Every policy your party has proposed so far would only make things more expensive.
— Virginia GOP (@VA_GOP) November 25, 2025
❌Insane California-style energy mandates
❌Repealing right to work & forcing workers to pay union dues
❌Job-killing employer mandates
❌Mountains of red tape https://t.co/XuW4dRdGFc
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The Great “Affordability” Debate
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Redistricting Roulette
by David J. Toscano
“Unprecedented” and “outrageous” were the words most often heard in response to Texas Republicans’ attempted mid-cycle redraw of congressional maps to boost GOP odds of keeping control of the U.S. House after the midterms. Now, a federal district court has concluded that the legislature’s new plan is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander—placing the strategy in jeopardy and leaving Republicans wondering whether this power play was worth the trouble.
Reading Judge Jeffrey Brown’s opinion brought back memories of my time in the Virginia General Assembly, including my years as House Democratic leader. Brown, a Trump appointee, cited the Virginia case that overturned the Virginia GOP’s 2011 redistricting plan to underscore his conclusion that Texas Republicans relied on race in drawing their maps. The parallels between the two states are striking.
The Virginia Precedent
When Virginia Republicans drew the 2011 maps, they controlled the governorship and both legislative chambers—conditions like those in Texas today. Unlike Texas, however, Democrats in Virginia regularly won statewide races, including those for Governor and every presidential contest since 2008. Despite this statewide success, Republicans maintained large majorities in the Virginia House for years, aided by a partisan and racially discriminatory gerrymander. Much of this can be traced to the GOP’s national strategy after Barack Obama’s 2008 victory. Republicans invested heavily in winning state legislatures so they could shape congressional redistricting. And they succeeded. In Virginia, the 2011, 2013, and 2015 House elections were conducted using maps designed to entrench GOP control. In 2016, the GOP held a 66-34 majority in the Virginia House.
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The Coming Madness…
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The BoV Didn’t Create UVA’s Problems
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High Cost Kills One, Maybe Two Clean Economy Act Projects
by Steve Haner
Citing the high cost, the Virginia State Corporation Commission on Friday denied a request to add a battery project to the Appalachian Power Company grid. In the same decision, an out-of-state wind project for Appalachian was approved, but only if it qualifies for major federal tax credits to keep down the cost.
Without those tax credits, set to expire under legislation signed by President Donald Trump, the 261-megawatt wind project in Illinois that Appalachian plans to buy will also be too expensive to justify, the SCC ruled. Any cost overrun on the $1 billion plus construction cost will also void the Commission’s permission for Appalachian to buy the turbines, being built by another company.
The rulings were part of Appalachian’s annual proposal for adding non-carbon emitting energy projects to comply with the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA). The Commission’s order, and a more extensive discussion in the September 26 report from its hearing examiner, D. Mathias Roussy, highlight the growing costs of VCEA compliance.
Appalachian serves about 550,000 customers in Western Virginia, and most of its power generation is done out of state. Under the VCEA, it must move toward ending its use of coal, natural gas, or oil to make electricity.
The application also updated the ongoing costs of previously approved VCEA-compliant Appalachian facilities mandated by the Virginia Clean Economy Act, and one small solar addition. Those portions of the application were approved, and Appalachian customer bills will rise on March 1, 2026, to pay for them.
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Lawlessness and Disorder
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Chicanery & Circus at the Courthouse
Image credit; Grok by Jon Baliles
There have been a lot of embarrassing moments in the history of city government, but one that will soon be in the Hall of Fame is taking place before our eyes, with the latest edition occurring last Tuesday in the John Marshall Courthouse. A trial that began more than 18 months ago has turned into a full blown circus with clownish embarrassment as the cost to the city has already gone through the roof with the Mayor claiming what you are reading about from reporters (who are actually in the courtroom) is not true.
The truth is that under the big top, the city is being represented by a third- party legal team led Jimmy Robinson, Jr. of the Ogletree Deakins law firm. Robinson was confrontational with Judge Claire Caldwell on Tuesday because she called him out for making statements that directly contradicted what he had told both the court and Graham Moomaw from The Richmonder concerning a motion filed on November 5th (and she read his emails aloud to the court).
It got to the surreal moment that when Robinson began to admonish Judge Caldwell and raised his voice towards her, the Sheriff’s Deputy serving as bailiff moved from her position on the side wall of the courtroom into a position between the lawyer’s table and the judge, and at one point told Robinson to calm down. The judge also at one point told Robinson to “lower your voice.”
If your legal strategy includes sparring with the judge to the point and volume where the bailiff gets concerned enough to take a defensive position, then you’re no longer making a solid or coherent legal argument; you don’t need to be a lawyer or stay at a Holiday Inn Express to figure that out. Before we get to more of Tuesday’s fireworks however, rewind to the last hearing in September.
