The "Blue-ification" of Virginia,.. and related notes.......

[Parisle]

----Virginia is the state where a small town -- my hometown -- still bills itself as "the last capital of the Confederacy." Folks there are practiced and adept at holding onto vanquished customs and philosophy. But in 2004, John Kerry did remarkably well in that small town,... some one told me he won it by fifty votes, but I haven't verified that.

----Then, in a closely-watched election last year, Virginia elected its second straight democratic governor,... Tim Kaine following the rising star Mark Warner,.. who had earned the distinction of having the nation's "best managed state." And now, in 2006, we have a democratic senator in James Webb. Once a presumptive "automatic" for the GOP, Virginia's 13 electoral votes are migrating to the blue side of the aisle, and the shift is a logical one. The state is growing up,... entering the 21st century,.. and Virginia's more-than-ample resources, both geographical and geo-political, are defining its course. Eventually, Virginia will be a solidly-blue state, year after year. It's inevitable. (North Carolina isn't too far behind, either)

----Now overlay that thought onto a US political map. Pennsylvania has just spit out the GOP poison. Maryland and New Jersey hung tough for the democrats. And West Virginia (another "state of the future") is one of the purest democratic party enclaves to be found. These five states will provide an eastern seaboard electoral "anchor" to the democrats' established advantages in New York and most New England states. The political map is changing, and the democrats are gaining ground in the most literal sense. With both coasts, and the northwest and Great Lakes states, the democratic party will predominate in a geographical "inverted horseshoe" when depicted on the map. There is vast irony in this; Rove's attempts to establish a permanent republican majority are now more likely to accomplish the exact opposite.
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----Speaking of Jim Webb,.... it appears that the various media are eagerly latching on to his seeming "uniqueness" within the political ranks. It makes "good copy," as they say. I've heard several network commentators commenting on what an unusual political personna Webb brings to the Senate. Let's hope he sets a trend, eh? Apparently, we will be hearing lots about him in the immediate future. He could prove to be the example of genuine patriotic engagement against which myriad other states come to recognize the disingenuous tenor of the overall "political industry." It would be the best thing which could happen to the USA.
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----This is a good time to be a Virginian. Growing up in southside Virginia during the 50's and 60's was like a nightmare out of "In The Heat Of The Night." I've been a student of the writings of Jefferson and Washington,... and they have never been more relevant to the survival of our constitutional republic than they are today. The democrats would do well to include the words of our two greatest Founding Fathers in their coming arguments to restore the sanctity of the Constitution. I think they still make "good copy."

[On the Road]

1. Virigina is Also the State Where

US Route 1 crosses the 14th Street bridge from the district and immediately becomes the Jeffersion Davis Highway.

And where Martin Luther King Day is officially (or used to be) "Lee-Jackson-King Day."

Just thought I'd throw that in.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

6. Wow.

There's a Coulter/Hannity like batshit crazy Brazilian RW columnist who moved to Virginia in disgust over Brazil's excessive leftism. Now I know why he chose that state.

[DinahMoeHum]

2. Hey, don't forget Ohio, the voters flushed the 'Pukes down the toilet

and ended 12 years of 'Puke control on the executive state and national levels.

:kick:

[YOY]

3. Ohio is in much worse condition than Virginia economically

The 'fiscally responsible' party is fiscally responsible for many lost jobs in Ohio and many well-educated Ohioans leaving the state for greener pastures. (The fundies and flunkies are still there though...)

As one of those Ohioans living in Virginia, I can tell you this played a huge roll in the Ohio election.

On a funny note, one of my 'diehard Republican' HS buddies has finally thrown in the towel and moved to California. He refused to blame anyone BUT CLINTON about the Ohio economy.

[Parisle]

4. Oh, I realize that,.........

---- Virginia ain't doin' bad at all,... We've got everything working for us. Virginia is a very fortunate state. I don't know how landlocked states do it.

[YOY]

5. Proximity to DC

That's really what it is. Take away NOVA and you've got a slightly wealthier West Virginia with Tobacco.

[Parisle]

7. Ummm,......... Not quite,.....

---- We've got the planet's best estuarian system, the Chesapeake Bay. Millions in recreation + seafood there. Mountainous ski resorts in winter. We've got the planet's largest naval & military base at Hampton Roads,... the Newport News shipbuilding facility,... plus NASA-at-Langley. We've got Colonial and Civil War tourism. Coal. Agriculture. And yes,.. proximity to the federal government. Virginia has so many cards in its hand that it is difficult to imagine a complete economic breakdown here. I've lived in Boston,... at Hilton Head Island,... and in Aspen, Colorado. Virginia is the best venue of all.

[YOY]

8. I'll grant you that but 20 years ago...

Ohio had a strong steel industry, a major port on the great lakes, several military bases, several major companies HQs there, and strong auto industry, not to mention stable agriculture, and a bit of coal mining as well.

A lot of that is gone...it was a better place when I was a kid. I can imagine Virginia getting the same shaft if things turned the wrong way that Ohio did.

[Parisle]

9. Thanks, YOY,.......

---- Your warning is duly noted. I think the greater objective is to return Ohio to its earlier status, eh? I'm down.....................