Hey Congressman Perriello! Welcome back to Blue America. We’re really proud about your victory. Do you have a committee assignment already?

Oo, Congressman Perriello – I like the sound of that! Welcome back to Firedoglake, so glad to see you again.

Always great to see a Blue America candidate earn the title, “Congressman”. Congratulations and welcome!

Dear Congressman Periello,
I would like to congratualte you on your win. Please make us proud. I would like to see you around for a long time to come.
Now that you have been declared the new congressman, what have been some of the biggest changes for you?

Cheers,

Kirk

It is great to be back with Blue America today for an update. We could not be more excited about our victory here in VA-05. I think it is a sign that people-powered politics can triumph over the traditional politics of fear. We were down by 34-points in August, and none of the political pundits gave us a chance. We pulled off a huge upset by focusing on direct voter contact — putting much more into grassroots organizing than the pros would recommend, and not shying away from putting real plans on the table.

Are you there?

Cool.

Assignments are going to play out through mid-December.

Welcome back, Tom. You ran a great race and it’s wonderful to see you again.

How can we best contact you or your office?

When I show up around the district, people dive right into asking me about everything from policy to the personal. That is part of what it means to represent the district. The Majority Leader last week reminded us that, under the original Constitution, the House was the only federal office elected directly by the people. That is what I have been given the honor to do.

It’s important for people with that kind of attitude to start taking over the party apparatus and easing out the people in power who wrote you and other grassroots candidates off as having no shot. You were one of the lucky ones. Plenty of others fell to defeat thanks to a bad attitude from the Establishment

You can email me directly at tom@perrielloforcongress.com. You can also reach us through the website http://www.GoTom2008.com or call us at 434-971-1344.

Thanks I will be in contact with you in the coming days. By the way where do you live in the 5th district? Did you manage to visit every corner of your very large district and knock on doors? I assume so being as you won the election and all.

Goode’s challenge doesn’t look like anything more than pure nastiness. No one I’ve spoken to thinks there’s any realistic chance of him overturning the results. What is he up to anyway?

We were lucky, but it was also a deliberate decision to commit to direct voter contact and we had the volunteers and netroots support to make it possible for us to stick to our principles on all of this. In campaigns, the biggest choices are not about policy but tactics, and I was determined to shape the campaign based on the idea that voters are smarter and more decent than traditional politicians give them credit for. People are also more independent than they are centrists, which means Americans respect leadership more than poll-driven politics.

Just curious, do you do any hunting or fishing?

No one gives the recount much of a chance, but so far Rep. Goode has been quite decent about the whole thing. The Republicans may be pushing him to use this to cast doubt on our victory, but so far his public comments have all respected the process. As crazy as the number changes were for 48 hours, this was an example of the process working. Everyone took a deep breath, and the elected officials worked over time with observers from both sides to produce the official results. that is also why serious changes are unlikely.

Let me answer a few of those — I live in Albemarle County, where I grew up. In fact, I am currently sitting around with my family watching the UVA Va Tech football game. It is tied 14-14 but obviously I am focused entirely on this blog. My district is split between UVA and Tech country, so this is big.

is there anything a congressman can do to prevent GAtes from continuing on as Sec of Defense? To get rid of the unmentionably vile Lieberman?
To get a WPA function to employ our unemployed and give us a new national railroad system that would use alternative fuels and save us from the fools who are addicted to oil?

Why is it that you spend more time on national blogs than Virginia blogs? I only remember seeing a couple interviews with you on RK (never a live blog) and can’t remember ever seeing you on NLS.

Did you request a committee? Where do you think your talents and experience are best suited to accomplish your goals?

“I am focused entirely on this blog.”

UVA playing and your focused on this blog 100%. Yeah right.

I don’t blame your being a little distracted. You deserve a break.

I know that the district’s issues come first, but will you try and bring forth legislation that deals with your international work?

I think this is only my second time on a national blog during the campaign, so not too much time there. I did several with RaisingKaine, because Lowell was excited about the race. I do not know if we were ever invited to blog on NLS but would be glad to do so. I obviously spent most of my time in the district, particularly in Southside and that was a crucial factor in this race — that voters in all 22 counties and municipalities saw me coming through town over and over again. This is not an area I could or should convert through TV spots, so the intensive grassroots effort was key. We had hundreds of volunteers as part of our GOTV effort, and I am very proud of those efforts.

Is this a national blog, or is this local? I am really unaware. This was well promoted on Raising Kaine today so to me it really doesn’t matter that much.

I guess and we-all owe them a great deal of gratitude? Well done volunteers for Perriello.

I would like to offer some contribuiton on international issues where I have some experience, particularly in terms of Afghanistan and Darfur. Both parties continue to focus too much on troop levels without necessarily asking about how to fix the underlying political problems. The situation in Afghanistan and, after recent events, on the sub-continent will need to be a major priority in the next two years. While the Obama Administration will lead this effort, the Congress must be seriously engaged to ensure we move towards stability.

Congratulations, Tom Perriello! Your win gives me hope for America. Thanks very much to you and your family for your hard-fought campaign, and best wishes to you on Capitol Hill.

Have you been in touch with Congressman Boucher? What has he had to say to you?

That’s fine and the question was not a dig. However with RK shutting down and NLS barely posting anymore, I am very concerned that Virginia is giving up ground to the Republicans in the blogosphere. All of our elected officials need to be paying attention to this before it is too late- except Governor Kaine who is probably applauding every shut down.

I couldn’t agree more. I can’t fathom a good reason for closing up Raising Kaine’s shop when so many people beside the founder are posting regularly. That will be a great hole created in the progressive/liberal blogosphere.

Thanks, Teddy. My family has put up with a lot in the past year, and stretched well beyond their comfort zones. But this Thanksgiving has been the first time we could relax and look forward. We all just got back from a morning volunteering with Habitat for Humanity together — we typically try to crank out a community service effort over the holidays. These are scary economic times for all of us, particularly those families who are struggling to get ahead. Our family has been very blessed, even if I have dragged them into a more public space.

I’m a native of Kentucky and visit a lot of the Kentucky political blogs. I think it takes time for some of them to re-trench immediately after a campaign ends and figure out the direction they want to go. I’d assume the Virginia blogs are having the same problems. Especially those blogs dedicated to ousting folks like Goode.

Plus just being tired from all politics all the time.

Any good stories from freshman orientation, Congressman-Elect? No one reads this blog, you can be sure the tales won’t get re-told…. *g*

It was a huge surprise to me when I read the post about RK closing. I didn’t really use any other blogging site, and now I have too.

Like you– though few other Americans not in uniform– I spent a good deal of time in Afghanistan. Obama’s stated views scare me that he’s getting bad advise. For someone as bright and well-read as he is, I’m surprised he thinks there’s a military solution there. Meanwhile, I want to recommend a quick, easy book written by one of your new colleagues, Robert Wexler: Fire-breathing Liberal. In it he makes the point that most Republican members of Congress don’t have passports and look down on anyone who thinks there’s anything to learn by traveling abroad. Good luck with your new co-workers!

Congratulations, Congressman Perriello and best wishes on a confirmation of the outcome.

Why do you think you were successful in attracting so many volunteers? What can other candidates learn from your approach?

Closing down RK is a loss to all of us, but Lowell has certainly done far more than his part to turn VA blue. I hope that VA bloggers will find some sort of way to converge and keep the momentum going. There is a crucial role for the blogosphere to play in local and state politics, and RK has been a big part of that.

I think Lowell is doing the right thing if he can’t post anymore. Otherwise the blog would die anyway when it became a generic point-counterpoint without a moderator to move discussion.

For example- Congressman Elect Gerry Connolly is still employed at SAIC a defense contractor. He has NOT resigned even after being elected. I even heard he missed the office lottery because he was at their office. Why is no one covering that a Congressman-Elect is working for an industry that is PROHIBITED for even donating to Congressional candidates? Jane? Howie?

Are you planning to continue livving full time at home and commuting? Will you be spending the weeks in DC and the weekends at home?

How does that inform your views on public transport? I would love to see a fuel tax to offset the sudden plunge in fuel costs. It would provide valuable revenue for infrastructure, public transportation systems, and funding for improving efficiency and alternative fuels. WWe have been paying well over $3/gallon gas. I don’t see why we couldn’t continue to. We were less than 2 short months ago and we have been for years.

Just out curiousity, what is the breakdown in the VA congressional delegation now between Dems and Repubs?

Congressman,

There are a lot of Congressman that come from districts similar to yours and use their “conservative” constituency as an excuse to not do any work promoting a reasonably progressive agenda. As an example, I wouldn’t be surprised if health care reform is handicapped by Democrats not getting with the program… Of course, these Democrats will say that their constituents are afraid of national health care, but when we take a look at their campaign war chests, we find hundreds of thousands of dollars that came from the insurance and big pharma lobbies…

So, my point is this: I think your race may serve as an example for progressives from so-called “blood-red” districts. There is a way to reach the people and put forward an agenda that connects with their needs. And you don’t have to resort to Rush Limbaugh bromides that lock you into supporting Republican policies.

My question is this: will you write a “Campaigning as a progressive in a Republican stronghold for Dummies” book? Or at least share a little bit about how we may be able to take lessons from your campaign and bring them to the BlueDogs?

6 Dems, 5 Reps in the delegation. It has been a long time since we had a majority!

To what do you attribute this shift, as well as Obama’s win in Virginia?

Sorry – not perfectly clear here. I’m looking for advice for challengers in both primaries against bad Democrats and for advice regarding challengers against districts currently represented by a Republican. I know only one of those situations applied to you, but the former situation is really important as the country moves forward. If people don’t see Dems impacting their lives in a really positive and tangible way, I fear a blanket of cynicism will settle upon the country. When that happens, people turn back to voting for cliches and we all lose.

I second this question.

I will continue living in Albemarle, but it is too far to commute daily. I have a lot of counties to cover here, so I will need every long weekend to be out meeting with constituents.

My experience in the district and heading up to DC reinforces my commitment to infrastructure investment, including green infrastructure. Parts of my district have been isolated from high growth regions to the north and south. We also saw last year as gas prices soared that this fell even harder on rural families where people must drive further and further to work without public transit options.

Infrastructure needs go beyond roads and rails. We also need to rebuild our electric grid that is generations out of date. For the price of the last bailout, we could have rebuilt the electric grid in a way that would put people back to work, make our businesses more efficient and open up greater opportunities in the new energy economy.

Democrats won 3 House seats and a second Senate seat so the delegation of 13 now has 8 Democrats and 5 Repugs.

Given Goode’s sour behavior, do you expect to face him again in two years? Or are there sane GOPs in the district who’ll tell him to fade away?

I like the idea of collecting best practices for winning in districts like mine. first, I think we have to stop defining these districts in terms the artificial right-center-left spectrum of American political debate. Voters here, like in much of the country, are independents not centrists, and they respect good ideas and leadership. People do not have to agree with my on every issue, but rather need to respect the values and judgement I bring to the table.

People care about results more than the process that gets us there. Bipartisanship is generally a good thing, but not if it means (a) adding our pork with their pork to get something through, or (b) meeting at the 50 yard line when what we need is a touchdown (game is still 14-14, by the way). One the new energy economy, for example, we need ideas that our bold and aggressive, but still can be based on common sense and unleashing market competitiveness.

We should not shy away from a serious attempt at comprehensive health care reform, from a generational commitment to energy independence, and a national security strategy that shifts some of the burden from our military to our diplomatic and intel corps. I also believe this should be an era of accountability, including corporate accountability.

a national security strategy that shifts some of the burden from our military to our diplomatic and intel corps.

That has been desperately lacking in recent years. Three cheers for your view on this.

As hectic as this transition will be for us and for all of those heading to Washington, this is a good time to draw out lessons from what I consider the first movement election of my lifetime. The mainstream media and poltical pundits will almost certainly continue to learn the wrong lessons from this victory, so keep asking the questions.

Interesting point you make, Tom. And it reminds me of one of your new colleagues, another candidate Blue America has been very enthusiastic about, Alan Grayson. Like you, he defeated an entrenched incumbent who hasn’t been serving the needs of a newly woken up electorate. The district is “red” but Alan refused to give that much thought and campaigned on a pretty startling set of ideas that would work in any district in America.

Heh. There was a panel of military retirees on cspan2 earlier today, and they were all talking about how important it would be to get a bigger diplomatic corps. One of them pointed out that the military bands have a bigger personnel than the diplomatic corps. Here’s the link.
http://www.booktv.org/program……ayMedia=No

People do not have to agree with my on every issue, but rather need to respect the values and judgement I bring to the table.

Yes, in part, I think this is how Obama got elected too. He featured his own thoughtful analysis in 20 words or less, how he approached the problem and the conclusion it brought him to. We put our trust in his reason not his dogma.

Hey thanks for coming out. It was nice of you to answer our questions.

I met Alan at new-member orientation and he seems like an interesting guy. This is a time to shake things up, particularly in areas like financial accountability. Sometimes this includes challenging some of the conventional wisdom in our own party, whether that is on incrementalism or on education reform. The starting question has to be “what will solve the problem” not “what can we get through.” This election was about changing our sense of what is possible — in our country and here in VA-05. That attitude has to continue with how we legislate.

Enjoy the rest of the game.
Cheers

Howie: Tom’s response at 54 (especially the part about who will learn the wrong lessons, although he did leave the Democratic party committees out) is exactly the type of sentiment that made me realize Tom “get’s it” a long, long time ago. From that comment, we have so much that is good about the new Congressman on full display: he’s not beholden to the Villagers.

Do you think the comment is worth highlighting in a front-page post?

Any interest in getting on the DCCC recruitment committee? They’re a real bunch of losers (other than Bruce Braley) and, as I’m sure you know, they’ve already announced that the next cycle is going to be about retention rather than recruitment.

I do, Mike, but that question should be addressed to egregious or Ian.

One other factor that seemed to be present in many of the winning campaigns was Dems showing up in places they have not always succeeded. In my district, Mark Warner began the tidal shift by showing up in rural and small town Virginia over and over again during his race for Governor in 2001. Obama came to Martinsville during the campaign, a town with double-digit unemployment. I spent most of my campaign time in these areas.

This is not just about geography but also about community. We we did a lot of outreach to veterans and young evangelicals who had been comfortable for awhile with the Republican party but were showing serious doubts this year. It makes a big difference to show up and speak honestly with folks.

But for the Democrats to hold these gains, we have to keep showing up after election day. I hope the national Dem leadership will show Virginia as much attention during the legislative process as they did during the campaign period. Virginia has shown its independence, and will continue to support of us if we put producing results ahead of timidness and political games.

VT wins 17-14. Congrats to the Hokies — now go win the ACC Championship game for the Commonwealth.

Mike, we would be delighted to have your take on this:

http://oxdown.firedoglake.com/diary/post

This is open for opinions short or long, welcome!

Thanks for stopping by.

Thanks… It’s been a while since I’ve done opinion blogging; I usually report on activism more than anything else. But this is worth it. Let me collect my thoughts and I’ll pull a post together this afternoon.

Awesome.

Thanks Mike!

I did a little YouTube based on an old Sam and Dave song to thank Tom and our other valient Blue America candidates for taking on such a heavy burden this year.

Will you (or have you) joined the Progressive Caucus in the House? Do you think it can be re-invigorated and become powerful like the Blue Dogs have done?

Highly recommend this youtube — our Blue America favs and a well known gorgeous blonde blogger.

Tom, congratulations again on your victory, we’ll do what it takes to keep Goode from sabotaging the recount.

Thanks so much for joining us during the all important UVA-Tech game. If we needed evidence of your ability to multitask, this is it.

You are a very persuasive person. As I mentioned in the conference call, when you first came to FDL you were so far down in the polls that not many gave you a chance. But you won us over.

Please take this determination and ability to persuade people into Congress and work on your fellow members — they need new blood and new leadership, and you’re just the guy.

Thanks so much for joining us here, and please do keep in touch.