The battle for the heart and soul of the GOP

Chris Graham

The Top Story by Chris Graham   For a brief moment or two after the 2006 midterm elections, it had seemed that the Republican Party was perhaps going off its ideological moorings. The talk was reaching the level of near-clamor regarding how the GOP was going to have to consider retreating from the right-wing conservative…

Can we all just get along?

Chris Graham

The Top Story by Chris Graham   The Shenandoah Valley is usually pretty tame as far as its politics goes – but even the solid Republican Mountain Valley has seen its share of contentiousness this political season. To wit … – One of the highlights of the Augusta County Fair this summer was an episode…

Next on the Mark Warner agenda: Is former governor, White House candidate ready to again be a player on Virginia political scene?

Chris Graham

The Top Story by Chris Graham   Mark Warner made it a point to tell Virginia politics reporters covering the final year of his term as governor of the Old Dominion that he really felt he was hitting his stride in the job – and while the focus of their editors seemed to be on…

Warner bows out of ’08 nomination field

Chris Graham

The Top Story by Chris Graham   Former Virginia governor Mark Warner was being talked about as a top contender for the 2008 Democratic Party presidential nomination. To say that his announcement in Richmond today that he will not seek the nomination was a surprise, then, is a pretty good understatement. “It was definitely a…

Race issues dog Allen

Chris Graham

The Top Story by Chris Graham   A group of former University of Virginia football teammates of U.S. Sen. George Allen alleges that the former quarterback regularly used the n-word to refer to African-Americans. A second group of the Republican’s former teammates has stepped up to say that this is not true. Meanwhile, the state’s…

Can the ‘Netroots carry Webb to primary victory?

Chris Graham

The Top Story by Chris Graham   The Virginia Democratic blogosphere loves Jim Webb – but will that be enough to carry the former Reagan administration official to victory in this month’s Democratic Party Senate primary? “Most of this is going to depend on electability – whether someone feels that it’s more important to vote…

Money for votes?

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham A complaint has been filed with the Waynesboro registrar’s office regarding the placement of fliers on vehicles parked outside a Waynesboro business Thursday night that apparently offered cash and prizes for votes. City registrar Mary Alice Downs told The Augusta Free Press this morning that the fliers – sponsored by the…