CQ: Judy Feder 9th Best Funded House Challenger in the Country

According to CQ Politics, Judy Feder is 9th in terms of "U.S. House Candidates challenging incumbents of the opposite party who had the most cash-on-hand as of Dec. 31." Here's the CQ analysis:

9) Judy Feder, Democrat, Virginia’s 10th ($483,000). Feder, a Georgetown University professor and former dean who has a deep background in health care policy, also is a rematch candidate. She’s back for a second try in 2008 against veteran Republican Rep. Frank Wolf, who won their 2006 race by 57 percent to 41 percent. That was Wolf’s lowest winning percentage since 1982, and district precincts in northern Virginia are trending more Democratic than Republican these days. But unseating Wolf will again be a very difficult challenge for Feder.

Yes, we all know that Frank Wolf is an entrenched incumbent and that this race won't be easy. And yes, we all know that money doesn't buy everything in life. Still, a lot of people must believe in Judy Feder and want serious change in Washington, DC, to be giving her all this cash. Don't look back, Frank Wolf, because somebody might be gaining on you! :)

Heavy Democratic Turnout in the 10th

The turnout for yesterday's Democratic primary was heavy, and that bodes very well for Democrats like Judy Feder this fall. Overall, according to the State Board of Elections, 98,504 of 460,158 active voters (21.40%) turned out on the Democratic side, double the 49,691 voters (10.79% of active voters) on the Republican side. Amazingly, the Democratic winner last night, Barack Obama, received more votes (58,645) in the 10th CD than the total number of votes cast on the Republican side for all their candidates combined.

Watch out, Frank Wolf, the blue tide (aka, Judy Feder) is comin' to git you! :)

Judy Feder: Vote Tomorrow!

From Judy Feder...go vote!

Voters throughout Virginia and across the region have the chance to be heard tomorrow. Democratic turnout around the country has already set records and sent a powerful message to Washington that change is on the way.

We'll have volunteers at over 60 polling places in the 10th District on Tuesday, listening to voters as they go to the polls and asking them to join us in bringing fundamental change to Washington.

After casting your ballot on Tuesday I invite you to join our effort to transform the way Washington does business.

Click here to volunteer, host a house party, or help in any way you can.

Thanks to the overwhelming support for our campaign we're stronger than we've ever been. The Washingon Post says we're building a war chest based on the strength of our financial support. With you're help we can put that that war chest to work and bring change to the 10th District and our country.

You're already making a difference and together we'll finish the job in November.

Sincerely,

Judy Feder

WTOP on Rail to Dulles Debacle: local leaders "should have seen this coming"

I've heard people attempting to make excuses for Frank Wolf on the Tysons Tunnel debacle. This, despite the fact that he's been a powerful Congressman for years (decades? centuries?), yet was totally caught off guard by the Federal Transit Administration's objections to the project as currently constituted? Now, WTOP's "Sprawl & Crawl Reporter," Adam Tuss, weighs in:

...you have to wonder if this project was dead before it even got off the ground. The FTA makes a number of strong arguments for why it has a problem with investing nearly $900 million in a project that may end up costing a lot more. It questions Metro's ability to run the extension, given the transit agency's less than stellar reputation recently.

In addition, to believe that local leaders had no idea this project was in serious trouble until a few weeks ago is naive. They should have seen this coming.

So, why didn't Frank Wolf see this coming? Was he too busy doing...well, whatever it is he does up on Capitol Hill? Perhaps if he had listened to his constituents, maybe attended meetings like this one, he wouldn't have been so surprised? But, then again, that would require Wolf to actually care what his constituents think, as opposed to what "Big Dig" Bechtel thinks. Priorities, priorities.

Frank Wolf Blames the Tunnel Supporters

This is classic:

Wolf pointed out that there was already $250 million on the table for the Dulles Rail project and said that part of what created the project's slow down was the interest in creating a tunnel through Tysons Corner.

"This tunnel really kicked this thing off," he said. "Had the tunnel thing not come up, construction would have already started. That really delayed this project by one and a half to two years."

