EMAIL FROM BYRNE CAMPAIGN

LOVE IT!!!!!

----------------------------------

Dear Friend,

Yesterday, the Huffington Post began to expose our opponent’s hypocrisy.  Claiming to be against the war in Iraq from the beginning, Leslie’s opponent is employed for one of the most secretive war profiteers in the world.  In fact, it was a highly-placed executive from his company who made the case for the Iraq war in the first place! Can he really claim to be against the war if he was lining his own pockets with the profits? 

This just underscores the real choice we have in this election. 

CONTRIBUTE HERE

Just three weeks from now, on June 10th, we have the chance to elect a true progressive.  Leslie Byrne has always stood by her constituents.  She opposed the Iraq war from the outset, sponsored such legislation as the Family and Medical Leave Act in Congress, and has always protected a woman’s right to choose. 

With your contribution of $35, $75, $150 or $250 today, we can send a clear signal that we want a progressive Democrat to go to Congress and not someone whose concern for war profiteering is determined by his run for office.  Can you help today?

We have been working hard to take our message of progressive change to voters across Northern Virginia and the response has been overwhelming.  But with election day around the corner, we have many more people to reach and need to continue our aggressive voter contact efforts. 

This week, your contribution of:
$35 will pay for literature handouts in one precinct;
$75 will feed our fabulous volunteers;
$150 will keep our volunteer phone banks dialing for three nights;
and $250 will send direct mail to 450 primary voters.
Almost 2,300 contributors have invested in Leslie’s campaign for progressive change.

Please click here to make your secure online contribution of $35, $75, $150, $250 -  or whatever you can give - and join the Byrne Brigade today!


Sincerely,

Joe Fox
Campaign Manager, Byrne for Congress


P.S. – Please don’t delay in making your contribution.  We need to put Leslie, a true progressive, in Congress!

Comments

[Joel Rutstein]

Leslie needs to put this message out under her own name, not Joe's. She also needs to separate the message from a fundraising appeal. She needs to put it on her website. She needs to say it publicly every chance she gets. She needs to confront Gerry on it in any debates that are left before June 10. The issue is simple and stark. Gerry claims he was antiwar, but can't prove that he ever went public with it. All the while he was working for an extremely pro-war company. He can't have it both ways. Until he can prove otherwise, it's fair to conclude that he put his pocketbook before his principles. If the next Congress is going to be an ally of President Obama's new way of doing business, I hope my fellow 11th District residents share my view that we would rather have a representative who has demonstrated the moral courage necessary to right the wrongs of the Bush Administration and get us on the right path going forward.

Did he mean "employed by"?

Also, it's good Leslie didn't put this out under her own name, because this is plainly malicious. SAIC isn't a "pro-war" company, it's a company which provides the military and national security apparatus with much needed equipment, like properly armed Humvees and the like. Unless Leslie is opposed to giving the troops the equipment they need?

Yes, they make a profit, but isn't that the point of private industry?

[Joel Rutstein]

You don't have to believe either me or the anonymous troll. Simply visit - http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/03/spyagency200703 -
for the truth about SAIC.

Bad Company.

Bad Candidate.

[Joel Rutstein]

It's hard to tell that the following actually is Walkinshaw's reply to Fox, because he doesn't have the courage to name names, though he does have the temerity to yet again claim Connolly is antiwar.

If there's any candidate in this race who represents the "old politics" it's Boss Connolly. When Connolly doesn't deny criticisms made of him and claims to be disappointed in the negative turn the race has taken, he not only looks guilty, he looks out of touch with reality. We definitely don't need our own version of Bush in a bubble.

Dear Friend,

Fear. Division. Negativity. All part of the politics of the past.

Here in the 11th District, we're ready to move beyond those tired, old politics of the past. We're ready for a new kind of politics -- a politics that focuses on getting things done by bringing people together, rather than tearing each other down.

A negative, divisive primary serves no one but our Republican opponent. That's why our campaign has been focused on the issues that matter: ending the war in Iraq, reversing the Bush economic policies and finding solutions to our health care crisis.

Unfortunately not everyone in this race shares that view.

A few weeks ago, one of our opponents launched the first negative attack of the campaign. We warned you then that it would be the first in a series of vicious, misleading personal attacks. I'm sorry to say that our warning was accurate.

Today, that very same opponent launched another personal attack. We're 26 days from the primary and desperation has set in. Reckless attacks have replaced reasonable discourse and civil discussion has given way to character assassination.

But there is something you can do. You can help us raise the resources to defend against these attacks.

We can make a statement right here and right now that we're ready for a new kind of politics. We can make a statement that fear, division, and negativity have no place in our Democratic Party.

In just 6 days, we face the final reporting deadline of the primary. We need to raise $6,000 from our online donors to have the resources to defend against the onslaught of negative attacks. Can you help?

We're used to facing these kinds of attacks from Republicans. But unfortunately, for the next 26 days, we'll be attacked by a fellow Democrat. It's critical that we send a strong message to reject the politics of the past.

Contribute today to help us reach our goal and send a clear statement!

Best regards,

James Walkinshaw
Campaign Manager

I am nuetral in this race so far.

Is the Byrne campaign the only one attacking or has Connolly as well?

[Not Larry Sabato]

Gerry has been attacking first- he's been ripping and lying about other Democrats for over a decade. I'm glad someone is finally handing him the same back in his face.

[dems4dem]

I've been bombarded by mail from both although mostly from Gerry. Not a single attack piece between them.

I have to take exception to attacking someone who works for a Defense contractor. Look at the demographics of the district and how many folks work for defense contractors. Going after them will only lose votes in the general election and possibly keep this seat in Republican hands.

[novamiddleman]

7:21 you are too smart for the democratic party

[bwana]

Given how large an employer SAIC is, I have to wonder how smart this tactic will prove to be...

She's sinking......
Fast. Badly run campaign. Too much emphasis on SAIC. Emplyees will vote in droves for Connolly. Byrne not making her case.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gCs3H8tN4s

[anon 7:21]

Thanks novamiddleman. I can't stand Gerry but this attack just hurts Dems in the long run. And not just at the CD level but at all levels. Why piss off roughly 20% of the workforce in PWC and Fairfax county to pander to the far left of our party?

[novamiddleman]

anon 7:21

Along the same lines the anti NAFTA pro union message isn't exactly helping in this district either

Not to worry though. I still think the district is blue enough for you guys to win. In all fairness, the demographics and voting patterns show you guys should have won this district a couple cylces ago. We got lucky having Tom for the last several elections.

*yawn* more "Leslie rules, Gerry drools" stuff.

[Joel Rutstein]

Assuming the SAIC apologists aren't just trolls here, I'm sure the people of Houston loved Enron once upon a time, and the people of Wherever, Arkansas still love Wal-Mart. There ought to be a way to criticize a major employer, especially when it comes to morality and life and death issues like a pre-emptive war. For all we know there may be a significant number of employees who are conflicted about SAIC, but are afraid to speak out and would welcome our criticism. Moreover, we can have, and should demand, that the employers in our community uphold high moral standards. And, before I hear from any free-market apologists, there's no way you can prove that a high profit margin and high moral standards are mutually exclusive.

Anyone who writes "employed for" is too stupid to run a major political campaign.

Leslie's done. Put a fork in her. She's been out-campaigned and out-classed by a smarter and much more competent candidate.

Maybe now she'll (finally!) just go away. We'd hoped that she learned her lesson in '94. Fairfax doesn't want her.