VA politics: Hey Fedup -- David Ashe drops out of race!

[beachmom]

Now that I am catching up on my paper, it's like everything has changed:

Ashe abandons bid for Congress
Democrat explains he has accepted post offered by governor
BY JON FRANK THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
• Reach Jon Frank at [phone] or [e-mail]



Democrat David Ashe has dropped out of the race for the 2nd District congressional seat currently held by Republican Thelma Drake.
That leaves only one Democratic challenger: Philip J. Kellam, the Virginia Beach commissioner of the revenue.
Ashe, a lawyer and Marine veteran who served in Iraq, ran unsuccessfully for the congressional seat two years ago. He lost that election to Drake.
Democrats had expected a party primary between Kellam and Ashe. Instead, Ashe announced Saturday at a Democratic breakfast that he was dropping out.
On Monday, Ashe said he made his decision mainly because Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has picked him for a position in the new administration in Richmond. Ashe would not specify what that position is, but he said he has accepted it.
Ashe said it was a rare opportunity to work with a public official whom he admires.
“When it comes to Governor Kaine, I am a true believer,” Ashe said. “Tim Kaine’s administration is going to be one of the most effective in Virginia history, and it is going to be a real thrill to be a part of that.”
Ashe said he will work hard to unseat Drake during the coming campaign. “I think very highly of Phil Kellam,” he said.
Ashe is the second Democratic candidate to withdraw from the race. In December, Troy Farlow, an Eastern Shore businessman, dropped out after Kellam got into the race.
Kellam is a member of one of the region’s best-known political families. His grandfather was clerk of court in Virginia Beach, and his father was a federal judge. His uncle, Sidney Kellam, was a political leader for 40 years and he engineered the merger of Virginia Beach and Princess Anne County in 1963.
Kellam said Ashe’s decision is one that “I feel real good about. This certainly helps focus the race on me and Thelma Drake. This should unify the supporters that I have and that he had.”
Drake could still face a challenge inside her own party. Last month, Virginia Beach Sheriff Paul Lanteigne said he is considering a run for Drake’s seat.
Lanteigne could not be reached Monday. He made an unsuccessful bid for the Republican nomination in 2004, when Ed Schrock unexpectedly decided not to seek re-election.
Drake, who lives in Norfolk, won the GOP nomination, and then the general election against Ashe. The 2nd Congressional District includes all of Virginia Beach and the Eastern Shore and parts of Norfolk and Hampton.

The good news in the article is that the Republican may have a challenger in the primary! To those of you not in on this game, Ed Schrock was the macho Navy congressman, who was outed for calling a gay sex phone line (Jon Stewart played the tape, which was pretty darn funny). Thelma Drake, funded by Exxon Mobil, Halliburton, and Tom Delay, rode *'s tails to win, but she is literally a rubber stamp for *. David Ashe is an Iraq War veteran (one of the Fighting Dems, even showcased on dKos), but he lost to Drake in '04 55 - 45 (he grabbed 5% of the * vote). Look now at how many of the "fighting Dems" are folding. Good politics is not the same thing as being good on the battlefield. The Kellam family around here are like a mini-Kennedy family -- old family, old money, long time politicians. I'll have to research this guy.

[sandnsea]

1. Well that is interesting

Especially considering the Brown-Hackett debacle. What kind of person is Ashe? What was his position on Iraq?

I wonder if this means they are trying to weed out anybody who is going to be huge vocal critic of the war, and try to avoid running on Iraq or terrorism. Very confused by all of this.

[wisteria]

2. I picked up on this feeling also. Not just based on this latest, but

also Rendell's words last weekend to focus on social issues, the medicare mess and our party not challenging mostly everything going on right now. It appears to me we are going to handle the election like we did the Social Security situation. I am not convinced this is the best route considering they are going to attack us on defense and security issues. Do they think the public isn't interested in these during the mid-terms?
And cynical me thinks they are trying this out for the 2008 election- going with a candidate that isn't strong on defense issues, but can tackle the bread and butter issues in a centralized way.

[beachmom]

4. David Ashe was not anti-war; instead he had criticisms for

how things were run, like how Paul Bremer did things. He also rushed to save a veteran who had collapsed at a campaign rally, which tells you what kind of person he is. Maybe working for the Kaine administration is a good move for him, since it is an extremely uphill battle to win our district, which is heavily Republican -- if he had lost again, he would have been finished; now, he may have more options in the future. Kellam is a name (the high school my kids would eventually go to is called Kellam High), and if the guy plays it conservative enough for the folks here (I know, I know -- we're the liberal party, but Pat Robertson is in this district, if that gives you an idea), maybe he has a better chance than Ashe. One last thing I liked about Ashe -- he said we should repeal NCLB!! I loved that!

[sandnsea]

5. Play devil's advocate for a mnute

Is there anything on the national political horizon that would make Kellam the establishment favorite over Ashe. Did Ashe say anything wildly controversial, like Hackett saying "anybody who supported the gay marriage amendment was unAmerican". I'm just trying to decide if this is another one who was edged out, and if there's a political consistency, or a money consistency. The one in Florida that comes to mind was about money, Brown had money. What about Kellam, can he raise alot lot more money than Ashe?

