Conservative institute makes the poll tax look like the next best thing since sliced bread

Here’s a great way to raise revenue Virginia, let’s tax those least able to withstand it, college tuition payers.

Doesn’t sound like a good idea does it? If you’re the Thomas Jefferson Institute, however, it sounds like a phenomenal idea, an idea that could assuage the conservative’s never-ending search for ways to balance the financial books, primarily for the benefit of Virginia’s wealthy.

But wait, the brilliant ideas keep rolling out like Ken dolls from a factory wheel.

Here’s a short list of other taxable things in the commonwealth: prescription drugs, legal services, and (wait for it) food stamps. These ideas make the poll tax look like the next best thing since sliced bread!

You’ve got to hand it to the Thomas Jefferson Institute for laying out “gutsy” tax ideas, right? Just as we wouldn’t congratulate John Hinkley for testing how many bullets it takes to assassinate President Reagan, we shouldn’t thank the Thomas Jefferson Institute for throwing around obnoxiously absurd ideas regarding taxation. 

Jones calls an end to the Richmond Juvenile Detention Center after loss of confidence

In what is one of Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ more laudable decisions in recent memory, Richmond’s mayor announced that the city would not renew its license for the Richmond Juvenile Detention Center[1] after the facility’s operators and management lost his confidence.

The detention center has been under close scrutiny over concerns regarding personnel issues and allegations of illegal behavior[2].

In January the Virginia Board of Juvenile Justice placed the detention center on probation due to concerns of safety. In early April, the board extended the probation period until January 2013.

With this kind of concern constantly looming over a sensitive facility in the criminal justice system like the Richmond Juvenile Detention Center, the only practical step the mayor could take was to terminate its license with the city, and that’s what Jones did.

Richmond’s youth, whether “delinquents” or not, deserve a chance to better themselves in life just as much as they deserve respect. Time and again it’s seemed that neither has been afforded to the youth of Richmond, and the detention center debacle is only the most publicized example of this phenomenon.

Much more will have to be done to undermine the corruption that appears to have spread to every corner of Richmond’s government in one way or another, a corruption that has undercut a focus on bettering Richmond’s youth. But for now, the closure of the Richmond Juvenile Detention Center is a good first step.

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[1] http://www.richmondgov.com/JusticeServices/JuvenileDetentionCenter.aspx

[2] http://www.nbc12.com/story/17401873/richmond-juvenile-detention-center-criminal-investigation

New natural gas power plant construction underway, but is natural gas the future?

Dominion Virginia Power’s construction of their $1.1 billion natural gas-fired power plant was started earlier this week as one of Virginia’s largest utilities begins its shift toward more natural gas.

By December 2014, the 1,239 megawatt plant is anticipated to begin delivering power.

One of the major headlines that accompanied the beginning of construction on the natural gas power plant was unsurprisingly jobs. According to Cathy Green, spokeswoman of contractor Zachry Industrial Inc.[1], her company has received 368 applications for construction jobs.

In early 2014, at the peak of construction, up to 900 workers may be employed at the power plant.[2] After the power plant opens, it will employ about 30 people.

While Dominion has smartly made the “job creation” sound-bite its first line of offense, what this theme obscures are the jobs that would be created if Dominion Virginia Power shifted to clean forms of energy such as wind and solar.

Not only would short and long term jobs be created in Virginia, our air would be cleaner and presumably our utility rates would decline after the front end costs of construction had phased out. It’s a win on every possible front.

Unfortunately for Virginians, Dominion apparently sees greater profit margins stemming from natural gas. In fact, it is not an exaggeration to claim that the only motive that drives Dominion is the profit motive.

The problem is that the profit motive of Dominion’s is only benefiting Dominion and its shareholders, not the average Virginian.

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[1] http://www.zhi.com/

[2] http://www.winchesterstar.com/

Standing political ads should be legislated against for the good of the people

In between restricting the rights of women and temporarily relieving peaceful protesters of the ability to go back to their own homes, Gov. McDonnell has found the time to plump up his own image for what could be a vice-presidential nomination in a new TV ad.

Opportunity Virginia, McDonnell’s very own political organization, is forking out $400,000[1] to broadcast the 30-second ad throughout the commonwealth for 10 days that began on Wednesday.[2]

Besides the list of environmentally reprehensible companies which are bankrolling McDonnell’s Opportunity Virginia, companies like Smithfield, Wal-Mart, and of course, Alpha Natural Resources, it’s highly deplorable that a politician who has done so little for the average Virginian would begin his political dance so openly and with so many serious issues left to address in Virginia.

