Less than two weeks after being narrowly elected to an open seat, Mark Keam is already showing his true partisan stripes. Consider this twitter exchange:
Keam: After Freshman orientation this morning, Gov. Kaine spoke to Caucus. We’re going to miss him and his leadership. Thanks for 4 great years!
Lowell Feld: @MarkKeam Man, if these were “4 great years,” I’d hate to see “4 horrible years!”
Keam: You’ll see them starting Jan, ‘10! RT @lowkell
So that’s the kind of cooperation we should expect to see from Mark Keam, who before Governor-elect McDonnell is even sworn in is predicting four “horrible” years for Virginia? What does that say about Keam’s intentions? Is he going to work every step of the way to block McDonnell’s progress?
Maybe Keam should check the election results again and realize that not only did Bob McDonnell carry his district, he received more votes than Keam. More voters of the 35th prefer Bob McDonnell’s governing than the obstructionism Keam promises.
Even more ironic? His tweet right before this exchange: “At dinner w/ VA House Dem Delegates. Notwithstanding results of 11/3, we are united and ready for 2011. It’s about governing, not politics.” Looks like someone has a short memory. Fortunately, voters don’t.
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Nov 15th by VA Blogger
Here’s hoping Mark Keam continues to put his foot in his mouth. I’m hoping he’ll only be my Delegate for a single term.
Keam should hire someone to tweet for him like professional politicians do.
The best we can do for a critique of Keam is to point out that he’s… a Democrat with a low opinion of a Republican?
… really?
Why do you think this is the “best” critique of Keam? Am I only allowed one?
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A Democrat with a low opinion of a Republican is fine, even typical, but it doesn’t jive with his earlier statement that its about “governing, not politics”. He should also do a better job of keeping his low opinion to himself, more of his constituents voted for that Republican than himself, and he may alienate those Republican and Independent voters he needs by being a stuck-in-the-mud hyperpartisan obstructionist.
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No, it’s not front-page New York Times material, but then again, why are you expecting that?
Well, considering we’ve not even had a swearing in yet, there’s not much else to criticize the guy about. But here’s the thing – if a Republican had made this kind of comment about Deeds as governor, you’d be seeing all kinds of angst over at NLS and elsewhere about how the Republican is already hoping Deeds fails, etc. etc. It’s a fair criticism.
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Frankly, If I were sitting in new member training, I wouldn’t be tweeting about how the next four years are going to be horrible – I’d be tweeting about how I was going to make the next two years great.
“…than the obstructionism Keam promises.” Keam doesn’t promise a thing, he makes a prediction about what the next four years will be like under Governor McDonnell. Moreover, when was the last time you heard of a 38-member minority party obstructing a damn thing? How exactly is THAT going to happen? This isn’t the US Senate; House Dems can’t do crap to thwart McDonnell’s ill-advised agenda, much to our collective detriment to be sure. So save the hand-wringing for the real obstructionists in the US Senate, will you?
Right…so out of one side of your mouth, the minority can’t obstruct anything. Then, out of the other side, but you guys are obstructing in the Senate. Way to immolate your own argument.
Nonsense Brian, you know full well that there are different rules in the US Senate than in the House of Delegates that allow for 40 Senators to thwart the will of the majority in that body. Nice try though.
Really, it takes 41 votes to thwart the majority in the Senate, and we don’t ahve 41 votes. We have 40, and two of those often split with the party and vote with the Democrats on major legislation, like they did on the Stimulus.
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Regardless, Keam’s going into this job with a bad attitude. I hope he recognizes his win was not a mandate and tries to at least represent our district.
Hey Brian, thanks for the post. I’m glad there are folks — especially those who live in the 35th District — who actually follow my tweets! I’ve been using Twitter throughout my campaign, but often wonder how many people are actually paying any attention. I enjoy posting my thoughts and observations online, but I don’t always use Twitter as a way to communicate my most serious thoughts!
As you probably know from following Twitter, a lot of what people write are conversational and sometimes lighthearted. The particular tweets you quote were exchanges I had with a Democratic friend who didn’t think that Gov. Kaine’s 4 years in office were that great. And my post — as anyone can read for themselves — simply pointed out that things aren’t going to get any better for the next 4 years. It has nothing to do with whatever the Democratic minority in the House does or doesn’t do. The simple fact is that the next 4 years under Gov. McDonnell’s tenure will not be easy because of the extremely serious budget crisis we’re facing.
I can’t imagine how Gov. McDonnell will have an easier time governing than Gov. Kaine did when the next Governor has to make severe cuts in the coming session. And as much as I want every candidate who won this year to be able to deliver on all the things we discussed during this campaign season, I’m afraid that the shortfall in anticipated revenues and the increasing obligations over the next 2 to 4 years will limit us from the levels of funding for priorities like transportation and education that we all want and perhaps deserve.
It isn’t going to be pretty but I’m looking forward to working with everyone in Richmond to get through these difficult times. I have had the pleasure of talking with Gov-Elect McDonnell, Speaker Howell and several Republican colleagues already, and I offered myself as a productive partner in governing together. Throughout this campaign, I made a pledge to everyone I met either at their door or at events, that while candidates wear different jerseys to play on the electoral field, we have to retire the jersey once the campaign is over and we receive taxpayer’s salary as elected officials. I hope to show by my actions that I will work to promote the interests of everyone in our District, and certainly for any obstructionist goals.
