Video Fun Today

A couple of great videos for you.

#1 is a parody of the RNC ad against Harold Ford


#2 Allen Staffers assault First Year UVA Law Student Mike Stark.

For your Viewing Pleasure,

also, don't forget to check out the Andy Hurst Commercial




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".

Andy Hurst at GMU

Andy was at GMU last night meeting with students and taking questions. I had to leave halfway through to attend a class, but here are a few reviews by other bloggers.

Although, let me tip my hat to the girl who had the courage to say "global warming isn't real" in a room full of liberal academics.

Melissa from Ditzy Democracts was way to busy to attend, but did so anyway, here's what she had to say. The Importance of Being Earnest- Andy Hurst at GMU Review-ish

In all seriousness, I found Andy's sense of optimism and sincerity and earnest-ness (? is that a word?) to be refreshing, his sense of reality to be a welcome change and his sense of humor to be superb. We need him in Congress, like, yesterday.

Brian Scrafford from Ambivalent Mumblings also has a great post up, Coverage of Andrew Hurst at GMU

As Andy stated last night, however, voters can trust that Congressman Hurst will work towards instituting campaign and lobbying reform, both of which are unfulfilled promises that were promoted by the Republican party in the mid '90s, and make sure that Congress puts the best interests of the American public before playing partisan politics. Furthermore, unlike Congressman Davis who is running for a 7th term -- despite previously advocating a 6 term limit-- Andy guaranteed that he would keep his promise to only serve six terms as a Member of the House of Representatives.

As I stated earlier, Andy was also asked about his views on the Republican lead Congress’s recent decision to cut higher education funding by $12.7 billion. As Andy pointed out in his answer, these cuts will result in the average student having to pay an extra $2,000 on student loans. With the cost of college already resulting in students facing enormous amounts of debt, an extra $2,000 ultimately means that there is even more unnecessary stress on students and those still paying off their loans. Since billions of dollars are being spent on the War in Iraq, however, Bush and the Republican lead Congress felt that this was a burden that students just had to pay.

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".

GOP Chairman or Immature Child?

GOP Chairman or Immature Child?

Tom Kopko Chairman of the Prince William Republican Committee needs to take some lessons in etiquette and professionalism.

In published reports in the The Gainesville Times about the Prince William County debate between Andrew Hurst and Tom Davis for the VA-11 Congressional seat, Kopko is quoted as being extremely rude,

Kopko, who was sitting behind a table 15 feet or so away from the panel where the two candidates spoke, scorned comments by Hurst throughout the debate, though relatively quietly at first, saying "yeah, right" and sneering at the end of some of Hurst's comments.

After each candidate made their closing statements, their supporters cheered and applauded as loud as possible. However, when Hurst concluded his remarks and shook hands with Davis, Kopko yelled as the hall drew silent, "Go home, Andy!" The comment drew a chorus of boos from the standing room-only crowd that filled two rooms.

One man said, "That is so rude." A woman added, "That's unprofessional.

Mr. Kopko needs to apologize to Mr. Hurst for these rude statements.

Then again, I can’t really blame him: he was merely following the lead of the Tom Davis campaign which, in recent weeks has gone increasingly negative.

In the past few weeks Davis’s mailers have gone more and more negative, to the point that they are now personally attacking Hurst, alleging he is a “dangerous out-of-this-world liberal”. Claiming that Andrew Hurst wants amnesty for all illegal immigrants (not true) and attacking Andy for “defending criminals”. Well in our country everybody accused of a crime is not only allowed a defense lawyer, but is guaranteed one by our constitution. And the worst of it is, of the 9 cases that Davis cites, only 2 resulted in convictions meaning 7 of the 9 were declared innocent, might I ask what is wrong with defending the innocent?

Mr. Davis is running scared (having spent $2.6 Million as of 10/18) and Mr. Kopko is just plain rude and unprofessional. It is absolutely unacceptable for someone of Mr. Kopko’s stature to act in such a childish way, that behavior is not acceptable from a volunteer or supporter, and certainly not from a Republican Party Chairman.

If you want to get in touch with Tom Kopko and ask him to apologize, his e-mail is chairman@PWCGOP.org

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".

