EJ Dionne: Judy Feder is a "resolutely grounded mainstream thinker"

Somehow I missed this one by EJ Dionne, but it's a good one (albeit a bit late...wish he had written it a few weeks ago!):

In the case of Judy Feder, the other side is pushing the notion that she is some over-the-top liberal -- which doesn't square at all with how practical and careful she is in thinking through programs and policies. When I became a professor at Georgetown, I chose to make the policy school my home because of my admiration for Judy, who was then the dean. I got to know her over the years as one of Washington’s smartest people on health care policy and as someone who really understands how policy and politics come together.

She’s incredibly intelligent, which I suspect voters who have run into her know. But more than that: she cares about what works and about evidence. That’s why the idea contained in one of her opponent’s commercials that her views are “far out” and “extreme” is just wrong. She is a resolutely grounded mainstream thinker. She’s also an infectiously enthusiastic and genuinely warm person, who takes ideas seriously enough that she relates well to conservatives and moderates no less than to her fellow progressives. I’d love to see what she’s do in Congress with all her skills.

"2 Hours for Change"

From the Feder campaign, with just 20 hours until polls open!

You still have time to make a difference!

This past weekend, the Feder for Congress campaign knocked almost 40,000 doors in VA-10. That doesn’t include tens of thousands of additional knocks and phone calls made by the Obama and Warner campaigns in our district!

We’ve got an incredible ground game but we still have slots that need to be filled for Election Day.

Can you give up 2 hours of your time to change the direction of our country?

This is it. It all comes down to the next 33 hours.

Sign up to volunteer on Election Day today!

Thank you again for your support,

Luke McFarland
Campaign Manager

Reminder: Pre-Election Rally and Fundraiser today!

From the Feder campaign, with under 72 hours until polls open!

Please Join us for a Pre-Election Rally and Fundraiser in honor of
Judy Feder
To help fund our GOTV effort for November 4

From 4pm to 6pm

TODAY! Saturday November 1, 2008
At the Home of
Kristin Cabral and Joe Beaulieu
1869 Rhode Island Avenue
McLean VA 22101

Contribution Amounts:
$1000 Host
$500 Sponsor
$250 Friend
$100 Guest
$50 Individual

Only a few days left! Make a difference today by making your contribution online at www.judyfeder.com!

RSVP to Julia at 703-388-2813 or Julia@judyfeder.com

Judy Feder for Congress
6818 Tennyson Dr. McLean, VA 22101
www.JudyFeder.com

4 Days to Go

From the Feder campaign:

As Election Day nears, I am incredibly thankful for the overwhelming support I have received from you all since I have started running.

I cannot imagine where I would be without supporters like you, and I am asking you to stick with me for just a few more days.

We have put together an impressive Get Out The Vote operation for our final days and we need your help to make sure we can fund it.

Victory is within our reach! But we need to reach out to thousands of voters across the district to make sure that they know to vote for the Obama-Warner-Feder ticket on Election Day.

Help us reach our GOTV goal by making a contribution by Monday at 10 am!

We have just 4 days left and the race is closer than ever. Virginia is the battleground state for the Presidential race. The change this country needs will depend on what happens in Virginia and the 10th District on November 4th.

On Monday, Barack Obama will end his Presidential campaign in Virginia-10. He will appear in Manassas Park, just hours before the polls open, because he knows that the 10th district and the nation are hungry for change and that the Obama-Warner-Feder ticket will bring that change to Washington.

Your contribution today will make sure that on November 4th we finally get the change we so desperately need.

Thank you again for all you have done,

Judy Feder

P.S. Contribute today we need to make your help before Monday at 10am!

Obama To Hold Final Rally in 10th CD; Will it Boost Judy to Victory?

Barack Obama kicked off his general election campaign in Virginia's 10th CD (Bristow) on June 5, and will conclude his campaign in Virginia's 10th CD (Manassas Park) this Monday evening (November 3). Hey, do you think Barack Obama really REALLY wants to win Virginia's 10th CD (along with the rest of the Commonwealth) or what? :)

Barack Obama to Hold Change We Need Rally in Manassas Park Area Monday

Final pre-election campaign rally slated for Virginia

RICHMOND, Va. – In his final campaign appearance before Tuesday’s election, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama will hold a Change We Need rally in the Manassas Park area Monday night. It will be Obama’s 11th trip to the commonwealth since the end of the primary campaign. He began the general election campaign season with Virginia stops in Bristol and Manassas.

At the rally, Obama will lay out his plans to jump start the economy, provide affordable health care to Virginians and tax relief for middle class families and contrast his vision for America with John McCain’s plans for four more years of the same failed policies of the last eight.

More details about the event will be announced in the coming days.

