Posted on 06/03/2006 11:03:52 AM PDT by RDTF
Knowing the 8th Congressional District tends to vote overwhelmingly Democratic, neither Tom O'Donoghue, 41, or Mark Ellmore, 47, wants to be seen as a hardline Republican. "I don't have an elephant tattooed on my back end," O'Donoghue said. "I'm reaching out to labor organizations and African-Americans," Ellmore said. "I'm not interested in playing politics, I'm only interested in being the best I can be and spreading my message of hope and unity." The two candidates, both Alexandria residents, are vying for the GOP nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Jim Moran (D) in the fall. But first they will face each other in the June 13 primary election for the 8th District, which includes Arlington, Alexandria and Reston.
O'DONOGHUE, an Iraq War veteran, and Ellmore, a mortgage lender, appear to agree on political issues more often than not. They both believe Moran, an eight-term incumbent, has been in office too long and that congressmen should be subjected to term limits. "Jim Moran has lost his 'serve the people' and traded it for 'serve myself,'" Ellmore said. "He's addicted to the job. I don't think anyone should be in Congress for more than four or five terms."
(Excerpt) Read more at connectionnewspapers.com ...
I love to see the drunk wife beater go. We have Frank Wolfe next door. I pray you can change from the drunk lib.
Really can't stand Moran, would be glad to see him go.
Both are fine men. Which of these two has a better shot at beating Moron?
Not playing politics? What does he call "reaching out to uniions and African Americans" if isn't politics? Not playing politics would be standing by his conservative(ok maybe republican) principles.
It's about time we started getting new candidates to replace the con and scam artists in our Congress. We need to do this statewide too. Then we need to go about breaking up departments in Washington DC. Move them to other places.
If it is a safe seat for Dems, the contender does not matter. Moran has made horrid anti-American and anti-military statements over the last 5 years. It will play well with his constituents, unfortunately. I would love to see any media cover unsafe seats for Dems but they are hell-bent on seeing all GOP seats being vulnerable and at a loss to Dem challengers. With conservatives up in arms against the GOP , it looks like a sad Nov. for the GOP and Base voters like myself who will still support any Goper over any Dem!
If any of us needs an incentive to get out and vote and vote for Republicans (except for Chaffey (? RI))) PLEASE, PLEASE consider the following:
News
06/03/2006 11:46:57 EST Prospective Democratic Chairs All Liberal
By ANDREW TAYLOR
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - If the chips fall right for Democrats and their party seizes control of the House, President Bush's agenda on Capitol Hill would fall into the hands of some of his most dogged opponents.
It's not just would-be Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, but a boatload of Democrats newly running committees who would determine what legislation gets debated and which programs and agencies get scrutiny.
So who are the chairmen to be?
_a Polish-American lawyer with a reputation for making witnesses quiver.
_a die-hard liberal from New York's Harlem with 35 years in the House.
_a free-spending progressive from Wausau, Wis.
_one of the few remaining "Watergate babies" swept into Congress in 1974.
For that to happen, Democrats would need help from voters in November: Right now, Republicans hold 231 of the 435 seats in the House, with 201 Democrats and one independent. Two seats are vacant.
As for those prospective Democratic chairmen, the group is overwhelmingly liberal-leaning.
Only two of 20 earned grades of less than 90 percent on last year's voting records from the liberal Americans for Democratic Action interest group. Half had perfect scores of 100 from the ADA - or would have had it not been for missed votes.
The lawyer is Rep. John Dingell of Michigan, the dean of the House and the once and maybe future chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee. He is a staunch ally of the auto industry and a fearsome inquisitor of bureaucrats and CEOs alike. Dingell, 79, has lost a step in recent years but is among the most respected Democrats.
The liberal with the distinct New York accent is Rep. Charles Rangel, poised to grab the helm of the Ways and Means Committee, which has a sweeping portfolio: taxes, trade, Social Security, Medicare and welfare. He has battled Bush's tax cuts every step of the way, opposed the 1996 overhaul of welfare laws, opposed the North American and Central American free trade accords and pushed for a more generous Medicare prescription drug benefit.
Rep. David Obey, the unapologetic liberal from Wisconsin, is eager to retake the gavel of the powerful Appropriations Committee, which holds the reins on government spending. He briefly led the committee in 1994 before the GOP landslide that year awarded control of Congress to Republicans. Obey came to Washington at the height of the Vietnam War; ever since, he has been an ardent opponent of GOP efforts to clamp down of domestic agency budgets that Congress approves each year.
Rep. George Miller of California is one of three still-serving members of the huge class of 1974 that swamped Congress after the Watergate scandal. He is in line to head the Education and the Workforce Committee; he was chairman of the Resources Committee in the early 1990s when it was the Natural Resources Committee. Miller also is an unalloyed liberal, but he proved able to work with Bush in writing the 2002 No Child Left Behind education bill that is up for renewal next year.
For Republicans, the prospect of the House being led by a San Franciscan and so many left-leaning chairmen has supporters in business and Washington's K Street lobbying shops aghast. The switch could mark the demise of Bush's tax cut agenda and would usher into power union allies such as Rangel and Miller.
"The whole issue agenda would change," said GOP lobbyist Jack Howard. "All the businesses and trade associations would find themselves on defense."
The prospect of some of Congress' biggest liberals running committees probably will not be much of an issue in GOP fall campaigns, which typically focus more on local issues, said Carl Forti, spokesman for the National Republican Campaign Committee.
Former conservative Democratic Rep. Charles Stenholm of Texas says that regardless of any chairman's personal ideology, he would have to produce legislation that was middle of the road. Even if Democrats win control of the House, it would almost certainly be by a narrow margin in which the balance of power would rest with moderate Democrats.
"There will be very little if any legislation that passes that is to the left of center or very far to the left of center," Stenholm said.
The responsibility for determining the floor schedule probably would fall to Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, who could advance to the majority leader's post from his current job of minority whip. Hoyer and Pelosi fought a sometimes bitter race five years ago for a leadership post, but seem to have patched up their relationship.
In a potential power switch between the parties, more than an unrelenting string of liberal Democrats are positioned to take over committees.
Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota, who would run the Agriculture Committee, is anti-abortion and as pro-gun as practically anyone in the House. Rep. Ike Skelton of Missouri is a longtime hawk in line to lead the Armed Services Committee.
Black lawmakers would run major committees.
Besides Rangel, there is Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, in line for the top spot on the Judiciary Committee; Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi on the Homeland Security Committee; and Rep. Alcee Hastings of Florida at the Intelligence Committee.
Conyers has been accused by former aides of misusing his office by turning them into baby sitters for his children. He is the prime sponsor of a resolution that seeks to investigate grounds for possible impeachment of Bush over the war in Iraq.
Impeachment is hardly the message Democrats want to take to the swing voters expected to decide the outcome of the election.
"Democrats are not about impeachment," Pelosi said last month on NBC's "Meet The Press."
Hastings, a charismatic former federal judge, was impeached and removed from the bench in 1989 for fabricating evidence that secured his acquittal in 1983 on bribery charges.
Republicans award chairmanships based on the evaluation of a leadership committee that takes into account leadership fealty, fundraising prowess and other factors. Democrats would award would-be chairmanships strictly by seniority.
You're right, Moran's constituents are pretty liberal and they love him, but one can still hope.
Jim Moran is a Jew-hating, wife-beating, violent dimwit. Other than that, though, he's a great guy....
*sigh* The problem in Northern Virginia is the same as in every place that goes permanently Democrat: The local Republicans here are far, far more viciously anti-conservative than they are anti-Democrat. I'm a little more out of things this election, so I don't know O'Donoghue or Ellmore. But the day that the Republicans run anyone to right of Nurse Bloomberg in Arlington County, I'll fall on my knees expecting the imminent return of Christ.
I'm afraid that what he means by "I'm not playing politics" is "I'm not going to stand up for any issue which would make someone want to vote Republican."
The only thing more pathetic than Moran's wife is the Arlington County Republican Party.
About Tom O'Donoghue
Tom selected Northern Virginia as the place to make his home and raise his family more than a decade ago. He was impressed by the region's vitality and promise. Tom believes that for Northern Virginia and the nation, the greatest days are still ahead. As the congressman elected by the people of Northern Virginia, Tom will see himself first and foremost as a leader responsible for bringing vision, leadership and clear direction to Northern Virginia and the country.
Inspired by President Reagan's call to national service, Tom's schooling for this challenge began many years ago at a place where the ghosts of America's great leaders still haunt its grounds: the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. On graduating from West Point, Tom served his first overseas tour of duty with a forward deployed brigade of the 2nd Armored Division in Germany. Here he witnessed first-hand the culmination of years of leadership, vision and the hard work of this nation that resulted in the fall of the Berlin Wall, the defeat of communism in Eastern Europe and the re-unification of a divided Germany without a single shot being fired. As a participant in and a witness of the monumental changes that swept the globe at the end of the Cold War, he recognized the need to gain a deeper understanding. Tom began an intense academic program during the limited amount of free time afforded an Army platoon leader deployed overseas. Tom completed his studies by traveling to European cities and earned a master's degree in international relations from Boston University's Overseas Studies Program.
After his service in Germany, Tom and his wife, Kathy, were married. Tom continued his studies, this time at Yale University, where he concentrated in business and economics and earned an MBA. Shortly after earning his MBA, Tom and Kathy moved to Northern Virginia. While working as a telecommunications analyst in Northern Virginia, Tom served in the U.S. Army Reserve and enrolled at Georgetown University where he earned a law degree.
After the attacks of September 11th, Tom left his civilian job and volunteered for service in Afghanistan with the U.S. Army. Assigned to the Civil-Military Operations Task Force in Kabul, he served with the finest soldiers this nation has ever produced: the men and women from the U.S. Army Special Operations Command; the 10th Mountain Division; and the 18th Airborne Corps. On returning from Afghanistan, he spent a short period of time at his home in Springfield, Virginia before shipping out to Kuwait in preparation for the war in Iraq. Tom, as part of his unit's advance party, arrived in Baghdad in April 2003 as the 3rd Infantry Division gained control of the city. He remained in Baghdad to serve his second year of combat duty with the 3rd Infantry Division and the 1st Armored Division. He was awarded the Combat Action Badge and the Bronze Star for his service.
After nearly two years of combat duty, Tom is painfully aware of the sacrifices that soldiers are asked to make on behalf of this country. He understands the need for visionary leadership to steer this nation through these complex times while ensuring prosperity at home. "Business as usual" will not be enough. Lifelong professional politicians and Washington insiders beholden to the special interests are not capable of meeting the challenges of the 21st century.
After much reflection and long conversations with trusted friends and family, Tom has stepped up to join a new generation of men and women prepared to lead this nation. He seeks your support.
http://www.tomodonoghue.com/about.html
I saw all the libs when I went to the Murtha, Moran meeting. It is sick all the worthless liberals down there.
All that and much, much more (except for the great guy, of course).
Even the Washington Post thinks Moran should go. His district is so overwhelmingly Democratic and liberal, that it doesn't matter.
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