Tag: Chris Saxman
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A Deeper Dive into CNBC’s Rankings
by Chris Saxman In doing a deeper dive on the CNBC Top States for Business rankings, two quotes keep running through my unsettled mind. Why unsettled? Well, last year I posed this question to Virginia FREE’s Board of Directors: If Virginia was a stock, would you Buy, Sell, or Hold? Not one said Buy. They…
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Mamma Mia! CNBC Says Virginia #1 for Business, but Chief Executive Mag says #13.
by Chris Saxman Beauty, the Greeks started saying back in 3rd century BC, is in the eyes of the beholder. CNBC announced today that Virginia is the Top State for Business in 2021. That’s great news! They rank their top 10 states: Virginia – North Carolina – Utah – Texas – Tennessee – Georgia – Minnesota…
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Reporting the Truth in the Post-Trump Era
by Chris Saxman When I was a teacher of U.S. History and Government, I had only one rule for my students and it was that they think. I told them flat out: I don’t care what you think – I care that you think. Time will take care of the rest. Their thinking was dependent…
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The Primary Results — Explaining the Obvious
by Chris Saxman There is no sense doing a deep dive on Tuesday’s elections results because there is not a lot of depth to explore. Somethings are just obvious. In the end: Money talks and bullshit walks. Challengers don’t win – incumbents lose. The leadership of the Democratic Party of Virginia is firmly in control.…
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John Warner’s Verse of Manner and Deed
by Chris Saxman It’s not so much what you do, but the manner in which you do it. John Warner has shown us, once again, that we really are better than we let on. The praise of Warner’s tenure as our United States Senator has been universal and consistent – John Warner was a great…
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Ranked Choice Republican Recap
by Chris Saxman Well, the Republican Party of Virginia actually pulled it off. Their Ranked Choice Voting Unassembled Convention Through the Legs off the Backboard with Twist (which lasted lemme see…one… two…three…no, FOUR days) finally ended and ended well. Not only did RPV manage to pull it off, but their statewide ticket of Glenn Youngkin,…
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Glenn Youngkin’s Good Vibes
by Chris Saxman Over the last week and a half, I attended three Glenn Youngkin campaign events with three different women — my wife Michele and our two daughters, Mary Kathryn and Nora. It wasn’t intentional that I went to separate events with each of them, it just worked out that way. All three are…
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CNU Polls — Post-Trump Shift Happening in Virginia
by Chris Saxman Folks, we have a ball game in Virginia. Christopher Newport University’s Wason Center released another poll today and VPM’s headline captured the catnip as their headline writer wrote, “New Virginia Poll Shows Support for Progressive Ideas, but Not Labels.” It should have read “Virginians are centrists but like free stuff.” In that…
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Did Joe Biden Just Cost Virginia Democrats 47,000 Votes?
by Chris Saxman Full disclosure on this one: I hate cigarettes. I have never smoked one — ever. When I waited tables and tended bar, the worst part of the job was cleaning ash trays. And that includes the time I had to break up a bar fight after which the teeth swallowing loser had…
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Will Virginia Republicans Rebound This Fall?
by Chris Saxman Virginia is just 38 short days away from its first statewide nomination as the Republicans are finally set to pick their candidates for the Big Three — Governor, Lt. Governor, and Attorney General on May 8th in an “unassembled convention.” Sticking with the date of May 8th is the smartest decision the…
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Yuck. Virginia Politics Need a Car Wash.
by Chris Saxman Spring in Virginia politics is like the daily pollen car wash. It’s that morning muck that cakes up the windshield worldview. This is when political campaigns send out unmitigated crap attack ads that make no sense but try to instill just the tiniest element of angst and fear in order to generate…
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Last Week in Virginia Politics
by Chris Saxman Just another big week in Virginia politics. Or as my wife often says, “Jiminy Hootie!” On Tuesday, I sent out some early observations of our Candidate and Issue Surveys of the Republican and Democratic fields for the top three statewide offices in Virginia’s government. In those top line observations, I saw that…
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Paid Leave and Paid Sick Days
by Chris Saxman In a recent column called Hitting the Cutoff Man, I explained the need to work with the business community if you want to solve problems in our economy. I used the famous “There’s no crying in baseball!” scene from A League of Their Own. The lesson was, if you have a goal…