Rep. Gerry Connolly Issues a Statement on the Death of Virginia Democratic Political Giant George Burke

by Lowell

The following statement from Rep. Gerry Connolly is on the death last night of Virginia Democratic political giant George Burke after a battle with cancer. For our part, George and I had a contentious relationship in the early years, but that changed, and I ended up both liking and respecting George a great deal for his intelligence, passion, commitment, strategic sense, vast knowledge of politics (and many other things; note the photo of George and former Speaker Tip O'Neill). I will greatly miss our frequent Gchats and other conversations, including his help in sharpening my understanding on a wide variety of topics. Condolences to George's family, (many) friends and colleagues.

Last night, we lost a dear friend and colleague, George Burke. Full of passion and energy, he dedicated his life to fighting for our progressive Democratic values. A trusted, wise and gifted political mind, George's vision and leadership helped build and grow our Democratic Party of Virginia. 

A man of many talents, he was an accomplished journalist, photographer, congressional staffer, senior labor leader with the International Association of Fire Fighters, the Chair of the 11th Congressional District Democratic Committee, and my trusted confidant and Communications Director. 

For more than 30 years I have been fortunate to call George my close friend. We will all miss his stories, his unwavering optimistic approach to life, and his love for his friends and family. His loss will leave a great void in all our lives and I will miss him dearly. My thoughts are with his wife Sharon, and his three children Ian, Caitlin, and Sean.

Time for State Attorneys General - Including Virginia's - to Look Into Using RICO Laws to Prosecute Fossil Fuel Companies Just like Tobacco Industry?

by Lowell

In recent days, there has been a barrage of stories, statements, videos, etc. about the increasingly loud clamor to investigate, and potentially prosecute, ExxonMobil under racketeering ("RICO") statutes (UPDATE: or Sarbanes-O or other securities laws). Why? As today's New York Times explains:

More than 40 of the nation’s leading environmental and social justice groups demanded a federal investigation of Exxon Mobil on Friday, accusing the huge oil and gas company of deceiving the American public about the risks of climate change to protect its profits.

In a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch, the groups, citing recent news reports, suggested that Exxon Mobil might be guilty of the same kind of fraud that the tobacco companies were found to have perpetrated when they hid the risks of smoking. Those violations ultimately cost the companies tens of billions of dollars in penalties. 

The call for an investigation echoes demands made in recent days by three Democratic presidential candidates, including Hillary Rodham Clinton and Bernie Sanders, and by several Democrats in Congress.

For a lot more on Exxon's decades-long campaign, despite the company's knowledge as far back, see Exxon: The Road Not Taken, by InsideClimate News. That news organization, by the way, richly deserves any and all relevant awards for its groundbreaking, in-depth, detailed, carefully-researched series on ExxonMobil's corporate strategy of funding climate science denial, just as the tobacco industry spent millions of dollars (and decades) funding efforts to deny the link between smoking and cancer. Except what Exxon did (and continues to do) was arguably worse than the tobacco industry: while cigarettes kill millions, global warming threatens to trash the entire planet, leading to untold death and misery for humanity and nature. In short, what Exxon's been doing arguably constitutes crimes against humanity and nature. More actionable, however, is that what Exxon has done may very well be subject to prosecution under the "Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act - just as the DOJ did to the tobacco industry for knowingly lying about the dangers of cigarette smoking."

I fully support these efforts to have Exxon criminally prosecuted for the aforementioned reasons. I also strongly encourage action NOT just at the federal level, but also at the STATE level, including right here in Virginia. Along those lines, see the "flip" for a press release by Climate Hawks Vote, "calling upon state attorneys general to open probes whether ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) committed any wrongdoing in their states through its decades-long campaign of climate-change denial." Those attorneys general were all from "blue" or "purple" states - CA, CT, DE, HI, IL, IA, ME, MD, MA, NH, NM, NY, OR, RI, VT, WA.

Saturday News: "Springtime for Grifters" in the GOP 2016 Presidential Race; Time to Reform Our Criminal Justice System

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, October 31. So...have you decided when you're voting on Tuesday? Also, check out President Obama's weekly addresss, on the need to reform our criminal justice system.

• Krugman: Springtime for Grifters ("The point is that we shouldn’t ask whether the G.O.P. will eventually nominate someone in the habit of saying things that are demonstrably untrue, and counting on political loyalists not to notice. The only question is what kind of scam it will be.")
• GOP “death spiral” shocker: “We’ve gone beyond the tipping point on the demographic changes” ("Pollster Stanley Greenberg lays out why the deck is stacked against the Republican Party in 2016")
• “Douchebag says what?”: Stephen Colbert unloads on CNBC, GOP crybabies
• This strange, worrisome GOP race (I'd say "deeply disturbing" - both the extremist candidates and the corporate media's refusal to call them out for their lies.)
• Poll: Hillary Clinton Hits 50 Percent Support
• GOP and the Rise of Anti-Knowledge ("Ben Carson’s rise to the top of the Republican presidential field shows that many Republicans, especially Christian fundamentalists, have decoupled from the real world — and are proud of it.")
• Will the GOP Protect Rubio From Bush’s Worst Attacks? ("As Rubio’s stock rises, the party establishment may want to keep one Florida politician from pulling the other one down with him.")
• Why the GOP Won’t Like Any Honest Debate Moderators ("The Republican National Committee’s problem really isn’t with CNBC." Agreed, they want a right-wing echo chamber or they freak out.)
• America needs an independent presidential candidate (The problem for Jim Webb is he hates campaigning, fundraising, etc, etc.)
• Why the Republican Tax Plans Won’t Work ("There is no rationale for across-the-board tax cuts, no matter what the Republican candidates say.")
• Donor With Deep Pockets Backs Rubio, in Blow to Bush
• In Shift, U.S. Is Sending Special Forces to Syria
• At NAACP meeting, McAuliffe announces initiative to address school discipline
• The Va. Democratic Party has a million-dollar man, thanks to Gov. McAuliffe ("Philip Munger, a billionaire’s son with no obvious connection to the commonwealth, is the largest individual donor to the state party in 20 years — and the type of highflier the governor specializes in courting.")
• Warner, Kaine and Comstock agree—new budget is a good deal for Virginia
• Dominion says it would run natural gas pipeline through mountain to avoid rare salamander
• Our view: Who's giving out what for Halloween
• UPDATED: McAuliffe hitting Roanoke on Sunday to rally voters in Senate race
• Hippen changes approach in rematch race for Villanueva's 21st District seat ("You've seen this race before. Del. Ron Villanueva and Susan Hippen are facing off in a rematch of the 2013 race that Villanueva won with 54 percent of the vote.")
• Senate race between Wagner, McCollum among Virginia's most expensive (Dominion's BFF Frank Wagner richly deserves to lose.)
• Military veterans vie for District 2 seat (The one to vote for is Democrat Joshua King, "a 34-year-old Mississippi native, Iraq war veteran and sheriff’s deputy in Fairfax County.")
• Promising proposal for port's future
• Democratic robo-call sparks GOP complaint in Arlington board election (This is utterly ridiculous; it was a mistake by the vendor, quickly corrected, no comparison to Republican Mike McMenamin's push polling and lies.)
• Forecast: Trick-or-treaters need not fear

GOP: Party of Whiners

By Kindler

Back in the day, Republicans aimed to be as macho as Clint Eastwood – from his “make my day” era, that is, not his less noteworthy “talking to a chair” period. Today, a better symbol of the GOP would be famously whiny comedian Jon Lovitz (an Obama critic, appropriately enough).

