Video: Tim Kaine, Mark Warner Speak at Reelection Kickoff Rally in Arlington

It was a full house last night in Arlington for Mark Warner’s 2014 reelection kickoff rally with Tim Kaine. I shot some video of the event, which you can see in the comments section of this post (note: I’ll be adding more as it uploads). Also, before the speeches, there was a lot of buzz among the assembled Delegates and State Senators about the story regarding a possible compromise over Virginia’s budget and Medicaid expansion. I had some interesting “off-the-record” chats on that subject. My personal view is that the ONLY way we should think about this compromise is if we have an absolute, rock-solid guarantee that we will get Medicaid expansion, unlike when we were supposedly “promised” Medicaid expansion as part of the transportation deal under Bob McDonnell, only to see it vanish like a mirage. To put it another way: “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me!” I’d also say that if Republicans sense weakness on Gov. McAuliffe’s part, they will never give him anything the rest of his governorship. So stand strong, Terry; Medicaid expansion is the right thing to do morally, policy-wise, as well as politically speaking.