No gubernatorial endorsements from Times-Dispatch, Daily Progress, News & Advance, Roanoke Times ... Bill Bolling write-in suggested by two

"This marks, we believe, the first time in modern Virginia that The Times-Dispatch has not endorsed a gubernatorial nominee." -- Richmond Times-Dispatch (October 20, 2013)

In an editorial that laid it on the line, the Richmond Times-Dispatch refused to endorse Democrat, Republican, or Libertarian for Virginia's 2013 gubernatorial race. That news ricocheted around the internet as citizens woke on a Sunday morning, met with raised eyebrows and mild surprise from some while others nodded in solemn agreement.

This has, indeed, been an odd election year in Virginia.

The Times-Dispatch notes many of the issues in question and the final results are the same: they are not comfortable endorsing. Indeed, they note:

In the past, The Times-Dispatch has endorsed candidates with varying degrees of enthusiasm. We find it impossible to endorse any of the 2013 candidates with even minimal zeal.

Elections make voters complicit in the government they receive. If we would not urge a family member to vote this way or that, then we have no business recommending Cuccinelli, McAuliffe or Sarvis to our readers.

Interestingly, the Charlottesville Daily Progress, finding itself in the same boat, endorsed Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling as a write-in candidate, noting, "Do the write thing. Put Bill Bolling’s name on your ballot on Nov. 5. Virginia needs him."

UPDATE October 28, 2013: Another newspaper has refused to endorse in the 2013 gubernatorial election. On Sunday, the Lynchburg News & Advance wrote, "Put simply, not one of the three candidates for governor of Virginia deserves the office or has made a strong case that he is the best candidate. Not one of them, neither Democrat Terry McAuliffe, Republican Ken Cuccinelli nor Libertarian Robert Sarvis." And more. Be sure to read it.

UPDATE October 31, 2013: A third major Virginia newspaper has refused to endorse in the 2013 gubernatorial election. Is this unprecedented? The Roanoke Times editorial on Thursday noted, "... an endorsement carries with it the credibility of this institution. When a candidate who receives our support visits ridicule or even shame on the commonwealth, we share in that disgrace."

Then in a stunning reminder of the Charlottesville Daily Progress' endorsement of Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling as a write-in candidate, the Roanoke Times added, "Those who cannot in good conscience vote for the official candidates should consider writing in Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling."

With five days left until election day, 2013 continues to be one of the oddest, perhaps the oddest, in my memory....

LTE: 'Bill Bolling, we need you'

Letter to the editor in today's Roanoke Times:

Friday, October 4, 2013

Bill Bolling, where are you?

I know that you have been lieutenant governor for two terms. You have served with a governor who has moved Virginia forward. You know what Virginia needs to stay the great commonwealth that it is.

We have no choice for governor this November. We need you.

You said yourself on TV that you should have run. It is not too late; run as an independent or write-in. 

The people of Virginia don’t even know where the candidates stand on issues. All we have heard is negative commercials from both sides.

We need you to led Virginia for the next four years, so we can be proud of the wonderful state we live in. And keep Virginia moving forward.

CHARLOTTE CREASY
ROANOKE

2013 voters won't let go of Bolling

There it was again in Saturday's Richmond Times-Dispatch ... another letter to the editor urging voters to write in Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling for Governor. At a time when you would expect the write-in talk to die down, it isn't. Tonight yet another person told me they were writing in the LG. It's something I hear on a regular basis.

On August 29, a letter writer to the RTD wrote:

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has no one to blame for his lackluster polling numbers but himself. When he became greedy and unceremoniously pushed Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling out the front door, he immediately lost the moderate support.

If Cuccinelli had run again for attorney general or lieutenant governor supporting Bolling (with his moderate force) for governor, polling data would probably be very different. If the current trend continues, it is likely that Virginia will have a second-rate governor with little or no elective or governing experience.

Joseph Childress. Palmyra.

Saturday's letter writer responded:

I agree 100 percent with letter-writer Joseph Childress (“Cuccinelli has only himself to blame”). Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli did push Bill Bolling out the front door, as Childress wrote.

I know Bolling is not seeking a write-in, but I shall write his name in on Election Day, and I hope whoever reads this will agree and do the same.

Bolling is a fine politician, a Virginia gentleman and a true friend.

Grace T. Seat. South Boston.

There's a quiet defiance rolling through Virginia. Will it grow as Election Day approaches?

Bolling, Sabato hit Twitter, FB with Va gubernatorial frustrations

Virginia's gubernatorial campaign took another interesting turn on Friday as two powerful political pundits took to social media to express frustration with the candidates and the state of both campaigns.

Sinking further into the muck, the past week saw the Cuccinelli campaign accusing McAuliffe of saying something he didn't while news broke that McAuliffe's former GreenTech company has come under SEC scrutiny.

