Times Dispatch Slams Virginia GOP for Threatened State Government Shutdown

The Virginia GOP continues to grow more extreme by the day and about the only thing the House of Delegates hasn't done is pass a law authorizing secession from the United States.  Things are truly that batshit crazy amongst today's Virginia GOP.  Hence the Virginia GOP's threat to shut down Virginia's state government if Gov. McAuliffe continues to push for Medicaid expansion.  In a main editorial, the Richmond Times Dispatch - perhaps the most conservative newspaper in Virginia - slams the Virginia GOP and House Speaker William Howell.  It also slams the gerrymandered districts engineered by the Virginia GOP which allows the GOP members of the House of Delegates to largely escape accountability.  Here are highlights from the editorial:

Bill Howell serves not only as speaker of the House of Delegates but also as the highest-ranking state official among Virginia Republicans. . . . . And he expressed fears that a government shutdown could result in the lowering of Virginia’s AAA bond rating.

“I sure wouldn’t want to be governor when we lost our AAA bond rating for the first time in state history,” the speaker said. He sure shouldn’t want to be speaker if Virginia lost its AAA rating, either.

Gerrymandering diminishes accountability in the legislature, particularly in the House of Delegates. Howell and his minions have almost no reason to fear retaliation in general elections. Their biggest threat comes in nomination contests where purists could challenge delegates who prefer effective governing to pointless posturing. The Byrd Organization kept its grip by limiting the electorate. Republicans in the House keep their grip by ensuring that votes do not matter. The disgrace invites the unpleasantness Virginia is enduring.

The Times-Dispatch supports Marketplace Virginia. If Obamacare did not exist and Marketplace were seen as a way to increase access to private health insurance, we suspect it would pass. A case could be made that Marketplace does not belong in the budget, but Virginia has moved beyond that argument. A yes to a budget that includes Marketplace Virginia marks the proper step.