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Video: Is the #MeToo Movement Really “Much Ado About Nothing?”

By
Cindy
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2

In the wake of the #MeToo movement, and given the number of sexual harassment and abuse allegations against members of other legislative bodies in the country, this Virginia General Assembly session – with 15 new Democrats, most of whom are women – would seem to be a time to take every precaution to make sure that House members and their staffs are well-informed about sexual harassment. And since it’s largely up to the legislative bodies to regulate themselves, there have been several bills proposed this year about sexual harassment training.

But when HB371 made it to the floor today, it had already morphed substantially from its original version, losing some of its teeth along the way. The original version, with bipartisan patrons Roxann Robinson (R) and Kaye Kory (D) in the House, plus Barbara Favola (D), Jennifer McClellan (D) and Glen Sturtevant (D) in the Senate, called for annual sexual harassment training to be offered through the Department of Human Resource Management (DHRM), with the records kept by the same agency.The House Rules Committee (you remember, the one that Speaker Cox stacked with nonproportional members against the very rules of proportional committees that the House itself had voted on) changed the bill so that the training would be only once every two years, and would be provided by the House or Senate Clerk’s office, with the records maintained by the Clerk’s office.

But is it putting the fox in charge of the hen house to have the Clerk’s office responsible for designing the training, overseeing its administration, and maintaining the records afterwards?

So Delegate Watts, whose own similar bill HB1057 had been rolled into HB371, proposed another substitute version on the House floor today. Her substitute allowed elected legislators and their assistants to take a training designed by and administered by the Clerk’s office, but adding additional stringent conditions that the training should cover:

The sexual harassment training course provided by the Clerk of the House of Delegates and the Clerk of the Senate shall be available on-line 24 hours per day seven days a week and shall include but not be limited to discussion of (i) the inclusion of member actions when performing official duties covered under the General Assembly Conflicts of Interests Act (§ 30-100 et seq.); (ii) the inclusion of communications or actions undertaken with other state employees, contract employees, applicants for employment, customers, vendors, members of the media, lobbyists, members of the public, or volunteers; (iii) the Department of Human Resources Management Workplace Harassment Policy provision that managers, supervisors, and members who knowingly fail to take appropriate corrective action regarding allegations shall be in violation of the sexual harassment policy; (iv) the adopted policies of the House of Delegates or of the Senate governing how allegations of violations may be made, sharing of information, investigative procedures, determination of need for disclosure to law enforcement to protect public safety, committed violations of this chapter; and (v) the remedies available under this chapter and the Commonwealth Workplace Harassment Policy that are in addition to any other civil remedies and criminal sanctions provided under law.

As a backup plan to her substitute in case the substitute was voted down, she also drafted three separate amendments to HB371 that would accomplish the same more careful sexual harassment training, with the opportunity for any number of the three changes to be accepted.

All this caused the Republicans to be so flustered that Speaker Cox had to adjourn for a few minutes so that everyone could figure out how to vote. The Democrats also huddled up to get their strategy in place. When they reconvened, both sides took the opportunity to discuss the bill and the suggested changes. Delegate Robinson spoke about her bill, saying that it was important to have this training and that it wasn’t that SHE didn’t trust her peers, it was that the public needed to trust them–needed to know that when they legislated their own behavior, they did so in the most stringent way possible. Which was odd, since Delegate Watts’ substitute/amendments were adding additional conditions to make the training more thorough.

Delegate Watts spoke about her substitute, arguing for why having an outside agency administer the training was so important, and discussing the various ways that legislators interact with others where harassment issues might arise–not just in the chamber with each other, but back in their districts, with lobbyists, with their constituents, etc. The Republicans then proceeded to vote down the substitute.

And the amendments were discussed one by one. By this point, apparently Delegate Gilbert was getting annoyed and tired of the proceeding, because he asked to speak and then declared that this was “much ado about nothing.” And the entire chamber gasped–literally! (See about 2:40)

After the year that we’ve seen, with millions of women speaking out and saying #MeToo, and dozens of news stories about politicians and Hollywood producers and company CEOs being accused of sexual harassment, Delegate Gilbert thought that a discussion about how to get the training right was “much ado about nothing!” The rest of the amendments were voted down–on party lines, because apparently sexual harassment policy is a partisan issue too, and the weakened version of HB371 that the House Rules Committee wrote moved on to its third reading, presumably tomorrow.

