VA republicans will retake control of the VA senate

[Frodo]

There is some rumblings that McAuliffe might push through Medicare expansion with an executive order:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/with-no-legislative-approval-mcauliffe-has-begun-planning-for-medicaid-expansion/2014/06/04/2a7a8b4c-ea77-11e3-9f5c-9075d5508f0a_story.html

He will probably do that. If he does that, it would be great!

That would be ill-advised, considering the precedent set could easily be used by a Republican governor to push his own agenda.   And as someone who lives in this state, and therefore has to live with the consequences, I could do without. 

This is pretty much the same argument used against abolishing the filibuster, but we all know that if Democrats were a minority and obstructed as much as the Republicans did, they'd get rid of it in a second.

Virginia politics is very different from the rough-and-tumble of the Beltway.  And  I would like to keep it that way. 

[free my dawg]

And even if there had been, how exactly does that justify bribing Puckett to resign?  I swear, it's like complaining about imaginary Obama "scandals" has become the Republican party's version of "Oh yeah?  Well, I'm rubber and you're glue, so anything you say bounces off me and goes back to you."

Who was bribed? It doesn't appear that Puckett is getting a magical money sack. He's not getting a shiny new job. His daughter's appointment is probably going to go through, but the holdup was his fault in the first place for being a sitting legislator. It's not like the Republicans just invented that custom out of thin air. Huffpost and ThinkSoros are quick to use the word "bribery" even though there isn't any evidence of it, other than that there's an outcome detrimental to Democrats. For all we know, Puckett resigned because Josh Lyman bullied him too much, or his wife has cancer, or he's getting a divorce. But because Terry's plan falls apart, the automatic assumption is that icky Republicans "bribed" the Democrat to get him to resign. What happened here is no different than the Max Baucus Ambassadorship.

He was approached by Republicans about a more lucrative job than the Virginia state senate himself in exchange for his resignation, and he accepted. A higher salary is involved. Baucus took a less lucrative job. There is nothing more to argue about this point. This is not partisanship, this is the truth.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Calling Puckett guilty of accepting a bribe to resign at this point is a bit like calling Bergdahl a deserter.  There's a high bar to meet for that definition, and it hasn't been proven, and yet people keep repeating it as if it had been.

[free my dawg]

Going by the VA legal definition of bribery, I'd say that there was a pecuniary benefit by him resigning his job, and would benefit a sitting senator and state representative by influencing the main roadblock to their party's majority to resign and allow their positions to become law of the land in the Commonwealth.

I'm interested in your point, but looking at the legalese, I'd say it's a bribe.

[Never]

Going by the VA legal definition of bribery, I'd say that there was a pecuniary benefit by him resigning his job, and would benefit a sitting senator and state representative by influencing the main roadblock to their party's majority to resign and allow their positions to become law of the land in the Commonwealth.

I'm interested in your point, but looking at the legalese, I'd say it's a bribe.

Well, this is not an event that will go away overnight, so I don't think we have to make a solid conclusion right now. We will probably end up with a clearer picture one way or another as this story develops.

[TX Conservative Dem]

It appears that after 5 months in office, McAuliffe is facing backlash already early in his governorship.

[Mr. Reactionary]

Calling Puckett guilty of accepting a bribe to resign at this point is a bit like calling Bergdahl a deserter.  There's a high bar to meet for that definition, and it hasn't been proven, and yet people keep repeating it as if it had been.

[Nutmeg]

It appears that after 5 months in office, McAuliffe is facing backlash already early in his governorship.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Going by the VA legal definition of bribery, I'd say that there was a pecuniary benefit by him resigning his job, and would benefit a sitting senator and state representative by influencing the main roadblock to their party's majority to resign and allow their positions to become law of the land in the Commonwealth.

I'm interested in your point, but looking at the legalese, I'd say it's a bribe.

It seems like it's a matter of trying to ascertain a person's thoughts at a particular time, which is what I think of as the parallel with desertion.  At this point it's not clear what if anything was said and by whom about the Tobacco Indemnification Commission job. Is he guilty of bribery if he is offered a position in the event that he retires, even if he was planning on retiring anyway? Maybe the letter of the law does say that, but it would follow in that case it is illegal for a person with elected office to ask or converse about or accept another paying job since any hint of an offer would be for a pecuniary benefit.  In that case it is extremely strict. 

