Less than a week before Terry McAuliffe was elected as the next Virginia governor in a hotly contested race against Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, the Biggest Democrat of Them All came to town.
That would be Bill Clinton of course, who drew a standing room only crowd to Charter Hall in the City Market building. McAuliffe is a long time Clinton family friend and supporter, as well as the former national chairman for the Democrat party.
Clinton also appeared on McAuliffe’s behalf in Roanoke four years ago when the now Governor-elect was vying for his party’s nomination against Creigh Deeds. Republican Governor Bob McDonnell beat Deeds soundly in 2009. Cuccinelli hoped to be elected as the next Republican governor but instead Democrats regained the top spot in the state, which they held for 8 years (Mark Warner, Tim Kaine) before McDonnell’s election.
Attorney General candidate Mark Herring (who was ahead by only 32 votes at press time with all precincts reporting) also appeared at the McAuliffe rally in Roanoke last week, talking about how Cuccinelli had “bent and twisted the law” over the past four years as AG. “We need a mainstream, bi-partisan approach,” said Herring.
A slim majority of voters apparently agreed on Tuesday night by narrowly electing a more moderate Democrat over a Republican candidate who many believed had tacked too far to the right. The final margin was closer than many recent polls suggested, in part because Cuccinelli linked McAuliffe to the struggling launch of “Obamacare” and Libertarian candidate Robert Sarvis received a relatively sizable number of votes.
Throughout his campaign McAuliffe emphasized his “mainstream” Democratic ticket (Lt. Governor-elect Ralph Northam also won over Republican E.W. Jackson on Tuesday) and that was highlighted in Roanoke by the endorsement of former Republican State Senator Brandon Bell. The conservative Bell said he was “proudly supporting Terry McAuliffe. [He] will support bi-partisan policies.” McAuliffe called Bell’s endorsement “a courageous thing to do.”
McAuliffe spoke with Clinton at his side, saying too many Virginians had to decide between health care coverage and their education, not able to afford both. He attacked Cuccinelli for policies that affected women’s access to health care options and said the Tea Party that supported Cuccinelli had proposed an “irresponsible tax plan.” McAuliffe called on the state legislature to support Medicaid expansion that would provide health care to more people below or near the poverty line. Doing that would cover 400,000 Virginians and create 30,000 jobs, according to McAuliffe.
Then it was Bill Clinton’s turn at the microphone, with wild applause and people calling out that they “missed” the former president. Looking tan but thinner than ever these days (reportedly the former president is now a vegetarian), Clinton said a year from now those who voted against McAuliffe will “wonder why” they did that. He joked about Roanoke City Councilman Sherman Lea, referring to his large stature, showing he had done his homework about Roanoke.
Then Clinton took a stroll down memory lane, talking about the 22 million jobs created during his 8-year term as president and the lowest unemployment rate in 30 years during his time in the White House. The way to get there again? Clinton said it was time for politicians to choose cooperation over conflict, nurturing “the instinctive hunger we have to get things going again.” He called longtime friend McAuliffe a dealmaker and said that wasn’t a bad thing. “Compromise,” said Clinton, “is at the heart of the Constitution.”
He added that, “Electing Terry McAuliffe is a chance to send a signal about how to govern in the 21st century.” Enough Virginia voters agreed on Tuesday to send McAuliffe to Richmond as Bob McDonnell’s successor. “Terry McAuliffe will be a governor for all Virginians,” vowed Clinton.
By Gene Marrano
