Glenn Nye for Congress

While I no longer live in the 2nd Virginia Congressional District, I have actively promoted Glenn Nye several times on this blog and attended fund raising events for him. Somewhat surprisingly, the Virginian Pilot has endorsed Glenn rather than incumbent Congresswoman, Thelma Drake who received the Pilot's endorsement two years ago. Not only is Glenn right on the issues that impact gay rights, he will also be a breath of fresh air compared to Thelma Drake who has typically voted in lock step with the Chimperator's policies. I know Thelma personally, but sadly I agree that both Congress and the 2nd District need Glenn to help clean up the mess from 8 years of Republican misrule - misrule which Thelma assisted. Here are highlights from the Pilot endorsement editorial:

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Two years ago, this page endorsed U.S. Rep. Thelma Drake's re-election, citing her "superior command on all the issues and her advocacy for her constituents, especially the military and veterans." Things have changed.

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Her opponent in 2008 is Glenn Nye, a Norfolk native of considerable promise, with a deep understanding of foreign policy, clear differences with his opponent and the poise to express them. Since 2006's Democratic takeover on Capitol Hill, Drake has been a member of a dwindling and increasingly rigid minority in Congress, and not a particularly effective one at that. It has led her into some curious decisions, including on the most important vote on veterans benefits in a generation.

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[A]ny hopes that the congresswoman might shift toward the moderate middle have been dashed by a continued adherence to the notion that party loyalty is more important than solving problems. Now she is arguing on the stump that she is a bipartisan legislator, even putting together a list of votes where she and Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama have aligned. But Drake's conversion, if that's what it is, runs counter to both her career and history. Instead, she has her feet firmly in the furthest reaches of the Republican Party's right wing.

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On many issues, Drake is among the most doctrinaire conservatives in Congress, according to multiple measures from multiple sources. She is also among the least powerful, according to congress.org and Roll Call, Capitol Hill's newspaper. . . . Back at home, Drake has run an especially distasteful campaign, based almost entirely on throwing spurious personal attacks at her opponent.

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In the campaign, Drake has been scrambling back to the middle where the electorate lives. Hers has been an unconvincing journey, particularly when so many of her political moves have been measured and dictated by the White House, even as it rode the nation into a ditch. For four years now, the congresswoman's hand was on the wheel, as surely as the president's, and she must be held accountable. After so many consistently wrong turns over so many years, it's unrealistic to expect Drake will help steer us out. In this election, quite simply, Nye's potential is a better bet than Drake's performance.