I'm a fan of women candidates who like to fight, and Blue Majority candidate Leslie Byrne in Northern Virginia is certainly that. Her opponent, Gerry Connolly, a pro-corporate DLC type, is now trying to run as a progressive without any record to back it up. So how exactly do ambitious mushy developer-friendly candidates get ahead in a progressive primary universe? Well, they lie, of course!
Thankfully, NOW called him out on it.
Candidate Gerry Connolly's use of NOW's logo in a new mailing - which states that Connolly has "always stood with women" - is disrespectful to Virginians who have fought for women's rights and misleading to voters. Virginia NOW members who have fought for the ERA and abortion rights for more than 30 years have no recollection of Connolly being publicly engaged in the women's rights movement in Northern Virginia. We are deeply concerned that voters will think Connolly has the national NOW PAC's endorsement, which he does not.
The national NOW PAC has endorsed Leslie Byrne in the race for the Democratic nomination in the 11th Congressional District because she has championed women's rights for decades. We know that we can count on Leslie Byrne to fight for fair and equitable economic and social policies for women, men and families as a Member of Congress.
In the mailing, Connolly states he has "always fought for women's rights" and specifies those as the ERA, abortion, and pay equity. A photo showing NOW's logo and placard "Keep Abortion Legal" occupies the top third of the page. Connolly's campaign did not talk to NOW about using the photo.
We welcome Connolly's interest and support and ask that he clarify his record and his current positions so we can work together.
That is a great repudiation of a misleading direct mail piece. While I'm supportive of Byrne, the real hero here is NOW. Issue groups don't tend to stand up for themselves like this as they are used to being thrown under the bus, so it's a sea change to watch it happen on its own and without any prodding.
Connolly is going to face a tough race if progressive groups continue to point out that he has serious credibility problems. He's already hitched himself to the progressive banner, so he's somewhat trapped.
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