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Tom Perriello: November 2009

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Tea Party Group Cancels Plan To Burn Perriello And Pelosi In Effigy

Eric Kleefeld | November 16, 2009, 3:52PM

Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA)

The plan by the Danville TEA Party Patriots to burn Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi in effigy -- a sort of Tea-Party Burning Man -- has been called off, Greg Sargent reports:

"We will not be going forward with the plan," a crestfallen Coleman told me by phone moments ago. "We had to cancel it. The property owner won't allow us to do it. The media attention was something that he didn't want."

Coleman said he was upset that people had gotten the wrong idea about his plan. "I'm disappointed that the story got out of hand and people misinterpreted something we thought would be a little historical lesson. They made people believe that we were committing an act of violence," he said, adding that the "they" in question were the "liberal blogs."

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Topics: Nancy Pelosi, Tea Party, Tom Perriello, VA-05

Tea Party Group Getting Cold Feet About Burning Perriello And Pelosi In Effigy?

Eric Kleefeld | November 16, 2009, 10:45AM

Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA)

The Danville TEA Party Patriots, a group that has courted controversy by planning to burn Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi at a rally this Saturday, may be having second thoughts.

"We've been getting a lot of flack about this," Danville TEA Party chairman Nigel Coleman told the Lynchburg News & Advance, "about burning those two in effigy and a lot of people in the public are unhappy about it. The story has gotten so large, it's kinda strange."

As the News & Advance notes, Coleman himself had announced this event by sending out a press release that promoted the event as "a move sure to spark controversy."

"I still would like to do it, but it's still up in the air at this point," Coleman added. "We've already started stacking firewood and building the effigy...we will have a bonfire. Burning someone in effigy was just gonna be part of it."

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Topics: Nancy Pelosi, Tea Party, Tom Perriello, VA-05

Tea Party

Tea Party Group To Get 'Fired Up For Freedom,' Burn Rep. Perriello In Effigy

Eric Kleefeld | November 13, 2009, 3:01PM

Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA)

The local Tea Party organization in Danville, Virginia, is taking their opposition to freshman Democratic Rep. Tom Perriello to a whole new level -- announcing that they will burn him in effigy, along with a similar image of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, at a rally called "Fired Up For Freedom."

"At this point we feel we have no representation in Congress," Danville Tea Party chairman Nigel Coleman told the Chatham Star Tribune, with the chief complaint being Perriello's vote for the House health care bill this past weekend.

Perriello's office declined to comment to TPM about this.

Late Update: DCCC chairman Chris Van Hollen has responded in a statement. "These shocking and despicable acts are becoming all too common at extreme right-wing Republican rallies. Hanging Members in effigy or displaying images of Nazi concentration camps on the steps of the Capitol have no place in any debate and Republican Members of Congress must condemn these actions," said Van Hollen. "While there should be a robust debate about reforming America's broken health insurance system, violent expressions are beyond the boundaries of a respectful debate. The American people are counting on Republicans to join Democrats in a constructive debate to help President Obama bring about urgently-needed health insurance reform."

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Topics: Health Care, Tea Party, Tom Perriello, VA-05

Tom Perriello

Perriello District Office Becomes Site Of Conservative Protest After His Pro-Health Care Bill Vote

Eric Kleefeld | November 10, 2009, 1:04PM

Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA), a freshman Democrat from a swing district who voted for the health care bill, is already seeing heated demonstrations back home.

Perriello's Danville office was the site of a protest organized by Americans For Prosperity, along with a counter-demonstration by health care bill supporters. The Danville News reports that the AFPers seriously outnumbered the pro-Perriello crowd: A margin of about 70 on one side, to five or six on the other.

Here's a video from the local ABC affiliate:

Late Update: The pro-Perriello demonstrators, the Virginia Organizing Project, maintain that there were in fact about 80 people on their own side, not the mere five or six that the local paper says. Here's a YouTube video, recorded by VOP volunteer Sho Dianat:

Late Late Update: It has come to our attention that this second video is from a set of demonstrations at Perriello's Charlottesville office, not the Danville office as we'd initially believed. We regret the error.

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Topics: Health Care, Tea Party, Tom Perriello, VA-05

Americans United For Change

Americans United Thanks Key Yes-Voters On House Health Care Bill In New Ads

Eric Kleefeld | November 10, 2009, 11:48AM

Americans United For Change has a new round of TV ads, thanking key House members for voting in favor of the health care bill, with a clear focus on moderate swing votes.

"Congressman __________ knows it's time to reform health care," the announcer says admiringly. "It's time to take power back from the insurance companies. No more denying coverage when you're sick. Time to put medical decisions in the hands of you and your doctor."

The House members on the ad campaign list are Rep. Joseph Cao (R-LA), the only Republican to vote yes, and a longer list of Democrats: Chris Carney (PA), Kathy Dahlkemper (PA), Zack Space (OH), Steve Driehaus (OH), Baron Hill (IN), Brad Ellsworth (IN), Marion Berry (AR), Vic Snyder (AR), Ciro Rodriguez (TX) and Tom Perriello (VA).

Interestingly, all the members on that same list voted in favor of the Stupak Amendment, restricting insurance coverage for abortion and arousing the ire of many liberals. But for the labor movement, it doesn't look like that amendment is a deal-breaker at the moment.