Blue Commonwealth Gala - Reflections

Last night's political gathering was quite impressive - and much larger than I had expected.  A friend who is a regular at such things said about 1,400 - 1,500 people typically attend.  But, as the conservative (and typically anti-Democrat) Richmond Times Dispatch reports, 1,800 Democrats from all across Virginia gathered at the fundraiser featuring two presidential candidates -  Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar  - which party officials said brought in more than $425,000.  The event was designed to kick off the fall state legislative elections, but the desire to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 was palpable throughout the evening. 

Many people that we spoke with had never attended before and all seemed committed to seeing Virginia send another message to Trump and the Republican Party.  In 2017, Virginia saw control of the Virginia General Assembly flip from GOP control, with the GOP losing 15 seats in the House of Delegates.  That turned out to be a precursor for the flipping of the House of Representatives in 2018.   The goal in 2019 is to finish what 2017 started and to see Democrats win control of both chambers of the General Assembly which will set the stage for passage of a large number pieces of progressive legislation, not the least of which will be con control measures long thwarted by the Virginia GOP.  The other hope is that 2019 will be the beginning of the defeat of Trump and Trumpism which is nothing less than a cancer on America.

There were plenty of speakers, some of whom I have heard numerous times before (e.g.,Mark Warner, Terry McAuliffe and Tim Kaine), but the true headliner of the evening was Pete Buttigieg - who many first time attendees cited as their reason for attending.   Amy Klobuchar gave a fine speech, but Buttigieg's delivery was stellar.  If his debate performance on June 27th is as good as what we saw last night,it could shake things up and certainly make other candidates look tongue tied in comparison.

Naturally, Virginia Republicans put down the gala and were as arrogant as ever and described Buttigieg and Klobuchar as candidates have "zero chance" and tried to revive the February debacle when some Virginia Democrats allowed themselves to be played by far right operatives and engaged in a circular firing squad.   Similar arrogance and nastiness were on display in 2017 as well and, with luck, a similar humbling will hit the GOP in November, 2019. 

Is a Progressive Blue Wave Beginning?

With off year elections, Virginia is always seen as a bell weather of the popularity of the party controlling the White House.  But special elections can also point to the popularity - or lack thereof - of the party in power in Washington, DC.  Here in Virginia, extraordinary efforts will be made to deliver a Democrat sweep of the statewide elections in November - plus gains in the General Assembly - to send a rebuke to Der Trumpenführer and the GOP controlled Congress.  However, as a piece in Salon reports, special elections in certain congressional districts could prove most embarrassing to Trump and the foul GOP congressional leadership.  Here are story highlights:

Multiple upcoming special elections for seats that are traditionally Republican may serve as a productive model on how the Democratic Party can start winning and building back its base.

On April 18, voters from Georgia’s 6th Congressional District will head out to the polls in order to fill the seat vacated by Health & Human Services Secretary Tom Price. In the general election, Donald Trump carried the district over Hillary Clinton with a narrow margin, despite it being a longtime Republican chair. The current leading candidate is former Capitol Hill aide Jon Ossoff. At just 30 years old, the former investigative journalist managed to raise an unprecedented $8.3 million in only the first three months of the year — which is unheard of for a House candidate.

The majority of public and private polls have Ossoff leading the field by quite the margin, while holding percentages in the low to mid-40s according to Roll Call.

Video WATCH: Humorist P. J. O’Rourke on Donald Trump’s impending doom: “You could be really unpleasantly surprised” by how it happens.

NBC reports:

But while backing from party leaders like Nancy Pelosi has gotten him to the low 40s in most polls, Ossoff needs to shed his partisan edges to make Republicans and independents feel comfortable voting for him.

Under the unusual rules of election, all 18 candidates — 11 Republicans, five Democrats and two independents — will appear on the ballot. The top two vote-getters of any party will advance to a June runoff election, unless one candidate gets more than 50 percent, in which case they win outright.

Ossoff’s best chance at victory is to carry the day against a divided field this month, rather than face off against one GOP candidate and a united Republican Party in June. So he’s doing everything he can to climb above 50 percent.

Another special election Republicans are attempting to make sure they have under control will take place on April 11. Voters in Kansas’ 4th Congressional District will look to fill the seat of Mike Pompeo, who was chosen by President Trump to be the director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The race has generally invoked little attention and will be between Republican State Treasurer Ron Estes, and Democrat James Thompson, a lawyer. Both local and national democrats have put little effort into race while the National Republican Congressional Committee launched an ad campaign in a district comfortably won by Trump during the general election. However, there is still some concern over GOP willingness to vote, as well as the overall quality of the Estes campaign, according to Roll Call.

In Montana, democrats were losing hope after the general election and generally concerned on how to bounce back. When Trump tapped Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke as secretary of the Interior Department, it was a small blessing in disguise. Legendary folk singer Rob Quist emerged as a democratic hopeful to win the vacant seat in a predominantly red state. His rallies are now regularly drawing hundreds, according to the Huffington Post, but Washington has paid little to no attention. The election will be held on May 25.