Please Ignore the Iraqi Civil War

The following quote is Tom Davis responding to President Bush's plan to privatize Social Security.

"I guess you could argue if it gets Iraq off the front page, it was probably a good thing at this point."

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".

Holy *&#!

WOW! Is all I really have to say. Tom Davis used to have this aura of invincibility, but not any more, his poll numbers must scaring the poop out of him. Look at his last financial report HERE Tom Davis has spent $2.6 MILLION. If he was so "safe" and at the same time thinking of running for Senate in '08, why would he be spending all his money now?

In 2004 he spent $1.8 Million, but at least $350,000+ went to other candidates (Federal $240,000 and VA State, $110,000 (Conveniently enough VPAP for “Friends of Davis – Tom” seems to be down, and only bad page on site, so I had to add up totals by hand meaning I could have missed some).

So in 2004, the most money that Davis could have spent on the race was $1.45 Million, a full $1.15 Million less then what he spent this year (with three weeks left when this last report was filed on 10/18), he must be Running Scared

For the record, this year he has only donated $3,100 to other candidates, a negligible amount.

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".

Andy Gets National Attention on DailyKos

There is a daily recurring diary on Daily Kos where cmanaster, donates $20 to a different candidate each day, and blogs about it in hopes of getting matching donations. As more people give to his selected candidates, through his Act Blue site, he ups his personal donation, so if this goes viral, it could create a big fundraiser, looking at his act blue site, the biggest receiving candidate was $2,400+ and the lowest was $20, so it really depends on community support.

Please, recommend the following diary on Daily Kos, and if you are able to at all, donate $20 on the diarist Act Blue page so hopefully we can get more money from the diarist.

VA-11 | My Daily Donation | E-13 | $20 to Andrew Hurst

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".

Hurst Launches TV Ad

We did it, thanks to our overwhelming support across the 11th District, we've become the first campaign ever to run TV ads against Tom Davis. But we need to raise another $50,000 to keep this ad on the air through Election Day.

Click here to contribute today.



Our polling shows that this race is very close, but it's critical that we communicate our message in these final weeks. Can you help us tell the truth about Tom Davis?

You and I know that Davis is little more than a rubberstamp for the Bush Administration.

You and I know that Andrew Hurst is the kind of principled leader we need in Washington.

But it's critical that we make sure voters across the district know what we know. Click here to contribute $500, $200, or the most you can afford today.

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".

Great Debate Round-Up

Criag's Musing has put up a great debate round up in two parts (links below). Craig's assesment is fair and non-partisan, check it out.

Hurst and Davis square off, a grand political spectacle

Hurst and Davis square off, part II

As I was writing this, I found a Traditional Media round up of the debate, for your reading pleasure.

Davis, Hurst square off for 11th by the Potomac News.

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".

Like the new colors?

Time for a little Meta-Hurst 2006 Blog,

Just changed the colors and format on the blog, what do you guys think? Like it, dislike it, like the old one better? Let me know.

-Nate

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".

Hurst Dominates Debate!

This just out from James Walkinshaw, Hurst campaign manager.

We are cleaning up the video, should be up soon.

Hurst Dominates Davis in PW Debate, Leaves 11th District Voters With a Clear Choice

Democrat Andrew Hurst dominated a debate last night against his opponent, Congressman Tom Davis (R-11). Nearly 300 people packed into the dining room of the Old Hickory Golf Club in Woodbridge to hear how Congressman Davis has supported the Bush agenda 90% of the time, continues to support the "stay the course" strategy in Iraq, and takes millions from corrupt special interests. Hurst stressed his vow to change the way business is done in Washington by fighting to implement his reform agenda.

"I'm not a professional politician like George Allen or Tom Davis," Hurst said. "But I believe in the issues I'm pushing and I'm disatisfied with my representation in Congress. I want to offer voters something different and something better."

Davis looked ill at ease throughout the event and often resorted to outlandish attacks unrelated to the issues at hand. In the final weeks of the campaign, Davis has grown increasingly desperate and has unleashed a series of negative and misleading attacks against Hurst.

