The Balance in the House of Delegates

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"Through the House of Burgesses, the Virginia House of Delegates is considered the oldest continuous legislative body in the New World. Originally having 22 members, the House of Burgesses met from 1619 through 1632 in the choir of the church at Jamestown.  From 1632 to 1699 the legislative body met at four different state houses in Jamestown. The first state house convened at the home of Colonial Governor, Sir John Harvey from 1632 to 1656. The burgesses convened at the second state house from 1656 until it was destroyed in 1660. Historians have yet to precisely identify its location."  wiki

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The punditry in the corporate media is luxuriating in contemplation of the two gubernatorial elections today.

In New Jersey, Christie, a politically moderate and very Northeastern Republican will easily win re-election to a second term.  He is busily preening his over sized self in contemplation of an attempt to win  the Republican nomination for president in 2016.  IMO "that dog won't hunt" outside his home neighborhood along the Jersey Shore and New York.  There is too much about him that smells of the culture represented by "The Sopranos."  There is also the embarassing detail that for a while he was a lobbyist for Bernie Madoff.  Iowa?  The Mid-West?  "fugeddiboutit."  I would like to see him at a Shad Bake in Virginia.

McCauliffe will probably be  elected governor.  He can then sit in Mister Jefferson's chair.  The current membership by party in the House of Delegates consists of 67 Republicans and 32 Democrats.  Unless there is a truly seismic shift today it is unlikely that The Democrats will control the House of Delegates after this election.  That means that McCaulliffe will have very little chance of passing any legislation through the General Assembly. He is an intelligent man.  He must know that.  Therefore I conclude that what he wants is a "pulpit" from which to strike rhetorical and theatrical poses that will endear him to the left of center base of the Democratic Party across the country.  That means that  he is going to continue his vicious campaign of exageration and barrages of 30 second TV ads in the way that he savaged Cuccinelli.

All Virginians not contained in his claque of "progressives" will be his targets.  pl      

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_House_of_Delegates

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39 Responses to The Balance in the House of Delegates

  1. Will Reks says:

    I think you’re right about Christie but wrong about McCauliffe’s ambitions. He is not liked by “progressives” and his ceiling is limited to representing Virginia in whichever position. He is not Presidential material and the national electorate will not “settle” for McCaulliffe like Virginians have.

  2. The line of Presidents from either party from the Northeast is nevermore! The Electoral College votes are what matters!

  3. turcopolier says:

    Will Reks
    I can see that from the POV of real progressives in the US sense, McCauliffe is “faut” as his pal Bill C. was a faux bubba, but I think where you are mistaken is in the nature of the man himself. He believes that if he is outrageous and strident enough he can manipulate the left. To that end he will put us through the ringer here when he sits in Richmond. pl

  4. turcopolier says:

    WRC
    That is probably true. The NE is in many ways a spent political force. pl

  5. nick b says:

    Col., Are relations between the executive and legislative branches of the Va. govt as rancorous as they are on the federal level? I’m curious why you think, should McCauliffe win, he will have little chance of passing any legislation? Is that a campaign theme from the Republican majority?
    Also I think you dismiss Chris Christie too quickly. He’s definitely a product of his environment, but he’s authentic, and authenticity sells. I’m guessing he’d do very well at a shad bake: second helpings, etc.. He will also have tremendous fundraising ability. I don’t think he can make it through a Republican primary, but should it happen, I think he’d be a formidable national candidate. I had left New Jersey before he ran, and I wouldn’t have voted for him anyway, but I have a very hard time not liking the man.

  6. turcopolier says:

    nick B
    It is not a question of division between executive and legislative. When McDonnell was in good regard his problems with the legislature were minimal although the governor must always be careful to court the General Assembly. No, this is a straight party line struggle between the progressives, mostly immigrants, and those who like the commonwealth as it has been. For Virginians of the ruling class Christie is a fat, vulgar, buffoon. In my opinion his vulnerability will be demonstrated in primaries outside the Northeast. pl

  7. turcopolier says:

    David Habakkuk
    If you mean New England, that would be fine with me but in fact any attempt to secede from the Union would be met with massive force. pl

  8. Jose says:

    Christie = Republicans for Hillary 2016
    Some morons are comparing him to Reagan…lmao
    Col., what is your analysis of SW Virginia turning blue?

