No retreat, baby, no surrender

Creigh’s speech tomorrow at GMU will be an opportunity for him to lay out the themes for the 2009 Gubernatorial race. Creigh will be talking about, in a personal way, how his life has forged his values and worldview, and how that will inform the manner in which he governs. And from there, he will draw the stark distinctions between a Virginia led by him and one led by Bob McDonnell.

But in the end, really, for this speech to be effective, it can’t be about Creigh, or about Bob McDonnell. In the end, it has to be about us, and about what kind of Commonwealth we will be living for the next four years and beyond.

I, for one, think it is worth paying attention.

I’m weary of hearing that Virginian Democrats are tired and complacent. Maybe, after a tough primary, Creigh wasn’t your first choice for our candidate and you’re not enthused. But for good or bad, this election is upon us, and it is time, IMHO, for all of us to get our heads in the game.

Here is what Creigh will be talking about tomorrow, and what is at stake for all of us in November:

1. On jobs and the economy, do we want to move Virginia forward in an environment of economic justice and equal opportunity for all, or to we want to return to the failed economics of George Bush – the economic policies that time and again Bob McDonnell has extolled as his model. What did those policies bring us? Home foreclosures, bankruptcies, unemployment and fear. Sure, the rich folks did fine under George Bush, and the wealthy will do fine with Bob McDonnell as Governor. As for the rest of us…

2. On education, what are the records of each of these candidates? Creigh has been a defender of public education his entire career. His grandparents were teachers. What of Bob McDonnell? His record in the General Assembly has been one of taking resources away from public schools. Even now, Bob McDonnell wants to take money away from schools to fund his transportation plan. Does that make any sense whatsoever?

3. Bob McDonnell says social issues don’t matter. As for the real Bob McDonnell, the one who throughout his public career has been hostile to a woman’s right to choose, the one who has sought to defend discrimination against gay people, the one who has opposed stem cell research that could cure diseases like juvenile diabetes, well, as for that Bob McDonnell, like the projected image of the Great and Wonderful Oz, that Bob McDonnell urges us to pay no attention to that man behind the curtain. That man is the real Bob McDonnell, and we need to pay close attention.

The speech will be webcast at www.deedsforvirginia.com.