"Congressman Davis looked like a fish out of water tonight," said James Walkinshaw, Hurst's campaign manager. "He's clearly having a tough time trying to explain his record of lock-step support for the Bush Administration. This man is fighting for his political life and it's not a pretty thing to watch."

Hurst and Davis differed on a number of important issues.

* On transportation, Davis continued to support a corrupt earmarking system that sends $250 million to build a Bridge to Nowhere in Alaska but leaves Northern Virginia with the 2nd worst traffic congestion in the nation and guarantees our permanent status as a "donor state" that sends more transportation dollars to D.C. than we get back. Hurst offered a reform proposal that would take politics out of transportation funding and guarantee extra funding for "high needs" areas like Northern Virginia. "Tom Davis has been in elected office here for 30 years and traffic has gotten worse every year," said Hurst. "How can he take credit for improving transportation?"
* On immigration, Davis attempted to shirk responsibility for Congress' inability to craft a comprehensive solution. Hurst highlighted the need to hire more border patrol agents and crack down on employers who knowingly hire undocumented immigrants. "Building a 700 mile fence on a 2100 mile border is not a real solution," said Hurst. "We need real solutions."
* On the war in Iraq, Davis continued to mimic Bush talking points. He offered no plan to bring our troops home and presented little more than a continuation of the Bush "stay the course" strategy. Hurst highlighted the need to elect new leaders who can guide our Iraq policy in a new direction to bring our troops home as soon as possible. "If you want a new course in Iraq," Hurst said. "You must vote for people like Jim Webb and I."
* On education, Davis continued to support the Bush position that No Child Left Behind is not an unfunded mandate. NCLB imposes strict requirements on local school systems, but is $40 billion underfunded. Educators, administrators and local school officials all agree that it is, indeed, an unfunded mandate. George Bush and Tom Davis disagree with those educators, administrators and local school officials.
* On energy, Davis reiterated his support for the Bush-Cheney energy bill that gave billions of dollars in tax breaks to rich oil executives while failing to invest in alternative energy sources. Hurst took Davis to task for supporting the bill and laid out his ideas to achieve energy independence. "We need to invest in wind, solar and other alternative sources of energy and we need to stop giving handouts to the big oil companies that fund campaigns like Mr. Davis'," said Hur

Hurst's closing summed up the campaign.

"Tom Davis takes money from special interests, puts it in his pocket, and then claims to represent you. I don't take money from special interests. When I go to Washington, I'll represent you and you alone."

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".

Tom Davis Doesn't Get It

Tom must have missed that day in Middle School when the teacher explains you can't answer a question, by using the question. See the recent Connection Newspaper candidate bio on Tom Davis.

9. While the economy has grown in the last five years, the wages of middle- and low-income Americans has stagnated. How would you address the income disparity between the very wealthy and the rest of the working America?

The best policies to improve incomes are those that promote economic growth

Tom, the question states that economic growth has occured, but incomes have stagnated.

Then there is this little nugget

For the following questions, please respond with a yes or no answer.

14. Do you believe that Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 decision that overturned state laws banning abortion, should be overturned?

This is a judicial decision, but I do not support amending the Constitution to overturn Roe; however, I do support a ban on partial birth abortions, late term abortions, and federal funding of abortions.

Tom, where is the yes or no?

Does anyone else find this amusing?

If Tom Davis can't fill out a simple questionare, how can he be an effective congressman?

Here is Andy's Candidate Bio

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".

Davis: "Race is tight"

Yesterday, Tom Davis Admitted the race was tighting, according to GCN.com

Davis, a Virginia Republican, acknowledged his own tight re-election campaign at a speech in Fairfax, Va., Thursday at the Government Electronics and Information Technology Association's annual Vision conference

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".

Can You Tell the Difference?

Kindler, over at Raising Kaine put up Take the Tom Davis Mailing Challenge!

Here is a sample

I have in front of me two glossy brochures from Tom Davis. One of them, sent a few months ago, was a Congressional update “prepared, published and mailed at taxpayer expense.” The other, sent more recently, was a campaign piece “Paid for by Tom Davis for Congress.”

