I haven’t been following this that closely, but it sounds like the Republican’s Lt. Gov. candidate is even whackier than a typical Republican candidate (via). It’s not just the yoga-satanism stuff, it’s a trail of fuck-ups and crazy statements.
Is this going to get McAuliffe elected? If the Dems had put up a better candidate, would this be a cakewalk for them? Is there any way the Republicans could dump Jackson and replace him with someone else? I have no feel for Virginia politics, so I’m curious.
Phil Perspective
Is there any way the Republicans could dump Jackson and replace him with someone else?
Why would they? He was just elected via primary, so the nuts there ratified the choice of the GOP convention.
Is this going to get McAuliffe elected? If the Dems had put up a better candidate, would this be a cakewalk for them?
If they had a better candidate, probably. I can’t imagine too many VA Democrats are overjoyed voting for this clown.
EdTheRed
Got to scrape that shit right off your shoes.
Xenos
Are the two republicans on the same ticket? Because I could see Cuccinelli winning and a Democrat winning the vice ticket, if that was how it worked.
Forum Transmitted Disease
Nope, this was the guy that made it through the primary, the Virginia GOPs #1 choice. They had to do some extensive back-door arm twisting to get Cooch on the ballot as the candidate for governor instead of him.
Find that “better candidate”. He did not exist. It looks at this point as though McAuliffe will win and that’s the only result that matters. And given how split VA is, I don’t think there is going to be a “cakewalk” candidate, Dem or Republican, for that state for many, many years.
Original Lee
Many Republicans in Va. hate Cuccinelli because they’ve been screwed by one action or another of his while he was AG. OTOH, many Democrats view McAuliffe with contempt and wish aloud for somebody else. I think it’s a toss-up. I don’t see any Republicans voting for McAuliffe, and I don’t see any Democrats voting for Cuccinelli, so turnout will be the key.
Xenos
@Xenos: No edit?
just checked, and per wikipedia, the gov. and lt. gov. are elected separately. YAY.
janet
First off, there is nothing wrong with the democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe. I think the anti-McAuliffe line is one of those memes repeated so often it is now taken to be fact. Yes, he’s a business man. Yes, he is from another state and has only lived in Virginia 20 years. Yes, he is a smooth talking, fundraising glad-hander Clinton pal. Even if he is just pretending to care about jobs in Virginia, that puts him light-years ahead of Cooch, Obenshain, and Jackson. As a Virginian, I am very frightened at the prospect of republicans taking over the senate and the governor’s mansion. People need to get over this anti-McAuliffe business and work hard to make sure Dems take all three offices and keep the senate. Get on it people.
cmorenc
Unlike at the federal level with a President/Vice President candidate ticket, where in recent times the party’s VP choice is correctly regarded by voters as a key reflection of the Presidential candidate’s judgment (since the VP choice is up to him or her), and as someone who will have a tight, innermost circle working relationship with the President once in office, this is not necessarily so at all in most states with the governor/lieutenant governor relationship. The respective races for governor and lieutenant governor are entirely separate races, each selected by voters rather than a party convention under control of the gubenatorial candidate, and there’s no guarantee at all that the winner of the lieutenant governor’s race will be the governor’s preferred candidate or someone the governor is inclined to have a close working relationship with at all. The function of the lieutenant governor in many states is, other than being the successor if the governor dies in office, quite different than that of vice-president, even if nominally one of those functions is to nominally be presiding officer in the state senate. Unlike the VP who in reality only serves as a tiebreaking vote, in many states the lieutenant governor can effectively be like the US Senate majority leader or House Speaker, and control the flow of legislation and committees.
In short, a dubious lieutenant governor candidate is not quite the immediate millstone around the neck of the gubenatorial candidate that a dubious vice presidential candidate is around a Presidential candidate. The potential damage is more indirect, in the association in voters minds between the two being the candidate of the same party, and therefore presumably sharing similar values. But the liutenant governor candidate is not seen as a reflection of the gubenatorial candidate’s own judgment. Doesn’t help, but doesn’t hurt quite as much either.
Elizabelle
Jackson the whack job did not make it thru a GOP primary, and neither did Cucinelli.
The hard right demanded a convention of wingnuts, and that’s what made this ticket.
I absolutely see moderate GOP types voting privately for McAulifffe. He’s got a brilliant ad up in Northern Virginia about his working to bring about transportation funding. Huge issue in NoVa.
Poopyman
The Times Dispatch is hardly a liberal paper, so it’s helpful that they reiterated the outrageous quotes from Rev. Jackson. And after all,
low-tech cyclist
@janet:
The problem is, there’s nothing all that right with him either. He’s just some faceless national Democratic party apparatchik.
OK then, prove me wrong. Seriously, give me one good reason to vote FOR McAuliffe, as opposed to against the Republicans.
He may have lived in Virginia 20 years, but basically because he was, as I mentioned, a national Democratic party insider, and you’ve gotta live somewhere. By and large, his connection with Virginia has been incidental, other than his previous run for the Dem nomination, where he finished third to a couple of other weak candidates.
This time, he won only because nobody ran against him.
That’s pretty much what it comes down to: vote for the faceless, soulless party hack – it’s important!
And yes, it is important. Even though my 30 years as a Virginian are in the rearview mirror, and I now live across the Potomac, I’ll do what I can to help the Dems beat the GOP’s ticket of crazies.
But an off-off-year election like Virginia’s depends a great deal on turnout. And it’s a lot easier to get people to turn out to vote FOR someone. The election’s less than five months away, and I’ve been paying attention, but McAuliffe still is a blank slate to me, so my guess is that’s true for most Virginians too. That’s not good.
Pink Snapdragon
As someone who’s lived in northern Virginia for nearly 30 years now, I have to second what Janet said. There is nothing wrong with Terry McAuliffe. I think he’s going to run a strong campaign and I also think he is keenly aware of the “meme” about him and is doing and will do what is necessary to put it to rest. Both he and Cuccinelli are already running ads trying to set the public view of them as people and candidates. Early polls, for what they’re worth, have McAuliffe ahead. I personally am more concerned with whether we will be able to hold Herring’s seat in the senate, which is currently evenly divided between the parties with the Lt. Governor casting the tie-breaking vote.