While I’m not exactly sure what the Republican platform is these days, I know that it involves a lot of kvetching. The most recent presidential debate was a veritable Whine Festival. The highlight may have been Ted Cruz’s outburst against the media, for having the nerve to ask him a question about the budget. He responded to this outrage by outlining how much reporters have oppressed him and his competitors to be Leader of the Free World.

Of course, complaining about the media is now a standard GOP tactic, from Rand Paul fighting with female reporters who ask questions he doesn’t like to Donald Trump grousing about "gotcha" questions, e.g., about the names of key foreign leaders.

Trump, of course, has made a career of bitching and moaning and attacking and bad-mouthing others. Anytime anyone says a bad word about him, the man wails like a banshee against his accuser. As Trump himself admitted, "I am the most fabulous whiner."

A Few Quick Thoughts on "Tolls vs. Guns"

by Lowell

I've been chatting with people about this subject for days now, whether "tolls" or "guns" will prove to be a more potent political issue in Tuesday's Virginia General Assembly elections. Almost everyone I've chatted with about this has agreed that "tolls" could be a much more potent issue, politically, than "guns." It's not because "tolls" are more important than "guns" - far from it; the toll issue is wildly overblown, and regardless infinitely less important than thousands of people per year losing their lives to gun violence in this country.

It's also worth noting, as the Washington Post correctly pointed out this morning, that Virginia Republicans have concocted an almost completely false "horror story" about tolls, Unfortunately, that doesn't mean it won't work as a political issue, especially given the hundreds of thousands of dollars Republicans are spending to bludgeon voter with their dishonest, demagogic message.

Meanwhile, when it comes to guns, everyone I've chatted with has agreed that, although huge majorities (80%+) of the public agree on commonsense, gun safety measures like universal background checks, not letting domestic abusers have access to guns, etc., the PASSION has always been - and continues to be - with the small minority who really really loooooooove guns. So, we'll see what happens on Tuesday, given the $1 million+ in TV ads Michael Bloomberg's gun control group is running in Northern Virginia and Richmond, but if past patterns hold true, it sadly could be the case that those ads don't achieve the desired result. In fact, they COULD theoretically have the perverse effect of riling up the "gun nuts" even more than they're usually riled up (I know, seems impossible...).

Finally, I know it's borderline shocking (lol), but I find myself strongly agreeing with something Arlington Sun Gazette editor Scott McCaffrey of the wrote this morning:

Virginia regulators rain on Dominion’s solar parade; 76 MW in doubt

by Ivy Main (cross posted from Power for the People VA)

Last week Virginia’s State Corporation Commission rejected Dominion Virginia Power’s proposed 20-MW solar facility in Remington, Virginia, citing the company’s failure to evaluate third-party market alternatives. Although the solar industry had urged this result, the ruling throws the Remington project into limbo—and with it, three other solar projects Dominion has in the works. Moreover, the language in the order has many advocates concerned the SCC may be setting a higher bar for solar projects than for fossil fuel projects.

The ruling that utilities must consider market alternatives to a self-build project is a win for Virginia’s solar industry, which argued that ratepayers would be better served if Dominion let the industry build and operate the Remington project through a third-party power purchase agreement (PPA). That approach would take advantage of third-party developers’ access to more favorable treatment under the federal tax code. Ratepayers would also benefit from the slimmer profit margins of private sector companies compared to the 10% return-on-investment guaranteed to Virginia utilities.

Friday News: Brat*** Crazy; Republicans Fallacious "Highway Horror Story About I-66 Tolls"

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, October 30. And yes, that flier really does say that you should vote Republican to "preserve our Christian heritage." You know who else talks this way? Hint: it's got three of the same initials, all consonants, 11th letter in the alphabet.

• Senate approves two-year bipartisan budget agreement ("The legislation passed by a 64-35 vote early Friday, despite last-minute efforts to derail its passage. It now heads to President Obama for his signature.")
• The Republicans are right. We in the media do suck. ("But not for the reasons the candidates complained about Wednesday night. We in the media suck because we have rewarded their rampant dishonesty and buffoonery with nonstop news coverage. Which, of course, has encouraged more dishonesty and buffoonery.")
• Hillary Clinton Joins Call for Justice Dept. to Investigate Exxon (Time for state AGs, including ours, to look into this as well - and not just against ExxonMobil. I'm definitely going to be writing more about this.)
• Can Jeb Bush come back?
• The worst thing about CNBC’s disastrous debate: It gave the GOP even more power over future debates
• Inviting the debt apocalypse: GOP candidates freak out about the debt, and plan to make it worse
• Jeb to donors: ‘I realize I need to get better'
• Jeb Bush's Campaign Blueprint ("A 112-page internal document provided to U.S. News includes more dirt on Marco Rubio, Iowa vote goals and a January advertising plan.")
• Reid calls on Rubio to resign ("'Why should the taxpayers of this country and people of Florida put up with having only one senator?' the Senate minority leader says in an interview.")
• Jeff's Notes: The politics behind McAuliffe's "Man Up" comment (Republicans are trying to undercut Parker's standing as a spokesman for gun control, including in the ads running on TVs in Richmond and northern Virginia...)
• Brat one of 9 Republicans to vote against Ryan (He's Brat-s*** crazy!)
• Governor all over NoVa, close Senate races this weekend
• Virginia Republicans concoct a highway horror story about I-66 tolls (Basically, every word you hear in those TV ads is false.)
• Father of slain TV reporter apologizes for ‘worst nightmare’ comment ("But Gov. McAuliffe says state senator who called police about the Facebook message needs to 'man up.'")
• Northern Va. elections come down to guns vs. tolls
• Roanoke County supervisor candidates discuss economic development at final forum
• Mason, Overy clash on claims in 93rd House debate in Williamsburg
• Our view: What will election reveal?
• Portsmouth leaders owe city an apology ("A Mayor and a councilman who condescend to residents. Council members who berate and belittle each other from the dais. Residents who hurl insults from the podium.")
• Metro board zeros in on an unconventional choice for GM ("Neal S. Cohen, a veteran airline executive, is described as 'brilliant' and 'quirky.'")
• Decades-old ordinance bans teens from trick-or-treating in Hampton Roads
• Port of Virginia and VIG terminal reach 50-year deal
• More upheaval in Arlington with election? Or return to status quo?
• Roanoke-based coal company to remediate environment in Southwest Virginia
• Greater Greater Washington: For Alexandria and Arlington elections: Bill Euille, Katie Cristol, Christian Dorsey
• Outside money on both sides of gun control debate elevates issue in 10th District race
• Capital Bikeshare is coming to Fairfax. First stop, Reston.
• D.C. area forecast: Cool and quite sunny today, clouds increase on Saturday as rain threatens by Sunday

Karen Tumulty's WaPo Article on Marco Rubio Illustrates Much That's Wrong with Corporate Media

by Lowell

People sometimes make fun of Politico as nothing better than "Tiger Beat on the Potomac" - all personalities, gossip, scandal, who's up and who's down, politics as entertainment/horse race, etc. No substance, in other words. But unfortunately, it's not just Politico, it's vast swaths of the corporate media that's really no better than "Tiger Beat."

Take this mindless drivel by Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post on how Marco Rubio had a "strong showing" at last night's debate, mainly because of a silly, schoolyard-style back-and-forth with "JEB" Bush over Rubio's frequent absences from the U.S. Senate. Of course, Rubio didn't directly address that perfectly valid criticism, but instead used his abundant rhetorical skills to turn the tables on tongue-tied, pathetic "JEB."

