RTD Says Don Beyer Considering Senate Run

Remarkable news in the Richmond Times-Dispatch today:

Former Democratic Lt. Gov. Donald S. Beyer Jr. is considering running next year for the U.S. Senate seat held by Virginia Republican Sen. George Allen.

Beyer said yesterday that any plans would be contingent upon what Gov. Mark R. Warner decides to do. Warner, a Democrat, leaves office in January. He hasn't said whether he will challenge Allen, but most associates think he will not. One source said Warner has been encouraging Beyer to run.

Wow.

Beyer said it is always hard to beat an incumbent, but Allen is not as popular as conventional wisdom says he is.

"The first thing you have to ask is, what has he done as a U.S. senator?" he said. "He's kept a much lower profile in the Senate than he did when he was governor."

Beyer, a Northern Virginia vehicle dealer, was lieutenant governor from 1990 to 1998. He lost a race for governor in 1997 to Republican Jim Gilmore. He was the victim of Gilmore's campaign pledge to eliminate the car tax. About 70 percent of the tax on a vehicle's first $20,000 assessed value has been eliminated, but the General Assembly halted the repeal because of rising costs to the state.

Back when Don Beyer ran for Governor against Jim Gilmore, I volunteered for his campaign...in that well-meaning but anemic way that I volunteered on most campaigns before my involvement in the Dean campaign -- I did some phone banking the last few days before Election Day.  Now, I think "big whoop" when I think of those hours.  But back then I thought I was being an exemplary good Democrat to volunteer a few hours out of my busy life to help Don get elected.

I was teaching public school at the time, and I remember thinking that Jim Gilmore's promise to eliminate the car tax during that campaign was the equivalent of a 6th grader running for student council president who'd promise to outlaw homework. 

The smart, hardworking, honest kid would say to his fellow students, "I hate homework, too, but it does help us learn.  And I know that I wouldn't have the power on the Student Council to eliminate it entirely, but as president I'll work with teachers to try to come up with a more fair system of balancing our workload." 

But then the blowhard bully twerp candidate would say, "What a nerd!  He likes homework!  Give him a wedgie! Vote for me and you'll get no homework!  And we'll have longer recess and replace water with orange soda in the fountains, too!"  And the twerp would win, of course. 

Voters hated the car tax as much as a typical 6th grader hates homework.  So like all Virginia Democrats, I was devastated when Beyer lost to Gilmore, knowing that the main reason he lost was Gilmore's irresponsible tax giveaway promise.

Fast forward through Gilmore's fiscally irresponsible administration, then the even worse Bush administration, and I came to my next experience with Don Beyer. 

After 2000, I vowed I'd never wake up on the day after Election Day again, after doing nothing but a couple of nights of phone banking, mourning a loss and wishing I had done more.  So in early 2003, I found Howard Dean and was transformed, like many of my fellow Dean supporters in Virginia, into what I'd call a "radical volunteer". 

Instead of just a few hours of last-minute phone banking, I launched into an amazing year of growing grassroots involvement - canvassing, flyering, tabling, organizing rallies, attending house parties, collecting signatures, donating money, envelope-stuffing, getting others to donate money, blogging, going to Meetups, emailing, road tripping, lit dropping, and...phone banking.  Except this time it wasn't the night before the election, it was months and months before the election.  And that's when I met Don Beyer.

Now, I had known for months that Don was in a leadership position in the Dean campaign (he served as Dean's national co-treasurer as well as our Virginia chair) but since I spent most of 2003 traveling for work a lot, much of my early involvement with the Dean campaign was not with Virginia campaign leaders, it was through grassroots online and offline activism - recruiting new supporters and raising money online, attending random events and Meetups around the country when I traveled, and flyering and collecting signatures when I was home in Virginia.  I was an anonymous, random, low-level volunteer.

After the Dean campaign office opened in Falls Church in the fall, I signed up for a shift of phone banking every Monday night from 6-9.  Dozens of volunteers were scurrying around the office, new volunteers struggled to personalize our calling scripts, bells were ringing all the time when we'd persuade someone to support Dean or reach an existing supporter - it was a heady time.  A hopeful time. 

And one night - I think it was my second shift of calling - I was sitting next to a vaguely familiar-looking fellow phone banker whose conversations I couldn't help overhearing.  I was still struggling with what I thought was an awkward script, trying to adapt it for myself and still be genuinely conversational, and this guy next to me was just awesome - he was totally natural in talking about Dean's accomplishments in balancing Vermont's budget 11 years in a row, providing health care to all children, creating jobs, preserving open space, etc.  His calls actually sounded interesting, like he was having great conversations with the person on the other end. 

After a few calls of me actively eavesdropping on him while I was struggling through my own awkward calls, we both happened to hang up our phones at the same time.

"Hey, you're doing a great job on your calls," he said enthusiastically, and smiled.  (I think I had rung the "Dean supporter" bell a couple of times by then.)

"Me?  I've been eavesdropping on yours - I really like how you talk about Dean's record.  You sound like you've met him - have you?"

"Oh yeah, I've been a huge supporter of Howard since I first met him.  I'm Don, by the way," he said, reaching out to shake my hand.

Finally, the lightbulb went on and I realized why he looked familiar. "Don...Beyer?"  He smiled and nodded and shook my hand while I struggled with my incredulity.  "You're...sitting here...phone banking to regular voters in Patrick County, just like me?" 

I mean, here was our former Liutenant Governor, a past candidate for Governor, Dean's national treasurer - the guy who raised millions of dollars, who was coordinating our statewide strategy, traveling all around the state and all around the country gathering high-level supporters for Dean, and he's sitting next to me talking about Dean's health care record to random elderly Democrats in Patrick County?

Turns out Don had a regular Monday night 6-9 phone banking shift, too.  Sure, he spent the vast majority of his time traveling around the state, wooing high level endorsements, and bringing in big-dollar donors and fundraisers to the campaign.  But he was genuinely interested in having a strong sense of the reality of our work on the ground in Virginia, and the best way to do that was to dig in and talk with regular Virginia voters just like I was doing.  I was amazed at his humility, his willingness to get his hands dirty with the "grunt work" of campaigns - and I learned a lot from his example.

Over the next few months, my respect for Don Beyer grew exponentially.  Don has a combination of idealism and pragmatism that is all too rare in a political leader.  He's got every reason to be like most powerful, ultra-rich political bigwigs, but he's not - he's generous, thoughtful, accessible, and humble. He's also tough, he's smart as hell, he works his ass off, and he inspires great loyalty and even greater generosity. 

I knew that Gilmore's election in '97 then was horrible for the Commonwealth, but after getting to know Don Beyer, I can say with certainty that it's tragedy for Virginia that Jim Gilmore became Governor instead of Don Beyer.  But make no mistake.  Don learned what he needed to learn from that experience. 

There's no Virginia Democrat who I admire more than Don Beyer.  I know, realistically, that Mark Warner has a better chance of winning in a matchup against George Allen, and personally I'd rather see Warner run for Senate in '06 than try to run for President in '08. 

But if Warner doesn't run and Don Beyer does, there's no one I'd work harder to get elected than Don Beyer.  Not even Howard Dean.  And, believe me, that's sayin' something.

Comments

[rich^kolker]

Copy of email:

Don,

Shortly after last year's election I wrote you an
email suggesting you make the race against George
Allen and pledging my support, both financial and
physical, in that race.

I read this morning that you are considering it, and
that others are also encouraging you, so I once again
say "go for it." The dedication and leadership I saw
you provide, first hand, to the Dean campaign in
Virginia, and your long history of service to party,
state and country makes you an ideal candidate. I am
sure there is a long line of people behind me (and in
front of me) from 2004 who are also ready to step up
and go to work.

I'm running for the state Central Committee, and if I
succeed at the 10th District Democratic Convention in
May I will be happy to help support you within that
body as well, but in any case, I am ready to go to
work.

All the best, and please keep me informed.

++rich
Rich Kolker
Ashburn, VA

[Elaine Owens]

Just like Maura, I had been a "sort of" volunteer in a few Democratic campaigns - working a shift at phone banks, etc. - until I came across a fellow named Howard Dean very early in 2003 and began to volunteer in earnest. I found out from that experience the exhilaration that can come from really working the grassroots - tabling, getting petition signatures, hosting a Dean Meetup, working my polling place on election day - doing whatever it took. We didn't win, but Howard Dean also retaught me a lesson I had learned long ago from my parents and then forgot..."If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."
I had voted for Don Beyer every time he ran for office, but my first meeting came during the Falls Church Sleepless Summer Rally. That was the first in the nationwide campaign swing, and Don was in charge of organizing it. No one knew how it would turn out. Would the crowd be big enough to have an impact? Would the logistics work? For me, could I actually speak in front of a large crowd and explain why I wanted Howard Dean to be my president?
There was no need to worry. Don had the whole thing organized to a "T," and the 4,500 people who attended set the successful tone for the whole tour. Don also put me at ease, acted as a gracious host for all of us taking part in the rally, and gave me my first chance to meet Howard Dean personally!
Don Beyer is a gracious man with huge leadership skills. He should have been governor of Virginia, but he will make a splendid senator if he decides to run.
I saw another side of Don on two other occasions. I took a young volunteer from Hollins University up to Falls Church so that she could experience the "all-nighter" that Headquarters was having the night before the Iowa primary. Don was there for most of the time, along with his eldest daughter. The warm, loving family relationship he has with her was evident to all. It was obvious to me that he lives family values every day.
When I had a heart attack and bypass surgery last summer, my friend and fellow "deaniac" Bobbi contacted Don's assistant Sandy and several other folks from the Dean campaign, including Julie and Jennifer. The night before my surgery, I got a phone call from Don wishing me the best. And...the day I came home from the hospital, Don had arranged for Howard Dean to call me wish me well.
If anyone needs proof that Don Beyer and Howard Dean are different from the average politicians, that experience proves it. I'm not a big contributor to anything. I don't have influential friends that a politician tries to court. After all, I'm simply a retired school teacher. However, Don and Howard truly believe in the power of grassroots activity and value each and every one of us.
You can take it to the bank that I will work as hard as I can to see Don Beyer elected if he runs for the Senate - or for any other office for that matter!
Elaine

