GOP-Controlled Virginia House of Delegates Passes "Kim Davis" Bill, Another One to Defund Planned Parenthood

by Lowell

The GOP-controlled Virginia General Assembly's in session, which means that disgusting bill after disgusting bill is pouring out of there like one of those antiquated combined sewer/runoff systems during a heavy rainstorm. Bottom line: it ain't pretty, it smells really bad, and it harms everything it touches.

The latest examples? Let's start with nasty anti-LGBT discrimination, in the Orwellian guise of something called "Government Nondiscrimination." As the Virginia House Democratic Caucus writes:

Today, the House of Delegates enshrined in Virginia code the right to discriminate for people who hold certain religious beliefs about extramarital sex, same-sex marriage, and the transgender community. The bill passed on a 56-41 vote.

HB 773, patroned by Delegate Todd Gilbert, is a Kim Davis inspired bill that allows discrimination against same-sex couples, transgender people, or those engaging in extramarital sex within any government entity – from clerks of court to school sports coaches. The bill would prohibit government from taking action against employees who refuse to do their job because it goes against their personal religious beliefs, and would allow clerks and others to refuse to provide service if they have a religious objection to doing so.

“HB 773 creates a quasi-protected class of people who are given a license to discriminate based on religious beliefs,” said David J. Toscano, Democratic Leader. “Jefferson and the founders felt strongly about religious freedom, but this bill would permit religious beliefs to justify discriminatory acts, something firmly disfavored by our Constitution."

“Giving preference to one person’s religious beliefs over those of another is offensive and promotes inequality,” said Charniele Herring, Democratic Caucus Chair. “Ensuring that all Virginians are equal in the eyes of the law should be the goal of the General Assembly. Granting a free pass to discriminate is simply wrong.”

 Disgusting. But wait, there's more! See the "flip" for the Virginia House Dems' statement on passage of a far-right-wing bill to defund Planned Parenthood. Sad to say, this type of garbage - along with assaults on the environment, on the right to vote, on ethics, etc, etc. - on  will continue until Republicans no longer run the Virginia General Assembly.

"In 2016, the line between ‘blogger’ and ‘journalist’ is no longer meaningful"

by Lowell

I couldn't agree more with that quote by Waldo Jaquith in this new Style Weekly article by Peter Galuszka. Here's an excerpt, followed by a few thoughts by yours truly.

For years, a small group of political reporters operating through the association has kept bloggers, part-time correspondents and freelance journalists out of choice spots with access to legislators...

...The whole concept is outdated, says Charlottesville blogger Waldo Jaquith, who serves as director of U.S. Open Data and is adviser to the Sunlight Foundation....

“In 2016, the line between ‘blogger’ and ‘journalist’ is no longer meaningful,” Jaquith says. “The Capitol press corps has withered to almost nothing over the past decade. They’re a pale imitation of what they once.”...

...Jim Hoeft, editor in chief of the conservative blog Bearing Drift, says he worked to get bloggers credentialed for years. “We feel that we’re treated like second-class citizens by the press,” he says, “but we’re actually citizens who give a shit.”

...“Protecting their membership from new media might have made sense 10 years ago,” Jaquith says, “but at this point the Capitol press corps is a club so exclusive that there’s a plausible future in which it has no members.”...

...Lowell Feld, editor of the progressive Blue Virginia blog, says that many bloggers are political veterans with just as keen of an understanding of the issues as anyone else.

To elaborate just a bit on my comment, I'd say that since I started covering Virginia politics in 2005, if I've seen any difference in quality between "the bloggers" and the "corporate media," it's mostly just a matter of style, with "the bloggers" much more honest about their opinions, snarkier, etc. But as far as raw knowledge of the subject material, depth and breadth of coverage of Virginia politics, insights into what's really going on, etc., I'd actually give the edge to "the bloggers," both progressive and conservative, with a few exceptions in the corporate media like the incomparable Jeff Schapiro and top-notch reporters like Jenna Portnoy of the Washington Post (and former Virginian-Pilot reporter Julian Walker).

For instance, as I wrote back in June 2014, if journalists didn't want to be blindsided by Eric Cantor's loss to Dave Brat, they should have read political blogs like The Bull Elephant, JH Politics, Blue Virginia, etc. If they had, they would have seen that story growing over several months at Republican conventions, meetings, straw polls, etc, etc.. But the corporate media folks apparently didn't read the political blogs (or take them seriously if they did), which partly explains why they were so shocked by the Brat upset victory over Cantor.

