Yes, I watched the two New Hampshire debates this weekend. No, I'm not a glutton for punishment - I honestly wanted to hear what the candidates had to say. (If you missed them, you can find a transcript of the ABC News debate here and the MSNBC debate here.) I think it's always good to … Continue reading Looking to New Hampshire and beyond
At a time when some localities in the 5th Congressional District have high unemployment rates, our congressman, Robert Hurt (R-Chatham) has been doing exactly as he is told. His masters in Congress give him the instructions. This means voting against extended unemployment, voting against actual job plans brought to the House, and voting to restrict … Continue reading Martinsville unemployment 15.6% while Robert Hurt votes on another abortion bill
My going to bed early last night meant that I didn't see the final Iowa results until this morning. But before turning in, I followed the results via Google, rather than listening to the blabbering of the talking heads on TV. I did watch some caucus action on CSPAN, though, which I found quite entertaining. … Continue reading All done in Iowa
U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor was interviewed on "60 Minutes" last night. The video is below. Much has been made of his communications director interrupting about the Reagan tax increases (about the 10:48 mark). My favorite? The "No Trespassing" sign on his property (12:09) 🙂
My latest op-ed appeared in The Virginian-Pilot Wednesday. One of the challenges in writing for the newspaper is to include timely information while not being overtaken by events. I suspected that a court challenge or two might be filed but as of 9am Tuesday morning - my deadline - nothing had yet occurred. Of course, … Continue reading VA GOP Primary: what a mess!
The RTD is reporting that the SBE approved the RPV's request to close the March 6 primary and require a loyalty oath be signed in order to participate. The relevant code section allowing this is here. But wait! The code says: The requirements applicable to a party's primary shall be determined at least 90 … Continue reading Illegal loyalty oath? (updated)
The fact that Newt Gingrich is leading the polls in the Virginia Republican Primary but didn't gather enough signatures to get on the ballot sort of sums up his presidential campaign so far in a nutshell. But Gingrich wasn't the only candidate who failed to make the ballot. Texas Gov. Rick Perry, whose campaign thus far … Continue reading The Republicans took some of the fun out of 2012
A thought occurred to me as I've watched all of these Republican presidential debates and the numerous changes in the frontrunner: what if there had been this many debates in 2007? Would John McCain and Barack Obama have won their party's nomination? Or would we have chosen differently? Actually, there were quite a few debates … Continue reading What a difference four years makes
(I have delayed talking about next year's Congressional races until after the elections here in Virginia were over. I will have a lot to say about Hurt, his inaction in Congress, and his habit of following instead of leading.) In an interview with the Farmville Herald published on October 6, 2011, Robert Hurt answered the … Continue reading Robert Hurt tired of Washington already
A new video from the DPVA.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 