Last Friday evening, West Virginia State Sen. John Unger held an Eastern Panhandle campaign kick-off event in Martinsburg, W.Va. (lots of pictures here). After reading so much about Unger–both good and bad–from fellow Democratic activists and Republican concern trolls trying to Draft Anne Barth, I really didn’t know what to expect. Maybe all that ink-spilling had lowered my expectations… whatever the reason, I was pleasently surprised. It was an impressive start for his campaign for WV-02.
Follow below the break for my full report.
A late start
We all waited a while for Rep. Alan Mollohan (WV-01) to arrive from D.C. [As any of us who regularly drive from DC can tell you, arriving at Martinsburg at 5:30pm on a Friday afternoon is a tricky driving task!] I did heard Mollohan made it later in the evening for the Berkeley County Democratic Woman’s Dinner (at the same venue).
The event opened and closed with a prayer delivered by a local clergy (I didn’t catch the name). Perhaps because I grew up in the bible belt, this outward display of religion doesn’t bother me. More importantly, these prayers offered were prayers of inclusion, not exclusion. [Even though the religious beliefs of this progressive appear to differ (quite a lot!) from those of Unger, many of our core values overlap. In a 2005 profile he named his heroes as Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Jesus and Thomas Jefferson.]
On to Unger’s speech
He’s starting with a stump speech that is already better than many politicans ended their 2006 campaigns with. I rate the content as very good (I’ve minor quibbles I share below) and the delivery is… well… let’s just say it’s still early in the campaign season. Unger was very comfortable in front of this crowd, he can speak from his heart, and he showed potential for a great speech. Once Unger has this material memorized–after he throws away his notes and just talks to the audience, he’s going to have a top notch stump speech.
About the content
The theme for his speech is “we can do better”. He spoke frequently of working for “common good.” The key issues he stressed are: universal access to affordable health care, improved educational opportunities, milestones / removing troops from Iraq, veteran’s support, infrastructure upgrades and United States energy independence.
Here are some lines that stood out in particular (not exact quotes):
– America has not kept its promise to its people… let’s return government to the people.
– We can import food from communist China, import cooking oil from a dictatorship in Venezula so why can’t we import affordable prescription drugs from a democracy in Canada.
– We’re building schools in Iraq, we need to build them here.
– Removing troops from Iraq equals a healthy Iraq.
– If not now, then when? If not us, then who?
I really like the one about “removing troops from Iraq = a healthy Iraq.” The line about importing drugs is great populist rheteroic, too. Considering the only phrase in the whole speech I found a little off was calling Venezula a dictatorship, I’d say he did quite well. Even with that, it’s still a great line.
Some minor quibbles
As many others have said around the progressive blogosphere, the Democratic Party is too slow in realizing that the Iraq War is the issue of the 2008 election (just as it was for the 2006 election). I liked what I heard Unger say about Iraq, it was just buried a too far into the speech. He can say the same things more prominently. [If he truly listens as he tours the district, he’ll figure this out on his own. After all, “getting out of Iraq” was probably the loudest applause line on this night.]
The electorate wants out of Iraq. This is a huge vulnerability for incumbent Republicans. Despite anything he might hear otherwise from the DCCC back in Washington, this is one place not to be timid.
My second quibble has to do with energy independence. I have some concerns about that framing of energy policy. I’ll reserve judgement until I know more details about Unger’s positions. [Unger was sole sponsor of legislation that recently created a Department of Energy in West Virginia, so he’s certainly well-informed on the topic.]
In all, there’s a lot to like
Unger comes across as authentic in his compassion for those who are less fortunate in society. Unger comes across as authentic as someone who believes that government can help promote the common good. His signature issues of universal health care, education, getting out of Iraq, veterans, our nation’s infrastructure and energy indepenence are winning issues in WV-02 that progressives can also rally around. He is running on issues of inclusion, not division.
Yes indeed, John Unger is showing us “we can do better”.
No doubt there will be at least one primary challenger in this race. The allure of press coverage for a Congressional seat is too much to keep challengers at bay. Still, anyone with serious political aspirations will think twice before taking on an impressive candidate with strong support from fellow West Virginia Democrats (and the DCCC). Unger is going to be a formidable candidate.
Thankfully for all of us in WV-02, State Sen. John Unger is already showing that a Democrat does indeed have a prayer to win this seat in 2008.
Cross-posted at West Virginia Blue
Sounds like this really is going to be one to watch. I’m excited about the possibility of a race against Capito turning into a top-tier affair.