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"

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"

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~