House Committee says Buh Bye to "Turkey Baster" Bob's Bizarre Bills

By: Josh
Published On: 1/18/2006 2:00:00 AM

Two of Bob Marshall's most addle-brained, inhumane, and outright bigoted bills died well-deserved deaths in committee yesterday, the Times Dispatch Reports.

Legislation to prohibit unmarried women from getting pregnant by in vitro fertilization, artificial insemination or other assisted reproductive methods was rejected yesterday by a House committee.

The turndown by the Health Welfare and Institutions Committee was swift.

[...]

Marshall's other defeated bill would have required doctors who perform abortions in Virginia to reside in the state and to have admitting privileges at a Virginia hospital.

An official with the Virginia Department of Health Professions said there are no residency rules for doctors to be licensed in the state and that the bill would single out a specific type of provider. Some doctors, for instance, live near state borders and have licenses to practice in bordering states.

These bills were reviewed and summarily defeated without debate.

The in vitro bill would have had innumerable, bizarre consequences.  For example, if a soldier were killed in Iraq, the bill would have made it illegal for his widow to be artificially inseminated with his pre-donated sperm.  This bill in particular was a misguided attempt to moralize from the legislature.  While there is evidence that shows benefits for children raised in dual-parent families, Marshall's misguided logic jumps to the conclusion that single-parenthood should be outlawed.

We have two more years of Bob Marshall. In 2007, Virginians of good conscience must defeat him at the voting booth.

Until 2007, Bob Marshall must be exposed and defeated whenever possible.  His incompetent logic and paranoid fear threatens to put police in the bedroom and enforce misguided moralization upon the hard working men and women of the Commonwealth.  This isn't morality, this is maddness.

Take a deep breath, Bob. 

No more coffee for you.



Comments



It is mindboggling h (Jen Little - 4/4/2006 11:28:45 PM)
It is mindboggling how a man can be so obsessed with what women do when they see their doctor. 

His wife (if he has one) has the best birth control ever - him as a partner! 

There is a host of other legislation this wack job has introduced this session. 

Josh, you are very correct, this is not morality it is madness! This guy has got to go in '07. 



From Bob Marshall, e (KathyinBlacksburg - 4/4/2006 11:28:45 PM)
From Bob Marshall, everything's a eideshow.  I think it's safe to say that various nicknames for our least favorite Repugs, should be back on the table. 


Until I saw that pic (Ben - 4/4/2006 11:28:45 PM)
Until I saw that pic, I didn't realize how much Kate Obenshain-Griffen looks like our own Mary Dotson


More importantly, Je (cut the crap - 4/4/2006 11:28:45 PM)
More importantly, Jerry Kilgore has a plan to raise taxes by imposing regional income taxes on localities like NOVA. Add this in with his pro-abortion views, and I don't know what to make of him. I suppose he's one of those statesman-like Republicans like John Chichester of Lincoln Chafee who like taxes and abortion.

It's strange that Virginia has so many of them!



Kaine ahead by two p (Andrew Jennings - 4/4/2006 11:28:45 PM)
Kaine ahead by two points in yesterday's SUSA poll! 

http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReportEmail.aspx?g=f47b00b3-9b6f-4b82-acc2-ed4eda949b62



Thats Great,but ca (The Rev - 4/4/2006 11:28:45 PM)
  Thats Great,but can't let up,Kaine has to keep pounding Kilgore until he is stone cold out. 


Too funny! Doesn' (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:28:47 PM)
Too funny!

Doesn't Jerry Kilgore have ANYTHING POSITIVE TO RUN ON!?!

How quintessentially perfect is this?  We have a topic of FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY, an area that Jerry W. Kilgore doesn't understand well enough to scratch his butt with, and you, in true Kilgore fashion turn it in to a dodge and weave ham-fisted attempt to score salacious points on an entirely separate issue.

Well, ok, I?ll humor you "Four Real".  You want a list?  Here's a list:

Jerry Kilgore said that people whose faith say the death penalty is wrong or those who have represented death penalty cases aren?t ?entitled? to serve as governor. Here is a list of people who aren?t fit to govern, under Jerry Kilgore?s definition:

? Governor Jeb Bush (R), Florida - Roman Catholic - carried out 17 executions:
?Jeb Bush supports the death penalty, but still offers the following: ?I take advice from the leader of my church very seriously,? Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida said at a press conference the afternoon before the Mass. ?I also have a duty to uphold the laws of the state. I don?t believe this necessarily has to be in conflict,? he said.? [Catholic News Service, 4/24/05]

? Governor Michael Easley, (D), North Carolina - Roman Catholic - carried out 20 executions
? Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, (R), California - Roman Catholic - carried out 1 execution
? Senator Rick Santorum, (R), Pennsylvania - Opposes the Death Penalty
? Senator Sam Brownback, (R), Kansas - Opposes the Death Penalty
? Kilgore Donor, Attorney Ken Starr, (R) - volunteered to represent Virginia death row inmate Robin Lovitt?s appeal
? Chief Justice John Roberts - assisted in the appeal of a death row inmate

Jerry Kilgore: Can?t be Trusted on the Death Penalty.
Jerry Kilgore: Can?t be Trusted as Governor.

Your argument seems to be that because Tim Kaine has an opinion of his own he's not trustworthy.  Or is it that because Tim Kaine is a Christian?  Are Christians unworthy of trust?  Are Christians unworthy of public service?

Maybe if your candidate had a record worthy of supporting we wouldn't have to live our lives talking about Hitler, your blatant anti-constitution, anti-Christian red herring.

Go pedal crazy somewhere else.  This is America, we like our elected officials to be reasonable leaders with records of results, not half-baked grandstanding fear mongers afraid to face the public.



Tim Kaine has on se (The Rev - 4/4/2006 11:28:47 PM)
Tim Kaine has on several occasions stated he would uphold the laws of Virginia, for the folks that believe in the death penalty that?s good enough. Tim can be honest enough to tell you about his religious and personal beliefs, which I for one admire him for, I think the good folks of Virginia are beginning to see that there is really only one person that could handle the job of governor, that?s Tim Kaine


Oh my god! That's gr (cut the crap - 4/4/2006 11:28:47 PM)
Oh my god! That's great strategy posting that on a liberal blog. You'll win Kilgore tons of votes! Better hit Dailykos next. They'll be furious about that death penalty thing.


"I also support a mo (Four Real - 4/4/2006 11:28:47 PM)
"I also support a moratorium on the death penalty for many of the same reasons." -- Tim Kaine-- Democrat Lieutenant Governor Primary Debate, 5/24/01)

Tim Kaine Is The First Major Party, Gubernatorial Candidate To Oppose The Death Penalty Since Capital Punishment Was Reinstated In 1976

* Democrat Gov. Mark Warner (2002-2006) Supported The Death Penalty. "And when Richmond Mayor Timothy M. Kaine, the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, said he supported a moratorium on the death penalty, Warner stepped forward to say: I disagree. I believe we need to make sure that the death penalty is carried out fairly. But I believe at this point there is not undue bias.'" (Craig Timberg, "A United and Divided Front; Va. Democrats Differ on Guns, Death Penalty, but Point to Core Agreement," The Washington Post, 6/14/01)

* Republican Gov. Jim Gilmore (1998-2002) Supported The Death Penalty. "He was relentless in his defense of the death penalty. He drafted new state laws that sharply limit the time during which inmates can bring death-penalty habeas corpus petitions." (Garrett Epps, "The Outsider," The Washington Post, 8/15/99)

* Republican Gov. George Allen (1994-1998) Supported The Death Penalty. "Five killers are scheduled for execution in Virginia during December, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported yesterday. The backlog is the result of chance as well as changes that have speeded up the court appeals process, according to Virginia Gov. George Allen, who has allowed 11 executions to proceed in Virginia this year and commuted one death sentence. I'm for the death penalty in appropriate cases,' the governor said." (Donald P. Baker, "Va. To Execute 5," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 12/1/96)

* Democrat Gov. L. Douglas Wilder (1990-1994) Supported The Death Penalty. "He talks about preserving the state's right-to-work law and imposing the death penalty on drug dealers." (Michael Oreskes, "A Black Candidate In Virginia Runs For Office, Not History," The New York Times, 11/2/89)

* Democrat Gov. Gerald L. Baliles (1986-1990) Supported The Death Penalty. "Tonight's execution was the fifth in the state since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, and the first in the administration of Baliles, who campaigned as a proponent of capital punishment." (Donald P. Baker, "Va. Killer Executed As Appeals Fail," The Washington Post, 7/31/86)

* Democrat Gov. Charles S. Robb (1982-1986) Supported The Death Penalty. "Robb repeated that there are certain types of crimes for which I simply feel there is no adequate alternative' to the death penalty." (Tom Sherwood, "Robb: Final Judge on Life, Death," The Washington Post, 5/9/85)

* Republican Gov. John Dalton (1978-1982) Supported The Death Penalty. "Paul G. Edwards, Gov. John N. Dalton's press secretary, said yesterday that Dalton supports the death penalty but would consider any request for clemency on the merits of each case.'" (Stephen J. Lynton, "Death Penalty Left In Place For Virginia Prisoner," The Washington Post, 6/5/79)

* Republican Gov. Mills Godwin (1974-1978) Supported The Death Penalty. "In addition to the mandatory sentencing bills, Godwin signed a measure that legislators have said will make Virginia's death penalty conform to recent Supreme Court rulings and one that adds killing a police officer performing his duties to the four other crimes that are punishable by death in the state." (Bill McAllister, "Bills On Criminal Sentences Signed By Gov. Godwin," The Washington Post, 3/30/77)

While Tim Kaine Has A Record of Activism Against the Death Penalty ...

EIGHT Governors--Democrat & Republican--Over THIRTY-ONE Years--All Strongly Supported The Death Penalty!



I wonder what it wou (teresa jones - 4/4/2006 11:28:47 PM)
I wonder what it would take for voters to finally realize that all politions are corrupt.if not until elected it doesm't take long to fall in with the corrupt masses, Its never gonna change. Love with it. Thats why our forfathers left England in the first place.


Yes! He also has a c (Dave Albo's biggest fan!!! - 4/4/2006 11:28:47 PM)
Yes! He also has a comprehensive plan to lower the penalty for child molestation. And it's about time someone did so!


Don't forget Dave "K (Dave Albo's biggest fan!!! - 4/4/2006 11:28:47 PM)
Don't forget Dave "Kick them all out!!!" Albo.


Just remember, Repub (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:28:47 PM)
Just remember, Republicans tend to close strongly.  Kilgore's getting 81% of Republican votes in this poll, vs. Kaine's 90% of Dem votes.  This is such a close race even closing that gap could mean the difference for Kilgore.

I see real opportunity for Kaine in the Hispanic Community.  Where Kilgore is getting a fat 65% of the vote.  If anyone has ever been a friend to Hispanic Voter's it's Tim "Christian Missionary in Central America" Kaine.  If there's ever been an enemy of hsipanic voters it Jerry W. "nativist" Kilgore.

Talk about an opportunity!  Tim, baby, run an ad in spanish on VA Telemundo in your own words, man!  get with the program!



Yeah Baby! Positi (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:28:47 PM)
Yeah Baby!

Positive Passion!  Keep on fighting for the good guys.



I'm so pumped about (cut the crap - 4/4/2006 11:28:47 PM)
I'm so pumped about Kaine being up! I just turned in my absentee ballot. My votes:

Kaine
Bolling
Deeds
Waddell

Very exciting stuff!



You mean Dave "Don't (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:28:47 PM)
You mean Dave "Don't molest your children or I'll fine you" Albo?


Heath: As you may k (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:28:50 PM)
Heath:  As you may know, Raising Kaine is an independent grassroots organization not affiliated with any candidate.

I think it's a great clip, too. 

I'm not an expert in such things, but I believe that "Money" by Pink Floyd was released before 1975 and thus the copyright protections may have expired.  If "Money" is in the public domain now, as Karl Rove would say, "it's fair game".



Nice clip -- but are (Heath - 4/4/2006 11:28:50 PM)
Nice clip -- but are the members of Pink Floyd endorsing Tim Kaine?  Did they give permission for the use of their song? 

