Perriello addresses Danville Democratic Committee

A week before area TEA party protesters were scheduled to burn an effigy of U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello to protest his vote for health care reform, the Danville Democratic Committee held its annual banquet where the 5th District Congressman gave the keynote address.

About 50-60 people attended the event at the Bibleway Church Events Center, where members made humorous references to the protesters and their scheduled burning of Perriello’s effigy and that of U.S. Rep. and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

Danville City Councilman Adam Tomer, just after introducing the Congressman to attendees, presented him with a gift to mark the occasion.

“I want you to keep this in your pocket,” Tomer said to Perriello, handing him something dangling from a string as audience members laughed. It was a tea bag.

“You’re doing a fantastic job,” Tomer told the Congressman.

“Thank you, I think,” Perriello replied.

Perriello then began his speech pointing out the challenges — and opportunities — ahead for a nation in the midst of an economic crisis.

“It’s a difficult time, but it’s an exciting time,” he said. 

He alluded to the 2008 election in which the Democrats emerged victorious. Perriello said the vote was about people wanting to see problems solved instead of what he called the politics of blame.

Jobs are being sent overseas and the country is now facing the consequences of runaway spending by the federal government, Wall Street and consumers, he said. For years, everyone was spending money they didn’t have, Perriello said.

This is a time to redefine the country’s competitive advantage, Perriello said.

“I couldn’t be more excited about what we’ve accomplished in Washing-ton so far,” he said.

The economic stimulus package was not perfect, but it prevented a depression, Perriello said. Every state in the U.S. would have looked like California, which is in a budgetary mess, if Congress had not passed it, he said.

Doing a poor job in Congress — just sitting back and doing nothing, raking in donations and getting re-elected — would be easy, he said. Perriello said it is exciting to be part of a historic time, voting on historic legislation.

Wall Street ran itself and the economy in the ground and now it wants a bailout, he said. Now it’s time to bring about accountability, Perriello said.

“We kind of need to shake it up a little and start a new era of accountability and responsibility,” Perriello said.

As a nation, we need to focus on investing in the jobs of the future instead of those of the past, he said. The Japanese surpassed the U.S. with hybrid vehicles and now the Chinese are building electric cars, while the U.S. is protecting the automobiles of 20 years ago, he said.

Virginia is “exploding with potential” for energy jobs, he said. The state must seize the opportunity now instead of waiting one year or five years, he said.

“We can’t keep thinking in terms of 20th-century strategies,” Perriello said. 

Next year’s election “will be a referendum on what we’ve done” and about getting things done instead of playing politics, he said.

After Perriello’s speech, Sheila Baynes, chairwoman of the committee, presented a Danville Dem-ocratic Committee award to Perriello for being an outstanding Democrat.

“You have worked harder than probably any Congressman I’ve ever seen,” Baynes said.

“He is here pretty much every weekend,” she said of Perriello.

Baynes also gave Tomer a public service award for outstanding service on Danville City Council.