DC Week (5 of 8): Ten Swing State Congress Reps

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We are continuing DC Week with a list of ten members of the House of Representatives in Congress who are in swing state. But, gerrymandering, which means fixing electoral maps so members of a certain can be more likely to win elections, means only 17 members of Congress are in competitive districts.

Although the strategy back-fired for the Virginia Republican Party, when Tom Perriello, a Democrat from Charlottesville, ousted long-term congressional rep Virgil Goode, a Republican who was considered one of the most conservative members of the House. Ironically, he was once a Democrat.

Ultimately, Robert Hurt defeated Tom Perriello, but the former Democratic congressional rep is now the CEO of the Center for American Progress Action Fund.


Here are ten members of the House in swing states:


1) Andre Carson (D-Ind.; pictured top) 7th Dist. Age 38 (He's the youngest member on the list)

2) Steve King (R-Iowa) 4th Dist. Age 64.

3) Bill Shuster (R-Pa) 8th Dist. Age 53.

4) Frederica Wilson (D-Fla) 24th Dist. Age 70.

5) Gwen Moore (D-Wisc.) 4th Dist. Age 62.

6) Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) 8th Dist. Age 56

7) Scott Garner (R-NJ) 6th Dist. Age 54

8) Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) 7th Dist. Age 76 (He is the oldest member listed here).

9) Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) 4th Dist. Age 66

10) Joseph Heck (R-Nev.; pictured bottom) 3rd Dist. Age 51.


http://www.poltico.com

http://www.americanprogress.org/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/

Saturday Night Tweets: Political Futbol

With images of Cong. Ami Bera (D-Calif.), the Aston Villa soccer team and a map of where Kansas is in the United States, we present this entry that we're calling 'Political Futbol' since all the entries pertain to soccer or politics/political figures.

There were two major upsets in European soccer play today (the first weekend of the season) as Aston Villa shocked Arsenal 3-1, and in Turkey, Konyaspor surprised Istanbul powerhouse Fenerbahce 3-2 after being down by two goals.

The soccer team for the nation's capital here in America, D.C. United was also in action today, but they lost to their  Major League Soccer rivals from Canada, Montreal Impact.

Here are the tweets:

1. DC United @dcunited: "Final #DCU 1 Montreal Impact 2. Conor Doyle (a young player for DCU) nets his second, but it's not enough for the Black and Red."

2. Cong. Morgan Griffith (R-Va) @RepGriffith: "Rep. Griffith hit 333,333 miles on his car outside the Jonesville courthouse yesterday!" (Jonesville is in remote southwestern Virginia, far away from Griffith's hometown of Salem, Va., and even father away from Washington DC, we believe Nashville is actually closer to DC, and perhaps even Salem!).

3. Turkishsoccer.com @turkishsoccer/Ahmet Bob Turgut: First game of the season: Antalya 0 Kayseri Erciyes 0! Boring....

4. Cong. Ami Bera (@RepBera): "To everyone celbrating in India and, at home in the US, and around the world_ Happy #IndianIndependenceDay"

5. Stephen Olson (@Silent_Fusion, a soccer fan in Buffalo, NY): "Premiership is back baby! Glory Glory Man United!!!" (Manchester United won their home opener today)

6. Tom Perriello (@tomperriello, a former Democratic Congressman from Virginia): "Good to see @TerryMcAuliffe w/Bishop Campbell and Rev Avon Keene remembering Bloody Monday in Danville (Va)." (Terry McAuliffe is the Democratic candidate for governor in Virginia; Danville is a city in south central Virginia, which is 50 miles north of Greensboro, NC).

7. Grant Wahl (@GrantWahl, a Sports Illustrated writer): "Dig 3-1 win for Brad Guzan and Aston Villa at Arsenal, where the boos rain down." (Guzan is an American international playing for Aston Villa who is a goal-keeper).

