Understanding the election

Bearing Drift features a lengthy list of reasons and myths on the past election.
And leaves some fine parting words.
Be bold.  Stand up for what you believe.  Don’t worry about what the left says.  Never defend.  Always attack.  Keep control of the agenda.  Save your money for the end.

Last minute candidate shopping

Bearing Drift has the last look at the race before Tuesday's Election Day.
The questions at this point are simple.  We have 24 hours to go:
(1) Is Cuccinelli within striking distance?
(2) Will Obama’s appearance in Virginia hurt or help T-Mac?
(3) Is Sarvis really drawing down T-Mac’s lead?
(4)  Finally, will turnout be above 35% — and will that turnout actually benefit (rather than harm) Cuccinelli given an irate base?
I think the answers to these questions are (1) yes he is, (2) it’s gonna hurt T-Mac, (3) Sarvis is helping Cuccinelli at this point, and (4) we may see higher than predicted turnout based on outrage over the Obamacare rollout.

Defeat Hillary - Vote Cuccinelli

It's really simple Tuesday.
A good future for Virginia - and America - depends on Ken Cuccinelli winning.
If he wins, there's major damage to Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential bid.
If that's what you want, then vote for Terry McAuliffe.

Vote wisely, libertarians

Robert Sarvis has done well this campaign season, nearing and maybe surpassing 10 percent as the Libertarian candidate for governor.
But now it's decision time.
Neither Ken Cuccinelli nor Terry McAuliffe will likely break 50 percent of the vote Tuesday.
Voters thinking about going with Sarvis will make the difference.
They may not like the candidates of the two major parties, but one of them will be the next governor.
Which comes closer to your overall policies?
Here's a hint.
Ron Paul will rally with Cuccinelli Monday night.

Get your guns

Breitbart looks at Terry McAuliffe's ideas on guns.
Didn't work too well for Colorado Democrats.

Drifting closer

Bearing Drift takes a shot at polling the 2013 elections - with a twist.
The split here diverges from other polls, which have assumed the 2013 electorate will look far more like it did in the 2012 presidential year than has historically been the case for Virginia’s off-year elections. Recall that in 2009, that electorate was +4 Republican over Democrat.
Hard to see McAuliffe riding a wave of Obama enthusiasm.
Cuccinelli may find slow and steady beats flashy.

Team "old white guys"

The Democrats have their candidates for the three statewide positions.
Bearing Drift isn't impressed.
These were races where the powers that be in the Democrat party worked together to advance their good ‘ol boys in the State Senate. After the Republicans nominated a dynamic African-American lawyer and pastor for Lieutenant Governor, Dick Saslaw, the VEA, and other liberal interest groups endorsed the white State Senators.  The Democrats had two chances to diversify and rejected both options.  Today was the day where the Democrat Party of Virginia told the minorities in their party, “We will draw majority minority districts for you, but we will stop you from winning nominations elsewhere.”

Will the wacko card work?

John Fund looks at the Virginia gubernatorial contest.
Virginia could indeed swing Democratic this year, but the only way that’s going to happen is if Democrats win the policy arguments and convince voters they have better ideas. Relying on bogeyman scare tactics hasn’t worked in the past, and so far it isn’t working this year.

Can't beat Cuccinelli

Watching the reaction of Democrats to the nomination of E.W. Jackson as Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor, they must realize they have no chance in November.
Blue Virginia runs a lengthy piece on how Republicans could get Jackson off the ticket. All suggestions that would divide the party, increase friction between the grassroots and establishment, and mostly make the Cuccinelli team look bad.
Jackson grabbed the convention spotlight and rode it to a surprising victory. He's the man, and no amount of whining can change that.
If you like Cuccinelli, you like his standing for his beliefs - no matter what criticism he gets.
He probably remembers all the criticism from the summer of 2009, when his nomination was assumed to doom the Republican ticket.
The Republican ticket has toured the state.
The Democrats' only hope in November is to break up the team. Don't fall for it.

Speaking of crazy

NRO has an eye on crazy past statements by Terry McAuliffe.
There's going to be plenty of talk about this campaign season.

