Virginia Tomorrow

1. National Reviews Are in On McDonnell’s SOTU Response

The general consensus is that McDonnell was more successful than Bobby Jindal last year, increased his name recognition and did no harm to his stature as a rising Governor in the GOP firmament. What might have been most impressive about McDonnell’s political smarts, however, came the day after SOTU. The Governor cancelled all his scheduled national media appearances and got back to work at home.  Virginia Governors who spend too much time in the national arena can wear out their welcome in the Commonwealth very easily.

2. Dueling Reviewers: Kaine v. Warner/Webb on Obama’s Speech

Start to watch this one very, very closely. Tim Kaine’s response to President Obama’s SOTU address was that the President “hit it out of the park.”   We would, of course, be shocked in the head of the DNC thought anything less.  But neither Mark Warner nor Jim Webb were equally effusive. Warner, in fact, issued a statement that was widely described in media reports as “lukewarm” in its reaction. My sense is that Warner and Webb may well not be on the same page with Kaine/Obama about Obama’s agenda and where the Democrat Party should be heading and this is going to become  a far larger story in Virginia political circles than has been publicly remarked upon to date.

3. Obama and McDonnell Together

Michelle and Maureen that is. The nation’s First Lady invited the Commonwealth’s First Lady to Alexandria to help announce a childhood obesity initiative. This bipartisan effort comes on the heels on the widely publicized snub of the Governor by the President when he traveled to NOVA to push for charter schools and education reform, but didn’t invite the new Virginia Governor to join him. Could this invitation have been one of those non-apology apologies?

4. Democratic Opportunity

A lot of people are talking about the lack of a Democratic bench to turn to for statewide candidates in 2013. And there’s plenty of speculation about “who would be a good candidate,” as if “good candidates” can be manufactured. A different way of looking at this might be to say that there is a grand opportunity available for a Democrat who is seriously interested in earning public recognition and respect. This year’s legislative session will be the first test to see if there are any Democrats who seize the opportunity to become recognized spokespersons for issues that engage the public. 

5. NOVA Populism

One place where some of the new energy in the Democratic Party may emerge is with the NOVA populists who are criticizing the policies of both parties in Richmond for its negative impact on NOVA needs. Senator Chap Petersen and his law partner Delegate Scott Surovell, for example, have been equal opportunity critics who have not shied away from criticizing outgoing Governor Tim Kaine’s budget about its consequences for NOVA. We began to see NOVA-based populism on the GOP side last year with Dave Albo, Clay Athey and Tim Hugo’s legislation on out-of-state college admissions. Petersen and Surovell are pointing to what has been another festering sore spot in NOVA, the formulas by which state education aid is distributed. 

6. Reductions in Education Funding

May well be the single most pervasive story across Virginia localities this year. You can hardly pick a newspaper around the state (or, more accurately for me, surf a newspaper website) without reading about what local schools will be doing to cope with budget reductions. While the public clearly recognizes that the schools cannot be fully spared the pain of budgetary reductions, K-12 education does rank very high on the public priority list. Jobs is still the only issue that compares in importance with K-12 education.

7. Two Cheers for the Capital News Service

Professor Jeff South at VCU has his students down at the Capitol covering the General Assembly every day. The students distribute their stories to state media outlets, including those that don’t have the resources to cover the Assembly on a regular basis. Even better, they’ve already come up with a number of “local interest” stories that have proven to have statewide significance, such as their coverage of Harvey Morgan’s effort to allow the medical uses of marijuana. I’m a great fan of faculty who can give their students real-world experience, something that should happen far more often in academia. Two cheers for Jeff South and his students for the Capitol News Service.