The Contender: Mitch Daniels of Indiana

Governor Mitch E. Daniels of Indiana was recently ranked second in a poll taken by National Journal.  Governor Daniels was thrown into the mainstream media spotlight after penning an Op-Ed for the Wall Street Journal commenting on how the state of Indiana is reducing costs for healthcare for the state and it’s employees via the state’s Health Savings Account.

Former Massachusetts Governor W. Mitt Romney is considered Republican ‘insiders’ top choice for the 2012 Nomination while Former Governor Timothy J. Pawlenty of Minnesota came in third. Other contenders named by Republicans inside the beltway include, in order in which they were ranked, Senator John R. Thune of North Dakota, Former Alaska Governor Sarah L. Palin, Mississippi Governor Haley R. Barbour, Former Arkansas Governor Michael D. Huckabee, Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Newton L. Gingrich, Texas Governor J. Richard Perry and Former Governor J.E. Bush of Florida bringing up the rear.

Governor Daniels’ simple Middle-America appeal is something that Washington, D.C. could greatly benefit from. Daniels, who previously served in President George W. Bush’s Administration as Director of the Office of Management and Budget from ’01-03, is often known for his simple persona and being straight forward.  Since 2005, he has served as the 49th Governor of the State of Indiana.

The National Review recently featured a profile of the Hoosier Governor, which you can read here.

While Daniels is not widely known outside of conversations between politico or Indiana, he could be a force to be reckoned with.  Since Governor Daniels is not able to seek a third term under Indiana law, Representative Michael R. Pence, another potential 2012 Republican Presidential Candidate, may instead seek to succeed Daniels as Governor.

C-SPAN’s Q&A program interviewed Governor Daniels, it is nearly an hour long, but gives you a in-depth look at Daniels both politically and personally.

The Deeds Interview

Since 1991, R. Creigh Deeds has been active in Virginia politics. Representing the 18th district in the House of Delegates for ten years, Deeds ran for the Virginia Senate in a special election to replace the late Emily Couric in 2001.

In 2005, Senator Deeds faced then Delegate Robert F. McDonnell in the 2005 election for Virginia’s Attorney General, losing by only 300 votes. 2009 brought about a rematch, this time Deeds faced Attorney General McDonnell for the top job in Virginia politics; Governor. In what was considered a strong Republican year, Senator Deeds solutions for Virginia’s problems weren’t heard over the saber rattling of the Republican Party.

A big fan of his iPod, Deeds often tweets, something he considers fun and a great tool to keep in touch with folks, what song he was listening to. He is also a huge Cincinnati Reds fan and supports Pete Rose being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

“Pete Rose played the game harder than anybody before or since, he had more hits than anyone in history, he played in more winning games. His career as a player merits his inclusion in the Hall of Fame.”

Citing former Democratic Party of Virginia (DPVA) Chairman and Delegate C. Richard Cranwell and the late Hunter B. Andrews as his role models, Deeds made it clear that a majority of his mentoring occurred during his time in the House of Delegates, which is where he also considers two of his greatest legislative accomplishments took place;

“In 1998, I sponsored the Megan’s Law legislation in Virginia and successfully moved that to passage. I am confident that that legislation has saved children’s lives.

“In 1999, I carried a package of legislation aimed at conserving land, the biggest piece of which was the Land Conservation Tax Credit. That legislation has resulted in the conservation of tens of thousands of acres in Virginia and has been the most successful land conservation program in the country.”

Recently Senator Deeds introduced legislation that ensured funding for ‘Alicia’s Law‘ which he claims is the “Most significant crime fighting legislation passed in Virginia in the last three or four years.”

With activism growing at a rapid rate on both sides of the aisle, contacting one’s representative can be almost some kind of art form.  Prefering the old fashioned way, Mr. Deeds said that e-mail and Facebook is a great tool in today’s society

“Young voters, middle-aged voters, old voters need to be heard on every issue of public concern and there is no magic way to voice opinions. Nothing works better than contacting their elected representatives the old fashion way, by phone, by letter or in person.  Letters to the editor are good and email is easy. I have found that email has increased the volume of correspondence tremendously over the last decade. Whether the views are expressed in person, through snail mail or email, a thoughtful, well reasoned approach is always the best way to make your views known.”

