There’s a lot going on – Kaine/Stewart forum last night, Wexton/Comstock debate this morning, etc, etc. – so I’ve only watched some of last night’s VA-05 debate at Madison County High School between Democrat Leslie Cockburn and Republican Denver Riggleman (see video, below). According to the News & Advance summary, Riggleman laughably “said he didn’t believe the 5th District was gerrymandered because of the size of the district, which is larger than New Jersey,” while Cockburn correctly said “There is no doubt that this district is the most gerrymandered in the state…and it’s gerrymandered to benefits the Republicans.” And in their closing statements, “Cockburn again pointed to the need for health care reform and a desire to protect the Environmental Protection Agency,” while “Riggleman said he believed in reducing government power over individuals.” In short, Riggleman wants to trash government and let corporate bad actors run amok, while Cockburn believes in government and wants to protect people and the environment. The choice is an easy one – vote Cockburn for Congress on November 6!
P.S. In his closing statement, Riggleman also said he will NEVER support “Medicare for All” or getting rid of the Republican tax cuts for the super rich. Blech. In her closing statement, Cockburn talked about 2018 being a “blue wave” in Virginia, particularly for women. She said we have a crisis of healthcare, the EPA and State Department being gutted. “If we don’t tackle [these problems] now, we are going to lose our democracy, because we have people in power who have no respect for our institutions…”
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