A comment earlier today:
“I’m not known in this community (though I’m a Ravitch fan, hello!) but I’m a longstanding progressive and a resident of Virginia.
“After long thought I decided on Northam.
“Most importantly, we are not re-litigating Bernie v. Hillary. This is not a 2016 do-over. We shouldn’t act like it is.
“Both men are basic liberals, and neither without flaws. Northam is better on education, where Periello drank DFER Kool Aid and leans towards charters and vouchers.
“Most importantly, Northam has real ties and loyalties in Virginia. He’s doing what we want — a liberal who rises through the ranks and eventually becomes governor. It seems odd to turn on him as he rises because his success makes him “establishment.” It seems dangerous to pit a local VA person against the out-of-state Sanders/Warren/MoveOn voice.
“Yes, the left-wing should pull the party to the left. I’m all for primary challenges against conservative democrats. This is not a good example of it.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Not only are the dual privatization elements (vouchers/charters) for me disqualifying of a candidate per se, but they also indicate a comfort with a neoliberal/privatization ideology that is utterly poisonous to our society. Thanks for the post.
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Please don’t spread misinformation Diane. Again, it is NOT TRUE that ” Periello “leans towards charters and vouchers.” Here is a link to the debate. Periello is clearly against them, sounding a lot like you on poverty and education, and the failure of charters. At 27:38 Northam says, in contrast, that charters may be suitable “regionally”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZrOWVwZHf0
I’m a progressive saying that both candidates have problems from a progressive point of view. For example, Northam voted for W. Bush twice. The main reason to prefer Northam is if you think he is more electable, and knows the Virginia legislature better. The main reason to prefer Perriello is his progressive economic message, and his dynamism. The charter issue is certainly NOT a reason to go for Northam, who is softer on them than Perriello.
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The NEO-LIBERAl Democrats should just declare themselves to be REPs.
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Amen
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I agree with William Berkson’s comment and planned to share the same video clip with you. When asked directly about charters during a recent debate, Periello clearly opposes them, while I have a hard time making sense of Northam’s answer. It seems to me Northam is trying to appease both sides of the charter school debate and you can’t have it both ways. The fact that Periello has turned out to be a major challenge to Northam is evidence that Northam will be a vulnerable candidate in the general if he wins the primary, and Virginia’s public schools will be in real trouble if a Republican Governor is elected in November. On the other hand, Periello has proven he can win over Republican voters on a progressive platform and the time is ripe for it to happen again.
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Please read tomorrow morning’s 9 am post on the Virginia Governor’s race.
Perriello received $25,000 from the Emerson Collective (Laurene Powell Jobs and Arne Duncan).
Follow the money.
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3 ,000,000divided by 25,000 = .08 percent of his donations .Hard to see that as being owned by the charter industry .
Both these candidates have murky histories . My gut tells me I would go with the guy who is happy to be associated with a “Socialist” over the guy who voted for Bush and calls himself “conservative on economic issues .
Money in the broad area of politics is the problem ,Not just money in elections. The Center for American Progress was and is a progressive organization .That has been polluted by the money from the likes of the Walton’s. The oligarchy rules when they can influence research and advocacy groups.
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Joel,
CAP is progressive on most issues but totally sell-out on education. They frequently co-sponsor education conferences with the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation. They mirror Obama on every issue.
This is no longer a close call.
You can’t clean the Augean stables by putting another Obama “progressive” into the governorship of Virginia. If Perrielo wins, watch how long it takes until Virginia has new charter legislation.
Why do you think VEA supports Northam?
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Actually, Perriello could NOT win over Republican votes, since he lost his 5th district Congressional seat.
Admittedly, the 6th district is a tough nut for a progressive, but it shouldn’t be because it consists of a relatively poor region of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
I’m wondering why Perriello didn’t try to win this seat back, rather make a run for governor.
The Northam votes for W reek…did he really think W was preferable to Gore and Kerry? If Northam were truly a ‘liberal.’ why in the world would he vote for George W. Bush? Twice.
On the other hand, Perriello’s ExxonMobil stock (which he recently sold) is certainly questionable since Exxon is behind climate change denial and because it pushes the STEM myth and Advanced Placement nonsense. The fact that Laurene Powell Jobs has tossed a chunk of money to him is cause for concern too, because Powell Jobs pushes a masqueraded version of corporate education “reform.”
Northam, however, does have an edge in state politics. He’s been a state senator, and lieutenant governor. He knows state political leaders, in both parties. He’s well-regarded by the state Democratic party leadership.
It says something that both both senators from Virginia in the Congress — Mark Warner and Tim Kaine — support Northam. Both are former governors, so they grasp the stakes of this race.
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Add to this that Northam was going to caucus with republicans in the State senate, describing himself as “economically conservative and socially liberal”
Sorry that makes you a Conservative not Liberal .
The right wing neo liberal cancer has so infected the democratic party it is hard to find the party FDR or LBJ
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