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“Stylistic” Election Coverage

The Communications Department didn’t come up with much from conventional news sources today, but I dug around and found, in of all places, in-depth election coverage and post mortems from Richmond’s too-old-to-be-hip-anymore weekly freebie, Style Weekly, which now delves into the business of the serious. It’s done a decent job, too. Of particular interest are the hat-tips to Republicans by Democrat guru-strategist Paul Goldman and the whining of Claire Guthrie Gastañaga, Equality Virginia’s lobbyist. University of Richmond Professor Daniel Palazzolo harangues Governor Tim Kaine and Scott Bass gets about half of it right. It’s funny when liberals try to manipulate conservative mandates by telling us what they want the results to mean is fact, and then fratricidally turn on themselves (a sure sign that their interpretation of the results is a disingenuous attempt to water down the victory).

Elsewhere, Republican Ron Villanueva was declared the winner in the closest House of Delegates race, but it’s only one step toward resolution, and will go on still longer, for sure. Attorney General Bill Mims is doing what all former attorneys general do (especially those who fill out a term of an elected one), and that is sign on with a big bucks power law law firm, while Senator Edd Houck (D-17, Spottsylvania) makes the news for the second day on the trot, describing a dour picture of state funding to localities. Nationally, the Washington Post reports that pro-abortion activists are trying to muzzle the free speech rights of pro-life clinics and information centers.

News:

Misaligned: How Virginia Democrats overestimated the power of Obama and underestimated the importance of independent voters. (Style Weekly)

Villanueva declared winner in 21st District race (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot)

Houck paints dire budget picture to city and Spotsy (Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star)

Attorney General to join Hunton and Williams (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Kaine Takes a Hike (Style Weekly)

National News:

Disclaimer proposed for anti-abortion clinics (Washington Post)

Analysis:

McDonnell, Picture Perfect (Paul Goldman/Style Weekly)

Presumptive Politics (Paul Goldman/Style Weekly)

McDonnell’s Power Surge (Scott Bass/Style Weekly)

Democratic Downers (Margaret Edds/Style Weekly)

Commentary:

Shilling For Bob (Claire Guthrie Gastañaga/Style Weekly)

Losing Legacy (Daniel Palazzolo/Style Weekly)

Editorial Comics:

“For Whom the Bell Tolls” (Glenn Foden/Townhall.com)

“A Year Later . . .” (Scott Stantis/Townhall.com)

All 100 seats in the House of Delegates are up for election this year and more of them than in recent cycles have major two party competition. This is because Democrats — fresh after the 2007 capture of the Virginia Senate and gains in the House, and the 2008 Virginia victory by Barack Obama — thought they had a realistic chance of taking the House.

Competitive campaigns are welcome. They bring out the best in candidates, good ideas, and illustrate the differences between the two primary strains of political thought. But there is a sure difference between tough competition and despicable conduct. That’s the case in the 73rd House of Delegates campaign between Democrat challenger Tom Shields and Republican incumbent, Dr. John O’Bannon. 

With 100 campaigns, it’s difficult to keep up with them all, but this one sticks out because it was an early Democrat target. Shields, who teaches “leadership” at the University of Richmond, went low and dishonest from the start, claiming Delegate O’Bannon never held constituent meetings or mailed newsletters. He continued the falsehoods even after confronted with physical evidence.

He’s only gone lower since and his mailer yesterday defies description: It claims that Delegate O’Bannon, the only physician in the House — and a neurologist, at that — has not only worked against Alzheimer’s patients, but also is to blame for the lack of a cure for the disease! Not entirely shocking coming from a hard-core campus leftist ideologue who only cares to help secure control of the House for his party, but still difficult to contemplate how he and the state Democrat party hacks advising him manage to think up such low and despicable rhetoric — and how they find ways to top their previous dishonesties.

The fact is, Delegate O’Bannon has been a leader in funding research for this disease and, for it, the Alzheimer’s Association of Greater Richmond presented him with its Advocate Award. I guess Shields knows more than the Alzheimer’s Association. Either that, or he’s calling the Alzheimer’s Association a stooge front group. Competition is good. Unfortunately, Shields isn’t interested in that. Instead, the fervor of taking power for his party leads him to the gutter.

The Richmond Federalist Society and the University of Richmond Law Students for Life are sponsoring a debate at noon on Title X funding, October 21, at the University of Richmond School of Law. The debate participants are William Saunders, senior vice president of legal affairs and lead counsel for Americans United for Life, and Stephanie Toti, staff attorney for the U.S. Legal Program at the Center for Reproductive Rights. Ms. Toti argued against Virginia’s partial birth abortion law in front of  the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals during that drawn out, two-year process. There’s less doubt as to Mr. Saunders’ position. The two should provide for an engaging give and take, to say the least. To RSVP, or for more information, please contact Carl Tate at t82028@aol.com.