Here are a few of the lessons I take away from the crucial Virginia elections. You may have others. Feel free to chime in.
First, the Trump message of ”American carnage” (the theme of his inaugural address) failed. Appeals to fear didn’t work. The blatant and latent warnings about crime, immigration, race, and insecurity lost. Virginians Close hope over fear.
Second, Trump phony themes of patriotism, delivered by references to athletes taking a knee and sacred Confederate statues, were not enough to overcome opposition to Trump and Trumpism. Voters are not dumb. They see through the smokescreen.
Third, Democrats win by uniting their base, including parents and teachers. Northam spoke positively about Virginia’s public schools and promised to reduce the burden of testing, to expand early childhood education, and to improve teachers’ Salaries. Not a word about charters or choice.
His pledge:
“Our kids deserve to go to schools where they feel safe and get the highest quality education. We can’t allow the Trump Administration to destroy the success of Virginia’s public schools, public universities, or community college system. Ralph will fight to defend our public schools and will support classroom innovation to develop new methods of teaching our kids the skills they need for a 21st century economy.
“As a member of the Children’s Cabinet, Dr. Northam and the McAuliffe administration are helping our most challenged schools combat chronic absenteeism and poor academic performance — but there’s still work to do. The commonwealth of Virginia spends, on average, $80 million per year to remediate students in kindergarten through third grade. We need to reevaluate how we test our youngest students and ensure we’re putting them on track for success at the beginning of their academic careers. A big part of addressing this issue is making sure quality pre-K is available to all young Virginians — though it also involves challenging conventional methods of student assessments and alternatives to having students repeat grades at early ages.”
There is more.
Every Democratic Candidate in 2018 should read Dr. Notham’s commonsense approach to education.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
School choice, and expansion of charter schools, is dead in VA, at least for the next four years. Our side lost, fair and square.
Still, I believe that education issues were very minor in this last election. Ditto to confederate statues.
Indifference and apathy were very high, the turnout was low.
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At least Charles acknowledges that vouchers and charters did not help the Trumpist GOP candidate.
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Well, but, something I’m hearing on news analysis is that the liberal quadrant of the state near DC turned out in greater numbers than in recent elections. Regardless of how big a part ed or confed statues played as issues, this shows another takeaway: stay-at-home Dems are getting off their duffs.
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Low turnout usually helps Republicans; if the turnout had been higher, Gillespie would have lost by even more.
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way, way off, Charles…..
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Off about what?
-School choice is dead (A look at Northam’s website, will convince you)
-expansion of charter schools also dead.
-Education issues were very miner, voters focused on ecnonomic/pocketbook issues.
-Confederate statues, most people could care less.
The democrats won, fair and square.
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Makes me think the Handel special election in GA had some funny business going on with voting machines.
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Agree. I was thinking exactly the same thing.
The polls for the 2016 election in Virginia were exactly right. Despite the so-called wave of Trump support, it didn’t change Hillary Clinton from having a decent size win in Virginia.
But in the states governed by Republicans who had made a concerted effort to disenfranchise voters AND fought very hard against having any paper trail on voting machines, Clinton lost by just enough so that it didn’t trigger an automatic recount.
I’m sure there was a Trump wave, but somehow it only manifested itself in states controlled by Republicans.
Having a Democratic governor is very important. And while it’s too late for the 2016 election, it is simply inexcusable that so many closely contested Republican-run states still have voting machines that don’t have paper ballots and the Republicans fight against changing that.
That Geogia special election vote where the entire voting machine records were “accidentally” wiped out is appalling.
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Now that the Democrats are taking back the states, they need to heed the slap on the wrist that they have gotten from voters. They need to be more moderate and centric than left-wing. If the politicians have not learned their lessons, I fear we will have a Pence for President in a few years.
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Uh, they couldn’t possibly be any more “moderate and centric”. The Democrats abandoned the left wing during the Clinton years, if not before. That’s why they’ve been consistently getting slapped for the last decade – thousands of seats lost at all levels. More of the same is not going to change that. People voted strongly for hope and change in 2008. The fact that that slogan is now the punchline of a bad joke doesn’t change the fact that people still want change.
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I hope the Virginia election shows the Democrats that they can win when they support issues like public education that are important to the middle class. I hope the DNC can figure out a way to be more inclusive, but, unfortunately, the neoliberals are working to marginalize the more left leaning members of the party, and the many of the more left leaning Democrats are the young people, the future of the party. They need to compromise and build consensus.
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Sorry, but Obama and his cronies were pretty darn left wing! Not much moderation in those Hope and Change years.
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Give me some examples of how Obama was “left wing”? Was it perpetuating the Iraq and Afghanistan wars? Was it declaring the unilateral right to assassinate anyone any time, including U.S. citizens? Was it his drone campaign that killed thousands of civilians (and targeted wedding parties and funerals)? Or maybe you’re thinking more domestically. RttT? Support for Wall Street? Thumbing his nose at unions? Cutting the heating subsidy in the middle of the coldest winter? Putting Social Security cuts up for discussion? Telling black people that their problems are only absentee fathers? Secretly negotiating away the public option in closed door meetings with the health insurance lobbyists? His support of Big Pharma, the oil companies, Monsanto, and other corporations?
Please do enlighten me. Enquiring minds want to know.
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Obama was progressive in his social justice legislation supporting women and LBGT rights and healthcare, but not in his economic polices. He tried to crush public education, bailed out Wall St for their misdeeds, and nobody went to jail. supported the Trans Pacific Trade Agreement, and ignored unions. He was a free market corporatist, IMHO.
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Obama had to be dragged kicking and screaming into support for same sex marriage, which he only supported once it became clear that some of his deepest pocket donors were gay or at least supportive of gay rights. His healthcare plan was a right-wing plan straight out of the Heritage Institute, originally piloted by Romney in Massachusetts – nothing progressive about it. Obama has actively worked to undermine the possibility of single payer healthcare.
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I agree with you, dienne 77. Obama evolved into supporting LBGT rights. In 2008 he said that marriage is between a man and a woman. I also think Obamacare was a windfall for the insurance industry. In fact, I believe they were involved in writing the legislation. I recall a photo of Obama with all the big insurance reps. shaking hands.
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Thank you…Retired Teacher. I liked Obama and thought he had great ideas. I think he was a very “thoughtful” president. I think that he aligned himself with a bunch of greedy, left wingers to fill various departments and they took over his whole agenda. Obama LET that happen. So, in response to the left swinging to the far left, we got the rise of the tea party. It has been a tug of war ever since and NOTHING has gotten done for the good of the people. There isn’t much compromise when angry children are stomping, spitting and name calling in the playground of Washington DC!
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You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means. Obama never aligned himself with any “left-wingers”. He aligned himself with people like Hillary, Duncan, Rahm, Booker, etc. – all very solidly centrist, moderate Democrats – along with his famous “reach across the aisle compromises” (sell outs) to the Republicans. Obama actively rejected left-wing groups and initiatives like Occupy and Black Lives Matter.
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Lisa said: “Sorry, but Obama and his cronies were pretty darn left wing!” What!?! In what possible alternate universe was Obama “pretty darn left wing?” As Dienne pointed out, his educational policies were worse than Bush’s, he was pro charter schools, pro privatizing the schools and pro standardized testing to a toxic degree. The ACA was better than nothing but it was a big sop to the insurance companies. Obama set up that cat food commission which mercifully flopped because there were enough people on the commission who valued Social Security. Maybe if you a far far far right wing ideologue Obama might seem left wing. In actuality, Obama was quite centrist and corporate friendly.
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“Objects in mirror are more real than they appear”
Obama in the mirror
Is closer to the real
Reflection being clearer
Than Hope and Change appeal
The Democratic error
Was “swerve to center right”
By party standard bearer
Instead of “stand and fight”
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I’ve never been a fan of Obama, but given the slavish devotion of both political parties in recent decades to aggressive overseas interventions, his nuclear deal with Iran was an act of sanity, realism, and could be argued as representing the better traditions of the “Left,” at least for this day and age.
Credit should be given where it’s due, and Obama’s deal with Iran (along with his reluctance to bomb Syria after the bogus chemical weapons stories, though that was really a result of Putin’s actions) was/is a good thing.
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Agreed, Michael. Obama did have a few welcome, if far too rare, moments of sanity. None of that, however, remotely justifies saying he was “pretty darn left wing!”.
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“Obama left wing?”
Obama left the wing
That harbors the progressives
And had a loving fling
With center right regressives
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Likewise, Dienne, I agree with you that it’s preposterous to call Obama or his policies “Leftist.”
In fact, I remain convinced that Obama was explicitly supported by the Overclass – he received far more Wall Street money that McCain did – in 2008 because they knew he would leave them alone and not prosecute them for their economic and financial crimes, and that he’s insure that any attempts to fix the economy would pay them first and only.
The presidential election in 2008 was a once-in-a-century opportunity to re-direct the priorities of the government away from the interests of a looting Overclass and toward a People’s Agenda (“Hope” and “Change”), akin to the election of 1932. Americans were hungry for change that served their interests, and Obama received the elite support he did because they rightly knew he would betray the people’s desire and need for change.
It’s no coincidence that, nonsense about Russian interference aside, it was Blue states and counties that flipped from Obama in 2008 and 2012 to Trump in 2016 that gave the election to Trump. Those people were promised change, and instead received more of the same de-industrialization and outsourcing, the same impunity and lies, and then decided to give the middle finger to the liberal credentialed class that continues to show them such contempt.
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I’ve never agreed more with dienne77 and Michael. Obama is about the farthest thing from “left wing” I have ever heard.
His administration did more to aid in the privatization of public schools than any Republican before him. Obamacare is a version of the plans that the Republicans like McCain and Romney offered as their “health reform”.
For gosh sakes Obama was even throwing around ideas like “reforming” social security! You can’t get farther from “left wing” than trying to privatize social security or even entertaining the idea in the name of “compromise.”
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Obama is only “left-wing” compared to that other Democrat, Bill Clinton.
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Wow, that’s exactly backwards. Liberals/ progressives have been sidelined for 25 yrs due to Dem Party tacking right thus providing no significant alternative to centrist Repubs. They’ve finally been stirred out of their lairs by more progressive candidates coming forward in response to rwnj candidates– incl Trump & co who bought into that base. Who do you think is getting the slap on the wrist here? My hope is for more progressive candidates coming forward in 2018: let’s make it a kick in the pants!
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I am hoping for many very necessary primary debates: may candidates step forward who will force the focus onto issues which the current “progressive” platform has been strategically avoiding.
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Lisa M
I am with Joe and dienne on this one .
Came into office and pushes a debt commission in the middle of a financial collapse . Social Security and Medicare are than portrayed as programs . That “have 310 million Americans sucking on the Government tit ” by its Republican co chair .
Proposes a right wing solution for healthcare insurance designed by a right wing think tank,Heritage . Never even considers single payer or a government option . The only thing worse than ACA for middle income Americans is no ACA for those who qualify for subsidy . . Americans do not hate ACA , not enough of them are on it . They conflate and hate their employer provided healthcare . Which unless you are in excellent(union ) plans have transferred more and more of the costs while wages remained stagnant. Hint if a single payer plan had failed in 09 we would be well on our way to it now. ( later on that) . Employer provided healthcare was dying . The recession would have buried it .
In a big —- you to organized labor who hugely came out for Obama and Democrats. He came out with the stimulus package at the Caterpillar plant that broke the UAW .
The Auto Bailouts did save some pensions but new hires are now at such low wages that it is impossible to the non union auto sector .
He then refused to give any support to the Employee Free Choice Act a bill that would have reinvigorated the Union movement in this country. As stated by Wayne Huizenga former CEO and owner of Waste Management and the Miami dolphins . Also a man who boast of breaking more unions than any one else . “Hell no we don’t want that . They would all be Union.” Thank the other Diane for that as well the one on the west coast, Feinstein. Never even made it out of committee.
He put those slippers on and went and joined those workers in Wisconsin after Walker broke the back of labor . No he was basically
silent .
His education department attacked Americas mostly union teachers as if they were responsible for the failures of an oligarchy . An attack that he joined forces with some of the REAL farthest right forces in the Nation. An attack on teachers elevated to that level in good part because of their affiliation with the Democratic party .Right down to charter teacher appreciation week replacing teacher appreciation week.
He picks Charlotte, as the site of the 2012 Democratic Convention a city with not one hotel that was Union or built union. Infuriating the AFL CIO . The construction trades boycott that convention.
Michael Froman, a Citibank Exec a bank that received 350 billion from Tarp picks Obama’s entire first cabinet . 31 names everyone of them gets appointed. Not a lefty on it.