I'm concerned that you may have crossed a line here.



If Pink Floyd was go (Brian - 4/4/2006 11:28:50 PM)
If Pink Floyd was going endorse someone in this race, I would put money on it that Tim Kaine would be their man. :)

Does anyone besides me feel like they should be watching the Wizard of Oz anytime they hear a song from Dark Side? 



I stand corrected re (Heath - 4/4/2006 11:28:50 PM)
I stand corrected regarding the source of the video; I don't concede my point regarding the use of Pink Floyd's music. 

According to http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html:

-------------------------
Under the law in effect before 1978, copyright was secured either on the date a work was published with a copyright notice or on the date of registration if the work was registered in unpublished form. In either case, the copyright endured for a first term of 28 years from the date it was secured. During the last (28th) year of the first term, the copyright was eligible for renewal. The Copyright Act of 1976 extended the renewal term from 28 to 47 years for copyrights that were subsisting on January 1, 1978, or for pre-1978 copyrights restored under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA), making these works eligible for a total term of protection of 75 years. Public Law 105-298, enacted on October 27, 1998, further extended the renewal term of copyrights still subsisting on that date by an additional 20 years, providing for a renewal term of 67 years and a total term of protection of 95 years.

Public Law 102-307, enacted on June 26, 1992, amended the 1976 Copyright Act to provide for automatic renewal of the term of copyrights secured between January 1, 1964, and December 31, 1977. Although the renewal term is automatically provided, the Copyright Office does not issue a renewal certificate for these works unless a renewal application and fee are received and registered in the Copyright Office.

Public Law 102-307 makes renewal registration optional. Thus, filing for renewal registration is no longer required in order to extend the original 28-year copyright term to the full 95 years. However, some benefits accrue from making a renewal registration during the 28th year of the original term.
--------------------------

"Money" was originally copyrighted in the US in 1973, meaning that under present law, its copyright protections will expire in 2068.



Josh: You amaze me y (Jen Little - 4/4/2006 11:28:50 PM)
Josh: You amaze me yet again, all over the copyright laws too!  You so rock, man!



Don't get complacent (Paul - 4/4/2006 11:28:51 PM)
Don't get complacent you magnificent bastards!!! Get out there on the ground and contact some voters! This is still a longshot bid by Tim Kaine to win in a red state. We need your help!!!!


Maybe it?s becaus (I.Publius - 4/4/2006 11:28:51 PM)
Maybe it?s because the Republicans do nothing but offer personal attacks on our candidate?

Whining hypocrites -- UNITE!

I don't recall seeing similar outrage from you, Steve, at the incessant attacks on Kilgore from all your crybaby brethren... the accent, etc.  THOSE were personal attacks. 

I'm actually glad to see that Warner has changed his mind and decided to help out in Kaine's losing effort.  Heaven only knows what Kaine had to do to get Mark back in it.  It will weaken Warner that much more after Nov. 8.



I think the article (Jen Little - 4/4/2006 11:28:51 PM)
I think the article in today's New York Times puts the "? issue" to rest. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/20/national/20virginia.html

"In recent days, Mr. [Mark] Warner has stepped up his campaigning with Mr. Kaine. As Mr. Warner stumps across the state...
...At a news conference with Mr. Kaine on Monday at a commuter rail station, Mr. Warner accused Mr. Kilgore of a "promise anything and we'll worry about how we pay for it later" approach to governing."

Good Day, Mr. Rat.



A stunt like this sh (Ron Mexico - 4/4/2006 11:28:51 PM)
A stunt like this shows how desperate the Kilgores are.  And when I say "Kilgores", I mean both of them, because Im sure Rat, (who is Terry Kilgore's campaign manager), is behind this ploy 100%. 


I.Pub/Chad/whoever y (Steve Nelson - 4/4/2006 11:28:51 PM)
I.Pub/Chad/whoever you are-

The accent attacks on Kilgore do anger me. I AM mad people are doing that. I have asked numerous people to stop, but they won't because they don't have a reason to. Maybe we can compromise, you convince your folks not to make fun of Kaine's eyebrow and i'll convince mine not to make fun of Kilgore's voice. I'd do that in a heartbeat.

But i know you won't, because negative attacks are all the Kilgore camp has. Where are the Kilgore plans for Virginia? Why doesn't he talk about them?

I don't mind when people disagree with ideas, in fact i love that. But outright lying for political gain is despicable and UnAmerican. If you were involved in spreading the lie on your blog about Warner, post a retraction. Write an apology. Do something, it's making your party look terrible.



Not getting any slee (Corey - 4/4/2006 11:28:51 PM)
Not getting any sleep these days?

Walt Ball Says:
October 20th, 2005 at 2:14 am

ziik Says:
October 20th, 2005 at 2:17 am

It's only going to get worse as the desperation consumes the Kilgore campaign.  It's going to be a long three weeks.



"The source is solid (posta - 4/4/2006 11:28:51 PM)
"The source is solid folks. Warner never intended for this to leake out and now I see that you guys are in full damage control mode."

Wow, are you ever in denial.



Walt- You want so (Steve Nelson - 4/4/2006 11:28:51 PM)
Walt-

You want solid sources? I just received an email from the Kaine2005.com site not 10 minutes ago that said this:

"Just this Monday, Tim and Governor Warner were greeted by great crowds in Leesburg and Woodbridge. Today they're visiting supporters in Bristol, Galax, Roanoke and Martinsville."



WTF? Do any Republi (KathyinBlacksburg - 4/4/2006 11:28:51 PM)
WTF?  Do any Republicans posting here have a (real) sense of humor?  I think RK has done a great job of having some fun in a pretty nasty climate that they did not create. 


Which makes this eve (Alex - 4/4/2006 11:28:51 PM)
Which makes this even more pathetic, is that sometime over the last week when I was away on business I got an invite in my mail to a "Countdown to Victory Reception" on November 4th in Alexandria.

The headliner: GOVERNOR MARK WARNER

So what's this again about Warner "pulling the plug?"  Why would someone who is "not supporting" Kaine headline a fundraising reception for Kaine?

Backfired again, boys.  Just like the death penalty ads.

It makes you wonder what laughable ploy they'll come up with next.



Defensive? Why shoul (Steve Nelson - 4/4/2006 11:28:51 PM)
Defensive? Why should we be defensive? Oh i don't know... Maybe it's because the Republicans do nothing but offer personal attacks on our candidate? I thought the Republicans were low to invoke "Hitler". The Hitler ad was just putting words in Kaine's mouth.

BUT THIS! This is just unbelievable! Forget twisting words, they went so far as to just make something up out of thin air!! The Republican party has become so dirty in the last couple years. How can anyone willingly associate themselves with it?

When Kilgore has something interesting to say maybe we'd stop being defensive and have an actual discussion. Like that's ever going to happen.



Rat: You're right, (Lowell - 4/4/2006 11:28:51 PM)
Rat:  You're right, Chad put a question mark there so all is well.  Now, if I put a question mark after the headline, "Jerry Kilgore a Corrupt Scumbag Racist?", does that make it all ok?

PS  Gotta confirm that whole "corrupt scumbag" thing, by the way.  Ha ha.



Aw, heck Steve, we h (Mary - 4/4/2006 11:28:51 PM)
Aw, heck Steve, we have an RPV party that only believes it can only get ahead by lying to voters (Voter Fraud), lying about their opposition (they have yet to run an ad with contentions about TK that have not been disproven) and lying about their candidates' records.  It would be funny, even amusing, except it all adds up to deception at the expense of the electorate.  In my opinion, that shows an incredible degree of disrespect for the people they represent and serve.

That's not why I'm involved in politics, but I suppose that's why I'm Mary and not Chad.



PS Josh. Maybe rela (KathyinBlacksburg - 4/4/2006 11:28:51 PM)
PS Josh.  Maybe relax a little already, take a chill "pill."  Repeat after me, "everything's OK."  If you read the added questions in the recent polls, you'll find that Tim polls better with independents (by 10%) and that DEMs are more likely to vote for Kaine than GOPhers are likely to vote for Kilgore.  The GOP voters don't approach the loyalty Dems have this time out.  Along with the shock and awe of the momentum's trajectory, befuddled Kilgore must be beside himself.  He's already looking like an idiot.  And when voters know all the facts, they'll "just say no."  Personally, I think Kaine should unleash the Dir. of Public Safety footage of Jerry claiming there have been no prison breaks "today."  That footage is so good, it just could finish Jerry off with the electorate.  Jerry is trying to run on the bogus "character" claims, when that issue will come back to bite him in a big way. Live politically by the sword and you'll fade by the political by the sword just as quickly.  He's using crime and public safety when his record is horrible.  He's using education where he has NO track record.  I hope Tim has more footage of his visits to schools in every county and his thoughtful ideas about the future of education.  And Kilgore is using the death penalty, when the public would agree with Tim if there's no chance of parole.  Jerry is running on the state fiscal management when his approach of tax giveaways for the rich would spend us into deficits and the poorhouse like Gilmore did.  What's left for Jerry?  Nothing.  Of course we shouldn't take anything for granted.  But, this rumor is distraction through and through.  It's also a reincarnation of the mythology that Kilgore spins when he thinks anyone will actually believe that he's more like Mark than Tim.  In Jerry's dreams.


You mean my "ventril (Jerry K. - 4/4/2006 11:28:51 PM)
You mean my "ventriloquist's dummy," right?


Well friends, you ju (Brave Hart - 4/4/2006 11:28:51 PM)
Well friends, you just confirmed of an attempt by his party to use him for unscrupulous purposes.

What else do so called intelligent people need to see, to determine what type of folks your associating with.

I sure wouldn't want to share a foxhole with them.



It's a crock! Mark (KathyinBlacksburg - 4/4/2006 11:28:51 PM)
It's a crock!  Mark Warner and Tim Kaine are appearing together in Roanoke tomorrow!  My guess is the spinmeisters over at the GOP blogs must have ingested their own snakeoil.  Mark Warner won't give up on Tim Kaine.  Nor will Kaine supporters.  So the spinmeisters should just get used to it.  (And eat their hearts out too.)


A preview of tomorro (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:28:51 PM)
A preview of tomorrow's Raisinging Kaine headlines, for Rat:

Does Jerry W. Kilgore eat children?
When did Jerry W. Kilgore join the KKK?
Is Jerry W. Kilgore an illegal immigrant?
How often does Jerry W. Kilgore masterbate in public?
Was Jerry W. Kilgore abducted by aliens?  Did he receive an anal probe?
How did Jerry W. Kilgore escape indictment on gun running charges?
Does Jerry W. Kilgore hate apple pie?
How much drug money did Jerry W. Kilgore invest with Saddam Hussein?
When Jerry W. Kilgore talks to satan, does satan listen?
and finally...

Jerry W. Kilgore male or female?

just a little foreshadowing for you there, Rat.  So, now you know what to expect.



same old same old wi (alva - 4/4/2006 11:28:51 PM)
same old same old with you all.  "GOP conspiracy", widespread paranoia.  Ad hominem attacks on Kilgore followed by being touchy and offended when your attacked in return.  Yall certainly don't ACT like you have a 2 point lead in the polls.  Must be the neurosis that comes from losing so many elections.  02, Dean, Kerry etc...


Mark Warner and Tim (Jen Little - 4/4/2006 11:28:51 PM)
Mark Warner and Tim Kaine are two peas in a pod these days.  This is an attempt by the conservatives, who are a little nervous these days, to make stuff up to write about.  They have no postive agendas from their candidates, but the losers who feed their biases there need something.

I do agree with Lowell & Josh about the question mark thing though.  Great comments - you all have it covered.

Two for the good guys and nada for the RAT.



At least Chad sticks (Rat - 4/4/2006 11:28:51 PM)
At least Chad sticks to the issues and doesn't attack people and/or their families, like RK does.  I guess that is why he is so respected in the "blog world".


Be warned. The leve (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:28:51 PM)
Be warned.  The level of dirty politics in this race has rarely been seen in Virginia.  Kilgore has lost 8 point and 10 point leads in the polls.  He lost the debates.  Voters are not only disapproving his despicable "Hitler" ads, but are holding them against him.

