Sunday, November 12, 2006

Final Post

Thanks again to everyone who read this blog and helped out on the campaign (see previous post for full thanks). This is my last post to this blog, I will leave the blog open for archival reasons (and well, because it's free).

I'll leave you with the following.



Nate de la Piedra is the Online Outreach Coordinator for the Andrew Hurst for Congress 2006 Campaign. The ideas expressed herein belong to Nate de la Piedra and do not necessarily represent those of Andrew Hurst, his advisors, staff, or "The Campaign".

Thank You!

In the "blockquote" is the Thank You note that Andy sent out. Before we get to that, I wanted to thank everyone that I met on this campaign. It was a tremendous experience and I learned a lot. It is working on this campaign that reminded me of why I work on campaigns for minimal pay and even less sleep.

As I move forward, myself and three other Hurst staffers (two that I had worked with before) are creating a PAC, Next Generation Democrats to financially assist candidates under the age of 40 (at all levels, dog catcher to President), and political operatives and campaign workers under the age of 25.

For all of you that helped, please remember the following two facts (in addition to what Andy points out in his letter)

1. In 2004, Tom Davis sent $240,000 to 39 candidates outside of his District, this year during the wave he was only able to send $3,100 to 3 candidates. We helped elect Democrats nationwide by forcing Davis to break the bank here at home.

2. At every single door that we knocked and phone that we called, and vote that we turned out for GOTV was given a message about Webb, and I honestly believe that at least 95% of Andy supporters were Webb supporters. Webb won the 11th by 25,000 votes, in as close a race as we had this year for Senate, please believe you played a major part in that.

Now from Andy himself,

I wanted to send you a note of thanks for all you did for my campaign for Congress.

This campaign accomplished amazing things. You and I began this effort with a candidate who never before ran for office, with no name recognition and no treasury -- only ideas on how to improve our representation and a passion to share them.

At the end, we received more than 100,000 votes, more than any other House challenger in all of Virginia. The race ended at 56%-44%, the closest margin by far of any House campaign in Northern Virginia. We won 19 precincts, and lost by a razor-thin margin in many others. Tom Davis received a challenge like he has never faced in his twelve years of incumbency.

Even more amazing is what you and I overcame in doing so well:

* We refused to take any special interest or PAC money, and nevertheless raised nearly $400,000 from individuals who cared about the future of our country. Davis, on the other hand, took money from every special interest or PAC who would give it to him, and spent more than THREE MILLION DOLLARS on his re-election campaign.

* We declined the invitation to engage in a negative campaign. We focused on Davis' record of support of the Bush administration, and kept our commercials and distributions focused on our positive message of change. Davis took a different tack, sending out a series of seven negative mailers calling me things such as "dangerous" and "extremist," attacking my service as an attorney and my New Jersey roots in attempting to smear me.

* We received little attention from the press, pundits, or the national Democratic Party apparatus, all of whom believed Davis' argument that he was untouchable by someone he considered a "goofball" and a "midget." As it turned out, our energized grassroots field campaign mobilized tens of thousands of voters who were hungry for change, and we far outperformed other campaigns that were given much more publicity and far greater resources.

When all was said and done, you and I got the 11th District electorate focused on things we care about -- like the War in Iraq, corruption in Washington, and improving our health care system. We took on a powerful Republican with all the advantages of incumbency, and fought him to a standstill. Resources that otherwise would have been sent to help George Allen and other Republicans in tight races were spent here. Tom Davis will now be a member of the minority in Congress, and that is no small part due to our hard work.

Elizabeth, the kids and I can't thank you enough for all you did for us. Our family made a lot of new friends in the campaign, and believe more than ever in the causes that inspired me to run in the first place. I look forward to thanking all of you personally in the next few weeks, to sharing stories and catching up. Elizabeth and I will continue to work for Democratic causes and candidates in the future, and would be delighted to work with you in doing so.


Nate de la Piedra is the Online Outreach Coordinator for the Andrew Hurst for Congress 2006 Campaign. The ideas expressed herein belong to Nate de la Piedra and do not necessarily represent those of Andrew Hurst, his advisors, staff, or "The Campaign".

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

DID YOU VOTE YET????

The turnout numbers that we are getting make this race seem extremely close, if you have not yet voted, PLEASE DO SO!!

If you have any questions about where to vote, do not hesitate to call us at 703.455.1014

Nate de la Piedra is the Online Outreach Coordinator for the Andrew Hurst for Congress 2006 Campaign. The ideas expressed herein belong to Nate de la Piedra and do not necessarily represent those of Andrew Hurst, his advisors, staff, or "The Campaign".

Happy Election Day!!

[UPDATE] I will be live blogging the election over at RaisingKaine, here is The Link

It's E-DAY!!!! WOOOO!!!

and it's better than Christmas.

If you want to help out the Hurst Campaign on Election Day, just swing by our office before 7PM

11198 Suite D2 Lee Highway
Fairfax, Virginia 22030

We're Going to Braddock, then we're going to Springfield, then we're going to Mason, then we're going to Gainesville, then we're going all the way to the Sheraton in Tysons to take back the Capital, BYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!(sorry coudn't resist)

Nate de la Piedra is the Online Outreach Coordinator for the Andrew Hurst for Congress 2006 Campaign. The ideas expressed herein belong to Nate de la Piedra and do not necessarily represent those of Andrew Hurst, his advisers, staff, or "The Campaign".

Monday, November 06, 2006

This IS What Democracy Looks Like!

Yesterday we caught wind that George Allen and Tom Davis were going to be having a rally at the Vienna Metro Station today at 7AM, so what happened? The Hurst campaign together with the Webb campaign and FCDC asked our supporters to be there to wave some signs and show Mr. Allen and Mr. Davis that this is not their turf and that they are not welcome here.

Read Raising Kaine's Account, Vienna Metro: Webb Supporters Out in Force; Allen Leaves in 5 Minutes for Lowell is a much better writer than I.

This morning, George Allen was scheduled to appear at Vienna Metro to greet commuters. Well, Allen showed up alright, but none of the 30-40 Webb/Hurst supporters there saw any evidence of Allen greeting commuters. Instead, Allen stayed for about 4 or 5 minutes, surrounded by his young white male supporters, and quickly hightailed it out of there without addressing the larger crowd.

Meanwhile, Frank Wolf stood next to Tom Davis, both looking miserable, with Frank Wolf occasionally checking his watch as if to say, "why the hell do I have to be doing this DEMOCRACY thing...ugh?" In contrast, Andy Hurst was his usual bubbly self, greeting anyone and everyone with a big smile on his face. The contrast between the unsmiling, unhappy, scared Republicans and the ebullient Democrats couldn't have been greater.

Wolf and Davis looking bored as almost all the Metro riders walk by without so much as a "hello".

AP Shot on the front page of CNN.com
Nate de la Piedra is the Online Outreach Coordinator for the Andrew Hurst for Congress 2006 Campaign. The ideas expressed herein belong to Nate de la Piedra and do not necessarily represent those of Andrew Hurst, his advisors, staff, or "The Campaign".

Sunday, November 05, 2006

Paid Canvassers URGENTLY Needed in Prince William County

Andrew Hurst for Congress and Jim Webb for Senate urgently need to fill Paid Canvass positions in Prince William County in Northern Virginia.

Come help defeat George Allen and Tom Davis, two of the worst rubber-stamping Republican members of Congress.

We are willing to pay $60 a day for working from 10AM to 7PM on Election Day November 7th. Not only will you get paid, but you will help turn Virginia Blue!

To apply, please contact Donald Brownlee at donald@hurstforcongress.com

Nate de la Piedra is the Online Outreach Coordinator for the Andrew Hurst for Congress 2006 Campaign. The ideas expressed herein belong to Nate de la Piedra and do not necessarily represent those of Andrew Hurst, his advisors, staff, or "The Campaign".

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Military Papers "Rumsfeld Must Go"!

That's right, you read this correctly, independent military newspapers representing all four branches of the United States Military will call for the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

From the Ross Report,

the an Joint editorial scheduled to appear on Monday in Army Times, Air Force Times, Navy Times and Marine Corps Times, calls for the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.


