Politico posted an excellent recap of the primaries in Virginia.
Democrats are uniting behind their candidate, while Republicans are bitterly divided. Tom Perrielo urged his supporters to unite behind the victor, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam.
Ed Gillespie was supposed to coast to victory but barely survived a challenge by a hard-right Trumpster named Cory Stewart. The defeated candidate said “never!”
A fascinating story for political junkies.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“The initial hot take on the Virginia gubernatorial primary was that the Democrats were reprising the bitter battle between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, while Republicans were putting on a coronation. Now that the votes are in, the opposite is closer to the truth: The left is celebrating its “unity,” and the right is openly disparaging the very idea.”
Sigh. Right off the bat we have to conflate Democrats with “the left”. Until we wake up and realize that most Democrats, including Northam, are right-wing, we’re going to keep losing even if “our side” wins.
And, call me a conspiracy theorist, but I’m beginning to suspect that apparent lefties like Perrielo (and maybe Sanders too) are all part of the dog and pony show and fully on board with it. Their role is to show people that Americans reject the “far left” positions in favor of “centrists” (right-wing Democrats), then they come out with a smile to support their party in a glowing show of unity.
But Americans don’t reject “far left” positions. Americans overwhelmingly support “pie-in-the-sky” ideas like universal single payer healthcare and “free” or at least heavily subsidized higher education. But the establishment has become so good at the propaganda (like the above-referenced dog and pony shows) that Americans have become convinced that it isn’t “realistic” to demand such things of our betters, even though the entire rest of the “first world” (and even much of the “second” and “third” world) have such things. And yet we point and laugh at other countries for getting suckered by propaganda. I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating. The poorest dirt farmer in Africa has a better grasp of what’s really going on than the average American, including (and perhaps especially) educated Americans.
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A big, 500 font size YEP!
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Glad I’m not a political junkie!
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As I am a professional political junker, here below, is a letter I just sent the LA Times. Hope others of my colleagues here also contact the media and encourage all their lists to do the same.
Please everyone…write the media today complaining about their continuing to libel Senator Kamala Harris as being “hysterical” in her questioning the witnesses, particularly Sessions yesterday. She is a trained and highly skilled prosecutor and our revered Senator and these Republican MEN are terrified she might run for President in 2020. She has gained international fame for her astute legal questioning. She refuses to be deterred by witnesses obfuscation and hyperbole, and she continues to quietly and with dignity and assertiveness press them for answers to her questions. If she was a male, she never would have been interrupted and reprimanded by McCain who has NO standing as only a guest in these hearings, and by Chairman Burr, the Republican leader. If you watched the entire hearings you will see how she comports herself with dignity, assertiveness, and learned legal questioning, and you will see the truly rude and aggressive questioning by some of the Dem male Senators including but not limited to Wyden and King. Yet Harris was singled out by McCain and Burr as the only Dem Senator to insult her and chastise her…TWICE. They clearly want to silence her voice.
This protest must be carried to the media and to the nation and the world. If we do not protest, they will continue to attack and defame Harris and try to break her as a Presidential candidate.
My letter to the LA Times is below.
Ellen
—–Original Message—–
From: Ellen Lubic elubic@aol.com
To: letters letters@latimes.com
Sent: Wed, Jun 14, 2017 2:15 pm
Subject: Regarding calling Senator Kamala Harris “hysterical”
Republicans Are Running Scared
Twice in recent Congressional hearings re Sessions and Comey, invited guest Senator McCain, who has no status to comment or question, interrupted only Senator Kamala Harris, a well trained legal prosecutor and former Attorney General of California, as she questioned the witness. Harris quietly and with legal determination repeatedly asked AG Sessions if he had “read” a printed rule that said he was exempt from answering questions about his conversations with Trump. He continually gave long rambling obfuscations not addressing this issue, but rather talked about principles. Harris, under the five minute time constraint allowed, and as any lawyer would do, tried to keep him on subject. McCain loudly interrupted her and twice calling her “rude” and the Chair Burr reprimanded her. Many think King, Wyden and others were far louder and aggressive in their questioning yet they were not called names nor stopped in their questioning. And now, seemingly afraid of Harris and her unique prosecutorial ability, and her possible run for President in 2020, she has been labeled “hysterical” It is shameful that your reporter continues the libel that she was “hysterical” as these Republicans have put forth. Educated, successful, and assertive women have faced this same accusation of hysteria throughout history, so the LA Times should know better than to continue this libel to our well respected junior Senator from California who comports herself with great intelligence, dignity, and determination.
Ellen Lubic
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and how on earth they could even possibly see “hysteria” in Harris’s dogged push to force that ridiculous little man to speak truth is beyond me
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Americans must unite against the Koch’s, Walton heirs and Gates. We can’t afford not to be political junkies. The UnKochMyCampus.org site has a graphic that they projected on the side of a Utah State University building. The graphic shows a giant “Sold” sign accompanied by a photo of Charles and David Koch.
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Alternet News reported today (1) each of the richest 5 men in the world have as much as 750,000,000 people. (2) “In 2016, the richest 1% shifted $4 tril. in wealth away from the nation to themselves.”
The article’s title “Now 5 men own almost as much wealth as half of the world’s population.”
Bill Gates is singled out for the evil of his education agenda.
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“On Monday, the White House held a confab for school-choice supporters to talk about what’s ahead for its federal school push. Last week, I’d been told that this was going to be the White House scolding everyone, “The train’s leaving the station, time to shut up, get on board, and do as you’re told.” As you can surmise, I would’ve had a big problem with that (in part, it prompted me to pen last week’s imagined presidential address). Instead, though, I was gladdened to hear that it turned out to be an honest-to-goodness listening session. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway listened, asked questions, and took notes, while several dozen advocates offered competing perspectives and prescriptions. Concerns about burdensome federal regulations, heavy-handed mandates, and the problem with one-size-fits-all education directives were aired and given a respectful hearing. That was a heartening development and one that I found reassuring.”
When do advocates for public schools get one of these private meetings?
Why is a publicly-funded federal agency excluding 90% of students and parents and holding private meetings to allow special access for the schools they prefer? How is that fair to children and parents in public schools?
It’s bad enough that the DeVos budget targets (exclusively) public schools for cuts while doubling funding for charter and private schools. Blatantly unfair. They also give special access to their preferred schools?
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If public school parents want to find out anything from the Trump Administration about what’s in store for their schools from the Trump Administration, they better find a way to sneak into a charter or voucher meeting.
Public schools need not apply at the US Department of Education. Not invited.
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There was a big flurry of ed reform press releases stating their principled objections to the DeVos budget – a budget that targets ONLY public schools for cuts.
They promised they would act as advocates for kids in public schools. Have they done anything? All I see are private meetings where they’re lobbying for charters and vouchers. What happened to their vow to oppose the DeVos budget? They rolled over in a week?
If public school advocates aren’t welcome in the US Department of Education, who is acting on behalf of students in public schools in these high-level budget and policy negotiations?
Can we pool our money and hire an advocate? There should be someone at the table speaking for 90% of US students. They’ll continue to be ignored unless someone shows up.
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The lesson from the Virginia election seems to be simple. In Virginia, half the voting public in the Republican Party there does not want to accept folks who disagree with them. They would prefer a plutocracy of themselves. Given the state of politics today, guided as it is by TV string pullers and their internet echoes, that could be worse.
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