When it comes to privatizing the state owned ABC stores, Senator Deeds said that he is open to considering any sort of bill, but is “unimpressed” by proposals that he has seen thus far.  When asked about stimulating the Commonwealth’s economy he cut right to the chase

“The quickest way to stimulate Virginia’s economy, in my view, is to reinvest in infrastructure. We have failed to invest in transportation infrastructure over the last 15 years.  The result is that our needs for maintenance and construction of highways and bridges alone are measured in the billions. Transportation infrastructure includes rail and airports as well. Our short term and long term planning should include improvements at our airports and also high speed rail.”

“Longer term, we should continue to work to make improvements in our systems of public education. We should work to ensure that throughout the Commonwealth, our public schools are preparing students for the next level of education or the workforce. And, we have much work to do to ensure that public higher education is affordable for all Virginians. If we build the smartest workforce in the world and we have a 21^st Century system of transportation, we will attract the best paying jobs in the world to Virginia.”

When it comes to achieving energy independence Senator Deeds made his position known “Everything should be on the table and that includes offshore drilling.” When the issue of the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico came up Deeds gave more detail on his position and why it should still be a option

“The disaster related to the explosion in the Gulf of Mexico and its aftermath, has given us many lessons about offshore drilling and has raised the bar significantly for those who wish to pursue drilling off the shore of Virginia.”

His view on the future of Virginia Democrats and their future is optimistic and believes a Democrat will reside in the Governor’s Mansion come 2014, even though the most recent election cycle did put them in what he calls “a slump.”

There is a long road ahead of DPVA Chairman Brian J. Moran, a former opponent of Deeds in the 2009 Democratic Primary for Governor, and for those who want to move Virginia forward

“We need to continue to organize and work toward 2011 and beyond. Now more than ever the people of Virginia need Virginia Democrats to fight and lead Virginia forward. We need to organize and work to win as many seats as possible in both the House of Delegates and the Senate and to work in local elections in the Fall of 2011. Frankly, we have some very strong local Democratic committees but our strength is not as even throughout the Commonwealth as we would like.”

“We have a lot of work to do.”

 

The Rousselot Interview

Touting his experience leading one of the most effective Democratic Committees in the Commonwealth, former Arlington Democratic Committee Chairman Peter Rousselot is running to become the next Chairman of the Democratic Party of Virginia.

His opponent is former Virginia Delegate and failed 2009 candidate for Governor, Brian Moran who is rumored in a post on a neighboring blog, to have promised a state convention for Virginia Democrats should US Senator Jim Webb not seek re-election in 2012, setting up former Virginia Governor and DNC Chairman Tim Kaine for a potential run.

“Since Brian Moran has not actually verified that he has taken the position reported in that blog post, I am not going to comment further”, Rousselot said.

Deciding to run for state Chairman upon the resignation of Dick Cranwell, Rousselot threw his hat into the ring on November 4th.

“I offer a strong track record of proven leadership as Chairman of a local committee, -the Arlington Democratic Committee.” Rousselot stated that Arlington’s committee is recognized as one of the most successful and effective Democratic committees not only in Virginia, but nationwide. “I took the committee from a pretty strong position to a much higher one by the time I finished and firmly believe that my experience as Chairman of a successful local Democratic committee is more relevant preparation for the job of DPVA Chair than having served in the House of Delegates.”

A Summa Cum Laude graduate from Yale University and later the Harvard Law School, Rousselot worked at the Hogan & Lovells firm for nearly three decades specializing in railroad mergers. In 1994 he left Hogan & Lovells to serve as an international consultant for privatizing railroad companies worldwide.

Rousselot also served as the Senior Advisor in Virginia to the John Edwards Presidential campaign in 2008 and currently is a member of Virginia’s Democratic Party Central Committee, he cites Sen. Robert Kennedy as his political role model.

Rousselot’s vision for a re-energized Democratic Party in Virginia is one of great detail, outlining how he believes Democrats can ward off further shellackings from the Republican Party of Virignia. “ My view is that they (the RPV) are going to focus on trying to take back the (Virginia State) Senate.” However, he emphasizes on the fact that the DPVA needs to re-organize, ranging from topics like new media stating that “there is only room for improvement when it comes to the DPVA and social websites” to reaching out to the GLBT community.

“Giving local committees the things they need to take their county or city party to the next level is a top priority of mine.” Rousselot believes that significantly increasing local level committees performances by x-amount of points from their previous elections can make all the difference to avoid narrow victories or losses like Rep. Gerry Connally in Fairfax, Sen. Jim Webb or Sen. Deeds and then Del. Bob McDonnell in the 2005 Attorney General race which McDonnell won by 360 votes statewide.

In regards of future candidates for the three statewide offices Rousselot made it clear that he doesn’t plan to pick sides anytime soon. “As the prospective party chair, I’m just happy to see potential candidates take interest in running, but I’m not going to take any position on who my preferred candidate would be at this point for Governor or other offices.”

However, Rousselot did name Terry McAuliffe, Senator Donald McEachin, Del. Ward Armstrong and Sen. Chap Petersen as among the potential candidates who may run for Governor, Lt. Governor or Attorney General in 2013.

Virginia Republicans have made it clear that current Lt. Governor Bill Bolling, who also has the full support of Gov. McDonnell, is the favorite to be the nominee for Governor for the next election cycle.

For those who are not sure who to support in this brief election, Mr. Rousselot proudly stands on his record of proven leadership as a local and state Central Committee Democratic leader.

“I’m confident that as the candidate who has been the chair of a very successful local level committee, combined with my commitment to work full time when the DPVA has so many issues, that I’ll come out on top.”

 

What if Jim Webb doesn’t run?

Tim Kaine – Former Virginia Governor and current Chairman of the DNC, Kaine would be the automatic front runner even if he didn’t want to run.  His appeal to NoVA progressives would have to be the base of his campaign while running against the Republican nominee (a post will be coming shortly on that).

While it would be a uphill battle, regardless if Sen. Webb runs or not, Gov. Kaine would be the candidate most likely to win due to the fact that he was able to raise more money as Chairman of the DNC than the GOP did in such a deep red year.

The key to victory: Build a coalition of NoVA Democrats and appeal to Hillary voters who reside mostly in the Appalachia region while raising a boat load of campaign cash.

Creigh Deeds - The 2009 Democratic Nominee for Governor and State Senator Creigh Deeds could make a heck of a comeback if he threw his hat into the ring. If he learned a thing or two from his failed campaign for Governor, Sen. Deeds could pass the hat around and raise enough cash to survive a tough primary or convention, Deeds would be a interesting candidate to run against the likes of George Allen or Corey Stewart.

Creigh Deeds would be a strong voice for Virginia Democrats in a 2012 U.S. Senate election

The key to victory: Have the Republicans nominate someone like Corey Stewart, Bob Marshall or Ken Cuccinelli. Pick up Hillary voters in rural parts of the Commonwealth, and have Pres. Clinton campaign for you in NoVa and Virginia Beach/Norfolk area. Rely on a grassroot style campaign/good ole’ boy network and portray Republicans as trying to buy the Senate seat back.

Terry McAuliffe – Let’s pretend Terry McAuliffe never ran for the Democratic Nomination for Governor in 2009. McAuliffe could use his deep pockets and network of Democrats from when he was Chairman of the DNC during the Clinton Presidency to lock up the nomination, scaring away other candidates. Fast and early. T-Mac has been vigilant when it comes to getting his name in the paper, from purchasing a electric car company from China and bringing it back to Virginia, to consolidating the factions in the Democratic Party from the 2009 primary.

Reality check: McAuliffe is going to run for Governor again. He learned from his last campaign and is building a network of Democrats throughout the state by deploying his campaign teams in special elections and by being the businessman who is helping the state and not himself by bringing jobs.

Key to victory: Bring in Pres. Clinton, bring in the money, bring in the moderates/progressive/independents, and bring in the moderate Republicans from the woods. Make a political circus and then run. Run hard and long and don’t stop.