Great Scoop by RK!= "Mudcat: Clintons are no friend of "my people out in rural America"

Reposting this, because its big big big!

See RK for more... http://www.raisingkaine.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=12555

And I didn't even know this when I wrote the last post! True Story! Obama 08!

Bloody Wednesday!: Tom Davis, Rudy, Edwards Call it Quits

Obviously Tom Davis timed his announcement to get as little main stream media attention as possible. The good news about this though is that the DCCC will certainly target the 11th District, which is also bad news for Leslie Byrne given her disdain for her Democratic colleagues.

In terms of a winning ticket for Northern Virginia, the question now turns to a game of 'which one of these is not like the others'

• Obama- Warner- Byrne
• Obama- Warner- Connolly
• Obama- Warner- Denneny
• Obama- Warner - Alexander

Why no Hillary?- Well because with Edwards out, and Obama's speech coming before Edwards announcement praising Edwards, as well as the speculation that Obama would offer Edwards Attorney General- I think we will see at least 75% Edwards supportes vote for Obama, and Edwards' delegates going to Obama... Plus with Rudy going to McCain, and rumors of Arnold signing on too, Democrats would be wise to think of who realistically can win against McCain.

Congressman Davis Will Not Seek Re-election
January 30,
2008
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA-11th) announced today he willnot run for re-election in 2008. Davis issued the following statement on his decision: “After much soul-searching and discussion with those closest to me, I have decided the time is right to take a sabbatical from public life. I will serve out the remainder of my term, and plan to remain an active contributor to Republican causes, but will not run for office in 2008. “I have not yet decided what opportunities to pursue when I depart Congress. But it’s clear to me that returning to the private sector and reacquainting myself with that view of the world is the best move for me and my family.“I am confident we will keep this seat in Republican hands. Especially if my foolish Democratic friends nominate Leslie Byrne! Voters in the 11th congressional district will be looking for the most honest and optimistic candidate out there. “I want to emphasize that I am not closing the door on future public service, but after 29 years in office, winning 11 elections, I think it is time for a respite. “I am forever grateful to my constituents for the trust they have placed in me over the years. I think I have left Northern Virginia and the capital region better than I found it. Meanwhile, there is much left to accomplish during the remainder of my term, and I plan to work harder than ever this year across party lines for my district, the region, and America.”

Leslie Byrne Intimidating Women

Another blog- The Mason Conservative has an excellent post that should be reprinted and posted everywhere! http://masonconservative.typepad.com/the_mason_conservative/2008/01/byrne-the-bully.html

Another candidate has emerged in the 11th Congressional race this year on the Democrat side, racheting their number up to 4. But what makes Lori Alexander interesting is that she seems to have gotten more attention than her candidacy
would deserve . . . from Leslie Byrne. Leslie The Loser is looking over her shoulder now at a younger women without all her baggage that could take just enough votes away from her to seal the deal for Gerry Connolly. Probably not,
but this little bit from Bill Turque, the DCPost's best Virginia writier, merits interest as a reflection on how Byrne treats people: Mount Vernon Democrat Lori Alexander, who filed this week to enter the 11th Congressional District race, reports that she got a nasty welcome into the contest Thursday night in Mount Vernon. She said a woman who identified herself as a supporter of former Rep. Leslie L. Byrne, one of the two other formally announced candidates, "sort of threatened me aggressively and told me I shouldn't run."
"She poked me in the shoulder and told me I'd better think long and hard about what I'm doing," said Alexander, 40, a physical therapist at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington. Alexander said she knows the identity of the woman, who she described as somewhat older, but declined to disclose her name because she doesn't want to inflame the situation.
Alexander said the encounter took place shortly before she spoke to the Mount Vernon Democratic Committee. The woman came up to her and asked if "if I was working for Lori Alexander." She said that when she confirmed that she was Lori, she got the poke in the shoulder. Nice. I think the field might be getting a little crowded for Leslie, and she's getting nervous. One-on-one, she has the best chance of defeating Gerry Connolly; but when the liberal/grassroots vote is split between Byrne, Denneny, and now Alexander . . . yikes. Could it be that Leslie Byrne is on her way to losing AGAIN?

The answer is a resonding YES! Leslie, The Loser will once, and forever be buried in the political graveyard!

Leslie Byrne Like Unions, If The Price Is Right?!

Most of us, except for former Rep. Leslie Byrne have hear about the ongoing writers strike that has shut down most of network TV.