To be sure, it’s not just McDonnell or the Republican Party who is guilty of this political sin. McDonnell’s effort is only the most visible for a politician in Virginia.

A law should be passed which prohibits elected officials from pimping themselves out until they are a few months away from reelection or leaving office. This would give these ambitious folks an opportunity to tout their credentials while legally forcing them to focus on their job as representatives of the people for most of their term.

Elected office is not a stepping stone or a weigh-station to line ones pockets. It’s a mountainous responsibility that should only be sought by those who wish to do good by their fellow countrymen and women. I know, it’s a high-minded statement, but it’s a standard for which we should achieve, even if it’s the road virtually untraveled. 

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[1] One wonders how many degrees could be earned or how many mouths fed with $400,000? It’s all about power, though, right?

[2] http://www.baconsrebellion.com/2012/04/whos-paying-for-mcdonnells-happy-talk-tv-ads.html

Virginians overwhelmingly oppose fracking inside the George Washington National Forest

With national headlines ringing with negative news regarding horizontal hydraulic fracturing[1], it isn’t surprising that 70% of the Virginians who submitted a public comment regarding the new management plan for the George Washington National Forest[2] supported a ban on horizontal drilling for natural gas inside the forest.

The 6,700 comments were analyzed by Shenandoah Valley Network and Land, Air, Water Stewardship Action Group.

The fracking ban itself would pertain to George Washington National Forest’s 1 million acres. But because approximately half of the park sits on top of the Marcellus shale formation,  Virginians opposing natural gas extraction inside the park may have a protracted battle on their hands.[3]

With so much of our country’s lands being put under the chopping block for natural gas extraction, one has to wonder whether “energy independence” is all its “fracked” up to be, at least energy independence predicated upon digging and drilling.

For now, Virginians have made it clear that our states’ treasures won’t be put under the environmental constraints that inevitably follow horizontal hydraulic fracturing.

Energy independence or not, Virginia’s future isn’t for sale.

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[1] http://www.care2.com/causes/epa-steps-in-on-fracking.html

[2]http://www.fs.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsinternet/!ut/p/c5/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os3gjAwhwtDDw9_AI8zPwhQoY6IeDdGCqCPOBqwDLG-AAjgb6fh75uan6BdnZaY6OiooA1tkqlQ!!/dl3/d3/L2dJQSEvUUt3QS9ZQnZ3LzZfMjAwMDAwMDBBODBPSEhWTjBNMDAwMDAwMDA!/?ss=110808&navtype=forestBean&navid=091000000000000&pnavid=null&cid=null&ttype=main&pname=George/

[3] Where there are large deposits of natural gas, there are large profits to be made and powerful special interests who wish to gain. If Virginians do not stand up and relentlessly fight for their public lands, they will lose them.

McDonnell calls on university presidents to stabilize tuition rates in Virginia

For a tried and true “conservative,” Governor McDonnell’s recent call for Virginia’s college presidents to keep tuition rates stable sounds a lot like that dreaded word, “socialism.”

In a letter released on Monday, McDonnell commented that “During the last decade, Virginia students experienced on average, double-digit tuition increases annually.”[1] He went on to state that “This trend is unacceptable and cannot continue.”

Indeed, as one of the students who felt the financial pinch of a world economy gone sour and the subsequent tuition hikes which followed, I give three cheers to Gov. McDonnell for urging Virginia’s colleges to keep their degrees affordable for the middle and working class Virginian.

But imagine if Tim Kaine were to make the same request of college presidents. Many on the political right would be up in arms over such a heavy-handed “socialist” request. Somehow, though, conservatives escape these charges when they go about advocating the same policies.

Take President Obama’s idea for the individual mandate. What was originally a conservative idea touted by some leaders within the Republican Party suddenly became political hemlock once it was picked up by President Obama.[2] The quality of the idea has not however changed.

While Gov. McDonnell should be praised for stepping in to hold back the relentless tide of tuition hikes, liberals and the Democratic Party need to be more willing to call out conservatives who support views and policies that run counter to their conservative orthodoxy.  

Political games at the expense of America’s welfare have to stop. Maybe some of these can be stopped once it’s made abundantly clear that, counter to conservative belief, sometimes it is necessary for government to persuade or even step into the economic arena momentarily to “fix” unsustainable problems.

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[1] http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/apr/23/mcdonnell-asks-va-universities-keep-tuition-check/

[2] http://www.healthcare-now.org/conservatives-and-liberals-agree-medicare-for-all-would-be-constitutional/

Richmond Earth Day Festival is a reminder of problems that remain

The sun and warm weather blessed Richmond’s Earth Day Festival[1] on Saturday as hundreds of attendees came to celebrate Mother Earth.

