On Tuesday, January 12, somewhere in Richmond, Tim Kaine breathed a very shallow sigh of relief. As Virginia’s lame duck governor (and the Democratic National Committee’s full-time chairman), Kaine had put his reputation on the line by explicitly promising that the Old Dominion’s donkeys would capture the state senate seat recently vacated by incoming Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. Now, Kaine might be winning the image war with his Republican counterpart, RNC head Michael Steele (who recently told his conservative critics to “fire me” or “shut up”), but he’s been losing a hell of a lot of battles along the way.
The fight to secure the GOP slot in the Fifth to run against incumbent Tom Perriello, pictured, has been a nonstop sprint away from the center, with each candidate trying desperately to out-Fox the other.
But Kaine finally has something to crow about: a 327-vote victory by Democrat Dave Marsden over Republican Steve Hunt for Cuccinelli’s hotly contested seat.
Although, to be honest, the term “victory” might be a bit strong. After all, Marsden is basically a moderate Republican in all but name (he once worked for Jim Gilmore, and is proud of the fact that he “voted to eliminate the death tax”), and Hunt is a homophobic nutjob best known for urging high school principals to allow “cured” gays and lesbians to lecture in local classrooms. The fact that this guy came within two percentage points of winning should send a shiver down Tim Kaine’s spine.
Which is why the true test of Virginia’s reinvigorated right wing is still to come. And nowhere is this more apparent than in the seven-candidate carnival currently underway in Virginia’s Fifth Congressional district, home of Rep. Tom Perriello.
The fight to secure the GOP slot in the Fifth has been a nonstop sprint away from the center, with each candidate trying desperately to out-Fox the other. With many conservative activists unimpressed by the establishment candidate, Virginia Senator Robert Hurt, the rest of the field has been in full pander mode, hoping to become the Tea Party’s favorite mad hatter.
Although Hurt has tried to appease his angry base by publicly repudiating his vote for then-Governor Mark Warner’s 2004 tax increase (and even signed a Grover Norquist-endorsed pledge to oppose any tax increases if elected), he’s still being out-hustled on his right flank by Albemarle businessman Laurence Verga. Verga, a commercial property developer who needs a kidney transplant (no, really), recently snagged crucial endorsements from two high-profile conservative tastemakers: talk radio host Laura Ingraham and 2008 electoral curiosity Joe “the Plumber” Wurzelbacher.
That’s right! John McCain’s chrome-domed gaffe machine, whose first name is actually Sam, and who doesn’t technically have a plumber’s license, is back on the trail, stretching his 15 minutes of fame into its third incoherent year. And in case you were worried that ol’ Joe has lost his touch, rest assured: His recent Danville rally with Verga was filled with Wurzelbacherian words of wisdom, such as “we’re allowing these little terrorists, punk terrorists, to dictate what I do in my own country,” and “the constitution is right now as it was when it was written; no changes have ever been made to it.”
O.K., so the man might not be a constitutional scholar, but he sure knows what he likes! Guess we’ll just have to wait until June to see if the rest of Virginia’s Republican electorate agrees with him.
While the Democrats prepare for the June 11 primaries, two Republicans are quietly taking notes on the issues raised and looking ahead to the November general election, hoping to become the first conservative representatives on City Council since 2002. The five Democratic candidates fielded
It was Sunday, April 21, 2013, Brian O’Connor’s 42nd birthday. Virginia had taken both games of Saturday’s doubleheader against No. 5 Florida State and was an inning away from its first-ever sweep of one of college baseball’s most dominant programs. Pitcher Kyle Crockett stepped into the
A small group of protesters holding signs that read “Dumler must go” gathered outside the Albemarle County Circuit Courthouse this afternoon for the trial to determine whether Albemarle County Supervisor Chris Dumler will be removed from office. Four and a half hours of testimony later, Judge
Check c-ville.com daily and pick up a copy of the paper Tuesday to for the latest Charlottesville and Albemarle news briefs and stories. Here’s a quick look at some of what we’ve had an eye on for the past week. Obenshain beats out Bell for AG nomination Albemarle Republican Delegate Rob Bell
The auditorium at the Jefferson School City Center was the venue for the forum for City Council candidates co-sponsored by Charlottesville Tomorrow and The Daily Progress on Thursday night. The event was moderated by Charlottesville Tomorrow’s Executive Director Director, Brian Wheeler.
