Election Day News: “Mass Shootings Don’t Have to Be Inevitable”; “Trump, Gillespie and the Same Old Party”; VOTE!

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, November 7 — Election Day 2017. Make sure you vote Democratic up and down the ballot and send Trump a message he can hear all the way over in East Asia!

• The Most Interesting Races to Watch on Election Day 2017
• Air Force Error Allowed Texas Gunman to Buy Weapons
• Mass Shootings Don’t Have to Be Inevitable (In Donald Trump’s and Ed Gillespie’s – and Jill Vogel’s and John Adams’ – world, they will be.)
• The Violence That Never Sleeps
• Texas church shooting and domestic violence: A large and disturbing pattern (“The Sutherland Springs shooting looks like another example of men acting out violent rage against women”)
• Gunman had hurt people and animals years before mass shooting (Hurting animals is horrible in and of itself and also a flashing red warning sign that someone is BIG trouble. We need tough penalties for abusing animals and strong enforcement of those penalties.)
• GOP tax plan would increase federal deficits substantially, new analysis shows
• The numbers are in, and the House Republican tax bill raises taxes on nearly a third of Americans (“Whoops”)
• Trump Blames Shooting on “Mental Health,” a Policy Area He Is Also Actively Undermining (“Even if mental illness was the problem, the president’s record on helping Americans access care is embarrassing.”)
• Another American nightmare — and more cynical lies from gun cultists
• ObamaCare signups surge in early days to set new record (Wait, some good news for a change?)
• GOP unlikely to repeal ObamaCare mandate in tax measure
• Robby Mook Can’t Stop Not Talking About 2016 (Ugh.)
• Why The 2016 Election Won’t Go Away (“Indeed, throughout 2017, the public has remained preoccupied with the election outcome. According to a recent poll, 42 percent of voters don’t regard the results as legitimate…”)
• Democrats Sharpen Their Attack Against the GOP Tax Plan
• Saudi Arabia’s crown prince is getting reckless (“The Trump administration should try to curb Mohammed Bin Salman’s excesses.”)
• Yes, President Trump, it’s a guns situation (“This is not an unsolvable problem.”)
• Who wins biggest in the GOP tax plan? The lazy rich.
• The Note: It’s Trumpism vs. the Democrats in Virginia governor’s race
• Virginia Gov. (and Longtime Clinton Pal) Terry McAuliffe Rips Brazile Book: ‘Nobody Cares’
• Gillespie to Northern Virginia: Drop dead
• Trump, Gillespie and the Same Old Party (“So has Gillespie faced strong criticism from establishment Republicans for waging such a gutter campaign? No — there has been a bit of tut-tutting from lower-level figures, but hardly anything from people whose condemnation might matter.”)
• A must-win for Dems in Virginia
• There Is a Ton More at Stake Tuesday Than Just the Virginia Governorship (“There are 16 ballot initiatives happening. One could give 70,000 people in Maine health insurance.”)
• Voters in New Jersey and Virginia elect new governors
• Explicit racism is on the ballot tomorrow (“If Ed Gillespie wins, the GOP’s transformation into a Trumpian racist party will be complete.”)
• The many reasons that Democrats are worried about the Virginia gubernatorial race (Cue Mel Brooks – High Anxiety!)
• For Democrats, Virginia’s Elections Are a Petri Dish (“Powered by a surge of anti-Trump energy, Democrats are trying to retake the lower house in a test of their national push to win back power. It’s going … OK.”)
• The Memo: High anxiety for Virginia Dems
• Virginians is for lovers of voting on the issues in the governor’s race
• 5 things to watch in the Virginia and New Jersey governors races (“Democrats and Republicans alike are pointing to the Hampton Roads region in southeastern Virginia as key to Northam’s advantage in public polls, which he holds on to despite a late surge by Gillespie”)
• Fear and Loathing—and Trump—in the Virginia Governor’s Race (“…since September, Gillespie has unleashed a profoundly ugly campaign on the airwaves”)
• Medicaid costs to rise by nearly $671 million, but Congress’ inaction on children’s health insurance could cost state extra $195 million
• Don’t waste right to vote (“On Election Day, I make sure to vote, thereby celebrating my father’s most important gift to me: Freedom.”)
• Editorial: It’s your duty to vote, weather or not
• Virginia Votes on Tuesday. Here Are 3 Ways Ed Gillespie Wants to Make That Harder (“The Republican candidate for governor has made opposition to voting rights a centerpiece of his campaign.”)
• Editorial: The Times-Dispatch’s picks for today’s elections: Gillespie, Vogel, Adams (I’m posting this only to illustrate how far right the editorial board is at the “Republican Times-Disgrace,” aka “Richmond Times-Dispatch.”)
• Editorial: Citizen Kane and today’s election
• Gastañaga and Sinha column: ACLU Directors: New Jersey and Virginia Can Show What Resistance In the States Looks Like
• Virginia voters head to the polls as nation watches (Not sure why the media keeps claiming that previous Virginia governor’s elections have been “sleepy.” That’s not how I remember them at all!)
• Rick Gates, charged in Mueller probe, granted permission to vote in Virginia election (“Republican gubernatorial candidate attacked rival for ex-felon who regained voting rights after arrest” If only Republicans had a sense of irony…)
• What does Virginia’s lieutenant governor even do? A guide to figuring out this race
• Charlottesville police officers were instructed to notify their supervisors before making arrests at white nationalist rally
• Del. Loupassi corrects campaign email after falsely claiming Richmond Free Press endorsed him (Brilliant, eh?)
• Williams: Environmental impact of rail project on Shockoe slave heritage is concerning
• One of the Most Anti-LGBT Lawmakers in the Country Might Lose His Seat to a Transgender Journalist (“Danica Roem’s bid for the Virginia House of Delegates could make history.”)
• Update: Chesterfield man killed in apparent domestic incident with a car and ax was former assistant U.S. attorney who handled criminal cases
• D.C.-area forecast: Much cooler with rain beginning this afternoon, showers continue tomorrow