This week, Kentucky’s Republican Senate President attacked Democratic Governor Steve Beshear… for appointing too many Republican judges. It all started when Gov. Beshear reached across the aisle and nominated Republican Senate Majority Leader Dan Kelly to a vacant judgeship. Rather than congratulating their colleague on his success, Republican leaders threw a temper tantrum:

Beshear said he named Kelly because he was the most qualified of three finalists selected Friday by the nominating commission. (…)

But Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, released a statement that called the move “just another play in the governor’s full-court press to enable gambling interests to influence elections.”

There you have it. In this political era, it’s almost expected that Republican legislators will behave obnoxiously toward their Democratic counterparts. But in Kentucky, apparently, they’ll be equally obnoxious toward their fellow Republicans just to take a cheap shot at a Democratic governor.

How utterly classless – with that kind of reaction, it’s no surprise Kelly took the judgeship instead of sticking with the Senate Republicans. He probably made the right call.

Kelly’s seat will be filled by a special election on December 8th, along with Democrat Robin Webb’s House seat (left vacant after Webb won another special Senate election). Kentucky Democrats have already won two Republican Senate seats in special elections this year, and the party is optimistic about its chances in Kelly’s 14th District. A victory would cut the Republican margin to 19-18-1, with one Independent caucusing with Republicans.

Iowa’s Democratic leaders have long supported efforts to streamline state government, but now they’ve put out a call for new money-saving ideas from ordinary taxpayers.

Cutting down on waste and abuse saves taxpayer money, and it means more efficient services for constituents. But with the recession wreaking havoc with the state budget, legislators have a new sense of urgency in finding new ways to pinch pennies and avoid cutting vital programs.

If you’re an Iowa resident and you’ve got an idea to share, you can send it to the legislature at http://iowasenatenews.com/how-can-state-government-be-more-efficient/.

Or, if you want to see what others have already suggested, you can check out the General Assembly’s list of recent submissions at http://www.legis.state.ia.us/aspx/SurveyResponses/Improving_StGvt/.

Indiana State House Speaker Pat Bauer, a DLCC Board Member, has unveiled a comprehensive ethics reform package aimed at cleaning up the ethical climate in both the legislative and executive branches. The centerpiece of Speaker Bauer’s plan is a year-long waiting period for former legislators and executive appointees who want to become lobbyists:

“I think you just have to have a cleaner playing field in both perception and reality,” he said.

One proposal that has been discussed for years is a one-year cooling-off period before legislators can become lobbyists once they leave the General Assembly.

In recent years, a large number of lawmakers have left the legislature and immediately moved into the halls to lobby former colleagues.

Just by announcing his plan, Bauer has broken through the partisan rancor that engulfed Indiana politics during the state’s budget fight. The state’s Republican Governor and Senate President called Bauer’s plan “a very good initiative” and “timely,” respectively, while the Republican House leader said he was “thrilled” by the proposal. Even the staunchly-conservative Indianapolis Star editorial board called Bauer’s waiting period idea “a much-needed reform that could help break up the insider network that's pervasive in the Statehouse.”

Nevertheless, the waiting period is just one piece of Bauer’s overall plan, which also includes:

• Requiring lobbyists to report any gift to a legislator, legislative candidate or legislative employee of more than $50 – down from the current $100 – and changing the definition of what constitutes a gift.
  
  

• Prohibiting the governor or any candidate for that office from fundraising during the long budget session of the legislature. This rule already applies to the General Assembly. (…)
  
  

• Prohibiting people and businesses having contracts with state government or bidding on contracts from making political contributions to people who hold or run for state office.
  
  

• Prohibiting lobbyists or lobbying firms from representing multiple clients if there is a conflict of interest between those clients.

West Virginia House Speaker Rick Thompson, a Democrat, this week announced a plan to begin live streaming audio from House floor sessions and committee meetings online during the 2010 session:

As the House of Delegates continues to update its electronic infrastructure, changes have been made to make the system more efficient and accessible. Over the past few years, the House has been incrementally moving forward with technology, adding computers, a new voting board and an electronic messaging board outside the chamber and in the East Wing, plus some significant sound system improvements.

Best of all, the innovation will come at little cost to the taxpayers of the state:

New sound systems in each of the House committee rooms, as well as certain necessary wiring changes throughout the House of Delegates, have made audio streaming an inexpensive option.

When available, the audio will stream from the website for the Legislature.

Election Day is exactly one week away, so call every Democrat you know in Virginia, and remind them to vote! Meanwhile, these are a few of the Virginia Delegate races making news this past week:

• HD-10: Democratic Minority Leader Ward Armstrong continues to set a good example for his fellow delegates by taking nothing for granted in his re-election campaign. Armstrong, who also serves as the DLCC’s Finance Chair, has sent word that he’ll be busing local constituents to a November 19th hearing on a proposed utility rate hike. Armstrong has spent more than a year leading opposition to the rate hike.
  
