Elections in Virginia (or how Dems cheat)

[The Brain]

Anyway, all women ache for some Weltschmerz.

[KRonn]

I think the libertarian candidate took some votes from both other candidates. As for McAuliffe, news reports that I've seen say the SEC and Feds have been investigating him and the "electric car company" he created and the funding he received. I don't know where that all stands but it was going on long before the election. I wonder how big that will get or if he'll be in some trouble part way into his governorship. The guy is a real light weight it seems to me, just a money bundler for the Clintons. The Clintons and Dems wanted him in Virginia to help push a Hillary win in the state, I guess figuring that a dem governor would mean a larger democrat political machine into the 2016 presidential elections. Dumb ass Repubs didn't give much help or funding to Cuccinelli probably because he was Tea Party. And spited themselves into losing the state instead.   Plus shutting down the government in a state heavy with govt. workers was dumb timing.    But with the new health care bill blowing up Cuccinelli still nearly pulled out a win.

[Capetan Mihali]

The cane is the preferred option.

http://languish.org/forums/index.php/topic,5866.msg307627.html#msg307627

Ach, how the years go by. :schmerz:

[grumbler]

I'm not sure that McAuliffe can be fairly seen as a "lightweight," given the high-level positions he has held (e.g. a very successful Chairman of the DNC) and the fact that the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard invited him in as a vising fellow.

He certainly isn't a political or business heavyweight, OTOH.

[Caliga]

I asked my brother who he voted for for governor and his reply was "There was an election?"

[Sheilbh]

I'm not sure that McAuliffe can be fairly seen as a "lightweight," given the high-level positions he has held (e.g. a very successful Chairman of the DNC) and the fact that the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard invited him in as a vising fellow.

Yeah. I think there's a difference between being sleazy and a lightweight.

Dumb ass Repubs didn't give much help or funding to Cuccinelli probably because he was Tea Party. And spited themselves into losing the state instead.   Plus shutting down the government in a state heavy with govt. workers was dumb timing.

That may have been a factor, but I don't think it's the largest:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57611186/could-ken-cuccinelli-have-won-the-virginia-governors-race/

The biggest factor he pointed to is what he termed "the ideology gap." While 41 percent of the electorate thought McAuliffe was too liberal, a full 50 percent thought Cuccinelli was too conservative. Plus, there was a substantial difference in how unified the parties were: while McAuliffe did well across the spectrum of liberal, moderate and conservative Democrats, Cuccinelli performed 17 points worse among moderate and liberal Republicans than he did among conservatives.

"That's a really rough hurdle to overcome, when you begin with half the electorate that's made an all-things considered judgment that you're just not on the right place on the spectrum for them," Galston said.

He also pointed to Cuccinelli's relatively poor showing against Virginia's well-educated population, trailing by 22 points among the 29 percent with a post-graduate education, and the 18 percent of voters who are single women, where he trailed by 32 percent.

But I think he wasn't an exciting candidate even for conservatives and he was consistently behind in the polls. If he doesn't set the heart going and doesn't look like winning, why would you give money?

[Ed Anger]

I asked my brother who he voted for for governor and his reply was "There was an election?"

That is about how I feel about elections. What a waste of my valuable time.

[Caliga]

That's basically what he said.

[Ed Anger]

That's basically what he said.

Good man.

[garbon]

I think it took me all of 10 minutes.

[Ed Anger]

I'm also incredibly lazy.

[garbon]

Also, I got a new slogan out of it. I am the 24.3%!

[Neil]

If a Tea Party guy wins the state, then the Republicans have still lost it.  Personally, I think that the Republican money men in Virginia are heroes for not heavily supporting the candidate.  They saw (quite rightly) that a Democrat is better than a Tea Party type.  The Tea Party is a cancer in the party of Nixon.

[CountDeMoney]

If a Tea Party guy wins the state, then the Republicans have still lost it.  Personally, I think that the Republican money men in Virginia are heroes for not heavily supporting the candidate.  They saw (quite rightly) that a Democrat is better than a Tea Party type.  The Tea Party is a cancer in the party of Nixon.

Nixon was a cancer in the party of Nixon, too.  Sure, pancreatic is a bit different than melanoma, but still.

[Neil]

You Reaganauts are all the same:  Bad.