15 Quotes by Stephen Farnsworth

I think Allen has to be at the top of everyone's expectations right now.

His business experience and his connections to Mark Warner could put him in good stead with Democratic Party voters.

The truth is that it is profitable for private interests to give things to lawmakers. And if it weren't, they wouldn't give them. If it were not profitable for them to put some of their resources in the pockets of lawmakers, they wouldn't do it.

Allen, although a favorite, may have a more serious challenger, in part because of the issues going on. The questions surrounding Iraq, the questions surrounding abortion, the hostility that many Democrats toward President Bush, could all generate high Democratic turnout.

The full-disclosure system has an advantage in that people have a sense of what their lawmakers are getting. But the wide-ranging ability of lawmakers to receive gifts from private interests is not something that goes in the direction of good government.

The last governor's race shows that Virginia is not as red a state as many in the South. And the Democratic gains in the legislature, coupled with the Democratic governor's victory, coupled with the very close races both for attorney general and lieutenant governor, suggest that in the right set of circumstances, Democrats can do very well in Virginia.