MAGA Glenn Youngkin proving yet again that he is NOT a “moderate,” “centrist,” etc. in any way/shape/form. In this case, Youngkin decided to do the gun industry’s bidding and go *against* the wishes of most Virginians by vetoing a bunch of gun violence prevention bills that would have made Virginian safer, including the following.
HB2 (Del. Dan Helmer) and SB2 (Sen. Creigh Deeds): “Purchase, sale, transfer, etc., of assault firearms and certain ammunition feeding devices prohibited; penalty”
HB454 (Del. Katrina Callsen) and SB383 (Sen. Creigh Deeds): “Carrying a firearm or explosive material within Capitol Square or building owned or leased by the Commonwealth; exemptions; public institutions of higher education; penalty.”
HB 183 (Del. Marcus Simon) & SB 368 (Sen. Jennifer Boysko): “Storage of firearms in a residence where a minor or person prohibited from possessing a firearm is present; penalty.”
HB 1462 (Del. Amy Laufer) & SB 447 (Sen. Dave Marsden): “Firearm in unattended motor vehicle; civil penalty.”
HB 318 (Del. Dan Helmer) & SB 491 (Sen. Jennifer Carroll Foy): “Firearm industry members; standards of responsible conduct; civil liability.”
HB 939 (Del. Irene Shin): “Elections administration; certain activities or conduct prohibited at polling places applicable to locations for absentee voting in person; prohibited possession of firearm within 100 feet of certain locations.”
SB 338 (Sen. Saddam Salim): “Study; JLARC; effects of gun violence on communities; report”
HB 175 (Del. Marcus Simon) & SB 99 (Sen. Adam Ebbin): “Carrying assault firearms in public areas prohibited; penalty”
HB 1174 (Del. Mark Sickles) & SB 327 (Sen. Saddam Salim): “Purchase of certain firearms; age requirement; penalty.“
HB 798 (Del. Patrick Hope): “Purchase, possession, or transportation of firearm following an assault and battery or stalking violation; prohibition period; penalty.”
HB 466 (Del. Dan Helmer): “Concealed handgun permits; reciprocity with other states”
HB 362 (Del. Adele McClure) & SB 642 (Sen. Russet Perry): “Purchase, possession, or transportation of firearm; assault and battery of a family or household member or intimate partner; penalties.”
HB 351 (Del. Nadarius Clark): “Firearm locking device required for purchase of a firearm; warning against accessibility to children; penalty.”
HB 1386 (Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler): Firearms; workplace rules of localities.”
HB 916 (Del. Kannan Srinivasan): “Substantial Risk Order Reporting System established.”
Governor Glenn Youngkin Acts on 67 Bills, Vetoing 30 That Would Punish Law-Abiding Gun Owners, Violating Their Constitutional Rights
Governor Youngkin Amends 6 Bills and Signs 4 Bills Making It Harder for Criminals to Use Guns in Commission of a Violent Act
RICHMOND, VA – Governor Glenn Youngkin today announced he was taking final action on 67 pieces of legislation, signing 31 bills into law, offering amendments to 6, and vetoing 30.
“I swore an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of Virginia, and that absolutely includes protecting the right of law-abiding Virginians to keep and bear arms,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin. “I am pleased to sign four public safety bills which are commonsense reforms with significant bipartisan support from the General Assembly, and offer recommendations to several bills which, if adopted, will make it harder for criminals to use guns in the commission of a violent act.”
The Governor signed the following public safety bills into law:
HB 36 & SB 44 – Ensures community safety by preventing parents from willfully allowing a child who poses a credible threat of violence to access a firearm.
HB 22 & SB 210 – Prohibits the manufacture, transfer, or possession of an auto sear, an illegal device which converts firearms into an automatic weapon.
The Governor also signed 27 additional bills. The full list of signed bills is available here.
HB 861 & SB 515 Weapons; carrying into hospital that provides mental health services.