In the tradition of those old commercials where people did blind taste tests of Coke and Pepsi, I am going to refer to these two brochures as “A” and “B”, offer some quotes from them, and see if you can tell which is which. Take the challenge – and see if you can tell the difference between Davis’s taxpayer-funded official updates and his campaign ads!

A: “Fighting for Fairfax’s Taxpayers, Families and Seniors.”
B: “Making Congress work for Northern Virginia families.”

A: “Tom Davis knows how important improving transportation and easing traffic congestion is to all of our families and neighbors.”
B: “Tom Davis is leading the charge to revitalize the overcrowded and aging Metro system.”

Can you tell the difference?

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".

Tim Kaine: Andy Hurst is Ready to Change Washington!

Below is an email sent out by Tim Kaine (D) Governor of Virginia asking his supporters to support Andrew Hurst candidate for the VA-11 Congressional seat as we take on Tom Davis.

 

Dear Friends,

I want to let you know about an important Congressional race that is critical to our efforts to continue moving Virginia forward.

Andy Hurst, a successful young lawyer and father of three, is the Democratic nominee in Virginia's 11th District. Andy is exactly the kind of person we need working for us in Washington. Andy worked his way through college and law school and is now a nationally-recognized expert on health care law. Recently, he was named the Under-40 Lawyer of the Year for his commitment to community service and pro bono legal work.

During my race in 2005 we saw that Virginia is ready for change. The people of the 11th Congressional District are ready to move in a new direction this year and Andy Hurst is exactly the right candidate to reform Washington.

Will you help Andy change Congress? Contribute to his campaign today.

Recent elections show that Andy's district is Democratic. In 2004, John Kerry lost by just a percentage point. Last year, thanks to your hard work, I won the 11th Congressional District by 13 points -- a 14-point swing in just one year!

There are so many important races this year. But Andy's is particularly important to our efforts to win control of Congress in November.

Will you help Andy get his message to voters in Virginia and build on the success of Governor Warner and myself? Make a contribution of $1000, $500, $250, $100, or $50 today.

People across the Commonwealth are excited about Andy's campaign. He began his grassroots effort in 2005. Andy and his team knocked on doors and phone banked for local candidates like Dave Marsden, Dave Bulova, Bruce Roemmelt, Greg Werkheiser and Earnie Porta.

Andy helped us win some great victories last year. Let's do our part now to help Andy. Please contribute to his campaign today.

Andy's TV ad will be on the air soon. The money he raises now is critical to keeping his message on the air, and winning on November 7. Visit Andy's website today at www.hurstforcongress.com to make a secure on-line donation and learn more about his campaign.

I hope you will join me as we work to change Washington by electing Andy Hurst to Congress.

Sincerely,

Tim Kaine

P.S. Every dollar counts -- especially when multiplied by thousands of other Virginians who are committed to change. Your contribution today will help make the difference for Andy's campaign.

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".

Hurst-Davis Debate Video

Thanks to Kenton Ngo and 750 Volts for putting up a video of the recent Hurst-Davis 11th District Virginia Congressional debate.





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".

Virginia Virtucon Documents Illegal GOP Activities!

Virginia Virtuacon (Virtual Convservative) recently put up a blog post Sunday Drive Sign Wars detailing the plethora of GOP signs; Davis, Allen, Stewart and Wolf, on major roads in Prince William County. The thing to remember here, it is illegal to put up signs on road medians or other public property in PWC, you can only place them on private property with the owners consent.

Virginia Virtucon, thanks for letting the world know that the Corrupt GOP does not care for local laws.

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".

WaPo: Davis Runs From Bush Record

Lisa Rein of the Washington Post has written a new article about the Andrew Hurst campaign today, It Just Seems Like Bush Is in the Race in which it describes how Tom Davis is trying to run away from his record of supporting President Bush.

the Northern Virginia congressman looks as though he is running for his political life.

says the article

"Think of everything the administration has done," Hurst said. "Ninety percent of it, Tom Davis has supported. It's a perfect storm for a guy like me."

