Virginia Tomorrow

1. Deeds-Aster?

This is what the Democrats appear to expecting on Tuesday evening. A Deeds loss (and a big one) seems to be a foregone conclusion in Democratic circles. Most Dems don’t believe that either Jody Wagner or Steve Shannon will be able to withstand the GOP tide that is likely to sweep across Virginia, despite efforts in the last two weeks to salvage at least one of the downticket races.

2. It Ain’t Me Babe (It’s Creigh)

Are you old enough to remember the Turtles hit tune “No, No, No, It Ain’t Me Babe.” Well, that’s what the Obama administration and others are singing about the impending Deeds-aster. It hasn’t been one of the adminstration’s proudest moments. The unseemliness of these pre-mortems reached its nadir on Monday. While the President was in Norfolk imploring Democratic acticvists to get out and vote, Presidential Press Secretary Gibbs was citing  a Washington Post poll noting that 70% of Virginians said that their feelings about the President wasn’t relevant to their vote. Does anyone seriously believe that the entire national climate and the public’s anxiety about the policy agenda of the national Democratic Party is not relevant to the challenges faced by the Deeds campaign?

3. Triage

This term, usually associated with response to disaster, was employed by Democratic-leaning bloggers this week to describe the appropriate strategy in the campaign’s final days.  Specifically, it means trying to funnel resources to Democratic House candidates to hold down GOP gains in the wake of a potential McDonnell landslide. Could anyone have comtemplated in November, 2008 that 12 months laterDemocrats would be seriously talking about Triage.

4. Cuccinelli?

This prospect has become the most bitter pill of all for Democrats and their supporters to swallow. The editorial attacks on the GOP AG candidate reached a crescendo this week and Steve Shannon is still airing new ads trying to persuade voters that Cuccinelli’s views are far outside the political mainstream. Even the most recent polls, however, do not show these attacks gaining much traction, though voters do not typically focus on the downticket races until the last possible moment. In any event, Cuccinelli has turned out to be far more formidable than most Democrats had imagined, many of whom speculated six months ago that he might be a drag on the entire Republican ticket.

5. Shame on You Cancelled

A unique, innovative and bizarre GOTV effort called the “Know Campaign” was abruptly cancelled this week before it got off the ground. The project would have sent voters a mailing encouraging them to go the polls. The packet would have also included a note detailing how often they have voted in recent elections and how often some of their neighbors had voted as well. The theory behind the project is that it is possible to increase participation by letting citizens know that their decision to vote or not vote is being scrutinized.  The Shame on You campaign was called off when questions were raised about who was funding the effort and whether the organization’s access to vote registration lists was legally obtained.

6. What about the DNC Chair?

If the Democrats are soundly defeated, does this have any implications for Tim Kaine’s role as DNC Chair. I’ve heard speculation both ways. On one hand, the Governor has the President’s confidence and it’s hard to imagine that it would be withdrawn after a single election (especially when the White House complains that Deeds didn’t follow Kaine’s advice). Yet the cleats-sharpened gang in D.C. that is very worried about the congressional election cycle has been underwhelmed by Kaine’s fund raising prowess and prefer a more in-your-face partisan in the role. Regardless of the answer, Kaine’s future will undoubtedly become a parlor game for the chattering class.

7. The Political Pundit Full Employment Policy

Is Virginia’s one-term governorship. On Wednesday, we’ll have the post-mortems. By Thursday, it all starts again and the political junkies will be handicapping 2013. If the poll results are reflected in the actual balloting, you can predict what the questions will be. Will Cuccinelli really step aside and let Bolling run unopposed for the nomination? Who’s on deck for the Democrats? Did Shannon and Wagner get helped or hurt by this year’s campaign?  There may be very good reasons for allowing the public to re-elect their Governor. But it could drive the punditocracy into bankruptcy.