OUR VIEW: Virginia is on the radar for Democrats
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Staff Editorial
Published: August 19, 2008
» SUMMARY: The opening of an office for the Obama campaign in Culpeper and the selection of former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner as a keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention is evidence of an all-out push by Democrats to take the state this fall.
Culpeper is far from the center of the political universe, but it is exciting to see that the area is at least getting some attention from those seeking the nation’s highest office.
Last week, Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign opened a local headquarters on the second floor of a building at 102 N. Main St. in downtown Culpeper.
On the surface, at least, it may not seem like a big deal. But for the first time in three decades the party is setting up shop here, which shows they think the area is important.
From the Culpeper office a push will be made into Orange, Madison and Rappahannock counties.
Why Culpeper and why now?
Virginia is an important state in this election.
For years the Old Dominion has been a GOP stronghold, but increased population, changing times and a large block of previously unregistered voters puts the state back in play for Democrats.
Throw into the mix that Virginia has a Democratic governor in Tim Kaine — who has been mentioned as a possible Obama running mate — and that former Gov. Mark Warner has been selected as the keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention beginning Aug. 26 and you can feel the heat from the spotlight being cast on the state.
Look at the primary: More people voted Democrat than Republican in Virginia for the first time in recent memory. Some say the lack of a real challenge on the GOP side and the tight race at the time between Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton brought out the high Democratic turnout.
It’s hard to know if the big Democratic push will really change much come November.
Regardless of the outcome, though, the added attention may achieve one important goal — getting more people involved in the process. If that happens, we all win.
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Posted by ( wonderbread ) on August 21, 2008 at 2:48 pm
“Caveman…“ - you say the left has taken over the dems. What about the extreme right wingers who have taken over the republicans? There is a split on both sides of the aisle. I think many of the textbook repub’s are fed up with the churchy, super conservatives who have swung things so far one way and caused much of the extreme rifts towards the middle and left. But, their are many dems’s who are more moderate who are upset with the extreme left side also. The two party system is definitely broken.
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Posted by ( caveman823 ) on August 20, 2008 at 7:40 pm
Buddy 8:41 am, none of the Republicans I know would vote for BHO. Either you are making that up or these people are not really Republicans. Conservatives are disappointed in the Congressional Republicans for acting too much like Democrats (waste and spending). How would you restore conservatism to our government by electing a radical liberal Democrat to President and giving him a Democrat Party controlled Congress? This defies logic.
The majority of Americans favor conservative views over those of the left. The radical left has hijacked the Democrat Party.
What lies are we talking about? How can you tell if a politician (Democrat or Republican) is lying? Their lips are moving.
Actually, the Democratic Party is splitting; they all are not falling for the Obamamania. They have launched the “Hillary Clinton Supporter for John McCain” group (http://hcsfjm.com/).
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Posted by ( buddy ) on August 20, 2008 at 7:41 am
I have talked to more Republicans who will be voting for Barack Obama because the GOP has been a disapointment in so many ways. Mostly because of the waste and spending, the constant lies that were told.
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