Audio: Bill Howell Claims Perriello “So Far to the Left” (Pulling Northam in That Direction as Well); Ben Tribbett Forecasts Huge Swing to Dems

Very interesting discussion (see audio clip below, or click on the following link for the full discussion) on the John Fredericks (right-wing radio) Show, with retiring House Speaker Bill Howell (R). First, Ben Tribbett’s observation (as relayed by John Fredericks) that the “least swing that’s ever happened between a new president gets elected and then the governor’s election happens the next year in Virginia, the least swing the other way in history has been 13 [percentage points]…so Clinton won by 5, the numbers show historically the minimum swing you get towards the other party, which would be the Democrats, is 13 [percentage points]…historically, Gillespie starts out behind 18 [percentage points].” Second, Bill Howell’s comment that this “didn’t happen the last time we had a governor’s election.” Third, Howell’s prediction that the Democratic nominee will most likely be Tom Perriello and that he’s “so far to the left,” also “pull[ing] Ralph Northam so far to the left.” Of course, keep in mind that the comment about Northam and Perriello being so “far to the left” is coming from a good friend of Ed Gillespie’s, a board member of the notorious “American Legislative Exchange Council,” and the right-wing Republican House Speaker, so take that for what it’s worth.

More to the point, in no way/shape/form are Northam or Perriello too “far to the left,” at least if you look at the polls of Virginians on issue after issue, where both Northam and Perriello are very much in the majority, while Howell and his merry band of right wingers are wayyyy out of step, from a woman’s right to choose to the environment to guns to voting rights to…you name it. So, take what Howell says with a pillar of salt. Still, interesting observations coming from someone who knows Virginia politics – albeit from a Republican perspective – as well as anyone does…

P.S. If Ben Tribbett is right and Dems win Virginia by 18 points or more this November, we’re talking a YUGE Democratic pickup in the House of Delegates, especially since it looks like we’re going to have candidates in all the “Hillary Clinton districts” held by Republicans, as well as many other districts. But yeah, I remain skeptical, especially since these rules certainly didn’t hold in 2013. [UPDATE: Ben makes a valid point that his rule applies to the FIRST year of a presidency ONLY. So…Ben wins again. LOL]