Dear George,

Al Weed has answered Bern Ewert’s challenge — are you a gambler? -- bluntly, as I see from their latest campaign mailings. (Al’s arrived first in my post box, and I was glad to receive it.) I don’t think Bern is correct: I don’t think he will beat Virgil Goode, and I don’t feel at all like a gambler for backing Al Weed. With Al, I think I am looking toward a decent future.

The Fifth District seems to be, to put it kindly, conservative. Yet Al, in his first race for the seat, did no worse than the previous Democratic candidates. We know the odds are always in favor of the incumbent, across the country.

I support Al Weed unreservedly. What does he stand for, and what has he done, that any of us disagrees with? He’s learned important lessons, having run already, and he has made himself known throughout the district. As I listen, I hear a man who looks forward, not back. He has analysed the economic and social (class, racial) difficulties under which we labor; he has organized a progressive, non-profit, public organization (not a private consultancy) to discuss and propose long-term social, political, and economic ventures that would move us forward as responsible citizens; and he’s learned the right lessons from his possible constituents. He likes the people he lives among, and is thoughtful about how our common and individual futures can best be met responsibly.

“Jobs, jobs, jobs” is not the right mantra for Democrats, I think. I’d prefer the stuffier, but more intelligent “Jobs, education, and responsible governance, because we Democrats know how to do it best.” I’ll stick with Al Weed for that possibility.
Looking forward (to the election),

Katherine McNamara (electronic mail, April 19, 2005)