Virginia Politics
Politics can be a competitive and sometimes a cut throat reality. Happiness and bitterness envelop participants in the tough world of American politics. Virginia is a place whose American political history have spanned long centuries even in the days when solely Native Americans resided inside of the North American continent back spanning thousands of years. Political arrangements crystallized among the Powanthan tribes and the rest of the Virginia Algonquian Native American confederacy. They lived in Eastern Virginia. Patrick Henry was a famous political figure who said "Give me Liberty or Give me Death" in a church in advancing the Revolutionary War. Patrick Henry denounced the British utilizing America as a colonial enterprise. Thomas Jefferson participated in the early Virginian government as well. I don't agree with him on every issue of course. Jefferson legitimately proscribed to the concepts of individual liberty & religious freedom, which in this modern age are enshrined in the confines of the American government (including the State government of Virginia). Political changes came in Virginia after the Civil War in America. Most African American males were given the right to vote. The Readjuster Party came about in the 1970's. This party is made up of a coalition of Conservative Democrats, Republicans and African Americans. This group was assembled and the Readjuster Party took power for about 10 years. The Democrats regained the state legislature at 1883 when the Readjuster Party lost control of Virginia politics. The Democrats use a statue and a new constitution in 1901. The provisions in these 2 items had evil policies in them like a poll tax, residency requirements, and a literacy test to disfranchise most African Americans and even some poor whites. This disfranchisement continued until after the passage of civil rights legislation in the mid-1960's. Many white Democrats create an one party state with nearly unchallenged majority of state and most federal offices through the middle of the 20th century. The Byrd Organization was headed by Harry F. Byrd Sr. The Byrd Organization was headed by Harry F. Byrd Sr. in order rule the political establishment in Virginia. African Americans and other Americans have protest and fought for the Civil Rights Act of 1965 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Virginia was friendly to Republicans in the nation level more in the 1960's. Some conservatives in Virginia went against the Democratic Party, because of President Lyndon Johnson's passage of civil rights legislation. Virginia's GOP back then was more moderate back in the 1960's and the 1970's. Virginia elected the moderate Republican A. Linwood Holton Jr. in 1970. He was the first Republican Governor in the 20th century, which ended the influence of the Byrd Organization. Other more conservative Governors came in Virginia which was former Democrat Mills Godwin and Jim Gilmore. The famous Senator John Warner and Congressman Tom Davis exemplified the moderate/conservative tendencies of Virginia Republicans. Democrats were Governors from 1982 to 1994. Chuck Robb was elected Governor in 1981 being and Gerald L. Baliles was elected in 1985 as Governor. In 1989, Douglas Wilder was elected Governor of Virginia. This was historical, because Douglas Wilder was Virginia's first African American Governor in history. By 2001, Virginia elected Mark Warner as Governor and in 2005 Tim Kaine was Governor of Virginia. He was once Lt. Governor in 2005.
Virginia voted for a Republican in every election since 1952 except for the Democratic landslide in President Johnson's election in 1968 and Virginia voted for Barack Obama in 2008. Virginia's former streak of voting for Republicans in 10 consecutive Presidential election (from 1968 to 2004) began with Richard Nixon's Southern Strategy. Virginia was the only state to vote for Gerald Ford over Jimmy Carter in 1976. Today, Virginia is experiencing rapid and constant political changes. Virginia was the state that voted for Barack Obama during the 2008 Presidential election. Virginia didn't vote for a Democratic Presidential candidate since Lyndon Baines Johnson. The 2 present Senators of Virginia are Jim Webb and Mark Warner.
Jim Gilmore and Mark Warner are surely the representation of people who are right on many things and I disagree with them on other issues. These 2 men represent different philosophies that are common in Virginia. Jim Gilmore was a famous Governor who lead from 1998 until 2002. He created the SOL or the Standards of Learning reforms in Virginia's public school. During his term, Virginia's public school students's scores increases on these state tests as well as nationally normed tests. Gilmore is known as promoting the controversial no car tax and other reducing taxes plans. This occurred around the time near and at 9/11. Gilmore increased funding for adoption services and supported a waiting period plus partial birth abortion ban. Today, Gilmore aligns with the Republican Party, the Department of Homeland Security (which is an authoritarian group that wants to violate civil liberties of American citizens), and is a political commentator on FOX News. Mark Warner once was Governor and was very popular since he was a moderate and caused the state to be rated A- by the Government Performance Project in conjunction with the Governing magazine (along with the Pew Charitable Trust) in a 2 year study. He was famous for being involved in the telecommunications venture capital. He was a Congressional staff and a Democratic Party fundraiser in the 1980's. Mark Warner calls Virginia "The best managed state in the nation." In 2009, Virginia recently elected a Republican Governor named Bob McDonnell. He replaced the previous Governor of Tim Kaine. The reason that Bob McDonnell was elected was because of the hostility toward the Democratic establishment and the Democratic candidate Craig Deids didn't have much name recognition around Virginia (and his campaign wasn't that aggressive). Politically, Hampton Roads is mixed with Republicans and Democrats strongly represented in region. I'm from Hampton Roads. The Richmond region is mostly Democratic and Northern Virginia is definitely mostly Democratic & liberal as well. Western Virginia is made up of mostly conservatives and Republicans. There are exceptions to these descriptions of course.
By Timothy
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