Staying with trade the Korean trade agreement was opposed by 130 to 59 Democrats in the house and supported by 219 Republicans opposed by 21 . Some —–ing Liberal . Obama Signs it .
Froman goes on to be chief Negotiator on TPP opposed by every progressive group in the country Labor , Environmental, Consumer ….
Obama promises to ram it down the throat of the progressive base of the party in a lame Duck with a Republican House and Senate.
“Why cant we know what is in the agreement” Warren . “Because if the American people knew what was in the agreement they would not like it. ” Froman in congressional testimony
Of course not one banker went to jail . Even when they were caught manipulating the currency markets . Not one . Ronald Reagan sent over a thousand to jail in the puny savings and loan scandal a far smaller crises.
On taxes Obama caves to the Republicans , extending most of the Bush Tax cuts .
Approves extended drilling in the Gulf a week before the BP disaster .
Only opposed the XL pipe line after oil prices were so low that the push for it was lessened.
Obama sends holder to Michigan to lock the Governor up for negligent
homicide in the poisoning of Flint . Nah never happened, he went and pretended to drink a glass of water . To show that filtered water was safe to drink . Of course that glass came off of Air Force One.
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Impossible to organize the non union sector
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Read the exit poll results….
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/local/virginia-politics/governor-exit-polls/?tid=graphics-story&utm_term=.c8bce1dae7fb
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The Democrats desperately needed a win and the one in VA is big. Murphy was expected to win in NJ and thank goodness he did, he got my vote. ESPECIALLY. AFTER. 8. YEARS. OF. CHRISTIE. THE. HORRIBLE! Murphy has said that he will return power to local school districts and de-emphasize standardized testing. Hope he sticks to his word. He’s not rabidly foaming at the mouth anti-NJEA as Christie was. I must admit that I did have some reservations about the fact that Murphy is a former Goldman-Sachs guy, he has very little charisma and he seems almost uncomfortable in his skin but maybe that’s just me and I could be wrong. However it was time to end GOP control of the governorship and what other choice was there. The Green Party got less than 1% of the vote.
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Interesting side not: Virginia used paper ballots; paper ballots marked with a voter’s choices and then inserted into an electronic scanner that will record the votes. The ballot itself will be retained if it’s needed for a recount.
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I volunteered to serve as an election judge in 2012 (A great experience, BTW, that more people should consider). Then (2012) VA used touch-screen computers, which (I believe) were very vulnerable to fraud and/or hacking. The new paper cards, in which the “ovals” must be blackened with ink, are much more secure. And if needed, they can be manually reviewed in case of recount.
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NY as well . The machine keeps a tab and the ballots are collected and stored.
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Yes, and I will forever question whether those ballots in Virginia — which were not used everywhere in the states that Hillary lost by tiny margins – were why the polls in 2016 were exactly spot on in Virginia and mainly wrong in states where Republican Governors seems unusually interested in disenfranchising voters.
I heard part of a Bill de Blasio press conference today in which he mentioned that getting as many people voting as possible should not be a partisan issue. I hope that is something that becomes a huge issue in the next year — fair votes with paper trails so neither party can cheat.
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In New Jersey and Virginia:
All in all, good news. It’s good to remember that Trump lost the popular
vote by more than 2 million. He commands only 30 percent of electorate.
We need a thought out strategy to defeat the
Trump base and regain the House as well as the Senate. Is there some way
that Demos can become again the great coalition party of Blacks and
Hispanics and Asians and working and middle class whites as well?
Pence is the nightmare in the wings but I still feel Trump should be impeached
and prosecuted.
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Here are some more big wins for diversity! https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/democratic-victories-firsts-election-day_us_5a026c51e4b092053058cf38?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=__TheMorningEmail__110817&utm_content=__TheMorningEmail__110817+CID_43d7f45ee28e01b852ec04ab8b33656f&utm_source=Email+marketing+software&utm_term=elected+a+woman+as+mayor&ncid=newsltushpmgnews__TheMorningEmail__110817
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Although we are celebrating some good victories last night, today is a day of mourning for me—the first anniversary of the election of our Dear Leader. The best selling German tabloid Bild put together an interesting balance sheet:
Dear Leader has sent out an average of 6 tweets per day, more than 2,200 for the year.