Another example of how blogs actually provide far deeper, better coverage than the corporate media is this blog's coverage of the 8th CD Democratic primary in 2014. I personally attended numerous debates and forums at which there were no other reporters present. Even when they WERE present, their coverage didn't even come close to what Blue Virginia provided - video, analysis, transcripts, etc, etc. Same thing with the right-wing blogs' coverage of innumerable Virginia GOP conventions and other gatherings. I'd further argue that the best coverage of the 2013 Virginia GOP convention was not by the corporate media, but by folks like John Fredericks, Norm Leahy, Ben Tribbett, etc. And let's not even get into the 2006 Virginia race for U.S. Senate, first the "Draft James Webb" movement, which Raising Kaine was all over, then the Webb-Miller primary, which the Virginia blogs provided extremely detailed coverage of, then the Webb-Allen race, including the "macaca" incident (story broken by...yep, the Not Larry Sabato blog, with continued intensive coverage by the Virginia blogosphere - both right and left - in the weeks and months that followed).

Note that none of those bloggers I just mentioned are part of the Virginia Capitol Correspondents Association. Why not? Who the hell knows. Also note that the Virginia political blogs are NOT included in the morning news headlines provided by the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP), for absolutely no good or defensible reason. And yes, I've gone back and forth with the VPAP folks on this. To date, I haven't gotten an answer that makes any sense whatsoever. I've also discussed the VPAP situation with my fellow Virginia bloggers, and so far the best explanation I've received (from one of them) is that VPAP is in thrall to its corporate sponsors -- the folks (Altria, Dominion, etc.) who keep VPAP in business. Those folks have, as one of my fellow bloggers points out, figured out how to "work" the corporate media, but are not at all confident that they can influence and/or control non-corporate political bloggers. And that scares them.

Clearly, "the blogs" have always scared the corporate media as well, who see them as both economic competition and also a threat to their status (since if any citizen can also be a journalist, even do a better job than the corporate media does, then what makes the corporate media anything special?). No wonder why many corporate media outlets won't even do the most basic thing and credit/link to blogs that break stories. It's Journalistic Ethics 101, of course; yet much of the corporate media flunks miserably (note: Virginia political bloggers, from what I've seen since 2005, overwhelmingly DO properly credit and link to original sources). Anyway, we'll see if this situation ever changes, but for my part, I'm not counting on it.

P.S. In many ways, this situation reminds me of other industries other siege, like the government-protected-monopoly electric utilities. Those guys have had a cozy thing going for decades and want to keep the gravy train rolling, even as many of them espouse their love for the "free market." It would be laughable if it didn't have such serious, negative implications...

Tuesday News: GOP "Tantrum" Over SCOTUS Is a "Gift to Democrats;" VA Senate GOP Tries to Roll Back Ethics Reform

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, February 16. Also, check out the results of the new CNU Wason Center poll of Virginia; Clinton leads Sanders 52%-40% and Trump leads Rubio and Cruz by a 28%-22%-19% margin, with Carson, Kasich and Bush far behind. And note the poll results a bit further down: by a 38%-24% margin, Republicans would be MORE likely to support a candidate who wants to bar all non-citizen Muslims from entering the country, while Dems by an 83%-1% margin would be LESS likely (and independents by a 50%-19% margin would be LESS likely as well). Finally, by a 52%-5% margin, Virginians would be LESS likely to vote for a candidate who is a "Democratic-Socialist."

• Battle over Scalia’s replacement spilling into Senate races ("With Republicans saying they will block any attempt to confirm a new justice this year, the party faces the prospect of political damage to some of its embattled Senate incumbents up for reelection this fall.")

• Reid to GOP: For the good of the country, stop your nakedly partisan obstruction
• Republican obstructionism is nothing new ("Blocking any effort by President Obama to fill Justice Scalia’s seat is more of the same from the GOP.")
• Senators, do your job and vote on the next Supreme Court nominee
• The Republican Supreme Court tantrum is a gift to Democrats, especially to Hillary Clinton
• What Scalia’s Death Might Mean for Climate Change
• Rand Paul: It’s A ‘Conflict Of Interest’ For Obama To Nominate A Supreme Court Justice (The fact that many political pundits thought Rand Paul was a rising Republican star tells you everything you need to know...about those pundits.)
• Trump Threatens Independent Run If RNC Doesn’t Condemn Cruz’s Attacks (Cool!)
• Scalia’s death could doom McDonnell and Menendez ("The Supreme Court tumult increases chances of prison for the ex- Virginia governor, and could complicate the New Jersey senator’s trial.")