This is in fact true, according to the DCCC Davis has voted with President Bush 87% and with the House GOP leadership, 89% of the time. Yet Davis claims he’s a moderate, according to the article,

"I have my own identity," Davis said. "Time and again, I have stood up for the values of this region.

.

Davis, who lives in Vienna with his wife, state Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis (R-Fairfax), is quick to distance himself from the Bush administration on some issues. "I've been critical of the administration in many aspects of their conduct of the war,"

Mr. Davis you are no moderate, and your electorate realizes this!

For another great article about how Davis is towing the Bush line, please see, Hurst Campaign Recognizes Need For Change, Davis Remains Loyal to Bush

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".

Canvasser? Protect Your Rights

From Virginia Progressive, Canvassers, know your rights…

… from the ACLU. You know, those people that protect the CONSTITUTION, even for the KLAN.

“The right of canvassers to enter onto private property to express their views is protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution,” the ACLU of Virginia’s Kent Willis wrote Tuesday in a letter to 185 police chiefs. “This right trumps any local anti-solicitation ordinance.”

The letter stems from a Sept. 23 confrontation between a Warrenton police officer and three volunteers from The Commonwealth Coalition, an organization that is campaigning against the proposed constitutional amendment that bans gay marriages and civil unions.

The officer told the volunteers they were in violation of Warrenton’s anti-solicitation ordinance and ordered them to leave the neighborhood, Willis said.

The ACLU maintains that political canvassing that doesn’t involve asking for contributions is not solicitation.

“The proper response of police officers to property owners who are merely irritated by the presence of canvassers in their neighborhood is to explain the rights of canvassers, not to demand that the canvassers leave the neighborhood,” Willis wrote in the letter.

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".

Hurst Pulls No Punches at Candidates Forum

Washington Jewish Weekly recently wrote up a great summary, Va. candidates spliton Iraq, immigrationIsrael barely mentioned as Beth El Hebrew hosts panel(sic), of a candidates forum held at the Beth El Hebrew Congregation at the Alexandria Reform synagogue's Brotherhood political brunch. Tom Davis did not attend and sent his wife Jeannemarie Devolites Davis while Andy Hurst represented himself.

Hurst said that Davis' consistent backing of President George W. Bush's "stay-the-course" Iraq policy is one of the chief reasons he is challenging Davis.
"Iraq is gong nowhere, the occupation is not fixing anything ‹ it's hurting things," said Hurst. If "you trust [Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld] with security, I have a bridge I want to sell you."
Iraq "won't stabilize until we leave," he said.

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".

Thieves Without Honor

It appears that certain Allen opperatives have taken to Stealing signs in the middle of the night from the elderly. This is just despicable behavior, and illegal, theft and trespassing as signs are personal property.

I will say that where I live, in McLean near Tysons, a lot of Webb signs in the medians have disapeared and have been replaced with Allen signs. Can't speak for private homes though.

If your Webb or Hurst signs are stolen, please contact me here at the Hurst campaign, nate@hurstforcongress.com, so we can give you a replacement, and maybe even a 4x8.

Let's flood them with our signs! Sea of Blue!

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".

Hurst: We Need Change, Davis: Stay the Course

Bryan Scrafford from Ambivalent Mumblings, put up a great post today, Hurst Campaign Recognizes Need For Change, Davis Remains Loyal to Bush.

Bryan was given an original statement from the Andy campaign for this piece and is coupled with great analysis by Bryan.

Unfortunately for the residents of Virginia’s 11th district, Tom Davis falls is one of the Republicans who blindly support President Bush’s policies on foreign affairs. On June 16, 2006, for instance, Tom Davis voted in favor of H. Res. 861. The resolution stated that it would be inappropriate to discuss any policy in Iraq besides staying the course. Furthermore, during a June 16 speech delivered on the floor of the House of the Representatives, Tom Davis all but declared that the terrorists would prevail if there was even discussion about whether or not Bush’s “Stay the Course” strategy was correct.

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".

Why moderates and Independents should consider voting for Andy Hurst

Recently, Craigs Musings publicly endorsed Andy Hurst for Congress, today he published a list of reasons on why moderates and independents should support Andrew Hurst this year even if they have voted for Davis in the past.

