McAuliffe for Governor (Richmond Voice)
Richmond Voice
June 3, 2009
Virginia's next governor should be able to truthfully tell Virginians that he is doing everything he can to help them navigate these troubled economic waters.
Only three of the four men running to be governor can be trusted to tell the truth on the issue. They include State Sen. Creigh Deeds, former Del. Brian Moran and former DNC Chair Terry McAuliffe. All three are Democrats whose final face off for the governorship will take place during Tuesday's Democratic primary. The victor will go on to face the Republican nominee for governor, former Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell.
The VOICE editorial team met with Sen. Deeds and McAuliffe recently, and we like both their plans for bringing jobs for Virginia, focusing on green economy and energy renewability, sprucing up Virginia's education system and public transportation as well as ensuring that our teachers have incentives to stay put, among other things.
While we believe that all three Democratic candidates will do a better job than McDonnell, we are confident that McAuliffe is the strongest candidate to beat McDonnell in November. In addition, we know that he will continue laying the groundwork for sensible spending and fairness that fellow Democrats, Governors Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, have laid in Virginia over the last eight years.
Job creation is the biggest issue of this time and McAuliffe's campaign, highlighting his background as a successful businessman, has framed it shrewdly from the outset. "I started my first business at 14," says McAuliffe in one of the many ads his campaign has aired since he entered the race in January.
His approach of mixing politics and business may rub some the wrong way, but it makes him a stronger candidate who understands how to use the numerous connections he has to move forward. We are all opportunistic in one way or another and there's nothing wrong with electing an opportunist who can help Virginia continue to move forward.
We like McAuliffe's conviction that once a Virginian has served his/her imposed time of prison/probation/parole or jail he/she should automatically regain lost voting rights.
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McAuliffe...give[s] us the best opportunity to defeat McDonnell...who [is] stuck in the extreme right of the Republican Party, which continues to alienate millions of moderate Americans with its divisive ideology.
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It is our hope that on June 10, all Democrats will come together and work in concert to defeat the Republican ticket.
Tags: endorsement, endorsements, macker, mcauliffe, richmond, richmond voice, t-mac, terry, terry mcauliffe, va-gov, virginia
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“At meet-and-greets from small-town Leesburg to exurban Manassas to far-south Martinsville, he douses voters in an ebullient rain of proposals… McAuliffe’s ideas may be hard to beat.”
– The New Republic, 2/4/09
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“In the midst of a daunting travel schedule and after releasing truly ambitious business and energy plans for the Commonwealth, he still maintains an energy level that those of us ten years younger would be hard pressed to match.”
– The Loudoun Independent, 4/1/09
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“McAuliffe is rolling out a series of position papers on energy and business that go well beyond the typical two-page brochure full of bromides…his substantive pitches have raised expectations and pointed the way toward a different, more high-toned campaign.”
– Richmond Times-Dispatch, 3/25/09
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“Although many State House insiders were initially skeptical of McAuliffe, he has been running a nearly flawless campaign. Democrats and Republicans are taking him seriously.”
– The Washington Post, 1/22/09
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“Terry McAuliffe can get through to the (rural) culture. Like I said, he’s got a positive attitude. Terry’s also got high name recognition amongst Democrats who will vote in the primary. And McAuliffe is a good name to have out here where I live.”
– Dave “Mudcat” Saunders
Political strategist for Mark Warner and Jim Webb, 3/25/09 -
“Terry McAuliffe continues to impress – rolling out a detailed plan to revive the Virginia economy and picking up labor endorsements, the latest of which came from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.”
– The Washington Post, 4/3/09
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“He brings a kind of energy and visibility and presence that’s just extraordinary.”
– Bob Holsworth, professor at VCU, 2/4/09
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