Among other things, what this final rally by Barack Obama in the 10th CD indicates is that the Obama campaign is looking to win the district big time on Tuesday. Given that both Tim Kaine and Jim Webb won the 10th, the question is mostly how big is "big time." Another question is whether a big Obama victory in the 10th CD will provide enough "coattails" to boost Judy Feder to victory over Frank Wolf.

As the Falls Church News-Press' Penny Gross wrote the other day, Judy Feder "can win this year with her expertise on health care policy, an issue that Congress must deal with in the coming term." Combine that with changing 10th CD demographics in favor of the "blue" team, huge voter turnout this year, victories by Barack Obama and Mark Warner at the top of the ticket, concerns about the economy and the Iraq War, a strong campaign by Judy Feder, and Frank Wolf's increasingly...uh, erratic behavior, and you have the formula for Democratic victory on November 4. We'll see what happens, but anyone who thinks this one will be a "yawner" could be in for a big surprise.

Help GOTV for Judy!

From the Feder campaign:

The Washington Post got it right this morning when they said that, “Judy Feder’s credentials as a nationally recognized health care expert have never been so in demand.”

We all know that our broken health care system needs to be fixed, but it’s not just on health care that we need real change.

Frank Wolf has been in office for 28 years and though he may not be George Bush, he’s voted with Bush on the economy and Iraq 92% of the time.

Judy will work with Barack Obama to get our economy back on track, fix our broken health care system, and end the war in Iraq.

Thanks to your support we’ve had an incredible couple of days

We’ve bolstered our network TV buy – matching a 28 year incumbent dollar for dollar.

We’ve funded an outreach program to the 42,000 new voters in the 10th District.

Now we need to put the final piece in place.

Working with the Obama and Warner campaigns we’ve put together a fantastic Get Out the Vote operation. But we need to raise an additional $21,812 to pay it.

Contribute today to help us Get Out the Vote!

Thanks,
Luke McFarland
Campaign Manager

"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

$3.987 to Go

From the Feder campaign, please help if you can! Thanks.

Yesterday we told you about the 42,000 new voters in our district and asked you to help us reach out to them. Thanks to the quick response from many of you, we have raised $20,860 of our $24,847 goal. I have to wire the money to our phone firm by the end of the day, so it is important we raise the last $3,987 before then!

Reaching out to these voters is incredibly important during these last days of the campaign. These new voters registered because they know they can bring change to the 10th district and our country in only 6 days!

Can you help us reach our goal of $24,847 to contact 42,000 newly registered voters?

First time voters can make the difference in this election. Many are new to the 10th District while others are simply fed up with the way Washington has been run for the last 8 years. They want change, but we have to make sure they know to vote Obama-Warner-Feder on November 4th.

Your contribution today will help us get to our $24,847 goal before the end of the day.

Your support has driven this campaign. In less than one week, the voters in the 10th district are going to vote for change in Washington and send Judy Feder to Congress!

Thanks,

Luke McFarland
Campaign Manager
Feder for Congress

When Congressman Wolf's Goons Attack: Part 2

Gary Lofton is a member of the Frederick County Board of Supervisors. Lofton is a Republican, elected in January 2008, who represents the Back Creek area. Here is what Lofton had to say about the incident the other day, in which he pinned a Judy Feder campaign staffer against the wall of a hotel.

Lofton, a member of the Frederick County Board of Supervisors, denies he pinned Goodman against the wall.

"I was merely trying to engage him in a dialogue that might disengage him from his disrespectful behavior, as well as try to determine if I could help him get an answer to his questions," Lofton said, adding that he offered to buy the young men lunch or coffee to try and talk to them in a calmer setting.

Now remember, Gary Lofton - the guy who is totally in the Feder staffer's (Matt Kent's) face, yelling and badgering him in a threatening manner - is a sitting, elected official on the Frederick County Board of Supervisors. Can you imagine if a Democratic elected county official, let's just say Gerry Connolly for the heck of it, did this to one of...oh, Keith Fimian's staffers? That's right, the Republicans would be going apes***, blaring this to kingdom come.

In sum, the Feder staffers, Matt Kent and Josh Goodman, were simply trying to get answers from Congressman Wolf following a debate, in a public location. Meanwhile, one Wolf staffer - Ben Dutton - assaulted Matt Kent with a cane, while a close Wolf ally - Frederick County Board of Supervisors member Gary Lofton - held Josh Goodman against the wall and also got in Matt Kent's in an extremely aggressive manner, as you can see in the video above. For more, please see the full video (at the bottom of this post), presented simply so that everyone can see that the Feder campaign isn't trying to hide anything here, that all this was sequential, and to give the complete picture of what happened.

The bottom line here: apparently, if you try to ask Frank Wolf questions, his goons verbally and physically assault you while Wolf stands by and does nothing. This is not acceptable behavior for anyone, let alone a member of Congress. After this incident, not to mention his nearly lockstep voting record with George W. Bush, it's time to make Frank Wolf a FORMER Congressman on November 4.

WJLA-TV: "Wolf Aide Raises 'Cane' with Opponent's Videographer"

The Wolf campaign continues to melt down, as the story of his campaign's violence against two Feder staffers spreads from the blogs to the print media to TV. Couldn't have happened to a nicer campaign. Ha.

By the way, I believe more video may very well be coming soon, so stay tuned. :)

42,000

From Judy Feder:

Yesterday we asked for your last minute donations before we made out final media buy of the cycle.

Hundreds of you responded, and we surpassed our goal, raising $51,935 for our last media buy!

Thanks to your support, we’ll be able to get our message out on network TV.

But, our job is not done yet.

A last minute surge in new registrants has resulted in a total of 42,000 new voters in VA-10 this year. These voters are not attached to Frank Wolf and are highly inclined to vote for a Democratic candidate, but only if they know who I am!

We’ve planned an aggressive outreach program to these voters in the final days of the campaign but we need to raise an additional $24,487 in the next 48 hours to pay for it.

Can you help us reach the 42,000 new voters in the 10th district?

Your contribution today will help us fund a live phone call and additional outreach to new voters in the district, letting them know that Barack Obama can’t do it alone.

We need a new team in Congress committed to changing the direction of our country.

With only one week until Election Day, we need your help now, more than ever, to reach out to the new voters across the district.

Contribute today to help us reach out to 42,000 new voters and win on November 4th.

We are almost there, thank you for all you do,

Judy Feder

Feder Pre-Election Rally and Fundraiser

From the Feder campaign:

Please Join us for a Pre-Election Rally and Fundraiser in honor of
Judy Feder
To help fund our GOTV effort for November 4

From 4pm to 6pm

Saturday November 1, 2008
At the Home of
Kristin Cabral and Joe Beaulieu
1869 Rhode Island Avenue
McLean VA 22101

Contribution Amounts:
$1000 Host
$500 Sponsor
$250 Friend
$100 Guest
$50 Individual

Only a few days left! Make a difference today by making your contribution online at www.judyfeder.com!

RSVP to Julia at 703-388-2813 or Julia@judyfeder.com

Judy Feder for Congress
6818 Tennyson Dr. McLean, VA 22101
www.JudyFeder.com

Washington Post, Winchester Star Pick Up Wolf Campaign Assault Story

The story of Wolf campaign staffers assaulting Feder staffers has been zipping around the blogosphere. Now, it's hit the "mainstream media" as well. The Washington Post has a story on the front page of the Metro section today, in which - among other things - Frederick County Supervisor Gary Lofton (R), who pinned one Feder staffer against the wall of the Best Western Hotel, claims he was just "trying to reason with him," that he "did not see anyone get struck," and that regardless, the Feder staffers are the ones who should be "absolutely ashamed of themselves" for "getting in the congressman's face."

So, the next time there's a media scrum and reporters are sticking microphones in Frank Wolf's face, can we expect Wolf's hired hands to start assaulting the reporters? And can we expect Wolf's staffers to excuse their criminal behavior by claiming the victims "provoked" their assaults? Just want to be clear about this...

Meanwhile, the Winchester Star reports that the Wolf campaign will NOT be firing Ben Dutton, the man who struck Feder's cameraman with a cane:

Despite calls from the Feder campaign, Dutton will keep his job, Scandling said.

“We are not firing Ben Dutton,” he said. “Ben Dutton is a respected, long-time member of the Winchester community. We are not firing him.”

And, of course, the classic final line.

Wolf could not be reached for comment Monday.

Of course not!

P.S. By the way, Benjamin Dutton has been on Wolf's staff as a "part time employee" since 2001. Pretty nice gig, though - he has made $180,833 since 2001 as a part-timer. I think the part where he beats people with a cane falls into the "other duties as assigned" category. Ha.

Feder Campaign Calls for Wolf Staffer to be Fired After Assault

From the Feder campaign:

Feder Campaign Calls for Wolf Staffer to be Fired After Assault

McLean, VA-After an incident on Friday, October 24, 2008 in Winchester, VA during which a congressional staffer of Congressman Wolf assaulted a Feder staffer, the campaign is calling for Congressional staffer Benjamin Dutton to be fired immediately.

The Feder campaign is also calling for the Wolf campaign to reveal the identity of the second man in the video who is caught on tape holding a Feder campaign staffer against the wall in a threatening manner.

The Feder campaign believes the following list of questions needs to be answered by Congressman Wolf-and not his campaign staff-publicly:

* Were you aware that the young man had been struck with a cane? Did you see the young man get struck by your staffer a second time?
* What is the identity of the second man in the video who appears to be pinning one of the Feder staffers against the wall?
* Why didn't you say something when you realized there was a young man being held against his will by one of your supporters/volunteers/staffers?


