1) You've been a candidate for U.S. Senate for about 2 months now. Are things going about how you expected they would, or not? What have been your main impressions as a first-time politician?
First, I've been impressed with the level of enthusiasm from people who gravitated toward this candidacy from the bottom up, and in a very real sense made it happen. I would not have run if I had not seen the spontaneous support that began on the internet and spilled over into a lot of civic groups. In a way, this is a "reverse" candidacy - we did not start with a finance plan and a group of political `pro's.' We started with an idea and then moved forward toward traditional structures.
On the negative side, despite my years of involvement in political issues as a writer, I was completely surprised at how much of a candidate's day is expected to be spent simply raising money. Former Senator Fritz Hollings wrote an article in the Washington Post not long ago, outlining how the attempt to fix campaign finance issues actually made things worse. For the good of democracy and for the ability elected officials to focus on their jobs, there does need to be a true campaign finance reform law.
2) Tomorrow, you kick off your "Operation Take Back Virginia" tour around the state. When you say "take back," who and what are you referring to exactly? Does this apply to Virginia only or to the country as a whole?
We're focusing on "Take Back Virginia" as a way to highlight what has been happening to the power of the elites in our society over the political system. In a sense it means taking Virginia back from George Allen and the Republican Party. But in a larger sense it means taking back the political system from weak leadership, and from the corruption that has been overwhelming it. Corruption is a loaded word. My use of it means that many issues of fairness are not being given their place in the "open air of free debate."
3) Your first stop is in Gate City, located in remote, rural Southwestern Virginia. What is the significance of Gate City - and Southwest Virginia more generally - to you?
My roots are in the culture of Southwest Virginia. I believe the people who live in Gate City and all over southwest Virginia comprise one of the most significant blocks of voters that Democrats can gain. The Scots-Irish, an ethnic group I am proud to belong to and the group that make up most of the population in this area, became Republicans during the Reagan Era. This group of people have come to vote reliably Republican. But that does not need to be the case.
Politics is traditionally viewed in binaries. Democrats vs. Republicans, liberal vs. conservative, rural whites vs. urban blacks, we have heard about these fault line so many times they appear to be real. But people in poverty and people who see their place in the middle class evaporating, whether white or black, rural or urban, have more in common then they realize. The greatest realignment in modern politics would take place rather quickly if the right national leader found a way to bring them all to the same table - including poor whites, who are too often left out of the formula. By focusing on progressive ideas that emphasize fairness we can bring about that realignment and expand the Democratic party to include many people in Southwestern Virginia who stopped identifying with the Democrats quite a while ago.
4) George Allen has a $7 million war chest, and very possibly could end up spending $15 million or more, not counting expenditures by outside groups of all types. How much money do you believe you need to compete with George Allen, and how do you plan to raise it?
George Allen intends to spend $15 million. In the first quarter of this year he raised $1.7 million. We need to raise enough money to get our message out, because in the end a high percentage of people tend to agree with what we have to say. The more money we raise, the easier that task becomes. We need money, but at some point there is enough money. We don't need $15 million to beat George Allen. We need enough money to get our ideas out, to pay our staff and other campaign costs, and to get out on the road where we can convince people of our message. This election is about leadership. Right now people do not think George Allen is an effective leader. As long as we can get our message out we will beat him.