One of Nation's Most Sexist, Racist, Homophobic Commentators Goes All in for Cuccinelli

If you missed it yesterday, "Red State" editor and (former) CNN commentator (to the unending disgrace of that once-respectable network) Erick Erickson has gone all in for Ken Cuccinelli. For more on this, see the "flip" for Erickson's fundraising appeals, just to give you a flavor for how "all in" Erickson is here.Why should you care about this? Because, simply stated, Erick Erickson is one of the most sexist, racist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic (add as many as you'd like, pretty much) commentators around today. And that's saying a lot in a world of Rush Limbaughs, Glenn Becks, Sean Hannitys, and Bill O'LIEllys. But yeah, Erickson is really bad. How bad? Check a few of these beauties out. *Erickson: "At what point do the people ... march down to their state legislator's house, pull him outside, and beat him to a bloody pulp?" *Erickson: Michelle Obama is a "marxist harpy wife."  *Erickson: Former Supreme Court Justice David Souter is a "goat fucking child molester."  *Erickson: The Clintons killed Vince Foster and Democrats would do likewise to former Rep. Eric Massa. *Erickson: "Defends Beck's statement that Obama is 'racist' and lashes out at 'Obama Brownshirts.'" *Erickson: Comments on President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize that "I did not realize the Nobel Peace Prize had an affirmative action quota." *"In an anti-gay rant posted on RedState, Erickson wrote: '[White House Safe Schools "Czar"] Kevin Jennings is a profoundly sick and immoral human being -- a proponent of statutory rape, an opponent of the Boy Scouts of America, and a zealous advocate of NAMBLA.' He added that Jennings is 'not just a gay man, but a man who believes in the full gay rights agenda, where men and boys can have sexual relationships free of prudish moral people frowning' and called Jennings 'a man who encourages predatory relationships between young boys and grown men.'" *"After an anti-abortion ad during this year's Super Bowl, Erickson wrote, 'that's it?!?! That's what the feminazis were enraged over? Seriously?!? Wow.That's what being too ugly to get a date does to your brain.'" *Erickson: "Good thing I didn't suggest the feminists ... you know ... shave. They'd be at my house trying a post-birth abortion on me." *Erickson: "'It is and has always been the left' that resorts to violence." Need more evidence that this guy is one of the most appalling, offensive, hateful people in this country? See the "flip" - and "flip out" with disgust! Check out 6 Of [CNN Contributor Erick Erickson's] Most Outrageous Comments. Here are a few:*Erickson: "When you look at biology, look at the natural world, the roles of a male and a female in society, and other animals, the male typically is the dominant role. The female, it's not antithesis, or it's not competing, it's a complementary role. We as people in a smart society have lost the ability to have complementary relationships in nuclear families, and it's tearing us apart." (Also see the video at the top of this blog post) *"It is a fact that children in a two parent, heterosexual household tend to have a more stable upbringing and a better chance of success than those of single parents or gay parents. This is a fact. This is not to insult gay parents. This is not insult single parents. It's just a fact. And the, of the subset of children who are raised in a two-parent, nuclear, heterosexual household, children where the father is the one who is the leader of the family, or the breadwinner of the family, however you want to say it, tend to out-perform those where the mother is the primary provider of the family outside of the home. Those are the fact. All I have done is pointed them out." *"Todd Akin said something dumb. Claire McCaskill voted for Obamacare. I'll take a dumb statement over a destructive vote." *"Erickson likened First Lady Michelle Obama and other women leaders at the Democratic National Convention to the cast of Eve Ensler's Vagina Monologues. He thought he made a funny, but instead CNN was inundated with calls to fire him immediately." Oh, and who could forget this (Erickson encourages women in Texas, after the state Senate passed a ban on abortions after 20 weeks, to go buy coat hangers so they can abort their own babies, apparently). I mean, seriously, this could go on all day. The guy is just appalling, as far right as you can get and also as bigoted. Anyway, THIS is the guy who's all in for Cuccinelli. And guess who's thrilled with Erickson's support? None other than Ken Cuccinelli himself, who "retweeted" the Red State tweet saying, "We Must Support Ken Cuccinelli." Oh, and of course Cuccinelli's finance committee co-chair, pathological liar, and right-wing nutjob Pete Snyder loved it. 'Nuff said. Friends,We used to be able to raise money quickly for candidates we support.  Ken Cuccinelli is a candidate we support.  He's running for Governor of Virginia. Bobby Jindal and I both agree this is the most important political race in the country this year. Can you help RedState?  Show the world again just how RedState readers support conservatives.  Go here now.  Give what you can. RedState readers must help Ken Cuccinelli.  Will you help us help Ken? Also, for those of you who have already given, some have emailed asking why the contribution receipt came from ActRight.com.  They are the online fundraising platform we are using to raise money for Ken.  Every penny you give will go to Ken, but the processing comes via ActRight.com. Don't worry.  Now please go get your friends to contribute.  Let's see if we can make our goal of $10,000.00 by sun down today. Sincerely yours, Erick Erickson Editor-in-Chief, RedState