8. Cong. Tim Huelskamp @CongHuelskamp: "I guess violating the 4th amendment 2776 times is ok now." (Like Griffith, Huelskamp was elected in November, 2010. He is an arch conservative representative from Kansas, one of America's most Republican states. His first district includes 63 counties, which is most of the Jayhawk state).


http://screaming-eagles.com/

http://www.americanprogress.org/about/staff/perriello-tom/bio/

http://morgangriffith.house.gov/

http://turkeyfootball.blogspot.com/

http://www.7500toholte.com/

http://www.ksdp.org/ (Kansas Democratic Party)

http://ksgop.org/ (Kansas Republican Party)

Return of Friday Night Tweets: Bad Weather, Baseball and Politics

As of last report, the Durham Bulls (Durham, NC, pictured top) are losing badly in their home game against the Charlotte Knights. The score was 8-1 in the third inning. Here's hoping you are having a somewhat better night.

From the left and the right, here are the tweets:

1. National Review @NRO ( The National Review is a right wing publication, this is a center-left blog, the late Dale Carnegie would say that they should send us a thank u card): "Major Hasan's attack at #FtHood was terrorism, not workplace violence, and he'll be the first one to say so."

2. WXII 12 News @WXII (A tv station in Winston-Salem, NC): "Thunder and lightning right now in Winston-Salem. Keep an eye on the interactive radar.)

3. Durham Bulls @DurhamBulls: "Prior to tonight's game @DukeU Nobel Prize winner in chemistry Dr. Robert Lefkowitz threw out first pitch."

4.Erin Cunnigham @erincunnigham: Ugh, you have to show ID now when buying nail polish remover at CVS? Seriously America, stop cooking so much meth."

5. Portland Sea Dogs @PortlandSeaDogs_ a minor league baseball team in Portland, Maine: "First pitch set for 8:00 p.m. Henry Owens to make his Hadlock Field debut against Bowie."

6. The Onion @theonion_ for those of you in Azerbaijan, "The Onion" is a fake news publication: "Corpses of 'Lone Ranger' producres hung from Hollywood Blvd. street lights as warnings to others."

7. Tom Perriello @tomperriello_ pictured bottom, Perriello is a former Democratic congressional rep and now a CEO for a progressive lobbying firm: "Passing by Sylvania, Ohio, thinking of my grandfather Thomas Gillooly who spent his career there as teacher, coach, fireman, WWII vet, hero to me."

8. Mustafa Akyol @AkyolinEnglish_ Akyol is a Turkish journalist for "Hurriyet" newspaper: "If you are around Detriot, you are welcome this Sat to my debate on Islam, democracy and religious freedom."

For more tweets, check out my other blog "The Daily Vampire" http://www.nocturnalguy38.blogspot.com


http://www,nationalreview.com (We are amused by their story: "Norway's right turn." So, if you find a couple of Norwegian right wingers, this means the country is turning to the Bergen Tea Party? Perhaps, "The Nation," should write an article called Iran's Left Turn).

http://www.wxii12.com/

http://www.theonion.com

http://www.americanprogress.org (Perriello's group)

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com

http://www.thewhitepath.com (Akyol's web site)

Pre-Convention Tweets from DNC in Charlotte, NC

Tomorrow night, the Democratic National Convention (DNC) gets underway in Charlotte, NC, tomorrow, so we checked out some tweets from earlier in the day, here they are; incidentally Chubby the bear is the mascot of Charlotte Checkers, a minor league hockey team, and Marc Anthony (pictured above) is singing the National Anthem at the DNC:

1) @steelbackbone (Steel Backbone; this is a conservative tweeter): Currently reading Hillary Clinton Not Attending DNC in Charlotte.

2) @andylancaster (Andy Lancaster, Charlotte-based animator): After such a great time at the RNC, it will be hard to be in Charlotte with a convention that I'm not part of.

3) @jgolden (Jenna Golden): Best news ever! There is a Starbucks and Pinkberry at media workplace in Charlotte. I already love it here more than Tampa.

