Long Shot Deeds Wins Dem Nod in VA Race, Beats McAuliffe
By Susie Madrak Wednesday Jun 10, 2009 9:00amYou gotta love it when a long shot wins - and it wasn't even close. Creigh Deeds took 50 percent of the vote in a three-way primary. [Note for political junkies: McAuliffe beat Deeds in only one district, the 3rd - where he sent Bill Clinton to campaign for him in the African-American community.] Deeds, a well-liked and personable guy, is also moderately conservative. Watch as the Democratic-consultant lemmings everywhere decide this means he won because he's a conservative, not in spite of it, and start yanking candidates ever rightward:
R. Creigh Deeds, a longtime state legislator from rural Bath County, won a stunning come-from-behind victory in the Democratic primary for Virginia governor last night, overwhelming a pair of better-funded and better-positioned opponents.
Deeds beat Brian Moran and Terry McAuliffe in every region of the state, including vote-rich Northern Virginia, despite a pro-gun stance and relatively conservative positions that are out of line with many of the area's voters. His victory was so dominant that he captured 10 of the state's 11 congressional districts, including the one held by Moran's brother, U.S. Rep. James P. Moran Jr.
All three campaigns and state political experts had agreed that Deeds was coming on strong in the final days of the race, but no one expected him -- or the other candidates -- to come close to winning the 50 percent of the vote that he captured. In an e-mail sent to supporters less than two hours before polls closed, McAuliffe's campaign predicted that "this thing could come down to the wire." McAuliffe came in second, with 26 percent of the vote, followed by Brian Moran with 24 percent.
Deeds, 51, will face Republican Robert F. McDonnell in a general election battle that amounts to a rematch of the race for attorney general four years ago, which McDonnell barely won after a late surge by Deeds.
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Why would that be? It sounds like the conservative won and the 'left' leaning Moran lost.
What is to like about that? Let alone love.
Being a Democrat is not enough. We need progressives in office.
there are but a few clintonites that i respect, and mcauliffe is most definitely not one of them
i don't know too much about deeds, but seeing terry lose was semi-joyful.
I'm no fan of Terry's either but from what I read over at Kos, he was very classy in his concession.
a classy concession can only help his image
with concession speeches. It does not have seem to have helped him in the past.
Terry not only had a link on his web site to contribute to Deed's campaign but also sent an emails to supporters with a link to donate to Deeds. Lord knows he could use the money.
(Already sent my little donation)
thinking the exact same thing. In fact, I would vote for anyone other than McAuliffe and I always vote for the Democrat.
Just what we need, another conservative Democrat. Maybe he can have lunch with Evan Bayh. I guess it would be better than any Republican, but not by much. WE NEED MORE PROGRESSIVES IN OFFICE!
Yes we do need more progressives, but first we have to get rid of Terry McAuliffe so there is room for more progressive leadership. Mr. Deeds is a small price to pay and probably as progressive as Virginia can handle right now anyway. Deeds has a real chance of succeeding in the election which Terry would have found a way to lose. It is just his nature. Message to Terry...nearly three quarters of Virginia Dems who know you pretty well do not want you.
by democratic voters put Deeds in the leads at democratic primaries.
Meanwhile back home on the range
Secessionist rick perry has fallen off his bicycle
He forgot his training wheels.
Arte Johnson....where ARE you!
he muss his perfectly coifed hair or soil his clothes?
I think perhaps the political junkies will be correct. It's quite possible that he won because of his conservative leanings, given that this is Virginia.
Conservatives have been flaunting their radical right credentials for years but Liberals must always strive for Luke warm moderation to be taken seriously.As real progressives get next to no exposure,the Right remain free to paint moderates as "Leftists" without challenge.
The last election brought out an astounding 3.45% of the electorate. (based on a story I read, and I hope that it is correct) What was the percentage of turnout on this election? Are these figures reflecting a few thousand votes for Deeds and a few hundred for the others?
Virginia seems most apathetic about their right to vote. I have never heard of a turnout so low. My state usually turns 50% + in apathetic elections, and did 90% in the presidential. Course we are the backwoods blue kind of a state.
