Rep. Jim Moran

Jim Moran Gets His Own On Demand Channel, But Is It Fair?

By ARLnow.com

Today Rep. Jim Moran became the first member of congress to get his own On Demand channel.

Jim Moran On Demand is now available to thousands local Comcast, Cox and Via Media cable customers.  It will feature information and news programming, including in-depth, fireside chat-style policy discussions.

A preview of the channel’s slickly-produced videos is now up on YouTube.

To access the channel on Comcast, go to the On Demand menu, select “Searchlight,” then select “Inside the Beltway,” then “My Government” then “MiCongress.” The technology for the service is provided through a company called iConstituent.

“Given Northern Virginia’s mobile, fast-moving population, this is proactive way to supply information and reach out to new residents on an ongoing basis,” Moran said in a statement. “Now constituents can tune in any time of day to hear the latest on what’s happening in Congress and the community. I’m really excited about it and look forward to hearing people’s feedback.”

Not everybody thinks it’s a good thing, though. Virginia political blogger Ben Tribbett says the channel is “an absolutely horrible idea.”

“Incumbents already have plenty of advantages, without getting their own channel for propaganda on local cable TV,” writes Tribbett, a Democrat. “I understand why the cable companies would do this, to curry favor with incumbents, but it ought to be outlawed.”

Democrats Tout Unrecognized Achievements at Fundraiser

By Scott Brodbeck

While their national Democratic counterparts face a perfect storm of voter discontent, Arlington Democrats held a pep rally of sorts on Saturday, in the form of their annual Jefferson Jackson Dinner.

In the ballroom of the Westin Arlington Gateway hotel in Ballston, elected officials and party donors had a chance to reassure each other that Democrats were fighting the good fight and would eventually prevail against Republican attacks and media pessimism.

There seemed to be little worry that Republicans may start winning local elections in Arlington, where every single local elected office is held by a Democrat or a Democrat-endorsed candidate. Rather, the main concern of the night’s speakers seemed to the erosion of public support for the Obama administration. That, and the poor state of the Arlington County Democratic Committee’s copy machine.

Rod Snyder, a former American Idol semi-finalist and current Acting President of the Young Democrats of America, kicked off the dinner portion of the evening by singing the National Anthem. Then, as the approximately 175 guests in attendance finished their salads, the speeches began.

At a time when local Republicans are pushing for a change to Arlington’s form of government, ACDC Deputy Chair Maureen Markham praised Arlington as a well-governed community and a stronghold of progressive ideals.

“It takes good government to make a good life for our community,” Markham said. “In Arlington, we really do have a good government. We’re also fortunate because we have elected officials who aren’t afraid to be Democrats.”

“Arlington Democrats lead the national Democratic party in activism and in progressive commitment,” echoed keynote speaker Rep. Jim Moran. “Largely because of you, Arlington has soul.”

Ward Armstrong, Democratic leader of the Virginia House of Delegates, had plenty of praise for Arlington’s state lawmakers, who comprise fully ten percent of the state Democratic caucus.

He called Del. Bob Brink “one of my closest friends” and said of freshman Del. Patrick Hope, “it is a privilege, sir, to serve with you.”

Armstrong also had some complimentary words ready for Moran.

“If I had Jim Moran’s hair, I’d be governor,” Armstrong joked. “I think it’s insured by Lloyds of London.”

Along with the praise for Democrats, of course, there was criticism of the other party.

A quote from Karl Rove was greeted by hisses. Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinell’s name was mentioned by three different speakers, with each mention followed by even louder hissing. Armstrong called Cuccinelli “the gift who keeps giving,” based on his ability to polarize state Democrats.

Rep. Jim Moran, who is up for re-election this year, took aim at the media, particularly at talk show hosts.

“The coming election presents a real challenge because the hate radio hosts, led by Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity and Michael Savage – all these despicable people – they’re very successful in scaring a lot of folks into believing all kinds of outrageous things about what the president and what the Democratic majorities in Congress are trying to do,” Moran said.

