Virginians don't much care for their governor

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Boo-hoo:

PPP's newest Virginia poll finds that Bob McDonnell's net approval rating has dropped 12 points in the last month, and that for the first time since taking office he's under water. Only 36% of voters approve of the job he's doing to 41% who disapprove.

McDonnell's numbers are down across the board from our last poll of the state. He's dropped from 73% approval with Republicans to 62%, 22% approval with Democrats to 14%, and from a 39/41 spread to a 36/43 one with independents. McDonnell's favorability numbers are even worse than his approval numbers with just 32% of voters seeing him in a positive light to 45% who have a negative opinion.

McDonnell's ethics issues seem to be driving this downturn in his popularity.

Oh really? You think?

I guess this is what happens when you take gifts from a shady corporate exec trying to buy influence, arousing the FBI's interest, and spend public money improperly at your mansion, and otherwise come across as a walking ethics violation.

But the question is how McDonnell's current troubles will impact the Republican ticket, specifically blow job hater Ken Cuccinelli (running for governor) and all-around wacko E.W. Jackson (running for lieutenant governor). (Those PPP numbers are coming today. Stay tuned.)

Suffice it to say, Virginia Republicans don't look all that good at the moment.

Behind the Ad: Building McAuliffe's narrative in Virginia

By Richard K. Barry

Who: The Terry McAuliffe campaign for governor

Where: Virginia

What's going on: Actually, not a lot. It's all about McAuliffe touting his ability to work with the other side, in this case supporting Gov. Bob McDonnell's (R) transportation bill. The point is to reassure those who might see McAuliffe as too much of a blind partisan.

The Hill:

McAuliffe focuses on his effort to help garner Democratic support for the bill, which passed over resistance from some Tea Party-affiliated Republicans in the statehouse — as well as from Virginia Attorney General and GOP gubernatorial nominee Ken Cuccinelli (R), who opposed the bill until shortly before its passage.

What makes this interesting is that as polarized as American politics is, it's still important to let people know you will work for them to get stuff done and not spend all your time throwing bricks at the other side.

As The Hill points out, McAuliffe's Republican opponent Ken Cuccinelli has been trying to smooth some of his own partisan edges. They note, however, that this has been made that much more difficult as the "state GOP nominated a pastor who's made controversial remarks over gays and abortion in the past to be his running mate."

Or, as Daily Kos put it:

E.W. Jackson isn't just an oppo researcher's dream, he's an oppo researcher's mescaline-fueled fantasy bender riding on pegasus-back. Every day there's something new and amazing about the Virginia GOP's lieutenant governor nominee.

Anyway, they'll be lots more about him soon enough. Here's the boring narrative building ad from McAuliffe:



(Cross-posted at Phantom Public.)

Republican candidate for lieutenant governor of Virginia, E.W. Jackson, apparently also running for Worst Republican Ever

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Okay, here's what we know about this crazy guy so far:

-- He thinks President Obama sees the world from "a Muslim perspective" and is anti-Semitic and anti-Israel.

-- He thinks gays are "very sick people psychologically."

-- He thinks Democrats are like slave masters.

-- He thinks Planned Parenthood has been "far more lethal to black lives than the KKK ever was." Oh, and that "the Democrat Party and the black civil rights allies are partners in this genocide."

And... well, you can read more here. This is all stuff he's said in the past, before he was a candidate. Who knows what will come during the campaign?

Oh, and here's another thing: 

E.W. Jackson, the Virginia GOP's nominee for lieutenant governor, began his career as a minister and attorney in Boston. While there, he lent his support to a high-profile 1988 fight against a plan to desegregate public housing developments in the neighborhood of South Boston.

Yes, that's right. He was against desegregation. And by the way, the fact that he's black doesn't really make that any better. 

Well done, Virginia Republicans. Your state is turning purple (or, rather, has already turned purple and may now be turning blue) and you respond to that by nominating a guy so out on the right-wing fringe he makes the guy running for governor, Ken Cuccinelli, look like a sensible moderate by comparison. (Well, no, not really. Cuccinelli still hates blow jobs and has a long record of the right-wing crazy.)

The only thing that would make sense would be if Republicans picked Jackson to make Cuccinelli look better. But that's way too Machiavellian -- there was no such conspiracy.

No, they just fucked themselves with Jackson. No wonder they're already panicking.