His followers went from 12.94 million to 42.1 million, putting him in 21st place. Barack Obama with 97 million is in 3rd.
The five most common words found in his tweets: loser (234 times), dumb (222), terrible (204), stupid (183), and weak (156).
Taxpayers have spent $77.5 million for his golf outings. A watchdog website has counted at least 73 rounds. The White House claims 34. The average golfer plays 20 rounds per year.
His infamous handshake the first time he met Macron lasted 30 seconds. His first with Merkel was 0.
A total of ten senior administration members have left: Mike Flynn, Katie Walsh, Mike Duke, Sean Spicer, Michael Short, Reince Preibus, Anthony Scaramucci, Steve Bannon, Sebastian Gorka, and Tom Price.
And Huffington Post has a detailed report on how much our Dear Leader has damaged our foreign relations: “It’s the worst of all worlds,” said Stephen M. Walt, professor of international affairs at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. “The United States is continuing to intervene in various places…but we’re now doing it with an incompetent president. And this will not end well.”
In a poll of more than 40,000 people from 37 countries, “Most non-Americans consider Trump ‘arrogant,’ ‘intollerant’ and even ‘dangerous,’ the poll found. Just 22 percent expressed ‘confidence in Trump to do the right thing when it comes to international affairs,’ compared to 64 percent during Barack Obama’s presidency.” That same poll found that 74% had “no confidence” in the the president, compared to 23% at the end of the Obama presidency. He’s even turning away his allies. In a French poll, “only around 20 percent of National Front voters say they have a positive opinion of Trump.”
Bild link: http://www.bild.de/politik/ausland/donald-trump/der-praesident-in-zahlen-53792106.bild.html
HuffPo link: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-one-year-world-perspective_us_5a029dc4e4b06ff32c9456ac?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
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Trump is a nightmare and an embarrassment. Let’s hope we can keep the damage down to one term and avoids getting us in a nuclear meltdown. I try to ignore him as much as I can. It’s healthier that way.
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I’ve played 10 rounds the last 20 years.
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You obviously have no chance at the presidency!
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For that reason, and that reason alone.
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I’d vote for you, but one vote won’t get you far.
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I believe a huge number of Trump’s twitter followers are Russian bots.
Just like those Facebook personalities who were so beloved by the right. They have no been outed as nonexistent Russian fakes.
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In a poll of more than 40,000 people from 37 countries, “Most non-Americans consider Trump ‘arrogant,’ ‘intollerant’ and even ‘dangerous,
So do most Americans
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So exit polls reveal some interesting things and polls never really ask the in-depth questions . At least not any that I have ever answered or seen.
So the most important issue to voters was healthcare, of course that does not tell us where on the healthcare debate these voters stood . I am sure that some of that group were Trump supporters opposed to ACA and some of that was from voters who supported the ACA and some of that was from voters who were looking for an even more progressive single payer system .
College educated voters at the same time, came out in very large numbers for the Democrats . Yet one might assume that they are higher paid workers who are more likely to have healthcare provided by their private employer or the Government in the suburbs of DC .
I do not know that my assumption is correct.
Younger voters came out overwhelmingly for the Democrats 64% . Young being those under 45 also less likely to have good employer sponsored health care . Voters over 45 favored the Trumpster candidate Gillespie . by a percent or two . They are not only more likely to have health insurance provided by the employer, they are more likely if they have a college degree to have paid off that debt and to have had a smaller proportion of debt to income.
The assembly has swung Democratic so two things are possible. Either Northam had very long coat tails that extended to a lesser degree down ballot . Or their was a rejection of Trump down ballot as well that also propelled Northam to a commanding victory . Or both.
It is obvious that Trumpism was rejected . What is not obvious is what motivated these voters to come out in the numbers they did . What is not obvious other than the wake up call by Trump that got these voters to do what they would not do last November.
Did college educated voters and voters under 45 just discover that Trump and more importantly the Republicans are despicable. If that’s the case they should return their degrees. It would be nice to know what generated such excitement for a not to exciting candidate.
Sitting here in long Island that rejection of Trump did not extend to several of our towns . Even after the announcement of a Tax plan that will devastate . Two towns stayed Republican one flipped Republican one flipped Democratic .
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I thought I remembered reading the opposite theory.
