Sunday, September 20, 2009
Metro columnist Dan Casey: 'David' is taking on a GOP 'Goliath'
Dan Casey is The Roanoke Times' metro columnist.
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@roanoke.com
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Dan Casey
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Carter Turner appeared on this region's political radar in an impressive way.
He spoke at a March 19 meeting of Glenvar-area residents who had banded together against a proposed 300-ton-per-hour asphalt plant in their neighborhood.
That night, the Radford University assistant professor sure sounded like a leader. He was comfortable before a large and fired-up crowd, and he made a lot of sense.
Turner, 39, finished his talk by urging his community to keep their fight on the high road.
"There have been some unofficial reports about harassment, threats and even property damage against some who may support the rezoning effort," he said.
"We cannot lower ourselves to win this. We represent our community, including our children, and we need to do so with dignity. The advantage we have over the opposition is that we're right. Given enough time, that alone will persuade people. We shouldn't try to persuade them any other way."
Turner and the other Glenvar-area residents won that battle. The plant is going elsewhere, on land already designated for heavy industry.
Now, the genial Salem-raised theology professor is involved in a much bigger contest.
He's the almost unknown Democrat trying to unseat one of the most powerful lawmakers in Virginia: House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith, a Republican from Salem.
Cast in terms of the biblical history with which Turner is so conversant, this is David versus Goliath stuff. If the election were a horse race, Turner would be a 50-to-1 long shot who has trouble getting out of the gate.
The odds are stacked against the Virginia Tech graduate in many ways.
Even though the Virginia GOP in 2008 suffered its worst presidential election defeat since 1964, the 8th District, which comprises Salem and most of Roanoke County, went 57 percent for Republican Sen. John McCain.
Griffith is an eight-term legislator who has never had a tough race. He's raised more than $2 million in campaign donations in the past 13 years.
Turner's campaign didn't begin until late July, after the party's previous candidate, another assistant professor at Radford, unexpectedly withdrew. And Turner has to juggle his time campaigning with a full-time job and his role as a husband and father.
At this writing, Griffith holds a 5-to-1 edge in cash, and he has many, many more signs posted throughout the district.
Turner's read from 8th District residents is that Griffith has grown increasingly out of touch with his constituents as he's risen through the ranks of power in Richmond.
"I don't think he makes people feel like they're legitimate participants in this process," Turner told me, noting that the lion's share of Griffith's campaign donations come from interests such as electric utilities, trial lawyers and tobacco and health care companies.
That argument seems at odds with Griffith's unblemished electoral record in the district, however. He's never lost an election by fewer than 18 percentage points. In most of his elections, he hasn't even had a challenger.
Although Griffith still puts on a good "Mr. Smith" act at the Salem fair, where he's one of the marquee sponsors, there are plenty of legitimate grounds on which to question his legislative actions.
Griffith helped lead the House GOP against a $125 million extension in federal jobless benefits for Virginians at time when unemployment was rising and the state's unemployment insurance fund was running out of money. That was a vote for business.
Remember the dumb abusive drivers' fees gimmick the General Assembly enacted in 2007 to help close gaping holes in the state transportation budget?
Griffith, a defense attorney, consistently supported it. And when a mostly ashamed General Assembly repealed that scheme after a public outcry, he was one of only two House members who voted to keep it.
One of the things Turner is banking on is the current widespread voter disenchantment with politicians in general. Although some of the anger you've seen at recent "tea parties" and town halls is manufactured, a lot of it is real.
"Everybody hates politics right now. Everybody feels like they're not being represented," Turner told me.
Turner knows that focusing that anger against Griffith in the 8th District race is not going to be easy.
But remember, David beat Goliath.
And earlier this year, 50-to-1 long shot Mine that Bird won the Kentucky Derby.
