Way back in November of last year, when State Senator Mark Herring squeaked into the attorney general’s office by a margin of 907 votes, nobody expected great things. Throughout his long career as a lawyer and elected official, Herring had developed a reputation as a capable-but-boring technocrat, a man who excelled at his job, but […]
Odd Dominion is an unabashedly liberal, bi-monthly op-ed column covering Virginia politics. As longtime readers may have noticed, we here at the Odd Dominion have a minor obsession with Virginia’s 7th District U.S. Representative Eric “Ol’ Chiseled Chin” Cantor. The current House majority leader (and only Jewish Republican now serving in Congress), Cantor is the […]
Odd Dominion is an unabashedly liberal, bi-monthly op-ed column covering Virginia politics. By now it is generally accepted wisdom that Democrats are not going to do well in this year’s midterm elections. There are myriad reasons for this, but what it basically boils down to is this: A sizeable chunk of the 2014 Senate elections […]
Odd Dominion is an unabashedly liberal, bi-monthly op-ed column covering Virginia politics. There are times when even we—who have observed the absurd theatrics of Virginia’s General Assembly for longer than we’d care to admit—are stunned by the level of immaturity and asinine behavior exhibited in our state capital. This, without a doubt, is one of those […]
First the good news, Virginia: Sodomy for everyone! O.K., not everyone—but if you’re an amorously adventurous sort with a consensual partner of legal age? Go for it! If the members of our General Assembly did little else during the winter session (and, to be honest, they did little else), at least they managed to overturn […]
It’s an article of faith among top Republican strategists—both nationally and in Virginia—that the GOP desperately needs to improve its image (and vote totals) among women and people of color if it ever hopes to become a truly dominant political party again. Unfortunately, despite a slew of “inclusivity initiatives” and “minority outreach programs,” Republican efforts […]
As the results and ramifications of Virginia’s 2013 elections slowly unfolded, it seemed all but certain that the major political dramas attending the fledgling administration of Governor Terry McAuliffe would play out in the deeply divided chambers of the General Assembly. After (barely) securing Democratic control of Virginia’s senate, the McAuliffe camp girded itself for […]
After months of rumors, innuendo, leaks and mea culpas, the other shoe has finally dropped in the ongoing gift scandal surrounding former first couple Bob and Maureen McDonnell. On January 21, 2014, both were named as co-conspirators in a federal indictment that alleges, among other things, that they—separately and together—are guilty of wire fraud, false […]
As always, we here at the Odd Dominion would like to take a moment to pause and reflect back over the previous year of political absurdity before we charge wildly into the next. And in keeping with tradition, we once again present our misty-colored memories in the form of a multiple choice quiz. Play along […]
Well, it looks like Virginia’s status as the most schizophrenic political state in the nation continues apace. With Republican Mark Obenshain finally conceding the Attorney General’s race to Mark Herring, Old Dominion Democrats now control all five of Virginia’s statewide elected positions for the first time in over 40 years. And yet, at the same […]