  

• HD-23: Democratic Delegate Shannon Valentine of Lynchburg just picked up a late endorsement from Preston Bryant, a prominent local Republican from the Lynchburg area. Bryant served ten years in the House of Delegates before joining Governor Kaine’s administration, but he sided with Valentine because of her strong record in the legislature and her opponent’s “distasteful campaign tactics.”
  
  

• HD-42: Several families of Virginia Tech shooting victims have come out against Republican Dave Albo’s re-election bid. The families believe Albo used political maneuvering to block a bill to close the gun-show loophole, despite his promise to support the legislation. And when the families asked Albo to explain his betrayal, he told them to “just forget it.” Albo’s Democratic challenger is Greg Werkheiser.
  
  

• HD-51, 52: U.S. Senator Jim Webb campaigned with 51st District Delegate Paul Nichols and 52nd District Democratic candidate Luke Torian (who’s running in an open seat) over the weekend. Both are considered key races in any scenario where Democrats reclaim a House majority.
  
  

• HD-99: Democratic Delegate Albert Pollard also earned a late endorsement from a well-respected local Republican, former State Senator John Chichester, who represented the area for nearly 30 years until 2007. Meanwhile, another group of 15 victims’ families from Virginia Tech and Appalachian School of Law has denounced Republican challenger Catherine Crabill for encouraging people to take up arms in the event of an election loss (the infamous "Bullet Box" speech).
  
  

• State Senate: The Richmond Times-Dispatch is looking past this Tuesday for clues about how the Virginia elections will affect the ballance of power in the State Senate. Three sitting Senators are running for other offices (Democrat Creigh Deeds and Republicans Ken Stolle and Ken Cuccinelli). Each of these seats would be filled by special election if the Senators win their elections next week. In addition, whoever wins the governorship may try to appoint Senators to his cabinet, triggering even more special elections.

The non-partisan Institute for Southern Studies recently published a 2010 Census preview, discussing many of the challenges facing this decade’s annual count. In particular, ISS noted the injection of immigration controversy into the Census by partisan Republicans and the fact that the recession is forcing many states and cities to cut back on community outreach funding for the Census.

In addition, ISS noted several regional challenges threatening to undermine the accuracy of the Census, including the foreclosure crisis and lingering displacement of Gulf Coast residents:

Civil rights groups and community activists on the Gulf Coast are also urging Census officials to step up efforts to count displaced residents. Groups are also calling for a special census in 2011 or 2012 to count storm victims who return to the Gulf Coast after the April 2010 count. But officials have said a special count is unlikely because of deadlines for congressional redistricting and the extra cost.

The foreclosure crisis has also brought its own slew of problems that could complicate next year's count. As the Associated Press reports, foreclosures will make it tougher and more expensive to get an accurate census count next year as families move in with relatives or are left homeless. Since several million people have lost their houses to foreclosure during the economic recession, some Census mailings will go to these empty homes, especially in hard-hit foreclosure-prone states like Georgia, California, Arizona, Nevada and Florida.

An accurate Census count depends on overcoming all of these challenges next year. Equal political representation and hundreds of billions of dollars for local communities are at stake.

Every piece of online technology -- from YouTube to Facebook to Twitter -- comes with a set of legal disclaimers outlining the application's "terms of use."

Twitter, in particular, is very clear about using their service to impersonate another individual. Parodies are OK, but only if a reasonable person can recognize that your Tweets are satire.

Which is why the Republican Party of Connecticut got in so much trouble last week :

Twitter, Inc., shut down 33 fake Twitter accounts created by Republicans using the names of Democratic state representatives. The Republican scheme was to send out posts under the Democrats' names.

There are lots of valuable ways in which Twitter can be used in political communication, and there's no doubt that we've only just begun to see the new directions to which campaigns and candidates take this service as they innovate.

But reading and understanding terms of use has to be a basic threshold for utilizing any Internet tool. That's just as true for individuals as it is for political parties.

Which makes the Republican response to the Twitter take-down all the more ridiculous:

"That's unfortunate," was state Republican Chairman Chris Healy's response when told of Twitter, Inc.'s decision. "I'm not quite sure what the issue is, other than that the Democrats were successful in stopping free speech."

Again, Twitter's rule about impersonation is simple and short enough to be written as a Tweet:

You may not impersonate others through the Twitter service in a manner that does or is intended to mislead, confuse, or deceive others.

When you're unclear about an issue as transparent and indefensible as this, perhaps it's best if you step away from the Internet.

Next year, for the first time, redistricting in New Hampshire will occur under the requirement of a 2006 ballot initiative, which mandated that any town large enough to justify its own district will get its own district.

With only two congressional districts, this kind of requirement would have little effect on congressional redistricting, but it will mean big changes for the New Hampshire State House and its 400 Representatives:

In Greater Nashua, this is good news for towns such as New Ipswich – 5,211 according to the 2008 population estimate – and Wilton – 4,031 – which don’t have their own lawmaker but are big enough that they’ll get to elect one.