The vendors at the Earth Day Festival comprised an impressive variety of environmental nonprofits, solar companies, geothermal companies, state mandated energy efficiency agencies, and much more outside and in-between.

Live music and local beer also added an air of festivity to the occasion.

But the presence of the numerous “issue” vendors (e.g. Virginia Conservation Network, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, etc) also served as a reminder of how far we as a country and as a species have left to go to save our planet from ecological collapse.

Moreover, it’s unclear whether the human species has moved closer or further away from a set of solutions to our planet’s woes 42 years after the first celebration of Earth Day. When one problem is solved, we seem to create 2 more in its shadow.

We remain optimistic because the alternative is no more appealing. But the window of time to decisively act to stem the rising tide of climate change is closing quickly, if it hasn’t closed already. Virginians in particular can no longer put off till tomorrow what must be done today: saving our planet through individual, communal, and political means.

Change is hardly ever easy, but never has it been more necessary than it is today.

[1] http://www.styleweekly.com/general/pdfs/earth_day_online.pdf

Unemployment drops but McDonnell is not the only one to thank

The Virginia Employment Commission reported on Friday that Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declined 0.1% to 5.6%. The most recent drop marks the fourth consecutive monthly decline.

Gov. McDonnell quickly turned the most recent figures into a political victory, stating that the employment figures are evidence that “Virginia is growing strong again.”

The employment commission also noted that Virginia’s unemployment rate has been declining since January 2010, the same month that Gov. Tim Kaine handed over the keys to the Governor’s Mansion to Bob McDonnell.

So unless Gov. McDonnell’s election victory triggered an automatic trend down in Virginia’s unemployment rate, Gov. Kaine has to be given just as much credit for Virginia’s employment success as McDonnell wants to give himself.

Tim Kaine did not, however, have to enforce barbaric abortion laws and restrict the civil rights[1] of Virginians to achieve economic success like Gov. McDonnell has done. What economic success Gov. McDonnell has achieved in Virginia, then, has come at a price to the individual liberties of Virginians.

Economic success at any cost is not the way forward for Virginia. Virginia needs solid leadership and a vision to continually allow the best in Virginian’s to manifest itself in our economy. McDonnell offers neither.

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[1] http://www.readthehook.com/103187/over-charged-capitol-protesters-offered-community-service-deal

The leader of gun control, McDonnell, asks other governors to tighten gun background checks

Gov. Bob McDonnell recently sent a letter asking every governor in the country to support an improvement in background checks for the purchase of guns. Not surprisingly for a political showman like McDonnell, the letter was sent out the same week as the 5-year anniversary of the Virginia Tech shootings[1] that left 32 dead and 17 wounded.

The gunman during the shootings at Virginia Tech was reportedly able to buy a gun because his mental health information was not available.

Due to ambiguities in the law regarding the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, the commonwealth wasn’t submitting mental health information on individuals who voluntarily admitted themselves to a treatment facility but were required to receive outpatient treatment. The law was subsequently changed after the shootings at Tech to improve the national database used for background checks, but not much else[2].

The question needs to be asked, however, about how likely it is that an individual with “mental health problems” will kill relative to a “normal” individual. Is it clear that society is at a greater mortal risk from individuals with a checkered mental health background?

What seems more likely is that the media and the public catch on to certain “facts about the case” that throw particular individual attributes out of proportion to their actual danger to society. How many stories, for example, have you seen on the news that alleges a man has murdered his family? Does anyone mention if this person is “ill?” Often times, they don’t.

The Virginia Tech shootings capture a horrific chapter in Virginia’s history, lending reason as to why so many Virginians put a special focus on this case and explaining why it happened.

But it is in no way clear that individuals with mental health issues, on the average, are more likely to kill than a “normal” population of Americans. So what is effectively happening is that one group, those with mental health problems, are being targeted and discriminated against unjustifiably.

Given Virginia’s long history of discrimination, it’s not much of a surprise that another group is being targeted for fallacious reasons.

It’s far from okay. It’s far from the principles that we all cherish as Americans.

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[1] http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-virginia-tech-shooting-20120414,0,6529447.story

[2] http://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/Politically-gun-control-is-dead-3486658.php

VA General Assembly approves changes to VRS: the implicit contract remains in place

Amid the tumult of the budget approval earlier in the week, the General Assembly also “accepted” Gov. McDonnell’s amendments on Wednesday to bills that will make broad changes to Virginia’s public employee pension system.  

Virginia localities got a financial break when the Virginia House of Delegates and Senate gave the okay to Gov. McDonnell’s proposal to permit cities, towns and counties a five year window to phase in pay raises on the order of 5% that teachers and local employees will be required to add to the underfunded Virginia Retirement System (VRS).

