Who’s Afraid of Virginia?

… Nearly half a century after the sexual revolution, the politics of that revolution have hit Virginia with a vengeance. …

There is a self-evident truth in contemporary politics: any constituency angered, threatened or fearful of the way the state exercises power is motivated to turn out to vote. The converse rule is: voter turnout declines among those groups whose goals and agendas are protected by those in power.

In Virginia, this means that social liberals are strongly motivated to go to the polls on Nov. 6 to express their opposition to policies supported by Republican state officials. [cont.]

Thomas Edsall, Columbia U. (NYT)