Again, as my S/N says I am a PROUD VA DEM and love my party. Period.

And Spotter is correct- there are many, many “gentleman’s agreements” out there and you nailed it! I stepped far away from the party for 5 years because I was tired of the “old guard” treating up and comers like crap. I cannot begin to count the many excellent candidates who worked like hell but the good-ole-boy network hung them out to dry. Finally, there became seats where only “sacrificial lambs” would be put up only to go down in flames in November. This is a huge source of frustration with Virginia Dems, because it’s not like this in many other states.

One can learn something from anyone. I had a neighbor with Down’s Syndrome, but I still learned things from him. He had experiences, such as being in the Special Olympics, that I will never have, and I learned from his telling me of his experiences. I learn from reading books such as “Whistling Past Dixie” and “God’s Politics,” which I just finished last night. (Thank you, Spotter.) I do not agree with Willis’ thesis, but there was still information in the book that I did not know before, and in my efforts to develop counter-arguments to his thesis, I learned even more.

One cannot simply dismiss a thesis by saying, “I call BS on anything XXXXXXX says. (Insert whomever you don’t like — Limbaugh, Colter, Gore, etc. — for the XXXXXXX.) That will never convince anyone of the correctness of one’s position. Facts presented must be debunked, new facts must be presented, and logical fallacies must be illuminated.

Spotter, the whole point of “Whistling Past Dixie” was that the Democratic Party could command a governing majority without wasting money in the South. The same strategy applies in Virginia. There are HoD districts in which the Democrats simply cannot win, and others in which the Republicans simply cannot win. If an opposition candidate decides to run in one of those districts, then he is on his own. Neither party should waste money in districts they cannot win, but should concentrate their resources on those races that are competitive.

He came and spoke, staying until most guests had left, and I understand he didn’t have to do it. He was involved in order to work for a majority in the House of Delegates.

I can say that Mr. Spruill gave more time and effort to the campaign than Mr. Armstrong did, which was troubling.

I have a great deal of respect for Delegate Spruill, and I wish we weren’t already going down this road when we have so much to do this year.

That’s changing, but not fast enough. My guess is that practice is the source of the frustration proudvadem’s sources are expressing.

I’ll conclude with some words from my political hero that I think still hold true (or should for that matter):

“Politics is not about power. Politics is not about money. Politics is not about winning for the sake of winning. Politics is about the improvement of people’s lives. It’s about advancing the cause of peace and justice in our country and the world. Politics is about doing well for the people.”- the late Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MI)

My goodness. That’s called grasping – at straws.

In the meantime – let’s see. How much has Spruill donated? I see over $81,000. And that is cash, not all the in-kind stuff he’s been doing.

Look for the Reynolds Institute coming soon.

http://www.democraticcentral.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=2413

I know Spruill has been a Moran supporter for some time, that’s great. I just think that the $$ arrangement puts things into a grey area which could hurt Moran next year (and I support Moran).

You want to know how Lionell Spruill feels about something? Just hang out with him. He’ll let you know exactly what’s on his mind.

The guy is a good, hard worker who hits the pavement and holds his pancake roasts for many a democratic candidate. I don’t think anyone that has been aware of what has been going on in this area for long can question Spruill’s dedication and loyalty to the Democratic Party.

silence – I understand what you’re saying. I don’t know how or why they came to that amount but I can definitely say that Spruill supported Moran long before he ever went on the payroll.

After all, I’m not getting paid.

You aren’t? Why, just the other day, I read somewhere that *everyone* was getting paid . . .

I’m not idealistic, Nicole. Folks have to make a living.

I am unwilling to hold Spruill to a different standard than Moran, which is what proudvadem seems to be doing. Like I said – I consider both of them to be my friends and they are both equally responsible.

Silence – I can saw without a doubt that Spruill was supporting Moran long before this cash situation. And if his support of Moran can’t convince you, perhaps I can After all, I’m not getting paid.

I also have a really hard time identifying the character you’ve identified as Lionell Spruill; if he was such a boaster and a name-dropper and all about making himself look like a big-shot, don’t you think he’d have a higher profile? Relative to the amount of political influence he wields, he has the lowest public profile in the state.

Now, are you right about red flags and the potential for this to be used against him in future campaigns? Absolutely. I wish he’d give back the money or donate it to charity; I can’t take his advocacy for Moran seriously while he’s making six-figures a year off of him, which is a shame for both of them — if Spruill were helping him purely because he thinks Moran would be the better Governor, that would go a long way towards persuading me to give Moran a second look.

And as for my “sources”, since 1992 they have never proved me wrong.

SJ- like I’ve said- Ive seen this not just where I live (Tidewater) but in my hometown.
I’ve also seen a HUGE difference in the other states in which I’ve worked- WA, MA, IA, NM and am using that as a comparison. I’ve emailed friends working in other states, and with the exception of NJ- no one can recall a situation like this.