A Few Unsolicited Suggestions to Jeff Bezos, New Owner of the Washington Post

First, the big news: The Washington Post Co. has agreed to sell its flagship newspaper to Amazon.com founder and chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos, ending the Graham family's stewardship of one of America's leading news organizations after four generations.Bezos, whose entrepreneurship has made him one of the world's richest men, will pay $250 million in cash for The Post and affiliated publications to the Washington Post Co., which owns the newspaper and other businesses. Wow, that is big news. And hopefully GOOD news, because as you might have noticed, I haven't exactly been a big fan of the Post for a long time now. I particularly haven't appreciated its increasingly right-leaning editorial page, its cowardly insistence on false equivalency (e.g., giving climate science deniers a say in almost every article on climate change) in its supposedly "objective" reporting, its overall pro-corporate (and increasingly conservative) tilt, its decreased coverage of Virginia politics (although Rosalind Helderman has certainly done a great job on the McDonnell/Star Scientific/"Chefgate" story), its tolerance for climate science deniers among its op-ed writers, its almost complete lack of coverage on environmental issues like climate change, etc., etc. Anyway, I'm overall very happy to see the ownership changing, and hope that means significant changes to a dying newspaper (e.g., circulation down from 752k per day in 2005 to about 448k per day in 2013). Because, bottom line, we NEED strong, thriving, serious journalism in this country, and certainly in the nation's capital!With that, here are a few unsolicited suggestions for Jeff Bezos, just for starters. Feel free to add your own in the comments section. Thanks. *Immediately fire anyone who denies climate science or outright lies in the Post editorial pages. That means, yes, bye bye George Will, Charles Krauthammer and Marc Thiessen. Replace them with reality-based conservative commentators, if you can find any. While we're on this topic, send your reporters to training in science, first and foremost climate science. If that doesn't work fire them and hire some new ones who understand this stuff. *Axe Jennifer Rubin ASAP. She is a total hack, not in any way a "journalist," and a disgrace to this once-great newspaper. Of course, she DOES draw (beady) eyeballs to the online "paper," and that's the challenge: how to increase online readership without completely compromising the quality of the newspaper. *Figure out how to interact with blogs and other new media (e.g., ArlNow). The Post can start by first and foremost not plagiarizing/stealing their content, second by giving new media (and even old media!) proper credit and attribution for their ideas, scoops, etc.

lowkell :: A Few Unsolicited Suggestions to Jeff Bezos, New Owner of the Washington Post

*Fix the comments section or eliminate it. Right now, as one commenter (ironically?) notes, "Perhaps now we can have the comment boards moderated and get rid of the thousands of useless, ignorant, hate filled comments." Truly, it is a troll fest - bigotry, ad hominem attacks run amok, just insane. Compare that to the NY Times comments section, where, as another commenter points out: "readers tend to be far more literate and thoughtful in their remarks while those found on The Post's website appear to be hateful, thoughtless remarks made by people with limited abilities to think and/or express themselves."*Totally revamp the Sunday magazine. I was at the gym today and somebody left the NY Times Sunday magazine, so I was reading it. I mean, seriously, that thing is about a gazillion times better than the Post's Sunday vehicle for "Date Lab," a restaurant review, and the crossword puzzle. Get serious with this, or get rid of it. *Beef up local coverage, including serious coverage (e.g., not just horse race stuff) of Virginia politics. As I pointed out last December, it's been on a downward spiral for a few years now... *It's long, LOOOOONG past time to get someone new to write the Post's Virginia political endorsements. Long-time international correspondent Lee Hockstader, who's been writing these endorsements under the Post's name at least since 2006 (when he endorsed corporate lobbyist Harris Miller over Jim Webb), knows little if anything about Virginia politics and should be replaced by someone who actually knows what he or she is doing. *Get someone like Nate Silver who understands quantitative analysis, polling, statistics, math, etc. It would really help avoid ridiculous "reporting" as happened in the 2012 Obama-Romney race, when the Post seemed to buy into the narrative that the race was tightening, that Ohio had flipped to tossup in the closing days, etc. WRONG! Meanwhile, Nate Silver - and others who do what Nate does, it's not just him! -  consistently nailed it. P.S. By the way, I checked Jeff Bezos' Wikipedia entry, and it says he's a "libertarian" who "donated $2.5 million to pass a same-sex marriage referendum in Washington" and has donated to both the Democratic and Republican parties (although more to the "blue" team).

Del. Jennifer McClellan, Rev. Robin Gorsline Condemn EW Jackson's "offensive," "hateful rhetoric"

I just got off a call with Delegate Jennifer McClellan and Rev. Doctor Robin Gorsline (President of People of Faith for Equality in Virginia) to discuss EW Jackson's latest offensive remarks, this time claiming that Democrats are "anti-God." According to Del. McClellan: As the daughter of a minister, I know firsthand that EW Jackson's claim last week that Democrats are anti-God is not only not true, but is downright offensive. To suggest that one party has a monopoly on what is right in the eyes of God is offensive not only to me but to millions of Virginians, both Christians and non-Christians...Mr. Jackson's comments are irresponsible and I call on him to apologize for them immediately. Virginians of all faiths, of all political affiliations, find these comments destructive to democracy...the Democratic Party is full of people like myself who have focused more on God's message of love and doing for those who are less fortunate...loving thy neighbor as thyself. His hateful comments go directly against some of the most important teachings of God. Again, he should apologize for it; it's not constructive in this race, it only serves to divide Virginians more... According to Rev. Doctor Robin Gorsline: ...how disturbing Bishop Jackson's comments are...people are involved in all sorts of faiths in our community and our Commonwealth, and those who are not also people of faith. And to have Bishop Jackson continue this rhetoric of dividing those who are on the "good" side and those he wants to cast into outer darkness is not the way to lead or be a responsible leader in our Commonwealth...he's seeking now to be a leader of our whole people...Christian faith, Jewish faith, other faiths...those of no faith...[Jackson] has to learn how to do that, and he's not doing that. He's hurting untold people all across the Commonwealth with those kinds of comments. I believe he owes an apology to those who are not of his particular faith brand who he's casting out. He owes an apology to those who may have a very different idea of who God is for them. I'm actually a little disturbed that after four days after he made these latest round of remarks...that both of his running mates, Attorney General Cuccinelli and Senator Obenshain, haven't disavowed these comments, even though the chairman of their party has done so, and I thank him for that...You just don't go around telling people that they're not godly people. Well, everybody is God's child. Every single Virginian, every single American, every single citizen of the world is a child of God. And Bishop Jackson just isn't getting that. That kind of divisive rhetoric just has no place in a political campaign, it hurts our community...if he would [apologize for his latest remarks] maybe we could  get this campaign to be on a more civil basis talking about real issues and not simply setting up straw people and then knocking them down with hateful rhetoric...

