McAuliffe Back in Limelight with Email to Supporters

Terry McAuliffe retured to the spotlight after a two month break since his loss in the democratic primary for the Virginia governorship.  During his six month campaign bid as the Democratic gubernatorial candidate McAuliffe often said that he was “more worried about keeping Democrats in power in Virginia than about his own candidacy.” He proved this to be true by supporting Barak Obama as soon as Hillary Clinton conceded the Democratic primary race; and McAuliffe did it again when he threw his considerable political muscle behind Creigh Deeds, after conceding to him their party’s nomination.

Since the June 9th primary McAuliffe has been on the sidelines, that is until early August when he sent an e-mail to all his contacts on his national list of donors and supporters to get behind Creigh Deeds against Bob McDonnell who is the Republican choice for governor of Virginia. A second e-mail followed soon after urging McAuliffe’s supporters to support Democrats running for the Virginia House of Delegates.

McAuliffe wrote, “I’m asking you to join me in helping House Democratic Caucus Chairman Ken Plum raise money to support Democratic House of Delegates candidates throughout the Commonwealth. These candidates need our help.”

McAuliffe Off to Harvard

Terry McAuliffe, who ran the presidential campaign for Hilary Rodham Clinton as the chairman of the Democratic National Committee last year will be visiting Harvard University this coming October. The Institute of Politics, which is part of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, has invited McAuliffe to be a Visiting Fellow along with several other well-known figures from the world of politics.

As a Visiting Fellow McAuliffe will meet with a variety of student groups; facilitate group discussions on current issues; discussing personal experiences in political and public service; contribute to and participate in classes in public policy alongside students attending the Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Among those visiting fellows such as McAuliffe are also Resident Fellows for the fall semester. Some of those include Peggy Noonan, speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan and Brett McGurk, special advisor to the National Security Council.

Plurality Rules Sometimes in the US of A

One of the more “taken for granted” beliefs of democracy in the United States is that our elected leaders are able to lead based on the notion that they were chosen by a majority of the voters.

Unfortunately this is a misconception and all too often it is a mere “plurality of voters” that actually picks the winner. This was the case in the recent Democratic primary race for governor of Virginia. In this election Terry McAuliffe, Brian Moran and the ultimate winner, Creigh Deeds all finished with less than 50% of the vote.

Yes, Deeds got the most votes of the three, which is what winning with a plurality means, but he did not get the “yes” from a clear majority. Therefore he is not leading by virtue of the wishes of the majority.

The problem with this can be made even starker when we examine what happened in the Tazewell County primary held  for Board of Supervisors which took place on the same day as the gubernatorial election. In this race the two losers received 63% of the vote between them. That left only 37% of the voters supporting the ultimate winner, David R. Woodward II.

In the fiercely democratic United States most people would feel uncomfortable with the fact that their leaders are leading by virtue of only 37% of the vote.

“Minority Rule” Chooses Democratic Candidate for Governor of Virginia

Democracy can certainly mean different things to different people, and “majority rule” is usually one of those things. In the recent Democratic primary race for the governor of Virginia none of the three candidates, Terry McAuliffe, Brian Moran or even the winner Creigh Deeds reeled in a majority of the votes.

That’s right. Together, the losing candidates actually received more votes than the winner.  Therefore, although we don’t like to admit this in the world’s “greatest democracy,” the winner in this race did not receive his mandate from a majority of voters.

And you should not think this is a fluke or an unusual event by any means. Or that this only happens in party primaries. Not at all. In the year 2000 George W. Bush was elected by a minority, and Bill Clinton led the country by virtue of a minority in both 1992 and 1996.

Something to think about, yes?

Terry McAuliffe’s Contributions

Terry McAuliffe has a strong history as one of the driving forces behind many campaigns that the members of the Democratic Party when they served as candidates for various positions including the presidential candidacies of Carter, Gephardt, Bill and Hillary Clinton and most recently President Barak Obama. McAuliffe has contributed tremendously to the Democratic Party and the country.

With his past record of successes, Terry McAuliffe will most certainly be able to contribute more in the future, and it is most certainly in the best interests of his state, Virginia, as well as the whole country that he continue his public involvement on a state and national level.

McAuliffe lives the Democratic Party

There are very few people who have thrown themselves into the Democratic Party with the same fervor and enegy that Terry McAuliffe has shown over the past fifteen years. He was an extremely successful businessman who was able to start a number of companies that yielded returns in such a manner that he able to resign at a young age.

After the elections…

For the Presidential elections, all those who worked hard can pat themselves on their backs that Obama got in. What people don’t realize is that the Presidential elections and the run up to them lasted far longer then the few months McCain and Obama went head to head.

The primaries in the Democratic Party ran for 22 months, meaning that on both sides, whether you supported Hillary Clinton, as Terry McAuliffe did, or Barack Obama, you were working hard for 22 months before even starting to get things happening for the actual elections.

Terry McAuliffe supported Hillary, but immediately on her resigning the nomination to Obama, McAuliffe joined Obama’s team, and he was out and about doing his usual magic for the Democratic Party.

From cleaning driveways…

Terry McAuliffe is one of the best fundraisers on US political scene. A successful businessman who showed great promise as a youngster, he started his own company cleaning driveways in order to raise money to support the politicians he believed would make a difference, Terry McAuliffe was the most successful chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He turned the Democratic Party around from a debt-ridden party to a well run profitable enterprise. McAuliffe has also been a Clinton confidante, and is always involved in every activity of the Democratic Party. Recently, of course, he has been – and is – heavily involved in the Obama campaign for the upcoming Presidential Elections.

Terry McAuliffe – What a Party!

Terry McAuliffe is a serious player on the political – and specifically Democrat – scene, but that does not mean that he is not the type of guy you wouldn’t want to have a drink with. In fact, McAuliffe has a bubbly, gregarious nature and a great sense of humor that makes him the ideal guy to knock back beer with him. Aside from Terry McAuliffe’s many press appearances which generally leave a smile on the face of his interviewers, and are often broken by a good deal of laughter, his latest foray into the literary world with his book , “What a Party! My Life Among Democrats: Presidents, Candidates, Donors, Activists, Alligators, and Other Wild Animals” displays his good nature, sense of humor and fun personality.

Terry is a Presidential Partner!

One of the stories that Terry McAuliffe tells in his book, “What a Party! My Life Among Democrats: Presidents, Candidates, Donors, Activists, Alligators, and Other Wild Animals,” is quite an interesting revelation about Terry McAuliffe’s relationship with Bill Clinton. It also reveals something that many of us already know about President Clinton and his years in the Whitehouse: Clinton is a fun-loving guy who is very social and always enjoys a social event. McAuliffe and Clinton were up playing cards until 4:40am, when McAuliffe left.
Happening on a trip while in South Korea, the South Korean guards asked the Secret Service guards who were accompanying Clinton whether the young handsome man leaving the President at that hour was more than a mere friend… The Secret Service boys explained that it was Terry McAuliffe, a good friend of Clinton, and they had been playing cards the whole night! Thus, there was no need to be concerned about the US President’s sexual orientation!