Insider's Poll - National Journal

National Journal released its Presidential insider poll on Saturday. Mark Warner jumped one spot to slide into a fairly comfortable number two position behind Hillary. While insiders still think Hillary is the candidate to beat, Warner has become the viable alternative. John Edwards continues his fall to the number three position, while John Kerry drops three more positions to number eight.

Candidate Points 1st Place Votes

1.Hillary Clinton 440 76
2.Mark Warner 283 10
3.John Edwards 170 5
4.Evan Bayh 105 3
5.Tom Vilsack 100 1
6.Joe Biden 79 1
7.Bill Richardson 72 1
8.John Kerry 69 0
9.Al Gore 46 1
10.Wesley Clark 34 0

The Insiders Poll listed Sen. George Allen of Virginia in the number one spot for Republican Presidential favorite in 2008. If you didn't see it last week, Warner Watch linked to a Rasmussen poll showing Warner beating Allen 49% to 44% for President among the voters of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The National Journal's commentary about Gov. Warner:

He has some personal wealth, and has received a strong response from the Virginia election this year. He is the Southern alternative, as well as the strongest moderate alternative. Warner has some outsider potential and a good story from the last Virginia election, but clinching the nomination is tougher when not occupying an office - harder to break through and make news.

Can a right-of-center, pro-business Democrat get the Democratic nomination? In any event; already on the short list for VP.

If Warner's recent trip to New Hampshire is any indication, he has a chance. But if he is to beat Hillary, he will need to keep exciting people while also proving he can win in the general election and proving Hillary can't. Warner has to quietly build an organization and educate himself to the land mines of a national run. My fear is that the early spate of good press will give Warner the impression this is a merry-go-round, when it really is a wild roller-coaster ride.

I do like the fact they pointed out Warner's outsider potential. He has a strong case to be the outside Washington candidate for President. A governor/ businessman running against the mess in Washington is always a good story. Why? His competition is the Democratic Senate Club made up of Clinton, Kerry, Edwards, Bayh, Biden, Feingold, and maybe even former Sen. Gore.

But I still don't think some of the insiders really get Warner. In the Virginia governor, they just see another DLC Democrat who is centrist for the sake of being moderate, but has electability outside Democratic strongholds.

But this view misses the direction Warner is headed in entirely. His centrism is not the mealy-mouthed centrism of someone in the middle because they lack conviction. He simply can't be defined by the political left, right or center if he is going to be about grabbing the American peoples attention with powerful ideas and expansive vision of America's future.

The real issues we face are no longer right vs. left or conservative vs. liberal. They’re about past vs. future. Our challenge, as Democrats, is to reclaim our role as the party of the future. - Mark Warner

Warner Adds Sexual Orientation to Workplace Rules

Equality Virginia Statement on Governor Mark R. Warner Adding “Sexual Orientation” To State Workforce Employment Rules

(Richmond, December 16) -- Equality Virginia today applauded Governor Mark R. Warner for amending the equal opportunity policy of the Commonwealth to prohibit workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation.

“Governor Warner continues his commitment to run the Commonwealth as a smart, well-managed business. When Virginia's top employers, including 14 of the 19 Fortune 500 companies based here have non-discrimination policies that include sexual orientation, it makes sense for Virginia to do the same. To compete in the marketplace for top-notch employees, you need to offer similar policies,” said Dyana Mason, Executive Director of Equality Virginia. “Sixty members of the House of Delegates and 24 Virginia Senators have already made commitments not to discriminate in their legislative hiring. It makes sense to extend this same protection to the entire Virginia state work force.”
http://www.equalityvirginia.org/site/pp.asp?c=dfIIITMIG&b=1306515

While the Governor's announcement this week may be viewed by some as a last-minute move to the left to attract more left-leaning democrats to a future presidential campaign, this is probably the most dramatic but harldy the first time Gov. Warner has stood up to be counted on civil rights issues:

First Lady Lisa Collis launched a fundraising campaign to establish a civil rights memorial on the grounds at Capitol Square. The memorial will honor Virginians who fought for equal rights for African Americans in the state. http://www.vacivilrightsmemorial.org/

Gov. Warner opposed rules that had been on the books forever which made it difficult for co-habiting gays and lesbians to get fair & equal treatment in lending practices for home mortgages. http://www.washblade.com/2003/7-18/news/localnews/familyloan.cfm

When the state tried to prohibit businesses and universities from extending health care benefits to gay partners of employees, Warner opposed those leading that fight. http://www.equalityvirginia.org/site/pp.asp?c=dfIIITMIG&b=190266

Warner named the head of Virginia's largest GLBT group to the Council on Human Rights. http://www.governor.virginia.gov/Press_Policy/Releases/2005/Aug05/0808b.htm

In a historic first for the state of Virginia, an openly gay man has been appointed to the board of a major public university. http://www.washblade.com/2005/9-9/news/localnews/trammell.cfm

Jeff Trammell, a public affairs professional and former gay issues adviser to the Al Gore and John Kerry presidential campaigns, has been named by Virginia Gov. Mark Warner to the 17-member William & Mary College Board of Visitors for a four-year term. William & Mary, in Williamsburg, is the nation's second oldest university and was recently named by Newsweek as the nation's "hottest small state school."

Warner supports hate crimes legislation.

Warner has taken many steps towards fairness & and equality for all.

The Only Morally Acceptable Course

After recent exonerations from DNA testing in decades old convictions, Gov. Warner ordered a sweeping review of thousands of cases to determine if new DNA evidence would produce more wrongly convicted Virginians. The Washington Post has more on this story.

RICHMOND, Dec. 14 -- Newly tested DNA from rapes committed more than 20 years ago has exonerated two Virginians who had each spent more than a decade behind bars, reigniting a national debate about post-conviction testing of biological evidence. Gov. Mark R. Warner (D) announced the test results Wednesday. One of the defendants served 20 years in prison for a rape in Alexandria that the new testing shows he did not commit. The other man was released in 1992 after serving about 11 years for an assault in Norfolk. The governor did not reveal the names of the exonerated men because they had requested privacy.

Warner said the discovery of two innocent men among the 31 newly examined cases compels an even more sweeping review. He ordered that 660 boxes containing thousands of files from 1973 through 1988 be examined for cases that can be retested using the latest DNA technology. There is no estimate on how long that would take or how much it would cost. "I believe a look back at these retained case files is the only morally acceptable course, and what truth they can bring only bolsters confidence in our system," Warner said in a statement.

Warner's order stems from the accidental discovery in 2001 of a treasure trove of evidence, including some aging biological samples, stapled to the yellowing case files of a former analyst in Virginia's state-run forensics lab. It is not clear why the analyst, who is dead, had meticulously preserved the evidence in the days before DNA tests existed.

Prosecutors in Alexandria and Norfolk have requested that the governor issue complete pardons in both cases. Read more: