MyEndorsement: Bob McDonnell for Governor of Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia is suffering. Our unemployment rates are rising, our healthcare and educational systems are failing, and our transportation system is a joke. We need real solutions to these problems, we need innovation, dedication, strength, and boldness. These are the qualities which Bob McDonnell embodies. From the beginning, he has worked to offer solutions to the issues that most affect the people of this commonwealth, rather than focusing on running a smear campaign as his opponent has done. He has found creative ways to fill the budget gaps that our state is coping with, ways that will work to remedy our Commonwealth's fiscal problems without cutting funding from essential programs such as education, as the current administration has done. He will work to instill a public funded charter school program within the commonwealth, creating competition that will ensure a better education for our students, he will work to promote adequate pay for all of Virginia's teachers and ensure that we hire only the best teachers available to educate our children. When asked by Leon Harris of WJLA-7 News in Washington DC what he plans to do to reform the healthcare system in Virginia, he gave a multitude of viable options, including TORT reform, Group Insurance sales for small businesses, rewarding companies who encourage healthy habits of their employees, focusing on prevention, and calling on Insurance companies to cover preventative treatment such as mammograms, while his opponent only referenced pooling health insurance for small businesses. Though I would appreciate a consideration of the public option, in some form, neither candidate seems to view it as a viable alternative to the status quo, therefore it is not pertinent in my decision making. On transportation especially, McDonnell has proven that he has what it takes. His plan on transportation will include light rail, a widening on I-64 and I-81, an emphasis on mass transit, as well as expanding Metro to Dulles. Growing up in both NoVA and Hampton Roads, McDonnell has a clear understanding of what the majority of Virginian's need in terms of transportation reform. Currently, Northern and Southeastern Virginia only retain roughly 25% of the tax dollars they send to Richmond. As Governor, McDonnell will work to end this disproportionate allocation of funds in order to ensure that both Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads get their due. Additionally, McDonnell has worked to provide innovative solutions regarding how to pay for transportation funding, including revenue from the sale of liquor stores and offshore oil drilling. While this plan is not perfect, it is different, it is new, it is potentially effective, and it is what Virginia needs right now. Contrast that with the plan proposed by Sen. Deeds, one which focuses primarily on raising the gas tax, putting even more financial strain on Virginia's families, and the choice is clear. In all, Bob McDonnell is a man of character and of integrity, he has proved that with his service to this nation and to this commonwealth. He is a man of great faith and great ingenuity, who has run a campaign that remained largely unfettered by relentless, baseless attempts at a character assassination from his opponent. This is a man who will continue the progress Virginia has made over the past eight years and who will, in my estimation, make an exceptional governor for the state of Virginia. So, with that said, I submit to you, for your consideration and vote, Mr. Robert F. McDonnell for Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Bob McDonnell on the Campaign Trail

myOpEd: Iran... and why we MUST help

There comes a point when a society is faced with the decision to either accept the status quo, or fight for their freedom. A point where each and every member of said society must decide that enough is enough, that tomorrow must bring hope and possibilities, and that they must be the ones to lead the charge of this revolution, both for themselves and their posterity.

We see this now in the reformation taking place in Iran. We see the people, of all ages and backgrounds, yearning to be free, to be recognized, to have a voice. Now, as these brave individuals do what many of us have, thankfully, never had to, we must stand with them in their fight for equality, for justice, and for liberty. For too long, they have been oppressed, and now it is their turn to take back their nation, their government, and their basic human rights.

As Americans, we know how vital this struggle is. It is a struggle we were able to overcome more than 200 years ago, because we believed in ourselves, and had other world powers believe in us as well. Now, it is our chance to return the favor and begin a new chapter in our relationship with Iran and the entire middle east. This is a battle that can be won, but it is not one that any society must go at alone. The government of Iran has banned the foreign press access to record these protest, they have shut off cell phone, text message, and social networking use throughout the nation, forcing the protesters and citizen journalists to risk their lives in spreading the message to the outside world. Government allied police officers and soldiers are beating, brutalizing, and killing protesters in an attempt to quell the uprising, but we must not let these cries for help fall on deaf ears!

So, I ask that each and every one of you support these valiant efforts of these brave individuals who are not unlike ourselves in their desire for peace, liberty, and prosperity. Show your solidarity by wearing green bands or ribbons. Raise awareness and support by speaking to your elected officials, urging them, and the president, not to remain idle during this courageous revolution. Spread the word by posting your support of those fighting on your Twitter or Facebook status. Please help, help these people, these fellow human beings realize their dreams to attain the same basic democratic rights that so many of us take for granted. This is our chance to make a difference and change an entire civilization for the better as we stand with them in their fight to stand up, speak out, and be heard.

myWork

The sun had yet to appear over the horizon as I arose from what was more a nap than a good night's sleep. Heat and humidity still hung in the air on this dark, cloudless morning as I made my way to work, still groggy from just having woken up. I suppose it would be logical that the past four days of 12 to 14 hour shifts, coupled with less than adequate sleep would have caught up to me, but after six months, the day had arrived, and I was running on pure adrenaline.

