Blue Virginia:: Yes, Gerrymandering Sucks. No, It Did NOT Kill Virginia House Democrats in 2013. But it wasn't just money. That's often used as an excuse for everything, the be-all-end-all of politics. Well, sorry it, isn't. Having worked on a race (Jim Webb for U.S. Senate in 2006) in which we were wildly outspent in the primary, then started the general election campaign absolutely broke and facing an entrenched incumbent (George Allen) with a huge warchest, I can attest first-hand to the fact that while money matters, there's a LOT more to politics than that.
It's just laziness (and self-serving spin), frankly, among politicians, consultants, etc., to claim that all their problems stemmed from money, and that all their problems would be solved if they only had more of it. Not. Second, my own personal observation is that Democratic candidates didn't use all the tools at their disposal in the year 2013, and absolutely essential at this point. As for Democratic House candidates' presence on the blogs...uh, WHAT presence on the blogs? Republicans Just Changed The Rules AFTER A Virginia Election To Change The Outcome.
Ralph Northam eventually draws contrast with E.W. Jackson in Virginia lt. governor’s debate. If you took office as the state’s No. 2 official, Fox asked the preacher from Chesapeake, mightn’t such comments make it harder to govern? Both Jackson and the Democratic nominee, Sen. Ralph Northam, a physician from Norfolk, scored strong rhetorical points in the subsequent exchange — but it served Northam better, overall.
That’s because the Democrat’s top goal in this first of at least two debates was to highlight the contrasts between himself and Jackson. Otherwise, Democrats feared, voters focused on the gubernatorial contest might overlook the ultraconservative ideology of the Republican candidate in the lieutenant governor’s race. Although the differences felt muted for much of the debate, the ending more than made up for it. When Fox brought up Jackson’s record of inflammatory rhetoric, the Republican was ready. He then read a passage from the state constitution. But Northam was well-prepared, too.
First, the Democrat said, one shouldn’t say one thing in church and another outside. JMU Faculty and Students Discuss Obenshain's Efforts To Ban Emergency Contraceptive Pills | Democratic Party of Virginia. RICHMOND - Today, two former James Madison University faculty members as well as current and former students called attention to Republican Tea Party candidate for Attorney General Mark Obenshain’s time as a member of the James Madison University Board of Visitors and his crusade to stop the university's health center from dispensing emergency contraception. On April 18, 2003, while a member of the JMU Board of Visitors and Chair of the Education and Student Life Committee, Mark Obenshain led an effort to prohibit the university health center from dispensing emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs).
He said he hoped they are banned on college campuses while taking his cues from extreme social conservatives like Delegate Bob Marshall. Obenshain’s efforts resulted in banning emergency contraceptives on JMU’s campus. In June of that year, nearly 3,000 students signed a petition calling for the Board to reverse its decision and student representatives asked again in October 2003. Highs and lows of Assembly's last day. Lawmakers sealed the deal this week on a plan to pump billions of dollars over the next five years into Virginia's ailing transportation network. Their efforts, culminating in approval of modest tweaks requested by Gov. Bob McDonnell, easily signified the most consequential legislative achievement of the General Assembly's 2013 session. The governor's changes should help the legislation, HB 2313, survive legal challenges from opponents, many of whom spent recent months railing against the first tax increase for transportation since 1987, even as they failed to offer any viable alternative.
But lawmakers also blessed the governor's concession to slash an annual fee on hybrid and alternative-fueled vehicles from $100 to $64, a prudent move given that the fee itself is palatable only in the broader context of a compromise that everyone can find reason to dislike. It's the kind of divisive effort on a social issue that is becoming a trademark of Virginia's General Assembly. What the GOP calls "success"
McDonnell To Administration: We'll Play But I Make The Rules As We Go | Democratic Party of Virginia. Progress|VA. February 14, 2013 The Virginian-Pilot reports, "A requirement that all Virginia voters present photo identification at the polls moved a step closer to passage today. State Sen. Mark Obenshain's bill (SB1256) was endorsed by a House subcommittee, 5-1, and now advances to the full Appropriations Committee. The measure would invalidate several forms of ID currently accepted at the polls, including voter identification cards issued by the State Board of Elections, which contain no photo. Progressive Point: If Virginians needed any more examples of conservatives' disregard for voters, it's their new restrictions on our fundamental right to vote.
Not only are these new voting restrictions the latest in the line at attempts to change the election rules in their favor, but three new voter ID requirements in three years ensures few voters will be confident they have the necessary ID to cast a ballot. Virginia Cuts State Employees' Hours To Avoid Providing Obamacare Coverage. By Annie-Rose Strasser on February 11, 2013 at 9:00 am "Virginia Cuts State Employees’ Hours To Avoid Providing Obamacare Coverage" Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-VA) As part of his state’s new budget, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) and his administration are trying to force potentially tens of thousands of public sector employees in the state to work fewer hours so that the government can avoid providing them health care.
Under Obamacare, employers are required to offer health insurance options for any employee working 30 hours or more per week. The rule applies to a range of state employees, including adjunct college professors: The 29-hour limit is on its way to becoming state law, thanks to language inserted into the state budget at the request of Gov. Other public universities have made the same shift to lower hours for employees to avoid providing them with basic health benefits. With the Voting Rights Act hanging in the balance.
Almost exactly a year ago, Josh Gerstein noted, “In a political system where even the most trivial issues trigger partisan rancor, the Voting Rights Act has stood for several decades as a rare point of bipartisan consensus. Until now.” Quite right. As recently as 2006 – hardly ancient history – the Republican-led House and Republican-led Senate reauthorized the Voting Rights Act with overwhelming support. Then-President George W. Bush celebrated the law’s extension with a high-profile signing ceremony. But as the Republican Party has grown increasingly radicalized, the bipartisan support for the Voting Rights Act has quickly evaporated – Attorney General Eric Holder recently noted that there have been more conservative legal challenges to the Section 5 of the VRA over the past two years than during the previous four decades.
Ari Berman reports in The Nation on what’s at stake, and who’s driving the fight. And that was before the 2012 elections. How to siphon votes away from blue states, Virginia edition. The future of the electoral college? But some lawmakers are now trying to change that. On Wednesday, a subcommittee in the Virginia state Senate approved a bill, authored by Sen. Bill Carrico (R) that would split the state's electoral votes between different candidates.
Here's how this would work: Each presidential candidate would get a certain number of electoral votes depending on how many congressional districts he or she carried in Virginia. On top of that, an extra two electoral votes would be awarded to whichever candidate carries the most districts in total. As Dave Weigel points out, this would have altered the results of the 2012 election. Not surprisingly, there are a plenty of objections this scheme, but let's go with the two big ones: 1) The political objection. But there's also the precedent to consider. 2) The principled objection. Further reading: --Dave Weigel dissects Carrico's argument that his bill would give Virginia's rural districts a greater voice. Virginia GOP takes pity on seniors trying to vote. Bill to change allocation of Virginia’s electoral votes advances - Richmond Times-Dispatch: Virginia News:
Legislation that would apportion Virginia’s electoral votes by the winner of each congressional district, instead of the current winner-take-all system, emerged from a Senate subcommittee today without a recommendation. The vote in a Privileges and Elections subcommittee was 3-3, with Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel, R-Fauquier, siding with the two Democrats on the six-member panel to produce a tie. The legislation now heads to the full committee, where a 10-5 GOP majority is likely to send it to the floor of the full Senate for a vote. Sen. Charles W. Sen. Critics of the legislation, this time around mostly Democrats, have labeled the bill and others like it “sore losers bills” considering the victory of President Barack Obama in the commonwealth in 2012. Despite a solid popular vote victory in 2012, an apportionment of Virginia's electoral vote would have given Obama only four votes to 9 for Republican nominee Mitt Romney.
Sen. “There's no partisan ax to grind here,” he said But Sen. Blue Virginia:: BREAKING: While Dems Distracted by Inauguration, Virginia Senate GOP Stages a Coup. You don't get more slimy, sneaky, underhanded, etc. than this (great work by Ben Tribbett alerting us to what was going on in the following series of Facebook updates): "Wow- Republicans in the Virginia Senate are now trying to redraw the maps and draw at least one Democratic Senator out of the Senate. Happening right now on the floor.
" "COUP GOING ON IN VIRGINIA SENATE: Republicans have just brought all new Senate districts to the floor with Henry Marsh gone in DC, now 30 minutes of debate before they send them to the House of Delegates. " "The Republican redistricting bill creates a 6th majority-minority seat. " After Ben's first Facebook notice, I went to the live feed of the Virginia State Senate and watched as Sen. P.S. P.P.S. UPDATE: Sen. UPDATE #2: One of the sharpest Virginia political analysts I know, KentonNgo, tweets: "If VA Republicans were smart enough not to touch the already cleared VRA districts, the plan will likely stand.
UPDATE #6: NLS has the new districts. Virginia Redistricting 2013: State GOP Rams Bill Through Senate In Absence Of Democratic Sen. Henry Marsh.