James E. Powell
@janet:
People need to get over this anti-McAuliffe business and work hard to make sure Dems take all three offices and keep the senate.
I agree without reservation. Look at what’s happened in Wisconsin, in Michigan, in Florida, and so on. It is not so much critical that we get the Best Progressive Evah! as it is that we keep the state governments out of the hands of the right-wingers.
Lev
I actually think McAuliffe is in pretty good shape. The GOP ticket has been completely setback fighting the battle they didn’t want to have: how nutty are these guys on social issues? McAuliffe has outraised the Cooch handily and will continue to do so, and Cuccinelli is probably going to have to rely on religious right money because they’re the only people who want him. Which means saying shit on abortion and teh gayz, of course.
McAuliffe, OTOH, is introducing himself to the voters on his own terms, and the campaign is doing what it needs to when it comes to field operations. Looking like it’s gonna be solid. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dems win all three top offices in November, though AG might slip through because the guy is less well-known, and disgusted moderate GOPers might decide to stick with Obershain as atonement for abandoning Jackson and the Cooch.
Redshift
@janet: There’s plenty wrong with McAuliffe, but I agree, if you think there could have been a really great Democratic candidate who could also win statewide, you don’t know Virginia politics. I don’t think McAuliffe is as good as Mark Warner or Tim Kaine, but I don’t think he’ll be bad, and maybe he’ll surprise me.
To clarify some of the earlier comments, the Republican candidates were selected in a convention, not a primary. I think the small group of activists at the convention were actually more extreme than Republican primary voters statewide, so it’s entirely possible they would have a better LG candidate if they’d had a primary. Cuccinelli maneuvered to get a convention instead of a primary so he’d be ensured of a win over current LG Bolling (which supports the idea that the primary electorate is less extreme), so I see the nomination of Jackson as Cooch being hoist on his own petard (though I don’t expect most voters will make that connection.)
Governor and LG are indeed elected separately, so there isn’t a direct “ticket” effect, but since Cooch is trying to downplay his own very real extremism, it’s not good to have an outspoken LG candidate who provides a lot of opportunity for news mentioning that Cuccinelli holds the same views and has never repudiated them. In addition, the Democratic ticket will have the advantage of enthusiastically campaigning together, whereas the Republicans won’t.
Another situation that makes the LG race more significant this year than usual is that the state senate is evenly divided, and state senate races aren’t for two years, so the winner of the LG race will determine who has the majority in the state senate.
WJS
When the fuck was crazy a disqualifier for seeking higher office in the Republican Party?
Virginia is the most divided state in the Union, even more so than California. The values of people in Northern Virginia do not square with those of rural Virginia. It would not be a stretch to suggest that our 51st state should be Northern VA, followed by our 52nd state, which could very well be Northern California.
Two more stars, baby.
gbear
Is it going to hurt Jackson that he wrote a religious self help book that spelled the word Commandments wrong on the cover? What a maroon.
Pink Snapdragon
@Redshift: Just a quick additional point: both Northam and Herring are current Senators, so we will also need to elect democrats to replace them, or having a democratic Lt. Gov. won’t get us where we need to be.
Penus
@Xenos:
Nope, separate elections.
mike with a mic
I like the Macker, he’s good for VA. He’s socially liberal, pro business, not a New Deal Democrat but a neoliberal for markets, and get’s along well with the upper class here. He’s perfect, he’s what all VA Democrats are and what we need more of in the party. He’s a carbon copy of every NOVA liberal.
The issue is, he’s a bit of a jerk in person. But policy wise, he’s exactly what the party needs.
Penus
@Forum Transmitted Disease:
They won’t run, but if I’m dreaming, Gov. Webb or Gov. Perriello would be the shit.
SatanicPanic
@WJS: CA is not that divided. Maybe culturally, but politically we’re not.
ranchandsyrup
@SatanicPanic: Not even that much culturally. A better boundary line would be approximating the 5 and including the LA and SD metro areas. East California and West California.
How would we have supermajorities if we were politically divided?
Redshift
@low-tech cyclist:
That was true four years ago, but it’s less so now. One thing I give him credit for is that he’s spent the past four years doing a lot of work supporting other Virginia Democrats. That may not make a big difference for ordinary voters, but since it’s an off-year election, more of the voters will be engaged partisans, and they’re more likely to be influenced by that experience, or by local office-holders who have that direct connection.
That’s not really a realistic interpretation of politics. It’s not like there’s no one else in the party who wants to be governor; if nobody ran against him, it’s because none of them thought they could beat him.
Now, it’s true that none of these things make him a household name, but realistically, the only thing that makes you more of a household name than having run for office statewide (which he did) is winning statewide office, and there are currently no Democrats who start with that advantage, except for our senators. We’ve got our work cut out for us, but since Cuccinelli’s popularity is net negative, being widely known isn’t necessarily an advantage for him.
SatanicPanic
@ranchandsyrup: I’m not giving up Joshua Tree! They can have a 10 mile radius around Needles, the worst place in California. (though I’ve never been to Trona)
MikeJ
Terry Mac is only unpopular with people who are still pissed at Clinton for not nationalizing all industry.
MattF
I don’t think dumping Jackson is a plausible course of action, Cuccinelli needs the winger vote in order to win. The big problem with Jackson is that he spoils Cuccinelli’s election-year strategy of sounding more moderate than he actually is– Cooch will have to comment on Jackson’s statements, and there’s no easy way to say ‘It’s inconvenient for me to agree with that right now.’ So, we shall see.
ranchandsyrup
@SatanicPanic: I’ve been to Trona and Needles, both are godawful.
The Ancient Bristlecone pine forest is pretty cool as well.
Redshift
@Pink Snapdragon: Yeah, good point. I knew that, but I forgot. I know Herring’s district is winnable, but not a gimme. (I knocked doors for the special election that first got him elected; the previous senator was a Republican.) I don’t know anything about Northam’s.
ericblair
@Redshift:
Another Virginian here, who also thinks McAuliffe will do fine. The Dem areas that McAuliffe has to knock out of the park are NoVA and secondarily the Tidewater area, which have probably majority transient populations because of government and military, and don’t give a crap about carpetbagger accusations. Transit is a huge in NoVA, and there’s a lot of resentment with Richmond taking all our tax money and then starving and fucking up local projects while building roads to nowhere down south. There was a NoVA separatist movement a while back, too.
