Heretick Defeats Anti-Gay Johnny Joannou in Primary

Steve Heretick

In yesterday's Democrat primary, Steve Heretick defeated anti-gay Del. Johnny Joannou and sent the fossilized Democrat in name only into political retirement.   While news stories focused on Joannou's opposition to Medicaid expansion, Joannou also had a documented anti-gay voting record in the House of Delegates.  Given the nature of the 79th district, Heretick is presumed to be the winner come November.  Heretick's win underscores how progressives working together can make a difference.  Joannou was so reactionary that even the lunatics of the Tea Party came to his aid .  Here are highlights from the Virginian Pilot:

Steve Heretick upset longtime Del. Johnny Joannou on Tuesday in the Democratic primary for the state House 79th District.  With all precincts reporting, Heretick claimed 52.7 percent of the votes while Joannou took 47.2 percent.

Joannou, who has served more than 30 years in the General Assembly, hadn’t faced a challenger since 2007.

Heretick, a former Portsmouth City councilman, said Joannou’s conservative voting record was out of touch with the district.

Specifically, Heretick, 54, attacked Joannou for his opposition to expanding Medicaid under the federal Affordable Care Act and for not doing enough while the state was negotiating a deal to bring tolls to Hampton Roads to pay for a second tube at the Midtown Tunnel.

Heretick said it felt good to beat an “entrenched” incumbent backed “by the city’s old guard.”
“I really do feel like we’ve overcome a tremendous amount of opposition and I’m pleased to say that we’ve done it with a lot of progressive groups,” Heretick said.

Joannou declined to comment Tuesday night.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe supported Heretick. "We're happy with everything that's happening," said Morgan Finkelstein, a spokesoman for the Democratic Party of Virginia. 

Heretick created a website, www.johnnyjoannou.com, that referred to Joannou as “our Tea Party delegate.” Indeed, members of the Tea Party and the National Rifle Association backed Joannou.

Members of the Portsmouth Tea Party came to his aid by encouraging members to vote in the primary, hoping to stop a more liberal candidate from getting to Richmond. Because it's a heavily-Democratic district, the primary winner is likely to win the seat in November.

Good riddance to Joannou.

Why Steve Heretick and Medicaid Expansion Make Sense for Virginia

Vote for Steve Heretick

On June 9th there will be a primary that will decide who will be the nominee for the 79th House District.  The incumbent, Johnny Joannou is a Democrat in name only and is virulently anti-gay, opposes Medicaid expansion and has sided with the failed policies of the extremists in the Virginia GOP.  It is important that Steve Heretick replaces Joannou as the Democrat candidate in November.  Besides Joannou's anti-gay voting record, his refusal to support Medicaid expansion are the most troubling, especially since many of his own constituents would benefit.  A piece in the Washington Post looks at how Medicaid expansion would benefit Virginia.  Joannou's opposition is particularly disturbing given that many of Virginia's rural hospitals are struggling financially. Here are article highlights:

The White House Council of Economic Advisers released a report saying that states that have expanded Medicaid are better off and if Virginia were to do so, an additional 179,000 residents would have health insurance coverage and 16,000 fewer would experience symptoms of depression.

The report also said Virginia will miss out on $1.24 billion in federal funding in 2016 by not expanding Medicaid. The report’s figures were provided by the Urban Institute, a nonprofit public policy group in Washington.

“By expanding their Medicaid programs, states can improve access to essential medical care, reduce financial hardship, improve their citizens’ physical and mental health, and claim billions of dollars in federal funding that could raise their citizens’ standards of living and make their economies more resilient in the future,” the report said.

Matthew Moran, a spokesman for GOP House Speaker William J. Howell said Republicans remain steadfastly opposed to expansion . . 

The governor’s spokesman, Brian Coy, said McAuliffe is still committed to Medicaid expansion.  “Every day that Republicans in the General Assembly wait to work with the governor to get the best expansion deal for Virginia is another day that thousands of people go without lifesaving care and taxpayers send their hard-earned money to Washington while getting nothing in return,” Coy said.

The irony to me is that the GOP claims to be the party of Christian values and "pro-life" yet once children are born, the GOP kicks them to the gutter along with the poor and less fortunate.  Not exactly what the Gospel message calls one to do.