If you didn't hear about the writers visit to Washington DC yesterday:

Writers from Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report” may be on strike, but they still put on quite a show Wednesday for members of Congress and the media. In a mock debate held in the Rayburn House Office Building and moderated by former White House press secretary Dee Dee Myers, the comedy writers addressed concerns raised during the 12-week-old dispute between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Representing the WGA cause were “Daily Show” writers Rob Kutner, Tim Carvell and Jason Ross, each wearing casual attire. Arguing the studio- and network-executive side were suit-wearing writers Michael Brumm, Peter Grosz and Tom Purcell, and Leslie Byrbe who appropriately craft union-despising material
for mock right-winger Stephen Colbert. And although the debate was a farce, the issues were real. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), whose district includes much of the writer-heavy Upper West Side of Manhattan, kicked off the event. “An acceptable deal is what they need and deserve,” Nadler said of the writer’s guild. Five other WGA-supporting members of Congress — all Democrats — followed: Reps. Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, Stephen I. Cohen of Tennessee, Rush Holt of New Jersey, and John Hall and Anthony D. Weiner, both of New York. While lawmakers raised serious issues, such as worker and intellectual property rights, they also couldn’t resist doing a little stand-up. There were some numbers tossed around that supported the WGA side, such as how the studios rake in $95 billion annually versus the average guild writer’s income of $62,000. But the executives and Leslie Byrne still argued that the writers were overpaid: For example, the average scribe makes more than a volunteer fireman or even Jesus when he was working as a carpenter. But they did offer an olive branch to the writers — a raise of “negative 50.” “Shut up and get back to work, or we’re going to replace you with 'American Gladiators,'” they said…Following the debate, Winship fielded questions about the event, which he said was an effort “to increase congressional and public awareness.” But away from the Hill, are the issues gaining traction throughout the country, specifically on the campaign trail? “It has been an issue,” Winship told Politico after the debate. “I think it’s difficult for a lot of candidates because they walk a very thin line between the creative communities and the networks.“Obviously there’s a lot of fundraising that takes place with the studios or networks,” Winship said of the candidates. “On the other hand, there’s a lot of fundraising that takes place within the creative community. ... So I think they’ve had to walk that delicate line.” Since the strike began on Nov. 5, Democratic candidates’ refusal to cross the picket line led to CBS canceling a debate. And former Sen. John Edwards personally joined up with striking writers in New York City. As expected, the Republican candidates joined by Leslie Byrne are not supportive of the striking writers, including Mike Huckabee appearing on "The Tonight Show" the evening before the Iowa caucus. Huckabee later maintained his innocence, saying he had been confused and thought the writers had made a deal with Jay Leno’s late-night show. The “Daily Show” writers could have had a field day with that one.

Obviously I have inserted Leslie Byrne into this story becuase although she touts her union endorsements, she saw fit to selfishly auction off tickets to the Daily Show to support what will surley be another loosing campaign.

Lowell Feld and I drew the ticket winner for the Daily Show. James was our first entry for the drawing, which ended up raising over $3,000. Thank you to all that entered. I hope you had fun with this different type of fundraiser. If you have other ideas for some interesting ways we can engage people in helping us raise the necessary funds for this campaign, send them along.

Leslie's current and past campaigns have been funded on money taken from special interests, especially unions. It seems the writers haven't given her enough money. Send Leslie a message or leave her a comment and let her know thats its time to return to the political graveyard

Lori Alexander Files for 11th

Your source for the scoop! What Raising Kaine and Not Larry Sabato don't want you to hear...

New Candidate in Virginia's 11th Demcoratic Primary

I have heard from a reliable source that someone by the name of Lori Alexander from the Alexandria / Mount Vernon area is about to declare her candidacy for United States Congress in the Democratic Primary from Virginia's 11th district.

Good luck to Lori, the more the merrier!


Needless to say, her entrance would be bad news for Leslie Byrne:

1. With another woman on the ballot, Leslie loses a few pages out of her copy of the Hillary Clinton playbook and can no longer pull the gender card.


2. Some voters, especially seniors might be confused (Leslie / Lori)

In other news, Fairfax County Chairmen Gerry Connolly spoke to the Fairfax County Democratic Committee about MLK day and the Democrats prospects for 2008. Connolly was invited by FCDC President Scott Surovell, which appeared to have annoyed Byrne as she and her staff left the room as Gerry began to speak.


Also in attendance were 11th District Candidate Doug Denneny and 10th District Candidate Judy Feder.