Harrisonburg Obama HQ Grand Opening

Bob Wilson - Rockingham Democrats

" I can't remember the last time we had a national campaign office in Harrisonburg."

" Get to know our candidate... "

He challenged supporters to respond to their friends and neighbors questions about Barack.


Alan Finks - Harrrisonburg Democrats

"Great Candidates from Top to Bottom!

Old story: Republicans and Democrats are like the automatic transmission shifter in your car... "D" is for DRIVING forward, "R" is for REVERSE, going backwards!

This campaign will put us (Shenandoah Valley) on the map!"

Mitch Stewart - State Director - Virginia for Obama
He spoke about the long road from the Iowa Caucuses... working last summer in the small towns of Iowa. Winning over voters one person at a time. That successful campaign was about friends reaching out to friends, neighbors to neighbors - a true grassroots effort - many individuals sacrificing their time to support the Obama campaign.

" We opened 20 campaign headquarters across Virgina today!"

"... too much is at stake... we need to see it through!"

A very diverse crowd of area Democrats responded loudly and enthusiastically,

"YES WE CAN!"

General consensus, of all I talked to: This year is a very different year in local and national politics. Local Democrats are seeing an unprecedented surge in support for Democratic candidates. With Barack Obama and Mark Warner on the ticket -- they are expecting a record turn-outs on November 4th. More than hope, they believe we will see Virginia turn Blue for the first time since 1964.

update 11:38pm - Great video of Mitch Stewart by finnegan at hburgnews
(see you soon SAW Democrats... wink, wink)

update 7/21, 9:16pm

LATE BREAKING NEWS!!! Obama headquarters to open in Staunton this Saturday July 26 !

update 7/29

make that August 2nd

h/t unionman

King of Debt - Say it ain't so, Ronnie!

Kings of Debt - 1948 to 2008
Sources: Government Accounting Office; US Treasury Department - Bureau of the Public Debt




As we inspect, dissect, and reflect on the economic action plans being proposed by John McCain and Barack Obama, I thought it would be a worthwhile study, to use the "way back machine" , to view the historical trend of the Public Debt of the United States.

Our federal government has to take on debt whenever expenditures exceed revenues. When we have a "deficit budget" - we must borrow money to finance the operations of our Federal Government. U.S. Debt is managed by the U.S. Treasury Department.

Warning bells, gongs and horns have been sounding for awhile from economists on the left and right. The Government Accounting Office even mounted a Fiscal Wake Up Tour in 2007-2008. Chart 1 shows the exponential growth in US Public Debt (current debt, does not include future liabilities) since World War II. This chart gives us some hints about the culprits involved in the dramatic increase in debt. In 1980, we can see the beginnings of a sharp rise in federal debt. While Congress surely shares in the blame, along with all the voters that elect them, the old sign on Harry Truman's desk say it all, "The buck stops here!". We choose Presidents to be leaders -- with the glory, goes the grief.



The following chart shows that the revered, arch-conservative, Ronald Reagan; was the clear leader in the rate of debt growth.




But when it comes to all-time leader in piling on public debt dollars, it has been our current president, George W. Bush, shown in the following chart. He has had his hand on the rudder, as we added $3.8 Trillion to our national debt. In fact, GW Bush, GHW Bush and Reagan own 5 of the top 6 debt-builder slots, with only the first term of Democrat Bill Clinton, in this presidential group of dubious distinction.


So this begs the question, would John McCain continue in the footsteps of the revered Ronald Reagan, one-termer GHW Bush, or the now exceedingly unpopular GW Bush? Could Barack Obama following the lead of the second Clinton administration, bringing some much needed fiscal restraint along with his plans for fundamental Change in Washington?

Can Obama break the MSM narrative fed by the Republicans, who label the Democrats as "tax & spend liberals". Will this historical pattern of "spend & borrow", ultimately tag the Republicans with the label of "debt building, pseudo-conservatives"? The voters will have an important choice to make.

As the carnival barker says, " ... you pays your money and you takes your chance!"

I hear some Blue Dog Democrats barking, sounds like they may have some answers to these questions. Stay tuned, more to come later...

cross-posted Star City Harbinger

On Common Ground - Blue Dogs & Bob Goodlatte?

