Shiela Johnson’s Regrets Supporting Republican For Governor

Interesting article over at The Daily Beast about Sheila Johnson, former wife of Robert Johnson and co-founder of BET. The article focuses on her revulsion caused by the race to the bottom by the network she and her former husband founded and no longer own. It misses something which is politically relevant in favor of the salacious, and I think echoed by a goodly number of Virginians – disappointment and anger with our new Republican Governor who lied during the election to sell himself as a moderate in line with the general populace. Sheila appeared in ads for Bob McDonnell, and supported him during his campaign…

Now she regrets that support.

Sheila Johnson Slams BET

Sheila Johnson has had a rougher time as a political activist. A major Democratic Party donor (who supported her good friend Barack Obama over her good friend Hillary Clinton in the presidential contest), she took a walk on the wild side last year and backed Bob McDonnell, the Republican nominee for governor of Virginia, because of his business-friendly emphasis on job-creation. Her candidate won, but otherwise things didn’t turn out so well.

During the campaign, she got herself into trouble—and quickly had to apologize—when she spoke at a McDonnell event and mimicked the stutter of his Democratic opponent, Creigh Deeds. Then, after McDonnell was sworn in, she watched in horror as the new governor enunciated a variety of socially conservative policies, especially regarding a constitutional ban on gay marriage and other civil rights issues, and then declared a celebration of Virginia’s “Confederate History Month” without any mention of slavery.

“Politics, oh gosh!” Johnson says with a groan. “I feel like I was thrown under the bus on that one… The lesson that I’ve learned in all of this is I will never get involved in politics again.”

Although she was wildly enthusiastic about helping elect the first African-American president, Johnson is measured in her assessment of Obama’s performance thus far. “I think the jury’s still out,” she says. “He’s got probably the hardest presidency in the history of this entire country… I feel as though the health-care bill was a little bit rushed through—it was almost like we were force-fed this bill—and I would have liked to see more focus on jobs and the economy.”

She says she is especially worried by the anger abroad in the land. “What’s scary right now is just the atmosphere,” she says when I ask her what she thinks of the Tea Party movement. “I’m very nervous about the anger, the hostility, the racial comments. I have never seen anything like this.”

“Jindalized” – Another Political Suicide

Last night on the Republican response to the President’s SOTU, shiny new Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell followed in the footsteps of Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal…

In committing political suicide.

The amount of personal hubris to be stupid enough to make this speech, while still trying to consolidate leadership in Virginia – is incredible.

Predictably - President Obama cut McDonnell’s nuts off – before he said the first word. There has never been an instance in my memory of an opposing party speaker being so massively outclassed, out maneuvered, and out smarted. Mcdonnell’s speech was rendered utterly and completely superfluous.

McDonnell stated last night that he wanted Vriginia to “be the first state to drill offshore on the Eastern seaboard”.

As a property owner on the Atlantic coast, participant in efforts to protect the barrier islands and wetlands on the Virginia coast, and avid fisherman…

Fat effing chance, Bozo!

You better stick with “privatizing” the state liquor stores and figuring out how to come up with a Republican plan to actually support small business development (beyond local liquor stores) in the state for the first time…

Instead of sucking Oil Company fat weenie.

Steele: ‘I’m Not So Quick to Say Oh Yeah This Portends Great Things for The GOP Next Year’

Steele’s enthusiasm is tempered by the fact that Republicans lost the NY 23rd race, in no small part due to infighting. The candidate supported by the uber conservatives like Palin, Limbaugh, and Pawlenty…

Lost.

Placing a Democrat in the seat for the first time since the 19th Century. Taking the big hit here was the Sno’ Ho’ – Sarah Palin, who put here name and money behind the losing conservative Republican candidate.

The Governor’s win in Virginia, by Bob McDonnell featured a decidedly moderate stance with heavy outreach to urban and suburban populations as well as minorities – once again a huge departure from “conservative politics”.

Chis Matthews hammers Eric Cantor’s Anti-Obama spiel that the Republican wins represent a turning of the electorate -

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Will the HNIC Snatch Defeat From the Jaws of Victory in Virginia

If I was McDonnell, running for Governor in Virginia, I couldn’t think of anything worse than a visible visit by the HNIC right now…Should be good for a 5 point drop in the polls, and undermine Sheila Johnson’s support.

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Black Folks Voting Republican In Virginia?

Recent polling in the Virginia Gubernatorial race has indicated that Bob McDonnell, the republican candidate is drawing strong support from the black community -

The latest SurveyUSA poll showing Virginia Republican gubernatorial nominee Bob McDonnell with a 19% lead over Democrat Creigh Deeds (which would be the biggest win for any Virginia Governor of either party since 1961) has some interesting internals.  One of the strangest findings is that McDonnell is getting 31% of the African American vote.

Is this possible?  Well, the smart money would say no.  But if you want to construct an argument for SurveyUSA being correct, consider the following:

Republican Governor Candidate McDowell – working women were “detrimental” to the family

Hmmmmm… Just when it looked like the Democrat candidate for Virginia Governor, Creigh Deeds was down for the count, due to an inability to get traction and name recognition…

Republican Candidate for VIrginia Governor, Robert McDonnell (left)

His Republican opponent Bob McDonnell has a bit of his past floating up, which may well put him in the proverbial “crapper”.

According to Slate -

Bob McDonnell was 34 years old when, in 1989, he wrote his master’s thesis at the evangelical Regent University. The 93-page paper, first reported by the Washington Post over the weekend, was an action plan for the religious right. Among the opinions expressed: working women were “detrimental” to the family, the government should penalize unmarried “cohabitators, homosexuals or fornicators,” that divorce should be further restricted, and that family is “God-ordained government” untouchable by civil law. Twenty years later, McDonnell—now the Republican candidate for governor of Virginia after having served as the state’s attorney general—says his opinions have changed. Seeking to minimize political damage from the Post‘s discovery, McDonnell told reporters the idea “that a 20-year-old academic exercise somehow represents my 18-year career in public service is just a flat misrepresentation,” adding that he had encouraged his daughters to pursue advanced academic degrees and noting that one daughter had served in the military in Iraq.