[beachmom]

6. Here are a few pieces of info

http://feministblogs.org/

So where are we? I say, same place as always. The party is top down, disinterested - for good or ill - in the base. Not too interested in the country under the Bush regime either, is my take.

And I believe in hard fought primaries… bare knuckle. I want survivors. Or I did, once. I personally believe we are post-collapse. Of the Democratic party, that is. It heaves and thrashes… about it. Last throes. You know how it is, takes a while.

I hope no one took ‘’Fighting Dems'’ too seriously. Roll Call (subscription wall), in their round up of the Hackett walk, push, shove, mutual loss of love, whatever it really was or is!, makes the point, a Fighting Dem is of use til he or she is not. This is not news. Count out Ashe, Lentz (a Vice Adm. stepped in there) and no doubt a few more to come…

Just last weekend Iraq war veteran and attorney David Ashe (D) dropped his campaign for a rematch with freshman Rep. Thelma Drake (R) in Virginia’s 2nd district. Ashe garnered 45 percent of the vote against Drake in 2004, in a late-developing open-seat race sparked by the last-minute retirement of then-Rep. Ed Schrock (R-Va.).

According to a local newspaper report, Ashe’s decision was based primarily on the fact that he has been offered a position in the new administration of Gov. Tim Kaine (D). <…> his move clears the field for Virginia Beach Commissioner of Revenue Phillip Kellam (D), who had been viewed as party insiders’ preferred nominee. Kellam is a political legacy whose family is well known in the Tidewater area.

And a comment from this site (I saw a post from DavidNYC of dKos on this site):

http://www.swingstateproject.com/2006/02/weekly_open_thr_14.php

Virginia's 2nd - Iraq Vet and all around good guy David Ashe dropped out, leaving Philip Kellam as the sole challenger to Thelma Drake. Kellam is a household name in this district and he has been a popular, successful civil servant for years. Drake on the other hand is a one-term incumbent who won in 2004 with less-than-great numbers. Her only accomplishment seems to be her near universal support for Bush. I fail to see how that will help her considering all the crazy shenanigans this administration has been pulling these last few years.

Virginia has been trending blue and Dems have been on a real upswing recently. We've got the GOP on the ropes, and Kaines win was a huge F-YOU to the GOP from the voters of Virginia. Warner is wildly popular and we are the "best managed state in the Union" under Dem leadership. Allen will have the fight of his life on his hands with Webb as a challenger. Since I fully expect Webb to win the Dem primary and ultimately the election, his success can only help Kellam. Also, consider this - VA-02 has a large number of active and retired military as well as large ports. Webb is a dream canididate for this district and this should also help Kellam.

In my opinion this should be considered a top-tier race, and one we should all support.

Although I'm sad about David Ashe being out of the race, I would like to learn more about Kellam before I pass any judgment. The way this last comment reads, Kellam really has a shot at unseating Drake whereas, I think it would be tougher for Ashe.

[sandnsea]

7. I'm not saying Kellam isn't a good guy

You can have two perfectly good guys, like Brown & Hackett, and still have political maneuvering for the purpose of best chances to win an election. I'm just trying to figure out if it's political positions, pure money and fundraising, or the elite power structures.

[beachmom]

8. In the case of Kellam, I am betting all 3 categories you mentioned

I'm sure with his old family he can fundraise better and by definition is part of the elite power structure. I just don't know about political positions. I found nothing in my paper's archives really (although the search mechanism isn't that great), so I'm dealing with a clean slate, not a clue. I'll just have to find out as he starts rolling out his platform.

I don't mean to be a downer here, but there are going to be forces out there to take down a JK prez run before it really starts in '08, too. Something about David Ashe reminds me of John Kerry, and now here we are, and he's not even running anymore after losing in '04 . . . . sigh, sigh, sigh. And that coupled with the Barfbag thread, that all of these Dems are excited that a former Reagan official, first rate Kerry hater is running for the Senate, and does feel like up is down and down is up.

[sandnsea]

9. Good comments here

http://waldo.jaquith.org/blog/2005/12/kellam-exploratory-committee/

Have to say, the one "Ashe, who lost to Drake in 2004," would be quite painful to see all year. And if it's true Drake was a last minute candidate, replacing an anti-gay gay Republican, well then Ashe should have beat her. So maybe it is just a case of going with the best candidate for the area.

:shrug:

[fedupinBushcountry]

3. Dang

I was so looking forward to doing whatever I could to help David Ashe. He is a really good guy. I met him when he was running in '04. He also was with Kerry at the Nauticus right before the convention.

I wonder what job Kaine offered him and why did he offer it to him when he knew damn well he was running for congress. It must have to do with the bigger name Kellam.

I don't know much about Kellam either Beachmom, but the name is well known and he is the Commissioner of revenue here.

On the Schrock thing I knew that was going to happen before it hit the papers, he resigned so he wouldn't have to admit he was gay. LOL rake is nothing but a rubberstamp, amd now she has a voting record and I myself will hit hard with that alone, pure Bushie.