• Editorial: Two Va. GOP congressmen to bid their seats good-bye
• Poll: Trump and Clinton lead in Virginia's presidential primary contests
• Senate defeats constitutional amendment on charter schools
• Senate OKs coal tax credit extension with veto-proof margin (Propping up a dying, planet-killing industry with taxpayer money...great idea, guys!)
• Maryland to fight Dominion plan to release coal-ash water into Va. creek
• Bill meant to pave way for marijuana- oil production advances in Virginia
• Gun safety advocates are wrong to rebuff Gov. McAuliffe’s gun control victory
• General Assembly Notebook: House passes bills to revamp or dismantle COPN system (Stupid.)
• Senators vote to undo parts of ethics reform law (Veto!!!)
• Icy roads and sidewalks for drivers and pedestrians for Tuesday morning
• Virginia House approves lighter punishment for dogs that kill chickens
• Icy, treacherous start, then much warmer and very wet today

How Republican Obstruction of Scalia’s Replacement Could Backfire

by Andy Schmookler

Saturday night, upon reflecting on the Republicans’ shocking expressions of an unwillingness to consider a Supreme Court nomination from President Obama, I had some thoughts that I decided I’d write up yesterday after my Valentine’s celebration with my beloved.

On my way to that task Sunday afternoon, however, I discovered that someone had written essentially the same piece, and done a good job of it.  The piece, appearing on Slate.com and written by Mark Joseph Stern, bears the title “The GOP’s SupremeCourt Gamble.” 

The idea in Stern's piece -- which was also to be the heart of mine -- is essentially this: The Republicans can probably get a moderate justice appointed this year, but if they block that, and if the Democrats win both the presidency and control of the Senate in the elections this November (which is not unlikely), they could end up with a much more liberal justice instead.

If Stern's piece fully expressed my views, I would just consider myself scooped, and not bother to write anything myself. But Stern's piece contains one point to which I object, and leaves out another point that I think bears mentioning.

First, Stern's definition of a moderate that Obama might nominate, and that Stern thinks the Republicans would be wise to confirm, gives way too much ground to suit me. Stern writes:

Atif Qarni, Justin Wilk Urge Virginia State Senate to Vote No on Charter School Amendment

by Prince William County teacher Atif Qarni and Prince William County School Board member Justin Wilk

A few days ago, the Virginia House of Delegates passed HJ1, a constitutional amendment which would give the s ate power over local school divisions to fund charter schools. The Senate will likely vote on the amendment soon.

As a Prince William County school board member (Justin David Wilk) and a Prince William County school teacher (Atif Qarni), we have been advocating that members of the General Assembly vote against this bill. Prince William County has the lowest rate of per pupil funding but also the largest teacher to student ratio among the eight school divisions in Northern Virginia. We believe this bill sets a dangerous precedent in the Commonwealth and is harmful to the public education system in Virginia.

We have seen firsthand the challenge of trying to provide students with a "world-class education" when the county budget does not provide adequate resources to fund teacher salaries or fund base operations. In fact, Virginia consistently ranks well below the U.S. average in state spending for public education.

Republicans, who overwhelmingly support this legislation, cannot have it both ways. When Republicans continue to cut public education, it is not fair for them to blame the local school divisions for its shortcomings or failures. If the system is broken or failing, it’s the politicians who should be blamed.

Education reform should be in the hands of educators, not politicians and corporations. Unfortunately, most Virginia legislators do not understand that charter schools are not the solution to the problems plaguing public schools. Charter schools may create an illusion of functionality, but in reality there are significant concerns associated with this type of educational system that cannot be ignored.

For example, in Detroit, the charter school movement allows administrators to essentially “handpick” students for admittance. The Detroit Public Schools report that 17% of the student population is categorized as special needs, yet Detroit charter schools report that only 9% of its student population is categorized as special needs. Even better, there is no documented evidence indicating that the students who attend charter schools in Detroit are outperforming the students in public schools.

The Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO), a pro-charter organization, even concluded that in places like Chicago, charter school students had lower reading and math test scores than their public school counterparts. Many studies have also shown that no significant gains were made in student performance when school divisions transitioned from public to charter schools.

In 1992, the California Charter Act was passed, resulting in the creation of a large number of charter schools in the state. The charter schools in California are not only highly segregated but some even operate in strip malls or places with little or no building code requirements. Many teachers and administrators working in the charter schools are also not licensed. Given these serious issues, there is a large grassroots movement in California to repeal the Act.

