Category Archives: Uncategorized

Cantor upset fueled budget maneuver (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

The message of Brat’s victory is that “this angry, conservative element of the Republican Party is not to be trifled with,” said Stephen J. Farnsworth, a professor of political science and international affairs at the University of Mary Washington.

“Republicans, by and large in Virginia politics, are not that interested in cross-party compromise. The prospects for any kind of bipartisan cooperation on any issue … are much dimmer than they were a week ago.”

Farnsworth added: “I think we’re already seeing the movement to the right in the Virginia legislature. The Republican senators who were willing to back some sort of compromise deal on the Medicaid question have already fallen quickly into line.”/p>

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Virginia Medicaid expansion in doubt as state senator quits (Reuters)

Stephen Farnsworth, a political analyst with the University of Mary Washington, said: “Medicaid expansion is not dead, but it was rushed to the emergency room today.”

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Tea Party Challenger Takes Aim At Eric Cantor (The Huffington Post)

“Eyes around the country will certainly be on the Cantor race as the next key measure of the Tea Party movement going forward,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a political analyst at the University of Mary Washington.

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Previewing the 8th Congressional District Democratic Primary (WUSA-TV)

“This congressional district is one of the most intensely focused on military issues and federal employees in the entire country,” said Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington.

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Virginia Republicans To Convene In Roanoke To Pick U.S. Senate Candidate (WAMU)

In Virginia, Republicans from across the commonwealth are preparing to gather this weekend in a convention to select their candidate for U.S. Senate.

“The establishment Republicans are going to do everything they possibly can to make sure that there is no repeat of last year’s general election debacle,” says University of Mary Washington professor Stephen Farnsworth.

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Yellen’s communications style to be tested (Marketwatch.com)

Yellen may also benefit from a honeymoon period afforded to new public officials, according to Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington.

For example, Yellen may get an easier time from the press than women politicians, says Farnsworth.

In the 2008 Democratic presidential primary, for instance, the press was often much more focused on Hillary Clinton’s hair and clothes compared with Barack Obama, Farnsworth noted. As Fed chairwoman, Yellen will benefit from an assumption of competence and professionalism that women candidates for elective office often don’t receive, he said.

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