Mega-districts will also get busted up, so candidates from Litchfield and Pelham will elect their own.

Currently, candidates from those smaller towns have to scramble and run in a much larger district with Hudson, which elects 13.

In theory, this new requirement will help make New Hampshire’s legislature more geographically reflective of its electorate – and with a 400-member State House representing one of the smallest states in the country, New Hampshire certainly has the flexibility to succeed in that goal.

The scandal surrounding 93rd District Republican Phil Hamilton has been well-documented, but now another potential pay-for-play scandal might be erupting in the Virginia Senate.

Republican Senator Tommy Norment has been caught taking a $160,000 salary from the College of William & Mary and then trying (and failing) to send the school $20 million in taxpayer money. While there haven’t been any “smoking gun” emails about how Norment got the $160,000 job, his actions since then may have been illegal.

But that’s not our opinion; it’s the official warning Norment received from -– get this –- Bob McDonnell, the former Virginia Attorney General and current Republican gubernatorial candidate:

It also noted that because Norment's William and Mary salary exceeds $10,000, he has a "personal interest" in college-related business that comes before the General Assembly. Therefore, McDonnell wrote, Norment is required by law to "disqualify himself from participating" in such transactions.

Months after joining the college faculty last summer, during the 2009 legislative session, Norment sponsored nearly $20 million in budget amendments for William and Mary. None passed.

For what it’s worth, the interim Attorney General now says the threshold for illegality is actually much higher, but it’s shocking nonetheless that Norment would ignore the unequivocal warnings he received to recuse himself from matters involving W&M.

In an equally serious matter, questions have been raised about Norment's relationship with Dominion Resources, one of Virginia’s major power companies:

In 2007, Inside Business reported on an electricity regulation bill that moved smoothly through the General Assembly and favored monopoly utility provider Dominion Resources.

One of the chief patrons of that bill and owner of a considerable amount of Dominion stock was Norment, who along with 10 other state legislators who were also Dominion shareholders voted in favor of the legislation.

Norment’s situation stood out not only because he owned between $50,000 and $250,000 in Dominion stock, but he also sat on the Senate Committee for Commerce and Labor, the committee that pushed the bill through for a final floor vote, where it received little dissension.

Immediately after the legislation was quickly and quietly passed, Dominion’s share price peaked twice with two 52-week highs.

It’s unclear whether Norment ever reported either of these conflicts of interest to the Senate Rules Committee, as required. What is clear is that a culture of corruption continues to swirl around Virginia Republicans, but the voters won’t get a chance to judge Sen. Norment until the Senate is up for reelection in 2011.

Republican Rich Anderson, who’s challenging incumbent Delegate Paul Nichols in Prince William County, is now facing a criminal investigation over a campaign mailer that revealed Nichols’ complete Social Security Number to nearly 15,000 district residents:

Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul B. Ebert has asked that a special prosecutor investigate claims that a campaign mailer wrongly released the personal information of Del. Paul F. Nichols.

Whatever happens in the investigation, this is clearly not the sort of publicity Anderson wants with only two weeks left in the campaign.

But this story is not over yet. The Manassas News and Messenger has now blasted Anderson for both the release of Nichols’ Social Security Number and the false claims made by Anderson’s mailers:

Even if the Anderson campaign felt it necessary to launch this attack on Nichols, it should have at least had the decency and respect to keep Nichols’ personal information off two mailers that were sent to many homes.

In this day of identity theft, that action reaches a new low. In fact, Nichols was forced to cancel credit cards because of the mailers.

These mailers are just another example of the depths to which politics has fallen, and they cross the line from mean-spirited into harmful.

Rich Anderson owes Paul Nichols an apology.

Unfortunately, an apology will not be forthcoming, as Anderson still “doesn’t feel he has done anything wrong.” Don't expect an apology for Anderson's lack of class either.

Nine of the top-ten state healthcare systems in America are in states where Democrats control both chambers of the legislature, according to a new report by the non-partisan Commonwealth Fund.

Democratic states in the Northeast, West, and Midwest performed best of all, capturing all five of the top spots in the study:

Overall, the 2009 State Scorecard paints a picture of health care systems under stress. Still, improvements made in certain indicators and in certain areas of the U.S. indicate that individual states have the capacity to do much better, especially when their efforts are supported by strong federal policy and national initiatives. In 2009, Vermont, Hawaii, Iowa, Minnesota, Maine, and New Hampshire lead the nation as the top-ranked states (Hawaii and Iowa tied for second place; Maine and New Hampshire tied for fifth). Their performance ranks in the top quartile of states on a majority of scorecard indicators. In particular, the reforms passed by Vermont in 2006 to cover focused on preventing and controlling chronic disease are providing a new model for other states.