We believe that establishing charter schools means giving up on the concept of public education and local control. Virginia needs to invest in the necessary improvements to public education, instead of diverting funds to charter schools. We cannot risk allowing politicians in Virginia, who have little to no classroom experience, determining whether a charter school should be allowed in a local school district. This decision should be left to those individuals the public puts their trust in to manage their school system.

Instead of solving real problems in public education, charter schools create a new education system that is not necessarily better or cheaper. With private sponsors and funding, the charter school system also is subject to less oversight and transparency. The charter school system is most problematic because of the social and racial inequalities that it creates. Its “specialty programs” can marginalize families with children that are disabled, and the lack of transportation to/from school mostly impacts low income families. The last thing the Commonwealth needs is an education system that creates further racial and economic disparities.

A quality education should be the right of all Virginians, not the privilege of a select few. The future of our children should not rest in the hands of for-profit corporations. The public school system should be great equalizer in society, not a great divider. Further investments in public education – not charter schools – are needed to better the prospects of our students being able to compete in a global economy. Local school boards, not politicians in Richmond, should have the final say in authorizing charter schools.

Monday News: GOP's "dangerously dogmatic Supreme Court obstructionism;" "Scalia's death could affect McDonnell appeal"

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for a snowy Monday, February 15. Also, check out Mitch McConnell back in 2005, attacking Dems for obstructing President Bush's judicial nominees, and arguing that "any president's judicial nominees...deserve a simple up or down vote."

• The GOP’s dangerously dogmatic Supreme Court obstructionism
• Debate rips open GOP wounds, and the party risks tearing itself apart
• Scalia’s death flips court’s dynamics and hurts conservative hopes
• Results in key cases could change with Scalia’s death
• Editorial: The Supreme Court After Justice Scalia ("A delay in the nomination process until President Obama leaves office would not serve the cause of justice.")
• A Risk for McConnell in Fighting Nomination ("In vowing to block a nominee, Senator Mitch McConnell could alienate moderate voters and imperil Republicans in swing states.")
• Paul Krugman: How America Was Lost ("Once upon a time, the death of a Supreme Court justice wouldn’t have brought America to the edge of constitutional crisis. But that was a different country, with a very different Republican Party. In today’s America, with today’s G.O.P., the passing of Antonin Scalia has opened the doors to chaos.")
• Srinivasan, Lynch fit Obama's formula for nominees ("In pushing candidates through a reluctant Senate, he has emphasized demographic firsts and cooperation with GOP.")
• Sen. Tim Kaine to Campaign for Hillary Clinton in South Carolina
• Where key legislation stands ahead of crossover ("The budget in both chambers is likely to focus on new spending for economic development, K-12 and higher education, and Medicaid waivers for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.")
• Scalia's death could affect McDonnell appeal ("Experts say the death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia could have an impact on former Gov. Bob McDonnell's appeal, as well as a GOP challenge to a newly imposed congressional redistricting map for Virginia.")
• General Assembly still contentious halfway through session
• Va.’s growing craft distillery industry pushes against regulatory roadblocks (Don't Republicans supposedly believe in the "free market?" Oh wait, of course they don't, at least not in many other sectors, like energy.)
• Our view: Why Roanoke loses so many airline passengers to other cities
• Virginia's education chief Holton talks budget, Norfolk schools and her time in office
• Prince William board halts effort to reduce concealed-carry permit fees
• The boiler may fail, rafters may crack; Alexandria’s City Hall needs cash now
• Local, state government eyeing BRT project as future of local transportation
• Editorial: Do Richmond schools need more money?
• U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine gives keynote spech at Black History Month event in Spotsylvania
• Snow changes to ice late today, and then rain into Tuesday

The GOP 2016 Presidential Candidates: Lies, Lies and More Lies; Here Are Two Big Ones

How can you tell when 2016 GOP presidential candidates are lying? Basically, whenever their lips are moving. I could spend all day - really my entire life - working to debunk their lies, distortions, fabrications, etc. on issues from climate science to Planned Parenthood to U.S. military strength to the hysterical "world is on fire" bull**** to...yeah, it's endless. For now, here are two recent ones (both mentioned in last night's freak show...er, "GOP debate" in South Carolina) that I find particularly obnoxious.