Election Day in Virginia can be an exciting and stirring occasion, but Election Day in June in Virginia? Not so much.

Everyone on the Brian Moran campaign knew that the turnout would be extraordinarily low (especially considering I was the only one to take a risk and call 250,000+ in the campaign pool), and we were right. As the voters slowly trickled in through the doors from six in the morning to seven at night, no need to contend with lines or even a minor wait, I waited, and watched, doing my best to keep my nerves under control while working to hand out our incredibly modest lit (black and white ink on flimsy computer paper), trying to sway any undecided voters.

Voters came and went, passing through a jungle of campaign representatives vying for their vote. In the grand scheme of things, I suppose that standing on a sidewalk, shoving paper at voters while shouting "the only candidate with a comprehensive energy policy to...", or "the only candidate with 20 years of experience fighting for the families of Virginia by...", is a rather insignificant task. However, in that moment, in the 'heat of battle', it feels like the most important job in the world.

I could never understand how someone could be undecided about a race until they reached the polls, or, at the very least, not informed on who the candidates were that were vying for the office. Perhaps it's just me, or perhaps it's everyone else. Perhaps I am too 'intense' about politics, or perhaps I am just informed, just passionate, and perhaps the rest of the people in this nation should either get informed and go vote, or stop complaining. But I digress...

At seven o'clock, after the storms that had commandeered our campaigning had passed, after the last of the voters had strode through the doors of Nelson Elementary School, and after the petite, aged woman poked her head out of the gymnasium door and yelled, in an unexpectedly powerful, yet humorously cartoonish voice "The polls are closed", we all gave ourselves a round of applause, a pat on the back, and started to close up shop.

The tension could have been cut with a knife. I ran around the school, to the street and back and everywhere in between, pulling up our signs from the muddy, saturated ground. There we stood, three different groups from three different campaigns. In the beginning of the day, we were strangers, even rivals, but as time went on, we became friends, we became a team and, in some strange way, the seven o'clock mark was a bittersweet end.

Sweet. Sweet because it marked the end of a day filled with oppressive heat, frightening storms, and swarms of gnats and flies that were, quite literally, eating us alive. Sweet because it marked an end to the sleepless nights, to the exhaustion, and to the unrelenting stress.

Bitter. Bitter because, simply put, it marked the END. Not only the end of our day of teamwork and camaraderie, but the end of something more. It was the end of, at least for me, six months of blood, sweat and tears. Six months of working every day to see that the man I BELIEVED in was given a shot at governing the state I have called home my entire life, and giving this Commonwealth a shot to become one of the most progressive states in the nation. Six months of growing to know, love, and respect the incredible people I worked with who ran this campaign so valiantly, and so selflessly, because they believed in this cause as well. It was the end of ALL THIS, and it was hard to see it go.

I remember swarming the door of the school as the results were announced, clamoring to get a glimpse of how MY race had turned out.

McAuliffe 140, Moran 99, Deeds 17. That's good, I thought, that's good. I thought it, and I verbalized it, continually to myself and to others, I suppose I found it to be my last ditch effort to convince the universe that this one was going in Brian's direction. I immediately got into my car, pulled away, and got on the phone to call in the results. Jessica, the director of the campaign in Hampton Roads, didn't pick up on the first ring, so I called again. "What's up Nate?"

"Jessica, I have the results from Nelson, do you want them?"
Was that a serious question?
"From Nelson? Okay, go ahead"
I repeated them.
"Is that good?" I stammered, "That's good right?"
"Yeah Nate, that's good."
The excitement from her voice had been replaced by the same stress and exhaustion that had overtaken me. We knew it was over, now it was just a question of how it was going to end.

I raced back to campus, to the house where I was staying with some friends, and bolted through the door.
"What's up Nate?"
"Not much."
"You good?"
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine, I'm good"
I worked to hide the fact that I was actually having a minor meltdown that I hadn't felt in a long time.

I rushed over to the Television, but couldn't for the life of me, figure out how to turn it on, much less which one of the remotes to use. I eventually gave up and sat down at the kitchen table, trying my hardest to join in on the conversation, but it was no use. They asked me if I was okay, why I was so frazzled, and I tried to explain it, but, at this point, I can't even recall what I said, everything between seven and eight o'clock that Tuesday night is a blur. I couldn't keep from knowing any longer, so I asked, calmly, for the computer, and immediately logged on to as many election and news sites as I could think of, as if the information on one would vary from all the others. What I saw made my heart sink.

Deeds 51%, McAuliffe 26%, Moran 23%. This couldn't be happening. No. It, it just couldn't. After six months of work. After one of the largest grassroots efforts in the history of Virginia gubernatorial campaigns, after countless appearances on MSNBC, and local radio stations, this couldn't be happening. I looked at the precinct count, 36% of the votes had been tallied.

I knew I was wrong for even thinking it, but I somehow convinced myself that at turn around was possible. I looked at the vote tallies, county by county, precinct by precinct. I knew where our strong holds were, and I knew that if we could just eek out wins in Northern Virginia and Hampton, and remain competitive in the Western part of the state, as well as Richmond, we would have this. But that was not the case. NoVA was supposed to be our sure fire path to victory, and we didn't just lose there, we were crushed there.