I have two further thoughts about this. The first is that it is virtually impossible that of the 50 Republican members of the House in attendance today, every single one thinks that sexual harassment training should be administered by the Clerk’s office rather than DHRM–it’s probably also unlikely that all 49 of the Democratic members thinks it should not. So, we’ve clearly descended into a hyper-partisan world where everyone is entrenched in the position that their party peers are taking. Which is not good for anyone. The second is that it’s not a coincidence that the party with 47% of its Delegates being female wanted a more stringent sexual harassment policy than the party with 10% of its members being female.

Final Results of Blue Virginia 2017 Gov. Poll #1: Northam 50.7%-Perriello 48.3% (4,762 total votes)

By
lowkell
-
24

UPDATE 6:00 pm Sunday: As promised, I have closed the poll on Sunday evening. The final results are Ralph Northam edging out Tom Perriello 2,416 (50.73%)-2,298 (48.26%), with a handful of votes for Ed Gillespie (0.48%), Frank Wagner (0.21%), Corey Stewart (0.17%) and Denver Riggleman (0.15%). Clearly, the two Democratic governor campaigns encouraged their supporters to vote in this poll, as we got a huge number of votes (4,762 total) in just 72 hours or so on a holiday weekend! Also, I could see the surges for each candidate as they pushed their supporters to vote via email, Facebook, etc. All of which is fine, by the way, as it indicates enthusiasm/intensity, organization, etc. Anyway, congratulations to Ralph Northam for edging out Tom Perriello in the first Blue Virginian non-scientific poll of the 2017 election cycle. I’ll probably do this again in a few weeks to see where we are then. Also, I’m going to post a Lt. Governor poll, so please vote in that one as well. Thanks!

UPDATE 5:22 pm Friday: It’s great to see so many people voting in this poll. I’ll probably keep it open until Sunday evening or so…

Poll: How Are You Feeling About the Presidential Race These Days?

By
lowkell
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5


Matt Weinstein for Virginia’s 8th CD Democratic Committee

By
lowkell
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0

The following statement is from Matt Weinstein — Arlington Young Democrat, legislative aide to Del. Rip Sullivan and candidate for the 8th CD Democratic Committee. The election will be at the August ACDC meeting at 7 pm on August 3rd at the NRECA building in Ballston (4301 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA 22203). I’ve endorsed Matt because I think he has the energy, talent and experience to do a great job on voter protection and in general as a member of the 8th CD Democratic Committee. Go Matt!

Arlingtonians are fortunate to live in one the most forward-thinking, progressive congressional districts in the United States.

Virginia’s 8th Congressional District (CD) votes overwhelmingly for the Democratic nominee every presidential year, and it repeatedly sends Democrats to the U.S. House of Representatives. Congressman Don Beyer has given voice to the progressive values that embody our community.

The 8th CD is a Democratic stronghold because of the Arlington County Democratic Committee (ACDC) and Virginia’s 8th CD Democratic Committee.

The 8th CD Democratic Committee—which includes 33 leaders from across the 8th district—provides political and fundraising support for Democrats throughout the 8th CD. The committee’s success makes it a model for congressional committees across Virginia.

One seat on the 8th CD Democratic Committee recently became available, and because of the committee’s seat allocation rules, the seat is reserved for an Arlington male.

I am running for the 8th CD Democratic Committee vacancy, and I am writing today to ask for your vote.

The election will be held at the August ACDC meeting at 7 pm on August 3rd at the NRECA building in Ballston (4301 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA 22203). Any registered Arlington voter can vote in the election, but voters are required to sign a form saying that they will support Democrats.

I am the best candidate for the job because I have extensive experience working at the local, state, and federal level in Virginia, and I have devoted much of my career to protecting the right to vote for Virginians across the Commonwealth.

The right to vote is the cornerstone of American Democracy. As someone with significant experience protecting the right to vote, I would use my position on the 8th CD Democratic Committee to develop best practices for voter protection programs across the 8th district.

