VA05 Action Alert

Any candidate currently pursuing the Republican nomination in VA05 needs to listen up (that is, if you wish to progress past June 8th).

Two points must be driven home here, and you must memorize and, more importantly, put them into practice.

First- Tom Perriello will not be defeated easily in November, and anyone deluding themselves to the contrary had better wise up, post haste.

Secondly, he can and will be beaten in November, if certain factors prevail. These factors break down thusly, in order of importance:
1) the eventual nominee must display leadership, long before June 8th.
2) Leadership consists of focusing on the items of ultimate import in this race-
a) your task is not to persuade primary voters that you are a better candidate than this or that Republican.
b) your task is to persuade as many people as possible (R and D) that you are the best candidate to represent them inside the 495 beltway.
c) the best way to accomplish these tasks is by focusing on the dichotomy between you, as a candidate, and Tom Perriello as a candidate with a voting record
3) The only way to accomplish all of the above is by rooting your arguments in concrete facts, period.

I’ve laid out a few of those facts in various places over the past several months, including the comment sections of local blogs. Clicking those links would benefit many a candidate here in the Fighting Fifth.

And, with that sermon out of the way, on to the meat of this post.

Jim Geraghty wrote a piece at National Review Online last Friday pinpointing vulnerable Democrats in the House. He listed several who voted for HarryCare, and their direct quotes touting the CBO scoring of the bill, which credit it with long-term deficit reductions.

Problem: HHS also has a study which, for some reason (surely not political) came out late last week, even though it was concluded before the House vote over a month ago.

Regardless, Jim’s point is this: Dems who were already vulnerable can be made even more so, simply by placing their own words about the health care bill’s magical (read: farcical) cost savings in their proper context (read: putting the lie to their rhetoric) with the HHS’s own numbers, and CBO’s revised analysis.

Rush Limbaugh drove Jim’s point home today on his show, saying that savvy Republican challengers to these incumbents on Jim’s list would do well to begin running ads & press releases immediately, exposing the rampant lies.

And here’s where VA05 comes into play- Jim Geraghty did not include Tom Perriello on his list. Luckily, I saved a release from Tom’s office, dated March 22nd (the day after HarryCare’s final passage, with all the bribes still in place, in the House).

Operative quote:
“For more than a century, our leaders have promised affordable universal healthcare to all Americans. Today we delivered that result in a way that our local hospitals say will improve quality and reduce costs for patients. Middle-class families will save $1 ,000 to $2,000 per year, and small business owners will see the cost of covering their workers drop. This bill will help our rural hospitals and clinics keep their doors open, improve health care for over 400,000 local residents, reduce the federal deficit, and provide coverage to 48 ,000 more individuals in the 5 th district alone — more than the population of Danville.
At the end of the day, this decision for me came down to whether working families would see savings at the kitchen table. They will. I asked whether seniors will see the Medicare Trust Fund extended and the cost of prescription drugs drop. They will. As I have heard from our major hospitals that endorsed the bill, this legislation will improve health care and bring down costs for Virginians.” (Emphasis added)

So, intrepid Fifth District challengers- have at it. And, you’re welcome. ;D