The fact that so many new down ballot Democrats were running for small local elections got people out to vote for them. And Northam benefitted for that higher voter turn out that was really about people supporting some local candidate and made the effort to come out and vote for them. Since they were at the polls, they voted for Northam, but might not have bothered to go if it was just to vote for him.
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That is what I was asking reread it
“The assembly has swung Democratic so two things are possible. Either Northam had very long coat tails that extended to a lesser degree down ballot . Or their was a rejection of Trump down ballot as well that also propelled Northam to a commanding victory . Or both.”
The Berniecrat,Tom Perriello had a significant role in that effort down ballot effort .
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/the-va-governors-race-still-hears-a-lot-from-the-guys-who-lost-the-nomination-fights/2017/09/18/8dbabc86-9c8a-11e7-8ea1-ed975285475e_story.html?utm_term=.7c5765e7f318
So what I am asking was is the massive shift the result of those younger voters coming out . The ones that stayed home before .
Note I am asking it . Not asserting it . I am questioning why educated voters would suddenly find ACA (healthcare) the critical issue . Theoretically they are higher waged and would have healthcare . Unless they were younger educated voters who for the most part are in worse shape . .
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Many previously uncontested seats were contested. That made a big difference.
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is what got these voters
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Diane,
Lessons and Questions
Question – Where was the Russian collusion in these Virginia and NJ elections As we all know on this blog, the Russians colluded and hacked the United States presidential election one year ago to ensure that Donald Trump had just enough states that he would need. So obviously the collusion that secured Trump his victory, where was it yesterday in Virginia?
The Russians are trying to collude. They’re corrupting people’s lunches, corrupting congressional hearings, corrupting elections. They send honey pots over there to mislead Donald Trump Jr.
Didn’t the Russians colluded with Hillary to do the Trump dossier, and then the Russians colluded with Trump and Putin to make sure that Hillary lost.
Why did the Russians not want the Republicans to win yesterday? If the Russians wanted the Republicans to win and Trump to win in 2016, why did the Russians change their mind and why are they happy with that Northam guy winning, why did they want Ed Gillespie to lose?
This is Christmas or Chanukah gifts for the lame stream media. Democrats have finally won a couple elections. The Democrats have been losing elections since 2010. They’re going to win some. As I watched the results come in with a group of friends, comments were made regarding the VA and NJ races – they are in Blue states and Trump did not carry either and Hillary won by some 5 pts.
Is the country united in its rejection of Trump as the headlines screamed?
CHRIS CILLIZZA: The first year of Trump, this is that referendum.
ALISYN CAMEROTA: A referendum on Donald Trump?
JAKE TAPPER: A referendum on President Trump.
CHRISTINE ROMANS: A national referendum on the Trump presidency.
GERRY CONNOLLY: It was about Trump. It was a real referendum on this presidency.
NICK KRISTOF: A referendum on Trump.
RYAN LIZZA: A referendum on Trumpism.
Never mind just yesterday there was an ABC News/Washington Post poll which found that Trump would be elected again if the election were held today. Did they forget? That poll — their own poll, ABC News/Washington Post
July 13th of this year, July 13th, 2017, the Washington Post ran a story about the Ed Gillespie campaign. And they talked in this story about all of the Never Trumpers that Ed Gillespie was hiring to staff his campaign: the consultants, the media people, the media buyers, the spokespeople, all of the organizational get-out-the-vote people.
Lesson to be learned.
The exit polling from the Virginia election – one of the biggest issues was health care, Obamacare was not discussed. And yet voters said it was the most important thing to them.
Republicans who want to keep winning had better wake up. This tax cut thing had better happen. They are on thin ice already with Obamacare repeal not working and very little of the Trump agenda moving forward legislatively. Newt Gingrich said the same thing today on TV, that the tax reform bill, whether it’s good or bad, if they fail to get it done, then people are going to be asking – why vote Republican?
Republicans are in big trouble.
Some on the blog presume that everybody in America thinks exactly the way the press reports – whatever they think as what America thinks.
Question – what was this election was really about – was it Trump’s coarse behavior, his unsophisticated way of speaking, his barbaric tendencies, he’s a misogynist, a boob, a pig, and people are tired of having a stupid president after one year as well as his tweets. Was it because they don’t like the way Trump talks – Trump talks mean. Trump is insensitive, hurts people’s feelings, does not care about all communities. Trump only cares about certain communities and people that voted for him.