4)@CLTparent.web (Charlotteparent.com): @MichelleObama_ we are helping build wealthier families in #charlotte with Our First Family Challenge.

5) @WeBackJack (Gov. Jack Markell, the Democratic governor of Delaware): Nothing better than arriving and seeing DE flags flying in Charlotte.

6)@TheFix (The Fix/Chris Cillizza, a non-partisan politics reporter for "The Washington Post"): BOOOO! RT (retweet) @miswann: I was born and raised in North Carolina. I'm a BBQ fiend. There IS no good BBQ in CLT. I'm serious.

7) @TomPerriello (Tom Perriello, a former Democratic Virginia Congressman): Great piece at CNN about why women are not buying what Romney and RNC are selling.


http://www.charlottesgotalot.com

http://www.wfae.org

http://www.charlotteobserver.com

http://www.gocheckers.com

http://www.charlotteparent.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/thefix

The Post-Election Day Hangover

Mor


I recall one year when I was in college when my old high school pals Jake and Brett (not their real names) came over and we watched the Super Bowl between the New York Giants and the Buffalo Bills. The Giants won the game, but I will never forget the Jack Daniels hangover that my buds suffered. I was smart enough not to join them!

And, since my Twitter account is frozen up today, which I suspect is a result of following over 1,800 people, media outlets and organizations (yes, Paris Hilton is one of them) the day after a major election.

While Paris Hilton may not have won yesterday, the dubious choice that Kentuckians made in electing far, far right mad man Rand Paul (we actually like Ron Paul, his dad, but like George W. Bush this guy is crazier than his dad!) who according to "The Nation" even opposes abortion when a woman's life is in danger, may be just as fatal for the American political spectrum.

Closer to home, one of my friends (yes, the irony here kills me too) Republican Morgan Griffith from my hometown of Salem, Va., upset Cong. Rick Boucher, who was first elected to office when I was 12 years old in 1982! And, I was perhaps the only kid from East Salem Elementary School who watched the election results that night.

Boucher lost in part from a heavy turn-out in conserative parts of the ninth district, according to "The Roanoke Times," which we presume would include the truck-stop town of Wytheville.

"The Roanoke Times" also stated that Cong. Tom Periello, a first-term representative, who is actually younger than me at 36, lost to Robert Hurt, a conservative state senator from the town of Chatham, Va.

Chatham is in southside Virginia where local churches actually state to be wary of our friend Hot Stuff on a regular basis.

(That is Satan for those of who live in saner parts of the country/world; I am of course alluding to the Harvey Comics character that Perriello is too young to remember and Griffith might well be reading to his young children).

In my current state of residence, North Carolina, Congressional Democrats fared fairly well even though the state house fell to the hands of Satan (the Republicans) for the first time since 1898!

Cong. Brad Miller (D-NC) held off a Tea Party whacko named Bill Randall who like Clarence Thomas is African-American.

In an effort to somehow proclaim that the GOP is now the party of diversity, Fred Barnes of the conservative "The Weekly Standard" (We should mention that neo-con don Bill Kristol of that same publication actually sent me a friendly email during the Obama-McCain race which still shocks me to this day!; of course- it had nothing to do with politics) mentioned that two African-Americans won Congressional races yesterday.

They included Tim Scott of South Carolina and Allen West of Florida.

Hopefully, they will represent their constituents well. If not, the Democratic Party might want to find two fat, old white guys to run against them!

Things We Learned on Twitter Today- Johnny Weir Overslept

Yikes! We know the feeling, but since I have to be at work by 7:45 a.m., oversleeping is now a weekend thing though it can prevent one from going to the Alamance County Farmer's Market!

Alas, Johnny Weir, the openly gay American figure skater who competed at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, tweeted that he overslept today:

"Overslept. I hate doing that. So much to do today."

