302 episodes

Get smarter about Virginia politics every week with Journalist Michael Lee Pope and Strategic Consultant Thomas Bowman so you can engage like a political insider.

Pod Virginia Jackleg Media

    • News

Get smarter about Virginia politics every week with Journalist Michael Lee Pope and Strategic Consultant Thomas Bowman so you can engage like a political insider.

    Closed-Door Budgets, Campaign Finance Disclosures, and the LG Shuffle

    Closed-Door Budgets, Campaign Finance Disclosures, and the LG Shuffle

    SPONSOR:
    Burn the Page
    LINKS:
    Pod Virginia | Patreon
    Learn more about Jackleg Media
    Check out Black Virginia News

    IN THE NEWS:
    Forget public hearings and committee meetings--Virginia’s next budget will be crafted in secret behind closed doors with no input from the public and no transparency after lawmakers couldn't come to an agreement this week.

    One of the most contentious debates in the General Assembly this year was the debate over what happens with slot-machine-style gaming machines in convenience stores and truck stops. The governor's amendment limiting where the machines can be located was overwhelmingly rejected by the Senate.

    Schools across Virginia are crumbling, which is why Senator Jeremy McPike of Prince William County introduced a bill to allow local governments to impose a sales tax to finance school construction.  Some Republicans supported the original bill. But McPike was unable to persuade enough of them to get a supermajority vote to override the governor's veto.


    TRIVIA: How many budget amendments were lawmakers considering last week?

    At the Watercooler:
    - Congresswoman Spanberger has made her first endorsement--Leslie Mehta, an ACLU lawyer who represented Unite the Right organizer Jason Kessler 
    - Even Tennessee's legislature has open conference committees! Why can't Virginia?
     
    Learn more at http://linktr.ee/JacklegMedia

    • 51 min
    Kelly McBride: What Crime Reporting Gets Wrong

    Kelly McBride: What Crime Reporting Gets Wrong

    SPONSOR:
    Burn the Page
    LINKS:
    Pod Virginia | Patreon
    Learn more about Jackleg Media

    Kelly McBride, a journalist and Senior VP at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, joins Michael to talk about her long experience on the crime beat and the problems with crime reporting -- how framing sets the narrative and misses the big picture, the peer pressure and race-to-the-bottom nature in some newsrooms, and the long fight for journalistic ethics in the modern world.

    • 34 min
    Budget Do-Over, Skill Game Impasse, and Crumbling Schools

    Budget Do-Over, Skill Game Impasse, and Crumbling Schools

    SPONSOR:
    Burn the Page
    LINKS:
    Pod Virginia | Patreon
    Learn more about Jackleg Media
    Check out Black Virginia News

    IN THE NEWS:
    Forget public hearings and committee meetings--Virginia’s next budget will be crafted in secret behind closed doors with no input from the public and no transparency after lawmakers couldn't come to an agreement this week.

    One of the most contentious debates in the General Assembly this year was the debate over what happens with slot-machine style gaming machines in convenience stores and truck stops. The governor's amendment limiting where the machines can be located was overwhelmingly rejected by the Senate.

    Schools across Virginia are crumbling, which is why Senator Jeremy McPike of Prince William County introduced a bill to allow local governments to impose a sales tax to finance school construction.  Some Republicans supported the original bill. But McPike was unable to persuade enough of them to get a supermajority vote to override the governor's veto.


    TRIVIA: How many budget amendments were lawmakers considering last week?

    At the Watercooler:
    - Uri Berliner's article criticizing NPR for a liberal bias causing a lack of public trust
    - Alexandria City Council debates--another will be held on May 4th, then a mayoral debate on June 8th.
     
    Learn more at http://linktr.ee/JacklegMedia

    • 37 min
    Buy, Sell, or Hold? With Delegates Cia Price, Alfonso Lopez, and Marcus Simon

    Buy, Sell, or Hold? With Delegates Cia Price, Alfonso Lopez, and Marcus Simon

    LINKS:
    Sponsor: My Own PAC
    Pod Virginia | Patreon
    Learn more about Jackleg Media

    On this week's live-to-tape game show, Michael sits down with Delegates Cia Price, Alfonso Lopez, and Marcus Simon to break down the latest news out of the veto session--the Governor's vetoes and amendments, tell-all memoirs, part-time legislatures, and ice cream drumsticks.

    • 51 min
    Skill Game Amendment, Abortion Vetoes, and Ranked Choice Voting

    Skill Game Amendment, Abortion Vetoes, and Ranked Choice Voting

    LINKS:
    Pod Virginia | Patreon
    Learn more about Jackleg Media
    Check out Black Virginia News

    IN THE NEWS:
    Lawmakers are weighing the odds about how to handle the governor's amendment to their legislation allowing skill games in convenience stores and truck stops.  The amendment says skill game machines cannot be within 35 miles of a casino or a historic horse racing facility--which knocks out a lot of possible locations. Now supporters have a choice: Do they want to accept a limited program now and try to expand in the future, or do they want to bag it for now and try again next year?

    Governor Youngkin now has the record for the most number of vetoes of any governor in recent memory, and he rolled out new abortion vetoes last weekend--including a bill that would have protected women and providers from being extradited to Tennessee or Texas, where abortion is much more restricted.

    Glenn Youngkin got the nomination to run as the Republican candidate for governor in a ranked-choice vote at a party convention. But now he's vetoing a bill that would have clarified how the process is supposed to work in local elections.

    TRIVIA: Which Senate Democrat had zero bills vetoed by the Governor this year?

    At the Watercooler:
    - The US House vote on FISA made strange bedfellows--Rep. Bobby Scott siding with Republicans on protecting warrant requirements for police surveillance, while Rep. Jen Kiggans sided with Democrats against it
    - Pro-Palestinian protestors are calling for a ceasefire in Gaza in public forums at the local, state, and federal level--and this is what the campaign season is likely to hinge on.

    Learn more at http://linktr.ee/JacklegMedia

    • 37 min
    Sam Shirazi: The 2024 Primaries

    Sam Shirazi: The 2024 Primaries

    LINKS:
    Sponsor: My Own PAC
    Pod Virginia | Patreon
    Learn more about Jackleg Media

    As it happens every year in Virginia, primary season is just around the corner! And this week, Michael is joined by political analyst Sam Shirazi to break down a few of the most competitive Congressional primaries heading into the 2024 race. Those include the open seat in the 10th District following the retirement of Jennifer Wexton, as well as the open 7th District as Abigail Spanberger sets her sights on the Governor's Mansion. Plus, Bob Good in the 5th District faces a primary from the pro-Trump wing of the Republican Party and Gerry Connolly in the 11th District takes heat from a candidate running on a pro-Palestinian platform.

    • 35 min

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