[TX Conservative Dem]

It could be possible Republicans win back the Virginia governorship in 2017 due to the incompetence of McAuliffe's administration.

[Miles]

And look at that. A budget without Medicare expansion passed both chambers

[Bull Moose Base]

McAuliffe should refuse to sign it. If there's ever a reason for the executive to use his power to check that of the legislature, it's when they act criminally and sabotage democracy.

[Nichlemn]

What about say, Obama appointing John McHugh as Secretary of the Army?

Or for a Democrat at the state level, I recall that KY Gov. Steve Beshear appointed a bunch of Republicans in marginal seats.

Yeah, it doesn't look good, but given how little state legislators usually earn, the standard of "accepting a higher salary" would make just about any political appointment "bribery". Maybe that's a reasonable way to look at it, but this instance probably shouldn't be singled out as especially bad.

[Mr. Reactionary]

McAuliffe should refuse to sign it. If there's ever a reason for the executive to use his power to check that of the legislature, it's when they act criminally and sabotage democracy.

But then Terry would be going back on his word from the campaign where he promised not to shutdown the government over medicaid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7sCiVCabqM

[Filuwaúrdjan]

What about say, Obama appointing John McHugh as Secretary of the Army?

That was COMPLETELY DIFFERENT because of many VERY DIFFERENT differences of extreme and unarguable difference.

[RedSLC]

It could be possible Republicans win back the Virginia governorship in 2017 due to the incompetence of McAuliffe's administration.

[Skill and Chance]

Well, the remaining 19 Dem districts are all pretty indisputably safe for the remainder of the decade.  Republican-held SD-10 (Richmond inner suburbs) and SD-7 (VA beach) were both Obama wins and could easily flip by 2019.  There is also SD-13 which was a narrow Romney win but has a loud R incumbent with Todd Akin tendencies.

[Fuzzy Bear]

And even if there had been, how exactly does that justify bribing Puckett to resign?  I swear, it's like complaining about imaginary Obama "scandals" has become the Republican party's version of "Oh yeah?  Well, I'm rubber and you're glue, so anything you say bounces off me and goes back to you."

Who was bribed? It doesn't appear that Puckett is getting a magical money sack. He's not getting a shiny new job. His daughter's appointment is probably going to go through, but the holdup was his fault in the first place for being a sitting legislator. It's not like the Republicans just invented that custom out of thin air. Huffpost and ThinkSoros are quick to use the word "bribery" even though there isn't any evidence of it, other than that there's an outcome detrimental to Democrats. For all we know, Puckett resigned because Josh Lyman bullied him too much, or his wife has cancer, or he's getting a divorce. But because Terry's plan falls apart, the automatic assumption is that icky Republicans "bribed" the Democrat to get him to resign. What happened here is no different than the Max Baucus Ambassadorship.

In the words of The Rock:

"IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOU THINK!"

Seriously, how does this look to the average Virginia voter that Sen. Puckett resigned under the circumstances he did, essentially to ensure that his daughter got a Judgeship that depended on GOP approval?  Incumbents resigning a la Baucus is nothing new, and has always been within bounds of ethos.  This, on the other hand, is selling out to the enemy so your family member can advance HER career. 

Baucus's actions are in line with his status as a career liberal Democrat; he accepted an appointment that helped his successor get a leg up.  Most of the folks that have supported Baucus and Montana’s Democrats would approve of all of this.  Most Republicans in any state would approve of such a maneuver if the players had all been Republican.  Baucus’s actions reflect keeping faith with what he presented himself to be in 35 years on the national scene.

Puckett, on the other hand, professed to be a Democrat, yet acted in a way that sabotaged his own party’s control of the Virginia Senate, for the sake of the advancement of his daughter’s career; it was a betrayal of his Democratic colleagues, and of the principles he had purported to stand for over time.  It was a payoff, however legal the action might be.  I would hope that the voters of his district take note as to how this came about, and elect the Democratic candidate to replace Puckett if for no other reason than to send a needed message that bribery, legal or not, is intolerable.

[Hifly]

Wait, if they want to send a message that bribery is unacceptable, surely they would elect the Republican candidate, seeing as it was Puckett who took the bribe?