So here's the problem: nothing in Tumulty's inspid article makes the case as to why Rubio had a "strong showing" last night, other than that the corporate media proclaimed him to have had a "strong showing." On substance, the reality is that Rubio was basically total bull****, distortions, and outright lies. To quote a top-rated comment on Tumulty's article:

[N]ever mind that he was lying about Hillary's testimony, lied when he denied that the moderator was correct about his finances, and lied when he denied that the moderator was correct about his tax plan.

A few more whoppers by Rubio jump out at me from the debate transcript as either a) wild lies; b) massive distortions; c) "a" and "b" combined. Yet Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post tells us that Rubio had a "strong" debate last night? My god. Even crazier, THIS is the media the right wingers bash as "liberal?" The fact is, there's absolutely nothing "liberal" about it.

• "We can't afford to have another four years like the last eight years."  (In fact, things have gotten MUCH better - despite constant obstructionism and wild irresponsibility from Rubio's party - since the Bush/Cheney/Republican Great Recession which started in 2007/2008)
• "You have small businesses in America that are struggling. For the first time in 35 years, we have more businesses closing than starting. We have a world that's out of control and has grown dangerous and a president that is weakening our military and making our foreign policy unstable and unreliable in the eyes of our allies. And our adversaries continue to grow stronger."  
• "[M]y tax plan is a pro- family tax plan."  (No...no it's not. In any way/shape/form.)
• "I know the Democrats have the ultimate SuperPac. It's called the mainstream media who every single day..."  (Hahahahaha.)
• "[N]umerically, it's gonna be higher. But the greatest gains, percentage-wise, for people, are gonna be at the lower end of our plan." (Exact opposite, actually.)
• "I think that Dr. Carson's ideas are good ideas." (Name on "idea" of Carson's that's a good one. I dare you.)
• "But this is what you're seeing in the Republican debate that you didn't see in that Democrat debate. You didn't see it for a minute. You didn't see these kind of ideas being batted around, and being batted around in a way that's civil and smart and that's trying to help to inform the voter out there.What you saw was a parade of, 'I'll give you this for free; I'll give you that for free.'" (No, Rubio just doesn't want to see the top 1% pay any more.)
• "The Republican Party is blessed to have 11 good candidates, (inaudible) 10 good candidates. The Democrats can't even come up with one."  (Seriously? Is this supposed to be a bad joke?)
• "The fact that it's happened for so many people here throughout our history, that's what makes us special. But, now for millions of Americans, it's slipping away." (To the extent this is true, it's thanks to Rubio's own party)

P.S. Also see We must now fear Marco Rubio: The GOP’s best bet is sneaky, slippery and deceptively dangerous. So true.

Audio: Parkers Rip "Gutless Coward" Virginia Legislators Like Scott Lingamfelter in "Pockets of the Gun Lobby"

In a conference call yesterday, Andy and Barbara Parker - the parents of murdered Roanoke TV journalist Alison Parker - ripped Virginia legislators like Del. Scott Lingamfelter (R) as "gutless cowards" who are in the "pockets of the gun lobby." The Parkers urged voters to elect Democrat Sara Townsend on November 3. Here's a partial transcript of the Parkers' powerful remarks.

Andy Parker: ...After my daughter Alison was murdered on live television, I pledged to do whatever it takes to reduce gun violence in this country and in the Commonwealth. And that includes electing political leaders who will support commonsense gun legislation. And that's why Barbara and I support Sara Townsend; she's not afraid to take on the gun lobby and save lives. And another thing I'm sure you've seen, over the past few weeks I've [called out] several politicians for being gutless cowards. Unfortunately, the General Assembly has more than its share, but I think that Scott Lingamfelter is in a league of his own. In fact, I think you'll find his picture next to the definition of 'coward' in the dictionary. By preventing these [life-saving?] bills from even reachiung the main body for a vote as he does time and again just shows how deeply he is in the pockets of the gun lobby. He puts NRA money ahead of the safety of families and law enforcement in the Commonwealth, and for us that's unconscionable and it just doesn't cut it. And that's why we want to do whatever we can do to get Sara [Townsend] elected.

Barbara Parker: ...I believe that our legislators are elected to serve and protect us. Del. Lingamfelter is Chairman of the House Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee. To me, that says 'serve and protect,' and he's doing neither. He's been an opponent of any gun violence prevention legislation as long as he's been there. [Linfamgfelter] recently said he opposes laws to disarm domestic abusers, saying there's always the potential that someone could file a restraining order out of harassment and these people are vindictive. So he's accusing these women who are victims of domestic abuse of lying in order to be vindictive. And women are killed with guns by intimate partners 21% higher than the national average here in Virginia. And for him to say that - these women are just trying to get away and protect their children and protect themselves - it's just unconscionable. We have learned so much in the past two months about the state of affairs in the legislature in Virginia, and I find it frankly condescending and horrifying that they can say these things and that people accept it. I don't accept that.

Andy Parker: Another thing I found is that guys like Lingamfelter...they run from it, they don't even acknowledge that we're here. We never even got any kind of message from any of the legislators here, other than Robert Hurt. They know that they have blood on their hands, that they're taking blood money from the NRA, and they don't even have the decency to reach out to us or look us in the eye. And I guarantee you if Lingamfelter, if he were here, he'd be running just like the rest of these cowards.

Thursday News: The "Brawl in Boulder in 50 Seconds;" McAuliffe to Barnstorm Virginia on Sunday with State Senate on Line

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, October 29. Also check out the "Brawl in Boulder in 50 Seconds." What a s*** show.

• Budget deal clears House despite opposition from many in GOP
• Paul Ryan Set to Take Over as Speaker, Hoping to Manage the Chaos (Good luck with that, you'll need it Lyin' Ryan!)
• GOP’s debate trainwreck: A chaotic mess that helped winnow things down ("Jeb sank while Rubio and Cruz came out ahead in the loud, nasty third debate of the Republican primary")
• Kasich lashes out: ‘What has happened to the conservative movement?’ (Among other things, it's got "Obama Derangement Syndrome," freaked out that an African-American guy with the middle name "Hussein" could have been elected not once but twice, and basically kicked their sorry butts for eight years. Ha ha.)
• TPM: Some Initial Thoughts on the Debate ("I think the only clear takeaway is that the window is closing on the Bush campaign. And it may already have closed.")
• The third Republican presidential debate, explained ("The GOP attacks on the media that were to come were largely opportunistic and self-serving, but the pre-broadcast blundering was an early sign of network-side weaknesses that helped make it work.")
• Jeb Died on That Stage ("And the Republican Party’s refusal to update its ideas may doom the rest of the field.")
• Dennis Hastert pleads guilty to lying to the FBI in hush-money case (Yep, another big "family values" Republican hypocrite.)
• Pollster: Deez Nuts did better than Webb (Niiiice.)
• Potential Virginia gubernatorial candidates staying busy ("Ed Gillespie, a former Republican National Committee chairman, U.S. Rep. RoB Wittman, whose congressional district covers much of the eastern part of the state, and former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli all said they’ve been knocking on doors, fundraising and doing other events to help Republicans succeed.")
• Feud Between Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio Boils Over
• At GMU Sanders calls for taking marijuana off most dangerous drugs list
• The 5 big confrontations between CNBC moderators and GOP candidates
• Oh, Those Debating Republicans ("One of these candidates is going to be the nominee for president. Really.")
• The inane spectacle of the GOP debate: Cruz the showboating creep, Rubio the slick operator & Bush the desperate flop ("The third GOP primary debate showcased everything Americans love to hate about politics")
• The CNBC Republican Debate Was A Total Trainwreck
• McAuliffe to barnstorm state Sunday for key Virginia Senate races ("Democrats must hold serve in the Edwards, McPike and Lewis races, plus claim a seat from Republicans with a Gecker, McCabe or McCollum victory to regain control of the chamber.")
• Va. state senator reports alleged threat by father of slain TV reporter ("Late Tuesday, Parker sent this message to Stanley, R-Franklin County, via Facebook: 'I’m going to be your worst nightmare you little bastard.'")
• McAuliffe calls Republican Senate candidate a liar over I-66 toll proposal (The Republicans are totally lying/deceiving about this. Send them a message on Tuesday regarding what you think about their insult to your intelligence and vote Democratic!)
• McAuliffe suggests Mark Warner, Tim Kaine as vice presidents (I bet Kaine will be on the short list. Warner, not so much.)
• Brat backs Rep. Webster of Florida in GOP vote for speaker (Only in Dave Brat's fevered mind could friggin' Paul Ryan not be right wing enough!
• Our view: Middle Resolution mailer is worse than dirty politics; it's a lie (I've been warning people about this right-wing group for years. Yet again, they've proven what they're all about.)
• Casino should be tribe's decision
• Gun control a non-issue in Roanoke's Senate showdown ("Money flooding into two key Virginia races from gun safety advocates: $2.2 million.")
• Virginia candidates wrongly criticize plans to toll I-66 ("Many candidates in Virginia's election next week are criticizing plans to add tolls along with a new lane to I-66 inside the Beltway. But, and this is going to shock you, many of the things they are saying are wrong.")
• Racial tension front and center in Portsmouth council meeting
• Nationals expected to name Bud Black as next manager
• D.C. area forecast: Blue skies return for a three day stay, Sunday showers speed through

Crazy/Extreme Ted Cruz Coming to Richmond with Even Crazier/More Extreme Father

Nope, it doesn't get much more extreme, bigoted, and downright crazy than this. I just hope that Democrats get it all on film. Also, check out the BuzzFeed article (by Judy Feder's son Lester Feder) about Rafael Cruz's latest lunacy. In this case, the (rotten) "apple" -- Ted Cruz -- really didn't fall far from the "tree" -- his father, Rafael Cruz.

Gov. McAuliffe on WTOP Rips Hal Parrish as Liar, Defends I-66 Toll Plan, Praises Budget Deal, Says He'd Be Happy to See Donald Trump as GOP Nominee vs. Hillary Clinton

by Lowell

Gov. McAuliffe appeared on WTOP's "Ask the Governor" this morning, and he was even feistier than usual. Here are a few highlights from reporters' and Gov. McAuliffe's Twitter feeds...among other things he defends the I-66 tolling plan, calls Republican Hal Parrish a liar, praised the federal budget deal, lauds Hillary Clinton's performance in front of the Benghazi committee, says he'd love to see Donald Trump as the Republican nominee against Hillary Clinton, and suggests that either of Virginia's two U.S. Senators would be excellent picks as Hillary Clinton's running mate.

• @GovernorVA Gov: EO50 is a common sense approach to stronger enforcement of VA gun laws - as elected officials it is time to step up on this issue.
• ‏@GovernorVA Gov: My job is to get things done. That is why VA's economy is growing. We have the lowest unemployment rate in southeast region at 4.3%.
• @gmoomaw .@GovernorVA says he's told Hillary: "I've got two great U.S. senators in Virginia. Both of them would be great choices for vice president"
• @juliantwalker1 .@GovernorVA McAuliffe would be "fine" w/ a @HillaryClinton vs. @realDonaldTrump POTUS matchup, calls GOP debates so far a "circus"
• ‏@jennaportnoy McAuiliffe on testimony: "11-hour campaign commercial for why Hillary Clinton should be commander in chief of the United State of America"
• @GovernorVA Gov: The education of our children, our future, should be a top priority as government. My upcoming budget will reflect that.
• ‏@gmoomaw After lengthy answer saying Republicans are lying about I-66 tolls, @GovernorVA finishes: "Was that clear enough for you?"
• @gmoomaw .@GovernorVA on federal budget deal: "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I love it."
• @alana_austin "This is a great deal for Virginia." - @GovernorVA says federal budget plan spares the commonwealth from debilitating cuts in recent years.
• @GovernorVA Gov on I-66: Vital that we open up the most congested road to ensure that VAians are able to travel - I was elected to be a problem solver."
• @GovernorVA Gov on I-66: Plan increases options for single drivers w/out requiring people to pay tolls who don’t pay today. Other claims are false.
• @alana_austin .@GovernorVA says forgoing Medicaid expansion & losing federal dollars in defense sector make Virginia vulnerable.
• ‏@AlanSuderman .@governorva on WTOP hammers GOP candidate in key Senate race ahead of Election Day. "Hal Parrish is lying to you."
• @patrickmwilson .@GovernorVA begins WTOP radio show with attack on Manassas Mayor Hal Parrish, saying he's a liar and "horrible on women's issues."

Video: Representatives Joaquin Castro, Gerry Connolly, Don Beyer; AG Mark Herring; Del. Alfonso Lopez Speak to 200+ Fairfax Democrats

by Lowell

It's late, so I'm just going to post the videos from tonight's Fairfax Democrats event. Hopefully more commentary tomorrow. Enjoy watching Rep. Joaquin Castro (as he says, the better-looking Castro brother, who got a bunch of laughs suggesting a trade of Ted Cruz for Tim Kaine); Rep. Gerry Connolly (among other things, he compared Trey Gowdy to Draco Malfoy of the "House of Slytherin"); Rep. Don Beyer; AG Mark Herring; Del. Alfonso Lopez.  More videos after the "flip."

Wednesday News: Arlington Republican Mike McMenamin Employs "central figure in the New Hampshire phone-jamming case"

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, October 28. Also, check out who Republican Mike McMenamin, a candidate for Arlington County Board, is caught up with -- a right winger (his firm, CMS Connects, supports "liberty-minded, pro-family candidates and organizations") who was "a central figure in the New Hampshire phone-jamming case, an attempt by Republicans to block Democratic phoning centers on Election Day." By the way, among McMenamin's many lies and distortions is that he's some sort of "Independent," when in fact he's a hard-core Republican, just like his buddy (and fellow Big Liar) John Vihstadt.

• Budget deal may end cycle of fiscal crisis in Washington
• No Grand Bargain, but Deal Is Still a Victory for Obama (Agreed. Obama is turning into one of the best presidents in U.S. history. Now, just need to do something about ISIS and Putin...)
• Warner, Kaine: Budget deal wards off defense cuts, but uncaps national debt (Not true on the debt, since domestic discretionary spending never had anything to do with driving the debt.)
• The gun-control movement retreats to revitalize itself
• Carson: I won’t raise the debt ceiling as president (Basically, every word out of this guy's mouth is quietly...cuckoo.)
• John Kasich: 'I've About Had It' With Fellow Republicans In The 2016 Race(The problem for Kasich is that the crazy Republican electorate has also "had it" -- with relative moderates like him.)
• She was guilty of being a black girl: The mundane terror of police violence in American schools ("The video of a South Carolina police officer assaulting a young students tells you everything you need to know" That "police officer" needs to be in jail, ASAP. He is a menace.)
• “This is what GOP surrender looks like”: Right-wingers lose it over budget deal between Congress and White House (Of course they do.)
• More Virginia public schools earn full accreditation (This whole thing is a stupid, cynical, political exercise.)
• Political group: Vendor to pay $3K for unauthorized use of T-D photo
• Plaintiffs to appeal House of Delegates boundaries case to U.S. Supreme Court
• Schapiro: Republicans have their sugar daddy, too ("Republicans are fuming about the Democrats' sugar daddy, former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg. But the GOP has one, too.")
• Republicans pour money into Nancy Dye's bid to unseat John Edwards in Senate race
• Crime Commission waits on asset forfeiture reforms
• Fleeting victory on district boundaries ("The split decision last week upholding the constitutionality of certain Virginia House of Delegates districts is hardly confirmation of good government in action.")
• Virginia health-care experts review law GOP pans as competition killer
• Fairfax officials determining costs of changes in police department
• For Arlington County Board (The Washington Post finally gets one right, endorsing Katie Cristol and Christian Dorsey over Republian Mike McMenamin, but that doesn't excuse all the other races the Post got wrong...)
• Prosecutor who sent D.C. sniper to death row fights for job after 47 years (Other than Paul Ebert doing a great job, all you need to know here is that Republican candidate Mike May was endorsed by Ken Kookinelli. End of story - vote for Ebert next Tuesday!)
• Arlingtonians complain pollster didn’t identify call as paid for by candidate ("McMenamin, a Republican who is running as an independent, said his campaign hired a pollster to run such a survey on Oct. 6 but he provided the firm with a script that identifies the poll as being paid for by his campaign. That pollster, Campaign Marketing Strategies, has assured him that the script was followed, McMenamin said Tuesday night." That company, Campaign Marketing Strategies, is headed by Chris Cupit, who was involved in a 2002 Election Day phone jamming scandal in New Hampshire. Republican McMenamin sure knows how to pick 'em, eh?))
• Competition for Norfolk council seat: Winn looks to keep spot
• D.C. area forecast: Showers and storms today, then nice again through Halloween

Letter Urges Support for "Second Amendment Sister," Loudoun Republican Suzanne Volpe; Hunting in Small Park Next to Middle School, High School

Recently, I wrote about a bizarre mailer by Loudoun County Board of Supervisors member (from the Algonkian District) and staunch, right-wing Republican Suzanne Volpe, basically attacking her fellow Republicans. Now, here are two more from Volpe's campaign that are, uh, odd.

First, check out the email (click to "embiggen" dealing with guns and mentioning Volpe's plans to open Algonkian Regional Park to hunting. Note that Algonkian Regional Park is relatively small, contains a golf course and sportsplex, and is adjacent to a middle school and a high school. Also note her pride in eliminating "the ban on pneumatic firearms within the County" (yay! we can now discharge "air rifles throughout the County" - lol!).

I also love the fact that Volpe's called our "Second Amendment Sister," a "courageous woman" who "will not cower from the popular anti-gun agenda" (I think they mean the one supported by a majority of NRA members and police chiefs, the one that wants universal background checks for gun purchasers).  Yet somehow, Suzanne Volpe is "courageous" for standing up against background checks, and for hunting in a small park next to a middle school and high school. Hmmm.

Next, check out the "flip" for a letter from a Volpe supporter informing people about Volpe's strong anti-choice positions and includes the letter writer mentioning she doesn't know anything about her Democratic opponent, Andrew Resnick, before attacking him as (supposedly) supporting "unrestricted abortion" since he's a "member of the Board of Directors (sic) of the Democratic Party of Virginia." Now, what a Loudoun County Supervisor can do about abortion exactly, other than perhaps zoning issues related to women's health clinics, I'm not sure, given that we live in a strong "Dillon Rule" state. But clearly, Loudoun Republicans are pandering to hot-button issues they think their base cares about, even if those issues make no sense and/or are not within the purview of local-level officials. Finally, perhaps what's driving this is Volpe and her supporters are getting nervous that she might lose to Andrew Resnick next Tuesday, and are resorting to any attacks they can scrape together to throw out there, hoping something will stick, regardless of relevance or accuracy.

Virginia's Rural Hospitals in Serious Jeopardy Without Prompt State Policy Action

by Lowell

Recently, a New York Times article highlighted the impacts on rural communities of hospitals being forced to close due to financial difficulties. As the article noted, these hospitals are "mainstays of small communities, providing not just close-to-home care but also jobs and economic stability," which is why "the economic cost of losing the hospital could be stark."

Here in Virginia - as was discussed several weeks ago during the kickoff of the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association's statewide public awareness campaign - rural hospitals are a top employer in 82 percent of Virginia’s rural counties, employing around 18,000 people in good-paying jobs. Those numbers, of course, only touch on these hospitals' economic footprint, as each hospital job in rural communities supports two jobs in the local economy. In addition, many rural health care providers have contractual relationships with local businesses whose operations are at least partly dependent on contracts with hospitals. Overall, health care supports one in nine Virginia jobs (11 percent of the state workforce), with a combined payroll of $8 billion. And the industry was one of the few job growth sectors in Virginia last year.

Now, all those positive benefits are threatened by funding cuts, sequestration, and lack of state and federal policy actions that could relieve some of the financial pressures imperiling long-term hospital stability. Medicaid and Medicare reimburse hospitals at levels below hospitals’ actual cost for providing care, which means that here in, inpatient Medicaid reimbursement rates now sit at just 66 percent of the cost of hospital care. Also, more than half the patients on average at Virginia hospitals receive discounted care as a result of a longstanding government mandates, such as the 30-year-old federal requirement to treat people in the emergency room regardless of ability to pay.

How Wasteful is Broadcast TV Advertising for a State Senate or Even House of Delegates Campaign?

by Lowell

Short answer to the question posed in the headline: broadcast TV advertising for a State Senate or House of Delegates race is extremely wasteful, to the point that it basically can't be explained in terms of rationality, logic, or just plain commonsense.

Check out that graphic (courtesy of Targeted Victory) on how incredibly wasteful broadcast TV advertising is in Virginia's super-expensive (D.C-media-market) 10th Congressional district. It's almost completely wasted, as I discussed in detail here.  Note that I had estimated "86% of a DC Metro market broadcast TV ad buy is essentially “bleed” — not reaching the targeted audience at all, ergo wasted," which is extremely close to the 89% waste estimate by Targeted Victory. The question is, why would any campaign in its right mind do this?

Now, that's for a full Congressional district, which has about 700,000 people living in it. How about for a State Senate district, such as the 29th (the McPike vs. Parrish race), where there's $1.5 million being put into broadcast TV by Mike Bloomberg's "Everytown for Gun Safety" group? Or how about for a single House of Delegate district, such as the 34th (Kathleen Murphy vs. Craig Parisot) or the 86th (Jennifer Boysko vs. Danny Vargas)? Keep in mind that a single State Senate district in Virginia has about 1/40th the state's population, or around 200,000 people. And a single House of Delegates district has about 1/100th of the state's population, or about 80,000 people.

Both of those, you might note, are far smaller numbers than that 700,000 or so in a U.S. House of Representatives district. Which means, of course, that the wastage rate for broadcast TV ads will be far, far worse for a single State Senate or House of Delegates race than for a Congressional race, such as the 86%-89% waste seen in VA-10. I mean, we're talking upwards of 95%+ wastage on this stuff.