Under current law, firearms are banned from public hospitals and private hospitals have the ability to ban firearms. The Governor’s recommendation focuses on criminals who transfer firearms to a person receiving mental health treatment at a hospital.
SB 363. Firearm; removing, altering, selling, etc., or possessing w/removed, etc., serial number, penalty.
The amendment aligns the bill with federal law and federal definitions for serial numbers.
HB 173 and SB 100 Plastic firearms and unfinished frames, etc.; manufacture, import, etc. prohibited, penalties.
The amendment establishes a knowledge standard for manufacturing, importing, selling, transferring or possessing any plastic firearm and introduces mandatory minimum sentences for the subsequent use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
SB 225 School bd. policy; parental notification of responsibility of safe storage of firearms in household.
The amendment directs the Department of Education to convene a workgroup to create a comprehensive list of the parental rights and responsibilities and develop an efficient method for distributing such list to parents. The Governor previously offered the same recommendation for the HB 498.
The Governor Vetoed 30 Bills Including:
HB 2 & SB 2
HB 454 & SB 383.
HB 585
HB 637
HB 797
HB 799
SB 258
HB 1195 & SB 273
HB 183 & SB 368
HB 1462 & SB 447
HB 318 & SB 491
HB 939
SB 338
HB 175 & SB 99
HB 1174 & SB 327
HB 798
HB 466
HB 362 & SB 642
HB 351
HB 1386
HB 916
The governor’s full veto statements are available here.
See below for reactions by President Joe Biden and by Virginia elected officials to the Francis Scott Key Bridge disaster in Baltimore, early this morning. According to President Biden:
“We’re gonna send all the federal resources they need as we respond to this emergency. And I mean ALL the federal resources. And we’re gonna rebuild this port together. Everything so far indicates that this was a terrible accident. At this time, we have no other indication, no other reason to believe there was any intentional act here…The Port of Baltimore is one of the nation’s largest shipping hubs…It handled a record amount of cargo last year…We’re going to get [the port] up and running as soon as possible. 15,000 jobs depend on that port, and we’re going to do everything we can to protect those jobs and help those workers. The bridge is also critical for travel, not just for Baltimore but for the Northeast Corridor. Over 30,000 cross the Francis Scott Key Bridge on a daily basis…As I told Gov. Moore, I’ve directed my team to move heaven and earth to reopen the port and rebuild the bridge as soon as humanly possible…It’s my intention that the federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstructing that bridge, and I expect the Congress to support my effort…We’re not leaving until this job gets done…May god bless the first responders.”
Exactly right by President Biden. And as Sen. Tim Kaine says, “The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore is devastating. My heart is with our neighbors in Maryland today. Thankful for the first responders on the scene.”
President Biden on Baltimore bridge collapse: “We’re gonna send all the federal resources they need as we respond to this emergency. And I mean all the federal resources. And we’re gonna rebuild this port together. Everything so far indicates that this was a terrible accident.” pic.twitter.com/mEynFiSMfm
P.S. Early nominee for the craziest, most inappropriate reaction goes to VA State Sen. Glen Sturtevant (R), who used to be considered a relatively sane, “moderate” Republican, but has now morphed into an Amanda Chase-style raving extremist, lunatic, etc. WTF happened to him?!?
See below for video and a transcript from yesterday’s press conference in Portsmouth to discuss the bipartisan, balanced, definitely-NOT-backwards budget. As you can see, the leaders – Speaker Don Scott, Senate Appropriations/Finance Chair Louise Lucas, House Appropriations Chair Luke Torian, Senate Democratic Caucus Chair Mamie Locke – strongly defended the budget and BLASTED Glenn Youngkin for being “not very smart when it comes to politics,” thinking he’s “king,” not treating the General Assembly as a “co-equal branch of government,” “going around the Commonwealth and continuing to campaign” despite the fact that he LOST the election in November 2023; failing to do his job; etc. As Speaker Scott said, journalists should be asking Youngkin tough questions about the budget like, “What would he take out? Which Virginia families will he punish? Which Virginia children will he leave uneducated?” And as Del. Torian put it about Youngkin: “If you have not had enough time, why go on a campaign and call our budget a backwards budget?” Great stuff – nice job by these top Virginia leaders.
