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By O.Hank!, January 22, 2013 7:58 pm

January 21, 2013 — In his inaugural speech yesterday, the President challenged us to come together as one community, one Nation to tackle big things and move America forward.  The pundits are effusive in their praise of this overture, as if it’s something new.  But those of us who supported the President in 2008 and 2012 know that this is nothing new.  Barack Obama has been talking about the importance of community and unity for quite some time, and in fact, became famous for uttering these lines in his keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention:

…there is not a liberal America and a conservative America — there is the United States of America. There is not a black America and a white America and Latino America and Asian America — there’s the United States of America. The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I’ve got news for them, too: We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don’t like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States, and, yes, we’ve got some gay friends in the Red States. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq.

Nor is it new that as the President continues to try to unite the country to address our challenges and opportunities, Republican Party leaders and their allies have already signaled that they will continue their strategy of dividing Americans and opposing the President’s agenda (see Joan Walsh’s piece in Salon).  I am continually amazed how pundits and reporters criticize the President for his inability to change the tone in Washington, as if it his responsibility and his alone.  Yes, he is the President, and he sets the tone, and like he did four years, today he asked for unity.  And like they did four years ago, Republican leaders will smile politely today, but tonight will ignore the call and continue to use vicious lies and fears to divide Americans and to stop the President.  So, who’s really to blame for the continued partisan tone in Washington and throughout America?  To the pundits who criticize the President for not being “nice” and schmoozing with Republicans, when will you wake up and hold those Republican leaders to the same standards?

As the President begins his second term, we are told that he is wiser and knows what he’s up against with the Republican, Inc., hate machine.  We the people need to be smart, too.  In 2009, we were elated that we elected the President, who espoused our vision and values.  We thought that we had done our job, and we went home.  We didn’t turn out in 2009 during Virginia’s state elections, and we didn’t fight back against the lies during the healthcare and subsequent battles.  And look what happened: Governor Bob McDonnell and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, and a Tea Party Congress.

Folks, this time, we can’t go home.  We have to fight for our values.  We have to fight for our community.  We have to fight against policies that restrict voting rights and women’s rights.  We have to turn out this year and elect people who share our values and vision and will move Virginia forward.  We can’t leave it up to others.  It’s up to us.

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By Marc, July 17, 2012 9:11 pm

At a campaign rally that I attended for Wayne Powell (D-VA-7^th District) this past Sunday, with special guest Madeleine Stowe, Powell derided Eric “For Sale” Cantor’s Auction of America.

With actress Madeleine Stowe, star of the hit TV show “Revenge,” looking on, Powell had the following to say, “This election, this year, is our ‘Revenge’ for Eric Cantor – who sold out this country every time he does anything.”

Powell proclaimed that the only pledge that he would take would be the pledge of allegiance. “Not the Norquist pledge or the Cantor pledge for the powerful and greedy.” And, in a shot at Cantor’s “Las Vegas Sugar Daddy”, Sheldon Adelson, Powell says, “And if you happen to go to Vegas and see Mr. Cantor at one of the craps tables with Mr. Adelson, you can bet on that!”

As the campaign recently pointed out via email,

Eric Cantor’s Las Vegas Sugar Daddy, Sheldon Adelson, is under federal investigation for violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The law strictly forbids American companies from paying bribes to foreign officials for business gain.

More than half of Adelson’s money comes from his casinos in China. Even John McCain is outraged at the possibility of foreign money being funneled into Republican campaign accounts.

Topping Adelson’s expense report is the $5 million he gave to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s “SuperPAC”.

They don’t call him Eric “For Sale” Cantor for nothing!

Also, Cantor’s “jobs plan” is to pay back his sugar daddies by getting rid of all of those pesky, job killing “regulations”.  Powell joked, “Those job creators out there, they can’t create jobs as long as they have all these regulations, like laws against fraud and theft and robbery. That’s a lot of regulations that they need to fight, you know, I understand that.”

Also, amid the recent controversy surrounding the ridiculous transvaginal ultrasound bill in Virginia, Powell chided Cantor’s or any politician’s interference with a woman’s right to control their own bodies and make their own medical decisions.

No politician, no governmental entity should be between you, the woman, or man for that matter. I mean if it has to do with vaginas it has to do with penises as well. No one can tell you what you can do with your body

In a recent poll by Hickman Analytics, when residents of Virginia’s 7^th district were asked whether they supported a candidate who is pro-choice or one who is anti-choice, 68 percent of respondents said that they support the pro-choice candidate versus 23 percent for the anti-choice candidate.

These same respondents would like to replace Cantor. 43 percent would like to see him gone, while 41 percent would reelect him. These aren’t great numbers for an incumbent that’s in a perceived “safe” district.

From what I’ve seen of Wayne Powell, he’s going to give Eric “For Sale” Cantor a real run for his Las Vegas money! You can bet on it!

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By Marc, July 16, 2012 9:53 pm

I was out on the campaign trail this past weekend and attended a rally for Wayne Powell (D-VA-7^th District). He’s a very impressive candidate and is going to give Eric “For Sale” Cantor a run for his Wall Street money.

Actress Madeleine Stowe, a 2012 Golden Globe nominee for Best Actress for her portrayal of Victoria Grayson on the hit ABC show Revenge, was out campaigning for Wayne Powell this weekend. She certainly didn’t pull any punches.

Amen, Madeleine. All Virginians and Americans would love to see this “bugger go” too – well except for his Wall Street buddies. You can learn more about Wayne Powell here. I’ll be posting Wayne’s speech in the next day or so, so keep an eye out for it.