Yes, I am an idealist and I do love my party- hence the S/N. Spruill is not my representative in the house so I personally don’t have any dealings with him. I just expect better from my DNC rep.

I am not going to betray the confidence of my sources on a blog but next I see you I may tell you more. The favors are nothing illegal or bad but there is a pattern of quid pro quo that goes into a very “grey” area.
As for the DPVA, I agree with you- some (few) of them do not know what’s going on in local races or what is best for the party. There are some however, who care passionately and want to help out. If you read my statement- “Have held” as in formerly, not current. Since the leadership has changed so frequently- many
Maybe I’m still an idealist and a yellow dog to boot. Perhaps seeing the possibilities while working in different states have made me want better for the party.
Sorry Vivan, but being a member iof the DNC s a distinguished position that is chosen by those in the party. IT is a leadership position in which the member is not only a superdelegate but represents our state at DNC meetings. I expect the DNC members to be role models and the best our party has to offer. I’m not saying Spruill isn’t a good Democrat but this last move was a boneheaded one.

Moran should have thought twice as well, and he did make amends as he should have.

And to be perfectly honest, I know that the people in “leadership positions with the DPVA” don’t always know what they are talking about. I could give examples but I won’t. Suffice it to say that simply holding a position within the party doesn’t mean beans when it comes to what is really going on.

It takes two to tango and your attack on Spruill while absolving Moran of any responsibility is, again, disingenuous. Being a member of the DNC is no reason to hold someone to a higher standard, at least not in my book.

It appears you are upset that Spruill is not working on local campaigns. Instead of bashing him about it, why don’t you call him and find out why?

But that is a large part of why this was a big deal for me; to the best of my knowledge, Spruill’s contributions have gone largely unnoticed in the past because no one’s ever had to pay the sort of sum’s he’s receiving for his influence before. Spruill may be advocating on Moran’s behalf because he thinks he’s the best candidate for the job–as he has on behalf of the likes of Tim Kaine, Jim Webb, and Hillary Clinton, to name just a few–but it’s a little bit harder now to tell whether it’s Lionell Spruill talking of Brian Moran’s money.

That’s not an indictment of either Moran or Spruill, by the way, I’m just not particularly a fan of the way the system is evolving. I wish people would stop advertising themselves as being for sale when it comes to primaries because I don’t know who to take seriously anymore.

I find Diamonstein (I wasn’t going to bring up his name) going to Denver as a page to be pathetic. What’s next- retirees working as pages in the GA next year? Everyone states that they want younger people involved in politics but situations such as this just shuts them out. Yes, many people did want to go to the convention- however, I think that is something you should EARN (like you did). If people don’t get chosen, that just shows that they need to work that much harder and will have a chance again in 4 years.
Diamonstein hung quite a few Democrats out to dry in the 90s due to “gentleman’s agreements” with friends in the GOP. He’s a nice guy but looks out only for himself.
I’m pretty disgusted with the whole process- we have PLEOs that are going that do NOT hold a leadership role with the party, nor are they elected officials. Sometimes it seems like the DPVA has gone back to the smokey room, good-ole-boy days.
I used to think the world of Diamonstein (and volunteered on 3 of his races).
I appreciate your defense of Spruill, however- he brings a lot of heat on himself.

Guess not.

As for “grooming the next generation” – to be perfectly honest, I don’t see anyone doing that. As a matter of fact, I brought up that very point with Ward Armstrong when he was in town a couple of weeks ago. So to say Spruill isn’t doing it is a bit disingenuous – because no one seems to be doing it.

Alan Diamonstein applied for the page position because that was his only ticket to the convention. Getting to Denver was difficult for a lot of people. I know folks who wanted to go who simply had no avenue to get there. So dig at him all you want – I don’t know the man except very casually – but try to understand why things happen the way they do.

And yes, Democrats in this state aren’t like Democrats elsewhere.

He reminds me of a certain “retired” delegate in my hometown. He would “help” another candidate only if it benefited him. He also loved the headlines and bragged quite a bit about how many contacts he had all around the state. This is deja vu all over again.
The irony is that this delegate is now a page to the DNC- and he is late 70s/early 80s…a PAGE.
I don’t understand Democrats in this state sometimes- and it makes me sad.

Just because you are not aware of something doesn’t mean that it doesn’t happen. And it is because he doesn’t brag or throw names around that you don’t know what he’s doing.

Does Spruill have a PAC to help build a “farm team”? What is he doing to help get new Democrats involved? Unless I’m missing something here, it doesn’t seem like much.

Last night former DNC member/current Delegate Jennifer Mclellan opened her doors and threw a fundraiser for Mark Warner, she goes out of her way to do everything she can for the Democratic party and doesn’t put a price tag on her loyalty. She doesn’t throw names around and never brags about who is in her rolodex.
We need more Jennifers and less Spruill.