• Home
• About Us
  • Join
  • Contact Us
  • FCDC Bylaws
  • Duties: FCDC Officers, Committees
  • Link to LeeDems
  • Forms & Files
  • Contribute
  • LeeDems Opening Day
• Calendar
• Elected Officials
• Voter Info
  • Voter Rights & Responsibilities
• Volunteer
  • Letters to the Editor
• Links
• All News

Subscribe

Most Powerful Tool Ever Devised by Man

LBJ called it the most powerful tool ever devised by man to break down the walls of injustice and I’m surprised we don’t use it more than we do.  The word VOTE is our greatest weapon because when people come out to vote, the people win.  When people don’t vote, we lose to the oil companies who write their own legislation, banks that are too big to fail, and insurance companies who steal us all blind.

We have two major forces in our government, one fights to protect private industry, corporations and the status quo and the other fights to protect the people .  Private industry spends far more time and money to get what they want and they usually get it.  They spend billions of dollars each year to write their own legislation, influence policy, and receive the benefits and protections of our government at the expense of the people.

They do it by controlling a majority of our U.S. Congress; most of them Republicans and some of them Democrats.  They use divisive, hot button issues to fear monger and deceive people into voting against their own interests.  They divide and isolate voters and privately rile them up with bigotry and hatred to win elections.  And they do it all for profit and power.

The Republican party can’t use the word VOTE the same way we can.  They can’t compete in a wide open campaign like we had in 2008, where we registered and encouraged so many new voters.  I think we need to take ownership of the word VOTE and use it in big bold letters to the point of making the other side look like they are against people voting and likely to suppress the vote, which they often do.

Placing a focus on voting helps create a distinction that can not be countered and it makes Republican attacks look like an attack against people’s right to vote, which it is.  Voting is patriotic, honored and valued and is an excellent rallying cry to unite the coalition of different voting blocks we need to win elections.  We usually just bring it out at the end of a campaign but we need to pull it out early and keep it in the forefront; beginning with voter registration, leading non-stop to GOTV.  VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE!

–
Todd Smyth
Fairfax, VA

Republicans Aim at Kaine to Deflect Own Failings

In an effort to deflect all that Virginia Republicans have done in their well known and even prideful attempts to thwart forward movement in the business of the Commonwealth, they are now taking aim at the outgoing, single-term (the Governor only serves a single 4-year term) notably successful Tim Kaine, hoping to confuse voters this year about their own records by complaining about someone else’s (not even someone they’re running against).

Read more

Sickles Endorses Wagner

As primary day in the Commonwealth rapidly approaches, I wanted to reach out to residents of Lee and Mt. Vernon Districts and let them know who I will be casting my vote for on June 9th in the Lieutenant Governor’s race. 

We are lucky to have two outstanding candidates in the Democratic primary.  Jody Wagner, who served in the administrations of Gov. Warner as Treasurer and Gov. Kaine as Secretary of Finance, has earned my vote for both her lengthy experience on fiscal matters and her dedication to continuing economic growth in Virginia.

I have worked with Jody for the last six years and know her as a dedicated public servant, an advocate for tolerant, vibrant pro-growth policies, and a successful small business owner herself.  I am confident in Jody’s ability to work with the General Assembly to enact common-sense policies that will aid Virginia’s economic recovery.

I strongly believe it is important to have a Lieutenant Governor with experience in Richmond, one who can foster relationships with members of the legislature to get things done.  And we definitely need someone with the resourcefulness to beat Bill Bolling in November.

I cannot think of a better, more qualified person for the job than Jody Wagner.  I urge you to join me in casting your vote for Jody on June 9th.

-Delegate Mark Sickles, 43rd House District

The Danger of Complacency

Warner, Webb, Kaine, Obama – a most excellent string of triumphs. Sit back and let the good times finally roll again. The planet will be renewed, the reputation of our country will be restored, civil rights and the Constitution will be upheld. But wait …

On the horizon there is a hum, a buzz, a disturbing noise that is fundamentally disquieting: the thoroughly trounced GOP whose policies and legislation were thought to be wholly discredited with the historic election of a Democratic President for the first time in 44 years by Virginians, are clamoring to return, and you can bet with a vengeance. The pound of flesh the discredited right means to extract is none other than the Governorship of the Commonwealth and continued control of the House of Delegates.

