Here in the 86th House of Delegates district of Virginia, encompassing Sterling, Herndon, and Oak Hill, a trend has taken hold...originally gerrymandered as a safe Republican district, Democratic candidates have been winning with bigger margins every year for the last few years, including victories by Dems Webb, Herring (state Senate) and Barack Obama (with 53%) ...and yet...inexplicably..we are represented by Republican Tom Rust in the Virginia House of Delegates. You see, we only need to elect 6 more Democrats to the House of Delegates to take over the majority (we already have the State Senate) and stop...I know this will shock you...the totally obstructionist Republicans who have thwarted Gov. Kaine's program at every opportunity. This is why the election of Stevens Miller is so important
More below the fold....
Two years ago, the seemingly invincible Rust was almost beaten by a relative unknown, but qualified, Jay Donahue, who against all odds lost by only 677 votes for a 53-47% showing. Rust has metamorphed from a seemingly independent "moderate" Republican to one who just follows the party line, recently voting against President Obama's stimulus package which allocated $125 million in unemployment benefits to those who had taken part time, underpaid jobs just to make ends meet.
This race is getting a lot of deserved publicity, as recently Governor Kaine joined us for the "Rally in the Alley" at a popular downtown Herndon hangout, Jimmy's Tavern our Governor explained eloquently why winning 6 seats in the House is so important for Virginia....why Tom Rust is just "following orders," and why Stevens is uniquely qualified to lead:
Then Stevens himself spoke and worked up the crowd with his pitch for why we should support him, the history of bad representation here, and how he will make it right (my apologies for cutting his speech a little short):
Stevens is a different kind of candidate: he has degrees in Computer Science, Physics, and Law. He is currently on the Board of Supervisors in Loudon County, having upset a Republican incumbent. He is on our side on every issue I can think of, as described here. He reminded us that it was Rust that authored the infamous law which penalized drivers heavily for violating driving laws only if they lived in Virginia...you're from Maryland, speed away....this law was eventually repealed. But the real issue is that Rust always characterizes himself as a moderate, but his record speaks otherwise. From Pro-Choice to Civil Liberties to the Environment, his record ranks from fair to abysmal to "all over the place." It is clear, that although he tried at first to be an independent, he is now just following orders from the Republican leadership.
To close, I would like to highlight a really disgraceful aspect of what Tom Rust has had to stoop to....initially supporting and co-sponsoring a bill to give health insurance coverage to autistic children, he eventually voted against his own bill! (Disclosure - I know the author of this article personally).
You know, I encountered Tom Rust this evening at a Back-To-School event....funny thing, I have never seen him at one before, and now he is hitting quite a few....I said to him "Tom, I can't help but notice in the mailings I receive from you, there is no mention that you are a Republican. Why is that, are you ashamed or something?" He mumbled something about Miller doing the same (NOT TRUE) and walked away....point taken.
We in the 86th deserve better, and Stevens Miller is the answer. He really is a Kossack kind of candidate. And while we're at it, please feel free to contribute via his Act Blue Fundraiser page.