Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington, said the divisiveness has ratcheted up as Virginia, which had not voted for a Democratic president in nearly half a century before choosing Barack Obama in 2008, has become more of an evenly split presidential battleground.

“The more closely divided a political environment, the nastier the disputes are,” he said. “Because the state is basically 50-50, all parties are engaged in the kind of trench warfare that really is a very, very distinct departure from the dynamic that previously marked state government here.”

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Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington who specializes in political communication, said the numbers are not a surprise. The White House always gets more media attention for its views than Congress does, he said, which is a particular problem for Republicans who control only the House and not the Senate.

“It is surprising to me that Congress hasn’t been more aggressive earlier in trying to reduce the disparity between the attention that the White House and Congress gets,” Farnsworth said.

“Since the legislative branch is mired in single-digit approval ratings, the members figure they need to invest more in getting their message out.”

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Washington Post, June 29, 2014

Beyer’s approach, while high-minded, is “unlikely to be successful” because “it’s not fertile terrain in Congress for would-be compromisers,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a University of Mary Washington political science professor.

“There are so many partisan warriors on either side that the centrists can generate a lot of hostility towards themselves,” he said.“Certainly all of his diplomatic training will come in handy on the House floor.”

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Virginia Republicans have taken over the General Assembly and passed a state budget that does not include Medicaid expansion. But the battle over the budget is about to get even more intense.

One provision in the new Republican budget makes it more difficult for Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe to expand health insurance coverage for 400,000 Virginians who live in poverty or with disabilities. The new language requires legislative approval for Medicaid expansion to move forward, essentially allowing Republicans to stop it.

University of Mary Washington professor Stephen Farnsworth says McAuliffe will probably use his line-item veto to remove that provision: “The governor has made it pretty clear over the last six months that this was non-negotiable. This would be a significant adjustment in his key priority if he were to walk away from Medicaid expansion.”

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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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