US Representative, VA-11: David Dotson (Libertarian). I'm not pleased with the Democratic congress, but I can't vote for Keith Fimian the Republican. He has instructed his company's insurance carrier to not cover birth control, which is very extreme.
Questions 1 and 2 both amend the VA constitution to reduce or eliminate property taxes for seniors and disabled military veterans. I voted no on both issues. I don't see how someone who is a disabled military veteran is more deserving of a tax break than someone who is non-military but disabled.
Question 3 increases the amount of the "rainy day" fund from 10% - 15%. I voted yes. This is plain fiscal responsibility.
Question 4 requested more money for Fairfax County roads and transportation. I voted no, because the roads don't have many issues these days.
Showing posts with label election. Show all posts
Showing posts with label election. Show all posts
2010-11-02
2009-11-03
This is not a referendum
No matter what people tell you, the current handful of elections is not a "referendum" on President Obama. Take, for example, the Virginia elections. Turnout is down considerably from 2008, especially among young people. Very few national offices are at steak (1 congress seat?) and there was not a focus on getting out the vote.
Keep in mind that the President has been in office for less than 10 months, not enough time to do much of anything, although he has done more in this short time than GWB did in his last term. We need to keep in mind that the next presidential race is still 3 years away and not go around over analyzing this election.
At the Polls in 2009
I voted this way today:
Governor: Creigh Deeds (D)
Lt Governor: [blank]
Attorney General: Ken Cucinnelli (R)
House of Delegates: Tim Hugo (R)
I voted for Deeds because I've supported since before the primary. I like the guy, but he ran a horrible campaign and is going to get blown out by Bob McDonnell today.
The other two that I voted for represented me for the last 4.5 years locally. They have always responded to my concerns, and I'm happy to help re-elect Tim Hugo and to move Ken C. up the ladder.
2009-06-15
Was the vote really rigged?
Iran's vote may very well be democracy in action. Polls taken in the weeks before the election seem to match up pretty well with the results. Too bad Nate Silver wasn't there.
2009-06-14
Another 1979?
With the opposition's supporters protesting the disputed re-election of Mahmoud Amadinajad, the question is: how far will this go? Are we in for another revolution? Media is being blacked out, all signs point to something significant going on, and unlike Ukraine this may not be peaceful.
2009-06-09
Deeds wins!
Creigh Deeds, who I have supported for the past 6 months, has won the democratic primary for governor of Virginia. This is actually quite amazing, considering that he was down in the polls just a few weeks ago.
He won with close to 50% of the vote in a 3 man race. He is going to face republican Bob McDonnell in the fall election, who he lost to in a race for attorney general a few years ago by 323 votes, the closest in VA history.
This rematch will be in a much more democratic Virginia than that of four years ago, putting Deeds in a good position to win.
Deeds has a remarkable record, which is very moderate. A strong support of gun rights, but also pro-choice and against having the stars and bars on state license plates, he will be a governor that is able to bind Northern and non-northern VA together. Here is a great endorsement by the Washington Post.
2008-11-24
Taibbi on McCain's Campaign
Matt Taibbi summarizes John McCain's campaign in his own special way:
My favorite parts:
the very idea of Republican conservatism was massively rejected in virtually every state where large chunks of the population do not believe in the literal existence of a horned devil, and even in some that do.
and how about this on Palin:
She's a classic divide-and-conquer politician, an unapologetic Witch Hunter and True Believer with a gift for whipping up the mob against the infidel. In a way that even George W. Bush never was, she is Karl Rove's wet dream, the Osama bin Laden of soccer moms, crusading against germs, communism, atheism and other such unclean elements strictly banned by American law.
2008-11-12
Secrets of the Campaigns
If you've got an hour or so, and want to know about a lot of backroom deals that went on during the 2008 election, Newsweek's got the story for you.
A 7 chapter long article, reporters were allowed very close access to the campaigns but were not allowed to report until after the election. Very worthwhile, IMO.
2008-11-07
It could have been dirtier
As details emerge of the inner workings of the campaign, it is clear that the negative advertising could easily have been much worse, had the candidates not set up clear guidelines.
Per Newsweek, McCain refused to run any ads attacking Jeremiah Wright or Michelle Obama. He thought that bringing up Wright would smack of racism (it might have) and going after Michelle Obama would have been quite awful (families are generally considered off limits). He also made it a point not to attack Obama's lack of military service.
Per Newsweek, McCain refused to run any ads attacking Jeremiah Wright or Michelle Obama. He thought that bringing up Wright would smack of racism (it might have) and going after Michelle Obama would have been quite awful (families are generally considered off limits). He also made it a point not to attack Obama's lack of military service.
Obama in a way reciprocated by not directly attacking McCain's age nor his wife. He did not talk about McCain's previous divorce or the Keating Five scandal from the 1990s.
Like I said, it could have been worse.
2008-11-05
Letter to the World
Dear World,
Barack Obama is now the President Elect of the United States of America. What does this mean to all of us? Quite a bit. Barack has run a much different campaign than any ever seen in the United States. From his decision to fund his campaign using a large amount of smaller donations from citizens, to his marvelous campaign organization, the actual mechanics of his campaign simply overwhelmed anything that the opposition could come up with.
That being said, a great campaign alone can eke out a small win or loss (see 2000 and 2004), but to win a landslide like we saw tonight requires something much greater. What Barack Obama has been able to do is bring together many interests within our country. Old time labor leaders, the educated, the young, as well as Hispanics, African Americans, and those who haven't quite enjoyed the last eight years or those who have seen their 401(k)'s drop in value tremendously over the past month.
Despite this uniting message, various old divisions have re-opened in the past year. It is now time for us to unify as a country to overcome those differences and to bring about meaningful changes in our policies, whether it is in dealing with climate change, health care, government spending, or national security. I challenge each and every one of you to support our new president, and with him our nation.
Obama himself embodies the American dream. Born to an immigrant father, a teenage mother, raised by middle class grandparents; he worked his way through Columbia and Harvard, worked as a community organizer, a teacher, a state senator, a United States Senator, and is now going to be our 44th president.
What Barack Obama represents to me is all that is best about our country, and our best shot at regaining our honor as the leader of the free world. We have left behind the previous generations' hate and intolerance to embrace a new kind of politics, a new way of doing business; finding common ground and doing what is best for our collective interests. Whether it is a goal of bringing healthcare to every American, making sure that we can compete with any country, or ensuring our safety, I am convinced that Barack Obama is the right leader and enthusiastically supported him since the Democratic Primaries.
Barack Obama also represents one more nail in the coffin to the legacy of slavery, something that is still enshrined in the Constitution via the three-fifths clause. From slavery to Civil War, to reconstruction and Jim Crow. From the Civil Rights of the 60's, to a black president in the 2000's, America has come an incredibly long way in its short two hundred and thirty two years. Twenty five years ago when I was born, people would have never predicted this. Our European allies have always seen us as their "racist cousins." With Barack Obama as president, America is now the shining beacon of opportunity for the entire world to envy. We have shown that anyone has the opportunity to be president, and as a country we will not deny these opportunities to individuals based on their background. In 1960, people scoffed at the idea of an Irish-Catholic president. Today, even a darker complexion paired with the name Barack Hussein Obama, Jr does not impose a ceiling on achievement.
As Barack Obama has famously said, "There is not a liberal America and a conservative America, there's the United States of America. There is not a black America, and a white America and Latino America and Asian America - there's the United States of America."
Barack is an inspiration to us all. As the campaign has joined us all together with the words "Yes we can" those same words can be applied to our lives to encourage us to carry out whatever our dreams are. And if we are able to persevere, Yes We Can will become Yes We Did.
And that's exactly what happened tonight.
Yours,
MSC
Barack Obama is now the President Elect of the United States of America. What does this mean to all of us? Quite a bit. Barack has run a much different campaign than any ever seen in the United States. From his decision to fund his campaign using a large amount of smaller donations from citizens, to his marvelous campaign organization, the actual mechanics of his campaign simply overwhelmed anything that the opposition could come up with.
That being said, a great campaign alone can eke out a small win or loss (see 2000 and 2004), but to win a landslide like we saw tonight requires something much greater. What Barack Obama has been able to do is bring together many interests within our country. Old time labor leaders, the educated, the young, as well as Hispanics, African Americans, and those who haven't quite enjoyed the last eight years or those who have seen their 401(k)'s drop in value tremendously over the past month.
Despite this uniting message, various old divisions have re-opened in the past year. It is now time for us to unify as a country to overcome those differences and to bring about meaningful changes in our policies, whether it is in dealing with climate change, health care, government spending, or national security. I challenge each and every one of you to support our new president, and with him our nation.
Obama himself embodies the American dream. Born to an immigrant father, a teenage mother, raised by middle class grandparents; he worked his way through Columbia and Harvard, worked as a community organizer, a teacher, a state senator, a United States Senator, and is now going to be our 44th president.
What Barack Obama represents to me is all that is best about our country, and our best shot at regaining our honor as the leader of the free world. We have left behind the previous generations' hate and intolerance to embrace a new kind of politics, a new way of doing business; finding common ground and doing what is best for our collective interests. Whether it is a goal of bringing healthcare to every American, making sure that we can compete with any country, or ensuring our safety, I am convinced that Barack Obama is the right leader and enthusiastically supported him since the Democratic Primaries.
Barack Obama also represents one more nail in the coffin to the legacy of slavery, something that is still enshrined in the Constitution via the three-fifths clause. From slavery to Civil War, to reconstruction and Jim Crow. From the Civil Rights of the 60's, to a black president in the 2000's, America has come an incredibly long way in its short two hundred and thirty two years. Twenty five years ago when I was born, people would have never predicted this. Our European allies have always seen us as their "racist cousins." With Barack Obama as president, America is now the shining beacon of opportunity for the entire world to envy. We have shown that anyone has the opportunity to be president, and as a country we will not deny these opportunities to individuals based on their background. In 1960, people scoffed at the idea of an Irish-Catholic president. Today, even a darker complexion paired with the name Barack Hussein Obama, Jr does not impose a ceiling on achievement.
As Barack Obama has famously said, "There is not a liberal America and a conservative America, there's the United States of America. There is not a black America, and a white America and Latino America and Asian America - there's the United States of America."
Barack is an inspiration to us all. As the campaign has joined us all together with the words "Yes we can" those same words can be applied to our lives to encourage us to carry out whatever our dreams are. And if we are able to persevere, Yes We Can will become Yes We Did.
And that's exactly what happened tonight.
Yours,
MSC
Fivethirtyeight.com
Nate Silver, of fivethirtyeight.com was eerily accurate in his prediction of the election.
He has also concluded that there was absolutely no "Bradley Effect" which is basically subtle racism directed as pollsters. So that myth goes out the door.
2008-11-04
McCain Concedes
McCain gives a classy concession speech.
In a way, I think McCain knew this was coming. His speech was very, very well written. That doesn't take away from it though. He did a good job.
McCain: "These are difficult times for our country and I pledge to help him."
It's Official: President Elect Obama
Barack Hussein Obama, Jr will become the 44th President of the United States of America.
Yes. We. Did.
VA = Obama Country
We did it!!!! Virginia went blue for the first time in 44 years!!! All of us who have volunteered countless hours knocking on doors and cold calling supporters can give ourselves a big pat on the back.
Thanks for Fox News (haha) for the early call.
Thanks for Fox News (haha) for the early call.
OHIO GOES BLUE!!!!
WE JUST WON OHIO!!!!! THAT GETS US THE ELECTION AS LONG AS WE DON'T LOSE A BLUE STATE!!!!!
Live Free or Die = Obama
New Hampshire goes to Obama. McCain's hope of "one last comeback" from that state will not materialize.
Mark Warner (D) wins VA!!
YAY! Mark Warner wins. This makes both of our senators democrat for probably the first time in many, many years.
What I'm Watching
Switching between MSNBC and CNN.
Online checking into fivethirtyeight.com
Indiana is TOO CLOSE TO CALL. That is BIG even if McCain ends up winning. Bill O'Reilly must be shitting his pants.
Obama wins Dixville Notch!
Obama wins the Dixville Notch vote 15-6 against John McCain.
This republican town votes first in the nation. Landslide?
2008-11-03
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