Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category

“Do you believe in the Constitution, and do you follow it?”

That’s the question one man really, really wanted to ask of the three 8th District congressional candidates at a Civic Federation-sponsored debate Tuesday night. The moderator tried to move on to the next question before the candidates could answer, at which point the man began yelling.

Eventually, the candidates answered the question to get the guy to stop screaming. It’s not clear whether he actually expected anyone to answer “no.”

We have audio of the exchange, below.

At a candidate forum sponsored by the Arlington Civic Federation, Republican Patrick Murray kicked off the post-Labor Day campaign season with an aggressive assault on the economic and spending record of ten-term incumbent Democratic congressman Jim Moran, previewing what will likely be a spirited two months of campaigning.

“Congress… is full of career politicians who are addicted to spending your taxpayer dollars and who will say and do anything to get re-elected,” Murray said in his opening remarks. “At the heart of that, ladies and gentleman, is my opponent, Mr. Moran.”

“For 20 years, he has spent taxpayer dollars… and what has it gotten us?” Murray asked. “We’ve got deficits as far as the eye can see. We’ve got unemployment that continues to go up. We’ve got $13 trillion of debt.”

Moran readily admitted that he has used his seniority on the House Appropriations Committee to steer money to the 8th District. But he said the money has made life better here — primarily by producing jobs.

“I earmark a lot of money through the appropriations process,” Moran said. “I do support federal spending, and I support the federal government… I’m doing everything I can to keep federal facilities here.”

Moran noted that Arlington has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country and has recently been named a one of the most “livable” communities in the nation.

Later, Murray took a shot at a television appearance in which Moran said the economy had recovered.

“Jim just doesn’t get it. The other day on Hardball with Chris Matthews, he [said] ‘I don’t know why everyone is so upset… the economy is recovered,’” Murray said to cackling laughter among his supporters. “On what planet has it recovered?”

During a question and answer session with Civic Federation delegates, Moran was asked about a glossy, 16-page newsletter his congressional office mailed out over the summer at taxpayer expense.

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It’s a packed house at Virginia Hospital Center’s Hazel Conference Center, where a debate between the local candidates for congress, county board and school board is about to get underway.

First observation of the night: lots of Murray signs on George Mason Drive on the way up to the hospital. Didn’t spot any Moran signs.

(Update: The first controversy of the night. The county Office of Voter Registration tweets that candidate signs are prohibited until 30 days before the election.)

The congressional candidate debate between incumbent Jim Moran (Democrat) and challengers Patrick Murray (Republican) and Ron Fisher (Green) started at 7:45 p.m. Patrick Murray spoke first, and received loud applause.

Update at 8:00 p.m. — Murray largely focuses on Moran, and Moran talked mostly about Moran. Moran also received loud applause, mixed with some whistling.

8:05 — Question for Moran on his controversial mailer from the indefatigable Bob Atkins. Moran says the mailing cost some $100k, not $1 million as Murray alleged. Murray on glossy mailer: “I thought it was a quarterly stock report from Goldman Sachs.”

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Arlington Democrats chowed down on homemade chili and talked up their slate of candidates at the party’s annual Labor Day Chili Cook-off.

A crowd that included county board members, school board members, state legislators, elected county officers and Democratic donors gathered outside the Lyon Park Community Center for the end-of-summer tradition, which also featured drinks, music and a moon bounce for the kids.

Guests of honor included the three local Democrats up for reelection this year: county board member Chris Zimmerman, school board member Sally Baird and congressman Jim Moran. Virginia House of Delegates minority leader Ward Armstrong was also on hand for the afternoon event.

The cook-off was largely an upbeat affair for the well-entrenched local party, though the gloomy national outlook for Democrats was on the minds of many.

“If the election was held next Tuesday, we would lose the majority in the House and the Senate,” Moran told the crowd, citing polling data.

“But the election isn’t being held next Tuesday,” Moran continued. “This will be a good election, we’re going to turn this around… let’s get it done.”

“This is really an exciting time to be a Democrat,” Zimmerman said during his brief remarks. “There is so much at stake across the entire country.”

Later, Zimmerman — who’s facing both a Republican and a Green Party opponent in November — said he isn’t taking anything for granted. Already, he has started knocking on doors, attending public events and holding fundraisers.

“Realistically, we have to work for this one,” he said, noting that there is no U.S. Senate or presidential race to mobilize Arlington’s Democratic base this year.