Dems Need to Fight for the 18 Virginia House of Delegates "Kaine Districts"

Thanks to the folks at Daily Kos for putting together this spreadsheet of Virginia House districts by their 2012 U.S. Senate and Presidential results. As you can see (click on image to "embiggen"), there are 16 incumbent Virginia House of Delegates Republicans sitting in "Obama districts," and 18 in "Kaine districts." The 18 "Kaine districts" are:#2 (59.4% Kaine): Del. Mark Dudenhefer vs. Michael Futrell #12 (54.2% Kaine): Del. Joseph Yost vs. James Harder #13 (55.4% Kaine): Del. Bob Marshall vs. Atif M Qarni #21 (53.5% Kaine): Del. Ron Villanueva vs. Susan Hippen #23 (51.0% Kaine): Del. Bill Howell vs. UNCONTESTED #31 (53.9% Kaine): Del. Scott Lingamfelter vs. Jeremy McPike #32 (53.5% Kaine): Del. Tag Greason vs. Elizabeth Miller #34 (52.8% Kaine): Del. Barbara Comstock vs. Kathleen Murphy #42 (54.3% Kaine): Del. Dave Albo vs. Ed Deitsch #50 (54.4% Kaine): Del. Jackson Miller vs. Richard Cabellos #51 (52.2% Kaine): Del. Rich Anderson vs. Reed Heddleston #67 (55.4% Kaine): Del. Jim LeMunyon vs. Hung Nguyen #84 (50.6% Kaine): Glenn Davis vs. Brent N McKenzie #85 (51.1% Kaine): Scott Taylor vs. Bill Dale #86 (61.4% Kaine): Del. Tom Rust vs. Jennifer Boysko #87 (56.9% Kaine): Del. David Ramadan vs. John Bell #93 (58.3% Kaine): Del. Mike Watson vs. Monty Mason #94 (53.5% Kaine): Del. David Yancey vs. Robert Farinholt Given that Democrats currently have just 32 out of 100 House of Delegates seats, if we could win all of these "Kaine districts" back, we could get to a 50/50 split. No, I don't think we can win them all back in one cycle, or even two cycles, but given the changing demographics of Virginia, it's almost inevitable that we will win them eventually -- the only question being "how long?" This November, let's make sure we make a good start at it. P.S. Of course, as I pointed out the other day, these candidates need to be adequately funded to have a serious chance of winning. P.P.S. Also, check out Not Larry Sabato's excellent series on Virginia's House districts.

EXCLUSIVE Blue Virginia Interview with Terry McAuliffe: Part II

by Kindler Intro: Recently, the McAuliffe for Governor campaign graciously provided Blue Virginia editors lowkell and kindler the opportunity to interview Terry for 45 minutes at his campaign HQ in Arlington. The following interview is edited for length and to focus on highlights of our conversation. We posted the first part of the interviewyesterday; this is the second and final installment. Cross-posted at Daily Kos. "Education...is an investment, not an expense" lowkell: Ken Cuccinelli likes to say he's "Frugal Ken" and you're supposedly "Union Terry."  Two part question: First, I'm wondering what you think of Cuccinelli's claim to be "frugal," especially given his waste of money pursuing climate scientists and all this frivolous litigation he's mostly lost -- and his plan is to have these huge tax cuts for the wealthy and for corporations, which would blow a massive hole in Virginia's budget. Terry: Well, "Frugal Ken" is a cute little slogan.  But this election is not about cute slogans -- we've got big issues facing us, many of which we've already discussed. It's not frugal if you're going to go before people and say I'm going to give you a $1.4 billion tax cut per year. I would love to run for governor and promise you billions of dollars in tax cuts. But I won't do that, because I'm realistic and honest. That is fiscally irresponsible. I thought the debate was pretty clear -- he was asked how he was going to pay for it and he could not answer. Which tax incentives are you going to eliminate? He could not give one. So it's slogans. I'm not going to do that. As you know, Vince Callahan, who was the longest-serving Republican House of Delegates member, former chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, came out and said this would blow a gigantic hole in the budget. It would wreak havoc at the local level. And at the end of the day, it would most likely just take money out of education and public health. At a time we need to be investing in education -- which is an investment, not an expense -- you're going to be taking this money out of education, not saying how you're going to pay for it? What people want in their governor is an honest approach, bipartisan, fiscally responsible, like you had with Warner and Kaine, protecting our AAA bond rating while investing in education.

kindler :: EXCLUSIVE Blue Virginia Interview with Terry McAuliffe: Part II

"I'm tired of the demonizing, the dividing of folks...when I'm governor, I'm going to work with everybody" lowkell: As for the "Union Terry" label, I'm wondering what your views are on the best ways to stand up for working people, in contrast to Cuccinelli's union-bashing. Terry: I get support from union members, and to be very honest with you, I'm proud to have their support. And I've said this over and over: I'm tired of the demonizing, the dividing of folks. This constant diving of people -- it's not helpful, it's not constructive, it's not how I've led my life, and I get tired of hearing it. I get tired of hearing my opponent attack teachers. All I can tell you is when you divide people, you hurt Virginia. Let me tell you, when I'm governor, I'm going to work with everybody. I'm going to work with business, I'm going to work with labor, I'm going to bring people together, I'm going to do what'll lead to the most efficient, productive government that helps Virginians. People know that I'm very accessible, that I love to work, I love to go round the clock, I'm not a big sleeper, I don't believe in it. This will be an exciting governorship. "He says that the jobs created by the Federal government are not good jobs. Well you tell that to everybody in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads" kindler: The Obama campaign proved that Democrats can win Virginia if we get young people and minority communities out to vote. And the Deeds campaign showed what happens when we don't -- losing by 17 points to Bob McDonnell. Speaking directly to these communities, what is your message to them? Terry: Great question and I think that encapsulates everything I talk about. First of all, if you're a young person, what are you worried about? You're getting out of college, a lot of debt, you want a job first and foremost. So the big things I talk about, diversifying this economy, getting all these new sort of industries -- cyber, nano, bio -- all these new things I get excited about -- big data, analytics, all that great stuff, that's what we have to focus on. So I'm telling young people, I want you to stay in Virginia. It's the same thing I say to my five children: stay here. We've got to have those jobs of the 21st century. So if I'm a young person out there today, I've got to make the decision. Who's going to make Virginia the place where I'm going to get the job that I want? I get concerned about young people getting out of college today in debt and taking jobs that they don't want to take but have to. I tell young people, I've tried so many different things in my life, taken a lot of risks, a lot of chances, I enjoy doing it.  And you learn by all those great experiences. I want to make sure people can make decisions for their quality of life, that they're doing the things they want to do. I want to make sure that young people have those exciting choices available for their future, but also a great place to live.  But not with this anti-women's health, anti-gay, anti-immigrant stuff. So if I'm a young person out there, I'd be saying, let me get this straight: one guy's all for the transportation approaches to ease our congestion, for the Medicaid expansion that would create tremendous economic opportunities, freeing up hundreds of millions of dollars in the general fund budget by taking this money we're spending today that we don't have to and focusing it on education? I think this guy's really going to work his tail off to diversify this economy, and do what he has to do to bring businesses here. That's why I'm running and I think it's a clear choice in this election. My opponent continually attacks the Federal government.  I'll remind you that 50% of the economic activity in Hampton Roads and a third of our economic activity in Northern Virginia is directly related to the Federal government.  He says that the jobs created by the Federal government are not good jobs. Well you tell that to everybody in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads. I want to work with the Federal government. Now if we have an issue where there's something coming out that would affect Virginia adversely, of course I'm going to fight that.  But most importantly, you want me working with the Feds to get to the next level. As for minority communities: very important for turnout. As I said in the debate, one of my proudest moments as governor will be when I can stand with Alfonso Lopez signing the Dream Act.  We got it further than it's ever gone before, and while I hope the Federal government gets immigration done, we need to do our part here in Virginia. Also, a tremendous issue for the African-American community, when I visit with them as I just did in Richmond, is the quality of education, especially pre-k, early childhood education. That's what they tell me they're worried about. "I'd put together an independent ethics commission: people who are being investigated should not investigate themselves" kindler:The State Integrity Project ranks Virginia 47th among the 50 states in its state corruption index. Our system seems outdated from the lack of campaign finance laws and gift bans to many other issues. Will you be a reform governor, and what would you do to reform the state? Terry: There are a lot of things I'd love to reform.  The first thing I'd propose, on day one, is a $100 gift ban. We will take no gifts over $100. The same guy who's been giving gifts to the governor has done it to Ken Cuccinelli -- it's the New York trips, it's the Smith Mountain Lake, the many times in his Richmond home, it's the $1500 Thanksgiving dinner, it's also buying stock in his company and not disclosing it, and then, as the New York Times reported last week, selling the stock after he spent a weekend with him. Let's get rid of that -- so I'm very clear: when I'm governor, nobody can give me anything over $100. I'd make it zero but you've got to get some commemorative items, keys to cities and things like that.  And for my whole family -- this idea that I'm not giving it to the governor, but they're giving it to my daughter -- sorry, I don't buy it. I'd also put together an independent ethics commission: people who are being investigated should not investigate themselves. I've laid it out on my website how they all get picked. Another big thing I'd like to get done -- I don't like this partisan redistricting. I would love if I could get something done with real teeth -- it won't be until I leave, obviously, it would be the next governor -- but if we could get something done where we have non-partisan re-districting, that would be the most important thing we could do, because I really do believe that this has been a core problem with democracy. "There are no silo campaigns this time around, we're all working with each other" lowkell: What do you see as the prospects for increasing the share of Democrats in the General Assembly? Terry: Well, we've got a great campaign running, we've got a lot of folks on the ground, and we've been very active in the House of Delegates financially, more than any other candidate -- we are all in.  We've made a very substantial financial commitment to them, we've told the House of Delegates members they can use our offices, we're sharing data. Mark Herring, Ralph Northam and I are appearing together every week, running as a true ticket. There are no silo campaigns this time around, we're all working with each other. So I think we can pick up some seats in the House of Delegates, and I tell folks, we need to look at this as the beginning of a ten year plan of what we need to do. They've done a very good job of recruiting, we've got a lot of candidates on the field, so it's all about turnout, which is what we work very hard at, but the [district] lines are the lines at the end of the day. People are fired up -- last week we were in Sterling and Loudoun for our office opening -- more couldn't get in, there were so many people there. People are fired up this year.

WVU Expert on Coal Mining's Impact on Appalachia Calls Ken Cuccinelli's Assertions "Pretty Sad"

We all know that Ken Cuccinelli is a climate science denier, persecutor of climate scientists, clean energy basher, and major recipient of fossil fuel industry largesse. So I wasn't surprised when I saw this headline in the Fredericksburg Patch, quoting Cuccinelli that "The war on coal in Virginia is a war on the poor" and that the coal industry is supposedly "vital to the [Appalachian Power Company service] area's economic stability."In fact, as we've discussed previously, the whole "war on coal" argument is utter bull****. In fact, Virginia coal mining employment is UP - repeat, UP! - under President Obama. That's not a LOT of jobs (0.46% of the Virginia total), but still, it's nice to get the facts straight once in a while - even if you're a right-wing ideologue (aka, "liar") like Ken Cuccinelli. In addition, asthis post explained, there's been a decades-long decline of coal mining employment in Central Appalachia, a large chunk of which occurred under Presidents Reagan and George HW Bush (the trend continued under Bill Clinton, then reversed a bit under George W. Bush and Barack Obama). The reasons for this decline?  First, mechanization (e.g., mountaintop removal coal mining), which has made the coal industry far more capital intensive and far less labor intensive than it used to be. Second, a migration of coal mining from places (e.g., Virginia) where it used to be mined by humans, operating in coal mines, to highly-mechanized Western and/or mountaintop removal operations. And third, the move away from coal and towards cheap and abundant natural gas, as well as much cheaper (and inexhaustible) wind and solar power. Put that all together, and what do you get? A decline in coal mining employment in the U.S. over many, many decades. Nothing to do with a "war," unless you consider the impersonal forces of capitalism, technology and economics to be conscious beings capable of initiating hostilities against coal miners. (rolls eyes) Anyway, I was curious what an actual, you know, EXPERT in this subject thought, as opposed to a bought-and-paid-for "useful idiot" like Ken Cuccinelli. So, I contacted Professor Michael Hendryx of West Virginia University, who has done a great deal of work on the health and economic impacts of coal mining in Appalachia (e.g., "Full cost accounting for the life cycle of coal" and "The association between mountaintop mining and birth defects among live births in central Appalachia, 1996-2003."). The first paper, for instance, found that "the life cycle of coal-extraction, transport, processing, and combustion-generates a waste stream and carries multiple hazards for health and the environment," adding up to massive externalities that are "costing the U.S. public a third to over one-half of a trillion dollars annually" and that, "[a]ccounting for the damages conservatively doubles to triples the price of electricity from coal per kWh generated." Anyway, I wanted to see what Professor Hendryx thought specifically about Ken Cuccinelli's comments that "The war on coal in Virginia is a war on the poor." His response was very revealing:

The evidence is overwhelming that a coal-dependent mining economy perpetuates poverty and offers increasingly fewer economic opportunities, but the industry and the politicians that cater to it can still play the jobs card it seems. Pretty sad.  In other words, Cuccinelli has it completely backwards: far from his (non-existent) "war on coal" constituting a (non-existent) "war on the poor," in fact "a coal-dependent mining economy perpetuates poverty and offers increasingly fewer economic opportunities." So much for that "Big Lie" by Ken Cuccinelli.By the way, in the same talk, Cuccinelli also attacked Terry McAuliffe for supporting a "Renewable Portfolio Standard of 25% renewable sources of electricity by 2025" which Cuccinelli says is "bordering on California-style energy policy." Of course, in Cuccinelli's warped worldview, that's a bad thing. In stark contrast, in the world of sanity and fact, that's actually a very good thing. Recently, the American Council on Renewable Energy's (ACORE's) "Fact Check" utterly demolished the claim that "State Renewable Portfolio Standards are job-killing government mandates that offer no economic benefits and cause skyrocketing electricity rates." In fact, according to ACORE, "RPS policies are currently driving over 1/3 of new renewable energy development across America in a cost-competitive manner that protects American consumers." Across the country, ACORE explains, Renewable Portfolio Standards are working to "drive in-state economic growth" while dramatically boosting the amount of renewable energy on the grid. For instance, in deep "red" Texas, the state's RPS "has been so successful that its 10-year goal was met in just over six years." In our neighbor to the south,"renewable energy has decreased electricity rates and rates are lower than they would be without renewable energy, according to a 2013 study conducted by RTI International." And in California, which Cuccinelli singles out as some sort of bogeyman, "[e]lectricity costs are dropping...making renewable energy more competitive with fossil fuels." The bottom line is that Ken Cuccinelli either a) has absolutely no idea what he's talking about when it comes to energy issues; b) is simply spouting the false, "Big Lie"-style propaganda of his big fossil fuel donors and pals; or c) knows exactly what the facts are but has decided to lie through his teeth anyway (to pander for votes, to please his corporate masters, etc.). Actually, come to think of it, it's probably "a," "b" and "c" - the triple whammy of lies, disinformation, and ignorance all rolled into one noxious package. What a nightmare.

EXCLUSIVE Blue Virginia Interview with Terry McAuliffe: Part I

Intro: Recently, the McAuliffe for Governor campaign graciously provided Blue Virginia editors lowkell and kindler the opportunity to interview Terry for 45 minutes at his campaign HQ in Arlington. Terry was energetic and enthusiastic as always, even as he noted that the campaign is keeping him going regularly from 6 am to midnight. The following interview is edited for length and to focus on highlights of our conversation. This is the first installment; the second will be posted tomorrow. Cross-posted atDaily Kos"I want other people to have those same experiences that Terry McAuliffe had." kindler: I recently went canvassing for your campaign, and while I found many Democrats motivated to get out and vote, many of them still don't know you well.  To help introduce yourself to these voters, can you please tell us the 2-3 things Virginia Democrats most need to know about you as a person? Terry: Listen, I'm a kid who grew up in a middle class family, started his first business at fourteen, paid for college because I either got to work or I wasn't sure I was going to go.  I've always been involved in business and politics.  I feel like I'm the luckiest guy in the world, I've had so many great experiences, I want other people to have those same experiences that Terry McAuliffe had. There are a lot of things I could do in my life. This is not the easiest business in the world, but you need to have folks willing to step up to the plate.  I'm going to fight for families, fight for jobs.  So for me it's personal.  I like to get things done, I love to be in the arena.  I have Teddy Roosevelt's quote behind my desk [reprinted here]: The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. I will never be that poor timid soul -- I'm going to be in that arena fighting for people, because I'm passionate about helping them. "You cannot grow an economy if you're putting walls up around Virginia" kindler: So as governor, you get four years, and understanding the limits to what you can do, what are the 3 or 4 things you most want to be accomplish? Jobs and economic development: That is our challenge.  We have been blessed -- we've been the number one recipient of DOD dollars.  That's not going to change, but with $500 billion baked into the Department of Defense cuts, and sequestration going into next year, it's going to be traumatic for us because we are the number one recipient. So the next governor's got a big, big challenge.