Especially notable about the Commonwealth Fund report is how many of the best-ranked states are pursuing healthcare reform initiatives.

Many states we’ve highlighted in the past for their innovations (including Vermont, Hawaii, and Connecticut) made the top-ten, proving once again that states (especially Democratic states) are leading the way on this important issue.

Since early this year, we’ve noticed a steady stream of Republican officials demanding that illegal immigrants be excluded from the reapportionment process, usually accusing President Obama, ACORN, or some other liberal bogeyman-du-jour of some grand conspiracy to “rig” the Census.

But the media almost never put these Republican demands in their proper context. Specifically, as the non-partisan Brookings Institution recently noted, reapportionment that excludes illegal immigrants is unconstitutional:

But they are ignoring the Constitution itself. It requires a count of all “persons” residing in the United States, not just citizens or legal residents. The framers intended the census to be an inclusive count and so avoided the term “citizen” used elsewhere throughout the Constitution.

Additionally, the Census Bureau doesn’t ask about a person’s legal status to avoid intimidating immigrants, authorized and unauthorized, from participating in the census. While Census Bureau employees are held to strict standards of confidentiality, under threat of criminal penalty, many immigrants may still be reluctant. Charged with getting a full count of the U.S. population, the Census Bureau can’t afford additional risk that a significant number of people will not fill out the form.

There are some compelling reasons why it might be “fairer” to reapportion congressional seats in a way that only counts citizens and legal permanent residents. But that doesn’t change the fact that it would be unconstitutional. Congress or the President could no sooner restrict the scope of the Census than they could ban the possession of firearms or outlaw the Green Party – in the “nation of laws” we believe the United States to be, these things simply cannot be done.

For better or for worse, the Constitution has not allowed any Census since 1790 to exclude illegal immigrants, and unless a 2/3 majority of both houses of Congress and 3/4 of all state legislatures decide otherwise, that is never going to change.

Since 2003, Virginia Democrats have gained 11 seats in the House of Delegates. The 34-66 minority from six years ago has been cut to 45-55 today. To win a majority this year, Democrats must now pick up at least six of our top 14 offensive targets. That kind of gain is always a challenge, but we believe that the state’s changing demographics and the current political landscape offer us an opportunity to win the chamber.

Of the 14 districts that we are contesting, eight of them were won by both President Obama in 2008 and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tim Kaine in 2005. The Virginia House Caucus, led by Democratic Leader Ward Armstrong -- a DLCC board member -- has recruited strong candidates who are running smart campaigns.

A significant cluster of vulnerable Republican districts are located in Northern Virginia, an area which has been trending more Democratic for almost a decade. In addition, Republican incumbents like Delegate Phil Hamilton -- who is under fire for a pay-for-play scandal involving Old Dominion University -- are doing their cause no favors.

Republicans are doing everything they can, however, to target Democratic incumbents, as well. Democratic members currently hold two seats in districts that President Obama lost last year, and a number of GOP challengers are raising serious cash in their races against our incumbents.

Many vulnerable Democratic incumbents are clustered in districts with strong ties to GOP gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell. Activists and traditional-Republican voters from the area are sure to turn out in large numbers on Election Day.

The Republican State Leadership Committee is clearly concerned about their prospects in the state. With two weeks still left to go, the RSLC has committed serious cash in hopes of preserving their majority in Virginia.

In the state, the Democratic House Caucus outraised and outspent their GOP counterparts in the September. Last month, Democrats brought in nearly $2.7 million and spent more than $2.9 million, while the Republicans raised $2 million and spent $2.3 million.

Ultimately, both parties are tightly matched in this contest for control of the House of Delegates. Fundraising for candidates on both sides has been strong. The heated gubernatorial race is drawing attention from voters statewide. We expect that no one will know the outcome of this set of elections until deep into the night on November 3rd.

For more information, be sure to visit the Virginia newsfeed on DLCC.org.

We’ve known since June that Republicans were planning a hard charge to retake control of the New Jersey Assembly, but the Democratic Assembly Caucus has met the challenge head-on. With two weeks to go before Election Day, New Jersey Democrats have built up formidable advantages in fundraising, candidate quality, and organization – advantages that give the party ample reason for optimism this November.

First, Democratic Assembly candidates are enjoying the second straight fundraising period in which they’ve swamped their Republican opponents:

As in past years, Democrats are raising and spending more money than Republicans.

Assembly Democrats have raised $6.8 million, spending $4 million so far. Meanwhile, Assembly Republicans have raised $2.9 million and spent $1.2 million.

This advantage also extends to the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee and Republican Assembly Victory 2009 – the two major-party Assembly campaign organizations. The DACC raised more than twice as much as the Republican caucus in the latest fundraising period, and they ended the period with a 3-1 advantage in cash-on hand.