  9. turcopolier says:

    Jose
    From Abingdon SW to Bristol and up in the mountains to the west this is coal country. It has always been bluish but that does not mean that the interests of people who are not coal miners are not also represented. If you look at the most recent recent election results in “The Mountain Kingdom,” you will see that those counties went Republican in 2009 and 2010. pl

  10. Charles I says:

    I saw a PBS report on your gubernatorial gladiators last night and it left me feeling sorry for the choices you face today, they both came off as. . . well pick an adjective. Hope I was mistaken.

  11. Eliot says:

    “For Virginians of the ruling class Christie is a fat, vulgar, buffoon.”
    How can anyone take him seriously? He’s a Giuliani redux with even less charm.
    “No, this is a straight party line struggle between the progressives, mostly immigrants, and those who like the commonwealth as it has been.”
    McAuliffe is the first governor for those people. We’ll soldier through but I can’t help feeling a little sad. So much for civility and consensus.

  12. toto says:

    Sir,
    Never mind the Virginian ruling class, I would be very surprised if the Republican base forgave Christie for consorting with the devil in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
    Since Jon Huntsman is obviously a knife-biting Bolshevik and Jeb Bush is, well, a Bush, that seems to leave Marco Rubio as the least “encumbered” GOP candidate.

  13. Jose says:

    Great place to go Turkey Hunting..lol

  14. Jose says:

    Benedict Christie will never be forgiven, Marco Rubio is no match for Hillary. The GOP will have to lauch a Cruz Missle..lol

  15. turcopolier says:

    toto
    From your use of “Virginian” as an adjective, I suppose that you are European and probably British. Well, friend, In Virginia, South Carolina, Louisiana and a few more there ARE ruling classes. They normally operate in a discrete way up at the end of stone walled driveways and their influence is profound. Evidently this does not apply in Texas where oil men, lawyers and bankers evidently run everything. pl

  16. jonst says:

    McCauliffe, sitting in Jefferson’s chair. There is no true progressive that could tolerate that. He is a metaphor for all that is wrong today. It like some cosmic joke..

  17. Fred says:

    ” No, this is a straight party line struggle between the progressives, mostly immigrants, and those who like the commonwealth as it has been.”
    I would extend this insight to other states besides Virginia. While I was living in Florida there were plenty of transplanted Northerners, virtually none ‘assimilated’ into the local culture. They tried to recreate exactly what the left behind, or for many retirees, they wished to leave behind any obligation to the younger generations of Floridians to follow. This makes me wonder how any voters, politicians or even any political “scientists” can honestly believe that those 11million or so illegal immigrants are going to abandon their cultural heritage and become ‘Americans’ the instant they get legal status or citizenship is beyond me. I’m sure however that the ‘progressives’ are certain all these folks will be fine progressive Democrats for generations to come.

  18. MM says:

    What makes Christie a moderate?
    He’s against Gay-marriage…
    He shot down the tunnel expansion project linking NJ and NY which would have created a huge amount of jobs in the state…
    He refused to raise any taxes on the wealthy elite in he state…
    No gun control measures…
    Takes Facebook money from Zuckerburg to fund charter schools in Newark…
    Anti-union loud mouth bully…disbanded Camden Police Force and rehired “new” police with reduced benefits…
    His reputation as a “moderate” is a cover for an A**hole of a person.

  19. Jose says:

    Congrats, I dedicate this song to Virginia:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icfq_foa5Mo

  20. Paul Escobar says:

    Mr. Lang,
    Slap me if this is the product of my imagination…but I thought you were supportive of Mr. Christie.
    I have this vague image in my head of you recommending him for national Republican leadership…based precisely on his northeastern “appeal”. May have been during the height of “Tea Party” fervor, or during the last Republican leadership selection process.
    Anyways, I am curious to see who/what the Democrats will rally around. I have always wondered about their true nature. It seemed to me that Obama was like some orgasm to them…he released their wildest “leftist/progressive/whatever-it-is” fantasies. But afterwards, they are left disappointed & spent. I don’t know, maybe power & domination for the sake of it is enough to keep them coming back for more. Maybe it’s not and many will just turn to third parties.
    Okay, I just realized the bizzare imagery at the end, but I am too far gone to correct it.
    Yours in curiosity,
    Paul Escobar

  21. turcopolier says:

    Paul Escobar
    I don’t remember ever supporting Christie for anything. FWIW I think he perfectly fits in Sopranoland. Do you have a citation on Christie? http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2010/12/how-about-this-man.html
    Is this what you mean? pl

  22. Sorry Fred! But both major parties winding up their long runs!

  23. nick b says:

    You didn’t even get into the really interesting stuff. Check out: Spear, Leeds and US Atty David Kelly.
    Who said the man was a moderate?

