Yes, I know, and idiotic because if the people like someone well enough to elect them twice, why not consecutively? A limit of two terms I can understand, but there must be considerable expense involved swapping out entire administrations every four years.
As a rare conservative on these boards (and a Virginian) I hope that Northam goes down like Madonna on her honeymoon. Gillespie is just a guy - not a firebrand for anything, so people can make of him what they want.
Northam used to be against illegal immigration, but his vote against forbidding sanctuary cities can’t be defended.
Sure it can - there’s nothing wrong with sanctuary cities. It really is reasonable that local law enforcement might often need the cooperation of undocumented people in order to solve rapes and murders, and that the public safety is better served by making sure witnesses and victims are willing to come forward without fear of being deported.
This Virginian will be voting for Northam.
Is Gillespie running pro-confederate ads? I don’t know, but I am guessing yes.
Shouldn’t conservatives support policies that keep the local police out of the federal government’s civil disputes? States’ rights and all that?
Conservatives support states’ rights only when they agree with the right. Compare the fugitive slave act. To be fair, that is likely true of liberals too. People grasp for whatever straws support their point of view. That includes me, BTW.
Wait, I thought that the politician who represented MS-13 was Steve Massengil (R).
No.
Certainly states rights is a philosophy that would oppose any attempt by the federal government to require states to enforce federal mandates, but there’s no problem if a state decides to do so and the federal government permits it.
This is because states have plenary authority and the federal government has supreme but enumerated authority. A conservative view of states rights would involve the state reserving the choice, objecting only to being compelled to act.
For many conservatives, this is true. For examples, medical marijuana and assisted suicide are both issues that should rest with the state and not the federal government, but conservatives reliably seek federal regulation (or banning) in these areas.
But that doesn’t mean there is not a consistent theory of states’ rights. It means that this consistent theory is ignored when it’s not producing the desired results.
So they’re consistent, but in an inconsistent manner.
Uh huh. And communism works, it’s just that true communism has never been tried!
What a douche! runs
THe difference is that whether states’ rights “work” or not isn’t relevant. What matters is that we have a supreme law and it states the boundaries between federal and state authority. Fortunately we have an unelected judiciary that has actually done a pretty good job of making sure these boundaries stay robust whether or not they are liberal or conservative.
I will certainly vote for Northam. I am a democrat, and tend to vote democrat in larger than local elections (where I swing both ways since I know most of these guys and gals personally). But Gillespie has some draconian views of women’s reproductive rights. That alone will get Northam my vote. He’s not quite as crazy as the “Cooch” Cuccinelli. But that’s not much of an endorsement.
I’m voting for Northam. I supported Perriello in the primaries, but I’m ok with Northam. Corey Stewart is in negotiations to support Gillespie, which I think is hilarious. I don’t know that Corey Stewart’s support will swing the election, and it might turn off some moderate voters.
I’d point out that Virginia went blue in the last election for President, so I don’t think the Republicans have the built in support statewide that they used to. The northern Virginia suburbs are pretty liberal and are pretty large vote centers.
I don’t have an issue with the sanctuary city vote. Police departments in communities with large immigrant communities need to have the trust of those communities and having them pick people up for immigration violations isn’t the way to do it.
Trump’s candidate stirs no love in Virginia’s Trump country. Prolly the most telling quotes in the whole story IMO are:
and
I’ve no idea how influential the Bristol Herald Courier is, but I did track down the referenced endorsement editorial, mostly because I wanted to see if they addressed criticism to both candidates and to see what they criticize. Turns out most of the article is devoted to criticism of Gillespie (and it is pointed and substantial); at the end it’s revealed that they reached out to Northam but never even got a reply to their two requests, so they (very reasonably, IMO) declined to endorse either candidate.
VICE just published this fairly comprehensive look at the perceived importance of the entire Virginia election, with quick looks at quite a few of the more notable individual races other than the governor’s race (although that is looked at briefly as well).
Ah, the Bristol Herald-Courier. For five long years, it was practically the only newspaper I could get.
It really can’t be that influential, because (a) half its readership is in Tennessee (Bristol straddles the state line - the state line runs literally right down the middle of the main east-west street through town), (b) Bristol isn’t that big a town (the Virginia side has a population of about 17K), and (c) outside of town, things get rural pretty quickly.
I have not been following this AT ALL, but just listening to the PBS News Hour tonight, Mark Shields make the comment that if the Dems lose, it will tear the party apart, pitting the Sanders wing ferociously agains the “other wing”, whatever that is. I’m assuming Northam (the Democrat) is from the non-Sanders wing, right? Is this race that pivotal? It looks like it’s neck and neck at this point, and the election is a few days away.
I’m asking folks who are following this more closely than I am (which is not at all). And I’m usually skeptical of apocalyptic rhetoric.
And I’m surprised this thread has been quiet for over a week.
I think it’s the first election (?) since Trump won that isn’t in a hugely partisan district. So, it’s seen as a big referendum on Trump. If Northam loses many will say “I told you so, this is because we didn’t put forth a more progressive candidate.” Could increase disaffection among Dems. Could also encourage more Republicans to support Trump openly if they were hesitant before.