It was almost possible to hear the exasperation in University of Virginia Professor Larry Sabato's voice Friday afternoon as he tweeted:

Just re-checked my VA Constitution. Requirements for GOV do NOT include being controversial or seedy.
— Larry Sabato (@LarrySabato) August 2, 2013

Sabato immediately followed that tweet with another referring to Virginia's Lieutenant Governor:

Bill Bolling goofed big-time. #VAGOV
— Larry Sabato (@LarrySabato) August 2, 2013

Friday night the Lieutenant Governor himself took to Twitter and Facebook here and here (he has two FB pages) to express frustration about the current state of Virginia's governor's race. Bill Bolling posted:

I'm very frustrated by the current direction of the gubernatorial campaign. Instead of spending millions of dollars calling each other names, I'd like to see the candidates actually talk about the important issues facing our state. The people of Virginia deserve better than they are getting, and that's a bipartisan criticism.

By Saturday morning he had received hundreds of thumbs ups from around the Commonwealth and, presumably, there were many more who did not publicly give their approval but were thinking it.

Dozens left comments, some noting that they would be writing in Bill Bolling's name on the November ballot, a recurring theme that has come up in letters to the editor and conversations on the street. This comment from a supporter named Bill echoed those sentiments:

I will be writing in Bill Bolling and I have lots of friends here in Goochland that will be doing the same.

Another supporter pleaded:

Bill, it's not too late. Give us another choice. PLEASE!!!!!

Commenter John looked at the election in a different light:

If this were a job interview for a corporation, I was the hiring manager, and I was down to the two party's respective candidates as my final applicants, I would tell my Human Resource Department to leave the job posted, as I haven't found the right hire.

That was the tone of most of the comments as voters expressed concerns, even suggesting Bolling 2017. The naysayers stopped by, too, like James who quipped:

It might be helpful if you constructively supported your party's nominee....

To which Chris responded:

Well, it would have also been nice to have gotten to vote in a primary too, but that didn't happen either.

Bottom line: there is definitely dissatisfaction among voters, something picked up on in Sunday's News & Advance editorial, Cuccinelli, McAuliffe and the Split in the GOP. With that said, we are still three months away from election day 2013.

Cross-posted at Va Political Pineapple

Va Dems circle wagons ... Va Republicans join in circular firing squad

Attacking Republicans seems to be the sport of the day, not only by Democrats, but also within the Republican Party. Recently, Marco Rubio and Chris Christie were attacked by the right wing of the GOP for not being conservative enough on their policies about immigration and other issues. Now add Bob McDonnell to that list.

Conservative bloggers like Willie Deutsch at Bearing Drift have joined with Democratic bloggers in the mindless act of becoming participants in attacking the Virginia Republican Governor. What should be more disconcerting is the effect this circular firing squad will have on GOP gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli who has also been caught up in the controversy with his own issue of unreported gifts from Star Scientific and Jonnie Williams. When the far right is done with Bob McDonnell, will they then turn their guns on Cuccinelli?

In the words of Richmond Times-Dispatch political writer Jeff Schapiro, "... all Democrats have to do is watch a great Republican tradition: cannibalism."

The hemorrhaging needs to stop.

Interestingly enough, in the shadows away from this controversy stands Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling. The far right had its fair share of attacking him earlier this year by calling him a RINO and questioning his conservative credentials. In hindsight, perhaps Bolling did the wisest thing by stepping aside in this toxic environment. Meanwhile, as Jim Hoeft  reported, it's business as usual in the LG's office as he goes about the job of working for the people of Virginia.

The LG is also on the minds of the editorial board at Charlottesville's Daily Progress, wondering what if concerning Bolling's aborted campaign for Governor. Noting the issues surrounding the Governor, the Daily Progress wrote:

“Much of this has occurred on center stage during a summer that was supposed to have belonged to Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, a better man who stands in the shadows, cast there by a party that failed him and failed Virginia.

Undercut by state GOP leaders whose political IQ’s can only be measured in minuses, Bolling was thrown to the side by Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, a man with more baggage than Samsonite.

Rather than hold a primary to allow voters to select the next Republican candidate for governor, party string-pullers conducted the rough equivalent of a meeting in a smoke-filled room, holding a convention to hand Cuccinelli the nomination.

Bolling could have taken his shot in 2009 — surely, he wishes now that he had — but he agreed to stand aside to unify the party, paving the path to McDonnell’s sweeping victory. The idea was that Bolling would wait his turn until 2013.

Then along came Cuccinelli. One wonders how strongly the capital’s most powerful Republican stood for the friend who helped him win election. There are apparent prices to be paid for McDonnell’s friendship. Williams is Exhibit A, evidently.

That has stirred rumblings about McDonnell’s possible early departure from Richmond. A conservative blogger claimed over the weekend that two sources told him the governor was preparing to resign in a plea deal to avoid ethics charges. McDonnell’s staff quickly denied the rumor.

It’s a sign of how deep the governor is in his own mess. Were he to be forced out, moving Bolling into the mansion, Virginia would be served in the interim by a leader superior to the alternatives being offered up for the fall. Perhaps Bolling might gain fuel enough for a write-in run.

That might be a dream, but it is far pleasanter than the nightmare now being lived out in the state’s highest office.

What the far right's circular firing squad is doing is driving people like Laura Lennox of Richmond to consider a write-in vote for Bill Bolling while others have taken to Facebook.

The loser in all this is the Republican Party, both statewide and nationally. Maybe we all need to reconsider the 11th commandment often quoted by Ronald Reagan: Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican.