We Won! (And Being Part of the Process)

First of all, congrats and thanks are in order for the Virginia Republican headquarters. They had a well-organized and supportive staff that I had the privilege of spending ten hours of my Sunday with phone banking.

Quite a few supporters made it out throughout the course of the day; I sat with a couple students from University of Maryland that spent several valuable hours of their Sunday putting in their time for a cause that they wanted to see win. They suffered through angry voters and pouring rain to get out their message. These students dedicated their valuable time to come to VA headquarters to get out the vote!

My experience with those in charge of the campaign were nothing but positive; they supportive and engaged with the volunteers. It felt great to be part of a united front working towards a tangible, reachable cause.

It felt great to watch as the polls came in, and feel like I made a difference. I think this victory is an important one in the future of Virginia, as well as the GOP.

Congrats Bill Bolling, Bob McDonnell, and Ken Cucinelli!

Bill Bolling casting his vote in Mechanicsville, just one vote in his fifty-seven percent victory over Jody Wagner's forty-three percent.

HAVE YOU VOTED YET?

Virginians, the time has come to stop talking, stop campaigning and make your choice! It is November 3rd and the polls open at 6 AM and close at 7 pm. Virginia law stipulates that if you are not in the voting place by the time the doors close at 7 pm, you will not be able to cast your vote.

Voting is a signature and vital part of your rights as a citizen of a democracy. It is one of the most power ways in which to show your elected officials how you feel regardless of the outcome. So speak up, don’t be shy and vote, vote, vote.

Bill Bolling has conducted an admirable, clean campaign and is asking for your vote on Election Day. Consider his record, consider his story, consider his vision and policy plans and consider what you want the future of Virginia to look like.

Looking Good Bill

A recent article in newsleader.com spoke about how Virginia is becoming more independent and has an increasing number of swing voters. The article states that since 1970 Virginia has become more independent because by law one cannot declare party membership and the state holds open primaries. The article went on to talk about how Virginians vote based on how satisfied they are with the current government, if everything is going well history has shown they will vote in the same leadership. However, if people are not happy with how the government is being run then they will vote in someone different. Considering this same news source endorses Bolling, I would say that the people of Virginia have been happy with his performance thus far as Lieutenant Governor.

In a separate opinion piece, a citizen wrote in to say “I’m looking forward to Lt. Gov. Bolling serving another term. He’s truly an accomplished responsible candidate with new ideas.” It’s looking good for Bill.

The Same Old Song and Dance

One of the most important traits of any political campaign should be the ability to change strategies when necessary. If one campaign strategy fails to produce the results the candidate needs, the campaign must be able to adapt and switch to a strategy that does work. If focusing on one issue and emphasizing the candidate’s views regarding that issue fails to energize the electorate, logic would dictate that the campaign should move on to another issue, another set of views to emphasize.

Of course, in order to do this effectively, the campaign must have a candidate with competent views on a number of issues. A campaign can not change their strategy and emphasize a different point if the candidate is only running on one issue, or can only talk about one or two points. This seems to be the problem facing Jody Wagner and her campaign staff.

Polls released earlier this week show Bill Bolling ahead of Wagner 50% to 38%. Obviously, either Bolling is doing something right, or Wagner is doing something wrong. However, instead of changing tactics, Wagner has continued to emphasize Bolling’s lack-luster attendance record for meetings of the several boards and counsels on which Bolling serves. Wagner claims that Bolling has personally attended only 4 out of the 68 board meetings he was supposed to attend over the last four years. What Wagner tends to ignore is the fact that, for every one of those 68 meetings, Bolling was either in attendance or sent a staff member to take notes and then brief him later.

Regardless of how much truth there is in Wagner’s claims, she seems determined to continue with a campaign strategy that clearly does not work. Virginians do not care about whether Bolling himself attended the 17 board meetings he had per year, or if he sent staff members to attend. They don’t care about attacks based on insignificant issues and manipulated statistics. Virginians want a candidate that can talk about the issues and offer competent and thoughtful solutions to the problems the state faces. They want a positive leader, not a negative one. Simply put, Virginians want Bill Bolling, not Jody Wagner.

"Always Help a Neighbor in Need"

While this ad lacks any serious punch or flavor, it's nothing to scoff at. It's comfortable, reassuring, and provides some information. It may seem like a lot of fluff, but there is some really great imagery in it. The message addresses concerns that people have and their selection of clips is really effective. The images the campaign chose are community oriented and do a good job of putting Bill Bolling among the people. They really stuck to the theme of being a "neighbor." He's not wearing a suit, he's talking about his family, and he's playing with kids on a playground. It's a cohesive, workable, relateable, message. I'd give Bill Bolling an A.