Silly logic.

[Mr. Reactionary]

And even if there had been, how exactly does that justify bribing Puckett to resign?  I swear, it's like complaining about imaginary Obama "scandals" has become the Republican party's version of "Oh yeah?  Well, I'm rubber and you're glue, so anything you say bounces off me and goes back to you."

Who was bribed? It doesn't appear that Puckett is getting a magical money sack. He's not getting a shiny new job. His daughter's appointment is probably going to go through, but the holdup was his fault in the first place for being a sitting legislator. It's not like the Republicans just invented that custom out of thin air. Huffpost and ThinkSoros are quick to use the word "bribery" even though there isn't any evidence of it, other than that there's an outcome detrimental to Democrats. For all we know, Puckett resigned because Josh Lyman bullied him too much, or his wife has cancer, or he's getting a divorce. But because Terry's plan falls apart, the automatic assumption is that icky Republicans "bribed" the Democrat to get him to resign. What happened here is no different than the Max Baucus Ambassadorship.

In the words of The Rock:

"IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOU THINK!"

Seriously, how does this look to the average Virginia voter that Sen. Puckett resigned under the circumstances he did, essentially to ensure that his daughter got a Judgeship that depended on GOP approval?  Incumbents resigning a la Baucus is nothing new, and has always been within bounds of ethos.  This, on the other hand, is selling out to the enemy so your family member can advance HER career. 

Baucus's actions are in line with his status as a career liberal Democrat; he accepted an appointment that helped his successor get a leg up.  Most of the folks that have supported Baucus and Montana’s Democrats would approve of all of this.  Most Republicans in any state would approve of such a maneuver if the players had all been Republican.  Baucus’s actions reflect keeping faith with what he presented himself to be in 35 years on the national scene.

Puckett, on the other hand, professed to be a Democrat, yet acted in a way that sabotaged his own party’s control of the Virginia Senate, for the sake of the advancement of his daughter’s career; it was a betrayal of his Democratic colleagues, and of the principles he had purported to stand for over time.  It was a payoff, however legal the action might be.  I would hope that the voters of his district take note as to how this came about, and elect the Democratic candidate to replace Puckett if for no other reason than to send a needed message that bribery, legal or not, is intolerable.

And we're back to one half of the country, and one half on my state being "the enemy" because you personally disagree with them on politics. That way "bribes" that benefit the Democrats are actually good, because Democrat good-Republican bad. But an equivalent "bribe" that benefits Republicans is bad, because Republican bad-Democrat good. Sen. Puckett has been lynched by the media before anything has been proven because of this rampant partisanship. Partisanship makes everyone involved morons.

As some one who actually lives in Virginia, I can say that Puckett's move helps everyone, not just one party. Now we can actually get a budget. I mean, when 5 Republicans vote with Democrats in the Senate on cloture is that "helping the enemy." When did elective politics become a war that requires unquestioning obedience to an arbitrary party label (but only for Democrats)? The impression I'm getting from national Democrats is that they almost wish Puckett would be indicted for kiddie porn so they could breathe a collective sigh of relief because "at least he didn't work with an icky Republican. They are the enemy ya know."

I live less than an hour from Puckett's district and I can tell you, no one is really talking about it. Those in his district voted for the person over the party. If Puckett felt the need to step down, they side with him. There is no evidence of bribery, only evidence that a Democrat did something that makes other Democrats angry. I can only imagine what would happen to poor Ruth Bader Ginsburg is she decides to retire under a Republican President. They are the "enemy" after all.

[Miles]

Five more reasons why I'm somehat skeptical that Puckett would have held on.

[DINGO Joe]

Puckett and Kilgore have both lawyered up.

http://www.wvva.com/story/25831648/2014/06/20/former-sen-phil-puckett-hires-defense-attorney

Kind of sad that their equally poor neighbors in WV and KY get to benefit from Medicare expansion, while SW VA gets to just be poor.  Losers of the losers.

[moderatevoter]

Well, McAuliffe announced today he is going to unilaterally expand Medicaid, but expect a court battle.

[Miles]

Ugh..

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[Never]

Well, McAuliffe announced today he is going to unilaterally expand Medicaid, but expect a court battle.

Who does McAuliffe think he is, the president?