The National GOP is desperate for some good news and they are going to pull out all the stops to steal this election.  We now have three allegations of serious fraud in this election:  push polls, voter registration manipulation, and now Media manipulation.

This is only going to get worse in the next 3 weeks.

Rat, I honestly don't care if we step on some toes.  Will was manipulated, Chad picked up the story and repeated it.  My little barb was nothing compared to the egregeous harm that could have been caused if these radical conservative sleezemeisters had succeeded in creating the widespread, illusury, perception of a split between Kaine and Warner.

Warner is the best thing to happen to Virginia in my lifetime, and Kaine was with him every step of the way.  As we've watched the excesses, failures and corruption of the National GOP lay waste to this nation, Virginia has been a haven of governmental sanity.

Virginia's most popular liar, Jerry W. Kilgore has shown himself devoid of either the strength or character to lead this commonwealth.

No matter what dirty tricks the radical conservatives pull, Virginia needs to keep movming forward and on November 8 we will elect Tim Kaine Governor to do just that.



Rat, Yeah, right, (Mary - 4/4/2006 11:28:51 PM)
Rat,

Yeah, right, promoting lies, spreading inuendo and baiting people with "caption contests" isn't  attacking people "and/or their families."  Regardless, we can't be bothered. 

The point here is that in this case, Chad's post was wrong to the point of extreme laughability.  Chad doesn't need Raising Kaine to look bad in this case (heck, this is getting joked about in all the progressive blogs).  But please take a little advice: sustaining the argument here doesn't help Chad either.  Ultimately, your remarks just prompt more entertainment at Chad's expense. 

So, Rat--it kind of has me wondering--could you possibly be a Democratic operative trying to make Chad and the RPV look even more foolish?  Hmmm, interesting...



and just to put the (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:28:51 PM)
and just to put the rumor to rest, check out the new video on the kaine website.

It's gonna be all Mark Warner, All the Time through Nov 8.

Yeah!

http://www.kaine2005.org/home.php



Boy you guys sure ar (John Sloan - 4/4/2006 11:28:51 PM)
Boy you guys sure are defensive. And you give me too much credit to be a part of some "vast right wing conspiracy." The source is solid folks. Warner never intended for this to leake out and now I see that you guys are in full damage control mode. Good. It's as it should be. Spaz!!


You said not to ask (Steve Nelson - 4/4/2006 11:28:52 PM)
You said not to ask about Kilgore's record. But now i'm curious!


Kilgore has come for (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:28:52 PM)
Kilgore has come forward with an "environmental plan" but it's so vague that nobody knows what he will or will not do.  Essentially, it allows him to say "hey, I'm for the environment," without actually taking any action, making any promises or showing any details.

"Don't ask any questions." is about right, you've seen the debates, if you ask, all you'll get is some scripted plattitudes that mean nothing, promise less, and amount to something that will be forgotten whenever there's a buck to be made, a forest to be logged, a hillside to be stripmined, or a river to be polluted.

Here's a couple links for some more info:

http://www.raisingkaine.com/484

http://baconsrebellion.blogspot.com/2005_07_03_baconsrebellion_archive.html

http://www.baconsrebellion.com/Issues04/10-4/Sisson2.htm



This was a comment p (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:28:53 PM)
This was a comment posted on the tk4g.org web site.  I stole it and posted it here without permission.

I?m a 20-year resident of Loudoun and I have to say this about Leesburg Today. Loudoun is a Republican county (Warner and Kerry lost here). And as the former Communication Chairman of the local Democratic committee, I battled hard with this paper to get them to at least fairly and accurately report our Democratic positions. I?ve known the editor for many years (he and his wife and me and mine were in the same child-birth classes together 13-years old ago), and let me just say he knows the demographic of the majority of his readers. So, for this particular editorial to be coming from this paper is nothing short of amazing, and speaks volumes about Jerry Kilgore.


Well said, Josh. But (Teddy - 4/4/2006 11:28:54 PM)
Well said, Josh. But the Republicans don't want that; remember their opposition to science in general.  Global warming anyone? Encironmental protections? These "know nothings" insist on their point of view as the only valid one.  I had one tell me :If you leave God out of anything you're in trouble." Hmmm.  Does that include character assassination and smearing your political opponent? Guess not. 

Congratulations to the citizen voters of Dover.



I think the Kansas B (Matusleo - 4/4/2006 11:28:54 PM)
I think the Kansas Board is up for election next year.  There is a good chance the ID-majority might lose there as well.

I was so thrilled to hear of the Dover loss.  I just moved to PA from VA, and the last thing I want is for my kids to have to be told that it is science.  I'm a convert to Catholicism, and I would love to see a comparative theology class in High Schools for various reasons, but I want science to stay science!



"Hi, I'm Jerry Kilgo (Christian Grantham - 4/4/2006 11:28:55 PM)
"Hi, I'm Jerry Kilgore, and I approve this fabulous mustache!"


"Hi, I'm Jerry Kilgo (Four Real - 4/4/2006 11:28:55 PM)
"Hi, I'm Jerry Kilgore, and MY mustache was on my LIP, NOT over my LEFT EYE!"


Hey now! Lay off the (Neal2028 - 4/4/2006 11:28:55 PM)
Hey now! Lay off the used car salesmen! (Dad was one)  But yeah, if I ever did see a sneaky looking used car salesman, it would be Kilgore with his moustache.

Terry Kilgore was up at my school today (even though its not in his district).  Our principal said he was a handsome man, and she said it was the moustache...

And I thought to myself, "Well that's just distrubing.  She can quote Kilgore commercials but has no idea who the Governor is..."



Hey now! Lay off the (Neal2028 - 4/4/2006 11:28:55 PM)
Hey now! Lay off the used car salesmen! (Dad was one)  But yeah, if I ever did see a sneaky looking used car salesman, it would be Kilgore with his moustache.

Terry Kilgore was up at my school today (even though its not in his district).  Our principal said he was a handsome man, and she said it was the moustache...

And I thought to myself, "Well that's just distrubing.  She can quote Kilgore commercials but has no idea who the Governor is..."



Cut it out. I intend (Jonathan Mark - 4/4/2006 11:28:57 PM)
Cut it out. I intend to vote for Kaine. But he is not Hispanic. None of his known ancestors spoke Spanish, nor is he a citizen  of a Spanish speaking country.

While whatever knowledge he has of Spanish may be impressive, I would not assume that he speaks perfect, grammatical Spanish of the type that a native speaker would.

I speak some French and have visited that country a number of times, but I am not a Frenchman.



As a Hispanic, it in (CR UVa - 4/4/2006 11:28:57 PM)
As a Hispanic, it insults me that you would call Tim Kaine Hispanic retaining no such heritage.  It is quite honorable that he spent time as a missionary, and it is impressive that he is fluent in another language, but that does not entitle him to the title of "Virginia's First Hispanic Governor".


No offense intended, (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:28:57 PM)
No offense intended, and I didn't say he would be considered Virginia's First Hispanic Governor.  I asked if he would be considered Virginia's First Hispanic Governor.  Sounds like you don't think he would, but I have this question for you:

As an Hispanic voter, do you believe that Tim Kaine would better represent your interests or understand your concerns than Jerry W. Kilgore?  I had a discussion with an older hispanic gentleman a couple of weeks ago who saw Kilgore's immigration position as sickening and insulting.  He said, "There's a point where it stops being politics and starts being racism."

Well, do you think the interests of hispanic voters will be represented by a candidate who is considered by some to be racist against hispanics?



Well, I seem to have (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:28:58 PM)
Well, I seem to have stirred up some discussion with this one.  That's all for the good.

My dream would be for every Virginian to know just how well Tim Kaine understands latino issues, and just how rotten the Kilgore grandstand is.

Just remember, I was the one who floated this idea, because the Clinton rhetoric seemed to easily parallel Kaine's experience.  Is Kaine hispanic?  no.  Will he be remembered as "The First Hispanic Governor of Virginia"? 

That'll be up to the Voters on November 8, and to Virginia's Latino community in the years after.



Conaway: Sorry, you (Lowell - 4/4/2006 11:28:58 PM)
Conaway: Sorry, you completely lost me here.  I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.


Lowell - go back and (Conaway - 4/4/2006 11:28:58 PM)
Lowell - go back and look at your other posts. If you still don't get it, I can 'splain it to you later.

Josh - Yes, you stirred the pot, and though I disagree with your contentions, your post brings up larger issues:

Exactly what is exclusively a latino/black issue? Are there white issues? Can a minority candidate who is "culturally simpatico" with whites be deemed a white candidate?

RK is one of the few places that I've seen the "GOP is racist" tag hammered, mostly due to Scott Howell's history. This time around, it's the Dems who have stooped to making race an issue, not the GOP. Isn't there another way to reach voters beyond making race-based appeals?

-- Conaway



Actually, there no r (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:28:58 PM)
Actually, there no racial issues.  Race itself is an economic construct.  Those who seek to build an hereditiary aristocracy encourage racial division.  Those who seek Democracy seek to encourage cooperation among and between different groups.

Conway, you're a good guy.  Let's not turn this into something that it's not. 

If, as you say, the "GOP is racist", it's a colorblind, economic, racism that seeks to empower those who have and weaken those who do not.  There are a very few among the GOP of today who are willing to use race and ethnicity to heighten the divisive message.  Kilgore has proven himself one of these, time and again.

Latinos have a leader they can believe in, in Tim Kaine, as do blacks, whites, men, women, aisians...  Virginians.

The rich have a leader they can believe in in Jerry Kilgore.  In Jerry Kilgore's Virginia, the rest of us can fend for ourselves.



Getting back to the (Warner Fan - 4/4/2006 11:28:58 PM)
Getting back to the initial topic of this post: I think Kaine has done an excellent job reaching out to Hispanics but I think you will also find that a lot of that groundwork was done by Governor Mark Warner. He is also fluent in Spanish and he is well-briefed on Hispanic American issues. I'm not sure it's fair to call Warner or Kaine the "First Hispanic Governor" except to make that comment lightly to show their appeal - but you can say that Warner has established many firsts as Governor. First Governor to recognize, proclaim and celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. First Governor to establish a Latino Advisory Commission. First Governor to name a Latino Liaison (who is Hispanic) to his staff. First Governor to appoint a very substantial number of Hispanics to the state's boards and commissions. I just want to make sure credit is given where it's due and I believe that b/c of the groundwork and commitment Warner has made to the Hispanic population in Virginia - Kaine is the obvious choice of sucessor to that population. No need to even get into all the racist comments coming from the Kilgore campaign regarding immigrants.


You = "great friend (Conaway - 4/4/2006 11:28:58 PM)
You = "great friend of theirs"
Perot = "you people"



Tim Kaine is the (ClintonLoyalist - 4/4/2006 11:28:58 PM)
  Tim Kaine is the man!!!  I'm Caucasian, Democrat, male, and military; go figure.


Conaway: First of al (Lowell - 4/4/2006 11:28:58 PM)
Conaway: First of all, it was Toni Morrison who called Bill Clinton "the first black president."  And it certainly was NOT just "Jessie Jackson, Al Sharpton, the CBC, and a bunch of comics."  Bill Clinton had a 90% approval rating from African Americans.  In contrast, just 2% of African Americans approve of George W. Bush.

In other words, the VAST majority of African Americans LOVED Bill Clinton and HATE George W. Bush.  You can try to dismiss that all you want, but the numbers don't lie.



I agree, Warner Fan. (Jen Little - 4/4/2006 11:28:58 PM)
I agree, Warner Fan.

Kaine can reach hispanics, blacks, white, women, and all Virgnians, because he is great leader.  Kaine offers us a track record of good strong leadership and sound decisions.  That is what Virginia needs. 

We need to continue the progress of the last four years by electing Tim Kaine for the next! 



Lowell, are you or t (Conaway - 4/4/2006 11:28:58 PM)
Lowell, are you or the other RK hosts Black/Latino/non-white? I ask because I don't want to criticize someone directly without knowing who and what they are. I wouldn't presume to know you like that.