Brian, I realize you didn’t vote for me and you’ve been critical of my campaign in the past. I certainly respect your views and I look forward to continuing our discussions on issues that we’ll be facing in the 35th District. And while you are correct that Bob McDonnell defeated Creigh Deeds in our District, I actually received more total votes (12,606) than McDonnell did (11,923) in the 35th. As a member of the Legislative Branch, I will always view my role as an independent and co-equal partner with the Executive Branch, not as someone who has to take orders from the Governor of whichever Party.
Thanks and let’s stay in touch! Mark Keam
Mark, I’m glad to see you addressing your critics directly here. That bodes well for the next two years. I’m a big fan of addressing critics in the format the criticism was made.
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That being said, I am very surprised that you think the next four years are going to be “horrible.” Yes, the economy is in dire straits, but we’ve been assured by President Obama that things are going to get better. And as the economy recovers – which was promised as a result of the passage of the federal stimulus – the pressures on state and local governments will necessarily ease. I can understand that you are pessimistic on the President’s ability to follow through on his claims. I think most of us are. But I do have confidence that Bob McDonnell is the right man for solving these issues in Virginia, and will, at the very least, devote 100% of his time to solving them. (The same can’t be said for our current governor). I hope you do too.
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I know that you’re skeptical that McDonnell intends to work with you, but I hope that your cynicism doesn’t hinder your ability to work with him. The 35th district needs someone who is willing to represent all of us, not simply those who supported you or who voted Democratic. I recognize that Richmond is a very regimented place, but I hope that if the Governor and the majority put forth good bills that would your constituents, you’ll be willing to cross party lines if need be to see them enacted.
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And yes, you did gain more overall votes than Bob McDonnell did in the 35th – so did your opponent. Clearly, there were some in he 35th who didn’t like either choices for governor. But for the majority of voters in the district, Bob McDonnell was their top choice for Governor. And, as I noted before, you won with less than a 1% margin. Given the split between the Republican and the Democrat, I hope that you’ll serve as a moderate, pragmatic legislator, and not simply voting the way Ward Armstrong tells you to.
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I look forward to being the loyal opposition, at least in the 35th, for the next few years. Thanks for stopping by.
Del.-elect Keam, I’d hate to disagree with your math, but I believe you’ve made a pretty glaring oversight. It is true that the State Board and the Fairfax County Office of Elections give you 12,606 votes from the 35th. Doing the math of adding up McDonnell’s votes in each of your 18 precincts, you do reach 11,923 for McDonnell for Governor. However, your vote total is the sum of those 18 precints PLUS absentee and provisional ballots. McDonnell’s absentees are counted County-wide, but not partitioned out by each House District.
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If you just take the sum of your votes in the 18 precincts (meaning no absentee/provisionals), the vote totals are Keam 11,702, McDonnell 11,923.
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Because they’re not broken out, there’s no way of knowing for sure how many votes McDonnell truly got in your district. However, there were over 1800 absentee ballots cast in the 35th district for your race, and McDonnell would only need 683 votes from them to surpass your total of 12,606, which is less than 40%. Given that McDonnell carried the district, and that your opponent received more absentee votes than you did, it is almost certain that he received those 683 votes and more.
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I sincerely appreciate you posting here; you join your future colleagues Dave Englin and Scott Surovell, among others, who frequent the comments sections of local blogs, and I admire that you (and they) aren’t afraid to post on blogs of the opposite party. However, you will have to do better with your explanation. More importantly, while you are correct that Tweets are can be lighthearted, they are widely read, including by your constituents, and it is oftentimes what is said lightheartedly that can get one in the most trouble as they reveal a person when their guard is down. I understand that you were having a conversation with the same people you rub elbows with at Brigades meetings, but that kind of partisanly-charged talk doesn’t play as well in wider circulation.
Hey VA Blogger and Brian, thanks for your posts! And sorry that I don’t get to be in front of a computer that often so my posts/replies aren’t that timely. I appreciate both of you and your feedback on all fronts. I sure hope our economy turns around soon and I promise to do everything in my power to help push us toward better days. On policy, I look forward to seeing Gov. McDonnell’s detailed proposals, and if there are good ideas that will help us in the 35th, I will have no hesitation about supporting them. And when I put my bills in, I hope my Republican colleagues in the House will also make a good faith effort to review my ideas and give them a chance to move through the House as well. I really believe in the art of legislating and I’m more than willing to give and take to get things done for our constituents. On the vote totals, you’re right about absentees and such. Throughout this campaign, I’ve always said that the 35th is a swing district on a razor’s edge. I was not at all surprised by the thin margin between Jim and me or the McDonnell-Deeds results. The split outcome underscores the obvious point: voters want us to work in bipartisan ways. My main campaign message was about making our government work more effectively for all of us, and that begins with getting results. I look forward to working WITH everyone to get things done FOR everyone! Talk to you guys soon. Mark
Mark,
As long as you don’t support the Income taxes that McDonnell is going to push I am with you.