October 6, 2008
McCain Virginia Strategy: Rest of State vs. NoVa?
So over the weekend John McCain's brother, Joe McCain, serving as a surrogate for the presidential candidate, appeared at a rally in Loudoun County. During his remarks, the Post reported that he joked that Arlington and Alexandria were "communist country," alluding to the fact that Northern Virginia has become increasingly Democratic over the last decade, and that Arlington and Alexandria especially might as well be part of the District of Columbia in terms of their left-leaning politics. He was playing to the Loudoun crowd, and apparently people there laughed. Assuming we shouldn't just ignore this as mere political gaffe, and considering how important both candidates appear to think Virginia is to their electoral strategies, we're curious what you Virginia residents think about this. Has the divide between Northern Virginia and the rest of the state grown so wide that the McCain campaign may be on to something by trying to play up those differences in areas like Loudoun County? Or has Loudoun itself sufficiently changed over the last decade that playing up the us vs. them mentality in that part of Virginia might be supremely stupid?
Photo by NCinDC
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Please, Arlington and Alexandria aren't "communist country." Anyone who grew up elsewhere in Virginia knows that the proper term for them is "Occupied Virginia."
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Yeah, I'm ashamed to say I'm still related to quite a few people who will refer unironically to the "War of Northern Aggression."
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Loudoun County is a sh*thole
Arlington and Alexandria nice places to live
So communism is better then? :)
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Um. Isn't Loudoun county IN Northern Virginia?
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I live in Arlington instead of closer to family down south because here, nobody asks me why I "don't talk southern" or looks at me funny for having a nonwhite bf. If that kind of environment is "communist", then whatever, I guess I'm a full on marxist.
Honestly though, not everyone in the south is a crazy intolerant redneck. Just like most northerners aren't raging asshole elitists. Peace love and understanding, people.
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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bc/General_sherman.jpg
OBEY!
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That's crazy. They're not Communist, they're Socialist. Everybody knows that.
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Maybe they're just jealous. Arlington and Alexandria's property values haven't cratered like they have in Loudoun. So they now have devalued homes in bland neighborhoods to go with their shitty commutes.
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If they start running ads with that line, we can call it a campaign strategy.
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Umm, the Pentagon, Arlington Nat'l Cemetery and the Marine Corp Memorial are all in Arlington.
...and Ronald Reagan National Airport.
Didn't know they were all commies.....
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The airport is in DC.
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@BonkeyMar: Since when?
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where i went to college, northern virginia was referred to frequently as "north of virginia". on purpose. as in "the area of virginia that isn't 'southern' enough to be considered part of the state".
also, only idiots willingly live in loudoun county now, i miss the good ole days when it was just farm land close to d.c.
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Since this morning. Mayor Fenty instructed Brig. Gen. Evans and his Army of the Rock Creek Tributaries to annex it by force. The cause of the hostilities is unclear.
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@Rukasu:
My bad. It has a DC mailing address but it's in VA.
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As a proud Southener and Virginian when people say Alexandria isnt the south I just smile and tell them "You just say that because we speak English properly, know how to use a knife and fork and think the KKK is full of assholes."
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I bet Joe McCain is a f**king loser too.
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In fairness, Loudoun is a big place. Downtown Leesburg (celebrating 250 years this year) is actually a beautiful little town, even if it's been engulfed by sprawl. Waterford remains one of the area's best little villages. And west of Leesburg on 7 or 9, or north/south of town on 15 are all still, for the most part, beautiful. Sterling and Ashburn, not so much.
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Well he just convinced me to take election day off so I can volunteer to drive more communists to the polls.
Even if we dont win VA, I want McCain and the RNC to spend a LOT of money to keep it.
Also, fuck them.
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He sent his brother? No wonder he's McLame.
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I'm a transplant, originally from a true southern State (LA). I moved to Arington in 95 and consider it my home. There is no doubt that VA is a divided state, but I'm not sure where the real dividing line lies. One things for certain; if it ever got so bad that NOVA successfully split off to become the 51st State, I'd happy to support the it.
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Also those of you who live in Arlington and want to avoid the lines on Election day have the opportunity to vote early absentee.
Go to 2100 Clarendon Blvd (near the courthouse metro stop just across the plaza from the movie theater. There is a county building and in the lobby you will see signs for absentee voting in person, just say you are going to be away on business or whatever.
I voted on Friday.
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I would like to point out that I was at the Obama/Biden rally the previous weekend in Fredericksburg, and over 25,000 supporters showed up...most being from Southern VA. It made me happy.