It is in the WaPo article:
is a DNC hack and Clinton lackey.
His loss was our gain.
because I like his name. "Good Deeds". I didn't know anything about him, other than he got an endorsement from WaPo.
As far as him being a conservative democrat, we are talking about Virginia, people. Does the name Tim Kaine ring any bells?
and a 60 yr old pro-gun , pro-choice , pro-single payer health care, and pro- good common sense and anti-neo-con. I hope he does well for Virginia and I get tired of liberals who say you're not a good Democrat if you don't think like us ( I almost said progressive but no these are liberals). I consider and call myself a liberal because it truly pisses off conservatives when somone says out loud that they are Liberal and proud of it. But if I was forced to catagorize myself , then progressive would be my moniker. How's that for an anamoly, a proud white southern pro-gun,pro-choice,pro-single payer 60 yr old lifelong Democratic Liberal ,patriotic American who will bust a cap on your ass in a heart beat if you give me a good enough reason. Oh !! and did I say I am a Marine(1967) Semper Fi ( you're never an ex-Marine, it's a lifelong honor) God Bless America
that you need to be studied, you are uniquely singular I would think.
Thanks for the input, you're right about the "if you're not with us, you're against us," meme. I cringe when I hear people here berating religion, yeah it's not for everyone and horrible, awful, unconscionable things have been done in it's name, but there is good there. I hope we can respect each others' differences and still move toward our common goals. Glad to have you with us.
There are actually a lot of people in the western part of VA and in the state of West Virginia who are quite similar. I doubt that it's unique to that part of the nation.
You sound like several of my cousins. They are great people. They come from the hills and Appalachain Mts., and have no use for the neocon chickenhawks of today.
Three generations of gun loving, churchgoing, union supporting liberal coal miners, and they never could stand the republican party.
Another conservative democrat. Oh goody goody. Just what we need. More dipshits like Ben Nelson. I find nothing to be happy about when a conservatard wins. I don't give a damn about which party they are in.
Conservatives SUCK - both literally and figuratively.
and damned if one of my hemorrhids flared up. They both effect me in the same way... they are a pain in the ass. He just has sold his soul to the highest bidder and is a DINO
I'm not even going to try to pretend that I know so much about these three candidates and their stances on things. I haven't voted in VA since Mark Warner was governor. However, that 6% turn-out is bleak. Is that even an election when a minute fraction of the voting population votes? Sometimes I wish there was a tax or some form of punishment for people who do not vote. Voting is a part of every American's civic duty. By not voting, a person gives up his or her voice and power and allows others to make choices for him or her, whether he or she likes it or not. I'm still flummoxed by that 6%.
It's hard to start a revolution on a full stomach. Where do you think we would be right now if the shit had not hit the fan over the last 8 years. We would have an old white fart and a dipsy white bitch in the White House
It's true that Deeds is a conservative democrat, but remember, this is traditionally red Virginia, despite the results of the last few elections. Moran would have been my choice with solid progressive credentials, but imo, he wouldn't have done well in November against McDonnell. For me, the WaPo endorsement made some sense and in the end, I decided that Deeds' southern Virginia roots would be the best bet to beat Pat Robertson's protege this fall. Deeds has been a hard-working and effective legislator with solid bona fides in education and transportation. That said, I can only hope we get some common sense legislation from the General Assembly on energy and gun control because that is where I part company with the conservative Deeds.
I live in Virginia and my only thought when voting yesterday was who can beat McDonnell. I'm not too sure it's Deeds, but here's to hoping.
Deed's was not a long shot at all. He was the only one in the race with real name recognition. He was well known threw out the state after running for attorney general in 05. Just because someone is pro gun that does not make them conservative. I have meet Creigh on a number of occasions and while he may not be as liberal as I would like him to be, he is not a conservative. You guys are so quick to call anyone that does not come out in the open for gay marriage and opposes gun regulation a conservative. There are other issues that are far more important in my opinion that determines if your a lib or cons.
It's people like the GUN LOVER Deed that believes that any Right Wing nutjob should be able to carry a gun and then you see what happens as he kills a cop with it.
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