kindler :: EXCLUSIVE Blue Virginia Interview with Terry McAuliffe: Part I

For me as governor, for jobs and economic development, I've got to fix transportation. Now the current governor's plan, I was all for it, while my opponent tried to stop this mainstream compromise. I'm all for the Silver Line while he would kill the Silver Line even if it's halfway completed. Let's get people out of cars, let's get them into mass transit. Let's get to Dulles Airport, let's go out into Loudon County.It's a quality of life issue on transportation: Northern Virginia, we're stuck in traffic 67 hours a year, 43 hours a year in Hampton Roads. It's debilitating. Dorothy and I just went with our kids to see a ball game in the afternoon -- it's a 2-3 hour deal. And if we don't have a great education system, I cannot convince that CEO to move an advanced manufacturing facility to Virginia. As we know, if you take average Virginia teacher pay and compare it to average wages in the state, we rank 50th in the country. We are dead last. Virginia is one of the wealthiest states in America, and we should never be 50th in any category. Now, I want accountability for teachers, we need to get the best teachers, and we've got to stop eroding their retirement benefits, we've got to pay them what they're worth. I've called for total reform of the SOLs -- they do not work. These high-stakes, multiple choice tests at the end of the year are forcing teachers to teach to the tests. Why do we give a test at the end of the year? If you really want to help a student, why don't you give it at the beginning of the year so the teacher can assess what that student needs and help him or her throughout the year? One of my core messages is on community colleges. I'm going to all 23, I think I'm the first candidate for governor to do that. These are our real workforce engines. Three out of five of our higher ed students go to community colleges, within an hours drive of everybody. But whereas in 2008, funding was about $4400 a student, now we're down to around $2500. One of the biggest issues for us is the Medicaid expansion -- my opponent's against it, I'm all for it. Whatever you think about health care, it is now the law of the land. So, we can cover 400,000 Virginians with quality, life-saving care. We will bring, over the next seven years, $21 billion back into the Virginia economy, we can create up to 33,000 new jobs. I want to use the money to reform the entire health care delivery system, make it more efficient and cost effective. But here's a very important point that I don't think a lot of folks realize: in the near future, the Federal DSH payments -- for when you've got a disproportionate share of low income individuals who come into your hospital -- will go away. Indigent care in emergency rooms, gone. Our hospitals will incur up to $190 million in expenses today that they're not presently paying. So there's a cost to us. This is a big deal. The last thing I'll say -- you cannot grow our economy when you consistently attack women on health issues. I've told women that I trust them to make their own decisions. I will be a brick wall, I will not tolerate any discrimination on any issue. I'll do like Tim Kaine did, Executive Order #1 will be to make sure we have protections against any forms of discrimination, including as it relates to sexual orientation. When you say being gay leads to 'self destruction not only physically but of their soul', when you lead the effort to shut women's health services down, when you sponsor personhood legislation, which would outlaw most forms of contraception including the pill, I've got to tell you, you cannot grow an economy if you're putting walls up around Virginia. It's as stark a difference as you can have between two candidates. "People will go where they don't have to be stuck in traffic for 67 hours a year, where they and their daughters have access to women's health centers" lowkell: In the Homestead Debate on Saturday, Ken Cuccinelli said that his views on what he called the "personal challenge of homosexuality" haven't changed. He also has reiterated his support for making sodomy - even, apparently, between consenting adults - a crime in Virginia. I'm wondering what you think these types of views, expressed by powerful political figures in a state, do to that state's image, particularly among businesses thinking about locating here. I think that encapsulates the difference in this race -- I'm trying to make the state non-discriminatory, open to everyone, but there are consequences to actions, as I said in the debate. As one of his first actions as attorney general, he sent a letter to every college and university in Virginia rolling back protections on discrimination related to sexual orientation for professors and students. Northrop Grumman, which was about to pick us for their national headquarters, with 300 very high paying jobs, sent word to Governor McDonnell that the deal was now in question -- because Northrop Grumman is very pro-gay rights, very pro-woman. Gov. McDonnell had to intervene to save that deal. So there are real consequences to this type of mean spirited, hurtful rhetoric and actions. We've got to really diversify and figure out what is it that replaces the military money that is likely to be cut. I always talk about cyber-security -- it's one area where the Federal government is going to plus up over the next few years. Cyber, nano, bio-life sciences -- but let's take cyber-security for a second. Maryland is working at warp speed today to make themselves the top state in the country for cyber-security. Fort Meade just got named the command center for cyber-security. This is a big area for us -- we've got to be the leader. We've got the universities, we've got the colleges, we've got the military installations -- we've got to really do it. I need to go to Silicon Valley to recruit the "cyber warriors" who do this. Many of them are women. They're not going to come to Virginia when they're questioning whether you can have access to the pill, whether our 20 women's health centers will close -- and it's already started. The first one's come up for renewal in Norfolk, Virginia, and they've shut down, they're gone forever. Many of these women's health centers provide cancer screening, affordable birth control. So this is happening and I always try to make the point that people can move around the globe today.  This is a global economy and people will go where they don't have to be stuck in traffic for 67 hours a year, where they and their daughters have access to women's health centers if that's what they choose, the best education system. We really have big challenges.  And I think everyone realizes this but we've been blessed because of advantages like the Pentagon.  That's why you need a governor with a lot of entrepreneurial experience, who's willing to work in a bipartisan way.  I get asked all the time, "Well, Terry, how are you going to do it when you've only got 32 Democrats in the House of Delegates?" At the end of the day, I talk about jobs and economic development -- who's not going to work with me on that? But I will be a brick wall on these social issues.  I will veto any of those pieces of legislation.  It's not the right thing to do, morally and socially, and it cripples our ability to grow our economy. "Are you going to go to the only state where the attorney general is threatening your work product?" lowkell: We were excited to see you campaigning with Prof. Michael Mann, the target of Attorney General Cuccinelli's infamous witch hunt against climate scientists.  What will you do, as governor, to promote science, research and innovation, and science-based policy?  And what are your specific plans to promote a clean energy economy and confront climate disruption? Terry: I talk about this a lot on the trail -- obviously, clean air, clean water, critical for us, but also for our tourism industry, our fisheries, all of it.  This weekend, I went to see one of the leaders on wind energy -- we ought to have some turbines out in the water.  One of the things I'd be most excited about as governor would be going out there on a boat to put the first pole in the water. We're the only state in the mid-Atlantic region without a mandatory renewable energy standard.  We need to work it in a way that makes sense, but if you're an investor in renewable energy, you're not going to come to the only state that isn't required to buy the product.  It goes to job creation as well.  We should be the leader on carbon capture and storage, now being worked on at Virginia Tech -- these are jobs of the future. One thing we need to do a better job on is the commercialization of our great research at our higher ed institutions.  George Mason's done a little -- I just toured them, they've got two great new nano-scientists from NIH.  The work's going on at Tech, ODU has a lot of great renewables -- our universities are doing great work, but the state has to help incentivize them to take that research out to the private sector.  We need private-public partnerships to do that. On the Michael Mann case, let's be clear -- besides the $600,000 it cost the University of Virginia, the idea that the attorney general attacked our flagship university, even though 800 professors and scientists sent him a letter asking him to stop, until he was slapped down by the Supreme Court.  So here's the end result of this -- these scientists and technologists, they will go wherever they want in the world, they're heavily recruited.  Are you going to go to the only state where the attorney general is threatening your work product?  No, I don't think so, not going to happen.  So there are consequences to these types of actions. As governor, I would personally engage myself in helping recruit the best and the brightest to Virginia.  I would visit, I would make calls, I would do what I need to do to recruit.  That's what you need to do to grow. Check this space for Part II tomorrow.