“In the last year and a half, we have worked to mop up the mess that eight years of Republican rule created,” Moran said emphatically. He suggested that the current economic crisis was caused by a lack of financial regulation under President Bush and said that the Gulf oil spill was precipitated by a lack of oversight by the Bush administration.

“It’s the worst ecological disaster in history,” he said of the spill. “People aren’t going to blame the people responsible; they’re going to blame the administration. All the yokels I see on the talk shows, they say ‘oh, is this Obama’s Katrina?’ Are you kidding? What do they want him to do, put a Scuba suit on and dive down and plug the well? He’s doing everything he can.”

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Murray Looks Forward, But Berry Supporters Looking Back

By ARLnow.com

Patrick Murray is gearing up for a tough general election fight, but many supporters of the candidate he defeated in Tuesday’s GOP primary still haven’t moved on from what they say was a dishonorable finish to the campaign.

Supporters of Matthew Berry have taken to the comment section of the local Republican politics website RedNoVA to vent their frustration.

Said one: “People I’ve spoken to in the last three days are shocked and disgusted by Murrays tactics… There is no better chance that I will [support] Murray than there is of Murray defeating Moran. Period.”

Another wrote: “Upon losing you pause for a moment and then shift gears to throw your support behind the winner. In the end, we’re all Republicans, right? Well not this time for me. I saw the ugly, inside game Murray put up especially the final 96hrs and I refuse to reward that with my vote in the fall.”

Much of the controversy revolves around a mailer sent out by the Murray campaign on the eve of the election. The last-hour mailer didn’t explicitly point out that Berry is openly gay, but it included statements like “Matthew favors Gay Marriage in Virginia,” and “Matthew, who has never served in the Military, supports change of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

RedNoVA called it “one of the most foul mailers ever.”

Murray, however, disputes the notion that his campaign did anything morally objectionable.

“I want us to be nothing but positive,” Murray said during an interview at his victory party in Alexandria Tuesday night. “There was a little ugly back and forth… but I’m very confident and comfortable that we stayed on the high ground the entire time.”

Murray had an explanation for the last-minute timing of the mailing.

“I delayed the sending of our one mailer — we only did one mailer — I delayed it for days to the aggravation of my campaign staff… because I got involved to investigate in painstaking detail that we were being accurate with my opponent’s position… and we were,” he said. “I feel comfortable about what we did, and I wouldn’t do it otherwise.”

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Morning Notes 5/26/10

By ARLnow.com

Eat Cheap in Arlington — Eleven Arlington County restaurants made Washingtonian magazine’s annual “Cheap Eats” list, reports the Sun Gazette. Counted among the 100 top food bargains in the area: Columbia Pike’s Bangkok 54, Lyon Village’s The Burger Joint, Courthouse’s Chez Manelle, and eight other Arlington eateries.

Berry Blasts Moran After WaPo Article — With less than two weeks to go before the local Republican congressional primary, GOP hopeful Matthew Berry wasted no time slamming incumbent Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) after a Washington Post article detailing Moran’s very active stock trading habit. Berry is calling for the House Ethics Committee to investigate whether Moran violated congressional rules by requesting earmarks for two defense contractors he and/or his wife owned stock in. “It was bad enough knowing that Jim Moran was trading earmarks for campaign contributions,” Berry alleged in a statement. “But obtaining earmarks for companies in which he has a financial interest takes the corruption to a whole new level.”

Changes at ARLnow.com — We’re always evolving, but you’ll notice two changes as of late. First, we’re joining the rest of the online news world by filing a morning news roundup instead of our usual end-of-day “afternoon notes.” Second, we changed our Twitter handle to @ARLnowDOTcom from the less aesthetically-pleasing @arlnow_dot_com. If you don’t already, follow us and be the first to know about everything worth knowing in Arlington. And as always, please send feedback and tell us what we can be doing better.