We had the native Virginian salt-of-the-Earth candidate for the Dems last time, Craigh Deeds. He sucked. He pretended to be a Republican and McDonnell pretended to be a business-friendly Democrat and the fake Dem won.
SatanicPanic
@ranchandsyrup: I envy you, Trona is on my bucket list of crappy places to visit. I grew up in one of the crappiest, so I enjoy seeing places worse than that. I read a few years back that Alturas which is MILES from any real city refused on principle to pay a higher property tax to support their only clinic and so lost the only medical care provider in town. So the Republicans can have that place too.
ranchandsyrup
@SatanicPanic: Helped my dad do some surveying out by Trona. Made me happy that we went back to Ridgecrest to stay the night. Anything that can make Ridgecrest look comparatively good is a hellhole.
Doug Milhous J
@EdTheRed:
One of my all-time favorite songs. Glad someone got it!
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
@low-tech cyclist: I have no opinion on McCauliff one way or another. He’s a blank slate. I don’t get why people think he’s a terrible candidate, though I admit I haven’t followed the race because I’m not a VA resident. Cooch + nutjob definitely need to be defeated, so I hope McCauliff wins, but…how long do you have to live in VA before you’re “from Virginia”? I mean, living there the same length of time it takes to go from birth to halfway through college doesn’t exactly make you a carpet bagger. So he moved there for a job. If he’d moved to work for a federal contractor, or a car dealership, would he be a ‘”true Virginian” by now?
Woodrowfan
Jackson is no more extreme than the rest of the ticket, they’re all three nuts. One good thing, for the Dems is that the 2012 Obama campaign had a KILLER GOTV operation in the blue areas, and the major people are still in place. I was a poll worker again Tuesday for the Dem primary, and while turnout was low everyone was juiced to GOTV in November. (IMHO primary turnout was low in part because of the feeling that all the candidates for Lt Gov and AG were good candidates. )
Hungry Joe
The “Let’s divide California!” talk is about as old as the state. Probably should have been two states in the first place, but it’ll never happen now. Still, if an east/west thang starts up, I’m with SatanicPanic: We go to the mattresses over Joshua Tree.
IowaOldLady
Random (obvious) thought: The longer I watch Republicans, the clearer it becomes that the wackos aren’t the exceptions. This is who they are and who they want to be. Not saying that was or will always be true, but at the moment, they party has lost its mind and its soul. People who vote for them thinking otherwise are enablers.
ericblair
@What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?:
In NoVA, until you get your Virginia license plates on your car. Then you’re an old-timer. It’s one of the places where a normal conversational opening is “where are you from?” NoVA is metro DC, the Tidewater is a big military town, and the rest of VA is the pickups-and-Waffle-House South.
max
I have no feel for Virginia politics, so I’m curious.
Join the club. Near as I can figure, it mostly doesn’t make any sense, to normal people, anyways.
Is there any way the Republicans could dump Jackson and replace him with someone else?
Yeah, but why would they? They have to get the Central Committee together and go through all kinds of hoops, which would piss off the activists that voted for him. Basically he has to die or quit to be replaced, and they’re mostly out of time.
Is this going to get McAuliffe elected?
Not by itself.
If the Dems had put up a better candidate, would this be a cakewalk for them?
McAuliffe is running against Cuccinelli. D’s aren’t going to pull the lever for him, R’s aren’t going to pull the lever for McAuliffe, so as low tech cyclist said, it’s all turnout in what is usually a low-turnout off year state election. This *might* help cut into Cuccinelli’s advantage from running in a low turnout election. We’ll see.
max
[‘As for McAuliffe, his advantage is that he seems to be the same kind of faceless personality-free suburban drone that upper-crusties like. Which is the same advantage McConnell enjoyed. So that might help.’]
scott
Mark Warner was from NoVa but went around the state on a pretty intensive tour doing stuff (yes, I know what NASCAR and guns are) to let folks know that he got their concerns. McAuliffe, not so much. You can be from NoVa and win in Virginia, but you have to do something to placate the rest of the state that hates NoVa.
Redshirt
As an Obot, I will always see McCauliffe wearing a hawaiin shirt, waving a bottle of rum at Tweety during an interview about somethingsomething Barack Obama.
Still want him to win in VA, of course, because I AM a one issue voter (though not a VA voter): Defeat Republicans.
Woodrowfan
In Arlington/Falls Church/Fairfax County, since birth. In the rest of the state, where was your great-great-grand-daddy from? Seriously, complete strangers will tell me how many generations of their ancestors lived in the state. “Wow, it’s hot out today! My great-granddaddy rode with Morgan!”
? Martin
I thought he wasn’t. I thought the big event this cycle was that Cuccinelli didn’t trust the voters to go for someone even more bonkers than McDonnell and cancelled the primary in favor of a nominating convention. So the party leadership could then choose the most batshit crazy slate of candidates possible.
This isn’t a case of the GOP leadership being blindsided by the Tea Party. This is a case of the GOP leadership picking PRECISELY who they wanted. This is santa leaving Kate Upton in your stocking. They’re not about to redo this ticket.
scott
@EdTheRed: Cool Exile on Main Street reference. You really can’t have enough of those, ever. Love!
? Martin
@Hungry Joe: Count me in too.
Woodrowfan
If I am out-of-state and asked “where are you from” or “where do you live” my answer depends on who is asking. In the (real) south and the person is white, the answer is “Virginia.” Otherwise it’s “DC.” The only time I tell a southern white I’m from DC is if a) they’ve already identified themselves as liberal or b) they’ve already made a racist comment and I want them to please STFU.