Even when looking at the Republicans’ best pick-up opportunities across the state, it’s clear that Republican candidates simply aren’t raising the money they need to stay competitive. In district after district, even the most endangered Democratic incumbents enjoy at least a 2-1 fundraising advantage over their challengers – a strong indication that Republicans failed to recruit candidates who have what it takes to win.

Finally, Assembly Republicans have failed to offer solutions on property taxes, one of the biggest political issues in New Jersey. A few weeks ago, a group of Republican candidates held a press conference touting a property tax “plan” that was so bad a sitting Republican Assemblyman said he was “embarrassed for my party if this [is] the best they can do.” A Newark Star-Ledger political columnist examined the plan and declared that the party “should just give up.”

In short, Democrats are running a superior campaign, with better candidates, against a party that’s ignoring one of the top issues in the state. With just two weeks left and with so many factors working against them, it’s tough to see how Republicans can capture the 8 seats they need to tie the Assembly.

For more information, be sure to visit the New Jersey newsfeed on DLCC.org

Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Daryl Metcalf is already on record saying he doesn’t care about victims of domestic violence (or, to be more precise, that he hates gays more than he cares about domestic violence). Now it turns out Metcalf also hates the environment more than he loves America.

What else would explain Metcalf’s reply to retired Army Captain Jonathan Powers, who fought bravely in Iraq for more than a year, when Powers and Operation FREE (on the web: operationfree.net) invited Metcalf to meet with veterans seeking to raise awareness of how global climate change would threaten U.S. National Security?

I believe that any veteran lending their name, to promote the leftist propaganda of global warming and climate change, in an effort to control more of the wealth created in our economy, through cap and tax type policies, all in the name of national security, is a traitor to the oath he or she took defend the Constitution of our great nation!

Remember Benedict Arnold before giving credibility to a veteran who uses their service as a means to promote a leftist agenda.

Drill Baby Drill!!!

For Liberty,
Daryl Metcalfe
State Representative
Veteran U.S. Army

This time, at least Metcalf is picking on someone his own size –- as opposed to last month’s crusade against victims of domestic violence.

But something more needs to be said about this. The event Metcalf was invited to, while it promoted action against climate change, was not about saving wildlife and preserving the polar ice cap. It was about national security: it was a group of veterans talking about what it would mean for the safety of American families if the Earth continues to warm.

Metcalf obviously believes that won’t happen, and he’s entitled to his opinion (however wrong he may be). But Metcalf was wrong to call veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan “traitors” for simply talking about how to better protect America.

Here at the DLCC, country always comes before party or ideology. Rep. Metcalf needs to get those priorities straight.

Virginia’s 2009 House of Delegates elections will decide which party gets to control the next round of redistricting in the state. And with Democrats defending three Virginia congressional seats they picked up in 2008, our fight to win the House of Delegates is gaining national attention.

Most recently, Blue Virginia reports that the national grassroots organization Progressive Kick has jumped in to support five outstanding Democratic candidates:

It's great to see "Progressive Kick" - a self-described "organization of pragmatic progressives, dedicated to construction of a society that values the needs/rights/responsibilities of all of its members" - kicking in to support five excellent Democratic House of Delegates candidates here in Virginia: Robin Abbott (93rd), Margi Vanderhye (34th), Stevens Miller (86th), John Bell (13th), and Peggy Frank (7th).

To help elect the good guys over the...well, the other guys, Progressive Kick has raised $25,000 in matching funds, which means that your donation of $25, $50 or $100, "thanks to Progressive Kick's national network of matching donors, will turn into $50, $100, or even $200 to bring progressive change to Virginia."

Progressive Kick has set up an ActBlue page supporting the effort.

Texas, where Democrats are just two seats away from recapturing the State House, is one of the biggest redistricting prizes of 2010. Consistent Democratic gains over the last few cycles (despite a brutally gerrymandered State House map) have fueled speculation that those last two seats will be the most difficult to capture, but a new study covered by Burnt Orange Report suggests Texas Democrats will continue to enjoy a target-rich environment in 2010:

The Quorum Report has some interesting numbers from Dana Chiodo. Typically a swing district nationally is a district that is between 47 to 53% Democrat. In Texas a swing District can be as high as 60% Republican according to Chiodo.

That, according to Quorum Report puts Linda Harper Brown, Dan Branch, Dwayne Bohac and Ken Legler directly at risk. It also gives a boost/advantage to incumbents to Kristi Thibaut and Diana Maldonado who both represent suburban areas.

With the House currently at 74 Democrats to 76 Republicans and and 60% Republican district is at risk for Texas Republicans, the House majority appears to be within our grasps. [sic]

Capturing the Texas House would break the Republican hold on the congressional redistricting process, and it would guarantee the Democrats at least one seat on the state’s Legislative Redistricting Board, which draws State House and Senate districts if the legislature and governor cannot agree on a redistricting plan.

Yesterday, we told you about Republican Rich Anderson, who sent a mailer to thousands of voters smearing Delegate Paul Nichols with false accusations. Each piece of mail also included Nichols' complete social security number – putting Nichols at serious risk of identity theft.

