Tag: Larry Sabato
Professor Larry Sabato: “Great job, voters in VA-5. You elected a...
Monday News: “Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine is more than 90 percent effective...
Some Thoughts and Quibbles (and More than Quibbles) on Yesterday’s UVA...
Monday News: “Trump to Propose $4.8 Trillion Budget With Big Safety-Net...
Grading the 2018 Election Predictions, Polls in Virginia and Nationally, From...
“Sabato’s Crystal Ball” Final 2016 Predictions: I Mostly Agree, with a...
As Trump Melts Down, Larry Sabato and Charlie Cook Move Comstock...
UVA Professor Larry Sabato Predicts Clinton Landslide Over Trump
McDonnell’s “Macaca” Moment

The Economist this week features an article detailing what it calls McDonnell's political "tone-deafness and inattention to detail." While he won the governor's mansion as the "jobs governor," not a crusader for right-wing social wedge issues, from the early days of his administration he has been repeatedly inciting those very fights. Remember his proclamation praising Virginia's Confederate history, the one that omitted any mention of slavery? Or, how about his appointment of Fred Malek, once Richard Nixon's infamous "Jew counter," to head his commission on shrinking state government.
The Economist also points out that by first praising the idea of forcing what amounts to state-demanded object penetration rape of a woman and then changing his mind to simply require a completely unnecessary transabdominal ultrasound that a woman must pay for, McDonnell brings to mind again that 1989 thesis he wrote for Pat Robertson's school, the one in which he called feminists "detrimental to the family" and said public policy should favor married couples over "cohabitators, homosexuals or fornicators."
Larry Sabato also recently weighed in on this, declaring it has severely damaged McDonnell's chances to be on a national ticket.
Sabato on McDonnell’s Confederate History Proclamation: “this is a disaster for...

Already tweeted about Gov. McDonnell's Confederate proclamation, but it's becoming increasingly clear this is a disaster for him & VA...McDonnell is even being denounced in a Richmond Times-Dispatch edit. The RTD normally leads the cheers for the GOV...VA's national image is suffering. It looks like the Old Dominion again, not the New Dominion so many in BOTH parties have worked hard for...Unlike some, I have no problems with a proclamation saluting Civil War sacrifices & urging study and reflection as we approach war's Sesqui...But it MUST include unqualified condemnations of slavery and secession. To do less is to elevate 19th century VA over 21st century VA...In his own interests, and the state's, Gov. McDonnell must amend this proclamation promptly or face long-lasting recriminations & turmoil...I know Bob McDonnell a bit. He was born in Philly, grew up in NoVa, has never shown slightest evidence of prejudice that I've seen...He hoped to slip this in quietly to please a small vocal part of VA constituency. Didn't work. Now he's being redefined by it. Action needed.So, my fellow Virginians, what we have here is a complete and utter debacle - but not a surprise in the least bit! - by Pat Robertson's Manchurian Candiate after just 3 months in office. As if this isn't bad enough, Bob McDonnell's "Confederate History Month" proclamation comes on top of several other debacles - protection (or lack thereof) for GLBT citizens, ridiculous lawsuits against the federal government on health care and climate change, etc. - by McDonnell and Kookinelli since they took office in January 2010 (seems like an eternity ago).
Now, I realize that Creigh Deeds wasn't exactly the ideal Democratic gubernatorial candidate (to put it mildly!). But, to everyone who stayed home on Election Day 2009...well, something tells me you're not too happy right now! Anyway, don't say you weren't warned about how extreme and destructive Cooch and McDonnell would be if they were elected. I've been blogging about them since 2005, and it's been clear to me since pretty much Day #1 that they're completely off the deep end. Now, they're proving it.
UPDATE: Colbert King weighs in, says "Bob McDonnell can't change Virginia's history of slavery." As much as he would like to, that is.