Wolf said he understood the reasoning behind wanting a tunnel, but said that sometimes you have to move forward with what you can realistically afford.

"We had the money, it was on the table," he said. "This needs to be a transportation project to take people off the roads."

Translation: Frank Wolf's pet project is near death, largely because of his stubbornness, unwillingness to listen to legitimate concerns, and overall lack of leadership -- and he blames supporters of a tunnel in Tysons Corner! Classic, sort of like Bush blaming all his failings on other people. Is this some kind of Republican thang or what?

Congress Needs More And Better Democrats

Our nation is in need of a government and leadership that can repair the damages wrought by the past seven years of misgovernance in Washington. That means providing our next President with a Congress which has the numbers and confidence to act quickly and thoroughly on issues like restoring civil liberties, ending the war in Iraq, healthcare reform, curbing handouts to large corporations, and returning competence to the agencies responsible for our health, welfare and safety.

A better Congress means electing more and better democrats. Holding the line on civil liberties and passing SCHIP are just two examples of issues that directly impact our way of life which are at risk because our Democratic majorities in Congress are thinner than they might appear. A union of Republicans and conservative Democrats can, and has, blocked progress for the past year on a variety of issues. The logical response is to expand our majority where we can in order to dilute the strength and influence of those members of the Democratic caucus who defect to the Republican side of critical votes from time to time.

Furthermore, in districts which are overwhelmingly Democratic (MD-04, for example), we need to make sure that they are represented by truly progressive and dedicated Democrats, since they are "safe" seats for our party. This is the reason so many people in the netroots are supporting Donna Edwards against Al Wynn, for example, or Mark Pera against Dan Lipinski.

What this means for Virginia, and the 10th District, is that we need to alter the make-up of our state delegation by supporting and electing strong Democrats to Congress. That will give our next President the support he or she needs to fix the problems of the past seven years. We have a unique opportunity this year to make great inroads in Virginia. We have no fewer than five great candidates challenging for seats held by Republicans in Virginia.

• VA-02: Glenn Nye is challenging Congresswoman Drake. Glenn has stepped up to challenge one of hte most Bush-friendly Republicans in Virginia. His experience providing development assistance in Iraq, along with his wealth of diplomatic experience would bring a consensus builder to Congress to replace the bomb-thrower that is Thelma Drake.


• VA-05: Tom Perriello is challenging Congressman Goode. Tom represents Virginia's true values of community and progress against the bigot and xenophobe currently representing the 5th District.


• VA-06: Sam Rasoul is challenging Congressman Goodlatte. Sam Rasoul is one of the youngest candidates for Congress in America, but do not confuse youth for inexperience. He is a highly successful entrepreneur who has done more than talk about bringing jobs to the valley, he has actually created them himself.


• VA-10: Judy Feder is challenging Congressman Wolf. Judy is the definition of a good Democrat. She is driven, dedicated and passionate, with name recognition from her previous campaign in 2006 and unmatched expertise in one of the most important issues of the coming year: healthcare.


• VA-11: Leslie Byrne is fighting for the open seat of retiring Congressman Davis. Leslie brings a unique skill to the only open seat race in Virginia, previous experience in Congress. During her service in the early 1990s, she was a leader of her Congressional class, and serve Virginia well on many committees. Returning that experience to Congress will help our next president.

Each of these five would represent a strong addition to the Democratic governing majority in the House. Here in Leesburg, we have the privilege of supporting Judy Feder. Considering the importance of the healthcare issue in Loudoun (the new Board of Supervisors made it one of their first priorities), Congresswoman Feder would establish leadership on this issue for the 10th District. To make that happen, though, she needs our support, so do what you can, if you can, to send Judy Feder to Congress!

(Crossposted from Leesburg Tomorrow.)