Goodlatte’s Good Idea

July 15, 2008

By Hank Bostwick - Star City Harbinger

When President Clinton left the White House to George W. Bush in 2000, the federal budget was enjoying a level of surplus that it had not seen since the final days of Johnson Administration nearly thirty years earlier. Clinton’s fiscal year 1999 budget proposal was a model of bipartisan cooperation and the last time the federal government has been in the black. Over the past 7 and a half years, budget deficits have reached astronomic proportions. Though there is much dispute over who is ultimately responsible for the balanced budgets during the years of the second Clinton Administration, most pundits agree that it was a combination of political will, relentless negotiation, and dumb-luck. Regardless, the late 1990’s represent an odd time of nostalgia for Democrats who portray the brief era as the Nation’s Golden Age of fiscal responsibility.

Efforts at passing a balanced budget amendment have never been successful. Balanced budget resolutions have been introduced in the 103rd, 104th, 105th, 106th, 107th, 108th, and 109th by members of both Parties and have invariably met an untimely death in every Congress with the exception of the 104th Congress which passed a balanced budget bill that later died in the Senate.

When the 110th Congress opened for business in January of 2007, Virginia’s Sixth District Representative Bob Goodlatte (R) introduced House Joint Resolution 1 calling for a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. Eventually, the bill garnered 163 co-sponsors drawn from both political parties.

Shortly after introducing HJR 1 in 2007, Goodlatte wrote:

It has become clear that it is extremely difficult for Congress to agree on a budget that is fiscally responsible. By amending the Constitution to require a balanced budget, we can force Congress to control spending, paving the way for a return to surpluses and ultimately paying down the national debt, rather than allow big spenders to lead us further down the road of chronic deficits and in doing so leave our children and grandchildren saddled with debt that is not their own.

This important principle is not the exclusive property of the GOP.

Blue Dog Democrat US Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD) has been leading the effort to restore fiscal responsibility to the halls of Congress for the past few years and has co-sponsored Goodlatte’s latest balanced budget resolution. The Blue Dog Coalition is a group of Democratic members of Congress who believe in the twin principles of fiscal responsibility and budgetary accountability. Often at odds with the Party-at-large, Blue Dog Democrats may at times look more like traditional, principled conservatives:

The Coalition was formed in the 104th Congress as a policy-oriented group to give moderate and conservative Democrats in the House of Representatives a common sense, bridge-building voice within the institution. Most agree that, since then, the Blue Dogs have successfully injected a moderate viewpoint into the Democratic Caucus, where group members now find greater receptiveness to their opinions. . . The Coalition has been particularly active on fiscal issues, relentlessly pursuing a balanced budget and then protecting that achievement from politically popular “raids” on the budget. Past Coalition budgets have won the endorsement of the nonpartisan Concord Coalition and multiple newspaper and magazine editorials. As one column pointed out, the Blue Dogs have proven that “common sense, conservative economics and compassion aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive.”

Most recently, the Blue Dog Coalition has worked to ensure that the next budget proposal contains provisions mandating the PAYGO (pay-as-you-go) approach to budget negotiations. It is little wonder that balanced budget proponents like Blue Dog Whip Rep. Sandlin (D-SD) can find common ground with members of the opposing party.

Goodlatte’s commitment to a balanced budget amendment is not new. In fact, Goodlatte was a co-sponsor of balanced budget resolutions introduced in the 103rd, 104th, and 108th Congress.

While there are problems in the current draft of HJR 1 (2007), such as the loophole allowing balanced budgets to be set aside in times of war and other military action and the dispute over which branch of government would ultimately be responsible for the amendment’s enforcement–the President or the courts, Goodlatte’s good idea deserves serious consideration and bipartisan support.

Donkeys & Elephants - July 4th - Staunton

"Signs, Signs... everywhere you look.."

The Democrats and Republicans of Staunton, Augusta County and Waynesboro are ready for a "dust-up" of epic proportions. At least the commercial printers will be making some money this year.

Fine parade to celebrate the 4th. Standing applause for all military units and vets. Great crowd. Good food. Great local tradition.