Now that Nichols has blasted Anderson for his incompetence and dirty politics, Anderson has stooped to whining that it’s not the campaign’s fault that their own mailer included their opponent’s social security number. (I guess now we know where Anderson stands on ethics and accountability….)

Nichols is also producing evidence against the accusations in the mailer -- that Nichols was involved in a DUI and hit a cop -- but Anderson’s campaign manager is calling Nichols’ evidence “hearsay” and claiming that their sleazy attack still stands.

Now, I haven't been to law school, but I'm pretty sure that eye witness testimony backing up Nichols’ story isn't “hearsay.” I’m also pretty sure that official police reports are not “hearsay” either, and they state unequivocally that (A.) Nichols was not driving, (B.) the car Nichols rode in was never pulled over by police, and (C.) no one was ever charged with a DUI. I’d call that extremely convincing evidence that Anderson’s accusations are a lie.

Most importantly -- The courts dropped all charges against Nichols, and a judge later cleared his name by expunging the record of the arrest.

The only one who may have broken the law is Rich Anderson, for the way he compromised Nichols' Social Security number.

And if legal action is coming, documentation will be easy to find. Evidence of wrong-doing is on every one of the thousands of Anderson campaign mailers sent to voters in the district.

No one expects a competitive election to be friendly. Emotions run high, feelings get hurt.

But Rich Anderson -- a Republican -- is setting a new standard for mudslinging in his race against Delegate Paul Nichols.

In 2006, Nichols was on a vacation in North Carolina with friends. On the way back from a dinner trip, the group was pulled over by the police. Nichols was not driving -- he was a passenger in the second of the two cars, which hadn't even been pulled over. But as a lawyer, Nichols thought he might be able to offer some assistance to his friend who had been stopped, so he stepped out of his vehicle.

As soon as he approached the first car, a police officer confronted him. The officer grabbed Nichols, and forced him to ground, where he struck his head and broke his nose. An ambulance was called for Nichols, but he was arrested for obstructing a police officer.

Now, as soon as the charges reached court, they were dropped. And Nichols' friends verify his account of the evening.

But that didn't stop Anderson from sending a mail piece to voters in the district which read:

In 2006, Paul Nichols and a friend were stopped by police for suspicion of DWI. … Fifty-one minutes later, an ambulance had been called to the scene, and Nichols had been arrested...

There's a difference between playing hardball and breaking the truth. With this mailing, Anderson blurs the line between fact and fiction and does a disservice to voters because of it.

To the prove the point, Delegate Nichols called his opponent from 2007. Faisal Gill -- another Republican -- confirmed that his campaign knew about North Carolina incident, but decided that using the issue as an attack would not be fair.

With this line of attack, Anderson is crossing lines even other Republicans avoid.

And if the dishonesty of the ad weren't bad enough, Anderson was also unbelievably reckless. His mail piece included an image of the arrest record -- with Nichol's personal information, including his Social Security number, clearly visible.

With less than a month before Election Day, Nichols is now spending time canceling credit cards and trying to verify that his identity hasn't been stolen.

As simple as that, in an election which had been focused on debating the issues, everyone is talking about an incident that never really happened.

• HD-10: The NRA Political Victory Fund has endorsed Democratic House Minority Leader (and DLCC Finance Chair) Ward Armstrong, who represents a conservative-leaning district along the North Carolina border. Armstrong accepted the endorsement, noting that “Hunting and sportsmanship is an important part of our lifestyle and heritage in Southwest and Southside Virginia (…)”
  
  

• HD-20: Democratic candidate Erik Curren has released a job-creation plan in his race to succeed retiring Republican Chris Saxman. The plan focuses on bringing renewable energy production to the Shenandoah Valley, specifically wind, solar, and hydro-electric power.
  
  

• HD-100: The Virginia Association of Realtors has endorsed incumbent Democrat Lynwood Lewis in his re-election bid, providing a welcome boost from a group that endorsed most of the Republican statewide ticket.
  
  

• Kaine: Virginia Governor Tim Kaine made a series of campaign appearances with four Democratic delegate candidates in Northern Virginia this week. Delegates Paul Nichols (HD-51) and Chuck Caputo (HD-67), as well as challengers Mark Keam (HD-35) and John Bell (HD-13) each campaigned with Gov. Kaine, who still sports a 71% approval rating in Northern Virginia.
  
  

• Senate: in the wake of the well-publicized Hamilton-ODU scandal, local papers in Virginia are turning their attention to other legislators who are on the payroll of universities they’ve requested money for. First up, the Virginian-Pilot looked into 3rd District Republican Senator Tommy Norment, who’s requested nearly $20 million in state funding for the College of William and Mary while pulling down a $160,000 salary from the college – for teaching two courses. Norment defended his actions by noting that he’s been too incompetent to actually get any of the money approved. It’s doubtful this defense will make his constituents feel reassured.