Frank Wolf Hearts Tom Davis

Rep. Frank Wolf surfaces from hiding once again, not to meet with his constituents or to comment on important matters like why the rail to Dulles project is on its deathbed, but instead to blabber on about how much we're all going to miss his good friend Tom Davis:

U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-10) said Fairfax County will miss Davis. The 11th district representative worked to get funding for metro and other transportation projects. He also spent a lot of time trying to fix the federal procurement process, said Wolf, who is the other Republican from Fairfax County in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Awwww, ain't that sweet? Yeah, it's sweet, except for Tom Davis' ties to the infamous Abramoff/DeLay "K Street Project." Oh, and the fact that "Davis...collected more money from lobbyists than 428 of the 435 members of Congress," then "worked closely with Tom DeLay and Jack Abramoff at the Republican National Congressional Committee." Then, there's this sweet story about how Davis helped his wife a sweetheart of a deal -- $78,000 in one year "for working "10 to 20 hours a week,' primarily at home on her cellphone" -- by a government contractor (Donald W. Upson of ICG Government) with close access to Davis. This is classic:

Davis went on to Congress, where he became a leading voice on government contracting and an advocate for his technology industry constituents in Fairfax and Prince William counties. Upson became the top technology official for the Virginia government before reentering the private sector and starting ICG.

From the beginning, Upson worked with Davis and his staff as he built his consulting business, which holds seminars on procurement and advises clients on winning government technology contracts worth billions of dollars. Those contracts often came under the oversight of Davis's committee. One of Upson's first hires was Jeannemarie Devolites, a Virginia politician who later married the congressman.

Yes, that's how Frank Wolf's best friend forever Tom Davis did business, which makes it even more revealing that Wolf would credits Davis for "spen[ding] a lot of time trying to fix the federal procurement process." Yeah, "fix it" is right, but not in the sense of the word that Wolf intends.

Major Wolf Contributor's Major Distortions on Metro to Dulles

I was looking through the FEC donor information for Frank Wolf, and the name "Gary Nakamoto" caught my eye. On November 27, 2007, Mr. Nakamoto -- the CEO of Base Technologies, a "McLean-based provider of information technology services," and Chairman of the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce -- gave the Frank Wolf campaign $2,300. Nothing wrong with that, but I find it interesting that Mr. Nakamoto also is busy making the "common sense," "business friendly" case for building the rail-to-Dulles project, one of Frank Wolf's top priorities. And, of course, there's nothing wrong with extending Metro to Dulles Airport. Except, as I explained the other day, there are a number of flaws in Mr. Nakamoto's argument:

1. Nakamoto appears to dismiss all objections, questions, or concerns about the project (no-bid contract to Bechtel, problems with MWAA and the rest of the Metro system, cost, secrecy, lack of "smart growth" benefits in Tysons with an "aerial alignment," etc., etc.) as "all that noise." Nice rhetorical turn of phrase, setting himself up as the only one who can cut through the noise and get to the "common sense" truth, but brushing real problems under the rug doesn't really make them go away. Nice try, though!

2. Nakamoto argues that "The rail extension is needed now, and there is a strong regional business case to support it." Is the rail extension really "needed now?" Well, Nakomoto himself says that this has been a "40-year effort to bring rail to Tysons and Dulles." Is it any more "needed now" than it was in 1968, 1978, 1988, or 1998? I'm not sure about that. Also, is there a "strong regional business case to support" rail to Dulles? That's questionable; obviously, the landowners whose property values will skyrocket if rail goes in will be happy. But will Metro to Dulles really cause a boom in business in NOVA, more than the boom we've been seeing without rail to Dulles? I'm not convinced, but I'd love to see Nakomoto's "strong regional business case" rather than just take his word for it.

3. Nakomoto argues that people who fill the 400,000 jobs of the next 20 years "will need to get around in something other than a car." Well, that may be true, but the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project - the big boosters of the project -- only estimate ridership at 91,200 daily trips by 2025, a lot less than the 400,000 people who "will need to get around in something other than a car." That leaves about 300,000 more people still hopping in the car, not taking Metro. Doesn't sound like a solution to me.