Buckyblue
Lets just say, I would give many body appendages to have someone like Macalauffe win here in WI as opposed to our current Coochie clone, Scott Walker. These days, every vote at the state level is a vote against the rabid republicans. Who has been more damaging to WI, Ron Johnson or Scooter Walker? Walker by far. The republicans really understood this and have been concentrating on getting their agenda passed in the states, using their federally elected brothers to block national influence. A strategy that has worked very well, with Citizens United offering a helping hand. The influence of uncontrolled money seemed to have little effect on the presidential election, but in Walker’s recall election it was devastating. Walker outspent his opponent 10-1. Impossible to overcome at that level.
ranchandsyrup
@Hungry Joe: Everything OK with your lovely bride and your book? Life has been giving you all you can handle lately….
? Martin
@What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?:
McCauliffe is one of the last remnants of the DLC, and he was a key DLCer at that. One of the strongest arguments for picking Obama over Hillary was that he would put the final nail in the DLC coffin, return the Democratic party at least somewhat to the grass roots over the big fundraiser bullshit. The DLC was driving the Democratic party down the same road as the GOP, and you could see the effects of that on policy choices. That needed to end and it did end, and the party is vastly better off as a result. Putting McCauliffe back in some level of power threatens to resurrect the DLC, particularly with Hillary coming back into the game as well.
In isolation, I think he’s a fine candidate. It’s when you look at the ‘we’re putting the band back together’ aspect of this that people start to get skittish. Put another way, if Obama’s social media/grass roots/ground game gets tossed onto the trash bin, how happy are people going to be? That’s why people want to keep McCauliffe out of politics. It why a lot of people would lean toward Biden over Hillary, in spite of their individual policy positions.
Brother Machine Gun of Desirable Mindfulness (fka AWS)
OT, and may have been posted elsewhere, but apparently, the building inspector who signed off on the building demolition in Philly has committed suicide. (Warning: auto-play video)
EdTheRed
@Doug Milhous J: One of these days, my 5-year old son will actually figure out the words, and then I may have to stop playing it for him…though he’s more partial to “Loving Cup,” to be honest.
mike with a mic
@What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?:
People think he sucks because he’s a huge neoliberal plutocrat and an asshole. He’s the text book example of a New Deal hating, market loving, privatize it all, rich people rule poor people drool, I’m so awesome and you suck it, limo liberal from the Clinton era.
The catch is… that’s what almost all NOVA liberals are. People from outside VA look at the Macker and freak out because he’s what Rush Limbaugh pretends liberals are, but if you are in the blue part of VA you realize Terry is pretty much like everyone here. In that way he’s perfect, he’s the king of assholes to represent an area of full of other assholes.
I say this as someone who was born in NOVA and lives here now. It’s full of assholes.
? Martin
@Woodrowfan:
I’ve seen that before. You’re supposed to interpret that ‘the only proper Virginian is one whose family owned slaves and is still proud of it’. If they could get away with whipping out a photo of them attending a lynching, that would be preferred.
low-tech cyclist
@What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?:
IMHO, you’ve answered your own question.
Oh, I don’t care about any of that. My point was that the 20 years he’s lived in VA that Janet pointed to aren’t a meaningful plus for him: Virginians still by and large don’t know who he is or what he stands for. He still needs to differentiate himself from ‘generic Democrat.’
And it’s fine if his positions, overall, are generic Democratic positions – that’s not a handicap – but there has to be a person under there to whom some Democratic causes in particular matter deeply.
NickT
Given the choice between Terry McAuliffe and syphilis, I’d have to think pretty damn hard before taking the Macker to my bosom. In this case, the GOP are worse than syphilis, because you can at least treat one of the two diseases.
So there’s that.
On a more cheerful note, Rupert Murdoch’s third marriage has just collapsed.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/22895642
SatanicPanic
@ranchandsyrup: I love the Mojave desert, but the towns in that area don’t have much to recommend. To put it mildly.
NickT
@mike with a mic:
Basically he’s Virginia’s equivalent of Rahm Emmanuel. Those lucky, lucky people!
Redshift
@mike with a mic: Just because you don’t associate with anyone but assholes doesn’t mean that no one else lives here. We didn’t elect Obama twice solely with the votes of rich assholes. Get out of your cocoon and quit equating “everyone I know” with “everyone.”
mike with a mic
@Redshift:
Virginia is full of Terry’s. We elected Obama for social issues, because he spoke against entitlements, and because of Palin.
VA is not progressive at all.
? Martin
So, no FP story on whites falling to sub-majority nationally among those age 5 or younger?
This happened in CA ages ago, and Texas a while back as well. Here in CA, that cohort is now hitting voting age, which means that voting demographics (already slanted against whites) will be RAPIDLY moving away from whites. Same will start happening in Texas in a few years. This news means that nationally, there’s only 3 more presidential elections before the same starts to happen. This means that TX, AZ, NV, FL, GA, SC, NC, VA, possibly PA and NY will all start seeing considerable pressure toward Dems on electoral issues if there isn’t a significant change in policy between the two parties.
Immigration reform is one way that (some in the) GOP feels they need to act, but there are many more – safety net, employment security, health care. If the 2012 election was a wakeup call for the GOP, this news should be a fucking tsunami siren going off. The wave is coming hard. It’s small and on the horizon, but when it gets close to shore it’s going to wipe the GOP off the goddamn map. They can deal with it or excuse it away, but there’s no stopping it.
NickT
@mike with a mic:
For social issues? Meaning what?
Redshift
@Woodrowfan: And of course, if you’re in the Northeast and you say you’re from Virginia, you still may get asked “do you live on a plantation?” (Though it’s not quite as likely as it used to be.)
Redshift
@mike with a mic:
You know nothing, Jon Snow.
IowaOldLady
@? Martin: They can’t deal with it. They can’t stop themselves. They are who they are.
NickT
@Redshift:
“That thing you did with your mouth…”
Corner Stone
@? Martin:
You really are incredibly cute sometimes.
MattR
OT – Just came across this list put together by the Tampa Bay Times in conjunction with cnn (uggh, I know) of the 50 Worst Charities in America based on how much money they are paying third parties to solicit donations. This was not the worst example, but it was quite striking (emphasis mine)
No matter how inefficient you think the government is and how much money you think it is wasting (even including the billions in cash lost in Iraq), it cannot compare to numbers like those.
EDIT: The combined numbers for the Worst 50 are (using the latest 10 years of available data):
$970.6 million cash paid to solicitors
$380.3 million cash to the charities (overhead, salaries, etc)
$49.1 million direct cash aid
If my math is right that is $1.4 billion in total with 69.3% going to the solicitors and only 3.5% being paid out in aid.