The votes came in quickly, quicker than I had expected, and with each new update, my hopes for a comeback grew smaller and smaller. Until finally, at eight o'clock on the muggy Tuesday night, it ended. Creigh Deeds was declared the winner and, almost immediately, concession statements were posted on the other candidate's websites. It was over. Six months, over.

I didn't know what to do. I wasn't sad enough to cry, wasn't happy enough to let it go. I sat on the front porch for over an hour, calling everyone I knew who helped out with the campaign, or who voted for Brian, thanking them on behalf of Brian Moran's gubernatorial campaign, telling them how much their support meant to us. Perhaps it was genuine, or perhaps it was for my own sense of closure, I honestly don't know. I just remember how impossible coming back in off that porch seemed, how incredibly arduous every forced smile, every slight laugh became from that point on throughout the night, and I hated it.

I came down there to work on this campaign, and now that I had time, all that I really wanted to do was catch up with the people I hadn't seen in nearly a month, but I couldn't. I couldn't get past this loss, I couldn't get over how... unfair it all was. This was our race to win, this was our chance to succeed, this was our message to spread, and now it was gone, done, over. What was I supposed to do?

I had defined myself through this campaign. I was: Nate Morris, intern on Brian Moran's gubernatorial campaign. Nate Morris, Coordinator of Students for Brian Moran at Christopher Newport University. Nate Morris, Interim Co-Director of Virginians for Brian Moran's Hampton City Field Office. And now I had no title, I was just... Nate Morris.

I suppose, in the end, that was what I had to realize. That I was just Nate Morris. That this title was only temporary, and that once I let it define me, I let its loss ruin me.

I don't regret a single second spent working for Brian Moran's campaign for governor. In fact, it was an experience that I wouldn't trade for anything. Nor do I regret becoming impassioned about this cause, and devoting myself to it, especially as election day neared. However, I DO regret allowing it, and its loss, to define me. I regret becoming so self consumed following the end of the campaign that I was unable, for a time (all be it a short period of time), to recognize and be thankful for all of the other blessings I have in my life. It was okay for me to be sad about the loss and the end of this campaign, it was NOT okay for me to be devastated by it.

Overall, however, as I stated before, this was an experience that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. I will use the lessons learned throughout this journey to grow, and will see it as just that, a journey in my life, not a definition of my life. And, after all, there were several positives that came out of this campaign, including the fact that I won the pool... thank you to the 319,177 people who voted.

myEndorsement of Krystal Ball for Congress

It is a rarity when an individual, completely devoid of political influence or a hunger for power, steps into the limelite and takes on a fight that they could just as easily have avoided. It is a rarity when a community can look to a fresh face with a sense of hope and a sense of pride, knowing that this individual has the community's best interest at heart. Today, I can say, that a rarity has occurred in the great state of Virginia. Krystal Ball, a young mother from Fredericksburg has answered her call to duty, and is working tirelessly to ensure that the people of Virginia's first congressional district are given the opportunity to have a representative that will fight soley for them and their families. Inspired by the desire to give her daughter, as well as all children, the best future possible, Krystal's passion and motives are true and undeniable. She promises to bring the 1st District, as well as the entire Commonwealth, "healthy communities", where good jobs, a clean environment, a well funded and well structured educational system, and access to affordable health care will ensure that all citizens are given the best possible chance to succeed and fulfill the American dream. I am so proud, as a Virginian, and as a friend, to offer my full support and my public endorsement to Krystal Ball as she embarks on this remarkable journey, and it is my hope that everyone who wants to see a better future for our posterity realized will take the time to see what Krystal and her campaign have to offer them, and the state as a whole.
Thank You.
www.kbforcongress.com

myLove for Ali Procopio

Ali Procopio is by far THE BEST human being that God ever created. She always tries to drown me in my own pool, always threatens me with physical harm, and, in all honesty, is always there to listen when I need someone to talk to. I met her in Ms. Carey's Spanish 3 class at Osbourn Park High School. At that time, we had gone ghetto and were having class in trailers. We sat next to eachother in class and started talking one class period before the lesson began, and have been friends ever since.
She's just awesome. And this is the only way she would read my blog. You're welcome. Haha.

myPolitics

For some people, politics is a pain, for me its a passion. I don't view politics or politicians from a cynical point of view, instead I work to see this political system as one that has been created to help those who cannot help themselves, and I look to support "politicians" who, I believe, hold a similar ideology. In my mind, if you are seeking, or holding office for your own benefit, if you are in it for the power, the money, or to climb the political ladder, then you shouldn't be "in it" at all. However, if you are looking to serve a greater purpose, if you are looking to give a voice to those who have so long been forgotten, and looking to resolve the issues that have, for so long, been allowed to fall by the wayside, then you are "in it" for the right reasons, and you will have my support. If we can get past our preconceived notions that ALL politicians are the same, and if we can get past our MASSIVE egos and work to see life from the perspective of someone with whom we have nothing in common, then maybe, just maybe, we will be able to use this incredible system of government as it was originally intended, for the PEOPLE.