There is no one simple explanation.
First, Kilgore was a mediocre candidate (I posted this before), so he neither galvanized his base nor attracted others outside his base.
Second, more importantly, in Virginia (as elsewhere across the nation) the left saw this year's election as a chance for revenge for their losing streak from 2002-2004. They turned out whereas conservatives were lackidaisical.
Third, the media played a major role in supressing stories harmful to Kaine. A case in point, Carlos H. Bustamente Medieta (an illegal immigrant) brutally mudered Hak Bon Kim (a legal immigrant) in northern Virginia just a few weeks ago. This story was quickly hushed up.
Fourth, Kaine sucessfully hid behind Warner. Warner was a very popular moderate Governor, whereas I believe time will tell that Kaine will end up being a very unpopular liberal Governor.
Come on Carl, immigration didn’t play as an issue to nearly the same degree that you thought it would simply because people where not as concerned about it as you thought they where, the media didn’t under report it or over report, they reported it as much as the media in TN, NJ or WY would have done.
As for the turnout of the bases. Currently the GOP is unpopular nationally, Libby, DeLay, Katrina, Frist, Iraq and gas prices, have tarnished the standing of both the administration and the Republican congressional leadership greatly… although at the same time this has not directly helped the democrats its important to note. So rather than being a “desire for revenge” energising democratic turnout (as you rather emotively put it) it’s the simple fact that the GOP is unpopular and that Democrats are much happier to go out and vote at the moment than republicans. It’s also important to note that the GOP is bombing amongst independent voters who ultimately decided the race in Virginia… a “desire for revenge” can hardly be ascribed to them.
Kaine “hid behind Warner” and will be a “unpopular liberal governor”, I’m sorry but as so often with your posts Carl this is nothing more than emotive opinion. What popular outgoing governor is not heavily employed by his party’s new nominee in order to win? As for Kaine being liberal, you’ve argued that Evan Bayh is a liberal, and in general it would seem that for you
liberal refers to any democrat who could be considered sceptical towards gun rights or the death penalty… you earlier suggestions that Kaine, a pretty religious catholic (and former missionary), was somehow pretending to be pro-life was another instance of you using an unsubstantiated accusation as ‘fact’… when it was nothing more than at best opinion and at worst a rather nasty slur, consequently playing no part in the election.
