"New Voter Concerns May Aid [Judy Feder]"

The Washington Post editorial board may be a bunch of blithering idiots and total shills for Frank Wolf, but many of the reporters are excellent. Take this article, for instance, in today's Washington Post "Loudoun Extra," by Sandhya Somashekhar.

Much has changed since 2006, when Democrat Judy M. Feder made her first, unsuccessful attempt at unseating GOP Rep. Frank R. Wolf in Virginia's diverse and sprawling 10th Congressional District.

The economy has displaced the Iraq war as the nation's most pressing issue. Feder will share the ballot with Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) and former governor Mark R. Warner, two popular candidates likely to drive high Democratic turnout at the polls. And as the cost of medical insurance continues to rise, Feder's credentials as a nationally recognized health-care expert have never been so in demand.

Exactly, much has changed in the 10th district, in Virginia, and in the country since Frank Wolf ambled into Washington nearly 3 decades (!) ago. For instance, the population of Loudoun County ALONE has increased from 57,427 in 1980 to about 280,000 today. That's a nearly 5-fold increase since Frank Wolf was first elected, and most of those new voters are Democrats, as evidenced by both Tim Kaine and Jim Webb carrying the 10th CD in 2005 and 2006, respectively. This year, of course, we're going to see an enormous surge of Obama/Warner voters. The question is, will that be enough - combined with the continuing demographic changes and a much stronger campaign by Judy Feder this year than in 2006 - to push her to victory next Tuesday? We'll find out soon enough.

Meanwhile, as far as the "Loudoun Extra" articles is concerned, it clearly demonstrates that Feder represents a perfectly reasonable alternative to Frank Wolf. It also points out how loooonnnngggg Wolf's been in office, and how Wolf favors the McCain health care plan, which just the other day McCain adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin admitted would provide inferior health care to what they're currently receiving from their employers. It would be hilarious if it weren't so serious. Maybe Frank Wolf can send his staffers out to give Holtz-Eakin a good "caning" or something? Ha