And yes, Toni Morrison did make the comment in public, but if you knew the AFAM literary market, you'd know that most black folks don't read her work despite her initial protestations that she was not writing for white folks. And her point was also that Clinton was facing similar political attacks as black faced - common bonds of struggle (a la Jews). But, I guess that you know the "VAST" majority of black folks, huh?

Bill Clinton was my president because I'm an AMERICAN, not because he liked black folks like me. Part of my raison d'etre (oh, do I get to be French now?) is to separate  political affiliation with racial identity. The same line of reasoning also leads people to question the racial identity of a black conservative or Republican, or simply a black who doesn't tow the Dem party line.



Lowell, to answer yo (Conaway - 4/4/2006 11:28:58 PM)
Lowell, to answer your question, yes, I did find it offensive at the time. Yep, Bill Clinton was a "great friend of theirs." What is this, 1950? What are you, Ross Perot?



Amen, Conaway! (Amen! - 4/4/2006 11:28:58 PM)


This is absolutely r (Conaway - 4/4/2006 11:28:58 PM)
This is absolutely ridiculous. By your same logic, Jeb Bush is already the first Hispanic Governor since he cuddles up to his Mexican wife, lived in Mexico, has those half-Latino kids, and speaks fluent Spanish. Hey, while we're at it, I go to a Baptist church, watch NASCAR, speak with a Southside drawl, drink beer, and adore Vince Gill. So, now I can be considered a Redneck Blogger.

No white man - EVER, Republican, Democrat, Green, Martian or otherwise  - will be an *insert ethnicity here* politician. The notion that Bill Clinton was somehow a Black President was pushed by Jesse Jackson, Sharpton, the CBC, and a bunch of comics looking for laughs. Having rhythm, kissing black babies, and being dumped on by right-wingers is not nearly enough to be classified as Black, especially when you spend more time in the Hamptons than Harlem.

As a black man who voted for Clinton and Gore, your contention is prosposterous. Thanks for your help, but we minorities will be just fine without you telling us who our first anything will be. Lord knows that the Democratic leadership worked hard enough to keep Virginia from having the first and only elected Black lt. gov & governor, so you don't get to offer up fake ones. And if you can't understand why we'd be put off by this, then you obviously prove my point.

-- Conaway



Did you guys find it (Lowell - 4/4/2006 11:28:58 PM)
Did you guys find it offensive when people said -- approvingly, I might add - that Bill Clinton was the "first Black president of the United States."  The point there was that Clinton was culturally simpatico with African Americans, and a great friend of theirs. The point here is that Tim Kaine is culturally simpatico with Hispanics, and a great friend of theirs.  In neither case do I see anything negative about such language. Quite the opposite, I think it's a huge compliment!


Thanks for your inpu (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:28:58 PM)
Thanks for your input Jonathan. 

I don't think Bill Clinton had a black grandmother, but if you've got the inside scoop on that one, dish!



Conaway: So, let me (Lowell - 4/4/2006 11:28:58 PM)
Conaway:  So, let me get this straight.  What Toni Morrison said and how 90% of African Americans felt about Bill Clinton is "offensive?"  And how on earth did Ross Perot get into this discussion.  You lost me on that one...maybe I'll go ask my "crazy aunt in the attic!!"  Ha ha.


Not only do I want t (Jen Little - 4/4/2006 11:28:59 PM)
Not only do I want to smack Kos and Armando, but I think a Bitchslap is in order.  We cannot just disagree with the Republicans because we disagree with them on just about everything.  There are times when commonsense drives the course.  Commonsense, which Dubya lacks, said from the very beginning that Miers was a bad pick.  Perhaps Bush's advisors were to busy thinking about saving their own hide?s being preoccupied and all with all the LIES they told, and did not advise Bush appropriately.  But really she was just a bad pick.

Miers was pushed rather than jumped to her withdrawal.  No one likes Bush these days other than the Far Right (Right=Wrong), and he needs those friends.  Remember they are his political capital.  He has a mandate!  If not for them he would be clearing brush in Texas right now.  So he chatted with Miers, and said ?it's getting hot in here, and since I am stuck in this kitchen for a few more years - I think you should leave.?  So, she withdrew.

It is funny and sad to note that Falwell was quick to get a meeting with ROVE to discuss who he thinks should be nominated next.  It is nice to know who determines the course of our country and courts for the next 25 years.  Hmmmm?  Just Scary!



Yeah, I went through (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:28:59 PM)
Yeah, I went through the roof on that one too, Annie.  Kos is great in a lot of ways, but he really screwed the pooch on this one.  Fugeddaboudit... it's all yesterday's news.

Tomorrow's news is the end of women's reproductive rights in Virginia, if we don't get Kaine elected on November 8.

I bet we could make a killing selling black-market condoms.  man, I wish I was kidding.



Not only do I want t (Jen Little - 4/4/2006 11:28:59 PM)
Not only do I want to smack Kos and Armando, but I think a Bitchslap is in order.  We cannot just disagree with the Republicans because we disagree with them on just about everything.  There are times when commonsense drives the course.  Commonsense, which Dubya lacks, said from the very beginning that Miers was a bad pick.  Perhaps Bush's advisors were to busy thinking about saving their own hide?s being preoccupied and all with all the LIES they told, and did not advise Bush appropriately.  But really she was just a bad pick.

Miers was pushed rather than jumped to her withdrawal.  No one likes Bush these days other than the Far Right (Right=Wrong), and he needs those friends.  Remember they are his political capital.  He has a mandate!  If not for them he would be clearing brush in Texas right now.  So he chatted with Miers, and said ?it's getting hot in here, and since I am stuck in this kitchen for a few more years - I think you should leave.?  So, she withdrew.

It is funny and sad to note that Falwell was quick to get a meeting with ROVE to discuss who he thinks should be nominated next.  It is nice to know who determines the course of our country and courts for the next 25 years.  Hmmmm?  Just Scary!



Raise your hand if y (Annie - 4/4/2006 11:28:59 PM)
Raise your hand if you want to smack Kos and Armando over at Dailykos.... 

Are they going to help smuggle in contraceptives to VA for all of us now that they've started the circular firing squad on Tim Kaine?



Not only do I want t (Jen Little - 4/4/2006 11:28:59 PM)
Not only do I want to smack Kos and Armando, but I think a Bitchslap is in order.  We cannot just disagree with the Republicans because we disagree with them on just about everything.  There are times when commonsense drives the course.  Commonsense, which Dubya lacks, said from the very beginning that Miers was a bad pick.  Perhaps Bush's advisors were to busy thinking about saving their own hide?s being preoccupied and all with all the LIES they told, and did not advise Bush appropriately.  But really she was just a bad pick.

Miers was pushed rather than jumped to her withdrawal.  No one likes Bush these days other than the Far Right (Right=Wrong), and he needs those friends.  Remember they are his political capital.  He has a mandate!  If not for them he would be clearing brush in Texas right now.  So he chatted with Miers, and said ?it's getting hot in here, and since I am stuck in this kitchen for a few more years - I think you should leave.?  So, she withdrew.

It is funny and sad to note that Falwell was quick to get a meeting with ROVE to discuss who he thinks should be nominated next.  It is nice to know who determines the course of our country and courts for the next 25 years.  Hmmmm?  Just Scary!



Josh i agree with a (Steve Nelson - 4/4/2006 11:29:01 PM)
Josh i agree with a lot of things you say, but this single payer thing is not one of them. I'm not suggesting there shouldn't be a universal health care program. I'm just not sold on this particular one.

Maybe i'm just missing something, but this is taking a philisophical approach instead of a problem/solution approach. Where are the cost benefit ratios? Where are the charts showing how much it'll cost? Where are the dollars going to come from? What programs will be cut to allow it to happen? Where are the numbers comparing overhead cost of a government program to privately run programs? There is just so much left out it's hard to take it seriously.

I personally think if the progressives want to push a universal healthcare program they should push a program designed specifically for kids. Kids shouldn't be subjected to poor health because their parents are too poor or too stupid to care about health. Again this is just a philisophical approach but whatever the dollar amount is of the 'single payer' program is, a kid only program will be a fraction of the cost.

Illionois just started a healthcare program for every child. Push this type of program across the country. Incremental advancements are the only way this will work. Figure out how to go from 45 million people without healthcare to 35 million.



Right John, we also (Steve Nelson - 4/4/2006 11:29:02 PM)
Right John, we also already have an all kid program and a poor people program it's called MediCAID.

Medicare is for elderly and Medicaid is for kids and poor people.

Medicare is widely known and widely, but few people know about MediCAID. If you go to a hospital and can't pay, you will still receive treatment. So 'technically' we don't have 45 million people without healthcare, we have 0 people. Technically we DO have universal healthcare. Well almost.

There are about 25 different categories that are covered by Medicaid but they generally fall into the following 5:

Pregnant women
Children and teenagers
People who are aged
People who are blind
People who are disabled

But poor people tend to also be uneducated they don't realize that they can get treatment.

If we had universal Medicare, how long would it take to propagate this knowledge to these 45 million people that apparently need it?



Wow, steve. You mak (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:29:02 PM)
Wow, steve.  You make it sound like herione with progressives pushing it. 

Do you agree that Americans should be allowed to drop dead or go bankrupt in whatever way suits them?  Do you think that paying less for healthcare ADMINISTRATION and coordinating it in an intielligent way actually takes away people's freedom to get sick and die?

Under Mark Warner, Virginia covered 98% of children.  It was one of the cornerstones of the administration's healthcare initiative.

But it's not just kids who suffer and die, Steve.

Where are the cost benefit ratios? Where are the charts showing how much it’ll cost? Where are the dollars going to come from? What programs will be cut to allow it to happen?

It would cost much much less.

Here's a good chart comparing other single payer plans to the US system:
http://www.grahamazon.com/sp/compare.php

What programs would be cut?  Mostly you'd cut a bunch of pencil pushing and administration jobs.  Think about what would happen to H$Rblock if taxes could be done at home without a computer.



If we ha (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:29:02 PM)
If we had universal Medicare, how long would it take to propagate this knowledge to these 45 million people that apparently need it?

How long would it take to tell 45 Million people: "if you're sick go to the doctor".



“if you’ (Steve Nelson - 4/4/2006 11:29:02 PM)
“if you’re sick go to the doctor”.

What will that do to the system though? Life isn't black and white. We progressives need to understand that to challenge Republicans. For example, in systems engineering there is common problem known as 'feedback'. In complex systems the output commonly gets fed back into the input causing instability. Put a microphone next to a speaker and you'll quickly understand this.

So in this case if people don't go to the doctor because it's complex process of paperwork and payments doctors offices are 'relatively' uncrowded.

But if you remove these complexities and people start going to doctor more often then there becomes a higher demand with a smaller supply and the price suddenly goes up for medical care.

In engineering there is also a concept known as 'negative feedback' that helps create stability. Video games often use this concept to try and match the 'bots' skill level to the players. It makes me wonder if a solution to crowding doctor offices with universal healthcare could be solved with some type of new negative feedback?

My basic question is what will your statement do to the system? Do you not care? The ends don't always justify the means.



doctors (Steve Nelson - 4/4/2006 11:29:02 PM)
doctors offices are ‘relatively’ uncrowded

btw, in my opinion doctor's offices are currently crowded. It commonly takes women 4-6 weeks to book a GYN appointment. That's out of control.



This figure of 45 mi (Tom MOstyn - 4/4/2006 11:29:02 PM)
This figure of 45 million people w/o healthcare is not accurate.  It comes from the Census Bureau who admits that they are ill equipped to count uninsured numbers, a complex problem.

First, they admit that health insurance is likely underreported in their CPS (Current Population Survey).  It is a larger problem in the CPS than in other national surveys that ask about healthcare.  One possible reason for this disparity is the fact that the Census Bureau focuses on income, rather than healthcare.

Also, the Census Bureau underreports those covered by Medicare/Medicaid.  This is known from Medicare/Medicaid enrollment that the Census Bureau is underreporting those covered by Medicare/Medicaid by almost 20 million!

A more accurate estimate comes from the CBO which is about 20 million uninsured.  CBO distinguishes between those uninsured for short periods of time (a few months) and those uninsured longer periods of time (a year).

