The June 9th primary will determine the Democratic nominee for Governor. The winner of this primary will face former Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell who has locked up the Republican nomination. The race against Bob McDonnell will be a tough one. I believe that the Republican Party will have every Republican strategist and donor lending their support to this race. This race along with the New Jersey Gubernatorial race will be labeled as the first public test for the Obama administration. That is why Virginia Democrats need the best candidate available to take on Bob McDonnell and continue the positive changes that have been brought about by the Warner and Kaine Gubernatorial Administrations. The best choice that the voters could make on June 9th is giving State Senator Creigh Deeds the Democratic nod. I love how the Washington Post puts it in its endorsement of Senator Deeds. The post says that if you judge by appearances then you might look to Terry McAuliffe and former Delegate Brian Moran as the best choice, but by digging a little deeper you would find that 18 yr General Assembly veteran Creigh Deed’s is indeed the right choice for the Democratic nod.
During his 18yr career in the General Assembly Creigh has always stood up for Virginians all across the Commonwealth. I look to his support and authorship of Megan’s Law, his avid support of bipartisan redistricting, and support of pre-k education as proof of standing up for Virginians. Creigh Deed’s is a man that does the right thing for Virginia regardless of how it might go over with his constituents. Deed’s stood with Governor Tim Kaine during the 2008 summer session of the General Assembly in support of an increase in the gas tax, so that revenue could be generated to begin seriously solving the state’s transportation problems. I’m sure that this was not to popular with some of his constituents because Southern Virginian’s sometimes having the attitude of not wanting to help solve the problems associated with NOVA.
I will proudly cast my vote for Deed’s in the June 9th primary. This campaign does not need the support of out of state personnel like rapper Will- I- Am, Bill Clinton, and Rep. Patrick Kennedy. The only support that this campaign needs is that of REAL Virginians. If you want a candidate that will put jobs, transportation, education at the top of his priority list then Creigh is your man. Stand up for Creigh!!!
~Cameron D. Patterson~
Friday, May 22, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
A New Year!!
Hey guys its a brand new year which means alot of new posts. With our country having just sworn in a new President, the economic crisis that is affecting us on the national, state, and local levels, with two wars in Iraq and Afganistan there will be alot of exciting things to cover and write about. Stay tuned!!!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Are Terry McAuliffe and Mark Warner similar?
Terry McAuliffe the former Chairman of the Democratic National Committee and former National Chairman for the Hillary Clinton Presidential campaign will announce on January 7th, 2009 whether or not he will run for Governor of Virginia in the 2009 election. With the 136 county/city tour that he has embarked on in its final stages and the fundraising that he has already done, all signs indicate that he will indeed run for the states highest and most coveted position.Terry has received a lot of flack from people across the state including some avid party loyalists who question whether he has the credentials and experience needed to run a state during tough economic times.Also some question whether he is serious about the position because he has not had any serious involvement in state politics and this is not the first state he has run for state-wide office in.
But I ask that voters look to a man name Mark Warner before that cast judgment on Terry McAuliffe. Mark Warner had a back ground similar to that of Terry. Before Warner became the popular Governor of Virginia, he gained the attention of party loyalists and citizens of Virginia when he ran for Senate in 1996 against John Warner. Although Mark had not ran for public office before that he tried to capitalize off his enormous wealth that he had created through his business dealings, most noticeably Nextel (Cell Phone Company).Mark Warner also served as Chairman of the Virginia Democratic Party and through that experience was able to gain some valuable connections.
Warner's rise through the political ranks is very similar to that of Terry McAuliffe. Terry has been a resident of the Commonwealth for more than 10yrs and has a strong background in democratic politics, having fundraised big dollars for democrats across the country and turning the debt ridden democratic party around during his time as chairman. Now these two Gentleman do differ, because Warner had a lot of involvement with state officials with the VDP and as result of that involvement I'm sure that he was able to learn about state issues as result. But maybe Terry could bring the kind of leadership that is needed during these tough economic times. When Mark Warner campaigned in 2001 he did so on the promise to bring a business approach to Richmond, and it worked then, and maybe it can work again with Terry McAuliffe.
However things turn out during this race for the Democratic nomination, the Democrats can rest assure knowing that we have three capable candidates who will continue the strong tradition excellent democratic gubernatorial leadership in the Commonwealth.