Which again raises the question as to why anyone (other than the folks who make the TV ads, buy the TV ads, see the ad revenue flowing to their TV stations, etc. -- they LOVE this!) would throw their money away like this, instead of investing in things you can target: phones, door knocking, digital advertising, mailers to an extent, maybe even old-fashioned newspaper ads or even radio. One theory with the "Everytown" folks is that their spending now is more message testing for next year than anything else. I suppose that COULD make sense, but at least use the money on a medium where it has a fighting chance of being effective, getting SOME bang for the buck, not the flamboyantly wasteful (hey, let's throw our money away advertising to Maryland, DC, and the vast majority of places in Virginia that are NOT the targeted race!).

Even more bizarre are the Republicans spending tons of money on D.C.-media-market broadcast TV ads targeted at individual House of Delegates races -- each one comprising 1% of Virginia's population. Brilliant, eh? I mean, again, there are many other ways for them to get their message (a wildly dishonest one on Gov. McAuliffe's plan for congestion tolling on I-66,, but whatever...) out there. Of course, if Republicans feel like wasting tons of money, that's fine with me, and I hope they keep doing it, but again, why? Can anyone explain this seeming idiocy to me? Thanks.

Tuesday News:"Joyful Tortoise" JEB Not So "Joyful" Anymore; Trump Got "Small Loan" of $1 Million from Daddy

by  Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, October 27. Also check out Sen. Tim Kaine speaking to the Virginia Latino Leaders Council. According to Federico Cura, Sen. Kaine said "that Latino issues tend to be life-and-death issues...such as Medicaid expansion and a fair chance to compete through comprehensive immigration reform, raising the minimum wage, investing in education, making it simpler--NOT harder--to vote in elections, or addressing catastrophic climate change. THESE ARE DEEPLY MORAL ISSUES that affect us all in one way or another!!"

• White House, Congress reach budget agreement ("The deal helps set up a vote as early as Wednesday on the bipartisan budget plan which would increase military and domestic spending and avert a potentially catastrophic default in exchange for long-term spending cuts.")
• Why Jeb Bush’s campaign has gone so wrong ("I don’t want any part of it? I’ve got a lot of really cool things I could do? Elect Trump if you want? The self-described 'joyful tortoise' may have just delivered the most petulant political speech since the future 37th president said  'You won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore.'")
• The House science committee is worse than the Benghazi committee ("I'd argue that the House science committee, under the chairmanship of Lamar Smith (R-TX), deserves that superlative for its open-ended, Orwellian attempts to intimidate some of the nation's leading scientists and scientific institutions.")
• Why Trump and Carson want to bring about America’s apocalypse ("It may be possible to convince a good portion of the Republican primary electorate that American institutions have gone to hell. If so, during the general election, the institution in crisis would be the Republican Party.")
• Conservatives already trashing new budget deal
• Outrage grows after South Carolina officer throws student in classroom (And rightfully so!)
• John Boehner's parting gift to Paul Ryan ("Passage of a budget and debt ceiling package this week would give Ryan more room to operate than Boehner ever had.")
• Trump: My dad gave me a 'small loan' of a million dollars (The classic "born on third base and thinks he hit a triple" delusion of the children of super-rich parents.)
• Marco Rubio “hates” the Senate — but just wait until he’s president ("Frustrated in the Senate, Rubio wants to upgrade to the presidency, a famously frustration-free government job" LOL)
• Now Louie Gohmert and Fox News will mansplain Planned Parenthood: The new lie right-wing men can’t stop pushing ("Someone make Cruz, Carson and Fox stop: Attacking Margaret Sanger is dumb politics and bad history")
• How Jeb Bush Enlisted in Florida's War on Black Voters
• These Charts Show The Hidden Costs of Dirty Energy ("Recent research by the International Monetary Fund finds that the hidden economic and environmental costs of fossil fuel consumption— 'externalities' in econspeak—add up to nearly $5 trillion a year, or 33 percent more than the federal budget.")
• The Freedom Caucus Is Nothing but Cowards ("These far right conservatives want a special deal to shield them in the primaries.")
• ACLU study calls for uniform, statewide policy on police body cameras
• Editorial: Raises for state lawmakers? Yes ("The failure to compensate them adequately increases the temptation to make ends meet by potentially dubious means.")
• Democrats condemn 21st Senate race mailer as 'slimy and deceptive' (It's put out by the far-right "Middle Resolution PAC," what else would we expect but slime?)
• Our view: A disconnected campaign ("Governing is a lot more complicated than political ads let on. In fact, sometimes there’s a complete disconnect between what the campaigns are talking about and, well, reality.")
• Retiring Sen. Chuck Colgan says he will make no endorsement in race for his seat (Don't let the door hit you on the way out, Chuck!)
• Casey: A novel way to vote in the 2015 elections ("About three-quarters of Virginia lawmakers supported electric utilities' interests rather than consumers' in an unusual law enacted earlier this year. Voters could use that information to decide who to support, or not, in the Nov. 3 elections.")
• Bloomberg group backs Democrat who has voiced ‘caution’ on gun control ("The gun-control organization bankrolled a $1.5 million ad buy for Jeremy McPike in Northern Virginia.")
• Environmental groups oppose four natural gas pipeline projects in Virginia
• Oddly enough, our off- year elections have an odd history
• New name for McAuliffe's parole commission?
• Heat's up in the 93rd
• Competition grows for Norfolk council seat as Winn looks to keep spot
• Va. Beach real estate firm's ex-president gets 5 years for mortgage fraud
• Va. farm owner is charged criminally after deputies discover dead horses
• D.C. area forecast: A bleak and rainy midweek but brighter by Thursday

A Message of Optimism from a Veteran Raiser of the Alarm (Parts 3 and 4)

by Andy Schmookler

We Need a Democratic President Who is a Fighter

It has been clear since W was president that something has gone seriously wrong in the United States. The central ingredients of this crisis can be summarized in this way:

• a coherent and destructive force has taken over the political right, and
• the response from Liberal America has been woefully weak.

(These points are extensively developed in my book, WHAT WE’RE UP AGAINST, and will not be substantiated here.)

The power of that destructive force has already grown so large that it will take all we’ve got to defeat it. But there are two important grounds for hope. First, we see before our eyes that the Republican Party is in the process of destroying themselves. Such self-destruction seems to be a pattern for people who get caught up in such a force. (For three previous examples of this, see my essay, “Those Whom the Gods Would Destroy, They First Drive Mad” that title being a line from Euripides.)

Second, no one can be better placed to fight and defeat this force than a Democratic president who is able and willing to do so. And, as I suggested in Part 2 of this series, Hillary Clinton’s performance before the Benghazi committee gives us reason for optimism that she might have what it takes to do the job. But I have had such hopes dashed before, the one previous time that the Republicans could have been compelled to choose between coming back from the dark side or being driven into oblivion. That, of course, was with the election of Barack Obama.

Hal Parrish Paid $30k for August 2012 Romney-Ryan Rally Out of Manassas City Funds, Never Got Paid Back, Was Forced to Raid City's General Fund

Manassas City Mayor Hal Parrish (R) likes to tout himself as some sort of moderate, reasonable Republican who has been an effective manager of his city and will be the same in the Virginia State Senate if he's elected on November 3. Yet the sequence of events starting on August 11, 2012, the day the Romney-Ryan ticket was unveiled in Virginia - including at a rally in Manassas City - tells a different story.

First, check out the photo of Mayor Parrish standing with Mitt Romney, George Allen, and other right-wing Republicans. Note that Parrish was one of the speakers at the rally, and clearly an enthusiastic supporter of Romney, Ryan, and their slash-and-burn economic policies that would have devastated the middle class and working people in America.