As Congress wrestles with health care reform, US Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Tom Carper (D-DE) have offered a new proposal that would allow states to opt out of a public option if they decide the plan is not in the best interest of their citizens.

The idea might be gaining serious momentum as Democrats across the ideological spectrum indicate that they're interested in the provision.

This proposal -- and others being considered -- are notable because they would shift the initiative for health care reform from Washington into the states.

Politically, it's important to recognize that many local policymakers might be forced to make a decision about how their states should approach this issue just before the 2010 election.

But of course, in many ways, Democrats legislators have already shown that there is plenty of momentum for health care reform in our state capitols.

Already this year, lawmakers in 13 states have worked to expand insurance coverage for nearly 250,000 children, all from low-income families. Democratic legislators in Connecticut, for instance, successfully overrode a veto of substantial reform legislation from the Republican Governor Jodi Rell, even as they dealt with budget shortfalls and a host of issues.

As Time Magazine reports, states like Connecticut and Massachusetts -- which has already mandated universal health care coverage -- might be in an excellent position to push through these reforms, and perhaps more importantly:

States also may be better at innovating on delivery and payment reform, working with local health-care providers to make care more efficient and affordable.

We have a long way to go before we know what look the final bill before Congress takes (and there is still the possibility that we may see no bill at all). But if state leaders are called on take up leadership on this issue, ultimately, that's a responsibility that Democratic legislators stand ready to assume.

Since we mentioned Oklahoma Democrat Eric Proctor’s pledge to sponsor legislation banning insurance companies from denying coverage for survivors of domestic violence, we should point out that Arkansas Democrats successfully passed similar legislation earlier this year:

Six months after the Women’s Health Summit, Governor Beebe signed ACT 619 into law. The Act adds “status as a victim of domestic abuse” to the list of attributes that insurers may not use as the sole justification for denying an individual health insurance coverage.

Congratulations to all of the advocates in Arkansas who worked on this issue.

Every vote against this bill came from a Republican -– to the party’s shame. Thankfully for the people of Arkansas, Democrats dominate both legislative chambers, and those Democrats voting on the bill supported it unanimously.

Managing a state budget during this recession is not easy. Falling tax revenue can open huge budget deficits, and closing those gaps is almost always a painful process. But North Carolina’s Democratic legislators have gotten it right, and they have the ratings to prove it:

The three financial rating agencies have given North Carolina a AAA rating in the wake of a budget crisis.

The rating is the highest possible and the three rating agencies, Moody's, Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings affirmed the top score, which like an individual credit score is a measure of credit-worthiness and financial security. North Carolina is one of only seven states to have the top score.

The high ratings can also be seen as a vote of confidence that the Democratically-controlled legislature is making the tough decisions now that will put North Carolina on solid financial footing for years to come.

But it’s more than just a feather in lawmakers’ caps. High credit ratings will save North Carolina taxpayers millions of dollars by allowing the state to sell bonds for major projects at lower interest rates.

Incredibly, there are eight states in the country where insurance companies are allowed to count domestic abuse as a preexisting condition in order to deny coverage to victims of domestic violence.

Oklahoma is one of them.

Democratic Representative Eric Proctor wants to see that change:

"We need to be doing everything we can as a state to help these women, these children back on the road to recovery," he says. "Right now they're starting a survival process. We're one of only eight states in the country that permits them to be care for counseling care they need or the medical treatment they need."

This week, Proctor announced that he will sponsor legislation to end the practice.

Weeks after Republican Assemblyman Mike Duvall of California resigned for publicly boasting about his simultaneous affairs with two Sacramento lobbyists, the FBI has decided to take a closer look at the incident:

Agents have talked to at least two former Duvall employees as potential witnesses to determine whether there is evidence of criminal wrongdoing that could lead to an investigation, officials said.

"We did make contact with the two aides," said Special Agent Steve Dupre, a spokesman for the FBI. He declined to comment further.

At least one of the lobbyists involved had business before Duvall’s subcommittee, but there’s been no word yet on what exactly the FBI’s angle is. Presumably (and this is pure, idle speculation), they want to make sure there was no coercion or bribery in the case.

On a lighter note, it turns out that a different Mike Duvall, a businessman in Utah, has been getting hundreds of furious emails from people mistaking him for the former legislator:

"I started to open them up one by one, and I was getting horrendously challenging, difficult e-mails from people in California I had never heard of in my life," the Utah man said. "There's people wanting my wife to leave me, wanting me to resign as a disgrace to America, they want me bankrupt."

Ironically, the Utah Duvall’s business is an identity theft prevention service – which just goes to show how important it is to protect one’s identity.

New York Republicans’ downward spiral in the state legislature continued late last week as one of their last Long Island Assemblymembers switched parties to join the Independence Party:

Longtime Republican Assemb. Fred Thiele is switching parties to join the Independence Party, saying the 40-member GOP minority "stands for nothing" and "no longer speaks to pocketbook issues."

