Tag: virginia

I am shocked to hear that the University of Virginia is keeping Greek suspension.

Please note: I am not actually shocked. You can click through, if you like – the AP gets incredibly whiny if you quote more than five characters’ worth of their stuff – but the gist is that the University of Virginia will continue to study the situation* while keeping the suspensions standing.  To be marginally fair about this, the suspensions were set to expire for the new school year anyway; presumably campus officials don’t want to spend their Christmas holidays listening to the 2014 Left’s answer to the anti-Satanic Ritual Abuse Crusade. Continue reading I am shocked to hear that the University of Virginia is keeping Greek suspension.

How Terry McAuliffe failed to impose Medicaid expansion on Virginia.

This Washington Post article on Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe’s futile attempt to sneak Medicaid expansion past his own state legislature is fascinating, but it has several flaws in it.  There are things that are not mentioned enough, things that are mentioned too much, and at least one thing that is not mentioned at all.  Unsurprising, given that the WaPo remains a Democratic cheerleader; but still slightly disappointing.

Quick summary of the article: at the beginning of the saga, Terry McAuliffe was faced with a barely Democratic state Senate and a solidly Republican General Assembly.  This meant that if Gov. McAuliffe wanted to get Medicaid expansion through the legislature, he’d need to sweet-talk the Republicans into going along – HAH!  Who am I kidding?  Nah, his team of trained legislation-breakers found a suitable loophole, in classic Democratic party fashion* – and snuck it into the budget.  Alas, Democrat state Senator Phillip Puckett was made a deal (which apparently had nothing to do with any of this) that flipped the state Senate (despite the frantic deal-making efforts of every Virginia Democrat from McAuliffe on down); that, coupled with conservative watchdogs and Eric Cantor’s remarkable primary loss, scuppered the inclusion of language in the Virginia budget that would have permitted said loophole.  Sic transit gloria McAuliffe. Continue reading How Terry McAuliffe failed to impose Medicaid expansion on Virginia.

Interesting wrinkle in the Virginia-SEN race: Mark Warner caught up in offering Plunkett a deal.

This is very interesting:

…a scandal touching Virginia’s current Democratic governor, Terry McAuliffe, may also implicate Warner. Several Democratic figures in the Old Dominion are involved a federal investigation looking into the circumstances of the resignation of a former Democratic state senator. The Washington Post has the scoop that federal investigators have been told of Warner’s supposed involvement in offering that senator and his family political favors in exchange for his staying in the legislature…

For those who don’t remember: the state Senate flipped earlier this year when Democratic state senator Phillip Plunkett suddenly resigned, essentially in exchange for a judgeship for his daughter. More recently it’s come out that Governor McAuliffe’s chief of staff is on tape offering to make Plunkett an alternate deal, with kind of short-circuits any kind of righteous indignation on the Democrats’ part. It’s hard to take the high ground on an issue when your opponents can accurately note that your real problem is that you didn’t make a better offer than they did – which is what McAuliffe pretty much did.  Now it’s come out that sitting US Senator Mark Warner is caught up in this entire, tawdry story as well.

Will this help Ed Gillespie?  Hard to say, although having his opponent be possibly involved in a future federal investigation for corruption probably won’t hurt Ed.  Mark Warner is currently hovering just under 50% in the averages, but there’s the usual third-party nonsense to consider.  All in all, I’d have preferred to have had this story come out last month.  Mind you, this is still an improvement on the way that these things can go with the Washington Post: they quite often wait to break stories like this until after the election…

Moe Lane

Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D, VA): condemned [Puckett] judgeship deal in public, made his own offer in private.

Let me refresh your memory: once upon a time (well, June) Virginia state Senator (and Democrat) Phillip Puckett suddenly resigned, which essentially handed control of the state Senate back to Republicans (the Senate was previously evenly divided, with the Democratic Lt. Governor breaking all ties). Turns out that said state Senator wanted a nice tobacco commission job for himself and a judgeship for his daughter – and lo! Such things then came to pass.  Horrible, horrible corruption and attempts to evade Virginia nepotism laws, of course – and I had only this thing to say in its defense*:

Besides, the Democrats do it all the time.

Indeed they do.  Indeed, they do.  Via Hot Air comes this report that the Democrats, in fact, tried to do it here: “Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s chief of staff left a voice-mail message for a Democrat who was on the verge of quitting the General Assembly in June, saying that the senator’s daughter might get a top state job if he stayed to support the governor’s push to expand Medicaid, according to descriptions from three people who heard the recording.” Continue reading Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D, VA): condemned [Puckett] judgeship deal in public, made his own offer in private.

