I’m supporting Peter Rousselot as the next chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia. As I said on his endorsement page, “Peter’s ability to build consensus, willingness to reach out to different constituencies and bold progressive values are exactly what the Democratic Party of Virginia needs right now. He also has exactly the kind of leadership style you want to lead a large organization filled with strong personalities — level-headed, fair, and relentlessly focused on what really matters: Results.”
I have no interest in rehashing the 2009 Democratic gubernatorial primary or the attacks that are being made against Brian. I supported Brian for governor & think he could be a fine DPVA chair. But whether you agree with the attacks or not, I do think that Brian has allowed the tensions of 2009 to fester reflects poorly on him. Lowell & Ben (Not Larry Sabato) tell me neither Brian nor his former campaign staffers have reached out in the 17 months since the primary.
Brian obviously wasn’t planning on crawling under a rock. Why not buy the guys who get 125,000+ visitors a month a cup of coffee & sort it all out? Wouldn’t $6 on lattes to listen to their concerns & maybe have them be a little more sympathetic to your case next time be money well spent? Why not do it? Too busy? Who can say?
I don’t doubt Brian’s progressive values. But his apparent indifference to Virginia’s two top progressive bloggers raises another concern.
Brian’s plan as chair only includes a throwaway line at the bottom about improving the DPVA’s woefully inept new media strategy, saying he’ll “utilize a variety of mediums, including social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter and blogs,”
Brian’s not on Twitter, hasn’t posted anything to Facebook since July 2nd & is not active on blogs. I endorsed Brian for governor & am a front-pager here at Blue Virginia. Even though I’m supporting Peter, I respect both men & if anyone from Brian’s camp had asked me to respond to the blog criticisms, I’d have listened. Nothing.
While Peter doesn’t tweet, he’s extremely active on Facebook & .
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