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Jeanine’s Memes
View more memes at The Bull Elephant
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Spanberger’s Letter to UVA Board Threatens Rule of Law
by Emilio Jaksetic
On November 13, 2025, Bacon’s Rebellion posted an article by The Jefferson Council entitled “Spanberger’s Political Amnesia.” That article criticized Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger’s letter to the University of Virginia’s (UVA) Board of Visitors (BOV) in which she asked the BOV to refrain from choosing a new President for UVA until she can appoint new members to the BOV. The Jefferson Council succinctly identified the political double standard displayed by Governor-elect Spanberger’s request by comparing it to the political hardball efforts of Virginia Democrats to make significant post-election decisions and appointments affecting UVA before then Governor-elect Youngkin could become Governor.
The Jefferson Council’s discussion of the political aspects of Governor-elect Spanberger’s letter is apt and noteworthy. However, it is important to also consider how her letter also raises serious rule-of-law issues. Why? Because although Governor-elect Spanberger’s letter may appear to be reasonable on the surface, it is problematic when viewed in the context of the Virginia Constitution and the Virginia Code. What follows are the reasons why I assert Governor-elect Spanberger’s letter poses a threat to the rule of law.
First, Governor-elect Spanberger’s electoral victory in November 2025 gives her the right to take the oath of office and become Governor at the end of Governor Youngkin’s term, but it does not give her any legal basis to exercise any authority that an incumbent Governor possesses. The authority and power of Virginia’s Governor rest with the incumbent Governor, not a Governor-elect. Governor Youngkin’s November 13, 2025, letter to Governor-elect Spanberger properly points that out. But beyond the traditional practices referred to by Governor Youngkin, there is an important rule-of-law aspect involved.
The idea that a Governor-elect is not yet the Governor is more than a mere truism. It reflects an important legal distinction.
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Bacon Meme of the Week
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Nursing Home Staffing – What Regulators Can See
by James C. Sherlock
In the last episode of this series, the author wrote about what citizens should do to choose a nursing home. He made the case that a search should use Medicare Compare to make a list of facilities in the vicinity of your search area and then use the Staffing rating to whittle it down to facilities with at least a three-star staffing rating. In some regions of Virginia, that doesn’t leave very many options, but so be it. Do not seek admission to an understaffed facility.
The November 20, 2025, the latest Provider Information was released by CMS. The attached spreadsheet contains key elements of that data for every Medicare- or Medicaid-certified Virginia facility. The author recommends that regulators use this format. It is color-coded to permit assessment of the state’s portfolio of facilities in a few minutes.
Now, a dive into it.
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What to Look For When Seeking a Nursing Home
by James C. Sherlock
The first thing to know when seeking a nursing home is that the Social Security Act spells out nursing home requirements relating to residents’ rights. See here subparagraph (c).
Once informed of the rights you or your loved one will have, Medicare Compare is by far the best source available to most Virginians when evaluating a nursing home before a necessary personal visit. But it is imperfect. The author will share with readers here his experiences on what information in Medicare Compare is useful and what is not.
Please open the Medicare Compare page for Parham Health Care and Rehabilitation Center in Richmond. We will walk through it.
In the next article, the author will report on important information for analysts that is not in Medicare Compare. But today we’ll work with information that CMS designs for everyone.
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Proposed Amendments to the Virginia Constitution
Delegate Charniele Herring by James C. Sherlock
To facilitate public consideration, this is the first of several articles on bills pre-filed by Democrats for the 2026 General Assembly. This one presents pre-filed amendments to the Constitution of Virginia.
It will include the official summary of each and a link to the bill as filed. Some summaries are reasonably complete, some are not. So, if an issue is important to you, you are recommended to read the full bill.
I hope readers who comment will take a moment to consider the importance of thoughtful responses, approving or not, on this serious subject.
HJ1: Constitutional Amendment Fundamental Right to Reproductive Freedom.
Patroned by Delegate Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria, Constitutional amendment (second reference).
Provides that every individual has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom and that such right shall not be, directly or indirectly, denied, burdened, or infringed upon unless justified by a compelling state interest, as defined in the amendment, and achieved by the least restrictive means. The amendment specifies that, notwithstanding the other provisions of the amendment, the Commonwealth may regulate the provision of abortion care in the third trimester, provided that in no circumstance shall the Commonwealth prohibit an abortion
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Democratic Priorities in the General Assembly and Campaign Finance Reform
by James C. Sherlock
It is important that Virginians understand early what the total control of the Virginia Government by Democrats will mean in legislation, whether they support the bills or not.
In pursuit of that effort, the author will post each of the General Assembly Democrats’ priority bills that are pre-filed. The format for each post will use the title of a bill as the title of the post. The text of each article will include the summary of that bill as filed. A link will be provided to the full text of the bill as filed.
This author will make no comments on the individual bills.
He will note here that campaign finance reform is the one issue that most matters to the integrity of the legislative process. But the General Assembly has proven in the past to be too corrupted by the current system to change it meaningfully.
The photo at the open is of a former Democratic candidate who could not raise enough money the traditional way.
The corruption at the state level extends down to city and county officials who campaign for office under the same lack of constraints. The Virginia Beach City Council is, for example, owned and operated by commercial development interests that contribute the bulk of campaign donations from all sources. The result was seen in the scandalous story of the new Atlantic Park.
I expect that 98% of Virginians are unaware that we have no state law that limits campaign contributions. Thus, there is no public pressure to pass one.
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Dem Priorities for 2026 Session
