Category: Politics
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How to Waste Millions: Run Political Ads on Television
As I was standing in line for an hour-and-a-half at the Tuckahoe Elementary School voting station yesterday, I had the good fortune to strike up a conversation with the gentlemen next in line: John Adams, the recently retired chairman of the Martin Agency. Naturally, the conversation turned to the presidential election. Adams opined that the…
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What the Trump Victory Means for Virginia
We woke up this morning to a very different world than most of us expected twenty-four hours ago: the prospect of a Trump presidency and a Republican-controlled Congress. After four years of political gridlock, the odds have improved immeasurably that something will get done in Washington. You might not like the result, but the logjam…
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Joe Morrissey as Post-Racial Candidate
by James A. Bacon One of the benefits of living in the Richmond region is having front row seats on the never-ending saga that is Joe Morrissey — Richmond’s very own answer to Anthony Weiner. We Richmonders can avail ourselves of near-daily newspaper and TV exposes while the rest of the state must settle for…
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A New Book Examines the Virginia Way
by Peter Galuszka Over the past several years, Virginia has seen plenty of high drama and low politics. There was the tawdry corruption trial of former governor Robert F. McDonnell (R) and his wife, Maureen. At the University of Virginia, Teresa Sullivan, the school’s popular president, was temporarily ousted in a mysterious coup. Everywhere were…
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Give It Up, Dudes, There’s Nothing There
by James A. Bacon The Wall Street Journal editorial page has doubled down on the newspaper’s insinuation that Governor Terry McAuliffe’s financial support for state senatorial candidate Jill McCabe was somehow linked to her husband Andrew McCabe’s handling of the FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server. Drawing upon the Journal’s news report the…
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Playing the Racism Card… Just Pathetic
In other Petersburg-related follies… Petersburg Mayor W. Howard Myers has told fellow City Council members that the attacks on his leadership are motivated by racism and partisanship. “I will as a representative of Ward 5 and as major duly to my right hand, serve the public without blemish and from scare tactics from a few racists[s]…
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The System Is Rigged… and Trump Ought to Know
Back in the day, Virginia was one of the most reliable Republican states in presidential elections. That changed in 2008, with the election of President Obama. Current polling indicates that the deeply flawed Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton has a double-digit lead over Donald Trump. The core of this support seems to be amongst college-educated whites…
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Why “The Donald”
Last summer as the Dow Jones average hovered near its all-time high of 18,000+, one of the commentators on the CNBC business channel commented that Lloyd Blankenfein had just joined the billionaire’s club. I was a bit taken aback. While Goldman is the premiere investment bank on Wall Street, during the 2008-2009 financial crisis, the…
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McAuliffe’s Dangerous Game
by James A. Bacon Once upon a time, when he helped run L. Douglas Wilder’s history-making gubernatorial campaign, Paul Goldman was regarded as a progressive voice in Virginia politics. If he writes many more op-eds like the one published Sunday in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, he could well become anathema to progressives. Not because he has changed his…
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What Donald Trump Tells Us about the Changing Character of Virginia Politics
by Frank Muraca When Donald Trump became the presumptive GOP nominee, Virginia’s Republican candidates for governor and Congress offered tepid support. Barbara Comstock, representing the diverse 10th district in Northern Virginia, actually withheld an endorsement, saying that Trump needed to “earn” her vote. And when House Speaker Bill Howell told the Times-Dispatch that he, too, would back Trump, he tacked on an…
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Here, Piggy Piggy Piggy!
by James A. Bacon Any time business leaders, university presidents and legislators agree on a great new spending initiative, I put my hand on my pants pocket to make sure my wallet is still there. When their brilliant idea slides through the General Assembly without a dissenting voice, or even a word of skepticism from the news media,…
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VLDS Big Data Just Got Bigger
by James A. Bacon This blog post is geeky, but it’s important — so stick with me! If you favor public policy based on what works as opposed to public policy based on ideology or political muscle, then you should be very encouraged by the progress made by the Virginia Longitudinal Data Survey (VLDS) in incorporating new…
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A Book Review for an Election Year
Along with income inequality, one of the most-discussed issues in the Presidential election year is the role of money in political campaigns. Following the Roberts Court’s ruling in the Citizens United Case, which basically equated money with free speech, large numbers of Political Action Committees masquerading as charities, such as the Americans for Progress, were…
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Gas Worse Carbon Polluter than Coal, Says Sierra Club
by James A. Bacon The Sierra Club has attacked the idea of natural gas as a “clean fuel” in a new broadside against the proposed construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) and the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) through Virginia. When viewed over the “natural gas fuel cycle” — including production, transportation and combustion — natural…
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Virginia’s Pet Rock
As if we needed any more proof that Virginia is tragically behind the times, here it is: The Commonwealth is one of only four states in the nation that has not designated an official “state rock, mineral or gemstone,” writes Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath in his most recent constituent newsletter. Fortunately, Deeds has submitted legislation recognizing…