Included are...

* Tom Davis understands technology and its importance to the economy of Northern Virginia and has been instrumental in creating high paying jobs for the region;

Congressman Davis certainly has in-depth knowledge of the technology industry, especially as it pertains to northern Virginia. While it's probably a stretch to give him credit for igniting the region's technology boom, he has done some good work, especially in the area of government contracting.

But voters should know that Andy is well-versed in the needs of Northern Virginia's technology industry as well. In fact, he recently received the Young Lawyer of the Year award from the Bar Association in part for his pro-bono regulatory work on behalf of minority-owned technology start-ups. Rest assured that he'll work hard to bring high-paying, quality technology jobs to northern Virginia.

Head on over to Craig's Musings to read the rest.

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".

Senator Edwards and Governor Kaine Endorse Andrew Hurst

About a week ago, Senator John Edwards endorsed Andrew Hurst and held a fundraiser on his behalf. Virginia Governor Tim Kaine will also host a fundraiser benefiting Andrew Hurst on October 28th.



Last week, Senator Edwards said the following:

Senator Edwards inspired nearly 70 Hurst supporters yesterday by reminding us all that America "can do better."

"Under the leadership of George Bush and his Republican allies, we've lost standing in the world and failed to live up to our responsibilities as the only remaining superpower," he said.

"I'm proud to call Andy Hurst my friend and I'm proud to support his campaign."

“We are very excited to have the support of Senator John Edwards and Governor Tim Kaine. I look forward to representing the11th so we can take on corruption and stand up to President Bush’s misguided policies,” said Andrew Hurst.

This year it is extremely important that we take on Congressman Tom Davis, Chairman of Government Reform and Oversight who has refused to use his jurisdiction and investigative powers for what really matters. Davis has declined to look into the rampant corruption in Congress and in Iraqi reconstruction contracts as well as rejecting calls to scrutinize the recent Mark Foley scandal of which GOP leaders knew what and when.

Instead, Tom Davis, has sought to distract voters by investigating baseball and supporting a discriminatory amendment to the Virginia Bill of Rights.

Join Senator John Edwards and Governor Tim Kaine in supporting Andrew Hurst Today!

Click HERE to Volunteer or request bumper stickers or yard signs.

Click HERE to Contribute to the Hurst Campaign.

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".

What is Davis Waiting For?

Andy is renewing his Call for Tom Davis to Demand Hastert's Resignation, below is the announcement.

Hurst Calls on Davis to Demand Hastert Resignation

Congressman Davis remains unwilling to call for the resignation of his Republican colleague, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, despite recent revelations that Hastert and members of his staff knew of inappropriate e-mails from Rep. Mark Foley to underage pages and did nothing.

In a recent statement Davis said, "If any members of Congress, leadership or rank and file, were involved in covering up knowledge of Mr. Foley's sexually explicit messages, they should step down immediately." (Chicago Sun Times, 10/4/06)

Hastert himself has admitted he was informed of the e-mails more than a year ago and House Majority Leader John Boehner recently told ABCNews that he told Hastert of the e-mails and was left with the impression it was being "dealt with."  Hastert took no action to investigate the situation.

"Congressman Davis issues a statement saying anyone involved in the cover-up should step down.  Hastert was involved in the cover-up.  Davis should call on Hastert to resign," said James Walkinshaw, Hurst's campaign manager.  "Every day that goes by without a strong call from Davis for Hastert's resignation is another day that Davis puts his allegiance to the Republican Party ahead of common sense and basic honesty."

"Unfortunately this type of situation is common-place in the current Congress.  This is yet another example of a win-at-all-costs culture where holding on to power is more important than doing the right thing," said Andrew Hurst.  "Davis should demand Hastert's resignation immediately."

Given his ties to Foley and to the Republican leadership, Tom Davis has a unique responsibility to speak out.

    * Davis is a former Chair of the NRCC and self-described "leader" in the Republican Congress.

    * Davis chairs the Government Reform and Oversight Committee with oversight responsiblity for all federal programs, including the Page program.