[STEPHEN SPITZ]

DON SHOULD DEFINITELY RUN AGAINST ALLEN IF MARK WARNER DOES NOT.

[Virginia Yellow Dog Dem]

As my name suggests, I'd vote for a yella dog before I'd vote for a Republican. But as a Virginia Democrat, unfortunately, sometimes I've felt like I WAS voting for a yella dog! In these parts of Virginia, I don't get too many chances to vote for a real Democrat, but I it would warm my heart to get to vote for Don Beyer again.

Like Elaine above, I was no big volunteer with the Dean campaign. And I'm no big leftie - I honestly first liked Dean because he balanced budgets, talked honestly about Bush's lies about the war and NCLB, and had a history of being endorsed by the NRA.

Yeah, the NRA. I'm not a gun nut, but I do own guns. So I supported Dean, and when Don Beyer came down here to talk about him, I went to see him and remembered how much I've missed voting for Democrats like him.

Senator Don Beyer sounds great. Sign me up.

[Corinne]

I met Don Beyer when he ran against Gilmore and he struck me as a decent guy. I was sorry Beyer lost but I was glad to see him working on Dean's campaign.

I'd vote Beyer in a heartbeat.

[Kathy]

An excellent article by Maura and a great comment by Elaine. Love the school analogy, Maura. In fact, I've said recently that the reason the American political scene feels so bad right now is because it's like reliving high school: the smirking, bullies and BMOCs are in charge. But there's another way. And we've seen it on the national scene with Howard Dean and here in Virginia with Don Beyer. Elaine is right. He should have been governor.

Don Beyer really brought me into the Dean campaign. One day in 2003, he called me up. I am not used to hearing from former Lt. Governors. I had met him --along with hordes of other people-- in campaigns past. But this time, Don had heard that I was interested in bringing Howard Dean to Virginia and into the White House. Don was to speak about Howard in our town and needed local organizers for the meeting. I was already sold on Howard Dean, but what was striking at that time was how many friends Don still has in our small town. Don's articulate and powerful presentation showcased the values we want in the Senate. No re-framing necessasry. He was already saying what he believed and persuading as he did so.

Though many in our town were away that night, seventy people, all whom think of Don as a friend, showed up. From there, it was on to the Sleepless Summer Tour. I heard Elaine Owens for the first time. And I saw Howard Dean on person for the first time. I became a Meetup host for the first time. But both in our town that summer night, and at the Sleepless Sunner Tour in Falls Church, I had the distinct feeling that Don Beyer was meant for more. Let's hope this is it. I can already imagine having a Senator we can actually write to, one who believes: that we should only go to war based on necessity and evidence, that we should provide insurance accessibility for all citizens, that we balance the federal budget and pay down the deficit, that we treat people of this country and the world with respect, that social security should be protected, that the environemnt should be protected, and that school kids shouldn't be left behind by sham Bush programs. Think of it: honor, civility, conscience, compasssion replacing the current smug, smirky, bully ("knock their teeth down their whiney throats")uncivil, ideologue taking up space as the Jr. Senator. It's a great week after all.

[rich^kolker]

You knew it was coming...

Unofficial Don Beyer for Senate Website

http://beyerforsenate.org

[Adam Sharp]

Like so many others of my generation, I was launched into national politics by the Dean campaign. At least I knew about national politics, though.

When I hosted Don Beyer at James Madison University in November 2003, I knew very little about Virginia politics pre-2001, and I only introduced Don as the national treasurer of the Dean campaign. I remember him smiling faintly, but I didn't know why.

Afterwards I was told Don was the former lieutenant governor of Virginia. I tried to apologize for the oversight, but he just laughed and reassured me it was fine.

We need more leaders with the grace and modesty Don demonstrates every day. He has my full support for the U.S. Senate and I hope to introduce him again, this time with a full description of his service to this state and his qualifications for the office he deserves.