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Second in a four-part series Mark Warner ran for the Senate in 2008 as a “radical centrist” who could get Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill to find common ground and work together. The last three-plus years have been trying the patience of the Virginia Democrat. But Warner has hope – a glimmer, at least…
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The ongoing state budget stalemate is going to continue to be ongoing until Democrats on one side and Republicans on the other come to the realization that somebody needs to be the grownup. And yes, it’s both sides that need to come to that realization. The nonsense that you hear from Richmond from Democrats blaming…
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First in a four-part series It was a seasonal early-spring Tuesday on Capitol Hill. Cherry blossoms were already in bloom after a warmer-than-normal late winter. There was a certain energy in the air with thousands of people gathering in locations surrounding the Capitol related to the then-ongoing arguments before the Supreme Court on the constitutionality…
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According to national news reports, Mary Brown, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit challenging the health reform law and owner of a small auto shop in Florida, has had to close her business and file for bankruptcy due to thousands of dollars in unpaid medical bills. My husband and I own a small auto shop…
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The State Senate voted 35-4 on Monday to pass a revised state budget. The House of Delegates voted 69-23 to block the Senate budget from final passage, but the House did vote later to send the budget to a House-Senate conference committee. “I am pleased that after a prolonged standoff, the budget is back on…
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The State Senate voted 35-4 on Monday to pass a budget that adds millions to support public schools, reduce the cost of tolls, help families who have suffered during the foreclosure crisis, and protect the safety net that supports the most vulnerable Virginians. “I’m pleased the Senate has passed this budget, which better funds our…
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Think back all the way to the spring of 2010. The world was such a different place. Democrats were still riding high, relatively, anyway. Sure, the Tea Party protests of the summer and fall of 2009 were a jolt, but Dems still had enough political capital at their disposal to pass historic health-care reform. Ah,…
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Sixth District Congressman Bob Goodlatte says he has opposed health-care reform since the earliest stages of the effort by Democrats that led to the passage of the reform law in 2010. Karen Kwiatkowski suggests that Goodlatte may think there are two definitions of the word “oppose.” “That display of opposition was apparently just for us…
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If a single word or phrase can describe a General Assembly session, the 2012 meeting of the state legislature would be known for “overreach.” Governor McDonnell and Lieutenant Governor Bolling warned the Republican majority before the session got underway that there was a need for legislators to be careful to not overreach with their new-found…
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How would you like to be Bob McDonnell right about now? It wasn’t that long ago when the pundits had you pegged as the GOP vice-presidential nominee, and that was before you formally endorsed Mitt Romney, right before the critical South Carolina primary. The endorsement of a Southern Republican governor before a key Southern primary…
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