    * Mark Foley was a major contributer to the NRCC during Davis' Chairmanship and served as the NRCC's "bridge to Hollywood." (CQ, 10/2/06)

"We will continue to call on Davis to demand Hastert's resignation," said Walkinshaw.  "Andrew Hurst believes Congress should put children's safety and well-being ahead of the crass obsession with preserving power.  We're confident that Congressman Davis will eventually come around to that view as well."

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".

Chairman Tom Davis Refuses to State What He Knew About Mark Foley!

What did Representative Tom Davis know about Mark Foley and his problem regarding sexual deviancy towards minors, specifically towards House Pages? The honest answer is that I don’t know, because Tom Davis refuses to answer the simple question of what he knew and when.

On Monday, His Democratic opponent for the US House(VA-11), Andrew Hurst, issued a statement asking Tom Davis, amongst other things, to come clean and inform the public and his constituents what he knew. There is reason to believe that Representative Davis may have known about Mark Foley's problem before the public scandal. Tom Davis was the Chairman of the NRCC directly preceding Tom Reynolds, in fact Reynolds was his hand picked successor. Furthermore, while Davis was Chairman, the NRCC received $210,000 from Foley. Additionally, Tom Davis is currently Chairman of the Government Reform and Oversight Committee which has jurisdiction over ALL federal programs, including the House Page program, yet refuses to investigate how this could have happened.

Tom Davis was recently quoted by the Associated Press…

Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., who served as a Senate page between 1963 and 1967, said Foley's attempts to socialize with pages went beyond the ordinary. Davis and other lawmakers may have taken their own pages to lunch at the Members' Dining Room at the end of the year, Davis said, but anything else was considered inappropriate.

Based on the above quote in which Tom Davis states “anything else was considered inappropriate”, I renew the call for Representative Davis to do the following things;
• Immediately disclose any personal knowledge you had of Rep. Foley's electronic communications. Various members of the Republican leadership knew of the illicit emails and did nothing. As a committee Chairman and former head of the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee, you must have been privy to these conversations. What, exactly, did you know and when did you know it?
• Call for the immediate resignation of Republican leaders like Tom Reynolds and Dennis Hastert who knew about the illicit communications for years but failed to investigate. Those who put politics ahead of the safety of children do not deserve to serve in Congress. Don't you agree?
• Use your position as Chairman of the Government Reform and Oversight Committee to open a full and complete investigation to determine who knew what and when. You had no qualms issuing a subpoena to Terri Schiavo as she lay on her death bed. Will you subpoena Hastert, Reynolds and others who failed to protect underage pages from a sexual predator?
• Demand that National Republican Campaign Committee Chair Tom Reynolds donate to charity any funds given by Rep. Foley to the NRCC. As NRCC chair, you accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from Mark Foley. Will you call on Rep. Reynolds to donate those funds?

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".

Tom Davis Refuses to Take Action on Foley!

Yesterday, Andrew Hurst Democratic candidate for Congress (VA-11) issued a statement asking Tom Davis, Chairman of Government Reform and Oversight Committee and former Chairman of the NRCC to do the appropriate thing and take action and due diligence on the Foley pedophilia scandal. Tom Davis has yet to even issue a response. (for the record, I e-mail Nick Meads Tom Davis’s campaign manager asking him for a statement, and received no response).

Here are the four specific actions that Tom Davis was asked to take.

1. Immediately disclose any personal knowledge you had of Rep. Foley's electronic communications. Various members of the Republican leadership knew of the illicit emails and did nothing. As a committee Chairman and former head of the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee, you must have been privy to these conversations. What, exactly, did you know and when did you know it?

2. Call for the immediate resignation of Republican leaders like Tom Reynolds and Dennis Hastert who knew about the illicit communications for years but failed to investigate. Those who put politics ahead of the safety of children do not deserve to serve in Congress. Don't you agree?

3. Use your position as Chairman of the Government Reform and Oversight Committee to open a full and complete investigation to determine who knew what and when. You had no qualms issuing a subpoena to Terri Schiavo as she lay on her death bed. Will you subpoena Hastert, Reynolds and others who failed to protect underage pages from a sexual predator?

