Hope In Northern Virginia

There are two congressional retirements at the end of this term in Virginia, Jim Moran and Frank Wolf. Wolf's district leans Democratic but still has a PVI of R+2. In 2008 Obama beat McCain 51-48%. In 2012, Romney squeaked by Obama 50-49% The DCCC and testate Democratic Party see the seat as a good pick up opportunity. Due east-- and meeting along Dolley Madison Blvd and Chain Bridge Road in McLean-- is a VA-08, Moran's much bluer seat. The PVI is a healthy D+16. Obama beat McCain and Romney by the same landslide margins-- 68-31%. The district is comprised of the inner DC suburbs. It includes all of Arlington County, Alexandria City and Falls Church City as well as big chunk of Fairfax County. Moran, who represented it for 24 years, was a founder of the corrupt Wall Street-owned New Dems in the 1990s but has moved cautiously left over the last decade in order to stay in office. The district is solidly Democratic and the winner of the Democratic primary will be the next congressman.

The field ranges from liberal Democrats to much more conservative ones. On the left are Virginia Progressive Caucus founder and Co-Chair state Delegate Patrick Hope and the other current Progressive Caucus Co-Chair, state Senator Adam Ebbin. Local progressive radio personality Mark Levine has also announced his campaign.

  Candidates with more questionable progressive credentials include State Delegate Charniele Herring (also state party Chairman under McAuliffe) and Alexandria Mayor Bill Euille. Herring has been an outspoken liberal on social issues, but has been very friendly to "business issues" in Virginia and has cast some questionable votes on that front. Euille has no real track record on many issues as a Mayor, but has been known for being very close with the developer community in Alexandria.

Then there is former Lt. Governor Don Beyer. Beyer has been going to meetings in the district bragging about being the author of Virginia's "welfare reform" efforts of the 1990's that then Governor George Allen praised before signing into law. Beyer noted that his language was used as a model in the rest of the country. You can only imagine his views on other issues if he thinks it is a positive to have written model language on how to undermine programs for the poor in the '90s.

  The most conservative of the serious candidates is state Delegate Mark Sickles. Sickles is a wholly owned subsidiary of the banking industry in Virginia and was appointed by Republicans in the legislature to serve on the commerce and labor committee for many years because of his alliance with them on those issues. He supports payday lenders and has run as a Chamber of Commerce endorsed Democrat in every election since first becoming a state Delegate.

Arlington makes up more of the primary electorate than Alexandria-- and Beyer, Herring, Euille, Levine and Ebbin are all from Alexandria. With Beyer likely to have a larger districtwide base from his days as Lt. Governor, that means the only progressive with a chance to stop him is Delegate Patrick Hope, the only major candidate running from Arlington. I was inspired by Hope this morning. Here's why:

"I'm running for Congress because we need more progressives in Congress who are unafraid to stand up to the right wing influences-- even when they are within our own party. When I was elected to the state legislature I found out there was not a progressive caucus of members that existed; so I founded it and we have won some major issues despite facing a 2-1 Republican led House. I've led the fight in Virginia to expand Medicaid and I will work in Congress to expand and improve the health care law we passed in 2014. I support comprehensive immigration reform… with no more delays. We can make progress in Washington-- but only if we elect real progressives to Democratic seats like this one."

No, Republican Townshirts Don't Want To Debate The Issues

In fact, debating the issues is the very last thing they want to do. As they've announced, they want to disrupt the meetings and prevent the truth about health care reform from coming to the fore. Watch the video of Jim Moran's Town Hall meeting in Reston, Virginia, where a small, noisy, deranged minority prevented Moran's constituents from hearing what he and Howard Dean had to say about health care reform, reform that 79% of Americans favor. Watch the police escorting Republican Party sociopath and terrorist Randall Terry out of the meeting:



Now, if you want to see more, watch a Republican congressman, GOP fringe loon Wally Herger, coddling a self-proclaimed "right-wing terrorrist" at his own mini-bund meeting. Stay 'til the very end so you can hear Herger's 8 word response to the freak who seems to have forgotten how the American Indians got the Pilgrims through their first winter in the New World.

And all those drooling imbeciles at Herger's little bund-rally? Very whiteof course, but is it so prosperous a district that doesn't need health care reform? The median income is $33,559, considerably less than the whole state's ($47,493). And, ironically, the health care reform legislation that Herger is working with Big Insurance to sabotage would actually do more for his own constituents than it would for most of the country. Here's a report that explains how CA-02 residents would benefit if Herger would stop trying to kill reform:

America’s Affordable Health Choices Act would provide significant benefits in the 2nd Congressional District of California: up to 14,000 small businesses could receive tax credits to provide coverage to their employees; 9,900 seniors would avoid the donut hole in Medicare Part D; 1,300 families could escape bankruptcy each year due to unaffordable health care costs; health care providers would receive payment for $107 million in uncompensated care each year; and 128,000 uninsured individuals would gain access to high-quality, affordable health insurance. Congressman Wally Herger represents the district.

• Help for small businesses. Under the legislation, small businesses with 25 employees or less and average wages of less than $40,000 qualify for tax credits of up to 50% of the costs of providing health insurance. There are up to 14,000 small businesses in the district that could qualify for these credits.

• Help for seniors with drug costs in the Part D donut hole. Each year, 9,900 seniors in the district hit the donut hole and are forced to pay their full drug costs, despite having Part D drug coverage. The legislation would provide them with immediate relief, cutting brand name drug costs in the donut hole by 50%, and ultimately eliminate the donut hole.

• Health care and financial security. There were 1,300 health care-related bankruptcies in the district in 2008, caused primarily by the health care costs not covered by insurance. The bill provides health insurance for almost every American and caps annual out-of-pocket costs at $10,000 per year, ensuring that no citizen will have to face financial ruin because of high health care costs.

• Relieving the burden of uncompensated care for hospitals and health care providers. In 2008, health care providers in the district provided $107 million worth of uncompensated care, care that was provided to individuals who lacked insurance coverage and were unable to pay their bills. Under the legislation, these costs of uncompensated care would be virtually eliminated.

• Coverage of the uninsured. There are 149,000 uninsured individuals in the district, 21% of the district. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that nationwide, 97% of all Americans will have insurance coverage when the bill takes effect. If this benchmark is reached in the district, 128,000 people who currently do not have health insurance will receive coverage.

• No deficit spending. The cost of health care reform under the legislation is fully paid for: half through making the Medicare and Medicaid program more efficient and half through a surtax on the income of the wealthiest individuals. This surtax would affect only 1,820 households in the district. The surtax would not affect 99.4% of taxpayers in the district.