Where Was Frank Leone in 2009?

Suspend disbelief; somehow 2013 will be different than 2009 because a slate of insiders will shake up the DPVA. Democrats will win more because we will get more of the same old thing. Somehow maneuvering the rules to one’s advantage is more important than leadership, innovation, and success.

“Democrats did an extraordinary job in winning Virginia for President Obama in 2008, but that momentum did not carry through to 2009 statewide campaigns…One my priorities for my next term on the DNC will be to work with DPVA and the DNC to have a smooth transition that will enable us to carry Virginia both for the Presidential and the Gubernatorial (and other 2013) campaigns.”  – Frank Leone’s blog

DPVA played a passive role in 2008, staying out of Obama’s way after a lukewarm introduction. A fundamental deficiency of the DPVA: there is no ground game. Plankholders in the DPVA were late to the Obama wave and failed to fully embrace his candidacy or his Presidency. DPVA willingly rode along to the battle so long as Obama provided the army; reminiscent of first Manassas. The pitiable DPVA cheering squad, left to its own devices in 2009, fell back on an amorphous strategy of abandoning an identity with the Democratic Party. The entire strategy was centered on preserving incumbency. Even that limited objective was lost.

What Democrats get in Virginia is a grand appreciation for accounting and an absolute disregard for investment. We focus on keeping an accurate count of our diminishing influence. That explains the redistricting fiasco. That explains why we counted on the Obama chickens but laid a statewide egg in 2009 when we couldn’t keep them in the coop. Where was Frank’s strategy then? But to be fair, he was and is really just an observer no matter the bloviating on his blog. There is nothing any DNC member can do to sway Senator Saslaw’s strategy of self-preservation, making much of Frank’s ideas hollow.

So, if you want a DNC member who can explain the failure process precisely, you have your man. Or maybe Frank would put it this way: you have your NOVA white guy. Really? Vote for me because I’m the white guy from Arlington?

Oh, and for a bit more accounting, be aware that these are not the only Virginia seats at the DNC table. There are at least two more that must be considered in the representative mix. But that doesn’t help Frank’s calculus.