Inside the poll numbers

Are you a Democrat excited about the latest poll?
Look inside the numbers, dude.
To have McAuliffe up by five points, the poll used an electorate of 35 percent Democrats, 25 percent Republicans and 31 percent Independents.
Democrats plus 10 in the poll.
What about the recent Washington Post poll that showed Cuccinelli ahead?
Republicans 26, Democrats 28, Independents 35.
More Democrats in a poll and McAuliffe's numbers go up.
If you're surprised, you like stopping by fundraisers on the way home from the hospital.

Trouble for Terry

Has Terry McAuliffe conceded yet?
The media seems ready to do it for him.
“So far, the answer to ‘How does he handle these questions?’ is ‘Not well,’” says the strategist with a sigh, and notes, “There are a lot of Democrats in the state that are getting incredibly nervous about how Terry McAuliffe is allowing himself to be turned into Mitt Romney.”
Maybe they should have read his book in 2009.

Terry the truther

NRO's Jim Geraghty has been reading Terry McAuliffe's book.
He didn't have to go far to find a surprise - pages 35-36.
Terry McAuliffe strongly believes that Ronald Reagan’s campaign conspired with the Iranian ayatollahs to prevent the release of the hostages in 1980.

Cuccinelli plus 10

The Washington Post has a poll on the upcoming gubernatorial race - not good news for Democrats.
While the overall lead for Ken Cuccinelli is five points, among likely voters it's 10 (51 to 41).
How do things compare with 2009?
Republicans won those matchups, before the Democratic nominee was decided.
We all know how that turned out.
Democrats should be worried. They think Cuccinelli is struggling now, and it's still ahead.

INexperienced, UNprincipled, and DIShonest

The crew at Blue Virginia isn't sure what to think about Ken Cuccinelli's first ad.
Will it sway women?
Don't they realize how radical he is?
A commenter notices the ad ends with words like "experienced," "principled," and "honest."
Describes Cuccinelli.
Terry McAuliffe?
Not so much.
McAuliffe has huge problems.
And the Cuccinelli team knows how to highlight them.

You're a rich boy, not going too far

After you see how much money Terry McAuliffe has, you wonder - where did he get it?
Global Crossing.
You can't compare McAuliffe to Mitt Romney.
Romney had business successes on his resume.

Show me the money

NRO's Campaign Spot shares where Ken Cuccinelli and Terry McAuliffe are getting their campaign cash.
Ranking contributions by zip code, Cuccinelli has 16 Virginia zip codes in his top 25 - from Abingdon to Norfolk to McLean.
Only five Virginia counties show up in McAuliffe's top 25 - three in McLean, one in Richmond and one in Norfolk.
Those traditional Virginia hangouts - Chicago and Beverly Hills - gave plenty to McAuliffe.
People who can vote in November give their edge to Cuccinelli.

Defeat Terry Clinton

A major theme of the 2013 gubernatorial campaign will be Terry McAuliffe's connections with the Clintons.
What he did with Bill in the 1990s.
What his race means to Hillary in 2016.
If he beats Ken Cuccinelli, it's a boost to Hillary.
If he loses, it's a drag on her hopes.
They are a team - even if they try to diminish talk of that.

Who are these guys again?

Bearing Drift finds the important numbers about the 2013 campaign - nobody knows these guys yet.

Ken Cuccinelli: 44% have no opinion
Terry McAuliffe: 63% have no opinion

Half of women have no opinion of Ken Cuccinelli. 60% of blacks have no opinion. Over half of Democrats have no opinion. A third of Republicans have no opinion. As you’d expect, all of those numbers are even higher for McAuliffe.
Also worth noting, neither candidate has increased their name ID since Quinnipiac went into the field in January. All of the shots across the bow from Cuccinelli and McAuliffe have been part of the quiet, cold war where no one’s paying attention except those who already know who they’re supporting.
Just over seven months until Election Day.
We'll learn to be tired of them in their TV ads.

Bolling backs out

Bill Bolling ended three months of speculation Tuesday by giving up an independent bid for governor.
It's Cuccinelli vs. McAuliffe.
Just as we thought months before.
Let the fun begin.