on every day. Medicare and Social Security benefits are protected, but again, it is important that we protect the interests of those who have earned these benefits in the coming months. We cannot forget that House Republicans want to cut these important programs, as evidenced by the Ryan budget plan approved by the House majority this year that would dismantle Medicare as we know it and replace it with a voucher plan to help pay for private insurance.

Unlike the cynical legislation this chamber passed on a party line vote last week, this bill commits America to meeting its obligation for the longer term, it leaves all options on the table, including revenue, for bipartisan committee consideration this fall. It also has triggers, painful to both parties, which add real accountability and strict enforcement to this process.

I commend President Obama and other leadership for leading the adult conversation to bring about this compromise.

The American people understand we need balance to restore fiscal responsibility and grow our economy. I join them in working to reach this important goal.

Video: President Obama Explains Debt Deal to Supporters

Like many folks on the left, I'm not terribly excited about the compromise on the debt ceiling compromise. While it's great that we avoided going into default, which would have had a devastating affect on our already fragile economy, it's still a compromise that cuts programs crucial to working class families while allowing corporations to once again escape without making any sacrifices. Since we've seen deal after deal where this has been the case, I'm also not confident that the joint committee will do anything to address the revenue side of the budget.

What all this means is that I don't like too much of what's in the compromise, but I realize it's better for our country than default. As Nate Silver points out, the fine print of the bill makes the compromises a little easier to take in. One of his points, for instance, is that many of the cuts wouldn't take place until 2013 or 2014. According to Nate, this is good because "fundamentally it is very difficult to bind the actions of a future Congress." Of course, we still can't deny that momentum is on the side of making drastic cuts and it could the ones proposed in this bill could have a very negative impact on our economy in those years.

I therefore wouldn't hold it against members of Congress who voted for the bill, but strongly encourage our elected officials on both sides of the aisle to come together in order to create a balanced solution to our deficit problems. In the meantime, for those on the left who are disappointed with the compromise, here's a video that Obama put out to supporters to explain why the compromise was necessary.