In 2012, I was fortunate to be part of the Obama Campaign’s voter protection team. Our team recruited 1,928 lawyers to volunteer on Election Day in Virginia, covered 1,055 polling locations, and resolved 3,283 voting issues at the polls. I continued the Obama voter protection model for the McAuliffe campaign in 2013, when we had over 500 lawyers protecting voters at polls across Virginia.

Every eligible voter in the 8th district should be able to vote regardless of race, religion, or party, and I will work hard to make that happen.

About me:

  • I am an Arlington Young Democrat, an attorney, and a political operative.
  • I am Delegate Rip Sullivan’s Legislative Aide.
  • I am currently ACDC’s Sergeant at Arms, and I am responsible for organizing caucuses and working with Arlington’s election board and registrar to make sure it is easy for voters to vote in Arlington.
  • I ran the 2016 Arlington School Board Caucus.
  • I was the parliamentarian for the 2016 8th CD Democratic Convention.
  • I worked for Senator Warner from 2009 to 2012.
  • I worked for the Obama Campaign in Virginia in 2012 as part of their voter protection team.
  • I ran the voter protection program for the McAuliffe Campaign in 2013.
  • I am the founding co-chair of the DPVA’s voter protection council in 2014.

My extensive local, state, and federal experience has allowed me to develop good relationships with some of the hardest-working Democrats in Arlington, the 8th CD, and across the Commonwealth.

Because of these relationships, I have been fortunate to receive broad, committed support for my candidacy from many Democratic leaders in the 8th CD.

A partial list of my supporters is provided below. Please note these endorsements were made in a personal capacity, and do not reflect a collective endorsement by any political organization.

  • Senator Barbara Favola (D-31)
  • Senator Adam Ebbin (D-30)
  • Delegate Rip Sullivan (D-48)
  • Delegate Patrick Hope (D-47)
  • Carla de la Pava, Arlington County Treasurer
  • Dave Leichtman, DPVA Vice Chair-Technology and Communications, 8th CD Member
  • Frank Leone, DNC Member
  • Josh Katcher, Voter Registration Chair, ACDC
  • Cragg Hines, ACDC Parliamentarian/National Delegate for Hillary Clinton
  • Lowell Feld, Blue Virginia
  • Laura Saul Edwards, Precinct Ops Vice Chair
  • Ian Redman, Precinct Ops Vice Chair, ACDC
  • Matt de Ferranti, Area Chair MetroEast, ACDC
  • Jill Caiazzo, Area Chair Central, ACDC
  • William Mark Habeeb, Area Chair River, ACDC
  • Kim Phillip, Director of Administration for ACDC
  • Chris Leyen, Aide to Senator Adam Ebbin
  • Zach Bowman, Outreach Vice Chair-LGBT, ACDC
  • Jarrod Nagurka, former Campaign Manager for Rip Sullivan and Christian Dorsey, ACDC Precinct Captain

Thank you for your consideration.  I look forward to speaking with you soon and hopefully seeing you at the election on August 3rd.

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA11) Announces: “the cancer, while initially beaten back, has now returned”; “The sun is setting on my time in public service, and this will be my last term in Congress.”

By
lowkell
-
2

Ugh, this really sucks; VERY sorry to hear it for a bunch of reasons, including that Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA11) is a strong fighter for democracy, for Ukraine, for NATO, for everything most of us care about, and it’s really unfortunate that we’ll be losing his powerful voice in Congress. Anyway, thanks to Gerry Connolly for his tremendous service, courage, tenacity, integrity, etc. for many years, and best of luck with your health going forward!

*************************

Connolly Issues Updated Open Letter to Constituents 

Fairfax, VA – Congressman Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA) released the following open letter to his constituents: 

Dear Friends, 

I want to begin by thanking you for your good wishes and compassion as I continue to tackle my diagnosis. Your outpouring of love and support has given me strength in my fights – both against cancer and in our collective defense of democracy. 

When I announced my diagnosis six months ago, I promised transparency. After grueling treatments, we’ve learned that the cancer, while initially beaten back, has now returned. I’ll do everything possible to continue to represent you and thank you for your grace. 

The sun is setting on my time in public service, and this will be my last term in Congress. I will be stepping back as Ranking Member of the Oversight Committee soon. With no rancor and a full heart, I move into this final chapter full of pride in what we’ve accomplished together over 30 years. My loving family and staff sustain me. My extended family – you all have been a joy to serve. 