FlipYrWhig
Rush Limbaugh pretends liberals are market-loving privatizers?
The most interesting thing to me about the Virginia primaries this week — and the turnout was for shit; and that’s pretty fucking rich considering the level of complaining and posturing people do, but I digress — was that the advertising was much more loud-and-proud liberal than I remember ever having seen since coming to the state in 2005. Mark Herring in particular, the Attorney General nominee, was expressly running on pro-choice, pay equity, implementing Obamacare, and “our Democratic values.” That’s not the return of the loathed DLC, and it’s not cowering from being affiliated with That One. So _someone’s_ opinion about Democratic strategy in this state appears to be shifting. And that’s fucking awesome.
Doug Milhous J
@Redshirt:
Me too.
Higgs Boson's Mate
@Hungry Joe:
Joshua Tree? No fucking way. It’s a National Park.
Shakezula
How? Why? Jackson wasn’t elected via primary, he was handpicked by the VAGOP. Besides, getting rid of him would require them to admit they were wrong. Republicans ain’t too good at that these days.
JoyceH
I’m in Virginia, in a very red county, and we’re already phone-banking for the Dems and I for one have resolved to learn to love Terry McAuliffe. And incidentally, I was one of The Few The Proud who voted in our primary this week, and can I just say how NICE it was to be able to vote for Democrats running on fighting the extremist GOP agenda? I’m SO tired of VA Dems running on “yeah, I’m a Democrat, but I’m such a moderate – look, I’ve got a gun!”
Another Halocene Human
OT: Glenn Greenwald bragging to Chris Hayes that Edward Snowden knows the names of covert CIA operatives.
Go to 8:00 (h/t MegPasadena on Wonkette)
Redshift
@FlipYrWhig: Yeah, I was struck by that, too. All of the LG and AG candidates emphasized women’s rights, voting rights, health care, and LGBT equality. Definitely a big shift in how Democrats campaign here. And Northam, who won the LG nomination, really led with his pro-choice record right from the beginning. It’ll be interesting to see how they campaign in the general election, but you don’t go that loud-and-proud if you’re planning on campaigning as GOP-lite in the fall.
This is definitely a good thing, and it’s up to us to make sure it’s successful.
Chris
@mike with a mic:
Having grown up across the river, I totally believe it. Especially that last “full of assholes” part. I’ve never really understood why NOVA was blue, given the enormous concentration of right wing fuckwads in the area. From the way you describe it, sounds like the local Democratic Party has found a niche for itself as “we’re not Republicans! We’re the party of rich white assholes! Republicans are the party of poor white assholes, you know, the hillbillies and trailer trash and Jesus freaks in the rest of the state! We’re the elites, we are!”
And I can totally see how that would get votes.
FlipYrWhig
@JoyceH: @Redshift: Sláinte!
FlipYrWhig
@Chris: I wouldn’t go that far. More like Whole Foods Democrats spliced with some of the sentiments of the former “Atari Democrats”: technological innovation, efficient management, etc. Mark Warner is their prophet.
Patricia Kayden
@Pink Snapdragon: Glad to hear that McAuliffe is leading in early polls. Hope that holds up. The Cooch is a nightmare. I bet the first thing he’d do if he won was reignite that whole vagina probe legislation.
Redshift
@Original Lee:
Actually, I think there will be Republicans who will vote for McAulliffe, though I wouldn’t count on them being a large bloc. Republicans still exist here who predate the religious-right takeover of the GOP, and McAuliffe has gotten endorsements from more than a couple of retired GOP officials. Bill Bolling’s non-endorsement of Cuccinelli and public flirtation with an independent run also helps Republicans decide it’s okay not support their extremist ticket.
FlipYrWhig
@Redshift: Agreed. Fusion of the Mark Warner Democrats with the John Warner Republicans.
Hungry Joe
@ranchandsyrup: Thanks for asking. She got out of the hospital last week, and is getting a little better every day. I’ll post an update on that and on the (unrelated) car vandalism soon.
The paperback edition seems to be picking up as summer kicks in: The cover alone makes it a summer read.
ericblair
@Redshift:
Too bad Bolling didn’t run as an indie: the party must have given him the plata o plomo phonecall.
I vote in every election, keep an eye on the local news multiple times a day, and I didn’t vote in the primary this week because I had no fucking idea it was happening. Zip. WTF.
Corner Stone
If you believe NYT reporting then:
Syria Has Used Chemical Arms on Rebels, U.S. and E.U. Find
I’m sure this will end well.
Chris
@FlipYrWhig:
I’ll admit the only denizens of NOVA I know are Republicans – and pretty much the worst ones in the nation at that – so thanks for the correction. I can totally see Democrats cutting in on that demographic with the elitist appeals, though. It’s one of these places where right wingers are elitist against the heartland as well as against all their liberal neighbors.
ETA: well, the only white denizens, at least. There’s a sizable Arab/Persian demographic there whose members are FAR more tolerable.
YellowJournalism
@Corner Stone: McCain and Graham immediately jumped on the information.
Woodrowfan
@Redshift:
And of course, if you’re in the Northeast and you say you’re from Virginia, you still may get asked “do you live on a plantation?” (Though it’s not quite as likely as it used to be.)
which is why I say “DC” up North.
Corner Stone
@YellowJournalism: Apparently so did the Obama admin, if what Maverick is saying is true about sending aid to the rebels.
ranchandsyrup
@Hungry Joe: Glad to hear she’s on the mend.
I have been recommending your book to parents.
Stay safe out there Hungry Joe.
Another Halocene Human
OT: gotta sincerely thank the virulent racists for alerting me to video of Sebastien Cruz singing the national anthem. My god, he really is un Charro de Oro despite a few sour notes WOW. Also, visited San Antonio for the first time in my life last month, the city is Mexican, it’s like going overseas without crossing a border, by which I mean wow, it’s awesome, however it’s also behind enemy lines in Tejas and however much I fuckin’ hate Florida except for certain labor issues there is really no comparison in terms of DERP. So I will not move there. Almost as much fun as visiting Italy and much cheaper! And the food… omg… omg.
ps: have I ever expressed how ridiculous I find the whitewashing of American history? it’s almost like trying to convince yourself that mayonnaise and wonder bread taste good.