In his speech to the gathered Democratic faithful, Moran let on a bit about how he plans to run against his Republican opponent, Patrick Murray.

After voicing strong support for President Obama’s agenda, the ten-term congressman blasted Murray’s conservative stance on social issues.

Moran said Murray is on the wrong side of the “civil rights issues” of abortion, gay marriage and the military’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy.

Moran, Zimmerman and Baird and their respective opponents are all expected to participate in a debate sponsored by the Arlington County Civic Federation tonight. The debate will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the Virginia Hospital Center Hazel Conference Center (1701 N George Mason Drive).

More photos from the cook-off and a list of winners of the various chili categories, after the jump.

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ACDC Kicks Off Campaign Season — Last night, the Arlington County Democratic Committee officially launched its campaign to maintain electoral dominance in the county. But looking forward to November contests that include a challenge to incumbent county board member Chris Zimmerman, Democrats aren’t counting their chickens quite yet. “We are not going to take anything for granted [this] fall,” ACDC chair Mike Lieberman tells ARLnow.com. The Democrats’ campaign season will kick into high gear on Monday at the party’s annual Labor Day Chili Cookoff.

Dems, GOPers Swipe Each Other’s Swag — Stop us if this starts sounding like symbolism. In an effort to appease their respective constituencies, the local political parties decided to start stealing from one another. The petty political thievery took place at the recent Arlington County Fair. The Sun Gazette has the details.

Another Week of Chess – Shirlington’s Signature Theater has extended the rock musical Chess for an additional week. The show will now run through October 3. Tickets for the bonus week will go on sale Tuesday, according to Playbill.

The Pit of Hell Burger – Workers have dug up part of the parking lot in front of Ray’s Hell Burger in Rosslyn, but don’t worry, President Obama — your favorite diplomatic lunch spot is still open during the construction. Other affected businesses include Guallijo, Greenberry’s Coffee, and a Virginia ABC store. More from TBD.

Flickr pool photo by Chris Rief.

The year was 1979. Margaret Thatcher became the British prime minister. Americans were taken hostage in Iran. And, just two days after the Iranian hostage crisis began, two bond issues were rejected in Arlington County.

It was the last time Arlington voters would say no on a county bond referendum.

With less than three weeks to go before absentee voting begins in Arlington, it seems highly unlikely that the trend will reverse itself this year.

There is one important parallel to be drawn, however.

In 1979, like today, there was economic turmoil that had voters on edge about new spending. (Witness: the Glenn Beck rally that took Arlington hotels by storm over the weekend.)

The difference is that in 1979 interest rates were sky-high, making the cost of borrowing money prohibitively expensive. Now, interest rates are close to all-time lows.

In 1979, there were four bond issues on the referendum, including a $4 million local parks bond, a $1.7 million regional parks bond, a $4.7 million roads bond and a $2 million sewer bond. Both park bonds were rejected after the Arlington Chamber of Commerce and a group called the Committee of Concerned Citizens came out against them. The other bonds were approved.

The park bonds, which would have been used to maintain open space and beautify the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor, were supported by the county board and the League of Women Voters.

“We don’t want another Rosslyn,” the League’s Judy Sibert told the Washington Post a week before voters went to the polls. “We want the [Rosslyn-Ballston corridor] to be an attractive place to work in.”

The park bonds attracted less than 40 percent of the vote.

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This weekend, as many as 300,000 conservatives from across the country will flock to the DC area to attend Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin’s Restoring Honor rally at the Lincoln Memorial.

Many of the Tea Party activists who will be attending Saturday’s non-political event be staying at hotels in Arlington, so it’s important that they know the best places to eat! As such, we’ve compiled a guide to everybody’s favorite non-partisan food: pizza.

Thanks to the Maine Tea Party’s advice to members for navigating the multicultural environs of the greater Washington area, we have a pretty good idea of what Tea Partiers like. So, without further adieu, here are the top five places to go for pizza in Arlington (and none of them are on the dreaded Yellow Line!).

1. Lost Dog Cafe (5876 Washington Blvd) — Safely nestled in a small shopping district in North Arlington, Lost Dog serves not one but five types of white pizza. From the Popeye Pie, with spinach and chicken, to the Ricky Ricotta, described as a white pizza lover’s dream, Lost Dog has plenty of variety to satisfy even the pickiest eater. To wash it down, choose from Lost Dog’s great beer selection. Recommended choices include the Blue Moon White Ale, the Menocino White Hawk Ale, and Allagash White.

