Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

Crazy Time in Virginia

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by

James A. Bacon
in

David Toscano

Del. David Toscano, D-Charlottesville, is an old-school, moderate liberal Democrat. He consistently earns low ratings from conservative groups (only 7% from the American Conservative Unions) and high ratings from core Democratic constituencies (100% by the Virginia Sierra Club and 100% from the Virginia Education Association.” But, like many old-school Democrats, he’s fairly pro-business. The Virginia Foundation for Research and Economic Education (Virginia FREE) gives him a lifetime rating of 72%, and even the fiercely small-government National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) gives him 50%.

Sally Hudson

And that, it seems, is just too darn conservative for some Charlottesville-area Democrats. Sally Hudson, an assistant professor of public policy, education and economics at the University of Virginia, announced Tuesday that she intends to run against the House Minority Leader in the Democratic Party primary next year, reports the Daily Progress.

Hudson’s campaign said it’s time for the area to send someone with “more progressive values” to Richmond.

“I think Charlottesville is ready for new leadership, and Charlottesville is ready to lead,” Hudson said in a press release. “We’re one of the strongest Democratic districts in Virginia. We should be setting the agenda. We should be setting the bar.”

Bacon’s bottom line: With the mauling of Corey Stewart in his bid for Sen. Tim Kaine’s U.S. Senate seat and what many think is the inevitable transfer of power from Republicans to Democrats, the Republican Party of Virginia is in severe disarray. The GOP doesn’t know if it’s the populist party of Donald Trump or the party of traditional conservative principles. Republican morale is in the basement.

Meanwhile, with electoral and funding strongholds in Northern Virginia and Charlottesville, the Left in Virginia is stronger than it has ever been. And the Tom Periello wing of Virginia’s Democratic Party doesn’t have much more patience with old-school liberals like Toscano (or Ralph Northam) than it does with Republicans. If there’s anything that can reinvigorate Virginia’s GOP, it’s a Leftist purge of old-school Democratic Party politicians such as Toscano, and the elevation of candidates who make Republicans look tame and moderate by comparison.

Stay tuned. The 2019 House and Senate elections will get more interesting than you think.

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10 responses to “Crazy Time in Virginia”

  1. Reed Fawell 3rd Avatar
    Reed Fawell 3rd

    At a certain point I am not sure these trends make any difference at all, locally. C’ville is already close to 100% dysfunctional. Perhaps the goal here is to contain the plague of dysfunction to the town itself, and to UVa. in particular.

    Here is a startling paradox. Ralph Northam’s administration may be the most consequential in Modern Times. Northam and Cox are on a roll. It would be a crying shame to end it prematurely.

  2. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    So the GOP needs a “leftist purge” to regain their MOJO?

    All I can say is that if this is typical thinking on the right in Va these days – no wonder they are in disarray.

    You got to stand for something yourself – you can’t keep pointing at the other side…and making unhealthy sounding noises!

    Myself – I think the “disarray” in the GOP is Trump… and whether they want to become the party of Trump or they think they have a distinct identity.

    But “business” is a good example when comparing Trump to the GOP… these days.. Exactly what is the GOP stance towards business anymore?

    If the GOP were in charge of ED in Virginia, would we have gotten Amazon?

    What is the GOP position on the SCC role and how wind/solar would be done in Virginia?

    What would the GOP do about the MedicAid Expansion? If they were in charge , there would be no expansion.

    The question is – does the GOP represent the voters in Virginia?

    Some of us will decry the “leftist” shift but in reality – we’re talking about
    how voters – vote and despite a very RED RoVa, most of urban Va from NoVa to Richmond to Charlottesville and Hampton is blue – not “leftist” but also not RoVa Red.

  3. Steve Haner Avatar
    Steve Haner

    Running and winning are two different things. Any fool can get the signatures and run.

  4. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    You just can’t win by calling the other guy a “leftist”. The GOP ran on this message this past election and it was downright pitiful… that seems to be the sum total of their message these days in Virginia. I duno who their “strategist” is but he/she sounds like they are a teenager.

  5. djrippert Avatar
    djrippert

    I get your point Jim. There are enough moderate Democrats to keep the distinction between Democrat and Republican indistinct in Virginia. If the ultra lefties eliminate the moderate Democrats the distinction becomes more clear.

    However, you (and Larry) also get it right – the RPV has to stand for something.

  6. Reed Fawell 3rd Avatar
    Reed Fawell 3rd

    I guess one problem with too deep a divide is that either far side might win. Take Md. with Glendening, O’Malley, and Agnew.

    But with bad ethics, it does not matter who they are, although likely its worse at the extremes of either side. Still it can be plenty bad with moderates with ethics issues, like with McDonnell administration where matters plainly got out of control with transportation, and McAuliffe with his C’ville performance.

    Moderates with strong ethics, that’s best key, it seems to me. What’s happening now seems to prove that thesis in both Md. and Va. Likely, too, moderation tends to breed better ethics, if it is real moderation, something that is too rare among politicians today.

  7. Peter Galuszka Avatar
    Peter Galuszka

    Once again, there’s no real mention of the overweening boorishness of Donald Trump and how his erratic, rude behavior has affected the entire political system including Virginia’s Republican Party. Stewart tried to imitate him and got slaughtered.

    Why doesn’t Donald Trump exist on this blog?

    1. James A. Bacon Avatar
      James A. Bacon

      Liberals’ fascination with Donald Trump amazes me. I turn on “Morning Joe,” and the show is literally a non-stop Trump-bashing session, as if nothing else were happening in the world. I don’t know what liberals will do with themselves once Trump is gone.

      Only in Trump’s mind — and in the minds of liberals — is Trump the center of the universe. I have remarked numerous times on Trump’s boorish and inflammatory rhetoric. But this is a Virginia blog and there’s a lot of non-Donald Trump ground to cover.

  8. jalbertbowden Avatar
    jalbertbowden

    Willing to bet 85-90% of the new Amazon workforce will be straight blue ticket down the line. While that’s no change for most of NOVA, still will be many more voices/voices with $.
    Not really sure how that fits into this post, but reading this made that thought dawn on me.

    1. Reed Fawell 3rd Avatar
      Reed Fawell 3rd

      I agree with your comment. But it would be improper to turn this opportunity into a political show as real growth and prosperity for so many people is involved in a purely commercial transaction, one grits one’s teeth and bears it. To do otherwise, puts politics in a place it does not belong. We got enough of that already.

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