Another Halocene Human
@Woodrowfan: Hm, really? NOVA’s on the NEC now, it’s like junior Northeast or something. It’s better connected than old New England Maine.
To be fair, I used to think that MD/DC/VA was more racist than Boston. I mean, it probably was and is more racist, it’s just that in Boston you were more exposed to racist hostility whereas in the immediate DC area there are enclaves where you can avoid the bullshit like 90% of the time. Which is a not insignificant point!
amy c
@mike with a mic: Hi, neighbor. You’re completely right about all the assholes. The people here (well, the white people here, anyway, by and large) are some of the richest people in the nation, and it always in the end comes down to money for them. That’s true for a lot of people and a lot of politics, of course, but more so here.
A clever BJ commenter described nova as “the epicenter of ‘I got mine, fuck you,'” a while ago and it pretty much sums the entire thing up.
Another Halocene Human
I have to say, though, been to rural New England and rural Virginia and while neither area is particularly trusting of strangers I would say rural Virginia was overall scarier (despite having, objectively, the edge on natural beauty) and much, much more overt about hellish xenophobia. In rural New England one town will be a beacon of tolerance and the next one over will be full of crabby alcoholics with nasty attitudes but the good thing is that there is little overlap between ‘tourist magnet’ and ‘meth-addled hellhole’ in Massachusetts at least*. Meaning that despite the really lame ad campaign Mass might just be a better, safer place to plan your vacation. Unless you take Greyhound to get there and they drive you past that one motel with the fucking 20-30ft tall “darkie” statue right off the highway RAGEBURNPUKERAGE.
*exception would be the Federal Park in burned out mill town Lowell, MA whose unemployed millhand children are involved in violent criminal gangs but I’ve never heard of them attacking anyone who stayed in the NPS area, eh heh heh?
Woodrowfan
Great, northern VA goes for pretty much every Democratic candidate by 60-70% and are the only reason Virginia’s senators are not currently Ollie North and George Allen. But we don’t wear our “Free Mumia” buttons at the PETA rally so we’re not “real” Democrats? Leave the purity tests to the repukes. If you actually read the campaign material sent out in recent elections you’d see the Dems are appealing to voters on woman’s rights, anti-NRA, pro-choice, pro-environment, pro-mass transit, etc.
Chris
@amy c:
The Pentagon and all the industry that’s built around it accounts for a huge amount of the asshole factor. NOVA right wingers are a perfect trifecta of government-subsidized-glibertarians (everyone else is a wasteful leeching useless government bureaucrat), rear echelon motherfuckers (who would never in a million years go near a war zone but love the badass-by-association cred of saying they work in the defense industry), and Old Southern Gentry wannabes (most of them are transplants, but get caught up in the atmosphere and history of Robert E. Lee’s old stomping grounds and love to imagine that they’re cut from the same cloth). The result is the most insufferable demographic in the country by miles.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@ericblair: Local news coverage is abysmal. Read Blue Virginia and Not Larry Sabato if you want some idea of what’s happening in VA politics.
It wasn’t hard to know about the primary… :-/
HTH.
[edit:] fixed linky, I hope.
Cheers,
Scott.
Redshirt
@Chris: I was gonna say, everyone thinks their area has the biggest assholes, the worst drivers, the rudest wait staff, etc. But that description of NOVA really convinced me: Congrats, NOVA – Capital of Assholes!
Another Halocene Human
@amy c: It’s not just money. They’re very, very racist. I know because I used to live there. I learned not to speak my mind about politics/race. Saw some good people have to flee for more welcoming waters, too. Sigh.
Chyron HR
@amy c:
That’s unfair. I don’t got mine, but fuck you anyway.
scott
@EdTheRed: Dirty!
Another Halocene Human
@Redshirt: Northern hospitality, Southern efficiency–it’s true!
Plus VA/DC/MD is a sort of sorting system for people who want to get paid by the gummint but not pay taxes. Ie they all move to VA. “Never mind the smell of spilled gas at the pumps and air pollution at every intersection–smells like FREEDUMB!”
Another Halocene Human
DC used to be for teh gheys, teh poors, and those who would rather walk in beauty than live in fear, but then the fucking hipsters moved in en masse.
Can’t really complain but they fucking kill me with that smugness.
Gotta love my grannie. Dupont Circle used to look like a scary hole but she wasn’t intimidated one bit (now it’s Disneyfied). Glad I had a good role model in my life. Who wants to live like a resentful pants-wetting racist baby? (There are kneeegrowwww chirrrrrren on the reeeeeeed line. I’m scared!)
Redshirt
@Another Halocene Human: I got stabbed in Dupont Circle. Represent!
Another Halocene Human
@Redshirt: To be fair, following a highly scientific study^1, I can state with confidence that Miami, Florida has the worst drivers.
Sorry, Massholes.
1-Personal observations, 1997-2013
Chris
@Redshirt:
I mean, every region has its brand of assholes – in the North it’s the trust fund babies, in the sticks it’s the Talibangelicals, in Miami it’s the Batista Cubanos, etc. It’s just that the NOVA crowd seems to pile defect on top of defect on top of defect, as opposed to the others that mostly find their niche and stick to it.
(DC/Marylander, so take it with a grain of salt, but still…)
Another Halocene Human
@Chris: NOVA right
wingerswhingers are a perfect trifecta of government-subsidized-glibertariansfix’d
(everyone else is a wasteful leeching useless government bureaucrat)
Translation: all of those executive agencies that have HQ in Montgomery County, Maryland, the bastards
Another Halocene Human
@Chris: Don’t forget about Catholic civil service workers who vote for misogynistic right wing “Democrats”. Or the white collar dumbshits who move from the burbs to beyond the burbs because “low taxes (shut up)” and then get pissed when their SUV/gas/tolls bills are off the chain and rural pine tree-i-stan lacks all the civic services they used to take for granted in the actual ‘burbs.
