Calling all Virginia Democrats

In January I predicted that the Virginia Gubernatorial Democratic primary (TODAY) would be big story and a huge indicator as to the direction of the Democratic Party.

I was half right. This race indicates the direction of the party but it hasn't really been a huge story. It hasn't really been covered on mainstream cable news as much as one would have though, especially given that Terry McAuliffe makes for such trainwreck TV.

I guess Democratic Party reform efforts won't get any attention when the GOP can't even throw a damn dinner party without the whole thing turning into a soap opera.

Anyway, I still think it's HUGELY important to keep Terry McAuliffe out of the general election. I was thinking Brian Moran would be the alternative candidate to take him down but it turns out that Creigh Deeds has hugely impressed VA voters. Go with either.

Anybody but the hack.

Terrymania is a surefire way to undo the progress that the Left has achieved in Virginia.

If you've got a pal in Virginia, call 'em up and remind them to vote today.

VA Watch

No not that VA, I'm talking about the race to for Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

I wrote a few weeks ago that the Democratic primary fight was a sure bet to be the big flash point for progressives to watch during the off-year election cycle.

Yet, aside from Andrew Sullivan's properly-titled post, I hadn't seen too much reaction on the blogosphere.

But this news will surely result in some serious keyboard pounding across the country, if not now then in just a few short months.

It isn't automatic that just because Joe Trippi signs with an underdog candidate that progressives will flock to that candidate, but Trippi has a lot of residual progressive 'street cred' from his days on Howard Dean's campaign. And it's not as if progressives (or anyone else for that matter) need that much help finding reasons to oppose Terry McAuliffe.

At the very least, Brian Moran's hiring of big-leaguer like Joe Trippi signals that he intends to run a competative campaign. McAuliffe is raising obscene amounts of money so Moran and Trippi have their work cut out.

Terry?

The progressive movement has gained all of this strength over the last 4-8 years based on power yielded in opposition to the traditional Democratic Party establishment. Progressives must continue to hold the Democratic Party accountable. It was shooting fish in a barrel because Democrats kept losing, so arguments were easy to formulate.

But now that Democrats are winning, it might be increasingly tricky to sustain vigilance in efforts to reform the party through primary contests. Will the Left have the stomach for internal battles or will progressives capitulate to calls for Party unity?

Some progressive bloggers have been up in arms over the possibility that Caroline Kennedy might be appointed Senator from New York, but the debate hasn't particularly galvanized the grassroots. Not only do voters have no power in a Senate appointment, but the arguments against Caroline Kennedy have tended to focus on abstract concepts of nepotism instead of qualms related to actual policy or political tactic. The objections of folks like Bowers, Kos, and Harman haven't hinted at any kind of plan of action. IMO, the whole controversy has been a fairly shallow and short-sighted snipefest that has gotten way more attention that it has deserved because of the celebrity of Kennedy, the cult of New York, and the post-election news lull.

This, on the other hand, will be a much more useful and important test of progressive movement theory.

Watch the Virginia governor's race very closely.

This year is a relatively uneventful election cycle but Virginia will be the most important flash point. That's not a wantom prediction, it's a sure thing.

McAuliffe represents everything about the Democratic Party that I have worked to change. I will not support him for Governor of Virginia under any circumstances. I suspect that others are already working on articulate posts describing McAuliffe's practical and symbolic significance.