Now let's think about this, dozens of retired Generals from all the branches have called for the resignation of Rumsfeld, now their independent newspapers are calling for the same, when will President Bush awaken from his neo-con dreams and become aware of reality and his disastrous policies.

More importantly when will Tom Davis have the courage to stand up to this Administration which he has supported 90% of the time, when will we have real leadership in Washington?

If you want to change Washington you need to change the leaders you send there!

This year send Andrew Hurst and Jim Webb to Washington!

See below for full text and other analysis of how big this really is.

Time for Rumsfeld to go

"So long as our government requires the backing of an aroused and informed public opinion ... it is necessary to tell the hard bruising truth."

That statement was written by Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent Marguerite Higgins more than a half-century ago during the Korean War.

But until recently, the "hard bruising" truth about the Iraq war has been difficult to come by from leaders in Washington. One rosy reassurance after another has been handed down by President Bush, Vice President Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld: "mission accomplished," the insurgency is "in its last throes," and "back off," we know what we're doing, are a few choice examples.

Military leaders generally toed the line, although a few retired generals eventually spoke out from the safety of the sidelines, inciting criticism equally from anti-war types, who thought they should have spoken out while still in uniform, and pro-war foes, who thought the generals should have kept their critiques behind closed doors.

Now, however, a new chorus of criticism is beginning to resonate. Active-duty military leaders are starting to voice misgivings about the war's planning, execution and dimming prospects for success.

Army Gen. John Abizaid, chief of U.S. Central Command, told a Senate Armed Services Committee in September: "I believe that the sectarian violence is probably as bad as I've seen it ... and that if not stopped, it is possible that Iraq could move towards civil war."

Last week, someone leaked to The New York Times a Central Command briefing slide showing an assessment that the civil conflict in Iraq now borders on "critical" and has been sliding toward "chaos" for most of the past year. The strategy in Iraq has been to train an Iraqi army and police force that could gradually take over for U.S. troops in providing for the security of their new government and their nation.

But despite the best efforts of American trainers, the problem of molding a viciously sectarian population into anything resembling a force for national unity has become a losing proposition.

For two years, American sergeants, captains and majors training the Iraqis have told their bosses that Iraqi troops have no sense of national identity, are only in it for the money, don't show up for duty and cannot sustain themselves.

Meanwhile, colonels and generals have asked their bosses for more troops. Service chiefs have asked for more money.

And all along, Rumsfeld has assured us that things are well in hand.

Now, the president says he'll stick with Rumsfeld for the balance of his term in the White House.

This is a mistake.

It is one thing for the majority of Americans to think Rumsfeld has failed. But when the nation's current military leaders start to break publicly with their defense secretary, then it is clear that he is losing control of the institution he ostensibly leads.

These officers have been loyal public promoters of a war policy many privately feared would fail. They have kept their counsel private, adhering to more than two centuries of American tradition of subordination of the military to civilian authority.

And although that tradition, and the officers' deep sense of honor, prevent them from saying this publicly, more and more of them believe it.

Rumsfeld has lost credibility with the uniformed leadership, with the troops, with Congress and with the public at large. His strategy has failed, and his ability to lead is compromised. And although the blame for our failures in Iraq rests with the secretary, it will be the troops who bear its brunt.

This is not about the midterm elections. Regardless of which party wins Nov. 7, the time has come, Mr. President, to face the hard bruising truth:

Donald Rumsfeld must go.


CNN Chimes in
At the Time of this printing (12:18 PM Nov. 4th) foxnews.com still doesn't have a front page story about this (big surprise).


Nate de la Piedra is the Online Outreach Coordinator for the Andrew Hurst for Congress 2006 Campaign. The ideas expressed herein belong to Nate de la Piedra and do not necessarily represent those of Andrew Hurst, his advisers, staff, or "The Campaign".

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Because of Iraq




Nate de la Piedra is the Online Outreach Coordinator for the Andrew Hurst for Congress 2006 Campaign. The ideas expressed herein belong to Nate de la Piedra and do not necessarily represent those of Andrew Hurst, his advisers, staff, or "The Campaign".