4. Possibly the worst argument by Nakomoto is this: "Just as Metrorail moves workers into downtown Washington, we need that mass transit option in the Dulles corridor." Huh? Comparing a system which operates to shuttle commuters from high-density areas into a dense, central business core is the same as running a rail line up median strips of a far-less-densely-populated area to an airport located 25 miles west of the Washington, DC central business district? That's not "common sense" in my book!

5. This is just silly: "If this project can't move forward, the real losers will be people across the region..." No, actually, the correct statement here is this: "If this project moves forward as it is currently configured, the real losers will be the people across the region..." Unless, that is, they like Big Dig Bechtel building a poorly designed, poorly-thought-out project that, in 20 years, people will be kicking themselves about and asking, "what WERE we thinking?!?"

6. This is beyond silly: "Nearly 25 million passengers arrive at the airport every year, and that number is expected to climb to more than 50 million in the future. Will all of these travelers be forced into cabs? How big will the parking garages need to be?" Riiiight....there's no other option than building THIS particular project, right now, as it's currently figured, or 25 million more people per year will be forced to take cabs. There are no other options, of course, to the currently configured rail-to-Dulles project. It's either this or nothing. Uh huh. And this is what passes for "common sense" in the NOVA business community? Oh boy.

7. This is silly as well: "extending Metro through Tysons and to Dulles will be expensive, but doesn't common sense tell us that if we delay it will only become more so." Actually, doing this project right -- open it up to competitive bidding, for starters -- could dramatically REDUCE the cost. And building a tunnel in Tysons could have tremendous long-term economic benefits, both for the system itself (in terms of maintenance, repairs, etc.), but also for the "smart growth" development prospects of the NOVA region. Now THAT is "common sense."

8. There's a lot more, but I'll end with the following assertion by Mr. Nakamoto: "This project meets every element of the FTA mission statement." Sorry, it doesn't. Perhaps Mr. Nakomoto missed the FTA's rejection letter, which stated that the "current Project's technical, financial, and institutional risks and uncertainties are unprecedented for a candidate New Starts project." Not exactly a ringing endorsement, using "common sense" or any other form of reasoning.

Anyway, the bottom line is that a major Frank Wolf contributor is writing highly misleading op-eds in the Washington Post regarding the Metro to Dulles project. Personally, I find that interesting, if nothing else.

The Money Picture: Wolf vs. Feder

The candidates have all filed their end-of-year reports with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), and overall it's great news for Judy Feder. As of 12/31/07, Rep. Frank Wolf (R) had $555,251 cash on hand and no debt. Democratic challenger Judy Feder has $483,003 cash on hand and no debt.

Even more interesting, Feder is waaaaay ahead of where she was at this point in 2006.

January 31, 2006 Cash on Hand: Wolf $450K/Feder $0
January 31, 2008 Cash on Hand: Wolf $555K/Feder $483K

Also, over the past six months, Wolf and Feder have been essentially equal in fundraising: Wolf $470K/Feder $465K.

In other words, 2008 is shaping up to be a totally different -- and better -- ballgame for Feder vs. Wolf compared to 2006. Go Judy!

Frank Wolf's Farewell Tour

Wow, exciting news from Frank Wolf!

U.S. Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.) kicked off his 2008 reelection campaign yesterday, his 69th birthday, at the Washington Dulles Airport Hilton. Wolf, first elected to Congress in 1980, is in his 14th term and is Virginia's most-senior House member.

What, you're not excited? I mean, the thought of having Frank Wolf voting against protecting the environment, funding stem cell research, enforcing accountability on contractors in Iraq, ending the war in Iraq, expanding children's health care coverage, instituting employment non-discrimination for gays and lesbians, promoting energy conservation and renewables, supporting collective bargaining rights for public safety officers, implementing mortgage reform and anti-predatory lending legislation, etc. for another two years doesn't get you all fired up?

If not, you DO have a choice. Her name is Judy Feder, and she'll fight for YOU -- not the special interests or the whoever the occupant of the White House happens to be -- in Congress. In 2008, it's time to say "Welcome Judy" and "Farewell Frank!" Let's make 2008 Frank Wolf's Farewell Tour of his long and...well, long career in Congress!