Tag: Ken Reid
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The June 18 Primary: Money, Trump and Identity Politics
By Ken ReidIt’s not an exact science to get lessons from primaries, where turnout can be as low as 10% and when voters can choose which primary they want to vote in (as is the case in Virginia). But I will go ahead and play political scientist here and give you some takeaways from what…
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Hung ‘Cowed’ Ducks Debates, GOP Activists
PAC scandal overshadows his campaign; Republicans better off with another nominee. By Ken Reid Although Hung Cao did not run a great campaign for U.S. House 10th district, which he lost in 2022, when the distinguished Navy captain veteran and Vietnamese refugee announced last July for U.S. Senate, I felt he was the best candidate.…
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Anti-Trump, Anti-Biden Votes in Super Tuesday Primaries: Will They Sway the November Election?
by Ken Reid Depending on what media you watch and read, the Super Tuesday primary results are the death knell for either presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump or for incumbent Democrat Joe Biden, who is likely to be renominated, too. Both candidates had sizable votes against them in their respective primaries. I am not a…
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Right to Life March Falls on Deaf Ears as Dobbs Makes Abortion Issue More Difficult for Republicans
by Ken Reid The 50th annual pro-life march took place in DC January 19; it has been held every year since 1974, the year after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade, that women had a constitutional protection for abortion, and thus negated 50 state laws regulating the procedure. It was cold and…
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The “Chanukah Dilemma”: Is the Menorah a Religious or Political Symbol?
by Ken Reid Thursday night is the final night of Chanukah, the eight-day Festival of Lights that I (and millions of Jews across the world) celebrate, to mark the miracle that occurred when the 2nd temple was restored following a rebellion by religious Jews against secular Hellenistic Jews and their Greek-Syrian allies in the 160’s…
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Most ‘Diverse’ General Assembly in Virginia History Takes Over in January
by Ken Reid The new post-redistricting Virginia General Assembly that will take control in January, probably with a Democrat majority, will be the most ethnically, racially and religiously diverse group of legislators in Richmond in history, and about ¼ will be female. In addition, some 52 of the 140 members of the General Assembly will…
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Ranked Choice Voting Bills Die in General Assembly
by Ken Reid All bills in the Virginia General Assembly to allow ranked choice voting (RCV) for town council, school board and constitutional officer elections, plus presidential primaries, were passed by indefinitely Feb. 7 by House and Senate committees, essentially being killed for this legislative session. Even in the Democrat Senate, the RCV bill was…
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Ranked-Choice Voting in Virginia? Not Yet (Except Maybe Primaries)
by Ken Reid A ranked-choice voting system (RCV) is an alternative electoral process that allows people to vote for multiple candidates on a ballot in order of the voter’s preference. RCV has been adopted in at least 60 jurisdictions across the nation, including statewide and federal elections in Maine and Alaska. Should Virginia counties and…
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Three Virginia Counties Are Great Places for Black People to Live
by Ken Reid In the aftermath of the nationwide orgy of riotous violence perpetrated by supporters of Black Lives Matter due to George Floyd’s killing at the hands of Minneapolis police in May 2020, both the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors and Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) School Board issued resolutions of “apology” for how…
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Impact of Supremes’ Roe v. Wade Ruling Way Overstated
by Ken Reid Should Governor Glenn Youngkin succeed in getting the Virginia General Assembly to curb abortion in Virginia from 25 weeks of pregnancy (at present) to 15, some 97% of abortions will still be protected, according to 2019 stats from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition, in six of the eight…
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It’s Easy to Love an Insurgent Without a Voting Record
by Ken Reid Leave it to GOP primary voters in Virginia to support the no-name insurgent candidates over incumbents who have demonstrated an ability to win elections. A case in point – the 10th congressional district GOP firehouse primary May 21. The supposed frontrunner, Prince William Supervisor Jeanine Lawson, lost badly despite raising more than…
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Does Loudoun Need a Police Department?
by Ken Reid The latest battle between the Left and Right in Loudoun is not over CRT, but PD – as in, “police department.” Should Virginia’s most-populous county transfer key law-enforcement functions from the elected sheriff to a newly created civil-servant police chief? No crime problem in Loudoun is driving this debate. No scandals, budgetary…
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The AG Should Investigate Portsmouth Political Corruption
by Ken Reid Philosopher David Hume once said: “The corruption of the best things gives rise to the worst.” That may be the fate of the Portsmouth, population of 93,000, in the absence of outside oversight. In the wave of protests over George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police in 2020, Portsmouth activists…