Faux news and other conservative talking heads have campaigned virtually non-stop to pull wool over anyone and everyone within range, and attempt to employ the Rovian tactic of stating falsehoods so often by so many that a smoke so thick could only mean a fire must exist.

Read more

When Consensus Is A Bad Thing

What?

Here is the “new” approach to challenging Democratic candidates, and of all things it’s being proposed by the Washington Post (Saturday, March 7, 2009; Editorial A-12 ‘For Fairfax County Supervisor’). Running as a Democrat is ok, but beware if you could be another ‘yes’ vote along with a Democratic majority in the body you are seeking to join.

Read more

The Stimulus Battle

Commentary: February 15th by Henry Tieleman (HWTieleman@AOL.COM) in his newsletter "Democracy Prevails".

The rationale for the economic stimulus bill, “the American Recovery and reinvestment Act,” was initially intended for those of the population that lived without much income or had lost their home due to foreclosure. The unemployment rate is now at 7.6% and climbing. In the past year another 2.8 million Americans who want and need full-time work had to settle for low-paying part-time employment. As a result of the wrangling on the content of the bill, funds were cut for the extended health care coverage for the unemployed. Also $30 billion in aid to state governments to prevent reductions in social services to the poor and those out of work was eliminated. In an effort to gain Republican support, significantly more tax cuts were included than originally intended. The package would have a much greater stimulative effect if it increased funding for food stamps and helped states maintain programs and services for their citizens. As Barney Frank testified on ABC TV, it is a testament of right wing messaging that the debate was centered over the cost of the package, while it is perfectly OK to squander at least three times as much on the war and occupation of Iraq. On the other hand it was considered wasteful to build roads, hospitals, schools, and keep people healthy, employed and housed.

Read more

Why Sharon Bulova?

Or … Pat Herrity’s Interesting Relationship with the Truth

Why Sharon

• She has chaired the Board of Supervisors’ budget committee for 17 years. As chair, Sharon has worked behind the scenes to craft a county budget that works and balances the needs of the county’s many different constituencies. This is not an easy job – Fairfax County is required by law to have a balanced budget.
• She helped cut property taxes by 35%, helping to ease the burden during tough times including during the nineties when the economy was not as strong.
• She has the experience and the ability to balance the County budget while also protecting priorities like schools.
• Created and chairs the VRE to ensure that the rail to Dulles is built and thus reduce traffic in the county.
• Proposed cutting her own office’s budget to save the County money.
• She works with all her colleagues, Republicans as well as Democrats, to achieve a win-win budget.
• Much of Sharon’s work takes place behind the scenes, most of us never see how varying and opposing positions are ultimately brought together.
• Under Sharon’s budget leadership, Fairfax County has retained its triple-A bond rating from ALL of the rating agencies, which means that it saves hundreds of thousands of dollars on interest payments. Very few counties in the entire country have this rating.
• She has served on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for 21 years – experience matters.

Read more

Hope Has Arrived – Thank You

Hope Has Arrived

Thank You. Thank you hardly covers the distance, but thank you for everything that brought hope back. Thank you to every single person for every contribution, great or small, in the triumph of hope that we stand ready to accept in the mission to restore America.

Democrats know what is meant by ‘being proud of our country.’ We’ve always been proud of our country.

Read more

My Feet Are Tired

So much has happened today, but the first day of the convention was truly phenomenal- a once-in-a-lifetime experience! The day really started after the delegation breakfast meeting, when I was lucky enough to attend the Unconventional Women panel. Female leaders including Sens. Claire McCaskill and Barbara Boxer, and Republican Governor Jane Swift discussed the issue of women in politics. There was a special spin on several of the panels, focusing on young women in politics with an entire council of Colorado Girl Scouts in attendance.

Read more

Environmentalism and Sheryl Crow

It was a late night at Red Rocks last night, where music and environmentalism met with Sheryl Crow, Sugarland, Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds, along with speakers like Robert Kennedy Jr., our own Gov.Tim Kaine, and William McDonough, author of “Cradle to Cradle.”

Read more

Next Page »