VA JJ: "Money Isn't Everything" Or Is It?
RICHMOND -- The trio of Democratic men vying to turn the Virginia gubernatorial election into a hat-trick for the party made their best case to be the nominee last night to 3,000 revelers at the party's annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner.
Former VA Del. Brian Moran came out swinging, showing a video before his remarks that showcased his more than a decade in VA Democratic politics. The piece went to black, and these words filled the screen, "MONEY ISN'T EVERYTHING." Moran never mentioned rival Terry McAuliffe by name, but it was clear whom he was talking about.
"We must decide what our party stands for," Moran said in his speech, before taking a swipe at McAuliffe. "Will our party be dominated by big money and those who raise it? Or will we be the party of the people?"
Moran wasn't finished. "Mark [Warner] and Tim [Kaine] didn't just show up when it was easy and the battles had already been won," he said, referring to the state's last two governors. "They were here when it was hard to be a Virginia Democrat."
"It's one thing to say" you'll govern like the pair, he continued. "It's another to have fought the Republicans, each and every day, for the Warner-Kaine agenda."
Moran's remarks at once drew the largest applause of the night, as well as - when things got negative - the night's only boos, mainly from the McAuliffe side of the room.
Before things kicked off, it was clear that the ex-DNC chair McAuliffe, the formidable fundraiser and national Democratic figure, was hoping to set the table for his campaign at the banquet. McAuliffe signs were plentiful outside and in the Richmond Convention Center, as were his supporters. They packed the 39 tables around the room his campaign bought at the dinner.
McAuliffe was the first to speak. And the campaign video he showed before his remarks took aim at the criticisms he was about to receive from Moran. His voice was almost entirely absent from the video, which was instead filled with dozens of Virginians who told the camera McAuliffe was their man. The unflappable Hillary Clinton cheerleader made it clear that Obama boosters were on his side, too. In the video, a number of people who said they volunteered for Obama said they were now turning their grassroots efforts over to McAuliffe.
His speech didn't strike the combative tone of Moran's. "I'm not going to say anything negative about [state Sen.] Creigh [Deeds] or Brian," he said. "Because I fundamentally believe that any of the three Democratic candidates you hear from tonight will make a better Governor" than the presumptive GOP nominee, Attorney General Bob McDonnell.
Instead, McAuliffe focused on a litany of policy issues, from alternative energy - "Virginia produces about half a million tons of chicken waste each year ... enough to light up about 40,000 homes" - to the word his campaign wants to make synonymous with McAuliffe as the campaign moves forward.
"Pull out your cell phones and text the word 'JOBS'" to the campaign, he said. "So we can stay in touch with you."
Deeds was the last to speak. In 2005, he lost the AG job to McDonnell in what his campaign calls "the closest margin in Virginia history." In his speech, he took a few anonymous jabs at McAuliffe, but mainly said the '05 experience gave him the edge against the GOP candidate.
"Bob McDonnell will run a smart and focused campaign - he will make us work," he said.
(EVAN McMORRIS-SANTORO)
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