Video: Bob Lewis of AP Says Star Scientific Scandal "Is A Problem" For Cuccinelli's Campaign

So sayeth the dean of the Virginia political press corps on "Morning Joe": This is a problem for Ken for two reasons. One is, Ken accepted $18,000 worth of gifts from the same guy who has been such a benefactor to the governor, a guy named Jonnie Williams who has a company called Star Scientific, which makes nutritional supplements. And another problem for Ken is, that as long as this scandal with the governor is basically eating up the work product of the press corps, it's hard for Ken's message to punch through. Bob Lewis is right as usual. That's probably why the Cuccinelli campaign is flailing around, putting out idiotic and off-base videos like this one, and generally just spending 100% of its time trying to come up with some way to attack Terry McAuliffe. Notice: Cuccinelli has no positive vision for Virginia. Of course, how could he when he hates government, opposed much (most?) of what Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell tried to do, is despised by many in the Virginia GOP - McDonnell and Bill Bolling, for instance - and is basically a rabid, right-wing ideologue who takes orders from the Koch brothers, coal companies, etc? That's right, he can't.

Saturday Morning Rant: Sometimes Democrats Really Infuriate Me

At the top of this page, you can see Blue Virginia's motto: "think globally, blog locally." What that means, mostly, is that we believe strongly that while we should remain informed and engaged on national and world issues, the primary focus of our political activism should be at the state and local level. Why is that? Several reasons.1. Your impact is far, far greater at the state and local level than at the national level. For instance, let's say you give a $100 donation to a presidential campaign which raises $1 billion. Your donation makes up one TEN MILLIONTH of the total money raised by said presidential campaign. In other words, it's nice of you to give, but your donation is essentially meaningless in the broader picture. Now, let's say you give a $100 donation to a Virginia House of Delegates campaign, which let's say raises a total of $100,000. That means your contribution makes up one THOUSANDTH of the total money raised by said HoD campaign. Proportionally speaking, your $100 contribution to the HoD campaign has 10 THOUSAND times the "bang for the buck" as your $100 contribution to the presidential campaign (one thousandth of the money raised vs. one ten millionth of the money raised). To put it another way, you'd have to give $1 million to the presidential campaign to equal the proportional impact your $100 has to the HoD campaign. Good luck with that. 2. Same thing with your vote. In a presidential election, in the vast majority of states, your vote is utterly meaningless, as your state is likely non-competitive, either "red" or "blue," and given that it's generally "winner take all" for the state's electoral votes. Even in states where your vote DOES matter, we're talking about millions of votes cast (around 3.9 million cast in 2012 for Obama or Romney), which means your 1 vote is a tiny fraction of that. In a House of Delegates election, in stark contrast, we're usually talking 25,000-40,000 votes total, with the winning margin in competitive races often just a few hundred, or possibly a few thousand, votes. Thus, your vote - and as many of your friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, etc. as you can persuade to vote - makes a proportionately enormous difference compared to your vote at the presidential level. Your vote also matters tremendously in party primaries, where frequently elections are decided by just a handful of votes. Yet turnout is much higher in "presidential" and "federal" elections than state and local ones. That's insane. 3. Unlike at the national level, where even if the system wasn't almost totally gridlocked thanks to Republicans' nihilistic obstructionism, your chances of having any sizable impact on national policy decisions is not large. At the local level, your chances of making a difference are VERY large.For instance, I was told recently by a Virginia city council official that a handful of vocal citizens at the local level frequently make a huge difference in what the council decides. At the state level, consider what a few dozen (or hundred) passionate voters calling a Virginia Delegate could do to his or her thinking on an issue? And consider how much impact state legislatures have on issues ranging from women's health to LGBT anti-discrimination to energy and environmental issues to education, taxation, voting rights, you name it. Don't believe that? Just look at the disaster happening in North Carolina right now, since that legislature was turned over to Republican control in January 2011.  How many votes were cast in the November 2010 elections in North Carolina? We're talking 20k or 30k votes in many of the NC House of Representatives elections that year, with winning margins of just a few hundred or a few thousand votes in many cases. And that has had enormous implications - almost all negative - for North Carolina. That's why when I read articles like this one in Politico ("Obama's states of despair: 2010 losses still haunt"), it utterly infuriated me. A few key takeaways that should get YOUR blood boiling too. *"Barack Obama has spent well over $1 billion on his political campaigns, but it's the $20 to $30 million Democrats didn't shell out three years ago that is costing the White House as he slogs through the first six months of his second term." That's right, $30 million compared to $1 billion is just 3% of the money spent on the presidential race. If that could have saved a bunch of state legislatures, prevented some seriously f***ed up redistricting (and horrible laws passed by Teahadist legislatures), wouldn't that have been worth it? Uh yeah!*"It's now clear that the party's loss of 20 state legislative chambers and critical Midwestern governor's seats represents an ongoing threat every bit as dangerous as the more-publicized Republican take-back of the House that same year." Right, and groups like ALEC understand this very well. You take control of the state legislature and the governor's mansion, you can then start churning out legislation that's a wet dream to the Koch brothers, the fossil fuel industries, big business and rich people in general. On the flip side, it's a nightmare to everyone else. Yet big donors have such large egos, and are apparently so clueless, that they insist on "playing" at the national level, where almost nothing ever gets done, instead of flipping state legislature after state legislature, and then churning out progressive legislation on guns, the environment, clean energy, voting rights, LGBT equality, health care, education, and every other issue they (and we) care about. But nooo...good luck getting these people to put even a miniscule percentage of their vast wealth into a coordinated, intense state-level strategy. That would be too logical, apparently. *"There was no stopping the GOP wave that