‘Rogue’: TMI
Column by Chris Graham
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I didn’t expect that the one thing that would stick out the most from my read of Sarah Palin’s Going Rogue would be the bit about an unnamed former state legislative director in Alaska, what with all the innuendo about the inner workings of the John McCain presidential campaign, the hack job she did on McCain campaign manager Steve Schmidt, the breathless retelling of the moment when she asked Joe Biden if she could call him Joe – there was just so much to look forward to.
But no, sitting here thinking about the book, about Palin, the state legislative director stories are the ones that will linger with me. Read more
The Pulse | McDonnell the centrist?
Column by Chris Graham
That’s the idea that I’ve had – focused as I’ve been on the stunning 2-1 margin that Bob McDonnell ran up among independent voters in last week’s gubernatorial-election win over Democrat Creigh Deeds.
But another data point to consider is the impact of so-called values voters – usually right-leaning evangelical Christians – on the election. According to exit polls, around a third of all voters in last week’s elections were values voters, and they split 83-17 for McDonnell.
Doing some quick math, you’re talking about 45 percent of McDonnell’s vote base coming from the religious right. Read more
The spin stops here
Column by David Lampo
The headline from the Washington Times the morning after that state’s historic election said it all: “Independents fuel GOP victories.” Because the campaign of Bob McDonnell methodically ran an inclusive campaign that discussed almost exclusively the economic issues that most people care about instead of focusing on divisive hot button social issues, independent and moderate voters came back to the GOP in a big way. The populous counties of Fairfax, Prince William, and Loudoun, for example, all flipped back to the Republicans after supporting Democrats in the past two statewide elections. Read more
Focus | Kaine offers advice to McDonnell on health care
Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell doesn’t think health-care reform with a public option is going to be “something that is going to help us in Virginia.” His predecessor recommends that he wait until Congress makes its final call on reform before painting himself into a corner.
“What I would say – he’s going to make his own decisions – I think he should see the final bill before he makes his decision,” Gov. Tim Kaine told reporters after an event in Harrisonburg Monday afternoon. “Because to say in advance, I’m going to opt out regardless – nobody would say that Medicare, for example, nobody would opt out of Medicare, which is a public option, a public product that serves our seniors, nobody would choose to opt out of the VA system, a public service that serves our veterans. Read more
The Pulse | One reason Deeds lost
And it’s a small thing, because Waynesboro isn’t going to turn an election one way or the other all by itself.
But my experience as the Democratic Party chair in Waynesboro the past couple of election seasons can be instructive nonetheless.
It strikes me that I hadn’t even bothered to look at how Creigh Deeds did in Waynesboro in last week’s state elections until this morning. That’s probably a sign of, one, how bad the beatdown was overall, and two, how little I felt I had invested in the effort at the local level. Read more
The Rant | Bob’s Lesson to the GOP
Keep calling it “socialism” and referring to the Obama administration as “Nazis” and “Communists.” That strategy will lead Republicans back to familiar territory – losses on Election Night.
Virginia Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell is showing the national GOP another approach, AFP editor Chris Graham says in today’s installment of The Rant. Not that Capitol Hill is listening, anyway.
AFP Video. Length: 2:45. Read more
The Rant | McDonnell’s Robertson Dilemma
Posted by afp on November 11, 2009 · 4 Comments
Bob McDonnell, fairly or unfairly, has to answer for his mentor when he spews his venom.
AFP editor Chris Graham pushes the question in today’s edition of The Rant.
AFP Video. Length: 2:54. Read more
Filed under Blogs · Tagged with bob mcdonnell, governor, islam, pat robertson, virginia