#2013 election

[donttreadonvirginia]

The 2010 Virginia Gubernatorial Inauguration held such promise.  A year after a Democrat won Virginia in a presidential election for the first time in forty years, the Republican Party of Virginia won in an unprecedented landslide.  Bob McDonnell won counties by over twenty points (such as the county in which I reside) that Obama won in the prior year.  Things seemed so great.

Bob McDonnell was the most popular governor in America.  He was talked about as a vice-presidential and presidential contender.  Then, Bob McDonnell proved to be a RINO.  He passed the largest tax increase in Virginia history and was exposed as just another corrupt politician.

Ken Cuccinell shined as attorney general.  He lived up to every promise as the most amazing politician I have ever seen.

Bill Bolling proved how much of a RINO he was by refusing to back Ken Cuccinelli once he withdrew from the gubernatorial race.  He whined about a "deal" to make him the nominee and how Ken Cuccinelli violated that deal even though it was only between Bolling and McDonnell.  Bolling whined about the need for moderation and attacked Cuccinelli as "too extreme."  He toyed with an independent run for governor.  A divide in the party caused RINOs to stay home on election day.

Liberals and Libertarians made up blatant lies about a decent, honorable man, Ken Cuccinelli, and destroyed his popularity based entirely on utter lies.  Liberals funded a Libertarian candidate to steal votes from Cuccinelli and libertarians bought into the fraud and voted for a man who wanted GPS tracking devices installed in every car to track you for tax purposes and wanted to expand Medicaid to implement Obamacare in Virginia.

Terry McAuliffe, a carpetbagger who already failed in his bid to become the governor of New York, was elected as a result of this entire mess.  A man who left his wife and newborn child in a car in the rain on the way home from the hospital where his wife had just given birth to attend a DNC fundraiser was deemed a champion of women's rights.  Meanwhile, a family man who married his high school sweetheart, has five daughters, and led the fight to reform how UVA dealt with rape on campus was deemed a hater of women simply because he is pro-life and people bought the scores of lies told about him.

Fairfax County pretty blatantly committed fraud to steal the election from Mark Obenshain and give it to Mark Herring.  We were swept and we now have a Democrat attorney general for the first time in twenty years when there is still much work begun by Ken Cuccinelli that needs to be continued and now will be dropped and reversed.

I am completely disillusioned by the political process right now and I have no illusions of anything getting better any time soon.  Republicans are afraid to fight and Democrats have no qualms about blatantly disregarding public opinion and forcing whatever they want down our throats.  We're probably going to nominate Chris Christie despite how liberal and corrupt he is and lose to Hillary Clinton.  Nothing is going to improve so why care any more?

[datazins]

See the local election results for San Carlos: www.datazins.com 

[thirdwaythinktank]

Virginia & New Jersey: Democratic Warning Flags & Republican Opportunities

by Michelle Diggles,Third Way

The narrative of 2013 thus far has been the victory of pragmatism over dogmatic adherence to ideology, moderation and bipartisan compromise over extreme partisanship. Those on the Left may be tempted to view their victory in Virginia as a demographic inevitability, running up numbers with voters who are all but guaranteed to be Democrats for life. But buried within the polling are warning signs for Democrats and opportunities for Republicans.

Indeed, buried in the exit polls, Ken Cuccinelli actually won more voters ages 18-24 than McAuliffe, by 45% to 39%.* [McAuliffe did better among 25-29 year olds, winning them 50% to Cuccinelli's 35%.] Younger Millennials, those who likely have scant memories of a pre-September 11 America and entered adulthood during a recession, appear more open to Republican and libertarian candidates than their slight elders. While Republicans’–and Cuccinelli’s, in particular–views on gay equality are generally highlighted as a symbol of youth alienation from socially conservative Republican candidates, he still garnered 45% support from the youngest voters last night. That means Democrats cannot simply assume that a few social issues will necessarily drive the youth vote from the GOP and into their ranks by overwhelming margins.

In election eve polling among Hispanics and Asians, McAuliffe won 66% of the Hispanic vote and 63% of the Asian vote. However, the polls demonstrate that those voters are not die-hard partisans–58% of Hispanics and 68% of Asians have voted Republican in the past, and only 47% of Hispanics and 36% of Asians call themselves Democrats. Immigration emerges as a key issue for these groups. McAuliffe’s support for a Virginia DREAM Act, coupled with Cuccinelli’s opposition to comprehensive immigration reform and harsh language towards immigrants, not only propelled these communities to support the Democrat but also spilled over to tarnish the Republican Party brand–70% or more of Hispanics and about 60% of Asians reported that Cuccinelli’s statements about immigrants made them less favorable to the Republican Party.

But all of that could be remedied. Views of the GOP would improve markedly if the House held a vote and passed comprehensive immigration reform. Nearly 70% of Hispanics and 47% of Asians would view Republicans in Congress less favorably if there is no vote while about 40% of each group would view Republicans in Congress more favorably if a vote was scheduled. Republicans have a genuine opportunity here. In New Jersey, Governor Chris Christie out-right won the Hispanic vote. In Virginia and elsewhere, winning over just a few Hispanic or Asian voters could have propelled Republicans to victory.

Recently, we noted that despite President Obama’s impressive wins in 2008 and 2012, Millennial, Hispanic, and Asian voters were neither reliable partisans nor liberal ideologues. If anything, both gubernatorial races in 2013 confirmed that perspective.

*The sample size for the 18-29 year old vote in the exit polls is about 308, which would result in a margin-of-error around +/-5.5.