But Trump doesn’t have the heart and the soul to be president – don’t like the way Donald Trump looks and they don’t like the way Donald Trump talks. All of the same people who tell you that Trump is finished because of an election in Virginia and an election in New Jersey are the same people who told you that he would never be elected.
Comments from various news stations and interviews:
TIM MILLER: (8/18/16) Trump is gonna get killed in the general election.
ALEX CONANT: (8/18/16) Trump is gonna suffer an embarrassing loss this fall.
RACHEL MADDOW: (7/29/16) Unless this election happens on Mars, Donald Trump will lose.
KARL ROVE: (11/20/15) Republicans are not going to win this next election.
MARK CUBAN: (8/1/16) It’s a landslide for Hillary. No question.
EVAN MCMULLIN: (8/14/16) Donald Trump will lose.
JEB BUSH: (12/15/15) You’re not going to be able to insult your way to the presidency.
RYAN LIZZA: (8/17/16) Trump is on his way to lose in the biggest loss since 1984.
JORGE RAMOS: (9/1/16) His strategy is to win the White House without Latinos. I don’t think he can do it.
LINDSEY GRAHAM: (8/16/16) Donald Trump is destroying the Republican Party’s chance.
TED CRUZ: (2/28/16) If we nominate Donald, Hillary beats him.
DAVID AXELROD: (10/23/16) I don’t know any consultant who privately believes that Donald Trump’s going to win.
DANA PERINO: (8/18/16) Trump would very much be able to get 35-40% of the vote and not win.
MIKE MURPHY: (8/8/16) He’s a demagogue and a neo-racist. I hope he loses: he deserves to lose.
DIANE MACEDO: (8/15/16) A landslide defeat is very possible.
LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: (8/15/16) …could be headed for a landslide defeat.
BILL KRISTOL: (9/23/16) Donald Trump will just choke.
CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: (05/20/16) I don’t see how he can win.
BARACK OBAMA: (2/16/16) I continue to believe Mr. Trump will not be president.
• Trump wasn’t on the ballot — except, in their world, he was. The papers – the headlines want you to infer that Trump was on the ballot. Washington Post: 12 Months Later, Trump Would Probably Still Win the 2016 Election
• Reuters: Democrats Win Bitter Virginia Governor’s Race in Setback for Trump
• Daily Wire: 10 Things You Need To Know About Democrats Shellacking Republicans In Virginia … And What It Means For 2018
• CNN: Winners and Losers From the 2017 Election
• New York Times: Virginia Rejects Your Hateful Politics, Mr. Trump
• New York Times: With Virginia, Voters Give Democrats First Big Wins of the Trump Era
Question – Although NJ, deep Blue, has a few counties and a cities that are designated sanctuaries for criminal illegals, was Guadagno’s loss due to her being on the coattails of Christie whose popularity was around 16%? Her opponent was forthright in his declaration that he wants to raise the state’s taxes – they are one of the highest already – and wants to declare this state a sanctuary state – like Browne of California – She still lost.
Republicans better pass one of Trump’s major promises –
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Dude, you’re all over the place.
Read my comment.
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He just cuts and pastes things. Basically a bot.
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One commenter (Charles) despairs that charter schools in Virginia are going nowhere fast for the next four years. Then he says that “Indifference and apathy were very high, the turnout was low.” He must have supported Trump; his “analysis” is broadly askew.
As The Post reported, “Higher enthusiasm and polarization were the key features of Tuesday’s gubernatorial election in Virginia, suggesting that President Trump has energized voters on all sides.” The Post went on to note that “Turnout was the highest in 20 years for a gubernatorial race, five percentage points and 10 percentage points higher than the last two.”
Now, granted, turnout could – and should – be even higher, especially a state that was both a birthplace and a cradle of the early Republic.
But it is what it is.
The Post election analysis also pointed out that “Ed Gillespie scored bigger wins in the three more-rural regions, Shenandoah Valley, Southside and Southwest Virginia. No surprise. These are conservative areas of the state, and they adhered to the current spate of conservative concerns and issues, which should concern anyone who cares about American values and principles.
White evangelicals voted bigly (almost 80 percent) for Gillespie. So did gun owners (61 percent). So did whites (57 percent) and, in particular, white men (63 percent). This becomes critically in just a moment.