Your friend and public servant, 

Gerry Connolly

 ###

Video: Trump’s Former VA Campaign Chair Says “Youngkin is going to ostracize [Reid] from the ticket, which means that Reid is going to get blown out and can’t raise money.”

By
lowkell
-
0

This is really classic, by Trump’s former VA campaign chair, MAGA radio host John Fredericks, regarding John Reid refusing to come on his show this morning, as well as VA GOP Chair Mark Peake also not coming on the show to talk about the situation with Reid, Youngkin, Earle-Sears, etc. BTW, right before Fredericks’ remarks, a caller was ranting about how gay men are supposedly “too sensitive…gay people are very sensitive…like a woman,” and that if you’re that sensitive, “why should anybody give you that much power?” Yikes.

“We offered [John Reid] two segments today, right now where you’re on – 7:15 to 7:45. We’ll give you two segments, you can take calls. I don’t do gotcha. I’m your friend, I’m your ally. Like I supported you. Now just because I asked for you to drop out because I think you’re going to get annihilated, well I’ve got a right to my opinion – so come on and defend it!…Mark Peake from Lynchburg is the new chairman…He was the handpicked chairman by Glenn Youngkin. We offered Peake an opportunity come on today at 7 a.m, I talked to him last night, he was going to do it, then he had a confflict, he had a breakfast or something, he couldn’t make it work. Hopefully we’ll get him on this week.

But the bottom line is Governor Youngkin called up Reid and told him to get out of the race because he had pictures that he said was going to blow up the ticket and he told him to get out. He didn’t ask him to get out, he told him to get out. Reid said no. And now Youngkin is going to ostracize him from the ticket, which means that Reid is going to get blown out and can’t raise money. And so the whole thing’s a mess. I mean it is what it is, I don’t know. And people are saying stay and fight. Fight for what? 28%? 38% of the vote? What the hell does that do?”

In sum – fun times for Virginia Republicans, couldn’t have happened to a nicer bunch of folks! LOL

Fmr. Governor/Senator George Allen (R), Fmr. VA Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R) Agree: “Tariffs are nothing more than indirect taxation on our own people”; Presidents Can’t Legally Do So Without Congress

By
lowkell
-
0

Amazingly, I agree with both former Governor/Senator George “Felix Macacawitz” Allen and with former Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (a Trump-supporting conservative Republican) on this. But again, I can’t help but noting that *both these guys voted for Trump*, despite knowing full well what Trump would do on tariffs, democracy, and many other things – treatment of our allies, NATO, Ukraine, etc. – where traditional conservatives would have been, and still should be, utterly AGHAST.

So how did the George Allens and Bill Bollings of the world end up supporting Trump, despite all these major disqualifiers? Basically, it seems that they falsely demonized Democrats in general, and Kamala Harris specifically, as some sort of socialists/commies, while hyping the threat of an “invasion” by “illegals,” etc. In other words, racism/xenophobia/misogyny/etc. won out over their supposed  rock-solid conservative values (“free markets?” “free peoples?” “free expression?” whatever!). Truly disgusting. Anyway, with that, here’s the latest from self-professed conservative Republicans George Allen and Bill Bolling, this time on Trump’s massive tax increases…

*********************************

OK, let’s talk about someting other than John Reid today.

Here’s an interesting article from yesterday’s Richmond Times Dispatch, outlining former U.S. Senator George Allen’s opposition to President Trump’s tariff policy.

Needless to say, Allen is right. Tariffs are nothing more than indirect taxation on our own people, and he objects to the President, any President, trying to impose such taxation by Executive Order, as opposed to an act of Congress.

Allen has joined a coalition of conservatives — constitutional scholars and lawyers, a former U.S. attorney general and two other former members of the U.S. Senate — in support of a lawsuit the Liberty Justice Center filed this month on behalf of five companies. They say Trump’s tariffs have put their businesses in jeopardy by raising their costs without representation in Congress.

“I’ve taken a stand and it’s one I feel very strongly about,” Allen said in a recent interview. “If you want to preserve the Republic, you need to preserve the Constitution.”
Allen contends the country faces a greater threat from what he called “taxation by proclamation,” echoing the Founding Fathers’ opposition to “taxation without representation” under British King George III.