Michelle is a Senior Political Analyst for the Social Policy & Politics Program at Third Way. She focuses on political identity, demography, and the center of the American electorate—self-described moderates and independents To read more of her work, visit our www.thirdway.org. 

[miscellanyblue]

GOP civil war: NH GOP lawmaker says Cuccinelli betrayed by 'Christie's version of Benghazi !!!!!!'

State House Rep. Regina Birdsell (R-Hampstead) blames the Republican Party establishment for the closer-than-expected loss by Tea Party favorite Ken Cuccinelli in Virginia.

In a series of angry Facebook messages, Birdsell blasted the RNC for failing to adequately fund the campaign and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for reportedly refusing a request to campaign for Cuccinelli -- which she called "Christie's version of Benghazi:"

Can't wait until the RNC calls me for money next time!!!!!

They put less than 3 million into the VA race when they gave 6 million to McDonnell who is now mired in scandal!! Christie refused to come and help Cuccinelli, so I am soooo done with the RNC!!!

We could have won that race with some help and they refused. The RNC and Christie's version of Benghazi !!!!!!

[miscellanyblue]

Election results: N.H. Liberty Alliance 0-9

The New Hampshire Liberty Alliance, a libertarian advocacy organization closely associated with the Free State Project, endorsed a slate of candidates for yesterday's elections in Concord, Manchester and Nashua. They all lost.

Manchester Ward 1: Tim Corbett Manchester Ward 6: Joe Whitten Manchester Ward 10: Phil Greazzo Manchester Ward 11: Christopher Hussey

Concord Ward 4: Kevin Bloom Concord (At Large): Samantha Clattenburg Concord (At Large): Joshua Van Buskirk

Nashua Ward 2: Elenore Casey Crane Nashua Ward 8 (N.H. House): Peter Silva

[marcjampole]

There were not many races with national significance in the 2013 election, but there are several lessons we can learn from the three races that received the most news coverage—left-winger Bill DeBlasio’s historic landslide victory for Mayor of New York, moderate Republican Chris Christie’s mere landslide re-election as Governor of New Jersey and conservative Democrat Terry McAuliffe’s two-point win as Governor of Virginia over a Tea Party poster boy.

Lesson # 1: People are tired of the Tea Party

As the many mainstream reporters touting Chris Christie for President have pointed out, the Tea Party candidate lost in a Southern state, whereas the Non-Tea flavored Republican won in a Northern state. The Tea Party candidate also lost a bitter battle to a less radically conservative Republican in a special election for Congress in Alabama. Most people either suffered or know someone who suffered because of the sequester or the government shutdown. Most now realize that the Tea Party has little to offer to anyone except the one percenters, who will benefit from tax cuts and less government regulation.

Lesson #2: People didn’t care that much about Obamacare’s rollout problems

Everyone is rightfully pissed off that the website for the federal healthcare exchange isn’t working right. But they’re more pissed about the government shutdown, the sequester, the enormously inequitable distribution of wealth in the United States and continued high unemployment and they blame Republicans for all that. Any Republican candidate thinking he or she would get an anti-Obamacare bounce must have swallowed the entire pitcher of Kool-Aid. They certainly ignored the recent study that showed that many more Americans either like the Affordable Care Act or want to strengthen it than those who want to end or weaken it.

Lesson #3: It helps to be FOHAB or FOBAH

Friend of Hillary & Bill or Friend of Bill & Hillary—which is it? Maybe we should just write FOTC and leave it at that. However you name the phenomenon, it’s interesting to note that two of the three winners in the major races have close ties to the Clintons. The Clintons endorsed DeBlasio and spent time campaigning for their former fundraiser Terry McAuliffe. These results substantiate what many are saying: that Hillary Clinton is the overwhelming favorite to be elected as our next president, assuming that she runs.

Lesson #4: Money wins

In all three of the major races (and the Alabama Congressional race), the candidate who raised and spent the most money won the contest. Just like all the recent presidential elections. Progressive who may be overjoyed that McAuliffe and DeBlasio won and not all that upset that Christie won should nonetheless be alarmed at the continuation of the trend of money trumping every other factor.

Lesson #5: The crony capitalists won

In crony capitalism one function of government is to procure federal contracts and other favorable treatment for the supporters of the winning candidates. Both McAuliffe and Christie qualify as practitioners of crony capitalism. It was McAuliffe who auctioned off nights at the White House for campaign contributions, whereas Christie has a reputation for dealing state contracts to and getting favorable rulings for his pals and contributors. Thank goodness that DeBlasio—left wing superhero that he appears to be right now—has no reputation for engaging in the practices of crony capitalism.

Both McAuliffe and Christie are part of the current corrupt political system that favors big-money contributors and organized industries. McAuliffe is a centrist and Christie is slightly right of center but willing to move left in practical matters such as natural disasters and recessions. While Bill DeBlasio offers the hope of a political culture that seeks the best interests of all our citizens, it remains to be seen if he will carry out his promises. If he does—if he manages to build housing for the middle and lower class, raise taxes on the wealthy to support universal preschool, negotiate contracts that give city union workers decent raises, end racist police practices, improve mass transit in the outer boroughs—if he makes New York a more livable and more progressive place, then the results of the 2013 election will reverberate for decades. Otherwise, it will be remembered as another election in which money and influence won.

[gettothedancing]

It's election week in an off-year. There are big races around the country, including Virginia and New York City. Trifecta asks whether election fraud will influence these elections. Hear more as Tammy Bruce joins the Trifecta team.

[automaticdoor]

nbc has called it for mcauliffe. cnn is keeping it too close to call. they're only 5,000 votes apart at 91% reporting with over 900k votes each. i think too close to call is still right.