year - but strategists in both parties say Obama's team might have blunted it if they had somehow managed to cut into the GOP's $30-to-$10 million cash advantage in state house races by making campaigns at the very bottom of the ballot a priority." And guess what: history appears to be repeating itself right here in Virginia in 2013. Here's what we're talking about right now: as of July 17, "Republicans hold a 2:1 cash-on-hand advantage over Democrats heading into House of Delegates races this fall, according to campaign finance reports filed with the State Board of Elections." Basically, we need about $4 million or so right now to match Republicans for the House of Delegates races. WHERE IS THAT MONEY? I mean, it's great to recruit strong candidates in many districts - which it looks like we've done pretty well this cycle - but it's not much good if we don't FUND those candidates. So, again, where's that money? Hello rich people? Hello not-rich people? Hello Democratic delegates in deep-blue districts (e.g., Arlington, Alexandria)? What in god's name are you DOING?!? *"It might be the greatest opportunity cost of the Obama Era in terms of sheer damage to Democrats, a gift that keeps giving to the Republicans in the form of GOP-dominated redistricting and a barrage of state actions that challenge Obama's core agenda on health care, civil rights and abortion." Again, this is the type of damage that can be done when we ignore and/or shortchange the states. It's so stupid, I almost can't believe it's possible. Can Democrats really be THIS stupid? Or is it a matter of Republicans having access to a lot more money at the state level, given that a lot of their donors come from the super-rich, entrenched, and (ironically?) taxpayer-subsidized resource extraction industries (coal, oil, natural gas)? My guess is it's both, but whatever it is, it's not acceptable. *""Everyone is focusing on the House as hampering us, but no one has really focused on losing all those governerships and state legislatures." Whoever is failing to do this needs to be fired, immediately, if they are employed by any Democratic organization anywhere. Why? Because they are utterly incompetent and have no business being in their jobs. Replace them with people who get it - the Democratic equivalent of Ed Gillespie, Lee Atwater, etc. That is, assuming we HAVE an equivalent of Ed Gillespie or Lee Atwater. *"...when it comes to redistricting, the damage has already been done. The next chance Democrats have to fight back comes in 2020, seven long years away." Sad to say, but that f***up in 2010 has harmed the Democratic Party, not to mention the country, for many, many years to come. True, it was a moment of madness (and racist backlash) with the Koch-funded, "useful idiot" Tea Party movement, but that doesn't mean we can absolve Democrats for sheer incompetence in their neglect of the state legislatures. Inexcusable. *"At the presidential level, Democrats are able to match up with Republicans. At the state level, where spending has a more potent effect, they are less competitive... They've lost control of those elections and now they are at the whim of all these [conservative] superpacs." Well, it's time to take back control of the state-level elections. And we can start doing that right here in Virginia in 2013, where every seat in the House of Delegates is up for grabs - including the 18 or so Obama and/or Kaine districts currently held by Republican delegates. Oh, and of course we've also got important elections for Lt. Governor and Attorney General. Right now, both Ralph Northam nor Mark Herring need a LOT more resources than they've got. So...where are those resources? Do Democratic money folks not realize the enormous importance of controlling a) the Virginia State Senate; and b) the Virginia Attorney General's office? If not, well...WTF? Meanwhile, at the grassroots level, where are the national progressive blogs and activists on all this? As far as I can determine, they're totally unfocused, flitting around from this issue to that issue to the other issue, instead of focusing intensely on what they can actually do to make a difference: donate to candidates in Virginia, help fight back in North Carolina, organize to take back state legislatures and governor's mansions across the country in 2014 and beyond, etc. Sure, it's fun to endlessly debate the NSA, Edward Snowden, the latest crazy Republican comments, whether President Obama's progressive enough, who our nominee should be in 2016, blah blah blah...all kinds of stuff we have almost no influence on, to be frank about it. Also, all that's essentially worthless compared to focused effort, RIGHT NOW, on winning back state legislatures in 2013 here in Virginia, and in 2014 in other states around the country. But yeah, that would take actual work, and who wants to do that? (snark) And perhaps THE most infuriating quote of all from the Politico article: *"Another Democrat, directly involved in the effort to raise cash for the state efforts, said 'we could never get our big donors to give a damn about the states. The Republicans have always been more aware of the value of the states.'" Let me put this as bluntly as I can. Any Democratic donor who doesn't "give a damn about the states," and gives money only at the federal level because it's more glamorous, because it strokes their gigantic egos, and/or because they like hanging out at soirees and cocktail party fundraisers with Presidents, Vice Presidents, First Ladies, U.S. Senators, yada yada, sucks. How do they suck? Let us count the ways, starting with the fact that they're selfish, short-sighted jerks who think they're doing good, but are probably hurting things more than helping, as much as they like to think of themselves as knights on white horses. Sorry, but if they let ALEC et al. run roughshod over Virginia, North Carolina, Michigan, Wisconsin, etc, etc, then those are the kinds of "friends" we can do without. So, anyway, that's my rant for this fine Saturday morning. I fully expect it to be completely ignored, but nonetheless, I feel better for having said it. Which, in the end, is one of the main reasons I blog...to get these frustrations out so I don't end up punching walls and breaking my hand or whatever.

Videos: Terry McAuliffe, Ralph Northam, and Mark Herring at the Arlington JJ Dinner

The Arlington County Democratic Committee's 2013 Jefferson-Jackson Dinner concluded a bit earlier this evening, and it was a fun event. I'm uploading video now of speeches by Terry McAuliffe, Ralph Northam and Mark Herring, and they should be available tomorrow morning. For now, here's a short video of Virginia's next Governor, Lt. Governor and Attorney General on stage together following their speeches. [UPDATE: See the McAuliffe, Northam and Herring speeches in the comments section of this post.]

Videos: Terry McAuliffe, Ralph Northam, and Mark Herring at the Arlington JJ Dinner | 3 comments | Post A Comment

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by: lowkell @ Sun Jul 28, 2013 at 06:51:07 AM EDT

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