"This whole incident is unfortunate, and we certainly never expected that questions about Congressman Wolf's support of the McCain health care tax would lead to a violent response from the Congressman's staff," said Feder campaign manager Luke McFarland. "The staffer who is responsible for the assault should be fired immediately. And Congressman Wolf himself should give a full account of what happened, not send staffers out to explain this away for him."

Video of Judy Feder Speech at Obama Rally

As I pointed out in a post last week, Judy Feder spoke at the Obama rally in Leesburg. Here is the video of her speech.

Help Judy Beat the Bullies!

From the Feder campaign, here's your chance to help Judy beat the bullies. Thanks.

On Friday I asked for your help in raising $50,000 to match Frank Wolf's negative ad dollar-for-dollar on network TV.

Thanks to your support we've raised $23,865 online since Friday - almost half of our goal!

We're almost there, but we need to have raised the entire $50,000 by tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. in time to wire it to local television stations.

Click here to help us reach our goal.

Judy's running incredibly strong and Wolf is polling lower than ever, but we need your help to match him on network TV.

It's your support that has brought us closer to victory than we've ever been before, but with only a week before Election Day, we can't let up now.

Click here to help us reach our goal before 10:00 a.m. tomorrow!

Thank you again for all that you've done,

Luke McFarland
Campaign Manager

And Frank Wolf Does Nothing...

For more on this story, please click here. Now, what is it called when you stand by, watch two people being assaulted by your associates, and do nothing?

Substitute Frank Wolf's Name for John McCain's in This Video

Great video by the League of Conservation Voters, see here for more. This is highly applicable to John McCain, but also to Frank Wolf. Just substitute "Frank Wolf" for "John McCain" and change a few numbers around, and you've pretty much got the story. Frank Wolf PRETENDS to be for the environment and for breaking our oil addiction, but in the end he's just another Bush Republican.

The Wolf campaign - "now that's out of touch!"

From the Feder campaign...boy is it ever time for a change!

Frank Wolf’s new negative ad proves that he just doesn’t get it.

The Wolf campaign accuses Judy of running an, “ugly partisan campaign,” based on her appearances at Barack Obama rallies.

Now that’s out of touch.

Virginians are looking for change to get our economy back on track and fix our broken health care system.

Attacking Barack Obama? That’s not just more of the same, it’s a losing strategy.

The Obama/Biden ticket is poised to win Virginia and the 10th District, which is why we were proud to feature Barack Obama in our own ad.

Thanks to your support we were able to go on network TV on the same day as Frank Wolf. But to match Wolf dollar-for-dollar we still need your help.

We need to raise $50,000 online between now and midnight on October 31st to match Wolf’s buy. Can you help us get there?

Contribute today

We've only got 11 days left to change the direction of our country and we can't afford to let up now.

Thanks again,

Luke McFarland
Campaign Manager

Social Right Winger Wolf Gets a Zero Rating From Human Rights Campaign

That's right, Frank Wolf the supposed "moderate" just got a big, fat ZERO rating from the Human Rights Campaign, for his votes against hate crimes legislation (!!) and employment non-discrimination(!!!).

In sharp contrast, Judy Feder is committed to "defend civil rights and uphold the principles of equality" for all people - gay and straight, black and white, old and young, male and female - ALL people.

Wolf has had a history of anti-gay votes since he began serving in Congress in 1981. In its scorecard released Wednesday for the 110th Congress, the Human Rights Campaign gave Wolf a score of zero for his positions on legislation in the U.S. House.

Last year, Wolf voted against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and hate crimes legislation. He also voted in favor of the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2004 and 2006.

He also voted in favor of a bill that would have barred gay couples from adopting in D.C. in 1999 and voted in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996.

Feder told the Blade that she would support ENDA, hate crimes legislation and a bill repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” She said she opposes a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and supports civil unions.

Feder said gay voters should support her because Wolf will not support any gay-friendly legislation in Congress.

“As a legislator, I will defend civil rights and uphold the principles of equality,” she said.

By the way, this isn't an isolated pattern of votes for Frank Wolf. In general, Wolf isn't just socially far right in this area. He's also consistently opposed using federal tax dollars to fund embryonic stem cell research. He's supported prohibitions on abortions at U.S. military facilities, even if they're not funded by private donations. He's strongly supported the Hyde Amendment, which rejects funding for abortion services even in cases of incest and rape.

The bottom line: Frank Wolf has moved further right on social issues as the 10th district has become more socially moderate. Let's face it, 28 years is a long time to be in Congress, especially given the huge population growth and demographic changes that have taken place during that time. Today, Frank Wolf finds himself out of touch, out of tune, and hopefully in 12 days, out of a job.