IMO this is important because I don't think we should totally revamp our healthcare system for 9-13 percent of the non-elderly Americans that are uninsured for some period of time.

Most of the uninsure are working for small companies that don't offer health insurance.  Over half of these are single adults with no kids.

Note that I am not saying there isn't a problem, or that nothing should be done.  But we need accurate information to understand what the problem really is before we try and solve the problem.



Also, my guess is th (Lowell - 4/4/2006 11:29:09 PM)
Also, my guess is that most people just don't realize how bad (corrupt, incompetent, etc.) the Kilgores are.


They're not corrupt. (Steve Nelson - 4/4/2006 11:29:09 PM)
They're not corrupt. They're just "too busy" to send the requested reports!

Don't confuse that with "We need more time to forge the requested documents."



The reason this race (Steve Nelson - 4/4/2006 11:29:09 PM)
The reason this race is close is that Kilgore has spent $22 Million+ versus Kaine's $18 Million. It has to be the money, that's the only substance Kilgore has.


In other words, Tim (Lowell - 4/4/2006 11:29:09 PM)
In other words, Tim Kaine has heart, courage, and a brain.  No need to travel to the Emerald City for him.  Jerry Kilgore, on the other hand?  No doubt he's got a brain, the questions are about his heart (lack of compassion) and courage (afraid to show his face in public; terrified of debating Tim Kaine).  Perhaps we should call him the "cowardly scarecrow?"  What a contrast with Tim Kaine...why is this race even close?!?


Kilgore, like Bush i (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:29:09 PM)
Kilgore, like Bush is a creation of his party ideology.  People don't want to believe that an idea that promised as much as conservatism could deliver as little as it has in the hands of the national GOP, and local stooges like Kilgore.

When will conservatives realize that fiscal and social responsibility are the domain of Democrats like Tim Kaine?



Laura: "Oh my God, g (Matusleo - 4/4/2006 11:29:10 PM)
Laura: "Oh my God, get your hand out of my dress!"

Charles: "Heh heh heh!"



Hmmm, this fine is t (Matusleo - 4/4/2006 11:29:10 PM)
Hmmm, this fine is the last thing Kaine needed at this time though.  Definitely keep pushing that Kilgore is guilty of the same thing.  Let that be the news.  Any damage Kaine will have received for this will be mitigated then.

You can definitely tell a campaign is desperate when they try to make hay out of a $100 fine.  That's barely a traffic ticket.



How about: "Hello (Doug in Mount Vernon - 4/4/2006 11:29:10 PM)
How about:

"Hello Barbara.....I mean Laura....bloody hell!"



Charles grabs a piec (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:29:10 PM)
Charles grabs a piece on his whirlwind tour of America.


Charles: Sure I gav (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:29:10 PM)
Charles:  Sure I gave her the pills, but I told her to only take two.


Would you mind if i (Steve Nelson - 4/4/2006 11:29:10 PM)
Would you mind if i kept my stick next to yours for a while?


Laura: Brains! Mus (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:29:10 PM)
Laura:  Brains!  Must... Eat... Brains...


"A monstrous carbunc (Mary - 4/4/2006 11:29:10 PM)
"A monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend."


Charles: See, the p (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:29:10 PM)
Charles:  See, the problem was Bill didn't dump Hillary and marry Monica.  That's what I did, it worked out great!  Like I was telling George, that Condi is one hot piece... ahem... oh...  look at the time.


These new Stepford m (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:29:10 PM)
These new Stepford models always short out when you touch them right... here.


Dear me, I got a bet (Adam Sharp - 4/4/2006 11:29:10 PM)
Dear me, I got a better reaction out of Nancy.


I say, Camilla (SoccerMom - 4/4/2006 11:29:10 PM)

I say, Camilla just told me she saw Condi giving George a blow-job.  Camilla is worried that if this gets out, George might be impeached...



Yikes! Here comes Je (Jenny - 4/4/2006 11:29:10 PM)
Yikes! Here comes Jerry the Duck.


Barry: It's gone. S (Lowell - 4/4/2006 11:29:11 PM)
Barry:  It's gone. Sorry for any (unintentional) misuse of your logo, if that was indeed the case.


The logo used on thi (Barry Hagge - 4/4/2006 11:29:11 PM)
The logo used on this page is the logo of the  Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc. VVA, Inc. is a 501 C(19) non-profit corporation that does not and is not allowed to endorse political candates.  Please cease using this logo immediately. 

Barry Hagge
National Secretary



Josh, I agree that s (Teddy - 4/4/2006 11:29:11 PM)
Josh, I agree that sleaze politics should be left behind, most definitely in this day and age when the United States and the American dream is under such venomous attack from both within and without our borders. But... the lowest common denominator still applies, and that is what the Scott Howells of the world have reduced us to. He is, no matter what, the most sought-after Republican political consultant, beloved of Rove who, as we all know, "made" Dubya what he is today, President of the United States, and nothing succeeds like success. The rejection you and I hope for should start in Virginia, but it will have to go way beyond the Old Dominion. And the rejection will only succeed if we can replace the sleaze with a strong positive political vision and what I have heard called "social justice." That is, resuscitate The American Promise.


I think it's somethi (Mary - 4/4/2006 11:29:11 PM)
I think it's something we should not blow out of proportion (though I'm sure the opposition will try to intimidate us with it).  It is a very token response to a rather small issue.  For instance, here is what Washington Post reporter Michael Shearer said when asked about this on his online chat:

"I'm not sure this will have much impact at this point. The Kaine campaign was fined $100, and the issue referred to prosecutors. This kind of thing happens frequently in elections and rarely affects the outcome."



Hell, if it's a only (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:29:11 PM)
Hell, if it's a only $100 bucks... Kilgore can afford to send out hundreds of these flyers.


Tony - thanks for to (Lowell - 4/4/2006 11:29:15 PM)
Tony - thanks for towing the Kilgore line.  Guess he'll owe you one after the election. 

This is the same crap we've been treated to by the Kilgore team the past few days.  Potts is a conservative and you know it - he's not an alternate choice for democrats or moderates.  And since it's clear you're a Kilgore supporter we can only hope you are true to your word and pull the lever for Potts.



For the (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:29:15 PM)
For the record, SurveyUSA goes into the clubhouse with its final
projection (based on Saturday, Sunday and Monday polling): Kaine 50%, Kilgore
45%
. A closer outcome still is possible.

Kaine 50%, Kilgore 45% - I'll take it!



Tony: Tim Kaine has (Lowell - 4/4/2006 11:29:15 PM)
Tony:  Tim Kaine has said a MILLION times that - despite being a religious Roman Catholic -- he is against criminalizing abortion.  Period.  What else do you want?


Just an FYI -- DISHo (Maura in VA - 4/4/2006 11:29:15 PM)
Just an FYI -- DISHonest Leadership for Virginai PAC (the front group for the Republican Governor's Association) has a new robocall out tonight -- this one urging Democratic or pro-choice voters to vote for Russ Potts because, according to them, he's the only pro-choice candidate in the race.  It also mentions that Kaine was not endorsed by NARAL-VA.

It's critical to email and call all of your pro-choice friends (even those who may not be very political) to let them know that Kaine IS pro-choice and that these are deceptive calls by a national REPUBLICAN Governor's group. 



I overheard some fol (Teddy - 4/4/2006 11:29:15 PM)
I overheard some folks saying it this campaign had all been so negative (meaning on both sides, in their view) they were going to stay home, or vote for Potts, but a short time later it was became pretty clear that was almost an obligatory whine, along with "can't we do better than these guys?" Of course I asked if they agreed that Warner had inherited a godawful mess. Yes. Didn't Warner do a good job? Oh, yes. Kaine was Warner's principal aide and is his logical successor, endorsed by Warner. Oh. Do you want to continue forward, or do you want to go back to the Gilmore days? God, no. Then vote for Kaine and every Democrat you see. Okay. Let's go, gang!


Ah, this is so excit (Matusleo - 4/4/2006 11:29:15 PM)
Ah, this is so exciting!  I am so pumped about seeing the final poll results (AKA  the election) as they come in tomorrow night.  Iso wish I could be down there with you guys working my tail off to make this happen.  I've told my family and friends down in the state how important it is that Kaine win.  I can only hope that they listen!


OK OK...it is good n (Doug in Mount Vernon - 4/4/2006 11:29:15 PM)
OK OK...it is good news...BUT DON'T STOP WORKING!!  If Kaine really does reach 52%, we may just pull 6-8 new Democratic delegates along with him!

Every vote must be produced, and we must not stop working like hell!



I'm with Waldo and t (KathyinBlacksburg - 4/4/2006 11:29:15 PM)
I'm with Waldo and the Carville quote.  BTW: You are all awesome at RK.  And at Waldo's site.  Long live raisingkiane.com and waldo.jaquith.org

As I've said before (and ripped off from Wayne's World), "I'm Not Worthy"!



What is a Schneike? (Jonathan Mark - 4/4/2006 11:29:15 PM)


Friends, we have one (Chris from ASL - 4/4/2006 11:29:15 PM)
Friends, we have one more day of work...then we should all relax at about 7 p.m. tommorrow.


I will be up all nig (RickyD - 4/4/2006 11:29:15 PM)
I will be up all night getting ready for GOTV.  I want Creigh to win so bad, just to show them that money and negative ads don't beat public service and integrity.


"When your opponent (Waldo Jaquith - 4/4/2006 11:29:15 PM)
"When your opponent is drowning, throw him an anvil." -James Carville


What, you mean Surve (Lowell - 4/4/2006 11:29:15 PM)
What, you mean Survey USA is part of the "conspiracy" as well, just like the Washington Post and Roanoke College and the blogs and...ha ha.


actually their monda (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:29:15 PM)
actually their monday poll was a much smaller sampling of potential voters.  as I recall, there were 646 in this morning's post and only 840 tonight.  not much of a difference, but obviously more in this small new group were  leaning the wrong way.


This is great news f (Brian - 4/4/2006 11:29:15 PM)
This is great news for us.  Now its time to get all those people answering the poll questions out to cast their ballots.

GOTV!



Nobody knows, but wh (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:29:15 PM)
Nobody knows, but when you find a holy one, you better Watch OUT!!!


Wow craziness. 9 poi (Steve Nelson - 4/4/2006 11:29:16 PM)
Wow craziness. 9 points then 5 points! Sounds to me like the sample size was too small. Shifts that large in 8 hours don't make any sense.


Take a look at http: (blueinthecommonwealth_VA - 4/4/2006 11:29:19 PM)
Take a look at http://blueinva.blogspot.com for more info about WHY this isn't done with yet!


Listen, I have told (Jonathan Mark - 4/4/2006 11:29:19 PM)
Listen, I have told everyone here before. The AG is not a cop. He cannot arrest anyone. His employees cannot arrest anyone. The state police chief does not report to him.



I am so very proud o (Jen Little - 4/4/2006 11:29:19 PM)
I am so very proud of Creigh, and he very much deserves the position. 

I am so glad he insists on the recount. 

I cannot express verbally how much respect I have for Creigh.  He is an awesome man, and I really hope that the recount makes him our next AG.  With Creigh we will have someone looking out for us and our children in the position.



Lowell, Josh and Co, (mia - 4/4/2006 11:29:20 PM)
Lowell, Josh and Co, I was just thinking- You guys run a very effective blog, and this obviously was a godsend to the Kaine Campaign in its victory on Tues.

Why not continue the success of this blog to the greater good of the mid-term elections next year?
This blog would definately help the Dem candidates as it did for Tim Kaine. Maybe, with a new focus and name change to RaisingDemocrats?

Please consider this. Give this some thought. Don't fold your tent, please. I'm sure others here would generously contribute to keep this blog going strong.



Jenny- If you hav (Steve Nelson - 4/4/2006 11:29:20 PM)
Jenny-

If you haven't already, send your contact info over to Lowell/Josh let them know you're interested in helping to grow RaisingKaine into something bigger.



