by LowellHere are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Sunday, January 31. Also, check out that image of Ted Cruz's disgusting "voting violation" mailer in Iowa. Of course, I'd argue that voting for any of these extremists - Trump, Cruz, Rubio, Carson, etc. - is a "voting violation," of everything this country is supposed to stand for.
- New York Times: John Kasich Is “Only Plausible Choice” for Republican Nomination (Agreed, there is literally no one else even semi-acceptable. Think about it: obviously Trump, Cruz and Carson should be utterly unacceptable in the United States of America, but so should nasty, snarling liars like Fiorina and Christie. As for "JEB," he could theoretically have been semi-acceptable, but he's turned out to be utterly godawful in almost every way. Rand Paul, of course, is a nut like his father. Have I missed anyone? And no, I'm not even counting Huckabee, Santorum, Gilmore, and other assorted zeroes.)
- NY Times: Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Nomination
- No, Donald Trump's Success Isn't a "Black Swan" Event ("Those who failed to predict his staying power and dominance weren’t subverted by a randomly occurring riptide in the electoral pool. They simply missed the obvious trends.")
- Republican self-destruction is fun to watch, but bad for us all ("Fifty years of broken GOP promises created a cycle of radicalization.")
- The ‘ism’ that describes Mr. Trump best ("... nativism, protectionism, racism and, of course, fascism. There’s an element of truth, as well as hyperbole, in each of these descriptors; but none quite captures the essence of Mr. Trump’s improbable, troubling, run. For that, you have to bring in another 'ism': cynicism.")
- Clinton keeps slim edge over Sanders in latest Iowa Poll
- Donald Trump reclaims lead in latest Iowa Poll
- Uncomfortable Question for Ted Cruz on Obamacare Silences the Room (Cruz, and Republicans more broadly, simply have no answer.)
- Top Iowa elections official slams Cruz mailer (Really, really slimy...as one would expect from Ted Cruz.)
- Ted Cruz Promises To Create The Most Right-Wing Supreme Court In History (A President Cruz would utterly destroy America. I'm not exaggerating.)
- The NRA Strikes Back in Virginia ("Governor Terry McAuliffe announces a bipartisan compromise with state legislators that gun-control advocates abhor.")
- McAuliffe defends cabinet member’s free Redskins ticket as part of push for new stadium (Barf.)
- McEachin: After a big misstep, the Senate restores transparency
- U.S. Supreme Court sets March 21 arguments in Va. redistricting case
- Two Wrongs Don't Make It Right, RPV ("In rescinding the useless 'Statement of Affiliation,' RPV is compounding one unnecessary error into an even larger one.")
- Virginia’s small improvement on gun policy (Uhhhh...)
- Editorial: An incentive to fix incentive programs
- Editorial: Endangering public education where it was born ("Three items out of Richmond, seemingly disparate, but when connected, all important:")
- Ready to leave the mental hospital, but nowhere to go
- Black vulture might lose state protection (Bad, bad idea.)
- Virginia GOP abandons plan for loyalty oath in primary
- Could your sinks and toilets fight sea-level rise in Hampton Roads?
- Mild today, even warmer tomorrow with a chance of afternoon showers
