Mr. McDonnell defeated the Democratic candidate, R. Creigh Deeds, an 18-year state senator from rural Bath County in western Virginia.

Republicans cited the victory as a repudiation of the Obama administration and the national Democratic Party’s agenda, especially that of outgoing Gov. Tim Kaine, who serves as the chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

Nonetheless, exit polls conducted by Edison Research on Tuesday showed that support for Mr. Obama had changed little in the state since his victory here in 2008. The polls suggested that many of Mr. Obama’s voters stayed home on Tuesday, allowing Mr. McDonnell to win on strong support among white men and independents and among voters who say they are very worried about the direction of the nation’s economy.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele dances in the end zone with this statement:

“Tonight, Republicans made history in Virginia.  In a state that had been in the Democrats’ column after the 2008 election – and in DNC Chairman Tim Kaine’s own backyard – Republicans swept all three top state offices in Virginia for the first time since 1997.  These significant victories speak to the fantastic campaigns run by Republicans across the Commonwealth and the voters’ clear rejection of liberal tax and spend policies that Washington Democrats are trying to force on Americans.

“Governor-elect Bob McDonnell’s common-sense conservative message of less spending, lower taxes and more responsible government clearly resonated with voters. His opposition to the Democrats’ plans for higher taxes, government-run health care and a job-killing ‘cap and trade’ bill was rewarded by Virginia voters with a victory tonight. [...]

“The Republican Party’s overwhelming victory in Virginia is a blow to President Obama and the Democrat Party.  It sends a clear signal that voters have had enough of the president’s liberal agenda.  The Republican Party and our grassroots supporters have renewed strength in Virginia, and I look forward to working with Governor-elect McDonnell and Republicans across the state to build on our momentum.”

The committee’s opening hearing on the bill is underway (Webcast here), and it’s a fairly one-sided debate. Right now, the Democrats are discussing the implications of energy policy with members of the Obama administration, while every Republican seat is empty.

As Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) just pointed out, it’s a pretty clear sign of the uphill battle ahead for climate legislation.

“What we should be doing is banning tobacco,” Coburn said in a recent Senate floor speech he gave during a debate on a tobacco regulation bill. “Nobody up here has the courage to do that. It is a big business. There are millions of Americans who are addicted to nicotine. And even if they are not addicted to the nicotine, they are addicted to the habit.”

The Senate this week took up legislation, already passed by the House, to empower the Food and Drug Administration to oversee the tobacco industry. Many Republicans are opposed to the bill, arguing that it would cripple the industry and eliminate jobs vital to certain states. But Coburn, a physician, is opposed for different reasons.

Coburn made his case against the bill because he said it would send a mixed message to the FDA, which is charged with ensuring the safety of food and drugs. Coburn’s argument is that there’s nothing safe about tobacco and that it would make more sense for the Drug Enforcement Administration or the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to regulate it.

The Senate is expected to pass the bill next week, and President Obama has indicated he’ll sign it into law.

That’s the whole post.

Yesterday he signed a budget that did just that.

Florida’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year includes about $2 billion in tax and fee increases, including a $1 per-pack hike in the cigarette tax.

Crist is still trying to have his cake and eat it too, claiming that he still hasn’t supported a broad-based tax increase, since not everybody smokes — it is estimated that about 2 million Floridians smoke, or roughly one in five residents over 18.

The Americans for Tax Reform pledge for congressional candidates requires signers to “oppose any and all efforts to increase the marginal income tax rates for individuals and/or businesses … and oppose any net reduction or elimination of deductions and credits, unless matched dollar for dollar by further reducing tax rates.”

Crist could get off on a technicality here since he’s not in Congress and the budget doesn’t raise income taxes. But wait, he did sign a different ATR pledge — one for governors — that requires signatories commit to “oppose and veto any and all efforts to increase taxes.”

Last month, ATR jumped all over Florida House leaders who signed the pledge and allowed the state budget to include tax increases.

Responsible legislators don’t raise taxes on their constituents, especially when they can least afford it.  Responsible people look to solve problems (cutting excessive spending), rather than looking to patch them with taxes on a declining source of revenue (cigarette taxes).

The Orlando Sentinel notes Crist invokes conservative demigod Ronald Reagan in his defense:

I view it more as a health issue than a tax issue … Ronald Reagan used to say if you want to kill something, tax it. It wouldn’t be bad if we killed smoking. It would save a lot of lives.

Crist might want to avoid comparisons to Reagan, lest Florida voters draw a connection to his vice president, George H.W. Bush, and the “Read my lips: No new taxes” debacle.

Update: Americans for Tax Reform spokesman Adam Radman emails the following statement:

[W]ith the signing of these bills, Crist has broken his Pledge at the state level. We’re disappointed Crist has broken his state pledge which he took to oppose all tax increases of whatever kind. He’s right though about the Federal pledge–it applies only to Federal income taxes. We’re hoping he’ll recommit himself to Florida taxpayers and do better with his Federal pledge than he has with his state Pledge.

But as Greg Sargent points out today, the GOP hypocrisy machine is already in full spin. Here, for example, is Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) today patting Republicans on the back for affording the then-minority Democrats months to scrutinize John Roberts and Samuel Alito, both controversial Supreme Court picks of President George W. Bush.

“I would expect that Senate Democrats will afford the minority the same courtesy as we move forward with this process,” Kyl said in a statement Tuesday.

Yet, Sargent digs a bit to discover that Kyl, during the 2006 debate on Alito’s confirmation, criticized the Democrats for wanting more time to examine the candidate — the same time that Kyl requested today.

One might wonder why we would need more than just a couple of days of debate (the average of recent nominees is two to three days), especially since nothing new has been said for weeks. But, if the public has noticed anything during this process it is that senators value their right of unlimited debate.

And that’s not all. Sargent also found that Alito’s examination window was in part extended — not because the Democrats were stalling or the Republicans were granting some form of courtesy — but because Kyl, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, was busy in Arizona fending off a tough reelection challenger.

And this is all happening just a few hours of the announcement.

“He spoke at our state convention,” said Ross, “and the audience was full of homemade ‘Castle for Senate’ stickers. I think he’s going to make a decision in the next couple of weeks and he’s leaning toward running for Senate. And if he runs, he’ll win.”

Castle is one of the more moderate members of the House GOP conference, although he joined the party’s unanimous votes against the economic stimulus package and the budget blueprint. There’s really not much of a Republican bench in Delaware, so this is one case where the party could get a moderate candidate on the ballot without blocking and tackling the conservative base.

Meet Your New Neighbor, Khalid Sheikh Mohammad?

There’s actually nothing in the 15-page paper suggesting that Khalid Sheikh Mohammad could be released into American society. There is, however, an exposition of the problem of the 17 Uighur detainees who were cleared of enemy combatant status by the Bush administration, and who could be resettled in Virginia. So, by the transitive property: KSM could be walking out to pick up his morning paper while you’re mowing your lawn.

Crist leads former state House Speaker Marco Rubio (R) by 35 points, 53-18. No Democrat comes close to Crist in a general election. But according to the poll, former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-Fla.) is viewed much more favorably than Crist among Republicans, with 81 percent liking Bush to only 50 percent with a favorable opinion of Crist. That’s the only sign so far of some Crist softness among Republicans — and Rubio’s only chance at victory.–

TWI is on Twitter. Please follow us here.