4. Demand that National Republican Campaign Committee Chair Tom Reynolds donate to charity any funds given by Rep. Foley to the NRCC. As NRCC chair, you accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from Mark Foley. Will you call on Rep. Reynolds to donate those funds?

I would like to point you now to an independent website tomdavistruth.com which points out that Tom Davis should have known about Foley’s problems.

According to Roll Call: “nearly a dozen House GOP lawmakers and staffers have acknowledged that they knew of the initial batch of non-sexually explicit messages from Foley to a 16-year-old former House page, some of them for a year or more.
Tom Davis likely was one of the first to know. Davis worked closely at the NRCC with Reynolds especially in 2001-2002, since Davis would end his term at the end of the cycle in 2002. Davis was grooming Reynolds to head the NRCC after Davis would leave. Presumably this inner circle of high-level Republicans who knew about Foley would have included Tom Davis, since during that election year they worked intensely together and since this news would have a potentially devastating effect on their fund raising challenge.

The question to ask now is, when will Tom Davis take action, when will he declare what he knew and when (I hope he’s not waiting until GOP leadership straightens out their story), will he call for Hastert to resign, and will he use his power to investigate (he does in fact have jurisdiction).

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".

Hurst to Davis: Take Action Regarding Foley

The Hurst Campaign is demanding Tom Davis take action on the Foley Situation.

Democratic congressional candidate Andrew Hurst issued the following statement today regarding the controversy surrounding Rep. Mark Foley

"The disturbing revelations of inappropriate e-mail and instant messenger communications between Congressman Mark Foley and underage pages working at the Capitol have shocked our collective consciousness.

But perhaps more shocking is the fact that Republican leaders knew about these communications and did nothing.

The idea that members of Congress could sit by and watch while underage pages were preyed upon is almost too much to believe.

My opponent, Tom Davis, highlights his leadership and clout on Capitol Hill as reasons to re-elect him. But leadership is about much more than building pork-barrel projects and holding meaningless hearings.

Leadership is about standing up for what's right even when it might get you in trouble with your friends.

So today, I call on Congressman Davis to do the following things:


-Immediately disclose any personal knowledge you had of Rep. Foley's electronic communications. Various members of the Republican leadership knew of the illicit emails and did nothing. As a committee Chairman and former head of the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee, you must have been privy to these conversations. What, exactly, did you know and when did you know it?

-Call for the immediate resignation of Republican leaders like Tom Reynolds and Dennis Hastert who knew about the illicit communications for years but failed to investigate. Those who put politics ahead of the safety of children do not deserve to serve in Congress. Don't you agree?

-Use your position as Chairman of the Government Reform and Oversight Committee to open a full and complete investigation to determine who knew what and when. You had no qualms issuing a subpoena to Terri Schiavo as she lay on her death bed. Will you subpoena Hastert, Reynolds and others who failed to protect underage pages from a sexual predator?

-Demand that National Republican Campaign Committee Chair Tom Reynolds donate to charity any funds given by Rep. Foley to the NRCC. As NRCC chair, you accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from Mark Foley. Will you call on Rep. Reynolds to donate those funds?

-Congressman Davis' Government Reform and Oversight committee has responsibility to oversee federal programs, including the Page program. What kind of oversight did the committee provide in this instance? Not much, it appears.

Congressman Davis claims the benefits of leadership, but thus far has accepted none of the burdens."

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".

Should I be Nervous?

Should I be nervous about this, and is this illegal?

So, for a while now I have been writing posts about Tom Davis that are pretty negative, but I never thought it would come to this. Someone using a House.gov IP (using the internet in the capitol or from one of the House office buildings) has started to do opposition research, on me.

Let me be clear on this, someone, not from a campaign office, but using a federal computer, on federal property (and presumably on federal payroll) has been investigating me. (see picture at end of diary for documentation)

Now I can't prove that this was a Tom Davis staffer, only that it was a House Member or staffer. But I find this completely unacceptable.

I don't pay taxes to be researched and possibly attacked by government officials.

I'm not really sure exactly how Tom Davis feels about Civil Liberties because he missed the torture bill vote, but I do know that he supports the patriot act.



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".