They’re racist, tribalist, sexist jerks, every frigging last one of them, with raging senses of entitlement, the blue collar one having a different flavor from the white collar: blue collar–I work for a living and pay my bills, unlike YOU; white collar–I got a cum laude in grad school, unlike YOU dumbasses, you don’t DESERVE to be paid like I do and you don’t deserve to shoot your mouth off, know your place, etc.
Redshirt
@Another Halocene Human: I’d put Boston against any metro area for asshole drivers. 93/128 is a level from Hell.
Honus
@janet: what she said. Xactly. And I’ve been voting in Virginia for 40 years.
A Humble Lurker
@Corner Stone:
And I’m sure we can trust President McCain.
Another Halocene Human
@Chris: NOVA people think that their stance is perfectly logical. After all, the Heritage Foundation and AEI have told them that what’s good for GM is good for America and by golly their rational self interest makes the world go round. Respect!
Another Halocene Human
@janet: So, he’s a little bit like Massachusetts carpet-bagger Clintonista Governor
DuvalDeval Patrick? Take the bad with the good, in other words?(Betcha a bunch of little old ladies thought “Patrick” was an Irish name the first time he was on the ballot. Ahehehehe.)
ETA: I live closer to Duval County than Deval Patrick, shut up…
Another Halocene Human
@Redshirt: Hey, driving in the shoulder is just Yankee thrift!
PS: seriously, come drive in Miami a couple of times and then go back to Boston and see how you feel about it then
Honus
@low-tech cyclist: fine. Just answer the question about who you think is the ideal Virginia democratic nominee.
Another Halocene Human
To be fair, I-93 in New England does suck hairy unwashed donkey balls. 495 is pretty shitty too, I’d say around 295 (DC Beltway) levels of shittiness although the Beltway probably has the edge on ongoing construction projects (it’s nice to be
the kingthe place where the Senate actually lives). But it’s not the crapfest that, say, 85 through Atlanta is. Non-grade-separated HOV lane FTW!The thing that maybe sticks out about Boston (and I can’t say for certain since I grew up there so my notion of normal is skewed, also went to traffic engineering school there so my notion of normal is very, very skewed) is that in Boston it’s not that all the other guys are crazy, it’s that YOU have to act crazy TOO. Whereas in other areas you could probably pull off the Mr Timid act, to the extent that you kinda tailgate (most shitty average drivers do this instinctually) and flow more or less with traffic (ditto) although I have heard all the epic tales from Miami about getting scolded by cops for driving too slow. One reason to put Miami at the top of the old pile!
But, yeah, illegally cutting through commercial properties, running lights, left turns off reds, I mean there’s all kinds of shit you have to do on surface streets, hell, the engineers are planning on it, oh and don’t forget those dipshit anything goes rotaries… that’s probably why Boston has its special reputation.
I don’t feel that Boston drivers are “bad” drivers per se. Given the record of crashes I have to say NOVA drivers on I-95 are much, much less skilled. In fact they did some surveys and Massholes did not at all top the list for skills-lacking or law breaking, and I’d guess it probably has something to do with Massachusetts still having road tests. I don’t know about VA, but MD definitely does not. No driver’s ed in the schools, either.
Another Halocene Human
@Redshirt: Damn, I’m glad you’re all right.
I probably could have gotten mugged a few times when I was younger but somehow emerged unscathed. It wasn’t for lack of roaming around rough neighborhoods and riding public transit alone.
Another Halocene Human
@Chris: rear echelon motherfuckers (who would never in a million years go near a war zone but love the badass-by-association cred of saying they work in the defense industry)
and want you to thank them for their service (and kiss their ass for their brilliance), GOD I hate those motherfuckers
one more good role model: my dad. Took that job and SHOVED it.
Redshirt
@Another Halocene Human: Miami is so awesome I hope to take up your challenge. I just spent the last 7 years driving around Boston and I’m still recovering.
Seriously – MD doesn’t require a road test to get a license? I didn’t even know that was possible.
Another Halocene Human
@Woodrowfan: But we don’t wear our “Free Mumia” buttons at the PETA rally so we’re not “real” Democrats?
Getting gay/trans-bashed daily at work by a “real” Virginia Democrat did not exactly endear me to real Virginia Democrats, but thanks for playing.
Redshirt
@Another Halocene Human: It was scary – a home invasion when two drunks came into my apartment and after trying to talk them out, one of them pulled a knife. Thankfully they were both hammered and a stabbing turned into a slashing, and I was able to get them both out of my apartment with just a cool scar and another tale of glory. I broke one of the dude’s nose too, so I might have come out it better than he did.
Chris
@Another Halocene Human:
Funny thing I’ve noticed about white Southerners; the ones I’ve met that fit the stereotype (“Republican, prejudiced, ignorant and proud!”) are all white collar. The couple blue collar ones I’ve met, from backgrounds that would be stereotyped as “white trash” and “redneck,” didn’t fit the stereotype at all – less prejudiced, more liberal, and more open-minded in general. Now yes, I met these people at an expensive DC college so I’m not claiming it’s a representative sample – but I found it interesting nonetheless that their more well-off counterparts at the same college never defied or outgrew the stereotype, even after coming to college and being exposed to all kinds of different things.
Another Halocene Human
@Chris: From the way you describe it, sounds like the local Democratic Party has found a niche for itself as “we’re not Republicans! We’re the party of rich white assholes! Republicans are the party of poor white assholes, you know, the hillbillies and trailer trash and Jesus freaks in the rest of the state! We’re the elites, we are!”
Downstate bumblefuck reactionary GOPers did stand athwart Northern Virginia’s Oh Holy Road projects about 15 years ago shouting “Thou Shalt Not Pass!”. Explains a lot, really.
Redshirt
@Chris: That kinda makes sense though, right? The Southern elite are the ones who created and then fostered slavery and the horrid culture it created. Average white folks can certainly buy into the propaganda, but they don’t have as much skin in the game either to continually support it, other than vague notions of “pride” and “heritage”.
Another Halocene Human
@Redshirt: You take a parking test at DMV. Oh, and a computer test of some basic MUTCD shit.
Chris
@Redshirt:
Definitely, yes.