Health care was a BIG issue for Democratic voters, but not for Republicans (only 23 percent citing it). Interesting. You’d think that evangelicals, dedicated to scripture, might want to heed the Biblical admonition against oppressing the poor.
Republican voters were concerned about other issues. Three-fourths of them were concerned about immigration (Gillespie ran countless MS-13 scare ads). Nearly two-thirds were concerned about taxes. Taxes? Virginia is a low-tax state (JLARC ranks it #35 in per capita state taxes) in a low-tax country. Among developed nations, the only a very few have lower overall tax burdens than we do. Which makes one wonder: if corporations are receiving record profits, and the rich are richer than ever, then why do they require tax cuts? And why would evangelicals go along with it?
The overwhelming majority (91 percent) of Gillespie voters APPROVED of what Trump has been doing as president* and they said overwhelming (96 percent) that their vote was a vote to express support for Trump. Now let that sink in a moment. No major accomplishments, No campaign promises fulfilled (except for Neil Gorsuch). Lie after lie after lie after lie. Inane tweet after inane tweet. Obstruction of justice. Called a moron by his own Secretary of State. The Russian inquiry turning up indictments of Trump campaign officials, with more surely to come. The Russian investigation uncovering multiple Trump campaign connections with Russia, more more likely to come.
And they think he’s doing a “good” job. And they wanted Hillary Clinton “locked up” for “emails” – “Benghazi” – “Clinton Foundation” – the “Killary list” – “uranium” – take your pick. For something! Anything! Even though all were thoroughly debunked.
Even though the unemployment rate in Virginia is 3.7 percent, nearly 2/3 of Gillespie voters thought the state economy was getting WORSE. Gillespie said it was. So did Trump. But that simply is not the case.
Let’s not leave out what happened Aug. 12th in Charlottesville. And what Trump said after it. And how the radical right – the KKKers, Neo_Nazis, white supremacists – loved what he said.
Gillespie made Confederate statues – and racism and white nationalism – major elements of his campaign. And they were – in fact – issues in the election. How could they not be?
Exit polls found that 98 percent of Gillespie voters thought that they would ONLY trust Ed Gillespie to handle matters of race, and 71 percent wanted Confederate statues to stay in place. Too bad exit pollers didn’t ask them if they thought the Civil war was really about slavery, but it isn’t difficult to surmise their answer. So, ponder that a moment. Gillespie ran overtly racist, white nationalist ads – he adopted Trumpism – and his supporters think that only he can be trusted to handle matters of race. Ummm, if you respond to racist, white nationalist campaigns, and endorse the platforms of those who run them, and them give those people your vote, doesn’t that suggest – strongly – that you don’t really subscribe to and believe in “liberty and justice for all?”
The Virginia election had an awful lot to do with voter turnout. There’s obviously much more work to be done there. But, importantly, it’s clear that there’s a significant element in Virginia – and nationally – that wraps itself in the flag at every opportunity but turns its back on “We the People,” and forming “a more perfect Union,”and promoting “the general Welfare,” and securing “the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.”
“A Republic, madam if you can keep it.”
Indeed.
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Charter school expansion, and school choice/vouchers are DEAD in Virginia, for the next four years. One look at Northam’s website, will stanch any doubts on that subject.
I do not “despair” the fact, I just accept it.
Time now to move on, and work for the best possible education for Virginia’s children.
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Charles, I wasn’t questioning that charters are going nowhere fast in Virginia. I questioned your analysis of the Virginia election, which was entirely wrong, as I pointed out in my comment.
As The Post reported, “Higher enthusiasm and polarization were the key features of Tuesday’s gubernatorial election in Virginia, suggesting that President Trump has energized voters on all sides.” The Post went on to note that “Turnout was the highest in 20 years for a gubernatorial race, five percentage points and 10 percentage points higher than the last two.”
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I do not always take what I read in the WashPost to be accurate. If they say that turnout was up, then fine. Most of the people that I know, were very apathetic about the election. My own wife, did not vote.
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democracy,
it seems you are noticing that you could put those Gillespie voters you just described into the basket of deplorables. The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic — you name it. And unfortunately there are people like that. And he has lifted them up. He has given voice to their websites that used to only have 11,000 people — now how 11 million. He tweets and retweets their offensive hateful mean-spirited rhetoric.
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