John Foust (D-CAND, Virginia-10): yet another Democrat who sneers at stay-at-home parents.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am getting highly sick and tired of elitist snobs like John Foust and their arrogant attempts to trivialize people.

Republicans called Democrat John W. Foust an insensitive sexist after he questioned whether his opponent in the race to succeed Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.), a woman who has been a congressional aide, lobbyist and Justice Department spokeswoman, had “even had a real job.”

Foust, a member of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors running in Northern Virginia’s 10th Congressional District, was trying to cast himself as more in touch with the needs of working Virginians when he questioned Republican state Del. Barbara J. Comstock’s commitment to creating jobs at a campaign event Thursday evening in Leesburg.

…What the Washington Post didn’t particularly highlight in their article, of course, is that Barbara Comstock left the workforce to raise her kids – and let me be blunt: if you don’t think that being a stay-at-home parent isn’t a ‘real’ job, do the rest of the human race a favor and do not procreate. You will not be successful at being a parent with that attit… hold on, please. Continue reading John Foust (D-CAND, Virginia-10): yet another Democrat who sneers at stay-at-home parents.

John Foust (D CAND, Virginia-10) wants to force Medicaid on everybody… except his wife’s medical practice.

Ach, the hypocrisy of the world!

The OBGYN practice of Marilyn Jerome, the wife of Democratic congressional candidate John Foust, does not accept Medicaid, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.

What’s that that I hear you cry? “What’s the big deal?” Well…

Foust has repeatedly attacked his Republican opponent Barbara Comstock for opposing the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act in his campaign to represent Virginia’s 10th district.

Continue reading John Foust (D CAND, Virginia-10) wants to force Medicaid on everybody… except his wife’s medical practice.

Eric Cantor is being an adult about losing.

Bit of a relief, honestly, after some of the stuff that some quote-unquote Republicans have done after losing a primary.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor says he has no “regrets” after a crushing primary loss that cost the Virginia Republican his job.

Instead Cantor says he’s looking forward to helping Republicans keep the House and take back the Senate, saying he even planned to vote for the tea party challenger, David Brat, who unseated him.

Continue reading Eric Cantor is being an adult about losing.

Eric Cantor will not pursue a write-in candidacy. People should say ‘Thank you.’ #va07

Because you have to positively reinforce, too.

Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor told key aides and trusted former staffers on Wednesday that he will not try his luck with a write-in campaign after his shocking GOP primary defeat at the hands of largely unknown tea party-backed economics professor Dave Brat.

“I am not going to do a write-in. I am a Republican and proud of that,” a source familiar with the Virginia Republican’s message quoted him as saying in a closed-door meeting.

Continue reading Eric Cantor will not pursue a write-in candidacy. People should say ‘Thank you.’ #va07

So… Eric Cantor loses to Dave Brat in VA-07.

I’m not going to even remotely pretend that I’m not flabbergasted. I did not see that coming. Fortunately, I also stayed out of the dang primary, as near as I can remember. One thing to be surprised; it’s another to tuck into a big dinner of crow.

A couple of observations. First two:

And the third is that everybody’s going to have an answer on why this happened; but some of those answers are going to be a little bit of a stretch. For example: the Democrats barely have a candidate for this race (they got this guy picked by the local committee and now have to get him established on the ballot), which suggests that shenanigans by the Democrats were, at best, ad hoc. I would have had a state senator or representative prepped and ready to go.

So, basically, it could just simply be that the voters have chosen. Like they’re supposed to, you know, do.

Moe Lane

PS: Needless to say: Dave Brat for VA-07.

Annnnnd there goes Virginia Democrats’ state Senate majority.

Lots of people blinking over this, I reckon:

State Sen. Phillip P. Puckett- D-Russell has resigned his seat, leaving Democrats one vote shy of the majority they need to control the chamber.

Puckett’s stunning resignation throws Democratic budget strategy into chaos and opening the way for Republicans to seize control of the chamber and reorganize its committees with GOP majorities, the Richmond Times Dispatch said in a report issued late Sunday.

Despite brave Democratic rhetoric to the contrary, this puts McAuliffe’s entire Medicaid expansion plan in jeopardy. While the state Senate still technically has a two vote majority (including three Republicans) in place for expansion, the new Republican majority now has a potential tool to reel in recalcitrant members. Given that Puckett was essentially bought off* with a judgeship for his daughter and a nice tobacco commission spot for himself, be rest assured that events will, as they say, continue to proceed.  Should be a thing!

Via

Moe Lane

*Please note that the term ‘bought off’ is not intended to be representative of the moral or legal conditions involved in any deal between state Senator Puckett and the Republican party. Besides,the Democrats do it all the time.