As far as I can tell, the stereotype of Southern racists as low-class violent drunkards is just that, a stereotype – and one that’s really gotten off the ground in the last fifty years, as Southern elites tried to distance their public image from a White Power ideology that’s no longer mainstream. In real life, the Klan and groups like that tended to thrive among the elites of the region, almost like a local Skull and Bones, but the elites don’t care to be reminded of that.
Another Halocene Human
@MattR: I have been following this story too, and it just occurs to me how much better use the US gov could have made of all of that money which was exempted from taxes to go into direct mailers’ pockets.
IRS started to crack down on those phoney charities and maybe it’s time for a crackdown on phoney fundraisers. There are private attempts to do this but apparently it’s not working. Also kills me that these groups are on the run from state governments while the feds do nothing. Bet congress is getting paid off but good.
Another Halocene Human
@Chris: Not quite, I’d say the history of the Klan is white power elite scamming the yokels (sheetheads). Unmasking the Klan had a lot of info on how the KKK was just a money mill for the people at the top. Let’s also not minimize that these were sanctioned pogroms and terror for the enrichment of the few and/or the many, for example you have Rosewood in Levy County, Florida. But during the 50s Red Scare era that shut down CIO/CPUSA/AFSCME working class industrial organizing for a while and most civil rights action except for that being run from the churches the real power was in the CCC and the CoC, the interesting bit being that in some towns some of the elites were not racist fuckwits and tried to resist the reactionary tide (usually not successfully because “they took er jawbs” is pretty seductive to stupid assholes).
It’s just that segregation ended and seriously nothing happened to the poorest of poor white folks except that segregation ended. The upper middle class yanked their kids out of public school and even engaged in white flight in some of the bigger towns (Jacksonville, Atlanta) so they are still in a segregationist fantasy and mega-resentful land.
Some white folks (DFHs and commies, IOW) always resisted the racist regime (some lost their lives), some white folks went all the way to being blackshirts in the 1930s or were cheap mob thugs in Birmingham in the 1960s like the easily led anger bear antisocial fucks that they were. But I think you see the worst racism today among the poor in areas where there is little diversity, basically the mountain areas. Helen, GA is racist as fuck, Dahlonega, GA, basically all of Kenfucky, I could go on.
Places where whites and blacks integrated, the sky didn’t fall, they’re kind of meh… a lot of the whites moved on to hating Hispanics but then again a lot of them have worked with or for Mexicans and Hondurans and don’t hate them either. Construction is a big trade for these guys and construction workers have to travel all over now. I think some of the women are more prejudiced than the men.
Chris
@Another Halocene Human:
See, I thought the people at the top often were sheetheads themselves – not that that doesn’t mean they can’t use the organization for their own benefit, of course (I did know it was used for union-busting and in general as the enforcement arm for the local elites).
Thanks for all the info; do you happen to know any good books on the topic of the Klan, and especially how it fit into the society around it (e.g. precisely things like the economic dimension you just described)? Especially books that cover all three iterations of it. I will definitely check out “Unmasking The Klan,” it’s just that I tend to be prejudiced towards written over visual material.
Pink Snapdragon
@Chris: @Another Halocene Human: For people who don’t live in Northern Virginia, you and Chris sure know a lot about all of us Democrats who do live here. You do realize that nearly 3 million people live in Northern Virginia, right? And that a very large percentage of us came from somewhere else? I’ll bet you also know that most Northern Virginians don’t consider themselves to be southerners and have very little use for the glorification of the confederate cause. Is this some kind of competition to see which of you can come up with the stupidest description of Virginia democrats you can think of? What’s the purpose here?
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@Pink Snapdragon: Thank you.
The broad-brush stereotypes being flung around are a bit over-the-top…
Everyone knows that PG County drivers are the worst. :-p
Cheers,
Scott.
(Who has been in NOVA 24 years so far.)
sherparick
As someone who was born and raised in Northern Virginia, before moving away to Yankeedom, I can tell you that it has not been Southern for a long time. It is pretty much the Rappahannock that now marks the border between Union and the Confederacy, not much different than it was in 1863, with a few Yankee spies like me living on the wrong side of the river. However, the infiltration continues, and “red” turns a little more “purple” year by year.
Cucinelli is just as wacked out as Jackson, just not as flamboyant about it. He wanted to put Michael Mann in jail for writing a climate change scientific article he disagreed with for Bieber’s sake!!!
The Scalia opinion cited above shows that the Conservative movement really does not long for 19th century, they long for the 10th century.
drkrick
@Chris: the stereotype of Southerners as low class drunks goes back to the early 18th century when the so-called Scots-Irish arrived in the Appalachians. The Klan was another iteration of vigilante enforcement of cultural conformity they brought with them from their original homes in the English/Scottish borderlands.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@Another Halocene Human: Nit: I-495 is the DC Beltway. 295 runs from the Beltway through the S corner of DC up through the District.
The new Wilson Bridge and associate interchange improvements made a huge difference in the Beltway traffic. Your tax dollars at work. ;-)
Cheers,
Scott.
Jean
@janet: My sentiments, exactly. Some moderate Republicans (the few that there are) are endorsing McAuliffe. The other two Dems running, Northam and Herring, are good. Given how crazy the Repub. group is, we could sweep this time. GOTV.
Jean
@ericblair: Having worked on Deeds’s campaign, I can say it was truly badly run. And he did pose as a Republican.
barbequebob
OT, but hey Doug J, given your frequent use of Stones references in your post titles, I hope you are catching them on their current tour. Saw them wednesday night in Boston and will be doing so again tonight. Still a great live rock & roll show even though they are no longer 25 years old (who is?). The $85 mystery ticket deal is great way to get in on the cheap and then “self-upgrade” if necessary.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@Jean: I thought the AG race against Cuccinelli was even worse. As I recall, all of the ads and flyers that Steve Shannon ran were all about how hard-core he was on “fighting crime” and “keeping us safe”. He was either over-compensating based on what some consultants told him, or he was a nut-job. Either way, why vote for a fake Republican if you can vote for a real one, if those are the kinds of policies you like? :-( Maybe he was doomed from the start, but he didn’t run a sensible campaign it seems to me.
I hope Mark Herring studied that campaign and learned its lessons…
My $0.02.
Cheers,
Scott.