P.S. On the proposed Potomac Yard arena, Sen. Lucas stated, point blank: “There is no deal and that the arena bill is dead. Nothing more said.”
Speaker Don Scott: “One of the things that it’s been disappointing to see is that the governor has been focused on continuing to campaign. We had an election in November. Somebody might want to tell him he lost. It’s time to move forward and work together to get things done. The beautiful thing about this budget is that it was bipartisan. We had Republicans not only in Hampton roads like Anne Tata and Rob Bloxom vote for it, but we had central va Republicans like Carrie Coyner vote for it. And Shenandoah Valley Republicans like Ellen Campbell and Bill Wiley vote for it. We had Southwest region Southwest Republicans like Terry Kilgore and Delegate Moorefield, Senator Hackworth all voted for this budget. It is a bipartisan budget. When we came to work in January, we came to do the work of our constituents. Our budget reflects the needs of our Virginians regardless of party. It’s a shining example of what we can achieve when we put people before politics. Our budget, as I said, has bipartisan support. That means we were able to reach across the aisle and compromise. It’s ok to compromise. That’s a win for all Virginians. We know we’re not going to see eye to eye on every issue but progress can only be made when we work together in a bipartisan way. This budget, I will say it again is a bipartisan budget. The commitment to working families is clear. We raised the minimum wage, we gave teachers a pay raise. We expanded access to healthcare and education. I think big folks need to understand that Virginia’s budget is over $180 billion with a B – over $90 billion per year, so a biennium budget. It’s a lot of cost, a lot of responsibility. Half of that budget is health care and education. We’re committed to public education, we’re committed to making sure that we take care of our families. In Hampton Roads alone, over 575,000 people will have access to paid family leave because of this budget. That means more time with their families and less time worrying about paying the bills when they welcome a baby or have to care for a loved one. We’re optimistic that the governor, as he visits across the state, that he will hear from our constituents, all of them, and he will understand that this budget is what they want. And one that folks want him to support. All Virginians have been accounted for in our budget, each of their needs have been addressed. And we know that once it passes, all Virginia families will be able to take a positive step forward. We’re proud of the work we did here today and I want to welcome you to continue to ask the hard questions for the governor. What would he take out? Which Virginia families will he punish? Which Virginia children will he leave uneducated That’s what we’ll ask the governor. And I hope that we’ll continue to ask these questions.”
Sen. Mamie Locke: “The main question that you should be asking the governor is what’s backwards? What’s more backwards than what he is doing, in going around the Commonwealth and continuing to campaign to be what we don’t know. The Senate and the House are the responsible adults in the room. The Senate and the House Democrats proposed a serious structurally balanced, responsible bipartisan budget on time. We need to repeat that – on time. We will not be vetoed into agreeing to anything that he may be proposing. And we’re not going to cave in to his threats. Governor Youngkin has issued an unprecedented number of early vetoes, and he’s on track to veto more bills than any other governor of Virginia history, which would not help us finalize a state budget. I mean, if that’s his end game, that’s not going to help finalize a budget. And he’s doing what spoiled brats do when they can’t get what they want, and when they can’t get their way. We are a co equal branch of government. He is not the king. And he is not running a business. This is a government that we’re trying to run here. And we are a co equal branch of that government. His line-item veto authority is very limited, and he needs to understand that. Our budget, as the Speaker has already said, is responsive to Virginians’ needs. In our November mandate, we delivered a budget that undid giveaways to the wealthy and the governor’s use of one-time funds. We made historic investments in K 12 higher education and mental health. The governor simply needs to sign the budget and stop threatening unprecedented budget veto. We have done our job. It is now time for him to do his.”