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

New Hurst Ad and GOTV

Tom Davis has spent weeks launching misleading attacks on Andy's immigration policies. But do we really know where Davis stands on immigration?

This video exposes the hypocrisy and blatant pandering that characterize Tom Davis. Can we really trust this man to deal with our immigration problems?

Where Does Davis Stand on Immigration?


Volunteer to Get Out the Vote
Months of hard work now come down to the final six days. We'll be working every day between now and Tuesday to turn out Democrats across the 11th district.

Can you volunteer to help Get Out the Vote?

Email matt@hurstforcongress.com to find out about our phone banks, lit drops and polling place staffing. There's something for everyone.


Contribute To Our GOTV Effort
Getting Out the Vote is not cheap. We need to purchase door hangers, folders, highlighters, water, snacks, and a host of other items to keep our volunteer army going.

Can you contribute today to help fund our GOTV effort?

Your contribution of $50, $100 or $500 could be what puts us over the top on Tuesday. Click here to contribute.

Tom Davis is spreading his special interest money around the district to buy the type of organization we've built through your volunteer efforts. Don't let Tom Davis buy this election.

Click here to prove that everyday people are still more powerful than lobbyists and corrupt special interests.
Nate de la Piedra is the Online Outreach Coordinator for the Andrew Hurst for Congress 2006 Campaign. The ideas expressed herein belong to Nate de la Piedra and do not necessarily represent those of Andrew Hurst, his advisers, staff, or "The Campaign".

Will Washington Post Print LTE?

A supporter recently sent in a letter to the editor of the Washington Post, let's see if they have the courage to print it. I'm guessing they won't print it, so I'll supply the letter below for you all to read.

To the Editor:
None of you folks on the Washington Post editorial Board who were involved with the recent editorial describing Representative Tom Davis (R-VA) as a “moderate” are Republicans from Davis’s Congressional District.

I know this because if any of you were Republicans -- with a “big R” -- from Virginia’s 11th Congressional District, you would have received the flyer from the Davis campaign describing his democratic opponent Andrew Hurst as an “extremist” because he is a “lawyer with a proven record of defending (gasp!) criminals.”

It used to be the case that “moderate” Republican lawyers like Tom Davis would stick up for what even they considered -- until now -- the noble calling of their fellow legal professionals who provide counsel for those accused of crimes.

Before he became our second President -- a 34-year-old John Adams successfully defended the British soldiers who fired on and killed a group of American patriots in what became known as the Boston Massacre. Adams later described this representation as “one of the most gallant, generous, manly and disinterested actions of my whole life, and one of the best pieces of service I ever rendered my country.” Apparently, Tom Davis would also describe John Adams as an “extremist.”

Representative Davis has his eye on the Senate seat that he hopes John Warner (R-VA) is going to leave vacant in 2008: perhaps this is just Davis’s way of showing that he can run a campaign as nasty as George Allen is in order to gain street cred with the “big Rs” who he would like on board for his Senate bid. Perhaps Andy Hurst -- an attractive democratic candidate in Davis’s predominately democratic district -- has got Davis worried, and his “big R” Republican campaign consultants advised him to sling a little right wing muck with targeted mailings that would go only to “big R”s. All the rest of us would get bright blue brochures with Davis’s smiling faces, bragging about the pork he brought home with no mention of Davis’s party affiliation, his “big R” voting record, or his apparent contempt for the Sixth Amendment right to counsel.

Whatever the reason, its time we realized that anyone who slings muck at fellow lawyers because they “defend criminals” is no friend of the constitution, and no “moderate.” If we are stupid enough to pretend otherwise and re-elect Davis, we should expect much more immoderation from him as he sets out to convince his party faithful that he is enough of a Neanderthal to be their standard bearer in the Senate.

Sincerely,

Marc Greidinger
Springfield, VA
mpoweru@cox.net



Nate de la Piedra is the Online Outreach Coordinator for the Andrew Hurst for Congress 2006 Campaign. The ideas expressed herein belong to Nate de la Piedra and do not necessarily represent those of Andrew Hurst, his advisers, staff, or "The Campaign".