Just to update the Republican governors and the Medicaid expansion issue, which I think will be the big fight in the states through 2014 and potentially beyond: • Keep in mind that under the law, any state could start their Medicaid expansion right now if they choose. And this would still be free for the [...]

I was just on a conference call where Governor Martin O’Malley (D-MD) was asked whether he thought Republican governors might opt out of the Medicaid expansion in light of the Supreme Court’s ACA ruling yesterday. He replied, “I don’t know. Some of our colleagues would like to get out of being members of the Union.” [...]

The bill in Virginia requiring all abortion seekers get a mandatory ultrasound is now in peril, after the right-wing Senator who introduced the trans-vaginal ultrasound requirement rebelled against changes asked for by Governor Bob McDonnell. McDonnell backtracked on the trans-vaginal ultrasound bill yesterday, asking the House of Delegates to amend the bill to a trans-abdominal [...]

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell is now in full retreat mode on that bill mandating that women seeking an abortion in the state must get a trans-vaginal ultrasound (colloquially known as “state rape”) beforehand. We saw hints of this earlier today from a spokesman. But McDonnell has now put out his own statement, asking for amendments [...]

The Virginia abortion bill, which would mandate that the women seeking an abortion get a trans-vaginal ultrasound – a forcible assault at the very least – before having the procedure, has received entirely too much notoriety for the tastes of conservative lawmakers in the state. I’m sure they were hoping to fly under the radar [...]

The fight over whether to offset emergency spending on disaster relief, as Eric Cantor wants, could end up being the most interesting upcoming battle in Congress. The lines aren’t drawn in an entirely partisan way on this one. In particular, Republican Governors in the states affected want to see that disaster relief, and don’t care [...]

On Tuesday, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell caused a stir by designating April Confederate History Month for the first time in the state in eight years. In particular, McDonnell, a far-right conservative who paraded as a moderate during the 2009 gubernatorial election, angered many by neglecting to even mention slavery in his announcement. McDonnell apparently went [...]

Creigh Deeds is, by most measures, fading in the Virginia governor’s race. Two polls show him trailing Republican Bob McDonnell by double digits with two weeks to go. So Deeds is pulling out his trump card. He’s released an ad with Barack Obama, touting Deeds at a campaign event earlier this year. The ad directly [...]

During the Virginia Democratic primary for Governor, Creigh Deeds’ campaign didn’t take off until he secured the endorsement of the Washington Post, which is read in the Northern Virginia suburbs. Today he received the endorsement in the general election, which could inspire the same kind of resurgence to his campaign, which is currently behind Republican [...]