Del. Luke Torian: “Over the next few days, Chairwoman Lucas and I will be highlighting our budgets, critical investments and making our Commonwealth a better place for all Virginians to live work and to raise a family. Whether you live in Virginia Beach, Richmond, Prince William, Roanoke or Abingdon, all of us understand here today, we all are invested in you and providing the resources you in your area vitally needs. Across the Elizabeth River, in Norfolk, we are providing $25 million to the city for coastal risk storm management – storm management projects to combat the damaging impact of global warming. If you go up the river to the city of Chesapeake, where toxins still line the bottom of the waterway, disrupting this vital ecosystem for our wildlife, we are investing $3.8 million in the Army Corps of Engineers cleanup project at Money Point. These investments, along with those we are making in behavioral health, public education, rural health and infrastructure, so that we in the General Assembly are committed to producing to putting Virginia families first. Like a mustard seed, these investments might seem small to some. but have incredible transformative power.”
Sen. Louise Lucas: “I am pleased to be with you today and to share our message – the budget that we adopted puts Virginia families first. It is a bipartisan budget and has been thoughtfully put together to move Virginia forward. It is beneficial to every individual in the Commonwealth. It places the focus on educating our children – the future of this great state. You cannot have the needed workforce or economic growth in this region without investments in education. Families must have access to higher quality K-12 education system and for its children. Within the budget, new investments in education total over $2.5 billion over the current fiscal year. This includes 3% raises for teachers…over $500 million for early childhood care and education programs, including funding for at risk and English language learner programs – and an additional reading specialist position. Since we are here in Hampton Roads, I also want to highlight that specific funding is provided for career and technical education programs…to the tune of $2.2 million for each…Higher education is also key when it comes to having workforce for the future. Proposed new investments in the areas also cover $200 million and are provided to increase access affordability for college degrees. Items that are top priorities here include the increases in needs-based financial aid and Pell initiatives to ensure that low income students can enroll and complete their degrees. And of great importance to Hampton Roads are the investment in HBCUs, including $20 million for Norfolk State University to supply the institution for the partnership with the other HBCUs across the Commonwealth. Also of importance in this region is the $37 million to complete the merger of the Old Dominion University Eastern Virginia Medical School. This will enable individuals and families in Hampton Roads to continue to have access to quality health care and important health care in the years to come. Virginia communities are also safer more than rver – we put $75 million to provide in new funding for such items as a safer communities program, grants to community partners to reduce violence, and other interventions and program services…There are so many great things to mention about this budget. But I’m going to end on toll relief. For anybody who knows me, you know that this topic is a heart throb and a passion of mine and that I will not rest until it is complete. We will bite that elephant, eat it piece by piece. As promised, I have delivered for this area the sum total of a multifaceted approach to toll relief. So far I have $101 million. This would include for individuals earning below $50,000, 14 free trips per week, plan forgiveness for individual…and the ability to receive a no-cost transponder and a study by VDOT on how to include an HOV toll free option in a in the available future. This will continue to be one of my top priorities over the next four years…I am happy to conclude my statement saying that this budget puts Virginia families first and move Virginians forward…Well, I hate to say this in front of this audience and especially since it’s gonna be live, but the governor has about as much aptitude in politics – I won’t name the other person. No, he is not very smart when it comes to politics. He thinks that he is the boss of all of us. He came to the legislature thinking that all of us who are in the legislature had to answer to him. He failed to understand that we are co equals in this process and that he has to bring those priorities to us and get our agreement on them before we move forward. But yes, the short to answer your question about his understanding of the process, I would say he does not.”
Del. Torian: “This is the problem – if you have not had enough time, why go on a campaign and call our budget a backwards budget? If you have not had enough time to understand that we have listened to the citizens of the Commonwealth, what they want…When you propose a 1% salary increase for state employees and our teachers, what kind of salary increase is that We have listened to the citizens of the commonwealth and we’re proposing a 3% increase to hard working families to our teachers as well. If he had looked at the budget closely, he would have recognized that JLARC said we need to heavily invest in K-12 education and that is what we have done. If he had looked at the budget closely, then he would be able to answer why he did not invest in higher ed? And we took on and we invested in higher ed because our workforce is important to us. If he looked at the budget, he will recognize that we have put Virginia families first.”
Sen. Lucas: “The governor was the one who raised the taxes. Take a look at his budget. His introduced budget includes uh included raising the taxes on digital downloads and what he’s gonna do with the taxes to take that money and give it to the rich…So he was the one who started the whole thing with the tax. All we did was further highlight what he had done so that we could pay for our priorities, which as has been stated on our education priorities, on the priorities that are important to all the regions of this Commonwealth. So when it comes to raising taxes, he did it first…I think that with all of the information that you have read that you’ve heard there is no deal and that the arena bill is dead. Nothing more said.”
Mike Johnson’s House Is Imploding (“The GOP will soon have just one vote to spare, with members heading for the exits, and the Speakership is again in jeopardy—this time at the hands of Marjorie Taylor Greene”)
Ronna McDaniel and MSNBC Are a Match Made in Hell (“Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski are just the latest pundits to object the hiring of the ex-RNC chief, who spent her tenure casting baseless doubts around the 2020 election.”)
Loudoun4All Statement on Changes to Public Comment at LCPS School Board Meetings
Recently, the Loudoun County School Board voted to remove video recording of public commentary during school board meetings. While the audio will still be broadcast, the video will display as a still frame. This vote has drawn immediate outrage from certain politicians, reaching as far as former President Trump. Loudoun4All believes that the “shock” and “outrage” are quite simply feigned.
Public input is crucial. However, allowing school boards to implement rules around public comment periods does NOT infringe on parents’ rights to express their opinions. It ensures that meetings can be conducted in a fair and productive manner, considering the needs of the community. “Small government” conservatives such as Glenn Youngkin and Donald Trump should respect the autonomy of local governing bodies in determining their own processes. It is ironic that the former President is suggesting a meeting at a private venue in response to changing guidelines around public comment sessions; undermining the principles of transparency and the very essence of public governance.
There is a wide range of public comment procedures and policies in school districts across the Commonwealth. Governor Youngkin said the decision to remove video was “stunning,” so we are sure he will also be “stunned” to learn that many do not provide any video recording of meetings at all. Loudoun County school board meetings have multiple instances of many hours of public comment. This fact could justify implementing a cap on the number of speakers or the amount of time that public comment is allowed. However, there are currently no limits on public comment. Loudoun4All has researched other public comment policies in other districts in Virginia to compare. You can review our research into public comment policies across Virginia here.
Looking at similarly sized nearby districts, Fairfax County school board meetings accept only sixteen public speakers, while Prince William County school board meetings allow for a maximum of one hour of public comment and thirty speakers. Yet, we have seen no outrage directed at any of the School Boards with far more restrictions on public commentary.
Once again, the outrage is less about the actual policy as compared to the policies of other school districts, and more about faux-outrage for political posturing. This is a change that is NOT outside of the norm for school districts like ours. LCPS continues to offer one of the most open policies for public commentary in Virginia. Loudoun4All calls on the public to ignore this distraction and to focus on real issues that can improve our schools.
LISTEN: Biden-Harris 2024 Press Call Ahead of SCOTUS Mifepristone Hearing
This morning, Biden-Harris 2024 National Advisory Board Member Senator Elizabeth Warren, Campaign Manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez, and Reproductive Freedom for All President Mini Timmaraju hosted a press call to lay out what’s at stake for reproductive freedom ahead of the 2024 election as the Supreme Court prepares to hear a case that threatens to strip access to medication abortion everywhere in the country. The panelists had a simple message: the latest challenge to mifepristone is a part of a broader assault by Trump and MAGA Republicans to ban abortion nationwide and strip Americans of their freedoms.
“Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans are prepared to use every tool in their toolbox to control women’s bodies – banning abortion nationwide, ending access to IVF, and even attacking contraception access. We’ve seen what happens when Donald Trump and extremists get their way: 10-year old rape survivors are forced to travel across state lines for care. Mothers, hoping for a baby, heartbroken when the pregnancy goes wrong, turned away from the emergency room and forced to wait until they are at the brink of death while doctors are barred from helping. Families, who have been wanting and praying that IVF can help them have a baby, saw Republicans in Congress block a bill to protect IVF.” said Biden-Harris 2024 National Advisory Board Member Senator Elizabeth Warren. “President Biden and Vice President Harris are fighting to restore the protections of Roe so that people in every state can have access to abortion. They are fighting to expand reproductive care including medication abortion and birth control. They are fighting alongside the overwhelming majority of Americans who believe that government and extremists should stay out of reproductive health care decisions. Make no mistake, abortion is on the ballot in 2024.”
“Regardless of the outcome, it’s really clear that MAGA Republicans led by Donald Trump are marching our nation towards a full on national abortion ban. They never intended to stop after overturning Roe v. Wade. In the time since the Supreme Court has handed down its decision in Dobbs, more than 20 states have enacted abortion bans thanks to Republican extremists and now this case could further decimate abortion access across all 50 states” said Reproductive Freedom for All President Mini Timmaraju. “The bottom line is this: President Biden and Vice President Harris are the only candidates who will protect abortion rights and access. They are fighting to restore the federal right to abortion. And over the last four years, they’ve stepped up to the plate time and again to protect and expand reproductive freedom.”
“Trump’s extreme agenda has already had devastating effects across the country: Women’s lives are put at risk every day, doctors are being threatened with prosecution and jail time for doing their jobs, and abortion bans have been enacted with no exceptions for rape or incest. As Trump runs for a second term, he and his allies are telling us exactly what they will do to go even further. Over the last several months, Trump’s close advisors and allies have publicly released a comprehensive strategy to rip away access to reproductive health care, including banning medication abortion and restricting access to contraception, without the help of Congress,” said Biden-Harris 2024 Campaign Manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez. “The President and Vice President are the only candidates who believe that reproductive health care decisions belong to women and their doctors – not politicians or the government. These are the stakes in 2024 and we’re going to continue to make sure that every single voter knows it.”
Jen Kiggans Goes Full On MAGA, Campaigns With Insurrectionist
Jen Kiggans is continuing to embrace MAGA extremism and the far-right fringes of her party. After endorsing Donald Trump, she’s doubling down and fundraising with insurrectionist John McGuire.
McGuire admitted to being outside the Capitol during the January 6th insurrection and even posted a selfie of himself at the event. McGuire is later seen in the crowd that is standing in front of and provoking law enforcement.
Kiggans’ support for an insurrectionist-sympathizer is unsurprising given that she launched her reelection campaign with Elise Stefanik, who sympathetically called January 6th insurrectionists “hostages” on Meet the Press.
Recent reporting by the American Journal News exposed Kiggans for donating to extremist candidates, including State Delegate N. Baxter Ennis who spread conspiracy theories about the 2020 election results.
DCCC Spokesperson Lauryn Fanguen:
“Jen Kiggans can no longer deny her loyalty to the extreme, radical right. Her continuous support for extremists and election deniers coupled with her carelessness and lack of advocacy for Coastal Virginians will cost her this election.”
See below for a campaign announcement from the Jonathan Huskey for Alexandria City Council campaign, emphasizing that he’s a “progressive Democrat opposed to [the] Potomac Yard arena.” Per VPAP, Huskey joins nine other Democratic candidates, including four incumbents (John Chapman, Kirk McPike, Canek Aguirre and Sarah Begley) running for reelections, as well as five non-incumbents (James Lewis, Charlotte Achelois Scherer, Abdel Elnoubi, Jacinta Elleena Greene and Jesse O’Connell), running for six at-large City Council seats. If all the incumbents were to win, that would mean that just two slots would remain, with six (so far) candidates vying for them. Should be interesting!
Progressive Democrat opposed to Potomac Yard Arena enters Alexandria City Council race
As Arena Deal Hangs By a Thread in Richmond, Del Ray resident Jonathan Huskey becomes the 11th Democrat in Council race; declares he will “fight for Alexandria’s future by doing what’s right.”
(Alexandria, VA) Jonathan Huskey filed to run for Alexandria City Council on Monday and will vie for 1 of 6 City Council seats in the Democratic Primary on June 18, 2024. Huskey was motivated to run after months of civic engagement on the Potomac Yard arena, a plan he believes was a monumental mistake from the start.
Huskey is a first-time candidate, but as the Communications Director at the State Revenue Alliance, a national group that supports state-based community, labor and policy organizations that advocate for progressive tax policy and additional revenue for community needs, he’s no stranger to politics or policy debates. Huskey spent a decade working alongside the members of the Service Employees International Union as tens of thousands of people formed their union and won better pay and benefits. Jonathan also worked for several years, and in a number of capacities, to elect Democratic candidates in Virginia and across the country.
“I’m a positive person who’s looking for the good in any idea, but when a billionaire asks for billions of dollars to build a mini-city, we all should be very skeptical. Sports arenas are bad public investments and this one would be no different. That’s why I was shocked when Alexandria’s elected Democratic leaders — people I have supported and voted for —rushed into a deal with Ted Leonsis and Glenn Youngkin that residents never asked for and we don’t need. Despite Council’s good intentions, the Potomac Yard project shows the need for new voices at City Hall. We should never threaten Alexandria’s fiscal health and quality of life with a secret handshake agreement. I’m running for City Council to show that we can stand up for Alexandrians by fighting for what’s right.”
From now until June, Huskey will be meeting voters in each precinct to discuss neighborhood concerns and ideas for the next City Council. He expects to raise the resources to communicate with voters about his vision of how together, we can fund future priorities important to residents, small businesses and workers.
“I’m a firm believer that you can’t just be against something, you need to be part of finding a solution,” Huskey said. “In this case, the problem is revenue – Alexandria needs more of it to fund the things we need for our community, our safety and our kids’ future. When budgets are tight, we have to stop thinking there’s nothing our City Council can do except raise property taxes or cut services. As Council Member, I’ll be a champion for all of Alexandria to find the revenue the city needs and work collaboratively with Democrats across the Commonwealth to secure it.”
Huskey and his wife, Mandy have lived in Virginia for over two decades and moved to Alexandria in 2012 to raise their family.
Find more information about the candidate, the campaign, the Potomac Yard arena and how to donate or get involved at huskeyforcouncil.com
What Have Fourteen Years of Conservative Rule Done to Britain? (“Living standards have fallen. The country is exhausted by constant drama. But the U.K. can’t move on from the Tories without facing up to the damage that has occurred.” Putting conservatives in charge is a huge mistake; why would anyone want that???)
Opinion: Trump’s facing a legal one-two punch (“All signs are that the New York criminal case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg will be confirmed imminently for a start date in April, after a short pause occasioned by a last-minute federal document dump. And the civil judgment already won by New York Attorney General Letitia James is moving briskly as well, with the AG apparently set to begin seizing Trump properties as soon as Monday. This week promises to be an inflection point in both cases.”)
The Face of Donald Trump’s Deceptively Savvy Media Strategy (“The former President and his spokesman, Steven Cheung, like to hurl insults at their political rivals, but behind the scenes the campaign has maintained a cozy relationship with much of the mainstream press.” Disgusting.)