Defense Bill Would Keep Up To 6,000 Jobs in Arlington, For Now

By ARLnow.com

A bill being considered by the U.S. House of Representatives this week would delay the scheduled move of up to 6,000 defense jobs from Arlington to Alexandria.

The language was included in the 2011 Defense Authorization bill by Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA), who is a member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.

Moran says he’s concerned about the traffic on I-395 around Alexandria’s Mark Center, the development where the jobs are set to move to by September 2011 as part of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Act (BRAC)..

“If nothing is done and the relocation continues as scheduled, VDOT has stated there will be ‘complete gridlock’ on Seminary Road and Beauregard Street and ‘severe’ congestion between the King Street and Duke Street exits on I-395,” Moran said in a statement.

The bill now before congress would cap the number of parking spaces at the Mark Center at 1,000 and would ban the lease of additional spaces near the development, effectively preventing the relocation of thousands of jobs. The cap would only be lifted when the Defense Department completes traffic improvements that meet congressional approval. It’s not clear how long such a project would take, but it would probably be measured in years.

About 6,400 defense personnel who now work in Metro-accessible office space in Northern Virginia are slated to move to the Mark Center, which is not near a Metro station. About 6,000 of those jobs are with the Defense Department’s Washington Headquarters Services division, which has offices in Crystal City, Rosslyn and Ballston, according to Arlington Economic Development spokesperson Karen Vasquez. The scheduled relocation of those jobs would be delayed if the bill passes, Vasquez said.

“The Pentagon dropped the ball on transportation planning for the base realignment at the Mark Center. A building of this size with no access to Metro should never have been considered at this location,” Moran said. “Now we’re pulling out all the stops to mitigate the consequences of the Defense Department’s mistakes.”

Moran Fires Opening Salvo of 2010 Campaign

By ARLnow.com

Congressman Jim Moran, who has heretofore ignored the challengers who hope to unseat him in November, fired the first salvo of his 2010 campaign last night at a forum sponsored by the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce.

Following a short debate between GOP candidates Matthew Berry and Patrick Murray, and Green Party candidate Ron Fisher, Moran took the stage for a brief solo question and answer session with debate moderator and ABC7 reporter Scott Thuman.

“I give these three guys credit,” Moran said wryly in his opening remarks. Having spent ten years as a city councilman and mayor in Alexandria before running for national office, Moran said he “would have never had the gall” to run for congress without local government experience, as his opponents are doing.

The comment garnered a smattering of intended laughter from the buttoned-up crowd at the Pentagon City Ritz Carlton.

Prior to Moran’s question and answer session, Berry and Murray took turns swiping at the ten-term congressman’s policies but largely avoided criticism of one another. Fisher was a full participant in the debate, but his pacifist, pro-tax message did not receive a very warm welcome from an audience full of businesspeople.

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Eighth District Debate To Be Held In Pentagon City Tonight

By ARLnow.com

Incumbent Rep. Jim Moran (D), whose eighth congressional district includes Arlington, will take the stage tonight with the men hoping to unseat him in the fall.

Republican primary opponents Matthew Berry and Patrick Murray are expected to participate in tonight’s debate, as is Independent-Green party candidate Ron Fisher. ABC7 reporter Scott Thuman will moderate.

The debate is sponsored by the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce in partnership with a number of other local chambers of commerce. Tickets are $35 for Chamber members, and $45 for everyone else.

It will take place at the Ritz Carlton in Pentagon City from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

New Berry Radio Ad Calls Moran “Corrupt”

By ARLnow.com

A new radio ad from one of the Republicans hoping to challenge Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) in November accuses the long-time congressman of being “corrupt.”

It’s the first broadcast spot launched by the campaign of Matthew Berry, who’s running in the upcoming eighth district primary.

The ad portrays a couple discussing a campaign mailer from Berry.