I may print this one (OnBackground - 4/4/2006 11:29:21 PM)
I may print this one out and save it.  If/when lower oil prices spark another economic spurt, if/when the Iraqi battations are rapidly replacing American troops and they come home, and other things turn (as they always do) giving the electorate a new outlook -- if the Republicans say like gain seats in Congress, this will be fun reading.  The one constant in this game is change.  Political obituaries for parties or presidents end up at the bottom of bird cages. (Just as the obit for the Virginia Democratic Party was written prematurely with the R's grabbed control under Gilmore.)


"It was (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:29:21 PM)
"It was all about the suburbs," said Kaine pollster Peter Brodnitz, when asked whether he was surprised Kaine had won in Loudoun and Prince William counties, usually safe havens for a Republican candidate. "The whole strategy was designed for those people."

Although those voters may be socially conservative, Brodnitz said the more important issues for them are those that affect why they live where they live. That led to Kaine proposals on property tax relief, on spending more money on education, and to respond to their complaints about growth and traffic.

By contrast, Warner recalled how Kilgore made comments at the end of the campaign that he was the "pro-gun-owner, anti-tax, limited-government, anti-illegal-immigration, pro-public-safety, pro-death-penalty . . . trust-the-people conservative."

"Ninety-eight percent of the job is how you balance the budget, how you educate kids, how you deal with transportation," Warner said. "People like to see stuff getting done."

People want their elected representatives to get things done.  You can only go so far by dealing in wedge issues.  In Virginia, the majority now believes that we have gone far enough.

The Republican party isn't dead, but the reactionary radical movement that has propelled it for the last 30 years deserves to be.  Bush is the fulfillment of all Conservatives dreams come true.  Conservatives can't blame the failures and weakness of the last 5 years on Bush.  This nightmare was created and responsbility must be shared by the Conservative Movement as a whole.



Jenny, do get in tou (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:29:21 PM)
Jenny, do get in touch with lowell:  poldir@raisingkaine.com.
Thanks for the kind words.  We've got big plans.


I say we keep it Rai (Jen Little - 4/4/2006 11:29:21 PM)
I say we keep it Raising Kaine. 

Kaine was the man that brought us all together.  He is the Governor-Elect.  It is like any other monument to great leaders.

NONE of us will forget the election of 2005 and it is Tim Kaine that made that happen. 

So if I get to vote I say keep it "Raising Kaine".  It is a symbol for Raising Democrats, but the name remains the same!  It has meaning and a rich history!



As a VA Ex-pat (doin (Evan M - 4/4/2006 11:29:21 PM)
As a VA Ex-pat (doing a stint in NYC), I use Raisine Kaine to keep an eye on Democratic politics at home, and it's been a godsend. I thik there's probably a good number of us with ties to Virginia (UVA, Va Tech, JMU, VCU alumni etc. come to mind) who want to do our part from afar and Raising Kaine helps us do that.

And if we're lucky, and will eventually be able to move home to Virginia, I'll be using Raising Kaine to find my local Democrats before I even arrive.

Keep up the great work!

- Evan M.



To hell with new nam (Hoya90 - 4/4/2006 11:29:21 PM)
To hell with new names - LET'S KEEP UP THE PRESSURE FOR CREIGH DEEDS' RECOUNT!!  We've still got one more race to win this year!


I agree with Hoya, G (RickyD - 4/4/2006 11:29:21 PM)
I agree with Hoya, Go Creigh!


I agree with Jen and (Kip - 4/4/2006 11:29:21 PM)
I agree with Jen and Kate: keep Raising Kaing, Raising Kaine. I think it has been a joy to read this blog and read information on VA and occasionally national politics.

Now that Kaine has won the governor's office, in many ways the most difficult battles are still to come. Transportation, education, health care these isssues present colossal challenges and we could all benefit from reading about Tim Kain's efforts to move Virginia forward. Also it would be good to follow the votes in the house of delegates.

Finally, my one criticism is that every once in a while this blog goes a little over top. Now I know this is the nature of blogs, but let us be better than the other side. One of the most heartening effects of this election was Kilgore's outlandish death penalty coming back to bite him. Let the Republicans broadcast vicious fabrications; we just have to make sure people know the facts. But we don't need to lose our sense of humor.

Take care



Yeah, sorry, I nearl (mia - 4/4/2006 11:29:21 PM)
Yeah, sorry, I nearly forgot about Creigh Deeds. Is there any way we can help him?

About the name of the blog, RaisingDemocrats was a suggestion. For me it could be anything, even not changing the name would be fine. My central point was to keep the excellent work done by this blog alive.

For some suggestions on 2006, this blog could help train our focus on vulnerable Repubs in the House and Senate, and blog and share info on how to defeat them. Two senators that would be prime targets for me are Rick Santorum (PA) and Conrad Burns (Montana). We've a realistic chance of picking up 5 seats in the senate if we work very hard. The key is to start early by framing the issues and the candidates.

My House prime target for defeat is Tom DeLay (TX). We also have a great chance this year of gaining at least 10 seats in the House.

That's where the blogs come in place in helping to shape and sharpen our message.

We could also have sections on every state where Democrats are competing, with regular posts from those states giving us some feedback.

Mainly, the general format of RaisingKaine should stay the same. I think its great, but with a broader focus. That's all.

Thanks for the good work.



I am watching Deeds (Jen Little - 4/4/2006 11:29:21 PM)
I am watching Deeds Recount!!!

All those who can read, accross the state - make sure your Cemocratic committees are present at the recounts!!!!!!!!!!



What are people's th (Sam Penney - 4/4/2006 11:29:21 PM)
What are people's thoughts about trying to unite various Virginia progressive PACs into one larger, more powerful one?  Worth trying?  A waste of time?


I hope they would pu (Teddy - 4/4/2006 11:29:21 PM)
I hope they would put their money where their mouth is.  We could have done so much more if we'd just had the funds for a bigger broadband and for more of those ads and flyers during the last month. All of us here at RK appreciate your comments. Thank you


PS Any name you toss (KathyinBlacksburg - 4/4/2006 11:29:23 PM)
PS Any name you toss about on the web will be scooped up by those either wanting big bucks for the release of the name or not wanting you to have it.  Maybe suggestions should be made  off the blog and the winner announced when it's already registered.  Just a thought...


Okay, I'm contributi (Teddy - 4/4/2006 11:29:23 PM)
Okay, I'm contributing yet again to the PAC, and I want to see those ads and other helpful efforts used to even greater effect over the next year for advocacy and to help progressives running for office here in Virginia. Not being affiliated with any campaign or party RK can do and say things a campaign cannot or will not. Such activity is overdue. 


Teddy: Thank you ver (Sam Penney - 4/4/2006 11:29:23 PM)
Teddy: Thank you very much!

Chris:  I like it!



Suggestion: if Creig (Chris from ASL - 4/4/2006 11:29:23 PM)
Suggestion: if Creigh runs for Governor in 2008, could you call this blog "Good Deeds?"


Bush is deadweight f (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:29:30 PM)
Bush is deadweight for the Republicans, but don't ever forget that he EMBODIES conservatism better than any other politician in history.

Bush will sink Republican campaigns, but conservatism should sink Republican campaigns.



Question: would it (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:29:30 PM)
Question:  would it be better to post each of these line items separately to encourage more comments?


Josh, thanks for all (Nichole - 4/4/2006 11:29:30 PM)
Josh, thanks for all of the info this morning!!!!!!!


Where are sample bal (OnBackground - 4/4/2006 11:29:30 PM)
Where are sample ballots prohibited?  They are specifically allowed under Virginia law if they meet certain criteria (all the candidates must be listed, same ballot order, certain type sizes, etc.) I've often been asked by a voter going into the polls for the party's sample ballot (and so have the poll workers for the other party.)


New total - 436 at 1 (RickyD - 4/4/2006 11:29:30 PM)
New total - 436 at 11/14 at 1pm.


Mr. Forrester is not (g - 4/4/2006 11:29:30 PM)
Mr. Forrester is not the only one with reservations about the President's popularity: Representative J.D. Hayworth, from Arizona, said last Tuesday that he wouldn't want Bush campaigning for him.

http://www.illmethinks.com

g



Thanks, I'm consider (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:29:30 PM)
Thanks, I'm considering making this a regular feature.  "Virginia Sunrise".  Any thoughts?


This is a GREAT feat (Lowell - 4/4/2006 11:29:30 PM)
This is a GREAT feature, Josh.  Excellent work!


Adam: Getting ahead (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:29:31 PM)
Adam:
Getting ahead of ourselves?  I'm just providing an overview of the news of the day with some light commentary.

I'm not sure where this "getting ahead of ourselves" comment is coming from, but I agree with the Staunton News Leader, Mark Warner is just dreamy.



Matt: "Cut and Ru (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:29:31 PM)
Matt:

"Cut and Run" is a republican strawman, set up to cover the irresponsibility and weakness of their handling of this quagmire that has gutted America's future under the ignorant name of "Staying the Course".

The Democrats want responsibility, accountability and realistic goals for this Iraq war, and have even proposed a clear approach in the Senate.

The approach is so clear, powerful and on target, that the Republicans have taken it up as their own.  When you're in power you get to take credit for the hard work of the smarter and more honest Senators in the Minority.

The Republicans are salivating over Hillary's money raising prowess.  Her $15M in the bank is the envy of the political world.  The corrupt republican leadership sold their souls for much less.

Dean's new ideas have been all about fundraising.  Before Dean the Republicans outraised the Dems by 3 to 1.  Under Dean's leadership the Republicans lead in fundraising by 2 to 1, and that doesn't account for the Millions of dollars that Dean has funneled into the State Party coffers.

Watch the DCCC's Campaign for Change unfold over the course of the '06 season.  Americans want a Democratic congress to hold the republicans accountable for the abuses, corruption and cronyism with which they infested our federal government.



8/29/05 I think was (David Lang - 4/4/2006 11:29:31 PM)
8/29/05 I think was hurricane Katrina.


Josh - Overall looks (Ron - 4/4/2006 11:29:31 PM)
Josh - Overall looks like a winner.  I recommend consulting your local techies on the matter of format, comments, and maintenance ;-)


With Warner taking t (Teddy - 4/4/2006 11:29:31 PM)
With Warner taking the lead we may be able to cut short the endless Republican framing and spin, spin, spin that has subverted even the mass media.

Example:I heard an interview on WTOP tday with an editor from TIME magazine explaining how Warner was named 1 of 5 top state governors in America. Not once did the editor mention Warner was a fiscally responsible DEMOCRAT, in fact the word Democrat was never used. But Bush and Republican were, and the editor linked fiscal responsibility to Republicanism, and Warner's bipartisan budget successes in Virginia to Bush's efforts as Gov. of Texas! You'd have thought, if unfamiliar with the facts, that Warner was a Republican. I couldn't believe it, called WTOP to protest such a lousy and misleading interview, but the interview was repeated throughout the day with no side comments clarifying the editor's words. We really have our work cut out for us.



What happened on 8/2 (Jonathan Mark - 4/4/2006 11:29:31 PM)
What happened on 8/29/05?


If Warner's efforts (Conaway - 4/4/2006 11:29:31 PM)
If Warner's efforts simply position him better for 2008 and don't translate into a new agenda for DPVA, then it's all for naught really. The Dems have gained a few seats in the last election, reversing a decades-old trend, but unless the party makes a wholesale shift to MW's brand of Democrat, then the GA will still be in GOP hands for years to come.

DPVA must learn the lesson that the DNC didn't in the Clinton years - one man does not a party make. You've got to do the yeomanlike work of party-building if you want to be the majority and enact all of the changes you want. Otherwise, while Warner goes Forward Together, Virginia will still be going backward under GOP legislative rule.

-- Conaway



Will, I couldn't agr (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:29:31 PM)
Will, I couldn't agree with you more.

In '94 the first item in the conservative movement's "Contract with America" was fiscal responsibility.  Look at the bloody mess, cronyism, corruption, and incompetence has made of our national finances.

The Conservative Republican Majority has squandered our future, our heritage, and our good name worldwide. 

A government of the people, by the people, and for the people is what we can expect from a Democratic Majority.

America is stronger with our powerful military leading by example, with our budgets balanced, with our nation united, with our meritocracy intact.  None of those things are possible under the Conservative Majority's Culture of Corruption (tm).

With Democrats at the helm under Bill Clinton, we had 8 years of unprecedented unity, peace, and international strength.

