gearing up for election season 2006

WaPo has coverage of the VA gubernatorial debates

"Kilgore faltered under a series of questions by moderator Tim Russert, host of NBC's Meet the Press. Asked by Russert whether he would sign a bill to outlaw abortion if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade , Kilgore refused to answer, calling the question hypothetical.

Russert, who thrills in catching national politicians in contradictions on his Sunday morning show, followed up quickly by asking whether Kilgore would veto a tax increase. Kilgore fell for the trick question, saying he would.

"That's a hypothetical question!" Russert said, prompting laughter from the luncheon crowd of more than 500 Northern Virginia business executives in the ballroom of the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner.

"Kilgore was nervous and tense. He sounded bad. He argued badly," said University of Virginia politics professor Larry Sabato, who is scheduled to moderate a debate Oct. 9. "This was Kaine's best performance ever."

The governor's race in Virginia is one of the most important in 2005. While the NJ governors race will probably remain in the hands of Democrats and, unfortunately, NYC will keep falling for the "no NY republican is a real republican" facade of Bloomberg -- there is a real risk Republican Jerry Kilgore replacing Democrat Mark Warner.

Such a large and powerful red state electing another Democrat will not just be better for Virginia, but could bode well for the way that things will tip in 2006. If we are to make any real inroads to the growing conservative corprotacracy in 2008 -- we have to win big in the mid-term elections. We need to recapture state houses and the Congress.

So, quit your jobs and get to work.