(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Does Dirty Dominion Energy Own Virginia Politics? [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-06-15 “So, let me get this straight,” my husband said to me back in April, “Clean Virginia gave you $1,000, your largest single campaign contribution so far, and to thank them you wrote an article attacking them and then shared it on Twitter?” “Something like that,” I retorted. I could see in his eyes that he was considering whether I qualified for a 72-hour hold. The pure alarm on his face. He didn’t get it then. He does now. And you will too by the end of this article. Fair warning: There’s no happy ending. However, there may still be a chance to write one. Read on… Clean Virginia gave me that $1,000 after I pledged that I would not take money from Dominion Power. Easy decision. I’m working to keep my antennae clean and don’t want to be engaged in the dirty politics of the only electric game in town buying elections and votes. It’s gross. It’s grossly terrifying. Dominion Energy is a powerful player in Virginia Politics. I picture them operating out of a secret and finely-appointed lair carved into the side of a mountain. I envision them moving our elected officials about like pieces on a Monopoly board. And why wouldn’t they? They own the board, the pieces, and the dice. You can buy a whole bunch with the $3,710,500 they’ve already pumped into candidates this year alone. And then there’s Clean Virginia, the PAC that I loved and then left – but not without a swan song. They have given $1,907,324 to candidates in the same time frame. But what differentiates the way they give is that even as a single-issue, non-partisan PAC – they give the lion’s share to Democratic candidates. Dominion buys up both sides. Dominion dominates. My Christian Nationalist Republican incumbent opponent owns stock in Dominion and takes their donations – $5,000 so far this year — no doubt there’s more coming her way. Clean Virginia gave her a little shout-out with a paid social media campaign right after I signed their pledge. And this is what bent me out of shape about Clean Virginia. My Clean Virginia Swan song – Vol. 1 and Volume 2. Read all about it. www.dailykos.com/… www.dailykos.com/... So months have passed and there have been new things to be baffled about. I haven't worried about Dominion because it’s not like I’d accept their money. Not a single thought to Clean Virginia either because they never apologized and they aren't going to help my campaign DESPITE how much I am ALIGNED with what they SAY is their MISSION. But something has been in my crawl lately and I’ve fired off a story or tweeted angrily in hopes of helping to get a wrong righted. Perhaps you’ve heard of Jasmine Lipscomb. Ms. Lipscomb, a former US Marine, single mom, and damn qualified candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates has been denied the ‘D’ ballot line for our Nov. 2023 election. Just. Plain. Denied. You can dig in more here and there are other articles all joined by Democratic outrage on social media from Virginia and beyond. x Democrats disenfranchising voters in Virginia House District 49 by denying the nomination to the only candidate to file is a self-defeating maneuver. 6 days. @IAmPoliticsGirl https://t.co/tcTxj672ck — Trudy Berry (@Berry4Senator) June 14, 2023 Yet this woman’s local party still won’t budge. They can still put her on the ballot if they hurry up. The only other option is to allow the Republican Incumbent Danny Marshall, a concrete-pouring racecar driver who has served as a delegate since 2002, to just keep his seat. In fact, at the rate they are going, they may as well reupholster the seat for him and hand him a glass of whiskey when he sits down. It’s maddening to watch this happening. Democrats in that part of the state aren’t going to get an option. But wait, is there a method to their madness? There might be a reason why the Danville Dems seem so willing to just sit this one out. Perhaps Danny holds a special charm for the Democratic Establishment in that part of the state. Former Democratic Governor Ralph Northam once bypassed his own party’s candidate to walk over and get a big hug from his “good friend Danny.” Dominion owns the game. The Democratic Party forfeits its turn. The racecar driver rolls the dice and speeds forward to the Community Chest or Danny’s political war chest as it were. And there it is – the contents of the racecar’s war chest. Do you see it? There’s that big D energy. It belongs to Dominion, it belongs to Danny. It doesn’t belong to the Dems, at least not in Danville. Dominion carries Danny in their pockets. Look at his committees! What a prize they have found in Danny. And when it comes to playing the game, he owns the utilities (Dominion), the bank (VA Bankers Association), and the little green plastic houses (Virginia Realtors.) Does Danny own the Dems in House District 49? Or better yet, does Dominion own the General Assembly? That’s what’s starting to come into focus for me. What’s happening to Ms. Lipscomb could have easily happened to me. My local party wasn’t planning on putting a candidate forth in my race. Shhh. I wasn’t supposed to know this. Pretty sure that information was for official ears only. I very quietly inserted myself. Gathered up my petition signatures, filed my paperwork, paid my filing fee, and slid in under the primary deadline. They couldn’t stop me. I didn’t need their help like Ms. Lipscomb needs the help of her local party. If I had, they likely would have done the same to me or at least thrown up every barrier they could imagine. And I could stand over her like a dummy saying “I don't get it” just like we are all over here saying that for Ms. Lipscomb now. “We don’t get it.” Why are the local Democratic Committees willing to forfeit seats back to Republican incumbents? These darlings of Dominion? This energy monster has given so much for so long to keep ownership of the game that is now nearly impossible for a good candidate to run a competitive race without Dominion money. It needs to stop here, with candidates like me, “the boot.” I pick that game piece because that’s what I plan to give dirty money when I get to Richmond – the boot. I’ve reserved the “canon” for Ms. Lipscomb for when her local Party decides to let her play. I see only one way out of this mess and that’s to put forth and work to elect Democratic candidates who will fight the power of Dominion in Virginia politics. That’s it. That’s the solution. Let’s get to work. Help clean candidates like me fight monopoly ownership of elected officials. You can donate here. Help send a message to Danville Democrats that we want Democrats in EVERY race by donating here to Jasmine Lipscomb. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/6/15/2175704/-Does-Dirty-Dominion-Energy-Own-Virginia-Politics Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/