As I'm fond of saying: 

9/11/2001, 8/29/2005 feel safer yet?



Paul! WELCOME BAC (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:29:31 PM)
Paul!

WELCOME BACK!

where have you been!?

WE'VE MISSED YOU!



AG update 11/15: htt (Chris from ASL - 4/4/2006 11:29:31 PM)
AG update 11/15: http://sbe.vipnet.org/index.htm

Gap now sits at 357.



"Cut and run" is the (Teddy - 4/4/2006 11:29:31 PM)
"Cut and run" is the Republican effort at framing, which again is being accepted by gullible folks in and out of the mass media (and, it appears, other places as well). Don't accept this phony frame, no matter how often self-appointed bumpkins repeat it (even the Top Bumpkin). Remember how much was made of Bush's "business style" and his having an MBA (from Hahvahd, but let's not talk about that, eh?) Well, where is the business plan for post-invasion Iraq? Mr. Bush never planned more than one move ahead, an utterly fatal approach in any campaign, whether business or war. And now, to stigmatize efforts TO plan ahead more than one move are being stigmatized with adolescent machismo as "Cut and Run?" Give me a break, guys.


Matt: Today the H (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:29:32 PM)
Matt:

Today the House Democrats unveiled their "Innovation Agenda" for national competitiveness in the 21st century.

"Create an educated, skilled workforce in the vital areas of science, math, engineering, and information technology; invest in a sustained federal research and development initiative that promotes public-private partnerships; guarantee affordable access to broadband technology for all Americans; achieve energy independence in 10 years by developing emerging technologies for clean and sustainable alternatives that will strengthen national security and protect the environment; and provide small businesses with the tools to encourage entrepreneurial innovation and job creation."

This is a detailed plan with the kind of energetic messaging to stir the competitive, energetic American spirit.

I'm proud to be a Democrat.

Oh, and don't be too sure about Hillary.  She'd win everything Kerry did, plus AK and possibly MS.  But I agree, it's way too early for this discussion, and besides, I think Warner would do much better.



Check out the Dems n (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:29:32 PM)
Check out the Dems new "Innovation Agenda" here:

http://www.housedemocrats.gov/news/librarydetail.cfm?library_content_id=557



Adam: I completely (Lowell - 4/4/2006 11:29:32 PM)
Adam:  I completely agree with you that Democrats have absolutely NO reason to be cocky right now or to think that "we got 'em now." That's a HUGE mistake, and we'd better not make it or we're gonna stay the minority party for a looong time. 

Having said that, I don't believe you're seeing that here, at least not from Josh or me.  Quite the contrary, I think both Josh and I believe that Dems need to push a strong "Positive Progressive politics in the vein of Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, RFK and Mark Warner," if we are going to establish ourselves as an alternative to the radical right-wing "conservatives" once and for all.  That way, we can connect with "Kansans," not just keep asking ourselves, "What's wrong with Kansas?" 



why the pic of great (nat - 4/4/2006 11:29:36 PM)
why the pic of great falls?


Well, I am 14 right (David Lang - 4/4/2006 11:29:36 PM)
Well, I am 14 right now and I started to like politics in like the first month of the school. My civics teacher is the person that inspired me. He was talking about the two parties and Tim Kaine and Jerry Kilgore, then I thought it was interesting, so I looked up Tim Kaine(because I was a democrat, I think) and found this site.


David: Believe it o (Lowell - 4/4/2006 11:29:36 PM)
David:  Believe it or not, I was a Teenage Republican (TAR) in Connecticut during the 1970s. I worked to help elect Ford/Dole in 1976, and also attended Sen. Lowell Weicker's summer intern program in Washington DC.  What really got me going on politics was an awesome 8th grade social studies teacher.  He had us follow the Democratic primaries in 1975/76, the one in which "Jimmy Who" eventually came out on top.  It was fascinating, and I was hooked.  Oh, I also loved the game "Landslide," where you tried to win enough Electoral Votes to capture the White House. 

Anyway, I stayed a (liberal/moderate) Connecticut Republican until 1980, when a bunch of right-wing hooligans and know-nothings took over the party.  Then I became an Independent, voting for John Anderson in 1980.  After that, I pretty much cast protest votes throughout the 1980s, as I wasn't thrilled with the Dem. nominees but I also thoroughly disapproved of Ronald Reagan's irresponsible fiscal policy and his overall embrace of the so-called "Southern strategy" formerly practiced by the "Dixiecrats." 

In 1992, Bill Clinton was my #3 or #4 choice for the Dem. nomination (Paul Tsongas was #1), but still, I was glad Clinton won after 12 years of Reagan/Bush.  By the late 1990s, I had definitely concluded that I was a Teddy Roosevelt Progressive, not a "liberal" or a "conservative" as they had come to be defined.  I also had concluded that I had eclectic views, and could not be pigeonholed neatly into one party of the other.  And that's where I am now, which I'm sure makes just about nobody happy.  Oh well! :)



What a great questio (Teddy - 4/4/2006 11:29:36 PM)
What a great question! I started out as a Republican because my family were among the original founders of the Republican Party before the Civil War; my father was a Reserve officer called to active duty in 1941 in the run-up to World War II, and we knew it was coming, so much of our dinner table conversation was political, but he always said the great thing about the American military was that it was totally subject to civilian control, so we never voted or took part in politics (but we sure had opinions!). I got my degree in political science and actually worked as a political analyst, but did not even vote until I returned to the DC Metro area after Viet-Nam. And the more I saw, the more I became distressed and uneasy with the way the Republican Party was changing before my eyes. After a failed try at hauling the Republicans back to the middle ground, I became an independent, and then decided the only way we would get rid of the rightwing destroying America was to join and work with the only (more-or-less) organized opposition, i.e., the Democratic Party. What tipped me over the edge were: ballooning deficits, endless lies, invasion of Iraq, apparent misogyny of the Republicans, separaton of Church & State, the outting of Victoria Plame, and the torture of Abu Ghraib, and, finally, the obvious incompetence of Bush combined with the hair-raising political philosophy of the entire neo-con establishment. Could not stomach any of it, so here I am.


btw, for tomorrow's (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:29:36 PM)
btw, for tomorrow's roundup, I'm going to break it up into tiny little snippets to make it easier to comment.


I grew up in a fairl (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:29:36 PM)
I grew up in a fairly political climate.  My grandparents were New York mill workers and I spent my summers at the summercamp run for kids of working folks in the northeast.

I organized my first political demonstration at the age of 7, when my elementary school was sold off to a private institution and I had to get bussed away.  My three friends and I actually picketed outside my elementary school for about a half hour.  We got no coverage, but we had a great time before we broke up and played some football before we had to go home.

I took a break from politics and concentrated on my education and my business career until a friend of mine recruited me to run his campaign for city council in Charlottesville.  Ever since then I've been as active politically as time, money, my wife and the tech bubble bust could allow.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.



I know this is a kin (David Lang - 4/4/2006 11:29:36 PM)
I know this is a kind of a personal question but, how/when did you guys first started to injoy politics and who inspired you.

I just wanted to know because I'm starting to like politics and i want to see if you guys started out like me.



It's just a nice Vir (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:29:36 PM)
It's just a nice Virginia Afternoon, nat.

I didn't want to spoil anyone's dinner with a picture of Dick Cheney.



Yes, excellent move (Lowell - 4/4/2006 11:30:01 PM)
Yes, excellent move by President...er Governor Warner on the merits of this case.  The whole thing was all screwed up, way WAY too much doubt to be absolutely certain the man was guily of the crime.  Thank goodness Jerry Kilgore wasn't governor...


i have to say this i (Steve Nelson - 4/4/2006 11:30:01 PM)
i have to say this is one of those situations where i regain hope for the American system. Our system isn't simple, it isn't perfect, but the concept of checks and balances is well designed.

This guy Lovitt isn't going to walk free on our streets, but at least the state won't do something it may regret.



All politics aside. (Jen Little - 4/4/2006 11:30:01 PM)
All politics aside.  The death penalty is a serious punishment reserved for a serious crime.  If there is any doubt at all regarding guilt one cannot be executed. 

His Excellency did the right thing, yet again!



This is also a polis (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:30:01 PM)
This is also a polisher for Warner's Presidential campaign.  While Warner has proven himself a steadfast supporter of the death penalty in Virginia, this act of Clemency shows that he's no right-wing death-penalty zealot.  In the '08 Democratic primaries Warner would have come under severe attack from the left wing as one of the most killinest Governors in the country.  This act of clemency defuses that attack.

I don't know how Warner makes his decisions.  There is a man's life on the line.  This is a win for Warner however you read it.  It shows wisdom, strength, courage and it gives Warner ongoing national headline coverage.  This is a powerful progressive position made from the sensible center by Virginia's own Mark Warner. 



I'm gonna try this s (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:30:02 PM)
I'm gonna try this same kinda thing tomorrow, but with separate postings.

There's just too much here to comment on, I think.

Josh



The emporer is going (Steve Nelson - 4/4/2006 11:30:02 PM)
The emporer is going commando in another man's fatigues.


Bush is very Cartman (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:30:02 PM)
Bush is very Cartmanesque:

"Respect my authoritaaaay!"



Josh - the AP agrees (Rob - 4/4/2006 11:30:02 PM)
Josh - the AP agrees with your point: "Bush's speech did not break new ground or present a new strategy."

http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20051129175309990006



Nothing new here... (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:30:02 PM)
Nothing new here...

move along...  nothing to see.



Matt: The republi (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:30:02 PM)
Matt:

The republicans are fighting the wrong war and it can't be won. 

The battle is against al-qaeda and it's taking place in 30 countries around the world.  By occupying Iraq, we've created a training ground for terrorists, a potentially nationally bankrupting money-pit, and the greatest strategic blunder in American history.

Hillary Clinton is one of the smartest politicians in the history of this nation.  She got swallowed up by a Republican congress intent on destroying National Healthcare and anything Liberal.  The last thing she's going to do is give them ANY excuse to label her "Weak on Defense".  The real weakness on defense is with our embattled president and his rubber-stamp congress who have completely failed to understand who we're fighting, how they need to be fought, and why the Bush "course" has stripped America of it's moral leadership and threatens to strip America of world leadership altogether. 

Here's a hint:

George Washington never tortured his captured enemies.  Consider that when you wonder about Bush's place in history.



2005 Sorensen fellow (Waldo Jaquith - 4/4/2006 11:30:20 PM)
2005 Sorensen fellow, Mechanicsville resident, and ass-kicking Democrat Doug Smith is on the executive committee of Heifer International.

Just calling up the local connection. :)



"Be the change" you (Teddy - 4/4/2006 11:30:20 PM)
"Be the change" you seek. Great post, Josh. Let the Big Important Guys negotiate and bomb their self-important way to "victory." It's the little changes one person or family at time that will accomplish the victory we seek. Thanks.


You da man Waldo. I (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:30:20 PM)
You da man Waldo.  I wouldn't have even thought to look.  How DO you know these things?


I guess we'll have t (Neal2028 - 4/4/2006 11:30:29 PM)
I guess we'll have to resign ourselves to Boucher beating Carrico instead, Adam.


haha, can i somehow (Mark T. Blair - 4/4/2006 11:30:29 PM)
haha, can i somehow vote against him for partner of williams mullen?  I'll look into that...


Constant spin from t (Rob - 4/4/2006 11:30:36 PM)
Constant spin from the Veep.


Cheney's ploy to usu (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:30:36 PM)
Cheney's ploy to usurp reality from the lying media failed, so he hustled on back and used his influence in the senate to gut Medicare and Medicaid.

Good times for Dick!



LOL! Full disclos (Greg - 4/4/2006 11:30:37 PM)
LOL!

Full disclosure: I got myself 'expelled' from day care when I was 9 for doing exactly that.  :)

Greg Priddy



Now that's funny. C (Rob - 4/4/2006 11:30:37 PM)
Now that's funny.  Candy Cane Davis is going to be mad at him!


Never call it "ANWR" (Rob - 4/4/2006 11:30:37 PM)
Never call it "ANWR" or any other industrial-sounding acronym.  That's an "elephant" frame to make it sounds like an industrial zone to the public. 