~Cam Patt~
"This article is not an endorsement of any political candidate"
But I ask that voters look to a man name Mark Warner before that cast judgment on Terry McAuliffe. Mark Warner had a back ground similar to that of Terry. Before Warner became the popular Governor of Virginia, he gained the attention of party loyalists and citizens of Virginia when he ran for Senate in 1996 against John Warner. Although Mark had not ran for public office before that he tried to capitalize off his enormous wealth that he had created through his business dealings, most noticeably Nextel (Cell Phone Company).Mark Warner also served as Chairman of the Virginia Democratic Party and through that experience was able to gain some valuable connections.
Warner's rise through the political ranks is very similar to that of Terry McAuliffe. Terry has been a resident of the Commonwealth for more than 10yrs and has a strong background in democratic politics, having fundraised big dollars for democrats across the country and turning the debt ridden democratic party around during his time as chairman. Now these two Gentleman do differ, because Warner had a lot of involvement with state officials with the VDP and as result of that involvement I'm sure that he was able to learn about state issues as result. But maybe Terry could bring the kind of leadership that is needed during these tough economic times. When Mark Warner campaigned in 2001 he did so on the promise to bring a business approach to Richmond, and it worked then, and maybe it can work again with Terry McAuliffe.
However things turn out during this race for the Democratic nomination, the Democrats can rest assure knowing that we have three capable candidates who will continue the strong tradition excellent democratic gubernatorial leadership in the Commonwealth.
~Cam Patt~
"This article is not an endorsement of any political candidate"
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Can Hillary serve as Secretary of State?
Senator Robert Byrd just recently turned 91 years old and is going to continue in the upcoming Congress as President Pro-Temp of the Senate. This puts the 91yr old Byrd third in-line to the Presidency of the United States. Robert Byrd is one of the strongest constitutional advocates in Congress today and is defiantly one of the Democrats strongest constitutional advocates. Robert Byrd is showing his knowledge of the U.S Constitution by questioning whether Hillary Clinton is able to serve as Barack Obama's Secretary of State.
Byrd has his Senate office investigating whether Clinton is eligible to serve in the State Department.Article 1, Section 6 of the United States Constitution says that no member can be appointed to a civil office that benefited from a salary increase during the time that House or Senate member served. On January 4th, 2008, President Bush raised of salaries of his Cabinet Secretaries from $186,600 to $191,300 through an Executive Order to accommodate a cost of living adjustment.
With this being the case it raises a question of whether Clinton can constitutionally serve in the office. This question has been raised in the pass, and it has been resolved through what has come to be known as the "Saxbe fix". In 1973 Richard Nixon nominated Ohio Senator William Saxbe to be his Attorney General, and Nixon had increased the salaries of his cabinet members during Saxbe's term in the U.S Senate. This was solved by having Nixon lower the salaries of the cabinet members down the pre-existing levels. But Robert Byrd was a member of the Senate during that time and he was strongly against the "Saxbe fix" and still is today. More than likely this will not affect the Clinton nomination but I do expect Robert Byrd to raise the issue. For all those Clinton haters out there is gives you something to hold on to. Maybe you guys can all rally behind Senator Byrd and prevent the "Saxbe fix" from happening once again.
"Some information taken from a CNSNews Article published on Dec. 4th"
Byrd has his Senate office investigating whether Clinton is eligible to serve in the State Department.Article 1, Section 6 of the United States Constitution says that no member can be appointed to a civil office that benefited from a salary increase during the time that House or Senate member served. On January 4th, 2008, President Bush raised of salaries of his Cabinet Secretaries from $186,600 to $191,300 through an Executive Order to accommodate a cost of living adjustment.
With this being the case it raises a question of whether Clinton can constitutionally serve in the office. This question has been raised in the pass, and it has been resolved through what has come to be known as the "Saxbe fix". In 1973 Richard Nixon nominated Ohio Senator William Saxbe to be his Attorney General, and Nixon had increased the salaries of his cabinet members during Saxbe's term in the U.S Senate. This was solved by having Nixon lower the salaries of the cabinet members down the pre-existing levels. But Robert Byrd was a member of the Senate during that time and he was strongly against the "Saxbe fix" and still is today. More than likely this will not affect the Clinton nomination but I do expect Robert Byrd to raise the issue. For all those Clinton haters out there is gives you something to hold on to. Maybe you guys can all rally behind Senator Byrd and prevent the "Saxbe fix" from happening once again.
"Some information taken from a CNSNews Article published on Dec. 4th"
Is Moran scared?
Delegate Brian Moran who has represented Alexandria in the Virginia House of Delegates for more than a decade has decided to step down to focus on his Gubernatorial race full time. Moran is one of the highest ranking members in the House and heads up the Democratic Caucus.In a letter to his district he says that they deserve a full time legislature that will not put a statewide run for Governor ahead of there needs. I commend Brian Moran for stepping aside, but I believe that he is doing it because he is scared of Mr. Terry McAuliffe. McAuliffe who is the former fundraising wizard of the National Democratic Party is sure to enter the race come January 7th and he has promised that he will fundraise big amounts of money to stay competitive in this race. McAuliffe's entrance into the race completely changes the dynamics of the race, because now his fundraising abilities will force Deeds and Moran to step it up in the fundraising department. State law says that members of the General Assembly are not able to raise money during the session and this has probably worried Moran and one has to believe that it was a huge factor in his decision to step-aside.
With Moran gone, Senator Creigh Deeds is holding tight as he looks to have all of the spotlight on him during the upcoming General Assembly session. Senator Saslaw who is a supporter of Senator Deeds believes that there is an opportunity for Deeds to make a big legislative splash during this session. I believe that in the end Deeds is no fool, why would he resign his seat in the Senate when there is no guarantee that he will win the nomination for Governor. Then there is Attorney General Bob McDonnell who has shown no signs of resigning his position as AG. With the Republican nomination locked up he can use the Attorney General's office to craft positions and policy that can benefit him during the fall campaign season. One would probably assume that he would resign that position once the nominee for the Democratic Party has been decided.
With the Presidential election over the 2009 Gubernatorial race is in full swing.
~Cam~
With Moran gone, Senator Creigh Deeds is holding tight as he looks to have all of the spotlight on him during the upcoming General Assembly session. Senator Saslaw who is a supporter of Senator Deeds believes that there is an opportunity for Deeds to make a big legislative splash during this session. I believe that in the end Deeds is no fool, why would he resign his seat in the Senate when there is no guarantee that he will win the nomination for Governor. Then there is Attorney General Bob McDonnell who has shown no signs of resigning his position as AG. With the Republican nomination locked up he can use the Attorney General's office to craft positions and policy that can benefit him during the fall campaign season. One would probably assume that he would resign that position once the nominee for the Democratic Party has been decided.
With the Presidential election over the 2009 Gubernatorial race is in full swing.
~Cam~
Thursday, July 24, 2008
What will be done about Darfur?
Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit The United States Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. As I walked through the museum I was taken away as I saw the photos and heard the stories of those who were persecuted by the Nazi's during the Holocaust. While I was walking through, I couldn't help but to think about the situation in Darfur. Just as The Holocaust was the biggest genocide of the 20th Century, Darfur is the biggest Genocide of the 21st century, with over 2.5 million being driven from there home in the Darfur region Sudan, with many suffering from starvation and disease and many being killed at the hand of the rebel groups specifically the Janjaweed Militias.
The question that I raise to the Presidential candidates is What are you going to do when you take office? President Bush took the first step, by being the first President in U.S History to declare a genocide, but that is not enough. Yes we as a country can continue to send food and other supplies over to Darfur but until we take down the Sudanese Government the people of Darfur will continue to live in fear. The United Nations is working on the situation in Darfur but we as The United States have a moral responsibility to do our part when it comes to bringing this situation to an end. So lets make Darfur a top priority, and take some of that 10 billion that were spending in Iraq per month and place it into an effort to bring down the Sudanese Government. The first thing that the U.S Government must do is pressure the Chinese Government to stop its oil dealings with Sudan, once this happens the Sudanese Government will feel a huge financial pressures and they will be more inclined to stop and take notice.
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum was one of the first groups/organizations to speak out against the atrocities in Darfur back in 2004, and they say that we as U.S Citizens can do four things to help bring attention to the crisis in Darfur.