Conservatives, on principle, “are not for taxes,” he said, “but it you’re going to have taxes they ought to be enacted by the legislative body to hold them accountable, not by the executive.”

“The members of Congress ought to get off their haunches and assert their authority, and not have it usurped by executive proclamation,” Allen said.
You go George!

Billboard Campaign Slams Winsome Earle-Sears in Hampton Roads for Dismissing Attacks on Virginia Jobs

By
Blue Virginia
-
0

From the Democratic Party of Virginia:

NEW: Billboard Campaign Slams Winsome Earle-Sears in Hampton Roads for Dismissing Attacks on Virginia Jobs
Virginia Democrats Launched Three Billboards Across Hampton Roads

VIRGINIA – Today Virginia Democrats launched three billboards along I-64 highlighting Winsome Earle-Sears’ callous disregard for the devastation the Trump Administration’s senseless firings could bring to scores of Hampton Roads families. The billboards read “Winsome Earle-Sears doesn’t care about 53,394 and counting unemployed Virginians” and “Winsome Earle-Sears doesn’t think losing your job is a big deal.” They also include Sears’ comments on the attacks on jobs from a closed-door event where she said “It happens all the time… And the media is making it out to be a huge, huge thing, and I don’t understand why.”

With nearly 52,000 federal employees, the Hampton Roads region is home to the third largest number of federal employees in the country.

“As thousands of Virginians face layoffs and the Hampton Roads economy comes under threat, Winsome Earle-Sears continues to downplay and dismiss the Trump Administration’s attacks on Virginia jobs. Every time Virginians see these billboards, they’ll be reminded that Sears doesn’t think losing a job is a huge deal and she isn’t doing her job of fighting for the Commonwealth,” said DPVA Spokesperson Maggie Amjad.

 

Read more about Sears’ record dismissing and defending the attacks on Virginia jobs: Winsome Earle-Sears has dismissed and laughed off attacks on Virginia jobs over and over again.

  • Winsome Earle-Sears was caught on tape dismissing and laughing off the attacks on Virginia jobs saying “the media is making it out to be a huge, huge thing… and I don’t understand why.”
  • Instead of standing up to attacks on Virginia jobs, Sears told Virginians facing layoffs “don’t fret.”
  • Sears also said “just about everybody has lost a job … It is life happening.” 

Winsome Earle-Sears has defended Trump’s attacks on Virginia’s workforce and economy.

  • The Youngkin-Sears administration’s response to workers at risk of losing their jobs was “update your resume.”
  •  As Donald Trump attacked Virginia’s workforce and economy, Sears declared she would help Trump “get the job done” if she were governor.

The few resources Sears offered to help Virginians ended up being broken links that led to “404 Page Not Found” website errors.

###

Monday News: “Trump Tells Americans What Putin Wants Them to Hear”; “Clown-Show Fascism”; “Is the US Becoming an Autocracy?” “Trump took the US economy to the brink of a crisis in just 100 days”; “The weekend that sent the [VA GOP] into a tailspin”

By
lowkell
-
7

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, April 28.

Fmr. VA Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R): “It is an all out war between John Reid and Governor Glenn Youngkin and Youngkin’s political operatives. I’ve honestly never seen anything like this.”

By
lowkell
-
8

Regarding the latest developments in the growing intra-Virginia Republican civil war (the latest: their presumptive nominee for Lt. Governor, John Reid, accused Youngkin’s people of “extortion,” staging a “coup” against him, etc.), former VA Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, a Trump-supporting conservative Republican, has the following to say:

“This just goes from bad to worse. It is an all out war between John Reid and Governor Glenn Youngkin and Youngkin’s political operatives. I’ve honestly never seen anything like this.

Either John Reid is being persecuted unfairly, or the Youngkin people have information about him that we don’t know about. If they do, they need to make their case publicly or move on.

And what about Winsome Sears and Jason Miyares? Do they stand with Youngkin or do they stand with Reid?”

Demanding Presumptive VA GOP 2025 LG Nominee John Reid Drop Out Without Actually Getting Him to Drop Out Makes Glenn Youngkin Look Super Weak Within the Trump/MAGA GOP?

By
lowkell
-
3

UPDATE 4:45 pm Sunday – YIKES, check this out!

“Hi. I’m John Reid. It’s Sunday afternoon and I had certainly hoped that we could put the bigotry and ugliness of last week behind us and unify our Republican ticket this year. But shockingly, once again, representatives of my campaign have been told by the leader of Governor Younkin’s political organization that the attacks on me will continue unless I drop out of the race for lieutenant governor. What colossal arrogance and abuse to a loyal fellow Republican and like it or not the declared legal nominee of our party just like what we saw against President Trump over the last eight years!

My representatives were shown the same explicit photographs of other people that I’ve got nothing to do with that I was shown last week and they were told that if I dropped out of the race they would purchase the opposition research and the lies and threats against me would suddenly stop. This is extortion and it is illegal in Virginia. And I am more outraged now. I have engaged legal counsel to pursue all options against these people.

The insiders in Virginia politics made a big miscalculation if they thought that I would bow down to anyone or run away scared. I’m a conservative Trump supporter and I’m gay, and everybody knows it because I’ve told you in person and in the media for decades. I’ve not broken any law and I’m not a hypocrite. I do not pretend that I was a saint before I entered into my current 8-year relationship. Personally and politically, I don’t have anything to say about what consenting adults do in private.

I am sickened and outraged at the weeks of veiled accusations and attacks on my family. And I’m not going to continue to answer a never-ending parade of questions and false accusations from people who we now know are solely motivated to stage a coup against a gay man whom they didn’t want to be their nominee but didn’t have the guts to run against. It’s unfair. No one else has to deal with this type of speculation and hyper scrutiny of their past before they were married or engaged and I won’t either.

I’m the Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor and I’m more transparent and I’m more conservative and I’m tougher than any of my detractors. And I’m not going anywhere – except to get back on the campaign trail, win this election and take these people to court.”

****************************************************************

Does Glenn Youngkin actually think that demanding the presumptive 2025 VA GOP Lt. Governor nominee, John Reid, drop out – but then having Reid NOT drop out, and if anything see many Virginia conservatives rally around Reid! – is going to help him with Trump, MAGA, etc. for 2026 or 2028? If anything, it seems to me that this is only going to HURT Youngkin going forward within the MAG GOP, where looking powerless, pathetic, disrespected, not listened to within your own party, etc. is not exactly an “alpha male” display that’s going to make MAGA/Trumpist hearts swoon! LOL

Meanwhile, what are presumptive VA GOP gubernatorial nominee Winsome Earle-Sears and attorney general nominee Jason Miyares doing? Hiding in their basements? Do they really think it’s sustainable to simply go day after day without saying a word about the whole John Reid controversy, when Reid is the presumptive LG nominee on THEIR TICKET???

Winsome Earle-Sears making lame/ridiculous excuses, while it looks like far-right Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA09) is standing by John Reid…

 

New Polling Shows Trump at Just 38%-58% Approval in Virginia: “Obviously some big headwinds for Virginia GOP”

By
lowkell
-
6

So, according to new polling by Civiqs, Trump’s now at a miserable 38% approval overall in Virginia — and just 32% among women, about 30% for those under age 50, etc. As Sam Shirazi says, “Obviously some big headwinds for Virginia GOP.”

Of course, keep in mind that  – as I wrote about a bit over a week ago – there’s not a clear/strong correlation across all these elections between a president’s approval rating and the outcome of the Virginia governor’s election. Thus, while in 2017 and 2021 – and also to an extent in 2005 – a president’s low approval rating corresponded with a loss for the Virginia gubernatorial candidate of the same party; but in 2001, 2009 and 2013, we really didn’t see a connection (e.g., in 2001, George W. Bush’s approval rating was at 88% post-9/11, yet Democrat Mark Warner won the Virginia governor’s race).

Still, having said that, low approval ratings for the president of your party certainly don’t HELP your candidate, all else being equal. And it’s even worse – MUCH worse, potentially – if the low approval ratings for the president of your party correspond with voter anger and intensity against that president. Because, as we know, angry voters tend to turn out to the polls, while content or demoralized or unexcited voters tend to stay home.  In 2017, for instance, it was *Democrats* who were super-pissed-off at the Trump Republican Party – and who turned out strongly in November to elect Ralph Northam and help Democrats pick up a massive 15 seats in the House of Delegates, almost taking back control of that chamber for the first time in many years. As for 2021, Democrats actually *did* turn out in large numbers, but Republican turnout  – fueled by anger at the Biden administration, inflation, COVID, etc – was through the ROOF, near presidential levels in some of the “reddest” parts of Virginia. Which enabled Youngkin to squeeze out a narrow victory in November 2021.

So what will happen in November 2025? At the moment, at least – and of course things could change a little or a lot by the fall – Trump’s approval ratings are very low in Virginia, PLUS the intensity (white-hot rage) right now seems to be more with Democrats. So that’s where we are in April, but what will things look like in October/November? We’ll see, but if it’s similar to now, or potentially even wore for Republicans by then (if the economy slips into a recession, for instance), then…yeah, I’d rather be the “blue” team than the “red” team for sure. Oh, and then there’s the fact that the Republican ticket could be a mess, after Glenn Youngkin called on their LG nominee, John Reid, to drop out.

But…yep, standard disclaimers/warnings: do NOT take anything for granted, do NOT get overconfident, make sure you DO vote and remind everyone you know to vote (Democratic, up and down the ballot, of course), etc. Because, in the end, we can only control our own actions, not what happens nationally, with Trump’s approval ratings, etc. So let’s stay focused.

Sunday News: “The world has a verdict on 100 days of Trump 2.0: Wow, what a loser”; “Trump says he fears Putin ‘may be tapping me along’ after Zelenskyy meeting”; “One Hundred Days of Ineptitude”; Pope Francis’ Funeral Sermon -“Build Bridges, Not Walls”

By
lowkell
-
7

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Sunday, April 27.

Video: Indivisible Charlottesville Activists’ “John McGuire sighting in the wild,” Attempt to Send Him a Certified Letter, etc. Re: Today’s “Where is John McGuire” Town Hall

By
lowkell
-
7

Great stuff by Indivisible Charlottesville:

  1. See below for video of a “John McGuire sighting in the wild,” as the insurrectionist/extremist Congressman for VA05 basically dodged the activist’s questions about why he hasn’t responded to them about attending one of their town halls (note how McGuire changes the subject to the fact that at a previous grassroots town hall, there was a cardboard cutout of him without clothes – I mean, with underwear, but other than that, nothing – as in “the emperor has no clothes”);
  2.  Another Charlottesville Indivisible activist provides proof that they sent him a certified letter inviting him to their town hall, so that McGuire shouldn’t be able to deny that he was invited (note, in the first video, he claims he hasn’t seen the letter, as does his staffer…hmmm)
  3.  Yet another Charlottesville Indivisible activist reads the certified letter…
  4. Charlottesville Indivisible is currently holding its “Where is John McGuire” town hall, even as it’s highly unlikely that McGuire will ever show up…

By the way, I’ll add video of today’s “Where is John McGuire” town hall if there’s any available. Maybe McGuire might be interesting in watching it, since obviously he can’t seem to manage to actually show up in person to any of these events – and answer his constituents’ questions about his voting record, what the Trump/Musk administration’s been up to (no good, obviously!), etc.

************************

🚨JOHN MCGUIRE SIGHTING IN THE WILD 🚨

A little bird told us that Congressman John McGuire would be in Charlottesville today, so some of our volunteers were there to greet him.

Turns out he **does** have time to meet with people! (As long as those people aren’t a group of constituents who want to ask him questions about his record of supporting MAGA policies that are wrecking our economy and our democracy.)

Our town hall with/out McGuire is Saturday. All the advance seats got claimed so we added a few more. Sign up at indivisiblecharlottesville.org/townhall and we’ll have some available at the door.

PS When he says he didn’t get invited, that’s why we made sure we got receipts.

“Here’s one of Indivisible Charlottesville’s volunteers, dropping off a certified letter to Rep. McGuire inviting him to the town hall. Can’t say he didn’t get it!” – Charlottesville Indivisible

“Here’s one of Indivisible Charlottesville’s volunteers reading our letter to Rep. McGuire inviting him to the town hall this Saturday.” – Charlottesville Indivisible

Yet another Republican Congressperson, in this case insurrectionist Rep. John McGuire (R-VA05), who really REALLY doesn’t want to meet with their constituents…so the constituents are holding their own town halls!

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