The election results left the Old Dominion’s dispirited donkeys with no power to shape policy, and little ability to stop Republicans—who now control every single lever of Virginia’s government—from doing as they please.

As we reach the height of campaign season, perhaps it behooves us all to pause for a moment and review the rules of the game. We’re not claiming that politics is a piece of cake, or that following a a set of simple steps will guarantee your election. But folks, come on! If you’re going […]

Here’s something you may not know: As a percentage of its total population, Virginia’s incarcerated class now ranks 12th in the nation, with one out of every 89 adults currently living in prison.

As any longtime reader of this column well knows, we have an inordinate amount of affection for Terry “the Macker” McAuliffe, the Democratic party operative legendary for his fundraising prowess and appetite for political theater. You may abhor his politics, but McAuliffe is one of those outsized personalities who manages to make the process fun, […]

Hey, we just got back from our annual two week working vacation in Rome. (We’re finishing up a series of watercolors featuring semi-nude members of the Italian parliament.) Anything exciting happen while we were gone? Appetite for self-destruction? RedState.com cofounder Erick Erickson suggested that a recent speech by Tea Party favorite Jamie Radtke (pictured) meant […]

Ah, politicians and their quasi-legal payola—it’s a love story as old as time. In the good ol’ days, the transfer of cash from businessman to elected official was a relatively straightforward affair, usually involving a fat envelope and a fine Cuban cigar. But as the glory days of William “Boss” Tweed’s Tammany Hall slowly gave […]

As our increasingly dysfunctional federal government limps toward a deal to raise the U.S. debt limit, I think we all can agree that no one is going to leave this messy process covered in glory. But if there is one grating personality that rises head and shoulders (and teeth and hair) above the rest, it’s […]

Though anecdotal evidence might suggest otherwise, Virginia’s economy is actually doing quite well—especially when compared to the nation as a whole. Our unemployment rate is currently 6 percent, compared to a dismal national average of over 9 percent, and, according to a recent study released by USA Today, Virginia’s economy is now the 10th largest in the country.

In politics, there are basically three kinds of travel: business, pleasure, and of necessity. And there’s nothing that lawmakers love more than combining the first two types (as a group of General Assembly members did on a recent, all-expenses-paid “fact-finding” trip to Paris—sponsored by a company that, coincidentally, wants to extract vast quantities of uranium from Pittsylvania County).

We’ve made no secret of our utter befuddlement when it comes to Virginia’s completely complacent state Democratic party. Although the commonwealth has become increasingly competitive at the presidential and (last year notwithstanding) congressional level, you’d be hard-pressed to find a Democratic member of the General Assembly who seemed passionate (or even mildly optimistic) about the […]