Virginia Tomorrow

1. Mission Accomplished?

The State Central Central Committee succeeded (just barely) in removing Jeff Frederick as GOP Chairman at yesterday’s smackdown. But Frederick and his supporters have suggested that he may try to recapture the Chair at the party convention next month, spoiling the celebration of Republican unity that is supposed to accompany the nomination of Bob McDonnell for Governor. This prospect makes it critically important that the anti-Frederick folks come up with a nominee for Chairman who is sufficiently prominent to unify the warring factions  and ensure that the GOP does not begin its gubernatorial campaign by staging an intraparty SUPERSLAM for all the national media to observe.

2. Delegate Joe Morrissey Sues Style Magazine for More than $10 Million

If you’re going to sue, you might as well go all in. It is typically very difficult for a public figure to sue a media organization successfully. But I’ve spoken to a number of people who believe that Morrisssey might well have a case.  Style’s effort to combine”The Muckraker” with “The Tattler” has always made it a little jazzier than a standard newspaper, but has also pushed the edge of the journalistic envelope on accountability issues. Prior to his own troubles, Morrissey was an extremely effective advocate in Richmond courtrooms. It’ll be fascinating to see whether he’ll be equally effective testifying on his own behalf in front of a Richmond jury.

3. Richmond Times-Dispatch Eliminates 90 Positions

There are a number of very talented and decent people who have lost their jobs at the RTD .  (A similar fate has befell workers at other Richmond area institutions such as Circuit City, Land America and Qimonda.)

From what I have heard., the paper has decided to shut down the bureaus it ran across the state, essentially mirroring Media General’s decision to close its Washington office.  My sense is that the RTD will utilize wire coverage and partnership arrangements with other Media General papers to obtain coverage from outside the Richmond area. And it eliminated certain positions– movie reviewing, political cartooning, etc.– where it can substitute national syndications for local employees (and probably save considerable money on costs).

The RTD retrenchments to focus its respources more intensively on its local coverage mirror the efforts taken by newspapers across the country that are striving to remain viable while others are closing shop. I am hoping that in the next few months we may see something other retrenchments. How about the creation of niche publications in Virginia (perhaps on the model of The Politico) where the talents and passions of our best journalists can serve the public good and be connected to a business model that could actually flourish?

4. Play a Little Guitar, Tell A Few Jokes

Mike Huckabee came to Virginia this week on behalf of Bob McDonnell. The highlight of the visit was a jam session where Huckabee played bass and the GOP gubernatorial candidate drums. I’m wondering if we can get a bipartisan band by adding Clinton on sax, Kaine on harmonica and Albo on vocals. Huckabee’s attempt at standup comedy was less successful as his urging to Republicans that they take the air out of Democratic tires on election day to lower turnout in Virginia fell, pardon the pun, flat. On his next visit to the state, McDonnell will be hoping that Huck sticks to bass guitar and forgets about the variety show routine.

5. Kaine Chooses Life

The Governor’s decision to permit the creation of a Choose Life license plate in Virginia was roundly criticized by pro-choice activists in Virginia and inside the national Democratic Party. Kaine suggested that he really had little choice in the matter given the precedent that has been set wth plates such as “Friends of Tibet.”  But  pro-choice activists in D.C. care less about Virginia precedent- they’ve been fighting this battle for thirty years and they don’t expect the Chair of the DNC to give an inch (or to really care about changing the tone of politics in Washington).

6. The Return of Henry Howell

In the 1960’s and 1970’s, Henry Howell’s populist, anti-corporate message of “keep the big boys honest” galvanized progressive activists, divided the Democratic party, and scared the heck out of business leaders in the state. For years since, most Democratic office-seekers avoided Howell-like rhetoric and sought to find a way to maintain good ties with both the state’s businesss leaders and union representatives. Since the election of Jim Webb in 2006, a new populism has become a more prominent part of the Democratic message. It was exhibited this week by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds who urged the State Corportation Commssion to reject Dominion’s request for a rate increase.

7. Carolina on Monday Night

I’m sure that all true ACC fans in Virginia will be put aside any bad feelings that may have about North Carolina and root for the Tar Heels Monday evening. I’m not happy with Michigan State’s home court advantage in a national championship game, but Carolina may have too much firepower for the Spartans, even given the great defensive outings they’ve had against Louisville and Connecticut. (Take three guesses about where I went to school.)