Elaine Luria’s got the best political ad this election cycle

I’d like to think that there’s still a place for non-veteran Democrats to serve in the age of Trump, but this ad for Elaine Luria, who is running for reelection in Virginia’s second congressional district, really demonstrates just how powerful of an argument candidates can make when they’re coming from a place of deep national security experience. Luria, a commander in the Navy, not only won in 2017, in a district that Trump carried by over 3 points, and hadn’t sent a Democrat to Congress in almost 20 years, but she had the courage to stand up and support the impeachment proceedings against the President when other moderate Democrats in red districts did not. And it seems like a model that could be replicated around the country, especially as suburban women continue break with Trump… Again, I hope we don’t get to the point where the only path to Congress involves serving in uniform, or being an ex-CIA officer, like Michigan’s Elissa Slotkin, but it really feels as though now is the time for women with national security experience to come forward, and draw a sharp contrast with Donald Trump, who, while he purports to be a strong military leader, continues to put our allies in harms way while giving the dictators of the world everything that they desire.

I have some concerns about making the Democratic Party the party of national security officers and career military, but, if that’s what it takes to right the ship, I think I’m OK with it.

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13 Comments

  1. Jean Henry
    Posted November 12, 2019 at 9:15 am | Permalink

    This is precisely the point and the only point re impeachment. Mueller’s report essentially asked Congress to rise to its constitutional obligation, the justice department having been hamstrung. This Ukraine situation is much more clear cut and the willful denial of it as impeachable is remarkable. Trump clearly believes himself untouchable. If we ever want to restore any institutional integrity to our broken democratic system, we must insist that Congress meet this constitutional imperative. It has zero to do with politics. It may actually impede our ability to defeat Trump via election. If we are going to continue this American experiment in Democracy and slow movement towards equal opportunity and legal protection, then we need to prevent an imperial presidency. It is the mandate of our constitution and our revolution for independence. This is an existential crisis for our democracy. I don’t expect Trump to be removed by the Senate, but impeachment was the right thing to do. And I hope the Senate is held to account for it’s lack of moral courage and ethical competency.

  2. Lynne
    Posted November 12, 2019 at 11:17 am | Permalink

    Yeah. I know it may hurt Dems in the next election but at some point, it is necessary to do what is right for the country. This is that point.

  3. Bob
    Posted November 12, 2019 at 2:47 pm | Permalink

    Not unlike how you Hilbots insisted Clinton be the Democratic nominee, even though nobody with any sense thought she was electable. It was good for us though.

  4. Dan Blakeney
    Posted November 12, 2019 at 3:40 pm | Permalink

    Clinton was electable.

    She received the majority of votes in 2016. In fact, only two times in the history of our nation has a candidate received more votes for President than Clinton did in 2016.

    Characterizing hers as an unelectable candidacy is not accurate.

  5. Jean Henry
    Posted November 12, 2019 at 6:16 pm | Permalink

    Bob– we didn’t ” insist Clinton be the Dem nominee”– She was elected by the public as their Dem nominee with 3,700,000 more votes and 987 more delegates and 11 more states than Sanders won. It’s unfortunate that you still can not accept the will of the people.

    She was electable. Her campaign screwed up and were over confident and, significantly, large numbers of Dem voters with a helping hand from Russia amplified a Sanders populist message of distrust in the electoral process, the party and the media, so a whole lot of people stayed home. They also repeated endless false accusations against Clinton– 30 years worth seeded by the right– which the left took without question and ran with. Of course she was unpopular with many. She was the right’s bogeyman. But to call here unelectable and broadly unpopular despite a popular vote talley higher than most of her predecessors who got the presidency is an ahistorical absurdity.

    You continue to underwhelm Bob.

  6. Jean Henry
    Posted November 12, 2019 at 6:19 pm | Permalink

    And now Mayor Pete, a moderate, is rising to the top of the polls. So I guess maybe the left wasn’t so right about what the public wants. I’m personally sad about this, but I also know we don’t get to force revolution down people’s throats if they are not ready for it.

  7. Sad
    Posted November 12, 2019 at 6:38 pm | Permalink

    Before Obama the idea that a gay kid could be President would have been revolutionary. Now everyone’s just like whatever.smh

  8. Lynne
    Posted November 12, 2019 at 6:43 pm | Permalink

    Yup. Homosexuality is much much more accepted these days. Especially by younger people. Even younger people on the Christian right. So every year as more hateful old people die off, more open-minded young people turn 18. And the electorate changes. Which is good!

  9. Sad
    Posted November 12, 2019 at 6:50 pm | Permalink

    I’m still surprised that America dislike women more than gay men?

    I thought the transition would go, African American man, white woman and then some other identity representative. But I didn’t think a gay man would get elected before a woman.

    Sorry girls. It seems to be much worse for you than we ever imagined.

  10. Lynne
    Posted November 12, 2019 at 6:50 pm | Permalink

    FWIW, You can’t blame me for HRC getting the nomination. I voted for Sanders. I have since come to realize what a huge mistake that was. If I could go back and do it again, I would vote for HRC. At least I got to vote for her in the general election.

    Anyways, one of the purposes of primaries is to get a feel for how voters in the party feel. As Jean has already pointed out, HRC won that nomination in a landslide because real people voted for her. Sure I suppose that means that the party members “forced” her down everyone’s throats but seriously, what would be a better method for the party to choose a nominee? Surely you don’t want to go back to when the party bigwigs just chose and there weren’t primaries?

  11. Lynne
    Posted November 12, 2019 at 6:51 pm | Permalink

    Sad, a woman might still win the nomination :)

  12. Sad
    Posted November 12, 2019 at 7:09 pm | Permalink

    Oh yeah.

    Right.

  13. iRobert
    Posted November 13, 2019 at 8:06 am | Permalink

    Biden might want to consider putting on a wig and a dress.

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