  24. Matthew says:

    Curiously, Col., we do have a ruling (oil) class but the history of our millionaires makes them more similar to the Tea Party activists than in other states. Hence, the money people and the conservative activists are, often, one in the same.
    For some background on Texas’s “gift” of ultra-conservative politics, you can’t do better than “Big Rich.” See http://www.amazon.com/The-Big-Rich-Greatest-Fortunes/dp/0143116827

  25. Matthew says:

    And Christie yells at school teachers, particularly, women teachers. That will not play well in Texas.

  26. Paul Escobar says:

    Mr. Lang,
    Yes! That must be the article…it inspired a mild surprise at your recent piece.
    Though my surprise has ceded, as others have highlighted Christie’s record of antagonization. I was not paying attention.
    Thank you for the clarification,
    Paul Escobar

  27. Fred says:

    You completely miss my point. Immigrants are not going to abandone their heritage just because they obtain citizenship.

  28. turcopolier says:

    Paul Escobar
    “That must be the article..” Surely you did not interpret that old piece as an endorsement. pl

  29. Paul Escobar says:

    Mr. Lang,
    Re: “He seems to have clean coat tails. He seems to run the government reasonably…perhaps for a couple of years we would have a reasonable man governing reasonably.”
    In a desert, a drop will do.

  30. Fred says:

    Well surprise, surprise; they just happened to find 3,000 uncounted ballots? LBJ would be proud.
    http://tinyurl.com/m23rgbj

  31. turcopolier says:

    fred
    Yup. If you count long enough… pl

  32. Fred says:

    I’m sure they will try McCauliffe Math next.

  33. snarky bastard says:

    You do know that the County Election Boards are 3 person boards where the majority (2) are appointed by the sitting Governor. That would mean every election board in the Commonwealth of Virginia has a Republican majority on it — so the incentives don’t line up for massive “fraud” benefitting a Democrat.

  34. turcopolier says:

    sb
    My wife is a former election judge here. She thinks the County Election Board members are appointed when there is a vacancy, not when party occupants change in the governor’s mansion. We seem to have had the same ones here in Alexandria forever. Of course we are an independent city and not in any county but I presume the system would be the same. Do you have a citation in law? pl

  35. Fred says:

    I do not presume to challenge the integrity of the County Election Boards; and you are absolutely right, a ‘massive’ fraud would only occur in a county with a large enough population and a voting trend that would make one believe that another 3,200 votes would be cast 85% for McCauliffe – i.e. McCauliffe math.
    BTW the current election manager has been there for a long, long time:
    http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/news/2004/04214.htm
    The rest of the staff, not so long. Just how hard is it to plant an operative at one of 237 voting precincts? The election manager’s staff doesn’t have that many permanent employees. Virginia wouldn’t be the first state that ever happened in either.

  36. turcopolier says:

    fred
    I don’t know which precinct you vote in but at Maury School there are observers present from both parties. pl

  37. Fred says:

    I’m in Michigan now but it used to be Woodlawn Elementery. We have the same poll observers here, though not in all precincts. The county poll workers here tend to be the same people year after year (not the party observers). With the huge growth in population I can see where Fairfax County might have allot of new people working the polls.
    One other thing to watch with all the newly dicovered ballots is the impact on down ballot races. County Commission and School Boards control allot of money and there is usually a significant drop off in the polling for those positions. I can see easily how 3,200 votes can swing a couple of those races.

  38. Fred says:

    Looks like a recount is in the works. I’m sure somebody will find another box of uncounted ballots if needed.
    http://www.volokh.com/2013/11/26/recount-virginia/

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