It's the Artic Wildlife Refuge to you and me.



How many times do th (Lowell - 4/4/2006 11:30:37 PM)
How many times do they have to defeat it?  As many as it freakin' takes, that's my attitude.  But what a waste of time over so little oil in the grand scheme of things.  Why would anyone in their right minds, except for greedy oil companies and Senators from Alaska, want to despoil the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for a few years of oil and few billion dollars in profits?  Uhhh...guess I just answered my own question. D'oh!

Seriously, though, I can't emphasize enough the following irrefutable fact:  We. Can't. Drill. Our. Way. Out. Of. This. Period.



Of course, Novak cou (Rob - 4/4/2006 11:30:49 PM)
Of course, Novak could be sounding an exagerrated alarm to keep Lott from retiring (much like Novak has sounded "worries" about K. Harris to get her to pull out of her race).


Lott sees a Republic (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:30:49 PM)
Lott sees a Republican party without an agenda and without a core.  A dream devoid of soul is a shell.  At 65 who wants to lead that?


That picture puts a (Steve Nelson - 4/4/2006 11:30:49 PM)
That picture puts a halo over Lott's head! Did Raising Kaine recently saint Trent Lott?

:-)



Steve: Conservati (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:30:49 PM)
Steve:

Conservatives did that years ago.



Aww, Matt, you're ri (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:30:49 PM)
Aww, Matt, you're right, I'm way off base.

We should be randomly bombing the Middle East, if not that, why did the founding fathers frame the Constitution?  And what's more American than "torture as a spectator sport", I'll call up ma and get some ice cream and Apple Pie.

Now that Monday Night Football's off the air, we gotta have something to keep us going through these cold winter nights.  Hell, I can't keep watching the Manchurian Candidate, The Marathon Man and Syrianna over and over.  c'mon NBC you keep putting Coulter on, you keep Tim Russert on spouting Bush/Mehlman talking points... How about some REAL entertainment!

Let's feed some Arabs to the Lions while we're at it, and maybe some Sunday night Crucifictions for old time's sake!

Nothing says down home good times like drivin' a spike through blood and veins.



1. Agree that she i (nova_middle_man - 4/4/2006 11:30:49 PM)
1.  Agree that she is extreme
2.  How many Howard Dean or Michael Moore quotes do you need
3.  There are kooks on both sides
4.  Happy New Year


Find one Dean or Moo (Rob - 4/4/2006 11:30:49 PM)
Find one Dean or Moore quote that comes close to this quote advocating racial profiling, genocide, and imprisoning political opponents.

However, there are other kooks to be sure.

Happy New Year.



Couldn't disagree wi (JC - 4/4/2006 11:30:49 PM)
Couldn't disagree with you more: she is both un-American and stupid.


I often wonder if sh (Steve Nelson - 4/4/2006 11:30:49 PM)
I often wonder if she really believes the things she says or not? There is no doubt she makes a ton of money from Fox news.

How can someone this crazy get so much air time? Americans must love drama more than we will ever understand.



You know what? He's (Duke - 4/4/2006 11:30:50 PM)
You know what? He's right. He got elected -why the hell should he back off?

Bob Marhall's entire political career has been based on anti-privacy, anti-sex, anti-birth control, anti-abortion, anti-gay legislation. He didn't run away from it. Voters knew it and they elected him.

He's a nutcase, no doubt about it. But, he's their nutcase. Until the voters decide they're tired of being embarrassed by Bob Marshall's antics and elect somebody else, they get what they asked for.



And, of course, Ann (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:30:50 PM)
And, of course, Ann loves the attention.  She's almost as much a media whore as Billy O, but there's really only one O'Reilly...


It shocks me how she (Matusleo - 4/4/2006 11:30:50 PM)
It shocks me how she can get away with saying things like this.  Further, it shocks me that they invite her on to talk on national TV.  They don't invite Michael Moore on, and the things he says are far less psycho.

The reason?  Moore criticizes the GOP, while Coulter ejaculates against the Democrats.



Josh, she is the fem (Nichole - 4/4/2006 11:30:50 PM)
Josh, she is the female (yet has an adams apple) version of Bill "O'Really".


She has always disgu (Nichole - 4/4/2006 11:30:50 PM)
She has always disgusted me.
She once said "We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity. We weren't punctilious about locating and punishing only Hitler and his top officers. We carpet-bombed German cities; we killed civilians. That's war. And this is war."


As a legislator crea (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:30:50 PM)
As a legislator creating laws that effect me, he's MY nutcase.  Since I can't vote him out, I'll use every non-violent means in my power to reduce the damage he does.

If homosexuality is such an abomination shouldn't we make it a capital offense?  Forget elminiating rights for gays, we should just hang them or stone them in the public square.  Taken to the logical end, that would be any given Sunday in Bob Marshall's Virginia.

The genie's out of the bottle, folks.  Friends, neighbors, sons, brothers, teachers and on and on... the best and worst of us are gay.  The smartest and stupidest of us are gay.  The most loyal and least are gay... and everywhere in between.

Homosexuality is.  Get over it.

Is it Government's place to tell us who we can and cannot love?  If you love someone of your own sex, should you be condemned to live and die alone?

Marriage doesn't need defending against gays.  Who are these gay people who are going to come in and break up your marriage?  If gay people are coming to break up your marriage, doesn't that mean that somebody in your marriage is GAY?

Gay Marriage is illegal here, out of state Gay Marriages are not recognized.  All this will do is to set up a battle so that employers can't give benefits to the trusted loved ones of homosexual employees.

Basically, if you're gay, die broke, die alone, but die.

What's more hateful than that?



And then there's the (Teddy - 4/4/2006 11:30:50 PM)
And then there's the misogyny embedded in Marshall's world view. When you follow his anti-abortion, anti-sex, anti-contraception, anti-birth control, anti-sex education, anti-health care logic to its roots, you realize he regards women as second class citizens, somewhat less human than males, a commodity and an unfortunate necessity for propagating the species, servants of the superior class (males). Of course, this is dressed up but the bottom line is, no matter how prettily he preaches about love and marriage and sanctity of charming "good" girls, he has an antediluvian view of the world.  Is he a time traveller from the Dark Ages, perhaps?


At one time in my li (Matusleo - 4/4/2006 11:30:50 PM)
At one time in my life I actually lived in the 13th district.  It's really frustrating too, because he keeps winning by huge margins.  This guy stays in office only because of redistricting I swear. 


Chris: See (Lowell - 4/4/2006 11:30:55 PM)
Chris:  See here for a story about how there are ZERO Democrats who took Abramoff money directly.


Bagman Abramoff Gave

to ZERO Democrats



Click here, do a search for abramoff jack, and you'll see there are no Democrats there.  LOTS of money to people like Eric Cantor and George Allen, though!  Make no mistake, this is a HUGE Republican Party scandal.  That's the bottom line.


Unless i'm mistaken, (Steve Nelson - 4/4/2006 11:30:55 PM)
Unless i'm mistaken, I think Chris is right. The link from the dailykos article (same one Josh posted above) are from the cycles of 1998-2000.

The link i posted above is showing ALL receipts including years 2001-2005. He must have started donating to Democrats after 2000.

Am i misinterpreting these reports?



If public opinion ha (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:30:55 PM)
If public opinion has anything to do with it looks like heads are gonna roll...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10694301/



Here is (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:30:55 PM)
Here is a detailed look at Abramoff's lobbying, and political contributions from Abramoff, the tribes that hired him, and SunCruz Casinos, since 1999

Abramoff gave nothing personally to Democrats.  Tribes and Casinos gave to both Democrats and Republicans.



jebus! Now i'm reall (Steve Nelson - 4/4/2006 11:30:55 PM)
jebus! Now i'm really confused. There are a lot of Democrats on this list:

http://www.capitaleye.org/abramoff_recips.asp



Wow i didn't realize (Steve Nelson - 4/4/2006 11:30:55 PM)
Wow i didn't realize Democrats received nothing from Abramoff. Thanks for posting that.

Chris what is the reference for this $30,500? I don't see it on the opensecrets site Josh posted.



Interesting. Does t (chris hall - 4/4/2006 11:30:55 PM)
Interesting.  Does this mean that Allen took 1/10 the money from Abramoff (direct and indirect) that Reid did, but that Reid took his indirectly?  The table where I found the $30,500 contribution to Reid is prominently linked at opensecrets.org's main page.


George Allen is a (chris hall - 4/4/2006 11:30:55 PM)
George Allen is among the highest profile recipients of bagman Abramoff’s illicit largess.  ???

At $3000, he's an order of magnitude below Harry Reid's $30,500.

If this stable-cleaning topples everyone who received $3000 from Abramoff, then we're going to need a whole bunch of new Democrats too.



Steve: On your last (Lowell - 4/4/2006 11:30:56 PM)
Steve: On your last question, it's almost impossible to tell because the table's poorly labeled.  I would go directly to the FEC website or OpenSecrets.org.


I agree Lowell, the (Steve Nelson - 4/4/2006 11:30:56 PM)
I agree Lowell, the table is very confusing. It would be nice to somehow trace which of those contributions were direct and which ones went through third parties. I'd be willing to bet that table lists both types. btw, I got to captialeye.org, it was linked on openSecrets.org. I don't know how the two sites are related.

On another note, on capitaleye.org there is a short article mentioning MZM and Virgil Goode.



I found another site (Steve Nelson - 4/4/2006 11:30:56 PM)
I found another site with contribution details.

http://www.newsmeat.com/washington_political_donations/Jack_Abramoff.php

According to this site it backs up the dailykos article that Democrats did not take another directly from Abramoff. The capitaleye site shows Dems received money through PACs that Abramoff was affiliated with, but this is a BIG difference.

A PAC can't control which of their donors is a criminal or not.



The thing that's con (Steve Nelson - 4/4/2006 11:30:56 PM)
The thing that's confusing me about this page: http://www.capitaleye.org/abramoff_recips.asp is the "Indiv" column. Does that mean individually contributed from Abramoff or individually received by the candidate?


Steve asked: Am i (chris hall - 4/4/2006 11:30:56 PM)
Steve asked: Am i misinterpreting these reports?

I don't think so, but I admit it's a complicated issue.  I think it's unlikely that an answer to your question will emerge here, though, since the bottom line is that it's a Republican Party scandal.  I'm trying to find something that explains it a bit better, and will post it when I do.



Ya know, Commonwealt (JC - 4/4/2006 11:30:56 PM)
Ya know, Commonwealth Conservative hasn't mentioned anything about Jack Abramoff.  You'd think a prosecutor would, at the very least, have a professional interest in the case.  I guess not.


Dammit Josh, you've (JC - 4/4/2006 11:31:05 PM)
Dammit Josh, you've gone too far!

I will not stand here and listen to you insult the Dark Ages by comparing them to Bob Marshall.



I thought my parents (PM - 4/4/2006 11:31:06 PM)
I thought my parents' generation went to war in Europe to rid the world of people with ideologies similar to Marshall's.


While it’s true that (Kagro X - 4/4/2006 11:31:06 PM)
While it’s true that Marshall’s “Full Employment for Virginia Penises Act” probably won't pose a serious legislative threat any time soon, I think it ought to be dragged out into the sunlight.

Those of us here in Loudoun County would like to know where Mick Staton stands on the issue. And on the old Cosgrove miscarriage reporting requirement bill, too, while we’re at it.

Staton, the son-in-law of recently trounced ex-Delegate Dick Black, is running to fill the Senate seat vacated by Bill Mims. We’ll need to know where Staton stands on backward-assed caveman legislation like this.

Let him run on those issues here in what’s now David Poisson country.



Notice that the bill (NotFuzzy - 4/4/2006 11:31:06 PM)
Notice that the bill does not restrict sperm donations by unmarried men.  If it did, of course, married men would have to be hounded mercilessly to donate.... I wonder if the next bill would restrict such "virtual adultery" by married men.....


my bad. I definatel (Josh - 4/4/2006 11:31:06 PM)
my bad.  I definately stepped way over the line.

Well, maybe we I'll make it up next week by cheering the up-side of the Black Death.  I'll give it some thought.