Second, note that the City of Manassas, at Mayor Parrish's direction, approved $30,000 in expenditures for this rally. Even worse, the minutes from the City of Manassas' September 9, 2013 meeting, discuss how to deal with the fact that the Romney campaign never reimbursed the city for that $30,000. To make up this shortfall, Mayor Parrish et al decided on "appropriating General Fund" money and transferring it to, among other things, to pay for that Romney-Ryan rally.

Item 17 of the Agenda: Consideration of Resolution 2013- 62-R Amending the FY 2013 Budget by Budgeting and Appropriating Fund Balance for FY 2013 Detention Expenditures and Transferring Contingencies and Allocating the Labor Vacancy Rate to Departments. 

Mr. Hughes discussed the various FY 2013 budget deficits, including Juvenile Detention, the Adult Detention Center, the Commissioner of the Revenue, and the Voter Registrar. Additionally, the Romney campaign did not reimburse the City for $30,000 in expenses following his stop in Old Town in 2012. Staff recommends budgeting and appropriating General Fund Fund Balance and transferring General Fund Contingency and Wage Contingency to the Detention, Commissioner of the Revenue, Voter Registrar and Romney campaign budgets. Staff anticipates FY 2013 revenues will exceed expenditures to adequately replenish the Fund Balance usage. Resolution 2013- 62-R will budget and appropriate $946,660 of Fund Balance and transfer $139,340 of Contingency, $91,000 of Wage Contingency and $(585,600) of Labor Vacancy in the General Fund. 

Third, note that in the FY 2011 Manassas City budget, there were sharp cuts of nearly $10 million, including nearly $2.9 million in reduced spending on schools (a 3.1 percent decrease from the previous year). Yet here Parrish is, in 2012, throwing $30,000 (see more documentation after the "flip") of scarce city funds at a Republican political rally? Priorities, priorities, I guess, and $30,000 might not seem like a lot of money to waste, but when you cut $2.9 million the year before and have overcrowded classrooms, it doesn't seem like Romney-Ryan, or any presidential campaign for that matter, is entitled to a handout of taxpayer funds.

It's even worse given that the Romney-Ryan rally featured Parrish lending his strong, vocal support to a Republican agenda that wants to cut Medicare, stop Medicaid expansion, slash taxes for the top 0.1% (while screwing over everyone else), keep us addicted to fossil fuels as the planet burns up, let the Koch brothers and other big corporate interests trash our democracy, impose their religious beliefs on the rest of us (note: Parrish voted to effectively shut down women's health clinics in Manassas City), do whatever the gun manufacturers want (note that Parrish has an "A-" rating from the NRA for his strong support of guns); etc. Bottom line: if this is the type of "leadership" you think we need in Richmond, by all means vote for Hal Parrish on November 3. If not, then vote Democratic. This shouldn't be a difficult choice.

Far-Right-Wing "Middle Resolution PAC" Sends Out "'head fake' flier for independent Senate candidate Donald Caldwell"

Yes, politics can be a dirty business, but this crap is really gross.

Commonwealth Attorney Don Caldwell, Democrat turned independent, running for the 21st Virginia senate district is unfazed by the conservative Middle Resolution, PAC flier distributed and targeted at Democratic voters. 

Former Roanoke City Democratic Chair, Charles Withers, sent out a phone message at the behest of the Democratic Party of Virginia to counter the flier. 

The flier was targeted to Democrats praising independent Caldwell as the “Progressive Democrat” in the race and Democrat incumbent Sen. John Edwards as a conservative.

...The DPVA paid for recorded message said that the flier lied about Caldwell’s record to “fool you into voting for him and John Edwards will stand for our Democratic values in Richmond. So when you go vote on November 3rd remember to vote for John Edwards and that a vote for Caldwell is a vote for the Tea Party.”

...The objective of the flier was to fool the low-information Democratic voters into thinking Caldwell was more progressive than his Democratic opponent, Sen. Edwards. The hope is that just enough votes would be siphoned off from Edwards to Caldwell to give Dye the win.

Clever, eh?  Oh, and for a quick reminder of who these "Middle Resolution PAC" guys are, click here. A few highlights include:

• The PAC is heavily funded by this guy, who has donated thousands of dollars to the likes of Ken Kookinelli, bat****-crazy extremist E.W. Jackson, Mark "Criminalize Miscarriages" Obenshain, anti-gay bigot Del. "Sideshow Bob" Marshall, etc.
• The PAC sponsored a panel by ALEC entitled, "Uniting States to Restore Federalism."
• The PAC sponsored a seminar at the VA Tea Party Convention led by the CATO Institute and entitled, "Is social security reform possible?"
• The PAC co-sponsored the VA Tea Party Convention in 2010. 'Nuff said.
• The PAC's executive director is "a 2010 Alumni of the Jennifer Byler Institute and chaired the Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation CoLA committee 2010-2011." 
• Note that the aforementioned Jennifer Byler Institute is "a program offered by the Republican Party of Virginia." 

So yeah, as the Roanoke Free Press explained very well, the flier pictured above (see the "Authorized by Middle Resolution PAC" line in small print at the bottom right of the flier) is a "head fake" by a far-right-wing PAC (and possibly the Republican Party of Virginia as well), aimed at enticing Democrats to vote for Democrat-turned-Independent Donald Caldwell, thereby helping boost right-wing Republican Nancy Dye, endorsed by no less than our pal Ken Kookinelli, to victory on November 3. So, bottom line, if you live in the 21st State Senate District (Roanoke City, Roanoke County, Montgomery County, Giles County), DO NOT FALL FOR THIS DECEPTIVE GARBAGE. On November 3, vote to reelect Sen. John Edwards, and tell "Middle Resolution" where to shove their deceptive, dishonest flier.

Monday News: Carson Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs; Here Comes "very hostile to federal employees" Paul Ryan

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, August 26.

• Carson: Women Who Have Abortions Are Like Slaveowners (This guy is completely insane.)
• Van Hollen: Ryan plans 'very hostile to federal employees'
• How the Deceptive Videos Attacking Planned Parenthood Are Hindering Cures for Deadly Diseases ("People with Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and other afflictions will pay a price, scientists say.")
• Why Trudeau matters more than Gowdy (I sure hope so.)
• The GOP’s dysfunction all started with Sarah Palin (I definitely wouldn't say it started with her, but that certainly was not a good sign. Thanks a lot John McCain...)
• How Republicans saved Hillary Clinton. Again. (Republicans truly are the Clintons' best friends. Thanks you crazy Republicans, and I mean that sincerely. Don't ever change! LOL)
• Jeb Bush Donors Gather to Hit Reset Button On Campaign
• Cruz sternly rebuked by GOP ("The Texas senator's internal criticism of his leadership is what animates his presidential campaign, but his colleagues appear to be no longer listening.")
• Growing Chorus Of Conservatives Accusing Black Lives Matter Of Advocating Murder Of Police ("Contrary to Republican arguments, 2015 is actually on pace to have second-lowest number of police deaths in decades, according to the Washington Post. " Facts? Who needs 'em, we're Republicans!)
• Control of Virginia Senate at stake in NOVA district race (Sort of. Actually, Dems need to hold this seat, plus all our other incumbents, and then pick up one.)
• Our view: Will election deliver a mandate? ("None of these races have turned on statewide issues." Agreed, and I think that's been a big mistake by Democrats.)
• How many light rail referendums are needed?
• Terry McAuliffe, Va. governor, to host United Negro College Fund luncheon
• Norment says only 2 percent of Virginia guns sales exempt from background checks (Rating: "FALSE")
• McAuliffe's gun trace directive was already in progress
• I-66 tolling, widening defended by VDOT
• Washington-area airport workers join fight for $15-an-hour minimum wage
• Buchwald tries to chip away at Yost's bipartisan reputation
• Alexandria mayoral campaign: The incumbent vs. his party’s nominee ("After losing a three-way Democratic primary, longtime Mayor Bill Euille goes all out for a write-in bid.")
• For Fairfax School Board (Yet again, the supposedly "liberal" Washington Post endorses...yep, Republican Patricia Reed over Democrat Dalia Palchik. Lame.)
• D.C. area forecast: Rainy late Tuesday and Wednesday; Otherwise, nice and dry this week