“Ugh, Moran, he’s corrupt and doesn’t represent anyone but himself,” one of the actors says. “Moran’s answer to everything is ‘more, more, more’ — more borrowing, more spending, more taxes and more government intervention in more sectors of our economy.”

Later, the other actor says of Berry: “He’s right on the issues and understands that voters like us are sick of politics as usual.”

The spot will air during conservative talk shows, a campaign spokesperson said.

On his campaign blog, Berry said the ad fulfills his promise to “wage an aggressive effort to unseat Jim Moran.”

“I look forward to continuing to escalate our campaign in the weeks and months ahead,” Berry writes.

Berry, a former general counsel of the Federal Communications Commission under the Bush administration, will face retired U.S. Army colonel Patrick Murray in the GOP primary, held on June 8.

Planned Drilling Off Va. Coast Suspended, Moran Reacts

By ARLnow.com

The Interior Department announced today that it is indefinitely suspending the Obama administration’s plan to allow oil and gas drilling off the coast of Virginia. The announcement comes as crews are still trying to contain a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Northern Virginia congressman Jim Moran (D), who chairs the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, released the following statement on the suspension:

The Department made the right decision. It’s wholly appropriate given that thousands of gallons of oil continue to pour into the Gulf from a drilling accident we have yet to fully comprehend. Experts are concerned that the disaster could spread up the East Coast, contaminating Virginia’s shores, if containment efforts fail.

In light of these facts, moving forward on the lease sale at this time would be highly inappropriate. I appreciate the Obama administration’s wise course of action.

Afternoon Notes: Obey Retirement Boosts Moran

By ARLnow.com

Obey’s Retirement Will Boost Moran’s Influence — Wisconsin congressman David Obey’s retirement will move fellow Democrat Rep. Jim Moran higher up in the powerful House Appropriations Committee’s pecking order. Moran said of Obey’s decision not to seek re-election today: “Chairman Obey is one of the most consequential figures to chair Appropriations. With unparalleled institutional knowledge, he has skillfully guided the Committee through some of the most difficult terrain in its history. He will be sorely missed.” More from the Washington Post.

Elevator Fire at Navy Annex Ties Up Traffic — A small fire in an elevator mechanical room at the Navy Annex on Columbia Pike tied up traffic this morning. Firefighters and police responded to the scene, shutting down Columbia Pike between South Joyce Street and South Oak Street around 10:15 p.m. ART and Metro buses were delayed as a result.

Arlington Students Win Latin Awards — Twelve Arlington Public School students won the first place “gold summa cum laude” medal for excellence on the National Latin Exam. The exam tests Latin students at various grade levels in the areas of grammar, reading comprehension, Roman culture, history, geography and mythology and etymology. Another 114 Arlington students received second, third and fourth place honors.

Congressional Candidate Murray Blasts Obama, Touts Twitter

By ARLnow.com

Patrick Murray is ramping up his rhetoric in the somewhat low-key Republican primary battle for Virginia’s eighth congressional district.

Murray, who is challenging Matthew Berry for the right to face incumbent Democratic congressman Jim Moran in the fall, sent an email to his supporters today blasting Moran and the Obama administration.

Murray said defeating Moran would “restore honor and dignity to representation for Virginia’s 8th Congressional District.”

Murray, a retired U.S. Army colonel, wrote about the need to reverse “the dangerous course that the Obama administration has carelessly taken us on.”

Also in the email, Murray sounded a bit Ted Stevens-esque when he referenced our “our innovative use of every modern communications tool at our disposal.”

“Two of those tools are Facebook and Twitter!” Murray wrote. “You have probably heard of them (Obama’s use of these new media techniques was widely publicized during his campaign).”

Murray has largely avoided mentioning Berry during the course of his campaign. He has, however, repeatedly criticized Moran and the Obama administration, and has focused much attention on the issue of securing the country’s borders.

On Monday he said on Twitter: “Times Square terrorists have international links. Now can we focus on securing the border?”

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