The 14-year Albany veteran said he hand-delivered papers to switch at the Suffolk Board of Elections Thursday and will seek to sit with the Assembly's Democratic majority[.]

Thiele, 56, of Sag Harbor, would join the Assembly's only other Independence Party member, Timothy Gordon from Albany, who has run with Democratic backing. If the Democrats accept Thiele, he will become the 110th member of the majority conference.

Thiele, who represents the Suffolk County-based 2nd Assembly district, specifically cited his Republican colleagues’ refusal to offer any amendments when the legislature was writing the state budget. Thiele believes they refused to participate out of fear that Democrats might actually accept some of the Republican amendments, making it harder to run against the budget in November.

The switch leaves the State Assembly with 107 Democrats, 40 Republicans, and three independents caucusing with the Democrats (two from the Independence Party and one from the Working Families Party).

Militia-movement groupie Catherine Crabill, the Republican nominee in Virginia’s 99th Delegate District, is in the news again - this time for saying people should be able to bring a gun onto school grounds or near the President of the United States.

We learn this from the Northern Neck News, which asked Crabill and Democratic incumbent Albert Pollard (who recently earned the NRA’s endorsement in his re-election bid) the same set of questions in separate interviews not long ago:

Do you believe the Second Amendment allows properly permitted people to carry firearms in proximity to the President or take them on school grounds?

Crabill: "I would think it does...If you have malicious intent, no law will stop you."

Crabill’s answer seems even more ominous in the context of her previous suggestion that her supporters might “have to resort to the bullet box” if they don’t win through fair elections. Or her insistence that the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing was “the work of” the U.S. Federal Government.

For comparison, Delegate Pollard’s answer sought to strike an appropriate balance on the issue, proving again why he’s such a great fit for the mostly rural 99th District:

Pollard: "Just as the Freedom of Speech doesn't allow you to holler 'Fire!' in a crowded theater, the Right to Bear Arms doesn't guarantee a right to carry a firearm in a federally protected area around the President...I supported gun-free school zones and also supported the right of those with concealed carry permits to leave their weapons in the car when they go to pick up their children."

This Monday is the last day Virginia residents can register to vote in the 2009 general election, so if you live in Virginia, make sure to have your application in the mail by then. Also, we have a brief update from some of the House of Delegates races making news this week:

• HD-10: Democratic House Minority Leader Ward Armstrong -– who also serves as the DLCC’s Finance Chair -– juggles a lot of responsibilities, but his constituents back home always come first. Armstrong has been fighting a proposed utility rate hike for over a year – he’s lobbied the state utilities commission, held interactive town halls, and even organized a letter-writing campaign against the increase, noting that “People are hurting and the last thing they need is another rate increase.”
  
  

• HD-25: After Republican Delegate Steve Landes’ shaky debate performance last week, it appears he’s had enough. Landes is ducking a forum co-hosted by the Staunton News-Leader, complaining that the paper is too biased. That’s a pretty flimsy excuse, since the News-Leader endorsed both George W. Bush and former Republican Sen. George Allen in recent elections. More likely, Landes is just afraid he'll have to defend his record again.
  
  

• HD-86: Democratic challenger Stevens Miller has a new ad taking Republican Del. Tom Rust to task for breaking a promise to require insurers to cover autism treatments. Rust campaigned on the issue, but then he voted against it. Blue Commonwealth has the ad, and they also dug up some incredible video of Rust refusing to even move the bill out of committee.
  
  

• Student Voting: The Virginia Board of Elections has recently approved a new rule allowing college students to register to vote using their dormitory addresses. Some localities already allowed this, but now the standard will apply statewide. We encourage all students who want to vote from their school addresses to register, but be sure to do it by Monday!

In Iowa, Senate Democrats are taking the lead in a new series of measures designed to protect the public from those who would take advantage of consumers during a national recession:

• Putting tighter restrictions on companies offering “debt settlement services.” These firms offer to settle a consumer’s debts but usually require an upfront fee. If the settlement effort fails, the consumer is out the fee and left in a worse financial state. These companies are now regulated under Iowa Law. Fees are limited, written contracts are required, and the consumer may quit the service at anytime without penalty.

• Moving against unfair practices among mortgage lenders. We established licensing for mortgage loan originators and strengthened current licensing for mortgage bankers and brokers, regulated loans and industrial loans. The licensing requirements include criminal history and credit background checks, pre-licensure education, continuing education, and a net worth, surety bond or recovery fund.
• Cracking down on shady car dealers. When buying a new or used car, no one wants to sink their money into a lemon. That’s why we closed a loophole allowing unscrupulous car dealers and recyclers to return to the marketplace under someone else’s name.

Senate Democrats are urging Iowans to contact the Iowa Insurance Division in order to receive more information.