A Message of Optimism from a Veteran Raiser of the Alarm (Part 2)

by Andy Schmookler


The Democratic Race: A Prescription 

Bernie Sanders’ candidacy has brought something important into the Democratic race—let’s call it “The Spirit of Bernie.” It is a spirit of moral passion, and of a willingness to speak the plain truth, and press the battle in fighting for justice. Bernie has embodied that in his issues and in his person, and millions of Americans have responded with passionate enthusiasm to that spirit.

That is a spirit that the Democratic Party – and the nation—need. And it would be a great thing if the Spirit of Bernie could be kept alive even as the mantle of the Democratic nomination is placed – as I argued in the first installment it is now almost inevitable that it will -- upon the shoulders of Hillary Clinton.

Here’s how that might be done.

When the time comes for Bernie to acknowledge Hillary as the victor in their contest, he should precede that acknowledgment with a challenge to Hillary:

Will you pledge to fight the battles that I would have fought, had I become president? And in fighting those battles, will you enlist the help of the American people, as I have said is necessary for us to do if our democracy is to be rescued?

Presumably, Bernie Sanders could couch those battles that he would have fought in terms both sufficiently strong as to represent a meaningful agenda on his central issues and sufficiently broad to allow a president room for maneuver.

And presumably Hillary Clinton could respond to that challenge in terms sufficiently strong to satisfy the important constituency backing Bernie Sanders. (Indeed, she has already substantially coopted those issues.) And she could respond in terms well enough crafted not to give her Republican foes ammunition against her in the general election.

By this means, the Spirit of Bernie can be passed on to the Democratic leader, which is about going after the force that’s risen on the right in defense of our democracy, of the battered middle class, and of a livable planet. And that spirit can in this way be separated from such vulnerabilities – think “socialist” – that came with Bernie himself.

And by this means, Hillary can be given a gift along the lines of what FDR said to labor leaders in 1932: "I agree with you, I want to do it, now make me do it."

It will be a gift because the public is likely to respect such a conversation, publicly conducted, between Bernie and Hillary, and respect a pledge – to address issues on which a majority of Americans substantially agree with Bernie – given by Hillary in uniting the Party behind her.

When elected president, Hillary would have a mandate – even the moral duty that is conferred by a pledge -- to wage those battles. That publicly assumed duty and electorally conferred mandate will strengthen her hand in those difficult fights. Those battles will be cast, by these means, in a light that will inspire more public support.

My optimism, about such a scenario, is premised on the idea that Hillary has both the ability and the will to go after that right-wing force, to win over the public against that force, and by that means drain away from that force the power with which it has been damaging the nation.

The question of whether that premise is correct I will take up in the next installment.

A Message of Optimism from a Veteran Raiser of the Alarm (Part 1)

by Andy Schmookler

Recent developments bearing upon the contest for the Democratic nomination for President have revealed to me a possible political scenario by which the ongoing battle over America’s destiny – against the destructive force that has taken over the political right -- might just possibly -- be won.

This scenario begins with a prediction of what will happen in the coming months in the Democratic race, and continues (in the next installment) with a prescription for what should happen between our two major candidates – Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders – at a point that will predictably arise in the early months of next year.

The Democratic Race: A Prediction
From now on, the question of what the leadership of the Democratic Party will be like will be focused on Hillary Clinton, because – with her two recent bravura performances -- she is now nearly certain to be the Democratic nominee.

• In the first Democratic debate, she demonstrated an ability to be both commanding and appealing. This is a combination that will make her highly electable.
• In the Benghazi hearings, she showed that not only can she stand up to Republican assaults, but also that she knows how to make them look bad in the public eye. This is of vital importance, because getting the American people to see clearly what an atrocity the Republican Party has become is, as it has been for some time, Job One for rescuing America from that destructive force.

Sunday News: With 2015 Endorsements, Virginia Newspapers Prove They Are Most Certainly NOT "Liberal Media"

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Sunday, October 25. Also, check out the video of "JEB" Bush talking about how he has a "lot of really cool things that I could do other than sit around being miserable, listening to people demonize me and me feeling compelled to demonize them; that is a joke, elect Trump if you want that." So much for the "joyful" campaign and all that. #FAIL

• Clinton, Sanders draw clear distinctions before key Iowa crowd
• Once-chummy rapport between Trump and Carson cools (So sad...lol.)
• Bush at 91: Irritated and Invigorated by ’16 Race ("Former President George Bush, 91 and frail, is straining to understand an election season that has, for his son and the Republican Party, lurched sharply and stunningly off script. And he is often bewildered by what he sees.")
• Team Bush in a Fog
• Trump mocks Jeb, Rubio on their home turf in Florida
• They really want a theocracy: The GOP candidates who want to make you bow to their lord ("GOP wants Christianity as our official religion. Middle East's on fire. Theocrats are marching and must be stopped")
• Extremely Iowa ("The state’s Republican caucus-goers love fringe candidates. So it’s no surprise that they are falling for someone like Ben Carson." And Carson's as fringe/extreme as you can get in this country.)
• Amid Divide, Bishops Crack Open Door on Divorce
• Paul Krugman: Delusions of Failure ("None of the other terrible things [about "Obamacare"] that were supposed to happen — job loss, destruction of full-time employment, a surge in the budget deficit — have happened either. But to be a good Republican you have to insist that it has been a disaster. And Mitt Romney is therefore in the position of trashing his own life’s work. Sad. But he has nobody but himself to blame.")
• Schapiro: Ruling means more bad behavior by both sides ("A federal court ruling declaring legal Republican gerrymandering of the House of Delegates is license for Democrats and Republicans to continue behaving badly.")
• Our view: Ask candidates: How can Virginia save its rural hospitals? ("But reason might break through. Hospitals are more than savers of lives and places of healing. They are huge economic drivers in their communities and in the state. Republicans from rural districts should be all about that.")
• Casey: An absence of fear in 'gun-free zones'
• Karst landscapes bring challenges, concerns for pipeline projects
• With Dye, Edwards in the home stretch, the attack ads fly
• Times-Dispatch makes election endorsements (Again, almost all Republicans by the so-called "liberal media." Of course, this IS the Republican Times-Disgrace and all, so what else would we expect? Blech.)
• Scott York for Loudoun’s chairman (The "liberal" Washington Post strikes again. Hmmm.)
• Clear choices for the House (Republicans all the way for another supposed example of the "liberal media." What a joke.)
• Will the Peninsula's yo-yo seat swing again?
• Ballpark becomes issue in key Senate race for Watkins seat ("Sturtevant challenges Gecker's role, does not take stand on new stadium.")
• Duke edges Virginia Tech 45-43 in historic four overtimes
• D.C. area forecast: Increasing clouds today, a few showers tonight into early Sunday