Is Virginia Becoming a Liberal State?

Ralph Northam and Mark Herring

Currently, all of Virginia's state wide elected officials are Democrats and all of them publicly support same sex marriage and oppose the Christofacsists' agenda.   The Virginia GOP, however, continues to push it same tired agenda from 30 or more years ago even as the urban population centers grow and the backward rural areas decline.  Some argue that the stage is being set for Virginia to become a liberal state notwithstanding the presence of bastions of lunacy like Liberty University and Pat Robertson's reality free Christian Broadcasting Network.  A piece in the National Journal looks at what is trending in Virginia.  Here are excerpts:

As two of Virginia's top Democrats weigh running for governor in 2017, potentially against each other, they are embracing traditionally liberal issues in a way that would have been politically toxic just years ago in the Upper South state.

The bet that both Attorney General Mark Herring and Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam are making is not only that the strongest possible progressive record would help win a Democratic primary, but that it will also help in the general election. Nationally, Democrats have grown emboldened on cultural issues over the past few years, and Virginia—where demographic shifts have widened their path to victory through diversified, left-leaning urban and suburban regions—might be the place feeling that trend most acutely.

Northam already has said he'll run, but Herring (who has not announced his plans) has attracted national attention since taking office for a series of actions derided as "activist" by Virginia conservatives. The attorney general declined to defend the state's gay marriage ban in court, interpreted that Virginia law qualified children of some undocumented immigrants for lower in-state college tuition rates, and filed a brief supporting President Obama's 2014 executive order on immigration.

Herring has described his moves as positioning the state "on the right side of history and the right side of the law." And Herring's embrace of positions that would have been unthinkable for past generations of Virginia Democrats is nothing new.

Even Republicans admit the tide has shifted, to a point. "There's absolutely been a change in Virginia," said Tucker Martin, a former communications director for Gov. Bob McDonnell.
"There used to be a distinction between 'Virginia Democrats' and national Democrats, and that of course was the [Mark] Warner model of 2001 when he ran for governor," Martin continued. "It was all about 'I'm a Virginia Democrat.' That distinction has been erased."

Northam, the Democratic lieutenant governor, lacks the inherent visibility and responsibility associated with the attorney general's office. (State law bars current Gov. Terry McAuliffe from seeking another consecutive term.) But Northam too intends to highlight his record on progressive issues as he lays the groundwork for 2017.

When discussing Northam's qualifications for a promotion, Northam political adviser Brad Komar is quick to highlight the lieutenant governor's tie-breaking state Senate votes to repeal Virginia's mandatory ultrasound law for women seeking abortions, increase the minimum wage, and enact a LGBT employment non-discrimination law.

Herring and Northam may not end up running against each other in a primary—they are close personal friends who shared a desk during their years in the state Senate. But their aggressive compilation of progressive goals over the last few years hints at a new model for Democratic success in Virginia.

Will the Virginia GOP get the message that god, guns and gays are no longer winning issues?  Not as long as the Virginia GOP continues to prostitute itself The Family Foundation, an anti-gay hate group with strong white supremacist undercurrents.