Feder Campaign Statement on Obama Nomination

A statement from the Feder for Congress campaign on Barack Obama's nomination for president:

Last night, Senator Barack Obama made a powerful case for the need to change the direction of our country.

On Iraq, health care and our stagnant economy he made it clear that America simply cannot afford four more years like the last eight.

To make change a reality in 2009, we’ll need to elect candidates committed to ending the war in Iraq, getting affordable health care for every American and jump starting our economy, up and down the ticket.

Thanks to your help, we’re on the air incredibly early making Judy’s case for change. We set a goal of raising $75,000 online in August to help fund our early ad buy and as of this morning we were at $71,124.

Click here to help us raise the final $3,876 and reach our August goal!

We’ve received an overwhelmingly positive reaction to our ad “28 years,” but we need your help to make our on-air presence even stronger.

Click here to help us raise the final $3,876 and reach our August goal!

Thank you so much for your support. With your help, the Obama-Warner-Feder ticket is going to deliver the change we need on November 4th.

Luke McFarland
Campaign Manager

Frank Wolf and the Schaghticokes

Here is the latest on the chaghticoke Tribal Nation's quest for federal recognition (and Frank Wolf's role in stopping them):

A day after a federal judge ruled against it, the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation is not ready to give up on its quest for federal recognition, Schaghticoke Chief Richard Velky said Wednesday.

[...]

The Schaghticokes say their long quest to gain federal recognition was derailed by people with political ties directly to President Bush.

In its motion, the tribe detailed a March 30, 2004, meeting attended by three Republican members of the Connecticut Congressional delegation and U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., and then-Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton.

In a deposition, Norton said Wolf and the Connecticut delegation -- which included U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays, and former representatives Nancy Johnson and Rob Simmons -- pressed her to overturn the decision.

She said Wolf threatened to ask President Bush to replace her. But Norton later testified she did not take that threat seriously.

Frank Wolf, what a "nice guy" huh?

Frank Wolf Mails It In

A short while ago, Congressman Frank Wolf sent a mailing to his constituents. Billed as constituent information so he could make use of the free postal services afforded to Congresspeople, in reality it is a thinly disguised campaign mailing designed to make the voters of the 10th District think Frank Wolf is doing something about their issues, without actually having our Congressman do anything about our issues.

Congressman Wolf has sponsored 14 Bills in the 110th Congress. That's about one bill every six weeks. But wait! Of those 14 bills, 13 of them are from 2007. Looking back on Frank Wolf's 28 years in Congress, his track record is even more interesting.

Frank Wolf has sponsored 105 bills since Jan 5, 1993, of which 70 haven't made it out of committee and 17 were successfully enacted. Wolf has co-sponsored 2345 bills during the same time period. - GovTrack.us

The Republicans held the majority in Congress between January 1995 and January 2007. In spite of being a senior member (elected in 1982) of the majority for most of the period tracked by GovTrack, our Congressman was only able to get 17 of his bills passed in fifteen years. In the 110th Congress, only two of his bills were passed, a bill calling for the government to develop a strategy to help Chad (and not Chad, the AOL employee who lost his job on Frank Wolf's watch, Chad the African nation), and a bill expressing condolences on the death of his Congressional colleague Jo Ann Davis.

I don't know about you, but if I only produced approximately one success a year in my job, I'd be fired.

Returning to the mail received recently from our Congressman, it is worthwhile to examine Frank Wolf's constituent mailing on Energy, for example, in comparison with Frank Wolf's actual actions in Congress. To cast an informed vote on November 4th, it is helpful to determine whether our Congressman has actually done something on the issues he claims to care about, versus where the Congressman simply claims action without proof. Let's take Frank Wolf's stated positions on Energy from the mailing one by one.

• Invest in Alternative Renewable Energy - The Congressman lists this as his top priority in the mailing. And yet, a review of his 110th Congress bills, the Congress in which this emerged as a critical issue, shows that Frank Wolf sponsored no bill to invest in alternative renewable energy. He has cosponsored some of the Republican bills, but demonstrated no individual, independent leadership on this issue.


• Eliminate Barriers to Exploration - In the 110th Congress, Frank Wolf sponsored no bill to eliminate barriers to exploration. He has "voted for" such things, but demonstrated no individual, independent leadership.


• Build New Refineries and Expand Old Ones - In the 110th Congress, Frank Wolf sponsored no bill to eliminate barriers to build new refineries and expand old ones. He has "voted for" such things, but demonstrated no individual, independent leadership.


• Protect Consumers - In the 110th Congress, Frank Wolf sponsored no bill to protect consumers. This issue is not even on the front page of his website.
  


• Encourage Conservation - In the 110th Congress, Frank Wolf sponsored no bill to encorage conservation. He "voted for" higher CAFE standards, and "drives a hybrid," but has taken no leadership role in Congress on legislation encouraging conservation.


• Increase Mass Transit & Telework Options - Frank Wolf claims to have "taken the lead" on rail to Dulles. However, it is unclear how someone who was taken by surprise that the Dulles Rail funding was at risk in the first place can be said to lead on the issue. Furthermore, he has sponsored no legislation on rail or mass transit in the 110th Congress.

Frank Wolf's "actions" on the issues he, himself, claims are critical are little more than parroting of talking points and "me too" co-sponsorship of other Republican's bills.

After 28 years in Congress, Frank Wolf is without an original idea on the issues that Frank Wolf himself understands to be critical in this election. He is simply mailing it in, tagging along with other Republican bills and paying lip service in mailings to his constituents.

