Race for the 9th...

[NotSoSilentBob]

Morgan Griffith would have to take a two day trip to tour parts of the 9th closest to us.

[NotSoSilentBob]

Regardless of what ol' Slick Rick says, his loss was not due to 'attack ads' and 'outside money', but attributable to several facts.

1. Griffith was the strongest challenger Boucher has faced. He had much more name recognition than any other Boucher challenger. During Boucher's rein, Republicans have rarely had a challenger who could go toe-to-toe with Boucher. That changed this year.

2. The population of the 9th district has shifted to the east. Unluckily for Boucher, Griffith hailed from the new population center of the 9th.

3. Boucher's voting record, to say the least, was the determining factor for many. His vote for the cap & trade bill was most likely the straw that broke the camel's back. Despite this, Boucher still managed to win the traditional coal counties like Buchannan, Dickenson, Russell (and narrowly lost Wise Co.).

Shockingly, Boucher failed to win his home county, losing in Washington Co. by 2500 votes.

If you look across the state, Boucher suffered the same fate as many other incumbent Democrats. If Boucher wants to lay blame anywhere, he should look no further than the tenant at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

I was quite torn about this race. While I've never cared for Boucher and have never cast a ballot in his favor, his seniority in the House allowed him to bring back a little money for the region. The problem with that was that Rick rarely ever showed his face in our neck of the woods unless he was bringing in some cash.

My main reservation with Griffith was his residency. But if he was certified as being eligible for the race, more power to him. While having a representative who was 'from here' (see above) was nice, the fact of the matter is that in the grand scheme of things, the eastern portion of D9 matters more than the western portion.

It's hard to say that, but the NRV is growing while the Coalfields are shrinking.

[pvfan]

Regardless of what ol' Slick Rick says, his loss was not due to 'attack ads' and 'outside money', but attributable to several facts.

1. Griffith was the strongest challenger Boucher has faced. He had much more name recognition than any other Boucher challenger. During Boucher's rein, Republicans have rarely had a challenger who could go toe-to-toe with Boucher. That changed this year.

2. The population of the 9th district has shifted to the east. Unluckily for Boucher, Griffith hailed from the new population center of the 9th.

3. Boucher's voting record, to say the least, was the determining factor for many. His vote for the cap & trade bill was most likely the straw that broke the camel's back. Despite this, Boucher still managed to win the traditional coal counties like Buchannan, Dickenson, Russell (and narrowly lost Wise Co.).

Shockingly, Boucher failed to win his home county, losing in Washington Co. by 2500 votes.

If you look across the state, Boucher suffered the same fate as many other incumbent Democrats. If Boucher wants to lay blame anywhere, he should look no further than the tenant at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

I was quite torn about this race. While I've never cared for Boucher and have never cast a ballot in his favor, his seniority in the House allowed him to bring back a little money for the region. The problem with that was that Rick rarely ever showed his face in our neck of the woods unless he was bringing in some cash.

My main reservation with Griffith was his residency. But if he was certified as being eligible for the race, more power to him. While having a representative who was 'from here' (see above) was nice, the fact of the matter is that in the grand scheme of things, the eastern portion of D9 matters more than the western portion.

It's hard to say that, but the NRV is growing while the Coalfields are shrinking.

Due to the population and expansion of the ninth district, we (far SWVA) have no say in government. Those who voted for Griffith ended the state at Roanoke, I hope it works.

[NotSoSilentBob]

Due to the population and expansion of the ninth district, we (far SWVA) have no say in government.

We do through our representative. Just as we did through Boucher (who had been in Washington long enough to be no longer considered a local), we now have Griffith.

Doom and gloom? You're better than that.

[pvfan]

Bad night for me much like 08 was for you. The way the nation voted doesn't represent my ideological views at all. As for the 9th, I wouldn't support a Democrat from Salem.

[Shooter]

If Boucher wants to lay blame anywhere, he should look no further than the tenant at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Co-sign.

[TheBeast]

If Boucher wants to lay blame anywhere, he should look no further than the tenant at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Along with the rest of the one's that lost.

[CoeburnCane]

the fact of the matter is that in the grand scheme of things, the eastern portion of D9 matters more than the western portion.

We do through our representative. Just as we did through Boucher (who had been in Washington long enough to be no longer considered a local), we now have Griffith.

So we don't matter as much as NRV, but we "still have a say" through "our" representative. Right.

Call me when Griffith does something for this part of the state and maybe I'll buy that line. Until then--like Double D said, we just ended the state where everyone up that way wants it--at Roanoke.

For all the joking people have done about KY annexing Pound, maybe this end of the state needs to start putting out feelers to TN/KY/WV/NC to see if they will annex us. Because Griffith will go in lock-step with the rest of the representatives from VA who are GOP members and are out for the best interests of anywhere but SWVA, and/or have stars in their eyes of being a wunderkind of the GOP leadership (see Eric Cantor).

This wasn't a seat that Griffith wanted to help the people of this area. This was a seat the GOP wanted Griffith to run for to give them another number amongst many in the House. Don't get it twisted.

Also--as an aside, I'm actually glad the GOP has the House, because now instead of sitting around saying "no" to Democratic ideas/policies without offering a cogent, fair alternative--they have to legislate and govern. They have to come up with a plan of their own and come back to the middle. This Tea Party crap isn't going to work on the Hill, and thusly--I see it happening as early as 2011 for the Tea Party to get pissed off all over again, but this time at the GOP for not doing exactly what they want RIGHT NOW. They're impatient, they're demanding, and they're ready to attack whoever doesn't agree with them. That movement, if the GOP fails to do their bidding, will unleash their wrath on the GOP and kick them out until they've shot themselves in the foot.

[NotSoSilentBob]

Also--as an aside, I'm actually glad the GOP has the House, because now instead of sitting around saying "no" to Democratic ideas/policies without offering a cogent, fair alternative

It's kind of hard to do that from the back of the bus.

[CoeburnCane]

It's kind of hard to do that from the back of the bus.

I'm not going to touch the allusion you're making there.

If there were a really really good idea come from that side of the aisle on anything in the past two years, we would have heard about it, and it would have been debated. Not a Tea Party idealogically fueled idea, nor a GOP lock-step corporately funded idea...a real idea to help the country with better legislation. We didn't hear one in 2 years, but yet they won this midterm.

Now, they'll have to come up with these ideas and actually present them in the House. They have their shot, we'll see what happens.