All three Charlottesville residents arrested last week for allegedly manufacturing thousands of fake IDs will remain in jail for the foreseeable future after each waived the right to a bail hearing in federal court Thursday afternoon. Meanwhile, details continue to emerge about the raid on a
Unlike some pundits we could name, we here at Odd Dominion HQ have never discounted the chances that Virginia’s rabidly right-wing Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli could somehow weasel his way into the governor’s mansion. After all, despite the man’s long history of extremist positions and
Each week, C-VILLE’s Green Scene page takes a look at local environmental news. The section’s bulletin board has information on local green events and keeps you up to date on statewide happenings. Got an event or a tip you’d like to see here and in the paper? Write us at news@c-ville.com.
Jody Lahendro has led a lot of curious locals up the 61′ of creaking scaffolding that has surrounded UVA’s Rotunda for a year. Most recently, it was a group that had won a private tour at an auction to raise money for the iconic structure’s ongoing renovation. Once the visitors emerged at
“What do you think?” Four undergrads—all science majors and members of a UVA genetic engineering competition team—had gathered around a second-floor conference room table in the Physical and Life Sciences building for much of the afternoon to debate project concepts. They were getting ready to
Donald and Eric Trump already own 14 golf courses worldwide, with locations across the United States and in Scotland and Puerto Rico, but they don’t have one in Albemarle County, yet. Three years after paying $6.2 million for the Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard, the Trumps bought the 217-acre
Lou Bloomfield is behind on his correspondence. A teetering stack of letters and postcards sits on the desk of the UVA physics professor, creator of the much-loved undergraduate science-for-non-science-majors course “How Things Work.” They’re all from students, and full of praise and thanks.
There’s no question about the biggest UVA story since last spring. After the Board of Visitors ousted President Teresa Sullivan last June, the faculty and student body went up in arms. Two weeks of meetings, rallies, and resignations followed, and on June 26 Sullivan was reinstated. Students
Ask some of the newest members of UVA’s International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition team why they plan to spend the summer in a lab on Grounds splicing DNA, and they have a tendency to talk over one another in their eagerness to explain. “It’s undergraduate research, but we’re not
UVA accepted its first African-American student in 1950. Black enrollment increased gradually over the following 40 years, but since hitting 10 percent in 1990, the enrollment of African-American students has dropped steadily. According to 2012-2013 numbers, African-American students make up
Check c-ville.com daily and pick up a copy of the paper Tuesday to for the latest Charlottesville and Albemarle news briefs and stories. Here’s a quick look at some of what we’ve had an eye on for the past week. Manslaughter charge in Semester at Sea death Police in Dominica have arrested a man
Each week, the news team takes a look at upcoming meetings and events in Charlottesville and Albemarle we think you should know about. Consider it a look into our datebook, and be sure to share newsworthy happenings in the comments section. The Belmont-Carlton Neighborhood Association is
The new manager of the Vinegar Hill Café at the Jefferson School City Center had his heart set on living in Charlottesville. Originally from Hamilton, Ohio, Joel Schechtman and his wife spent time in Charlottesville and fell in love with it. “We wanted to move to here, so we made it happen,” he
A crowd of about 100 gathered at Trump Winery yesterday evening to wine and dine, enjoy the view of the vineyard, and watch the Charlottesville Albemarle Convention and Visitors Bureau (CACVB) present the annual Tourism Achievement Award. Executive Director Kurt Burkhart presented the top honor
Each week, C-VILLE’s Green Scene page takes a look at local environmental news. The section’s bulletin board has information on local green events and keeps you up to date on statewide happenings. Got an event or a tip you’d like to see here and in the paper? Write us at news@c-ville.com.
