We’d love to hear thoughts and opinions on three recent pieces from the Washington Post:
This editorial about redistricting and no-excuse absentee voting mentions PWC’s Jeff Frederick among Virginia House members who “hoped that nobody would notice their indefensible defeat of efforts to make Virginia elections fairer and more democratic.” Or, read Anita Kumar’s reporting on the vote.
This article characterizes our state legislature as “beset by partisan bickering and testy floor fights.”
At the root of the tension is an inescapable aspect of the 45-day legislative session that began last week: It’s an election year.
The intersection of legislative duties and elections occurs in Virginia every two years, but those two elements are expected to clash like never before because of an unprecedented effort by both parties to gain advantage for the fall.
Democrats are preparing a massive effort to regain control of the House of Delegates, which has been in Republican hands since 1999. If Democrats can achieve that goal and keep a Democrat in the governor’s mansion, the party will have total control over state government for the first time since 1993.
ad_icon“There is this mood, this feeling in the air. I can feel a much more aggressive passion to get control,” said Del. Paul F. Nichols (D-Prince William). “We feel there is . . . light at the end of the tunnel.”
Republicans, tired of losing statewide races, vow not to cede any more ground to Democrats. Instead, Republicans say they will be the party on the offense, targeting Democratic incumbents in the House and pouring money into Attorney General Robert F. McDonnell’s campaign for governor.
“They are going to see a new Republican Party in 2009,” said Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R), who is running for reelection.
And this article on Brian Moran’s campaign for governor:
Moran’s announcement suggests that he intends to reach out aggressively to environmentalists. And it comes as he tries to retool his campaign in response to the entry into the race of Terry McAuliffe, a former Democratic National Committee chairman and a prolific fundraiser. State Sen. R. Creigh Deeds (Bath) is also running in the June 9 Democratic primary.
Last week, Moran’s campaign finance report showed that he was spending money faster then he was raising it during the July 1 to Dec. 31 reporting period. Meanwhile, McAuliffe reported collecting nearly $1 million.
Moran initially was viewed as the establishment Democratic candidate, picking up endorsements from an array of elected officials and business leaders. Now, Moran is positioning himself as an insurgent to appeal to the party’s liberal flank.
In the past two weeks, Moran has also come out against drilling for oil off Virginia’s coast, and he proposed a mandate that 25 percent of the state’s energy needs be met with renewable resources by 2025.
This will truely be an historic election with alot of questions to answered this fall. Will Va. continue to trend blue? Will No. Va. start getting a more equal share of the revenue pie? Will the Dems. controll both houses of the GA. or will devisiveness continue to rule the state budgetary process? What will the main issues be this fall? Will the Reps. continue to rely on “wedge issues” to gain votes? Will bi-partisanship just be a word in the dictionary? Lots to watch, this will be very interesting.
I believe on the principle of equal representation, or “one man one vote.”. We should have an indepentent committee do the redistricting. I am sick of people like Jeff Frederick putting politics before all else, even basic fairness. Speaking of which it would be nice to see NoVa get our equal share. I agree Ivan.
In a slightly related matter, nbcwashington.com is reporting that our friends from the KKK dropped off some leaflets in a Leesburg community this morning. I guess they have either branched out or were not really happy with the reception they got from us.
Ivan, any idea about the topic they want to address?
Moon, The article states that the leaflets were sort of an invitation to join the KKK. It only mentioned that they were fighting for the rights of “white Christians”. I guess they think they know who their friends and allies are. Apparently there was nothing more specific, just your basic “form letter” from your friends at the local KKK chapter. Sign up today, it’s never too late.
Two or three times a year these nuts drop off flyers somewhere, sometimes its only one or two (one or two too many!) but they do it for the media exposure it brings to them. Most of the time the flyers are simply photo copies of a bad original. With technology today, it only takes a computer and a printer/copier to make any nut case today’s news material. This time is way past for these relics.