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elleng

(131,018 posts)
Tue Sep 4, 2012, 05:53 PM Sep 2012

Wayne Powell's in Charlotte!

http://prospect.org/article/man-who-wants-beat-eric-cantor

This afternoon, I spoke to Wayne Powell, a Virginia Democrat who is running to unseat House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in the state’s 7th District, which extends down to Richmond. Powell, a small business owner and retired Army intelligence officer, thinks Cantor is too ambitious to effectively represent the district. “People are tired of not being listened to, not being attended to—he doesn’t return calls. Unless they’re his supporters or his contributors, he doesn’t have time for them,” says Powell. By contrast, he explains, “I’m a real representative—I don’t want to be speaker or leader of the House.”

The 7th District is one of the more conservative areas of Virginia—hence, Eric Cantor—so I asked Powell what he would do to distinguish himself from other Democrats, and even President Obama. On Obamacare, he was unwilling to distance himself, and presented his support as the rational decision of a businessman. “I’ve hired two people in the last year who were able to stay on to their parent’s insurance, and so the firm didn’t have to cover it,” he said.

If there’s an issue where Powell stands in opposition, it’s the war in Afghanistan. He doesn’t think that we should have entered the country, and he thinks we should leave as quickly as possible. “I think we should bring our troops home. That’s my view, as a military guy.”

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