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Ah, the flailing gasps from a dying campaign. Methinks this next month could get pretty ugly.
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NPGMBR,
What makes LA a "true" southern state and Virginia not one?
Be careful what you say or we will give your state back to the french.
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If anything, this only shows how mired in the past the GOP really is. Communists? Really? The Cold War ended 20 years ago. Give it up.
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Heck, those of us who live in Arlington only half jokingly refer to it as the PRA (People's Republic of Arlington).
As a county they get away with policies that would bankrupt most other counties but since they won the property lottery game they manage to endure.
Though this voter and his family (since I am a native of Arlington) will be heading to the polls to cast our votes for McCain. Even my father who hasn't voted Republican in at least 20 years.
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Wait, Daniel, I'm not sure I follow your logic...If you don't mind explaining, why are you voting for McCain?
Or in your comment, were you just pointing out that you're used to living in a part of Virginia that is traditionally unlike the rest of the state? And then also pointing out that you're voting republican? Are those two points supposed to be related or no?
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Hmm, how did Joe McCain manage to slip by David Spade, who was supposed to be hiding him in the woods?
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I was more pointing out that Senator McCain was pointing out something of a fact, something that even a lifetime resident of those regions kind of agrees with. I would say that the comment is very effective, since the rest of VA has some serious issues with NoVa (some groundless, some not) and that those who are likely to vote for McCain in those counties (Arlington and Alexandria) would probably get a chuckle out of it. It's a really effective comment and the only people who seem to be offended by it are people who weren't going to vote for him anyway.
But even so, there are plenty of us in the other parties in those counties. And I for one (even as a libertarian) will be voting for McCain. (for a lot of reasons but I am not going to get into those here)
BTW, the right uses "communist" like the left uses "fascist", since both sides seem to enjoy demonizing the other...
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Not sure what you mean, Daniel.
I don't buy the idea that Arlington can get away with "bankrupting policies" just becuase of location. Other places are contiguous to DC (is this what you mean by the property lottery game?) and aren't doing nearly as well.
Arlington's proactive planning (yeah, yeah - enforced through 'commie' policies and regulations) helped them create their own destiny, not just randomly win a lottery. I'm pretty sure those choosing to live there like it - and have the opportunity to vote.
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Arlington and Alexandria are not the only areas in the nation that get criticized because they don't follow what the rest of the state believes is the common party. Take California. Areas around LA and SF are primiarliy Democratic. If you take a look at the central part of California, you will see that it is primarily Republican. Central Californias take offense that since they areas around SF and LA have a high population, that they end up causing CA to be a "blue" state. This is not an uncommon occurence, but the comment by Joe was uncalled for. Tis the season for mudslinging by both parties.
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New Survey USA Poll for Virginia
"McCain no longer leads in any region of the state. In Northeastern VA, which includes the DC suburbs, Obama leads by 24 points. In Central Virginia, home of the Confederate White House, the Museum of the Confederacy and Appomattox, Obama today leads by 8. In Southeastern Virginia, Obama leads by 11. In the Shenandoah, where John McCain led by 24 points one month ago, Obama and McCain today tie."
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@timtheviking2 You mean "the late unpleasantness"? (my personal favorite euphemism for the U.S. Civil War)
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Supremely stupid.
I've lived in Loudoun county for over a decade and am I'm a resident of the suburban neighborhood this rally took place in. Most of my neighbors work in communist country if not DC, so I imagine, except for the veterans they bused in, this comment was a flop at best.
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I didn't realize you were quoting McCain in your comment on spending policies in Arlington, I guess the way I read what you wrote made your comment about voting for McCain seem unrelated to the first part of your post.
I'm not offended by your comment or how you're choosing to vote and realize that there are different political leanings despite the more highly concentrated Democratic voting area in Northern Virginia.
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To elaborate on your point, KrazyKat, the division into red states and blue states isn't entirely accurate. It would be more accurate to say that there's a rural/urban divide. The NYT did a fabulous map either after the 2000 or 2004 election (can't remember which) where they showed the correlation between population density and the intensity of support for the Democratic or Republican candidates. It was an almost perfect correlation, where the higher the population density, the higher the percentage of votes for the Democrats. So within any state, you're going to have "red" and "blue" areas.
Of course, if Obama's going to carry Virginia, he will need more than the commies in NoVA. Those hippies down in Charlottesville will also have to vote for him. So what epithets will we throw at those in the Tidewater and other areas of the state if they vote Obama like the SurveyUSA poll indicates they might?
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Justitia Omnibus!!!
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kev29: the black sheep reference was quite good, i must say!
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IMGoph, Virginia put that river there to keep you riff-raff out. And if that fails, thankfully the citizens of VA are armed.
The people that matter get the joke. By the way, how much do you think most residents of VA pay in taxes (federal, state, sales, property, gas, etc.)? You are looking at near 50% of income for some folks. Having over half your income confiscated by the government sounds a bit communist to me.
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IMGoph, you want to take away our vote, too?!?
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If Arlington was retro-retroceded to DC, would they have to knock down all of the buildings in Rosslyn that exceed the DC height restriction?
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Esmeralda: the NYT graphic you're referring to can be found in this slideshow:
http://www.nytimes.com/packages/khtml/2004/11/03/politics/20041103_px_ELECT_FEATURE.html
Click on "Graphic: The Vote"
The population density correlation is interesting. Do people become democrats after living in populous areas and being exposed to a larger variety of people and social ills? Or do democrats just migrate to larger cities, because that is their natural tendency?
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Has the divide between Northern Virginia and the rest of the state grown so wide that the McCain campaign may be on to something by trying to play up those differences in areas like Loudoun County?
Nah, it's a dopey and simplistic strategy.
Virginia is very much in play for Obama and he's had his eye on the state for a while. With Mark Warner holding a commanding lead in the Senate race to fill John Warner's seat, it's possible that hardcore GOP voter turnout will be down and that can only help Obama. Obama has also been smart enough to connect with Jim Webb to increase his profile in SouthWestern Virginia where his association with much loved Mark Warner and Jim Webb could help him carry the day.
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boo hoo....i guess i'm not one of the people that matter.
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Do people become democrats after living in populous areas and being exposed to a larger variety of people and social ills? Or do democrats just migrate to larger cities, because that is their natural tendency?
I'd say Democrats are more socially concerned. They tend to have a brighter outlook on human nature and don't mind living stacked like cordwood in a crime-riddent third world sh**hole, so long as they can blame everything on abstracts like "poverty," "lack of a support net," and "uptight conservatives." They're also f**k like beasts when they go off their lithium.
Republicans tend to be more inwardly focused: I got mine, you get yours. The more rural types skew "sociopath," loathe the touch of human flesh, and have a hard time dealing with that whole peace-be-with-you handshake thing in church. So as soon as they're done with the commie inner suburbs, they scuttle back to the small towns so they can watch it all fall apart on tv. It's all about enjoying hip, vibrant urban neighborhoods by proxy.
They both share the trait that they're born one way and, through longterm exposure, turn into the other. Kinda like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly or a halfsmoke turning into poo.
Next week's lesson--rural industrialization patterns and why you can't find decent taco trucks in DC: paradigm or paradox?
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I still think that Arlington County, The cities of Alexandria and Falls Church, and Fairfax County should form a new state called "Nova" and just give the remainder to North Carolina. Our tax money would then stay here where it's earned.
Yee-Haw mofo's.
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What makes you think North Carolina would want them?
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Flux Girl,
What did NC ever do to you?
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My co-worker, who has lived in Alexandria all of his life, claims that Northern Virginia does not include Alexandria. Needless to say, I do not have lunch with him often.
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"the remainder to North Carolina"
I lived in Arlington for years, but I live in Richmond now. And while I miss Arlington, I'm a little surprised how many Northern Virginia people--and Northern Virginia-type people--I've met down here. The reality of 21st century Virginia, I think, is that while NoVA is certainly the engine of demographic change in Virginia, the whole "crescent" of urban development from DC to Richmond and down the James River to Hampton Roads is also experiencing rapid growth. So NoVA isn't necessarily the "occupied" part of Virginia so much as it is the future of Virginia. Downstate voters might resent that, just like western Maryland and Delmarva voters resent the incorrigible blueness of central Maryland; but if Obama wins Virginia, I think the demographic writing is on the wall. Look for Maryland, DC, and Virginia to become increasingly unified as a Mid-Atlantic voting block of African-Americans and upscale, highly-educated professionals.
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Look for Maryland, DC, and Virginia to become increasingly unified as a Mid-Atlantic voting block of African-Americans and upscale, highly-educated professionals.
Which only reinforces the need for DC, Northern Virginia, and the inner Beltway MD suburbs to secede from the Union and form the Commonwealth of New Loompahland. Every condo a kingdom! Every child and pet a serf! Our state currency will be iTunes gift cards, our official drug is loveboat, and our national anthem will be "Big Rock Candy Mountain."
Allons enfants de la Patrie, Le jour de gloire est arrivé!
Contre nous de la tyrannie, L'étendard sanglant est levé!