We certainly hope our friend Cong. Tom Perriello (D-Va) who has the distinction of being a moderate progressive in what is primarily a 'Dukes of Hazard' Fifth District got up when the roosters crowed at a barn in South Hill, Va. (which is in his district). He faces Republican challenger Robert Hurt, a state senator in the Virginia General Assembly who is hopefully still in his pajamas.

We are also hoping that some of my former Facebook friends who haven't 'refriended me' since I rejoined Facebook after my fiasco with a hacker from Istanbul, Turkey, of all places! So far, mostly attractive women are snubbing me. So, how exactly is cyberspace different from the real world?!

Things We Learned From Twitter This PM- Ricky Martin to Be in Broadway Musical

Pop singer Ricky Martin who recently made headlines by coming out of the closet (which to those of you in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, means that he's gay), will be joining the Broadway cast of the world-famous musical "Evita" based on the life of Argentinian political figure/actress Evita Peron in 2012 according to a tweet from "Interview" magazine.

Martin will play the character of Che?! (as in Che Guevara?, that would be interesting!).

SIDEBAR: We also want to take a moment to jokingly congratulate Republican congressional candidate Robert Hurt who will be facing our good friend Cong. Tom Perriello (D-Va) this November in the general election. NPR has said this race could among the most highly contested ones nationally. Of course, we hope Perriello pummels Hurt from Charlottesville to South Hill to Boones Mill (all of which are in Virginia's fifth district).

But, admitedly, Perriello will face several political obstacles as the area has a high number of 'Guns, God and Country' conservatives. These folks, also known as Tea Partiers, are in virtually every part of the district except Charlottesville, which is also Perriello's home town.

To help out Perriello, one can log on to http://www.perrielloforcongress.com

Everytweet You Wanted to Know About Health Care...

Ironically I am using the images of Cong. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and Cong. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) because of these tweets are from progressives and those on the center left politically (such as myself).

But, not all these tweets are in favor of health care reform, and following these tweets, most of which were posted on Saturday and Monday afternoon was at times very confusing. One reason for that is Twitter groups like "NC4HealthReform," based in Winston-Salem, NC, were actually AGAINST Obama's proposals.

There were also some who sent mixed messages, which might well be the most accurate reflection of the American mind-set regarding the Health Care that narrowly passed by a 219-212 margin late in Congress late Sunday night.

These tweets are not neccesarily in chronological order, but they do tell a story with collective voices besides my own. They came from people as far away as North Myrtle Beach, SC, and Scottsdale, Ariz:

OToole Fan: Tea Party is mainly racism cloaked as fiscal concer and selfishness masquerading as patriotism.

Virginia Foxx: Federal govt runs up $1.5 trillion deficit this year- 11 times the 10-yr "savings" Democrats claim are in the Senate bill.

ezraklein ("Washington Post" reporter): Asked WH (White House) for text on Prez's speech. They said it wasn't pre-written. It's like there's a teleprmpter IN HIS BRAIN.

LeftJabs: I am nowhere near a TV but thanks to y'all I feel the moment. I pray tomorrow is a day of celebration.

RollCall (Washington DC political newspaper): Sign up in John Boehner's window: 'Vote No Scrap the Bill.' Protesters gathering outside chanting 'Kill the Bill.'

ezraklein: The task now: convincing six or seven insured, wealthy congressmen to give 32 million uninsured people health-care coverage.

JasonChaffetz: If passed an estimated 16,500-plus IRS agents will need to make sure you have 'acceptable health insurance.'

TomPerriello (D-Va): Read letters of support for bill from Martinsville, Danville and Charlottesville hospitals.

Brad Miller (not the Dem. NC Congressman): I think Health Care reform is needed, but it needs to be done correctly. Pass a good bill, not just one to say you passed reform.

annamariecox: Should turn off Foc @ this point but then I'd miss them saying something like: "The WH took pain to say the president high-fived Emanuel."

Zippythepinhead (alternative comic book character): "I've read seven million books."

Our Person of the Year_ Tom Perriello

The votes are in. And, after recounting and recounting and then recounting again, we have decided to name Congressmen-elect Tom Perriello (D-Va) our Person of the Year.

The two other nominees were Bill Maher and Colin Powell. We did not consider Barack Obama as he was already named Time magazine's Person of the Year, and we did not want to be sued.

Poet Nikki Giovanni, who is also a professor at Virginia Tech, was last year's winner.

We choose Perriello because he not only won the closest congressional race in the country (not counting the still undecided Minnesota senate race), but because he also pulled one of the greatest political upsets in Virginia's modern history.

Periello's opponent was Cong. Virgil Goode (R-Va), a once popular politician from Rocky Mount who had a loyal following among rural residents of the Fifth District, was first elected to Congress in 1996. There is still an old campaign "Goode for Congress" on Rte. 220 in Boones Mill, not far from a pro-life billboard.

But while Goode, who was ironically once a Democrat, was popular among the God, Gun and Country voters, he was becoming a corrupt and controversial figure on The Hill which was highlighted by his implication in the Jack Abramoff scandal.

Goode also made insulting remarks about Muslim Americans. In two instances, he said he would work diligently to make sure no Muslims came into the country. As the son of a Turkish immigrant who grew up and still partly resides in Virginia, I was outraged by Goode's sentiment and I went public condemning his statements which he routinely refused to apologize for, even though some close friends advised me against it.

Even though the mostly rural makeup of the Fifth District is not one for ethnic diversity, Goode faced problems. He was very unpopular in Charlottesville, the district's most liberal zip code, and with African-American voters in places like Martinsville and Danville. And, public sentiment was turning against him. The conservative-leaning newspaper "Danville Register and Bee" broke form and surprisingly endorsed Perriello.

But, Periello, 34, still trailed Goode by 32 percent in polls some three months before the election. He would officially win by 727 votes after a second recount affirmed his victory.

He won a district that John McCain carried with both an outstanding campaign and an impressive personal story. An alumnus of Yale, Perriello went on to help prosecute war lords from Sierra Leone and Liberian dictator Charles Taylor. He also launched the progressive religious organization faithfulamerica.org

People across the nation may not know much about Perriello, but I feel strongly that they will in the very near future. His story has just begun.

While I will candidly admit that my enthusiasm for Perriello was at first based on the fact that he was challenging a man I intensely disliked for very personal reasons, the reasons why he is this blog's Person of the Year have nothing to do with Cong. Goode.

Perriello is in his own right an exceptional person, and I feel that our generation of leaders, from both political parties, are going to help reshape America's regard for politicians. Perriello is sure to lead the way.

Nominations for Person of the Year

"Time" magazine has just named Barack Obama as its Person of the Year.

For all intensive purposes, it is a choice I agree with, but it is our unwritten policy to choose someone else besides the person who Time selects.

Last year, I chose poet Nikki Giovanni for her inspirational fortitude during the Virginia Tech tragedy.

This year, our three choices are Congressman-elect Tom Perriello of Virginia who upset the incumbent Virgil Goode, one of the most notorious members of Congress, Bill Maher who always stands up to the hypocritical religious right and Colin Powell who stood up to the right wing of the Republican Party.

Your input will help me decide!

UPDATE 12/18: Perriello is now officially the congressional rep for the fifth district of Virginia! He won by less than 730 votes, so hence there is truth to the cliche about how every vote matters.

Congrats to Tom Perriello

It now appears like my Facebook friend Tom Perriello has succesfully pulled off a major political upset in the fifth congressional district of Virginia by unseating Cong. Virgil Goode (R-Va), a person who I disdain, by 745 votes.

A recount is expected in late November, but it looks the votes will hold up.

Perriello is a lawyer and activist from Charlottesville, VA., who has been involved with many faith organizations and charities.

With Perriello's win, the Democrats have picked up three seats in Congress from Virginia, which means Virginia will now have six Democrats and five Republicans on The Hill.


The fifth district race was reportedly the closest one in the country and it recieved national media attention.