1. Republicans keep using variants of the phrases, "we've got to secure the border," "immigration is out of control," "we don't even HAVE a border," etc. It's completely, wildly false - backwards, actually, according to Pew. Also see Analysts See U.S. Border With Mexico As More Secure Than It's Been In 40 Years (NPR; 8/15). Is the border airtight, 100% "secure?" I mean, even with Donald Trump's "great wall," that would almost certainly be impossible to achieve, at least not without massive expenditures and adverse policy ramifications. But the main point is that GOP 2016 rhetoric on immigration is almost completely detached from reality, in addition to being inhumane, counterproductive, xenophobic and just plain nasty!
 
2. Their latest Big Lie has to do with the death yesterday of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, and their bizarre claims about what's common practice for a president in his last year in office regarding Supreme Court nominations and Senate confirmations. Here's PolitiFact, which as usual goes WAY too easy on Republicans, but still manages to rate RoboRubio's claim about it supposedly being "over 80 years since a lame-duck president appointed a Supreme Court justice" as "Mostly False." Also see Vox, which explains, "At least 14 Supreme Court justices have been confirmed during election years" (including Frank Murphy in 1940 and Antonin Scalia in 1988).

Dominion Power "Accepting Responsibility" for Its Oil Spill That's Killed 21 Birds So Far? If You Believe That One...

by Lowell

Late yesterday, when of course almost nobody was paying any attention, our pals at Dominion "Global Warming Starts Here!" Power issued the following statement, "accepting responsibility" for their oil spill into the Potomac River (which, so far, has killed 21 birds and injured many more).

Dominion has reviewed the oil testing data conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard. We concur with their findings that the substance was transformer mineral oil and we accept responsibility. As we have stated from the very beginning when we were made aware of the oil sheen, we would have no hesitancy in accepting responsibility should testing link our January 24 transformer spill to the sheen. We will move with all due haste to work with the agencies to ensure the remaining cleanup work is done.

So...great that Dominion is "accepting responsibility" for its oil spill into the Potomac River, right? Well sure, except for several problems.

1. Let's see if Dominion pays up for the damage it caused, including for "the cost of the response and cleanup" and "the rescue and rehabilitation of impacted birds." I mean, this is a company which has spent nearly $14 million over the years buying up the Virginia political system, so they clearly have the money to burn. Of course, having bought the Virginia political system, will there be any pressure on them?
2. Continuing with that last thought, note that since this story broke on February 4 (actually on Feb. 3 in Red Brick Town) - nearly two whole WEEKS after Dominion's "13,000-gallon spill at its Crystal City substation Jan. 24" - I've heard VERY little comment from either Dominion Power or relevant elected officials, whether in Arlington County (where the spill originated nearly three weeks ago, yet I see absolutely NOTHING about this on the Arlington County website!) or in the Virginia General Assembly, with the exceptions of Del. Mark Levine (who looked into this situation and pointed his finger at Dominion on February 6) Sen. Scott Surovell (who has been on top of Dominion's coal ash pollution, as well as this situation, writing earlier today that this "incident raises questions about community notification") and Sen. Adam Ebbin (who has posted on Facebook and tweeted multiple times about this situation). As the Potomac Conservancy wrote on Tuesday:

The lack of communication and tepid response from government agencies so far is frustrating...Pollution is alarming in and of itself and the impact on wildlife is devastating. But the lack of accountability and almost nonexistent response to this spill is most disturbing....Why has the public been kept in the dark? Why have so many critical details about this spill remained unanswered for nearly a week? Why is no one being held accountable for polluting the Potomac River?

3. As far as Dominion is concerned, their initial reaction was FAR from accepting responsibility. To the contrary, they denied it, with a spokeperson claiming that "there is no evidence that the oil in the river involved the utility." Except that there was TONS of evidence when the spokesman made that fallacious statement, including the fact that Dominion had known since January 24 that it had experienced a 13,000-gallon oil spill at its substation located just a few blocks from Roaches Run, where the oil was eventually discovered.

The bottom line is that Dominion Power, as is almost always the case when it comes to just about anything other than keeping the power on, is highly evasive and certainly not to be trusted. When it comes to environmental protection, they're way beyond evasive and untrustworthy. As the Chesapeake Climate Action Network put it yesterday afternoon:

Earlier this week, we learned Dominion illegally dumped 33.7 million gallons of coal ash into Quantico Creek in May, and today we learned they caused the oil spill that has killed dozens of waterfowl in a wildlife sanctuary on the Potomac. It's clear Dominion has a deep disregard for the rivers and land in our region, this leak is just another example of why we need to ‪#‎DumpDominion‬.