2. Pupatella Pizza (5104 Wilson Blvd) — Pupatella just opened its first brick and mortar restaurant to rave reviews. The restaurant is owned by Enzo Algarme, a legal immigrant from Europe – an inspiring story! Forget the fancy gourmet pizzas on the menu, however. Instead, design your own made with Buffalo mozzarella imported from Naples and Pupatella’s homemade cream and garlic white sauce.

3. Piola (1550 Wilson Blvd) — Imagine yourself in a cozy Italian pizzeria when you visit this imported gem in scenic Rosslyn. Piola’s menu features an entire section devoted to Le Pizze Bianche, the original Old World pizza style. Just be glad you weren’t here when the World Cup brought out noisy crowds that insisted on challenging this country’s sport sovereignty by calling the game “football.”

4. Ledo Pizza (1501 Arlington Blvd) — Conveniently located in the Best Western near the Iwo Jima memorial, local chain Ledo Pizza serves reasonably-priced food that will remind you of neighborhood pizzerias back home. But here’s the twist: the pizzas are square. We recommend the Italian White Pizza, with garlic herb aioli, fontina, and a delicious blend of three cheeses. If you’re trying to feed a large group, check out the giant tray of Fettuccini Alfredo.

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Del. David Englin (D), who represents parts of Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax, says Virginia’s $404 million budget surplus is the result of “irresponsible choices and budget gimmickry.”

Englin, Vice Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, says the surplus is the result of borrowing $600 million from the state pension trust fund and forcing state retailers to pay their July sales taxes early. That’s in addition to the $4 billion in cuts to state services that was needed to plug Virginia’s budget deficit.

“Instead of trying to score political points by claiming a surplus that isn’t, leaders of both parties ought to level with citizens who see for themselves the decline in services and quality of life,” Englin said in a statement. “A balanced budget and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars requires money in to equal money out, without gimmicks that cook the books and risk our future finances.”

Gov. Bob McDonnell plans to spend the surplus on roads, education, the Chesapeake Bay cleanup and a one-time 3 percent bonus for state employees, according to the Washington Post.

It’s not exactly a heartfelt, ringing endorsement, but former GOP candidate for congress Matthew Berry has written a letter to supporters saying that he will vote for Patrick Murray.

Murray, who defeated Berry in June’s Republican primary, raised the ire of many local Republicans by sending out a controversial last-minute mailer about Berry. One local conservative blogger called the mailer “foul” and “disgusting,” although Murray maintained that his campaign’s conduct was aboveboard.

Nonetheless, two months after the mailer went out, Berry appears to be trying to bury the hatchet.

In the letter, Berry writes that “Patrick is generally on the right side while [incumbent Democrat] Jim Moran and [Green Party candidate] Ron Fisher are generally on the wrong side.” He also notes that “Patrick is the only candidate who will vote to give Republicans control of the U.S. House of Representatives.”

One month ago, Berry would only go so far as to tell an audience of Arlington Republicans that Murray “deserves our respect.”

(Earlier we mentioned the conspicuous lack of the word “endorse” in the letter, but it turns out the subject line was “Endorsement.”)

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli traveled to Alexandria last night to attend a small private fundraiser for fellow Republican Patrick Murray, who’s trying to unseat long-time incumbent Rep. Jim Moran.

Cuccinelli declined to discuss his controversial lawsuit against the federal government over the Obama health care reform law, but he had plenty to say about Murray’s opponent and the Democrats’ record on the economy.

Moran does not provide “the kind of leadership the Founding Fathers had in mind,” Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli told the crowd of about 75 supporters. But “in Patrick Murray, you have a better alternative.”

Cuccinelli warned of the dangers of unchecked deficit spending and spoke of the need for pro-business policies.

Murray praised the Republican leadership in Richmond for managing to eke out a budget surplus in a weak economy. He blasted Moran for telling MSNBC’s Chris Matthews that “the economy has recovered.”

“The politicians in Washington, DC — they don’t listen to us,” Murray said. “People are tired of $13 trillion in debt.”

Murray said Cuccinelli would be back to help his campaign in the fall. Murray, who has lagged in fundraising, has held events with two major statewide figures — Cuccinelli and former governor George Allen — in the past two weeks.