Long before Republican Tom Davis read the writing on the wall and announced he would not run for re-election, Virginia’s 11th district was at the top of every Democrat’s wish list. With Northern Virginia trending blue over the last two cycles, it’s perfect for a red-to-blue turnover. But first we’ve got to make sure we don’t elect another Blue Dog/DLC-type “corporate Democrat.”
Fortunately, we have a great candidate in the field. Leslie Byrne has been a strong, progressive voice for decades in the state legislature, in Congress and as our nation’s consumer advocate. She opposed the war in Iraq from the start, will fight to make health care more affordable and more accessible, and has always supported a woman’s right to choose. Please check out her live blog session at FDL from last March.
As the Washington Post has pointed out, Leslie’s opponent, Gerry Connolly, basically a Zell Miller/Joe Lieberman type Democrat, is trying to trick voters into thinking he’s suddenly a progressive, just the way Lieberman persuaded Connecticut voters in 2006 that he had seen the light and had suddenly become anti-war. Let’s go over why Connolly is such a terrible choice for grassroots and progressive Democrats.
First off, Connolly’s record conforms to the worst stereotypes of the corporate Democrat and threatens to cost the party a long-awaited takeover. Connolly has been mired in questions about his employment with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), one of the worst of the major defense contractors, his cozy relationship with business developers and his general affinity for what most of us would call pay to play politics.
Connolly’s most egregious offenses against the progressive agenda are only recently coming to light, largely due to his own hypocrisy on the Iraq war. Connolly, who was a proud “moderate” until the moment he declared for the House, has taken to touting his anti-war credentials by claiming that he’s “been against the Iraq war from the beginning” and that he plans to “hold CEOs criminally accountable for wasting tax payer’s dollars.”
So, why is this a problem? Well, it’s an issue because Connolly’s employer, SAIC, is one of the most secretive defense contractors in the world.
Defense contractors are a huge voting block in the 11th Congressional District, which may explain why Gerry has a 20 point lead, or maybe it is just that people like Gerry.
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