I really dislike linking to right-wing-propaganda media like Fox “News,” but that’s where Sen. Tim Kaine was this morning, and he had some interesting things to say, so…see below for video and a few highlights, including:
“First, my heart goes out to the families in Russia that were
affected by this [terrorist attack in Moscow]. The US did warn Russia, and Vladimir Putin gave a speech on Tuesday discounting the warning, saying we were trying to meddle and create confusion. We also warned Iran a couple months ago about a potential attack by ISIS K there. If you want to know the difference between democracies and authoritarians, we will tell nations if we’re worried about their civilians; Russia or Iran would never tell us if they had news that there was going to be a terrorist attack in the United States.”
“With respect to the southern border, the southern border is a challenge. That’s why since I came to the Senate, I’ve been part of bipartisan efforts to fix it again and again and again. But each time, whether it was bipartisan immigration reform in 2013, a bipartisan deal in 2018, or the deal we put together just last month in February, bipartisan to invest at the border, each time the Republicans torch it – Donald Trump even making plain the last thing they want to do is fix the border, they just want to raise a ruckus about the border. We need to get serious about fixes.”
“I don’t think it’s it’s an invasion. It is an immigration crisis, it’s a national security issue, but I think you’ve got to be careful throwing around words like invasion. It was that kind of wording that led the deranged guy to go shoot up the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh killing folks a couple years ago. And I think that kind of rhetoric is irresponsible. But it is a crisis, we have to solve it. And we had a wonderful chance in February when conservative Republican Senator James Lankford negotiated with Democrats and the White House and his own caucus to come up with a packet of measures – really significant measures – to control the border. And then, after we basically had a deal, Donald Trump said don’t vote for this deal, we would rather complain about this for the next nine months than fix the problem. Donald Trump was willing to let more fentanyl come over the border killing more Americans to try to gain a political edge rather than find a solution. We’ve got a good solution on the table; we should act to do it in a bipartisan way.”
“I’ll tell you about all of the amendment votes. The House and Senate negotiated a bipartisan deal and then the House sent it to us just hours before government was going to shut down at midnight that included defense and it included DHS and border security. The House then went home, everyone left. So if we had voted for any of the amendments and they had passed, the bill would have had to go back over to the House – they weren’t there, government would have shut down. If you want to see a border crisis, shut down government and see how bad it is…When the House sends us the bill with just hours to spare before the shutdown and leaves town, at that point you can’t adjust it or government does shut down. I’m always against shutdown, I mean I live in Virginia, a whole lot of people depend upon government services and then you’ve got issues like the defense and and border protection; if you shut things down, it just gets worse.”
“We’re a closely divided nation… I’ve seen it again and again and again. I live in a state, Virginia, where elections are often very very close, and I don’t have any illusions about now to November. I’m going to be on the ballot too; I have no illusions that it’s just going to be simple…But I’m very confident that when we lay out our competing visions for the future – Joe Biden building off unemployment falling, manufacturing jobs going up, people’s 401Ks going up, the lowest uninsured rate in American history. We compare it with Donald Trump, who is urging January 6th protesters to be pardoned and using phrases like bloodbath, etc. to talk about what he hopes to do in a second term, I think people are going to realize how high the stakes are…I’m going to be a dictator on day one…He has a a way of saying these things that are super explosive and then kind of walking them half back…We saw on January 6, it’s not just words…I am concerned about the state of American democracy as we’re getting ready to celebrate America’s 250th birthday in 2026. But I believe American voters will embrace pro-democracy rather than pro-authoritarian, and that’s the stark difference between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. I’m confident in the American electorate; I think we’re going to get it right in November.”
P.S. Great job by Sen. Kaine, but…my god, Fox “News” is appalling, including in this case their host Shannon Bream attempting to excuse/water down Trump’s “bloodbath” comments, and her relentless right-wing-biased selection and “framing” of questions in general. Pathetic, and really raises the question as to why any Democrat would go on this network.