The question that I raise to the Presidential candidates is What are you going to do when you take office? President Bush took the first step, by being the first President in U.S History to declare a genocide, but that is not enough. Yes we as a country can continue to send food and other supplies over to Darfur but until we take down the Sudanese Government the people of Darfur will continue to live in fear. The United Nations is working on the situation in Darfur but we as The United States have a moral responsibility to do our part when it comes to bringing this situation to an end. So lets make Darfur a top priority, and take some of that 10 billion that were spending in Iraq per month and place it into an effort to bring down the Sudanese Government. The first thing that the U.S Government must do is pressure the Chinese Government to stop its oil dealings with Sudan, once this happens the Sudanese Government will feel a huge financial pressures and they will be more inclined to stop and take notice.
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum was one of the first groups/organizations to speak out against the atrocities in Darfur back in 2004, and they say that we as U.S Citizens can do four things to help bring attention to the crisis in Darfur.
- Contact our local media
- Communicate with your lawmakers and express your sentiments about the situation
- Get your community engaged and educate them about situation
- And support the education and relief efforts of various organizations
Some criticize The U.S for not doing enough during The Holocaust and Rwanda situations, although I'm not sure whether those criticisms are justified, we can make a difference and we must not be silent.
~Cam Patt~
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Questions regarding Senator McCain's age continue to surface
A news piece written by Mike Allen and James Vandehei of Poltico raises questions about McCain's gaffes that he has had during his Campaign for President. The media is starting to attack McCain for continually mixing up his word choices. McCain yesterday referred to the Iraq/Pakistan border when he meant to say Afghanistan/Pakistan because Iraq doesn't even boarder Pakistan during an interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer. In the past three weeks he has apparently mistaken Somalia for Sudan during a conversation that he had with a reporter regarding the situation in Darfur. Also during the campaign he has consistantly refered to the Czech Republic as Czechoslovakia which has held its current name since being split in 1993. During a trip to Germany last year he referred to Vladamir Putin President of Russia as Vladamir Putin President of Germany. And also he has said that while he was in Vietnam he tried to confuse his captors by giving them the names of Pittsburgh Steelers players instead of his platoon members names, but he recently said that he gave them the names of Packers players. McCain has also on a number of occasions mixed up Sunnis and Shiites during campaign stops.
These mistakes come in McCain's main area expertise which is Foreign Policy. And Senator McCain turns 72 the day following The Democratic National Convention and many raise the question of whether McCain is too old to be Commander in Chief. This is a sensitive question but one that many voters feel must be raised, because the next President will have no room for error. Some people will watch the debates this fall they will defiantly be comparing McCain to there relatives and watching to see if he slips up.
Ronald Reagan was the oldest to assume the Office of President during the 1980's and there were some who questioned whether Reagan experienced early affects of altiezmers during his second term in office. Voters have every right to question whether McCain's age will be a henderance while he is in office just as they have the right to question whether Obama is experienced enough to be President, and it will be up to the McCain campaign to reassure the voters as to whether it will or will not have a affect. McCain's gaffes will continue to play out in the media especially with the late night talk show host and the McCain campaign will have to respond and make sure that the criticism and unwanted attention doesn't hurt his campaign, especially as they try to sure up the undecided voters. I think that the McCain campaign will definatley want to make use of his 95 year old mother so voters can see that he has a great pool of genes to work from.
~Cam Patt~
These mistakes come in McCain's main area expertise which is Foreign Policy. And Senator McCain turns 72 the day following The Democratic National Convention and many raise the question of whether McCain is too old to be Commander in Chief. This is a sensitive question but one that many voters feel must be raised, because the next President will have no room for error. Some people will watch the debates this fall they will defiantly be comparing McCain to there relatives and watching to see if he slips up.
Ronald Reagan was the oldest to assume the Office of President during the 1980's and there were some who questioned whether Reagan experienced early affects of altiezmers during his second term in office. Voters have every right to question whether McCain's age will be a henderance while he is in office just as they have the right to question whether Obama is experienced enough to be President, and it will be up to the McCain campaign to reassure the voters as to whether it will or will not have a affect. McCain's gaffes will continue to play out in the media especially with the late night talk show host and the McCain campaign will have to respond and make sure that the criticism and unwanted attention doesn't hurt his campaign, especially as they try to sure up the undecided voters. I think that the McCain campaign will definatley want to make use of his 95 year old mother so voters can see that he has a great pool of genes to work from.
~Cam Patt~
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