Monday, October 08, 2007
The Hope of Northern Virginia
Couldn't help but post and blog about a story in Daily Press on Dems winning back the state Senate in November. As most folks know, Northern Virginia is pivotal.
Dems only need to pick up four seats in the Senate, and poof, no more gerrymandered districts and GOP neglect and obstruction. Bye-bye safe districts for state officials that ignore the interests of Northern Virginia.
And yes, this list especially includes Scott Lingamfelter, Jackson Miller, Bob Marshall, Ken Cuccinelli, Jeannemarie Devolites Davis and Jay O'Brien.
Of course from news accounts we learn that GOPers are not in the least bit worried. For instance, Devolites Davis is certain that Hillary's campaign for president will return Republicans to the fold into her embracing arms.
The Washington Post writes, "JITTERY VIRGINIA Republicans, whose grip on state politics has been weakening steadily for several years, are facing further setbacks in this fall's elections for the General Assembly."
Oh dear, poor Jeanmarie, even her big shot hubby is helpless; you know, with all those "newcomers" (naturalized citizens) that Speaker William Howell is so worried about.
The Washington Post has been reporting on the not-so-hidden agenda by Republicans to resurrect Brown Willie Horton and drum up votes.
Winning the Senate is critical for both parties because it's the last state Senate election before the General Assembly redraws Virginia's legislative and congressional district boundaries in 2011. The party in control can tailor the lines with computer precision to lock in or expand its advantage for another 10 years. The Democrats are desperate to establish a beachhead in the Senate, and the GOP is marshaling its money and strength to deny them one.What's more, if Northern Virginians want to have Richmond address their concerns, well, they have only one choice: vote for the Dem. Their problems will be hammered away in the General Assembly with leaders from the area who actually care.
The key battleground is the Washington, D.C., suburbs, one of the nation's fastest-growing regions, where Democrats have done better with each election since 2001.
Dems only need to pick up four seats in the Senate, and poof, no more gerrymandered districts and GOP neglect and obstruction. Bye-bye safe districts for state officials that ignore the interests of Northern Virginia.
And yes, this list especially includes Scott Lingamfelter, Jackson Miller, Bob Marshall, Ken Cuccinelli, Jeannemarie Devolites Davis and Jay O'Brien.
Of course from news accounts we learn that GOPers are not in the least bit worried. For instance, Devolites Davis is certain that Hillary's campaign for president will return Republicans to the fold into her embracing arms.
"[Hillary] is a very polarizing figure and in her own way she is moving Republicans back to the Republican way of voting," Devolites Davis said.Scottie, Jackson, Bob and Jay are banking on the Great White Hope (immigration) to bring them victory. But with abuser driver fees and plummeting real estate prices, hmmm...that remains to be seen.
The Washington Post writes, "JITTERY VIRGINIA Republicans, whose grip on state politics has been weakening steadily for several years, are facing further setbacks in this fall's elections for the General Assembly."
Oh dear, poor Jeanmarie, even her big shot hubby is helpless; you know, with all those "newcomers" (naturalized citizens) that Speaker William Howell is so worried about.
The Washington Post has been reporting on the not-so-hidden agenda by Republicans to resurrect Brown Willie Horton and drum up votes.
[Howell] unveiled the GOP's immigrant-bashing agenda for the legislative session that will begin in January. Among other measures, it would bar publicly funded colleges and universities from accepting undocumented aliens -- even those who have graduated from state elementary, middle and high schools. To Mr. Howell and his cohorts, it is a mere detail that most public colleges in Virginia already deny entrance to such immigrants. In fact, the Republicans could not cite a single example of an illegal immigrant gaining access to public institutions of higher learning. No matter. The Republicans' point here is to stick it to the culturally distinct "other" by hook or by crook, even to the point of suggesting -- again without proof -- that some of the 36 percent of applicants rejected by four-year public colleges in the state had been denied a place because of the supposed tide of illegals also seeking higher education.But let's face it, with years of cavalier disdain, Republicans have shown that they do not know how to govern. Not to be concerned; here's how they hope to entice voters.
Rather than dwelling on their dubious transportation achievement, Republicans in Northern Virginia have turned their attention to illegal immigrants. They hope to capitalize on legitimate concerns on the part of neighborhoods uneasy with the presence of illegal immigrants living in group houses, and of local governments struggling to provide education and other services to undocumented workers and their families. But the bitter truth is that the state can do relatively little about a problem whose causes lie squarely with the federal government's, and Congress's, failure to devise a workable national immigration policy. Rather than presenting a platform to improve education, public safety and health care in Virginia, many Republicans are hoping that a program of hounding illegal immigrants is the key to electoral success. It shouldn't be.How pathetic and embarrassing. It didn't work for Jerry Kilgore; it certainly didn't work for George Allen. Virginians know the man hiding behind the curtain has no clothes, only a tin foil hat over his racist crotch.
// posted by Howling Latina @ 6:02 PM 