Alternative energy, mass transit, consumer protection and energy conservation have been critical issues in Virginia's 10th District for decades. For 28 years, Frank Wolf has served in Congress. For twelve of those years, Frank Wolf was a senior member of the Republican Majority and for five years he was chair of the Transportation Committee. And yet, in that critical period where Frank Wolf should have gotten something done on these critical issues, he did nothing. It is only now, when being challenged, that he stirs from his usual torpor to merely co-sponsor his colleagues bills and parrot talking points.

After 28 years, we need a Congressperson who will lead on the important issues facing our district, rather than following the failed and tired policy prescriptions of the Bush Administration and obstructionist Republicans in Congress. We need someone willing and able to take action on critical problems, rather than merely mailing in sympathy.

After 28 years, Virginia's 10th District needs Judy Feder.

(Crossposted from Leesburg Tomorrow)

Judy Feder's First Ad

From the Feder for Congress campaign:

As of tonight our campaign is officially on the air. We wanted you to be one of the first to see our first television ad of 2008, titled “28 years.”

Click here to watch the ad.

Our first spot is about the need turn the page in Virginia’s 10th district and our country. It highlights the fact that whether the issue is health care, Iraq or the economy, Frank Wolf will not deliver the change voters are looking for.

In 2006, the realities of being a first time candidate meant that Judy was only able to run ads in the final weeks of the election. This year, your support has allowed us to go on the air incredibly early – giving us the opportunity to have an extended conversation with voters.

Click here to contribute and help us fund our ad buy.

We have a unique opportunity to make a change in 2008. Almost 170,000 voters in our district have registered since 2002. Our canvassing has shown that these voters are often unfamiliar with Frank Wolf and are persuaded by Judy’s message. We’re already setting records with our field effort and now it’s time to take Judy’s message to the airwaves.

Click here to contribute and help us fund our ad buy.

The 10th district is ready to turn the page in November and with your support we’re going finish what we started together in 2006 and make it happen.

Thank you for your support,

Luke McFarland
Campaign Manager

Virginia AFL-CIO Endorses Judy Feder, Other Democrats

This is good news, and not a surprise given the fact that Virginia Republicans in Congress consistently vote against workers and for rich corporations:

After screening the candidates through the Central Labor Councils, reviewing questionnaires and listening to recommendations from the State COPE committee, the seated delegates moved to endorse the following candidates:

CD 2 Glenn Nye
CD 3 Bobby Scott
CD 4 Andrea Miller
CD 5 Tom Perriello
CD 6 Sam Rasoul
CD 7 Anita Hartke
CD 8 Jim Moran
CD 9 Rick Boucher
CD 10 Judy Feder
CD 11 Gerry Connolly

The Virginia AFL-CIO is excited to help elect these candidates and get them to Washington where they will continue to fight for working families.

UPDATE: The Sierra Club also has endorsed Judy Feder over Frank Wolf and his abysmal environmental record.

Four More Years of McCain, Wolf, et al? No Thanks

It's time for a change. Go Obama/Warner/Feder!

More Wolf Wackiness

Apparently, it never ends. Check this out.

Frank Wolf's Best Friend

Do a Google search for Frank Wolf and wingnut Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), and you'll see that these guys are BFF's (best friends forever)...political soulmates, pretty much. With that, enjoy this video.

Judy Surges to Second Place in Progressive Patriots Contest!

Please go vote for Judy now. Thanks!

Thanks to our grassroots supporters Judy has gone from 7th to 2nd place in the Progressive Patriots contest! We're now only a few points from the lead.

Even if you've already voted you can still help! Copy the link below and send it to 5 friends and ask them to support Judy.

http://www.progressivepatriotsfund.com/pickapatriot/vote-house-v.html

If you haven't voted yet, there's still time. Voting runs through Friday, and doesn't cost you a thing. Show the strength of our grassroots support and click the link below to vote for Judy today!

Vote for Judy today to make her a Progressive Patriot and help us win $5,000!

Thanks again,

Luke McFarland
Campaign Manager

Wolf Says We Get 20%-25% of Our Oil from Venezuela. Not!

In this interview, Frank Wolf demonstrates once again how out of touch and uninformed he is about a number of subjects. Given my own background as a world energy market analyst at the US Energy Information Administration for 17 years, for now I'd like to focus on one in particular: oil. According to Frank Wolf, as stated in the interview, the United States gets 20%-25% of its oil from Hugo Chavez's Venezuela. Uh, Congressman? You're not even close. In fact, 20%-25% of our oil consumption would amount to 4-5 million barrels per day, which is far more than Venezuela even produces (2.4 million barrels per day of crude in June 2008), let alone exports!

For more information on U.S. oil imports, see EIA's website. According to the U.S. government's top energy statistical agency, in 2007, the United States imported 1,361 thousand barrels per day of oil (crude and refined products) from Venezuela, out of 13,468 thousand barrels per day of total U.S. oil imports and 20,698 thousand barrels per day of total oil U.S. consumption (see here for more). Quick math tells us that's 10% of U.S. oil imports from Venezuela and 7% of total U.S. oil consumption from Venezuela -- not even close to the 20%-25% Frank Wolf claims, obviously.

Of course, Frank Wolf is the same person who also likes making false claims about Cuba leasing oil rights to China – a falsehood that was started by Vice President Cheney and later shown to be untrue. And Frank Wolf is the same person who has voted time and again against energy efficiency and renewable energy, while defending absurd subsidies for Big Oil companies at a time when they're making record profits in the history of mankind. Given all this, Wolf's latest gaffe probably shouldn't be surprising. More broadly, it shouldn't be surprising that Frank Wolf's lethal combination of ignorance and ideology leads to bad policy. It's not surprising, but it's sad that Frank Wolf's in Congress and able to do so much damage to the environment and to U.S. energy security. Reason #infinity why it's TIME FOR A CHANGE this November. In short: Farewell Frank, Hello Judy Feder! :)