"Deep disregard for the rivers and land in our region" pretty much sums it up, except that I'd add the words "air quality," "climate" and "planet" to that list. Just a horrible, horrible company all around.

Sunday News: Scalia's Death Raises Stakes for 2016; Trump Blames Dubya for 9/11 in Chaotic GOP Freakshow...er, "Debate"

by Lowell 

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Sunday, February 14.

• 2016 is now all about the Supreme Court: This is how Justice Scalia’s death deadlocks the Court — and changes presidential race ("Republicans are likely to stonewall any Obama nominee, turning the '16 race into a Supreme Court battleground")
• The Simply Breathtaking Consequences Of Justice Scalia’s Death
• Hillary Clinton says Republican calls to leave Justice Scalia's seat vacant "dishonor our constitution" (Exactly!)
• Obama’s Supreme Court Shortlist ("It would be ridiculous for Republicans to oppose these perfectly qualified candidates.")
• Could Justice Antonin Scalia’s Death Lead to a Constitutional Crisis? ("Republicans may refuse to let Obama fill Scalia’s Supreme Court seat.")
• Cruz, Rubio, and Other Conservatives Want to Stop Obama From Replacing Scalia (Sorry, but that is NOT what the constitution says the president and Congress have obligations to do.)
• Minutes after Scalia’s death right-wingers seek to block nominee Obama hasn’t even appointed yet
• The Top 5 Moments From the Republican Debate ("Trump blames W for 9/11, Cruz gets booed, and much more.")
• Don’t let the ‘Cadillac tax’ die ("Enacting an amended version of the levy in 2020 would be good policy — and should be good politics.")
• Donald Trump Blames George W. Bush for 9/11
• Republican debate insanity: An ugly fight that saw the GOP succumb to Trumpism ("Nasty personal attacks, Donald Trump's big gamble, and a bilingual immigration fight mark a wild GOP debate")
• Republican Debate Descends Into Total Chaos, Moderator Threatens To ‘Turn This Car Around’ (None of these nuts should be let anywhere near the nuclear trigger. Ee gads.)
• Watch CBS Moderator John Dickerson Correct Ted Cruz's Facts, Then Get Booed By The GOP Debate Audience (More evidence Republicans live in an alternate universe, conditioned by the right-wing media, where facts not only don't matter but are bad things.)
• CNN Analyst: At GOP Debate, Candidates "Fighting To Get Farther And Farther Away" From Most Americans On Immigration Reform
• Schapiro: GOP faces tough choice - raise money or fire judge ("Republicans are fast running out of time to outmaneuver McAuliffe...The current session cannot run beyond 60 days, and it’s unlikely that McAuliffe — having made this mistake last August, needlessly imperiling Roush’s appointment in the process — would call legislators back for a special session in which they again would be free to elect judges.")
• LePrell: Restoring Virginia's waterways depends on support this GA session ("Please ask your legislator to support full funding for Virginia’s clean water programs. The health of the James River and the Chesapeake Bay depends on it.")
• Time runs out — again — for McAuliffe’s Supreme Court pick
• Virginians' chance to weigh in on presidential candidates is coming
• Lots of interests, private and public, in the General Assembly
• Lacking lethal injection drugs, Va. might turn to the electric chair
• McAuliffe, lawmakers argue over coal tax credits (Take every penny of those and put them into clean energy.)
• Donald Trump predicted as Republican presidential nominee at Washington and Lee mock convention
• Sherman Lea clinches Roanoke firehouse primary ("The Roanoke councilman is now poised to be the city’s second black mayor after a day of heavy voter turnout — and some voter frustration.")
• Public Square: What do we need in a new mayor?
• Editorial: The future of Portsmouth
• State official says he will drop light-rail funding if Virginia Beach has a referendum
• Brutal cold continues today, wintry mess on track for tomorrow

Ted Cruz-Supporting Extremists, Bigots E.W. Jackson and Dick Black Weigh In on Death of Antonin Scalia

In predictably insane fashion, of course...

 


UPDATE: Hillary Clinton's statement NAILS IT: "My thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Justice Scalia as they mourn his sudden passing. I did not hold Justice Scalia’s views, but he was a dedicated public servant who brought energy and passion to the bench.

The Republicans in the Senate and on the campaign trail who are calling for Justice Scalia’s seat to remain vacant dishonor our Constitution. The Senate has a constitutional responsibility here that it cannot abdicate for partisan political reasons."

UPDATE #2: President Obama delivers a statement at 8:30 pm ET.