County and city heads requested the amendment due to concerns about the immediate and large expansion in payroll expenses they will incur that would force a raise in taxes or a cut in services.

In a statement after the passage of the VRS reforms in the General Assembly, Gov. McDonnell struck a high-minded note. “We owe it to our dedicated and hard working teachers, police officers and state employees to ensure that their retirements will be there for them when their public service concludes,”[1] McDonnell stated.

Indeed, the implicit contract between state employee and state government, that the former should expect a reasonable retirement package from the latter in lieu of greater pay and greater opportunity for advancement in the private sector, is not only right on a practical level, it’s simply the right thing to do morally.

But while McDonnell’s statement had all of the bells and whistles of a political speech, it’s not farfetched to assume that Virginia’s GOP may come back to this issue in the near future to undermine Virginia’s “implicit contract.”

Virginia, like every other state in the U.S., should continue to respect the “implicit contract” between state employee and state government. Turning our backs on those who have served the commonwealth to save a few dollars is a recipe for a host of negative outcomes. 

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[1] http://augustafreepress.com/2012/04/16/moodys-virginia-pension-reforms-credit-positive/

Another day, another Democratic Party fold: Sen. Colgan surprises this time

Just when it looked as though Democrats in Virginia’s Senate might hold firm and squeeze reasonable concessions out of the Republican Party, Sen. Charles Colgan (D-Prince William County)[1] jumped ship and handed the Senate GOP a relatively easy budget victory.

Colgan told reporters “I didn’t sleep well last night”[2] when attempting to explain his about-face that sent a wave of shock through the Democratic Party.

We will never know what concessions the Democratic Party could have gained in the budget fight, but for all of the fear-mongering about a “government shutdown,” that outcome never really seemed likely to observers, a blow to what Colgan seemed to ever so slightly imply. Colgan effectively punted the ball before fourth down.

So continues the long-standing Democratic Party tradition of caving before all of the political cards have been dealt, not only dropping possible GOP concessions but making it all the more difficult to bargain in a political stand-off next time around.

Can anyone imagine Virginia’s Republican Party simply ignoring future Democratic threats of a showdown? Maybe they’ll be more willing to make the Democratic side sweat it out and have a bad night’s sleep?

Because of one man’s inability to sleep, thousands of Virginians will now face a tougher economic burden for the foreseeable future. Thanks, then, Sen. Colgan for representing the interests of the people of Virginia.

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[1] http://www.richmondsunlight.com/legislator/cjcolgan/

[2] http://hamptonroads.com/2012/04/virginia-senate-passes-twoyear-85-billion-budget

Far-right institute denied the remainder of Mann’s climate records on Monday

On Monday, the far-right American Tradition Institute (ATI)[1] lost in its legal attempt to obtain thousands of records related to climate scientist Michael Mann[2].

Paul Sheridan, a retired Arlington Circuit Judge, denied “without prejudice” a motion filed by the ATI which argued that the University of Virginia (UVA) waived its right to Mann’s records when it released them to Mann’s lawyer in 2011.

Attorneys for UVA countered that it had not waived its rights to the documents because the university and Mann had a common interest agreement.

Unfortunately, ATI still has the ability to pursue the case again at a future date.

It is also worth mentioning that the esteemed lover of wisdom and science, Del. Robert Marshall (R-Prince William)[3] was also on hand at the ruling on Monday to lend his momentous moral authority to the occasion. It was this paragon of scientific freedom that initially filed the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requesting Mr. Mann’s records from the university, thus beginning what has since been a lightning rod issue for GOP members seeking to make the history books as homo-sapiens of a less civilized epoch.

I’ve always wondered this, even if Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, Del. Marshall, and/or the ATI got their hands on the rest of Mann’s documents, who amongst these stewards of climate science would interpret them? ATI, a known far-right organization? Perhaps Cuccinelli and Marshall would stun everyone with their own brilliance and make sense out of the records themselves?

The longer that political figures in Virginia pursue this issue, the longer more important issues are ignored, like what to do about mitigating the effects of climate change in Virginia?

For the sake of the commonwealth and our country, it’s time to move on.  

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[1] http://www.atinstitute.org/

[2] http://www.globalclimatescam.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/manntree-highres.jpg

[3] http://www.richmondsunlight.com/legislator/rgmarshall/

Senate Democrats refuse to back down over payments for Dulles Toll Road

It looks as though Democrats in Virginia’s Senate will finally stand their ground over the issue of transportation and the costs associated with it as the third fiscal biennial budget was tossed in the Senate after both party’s failed to reach a compromise over how much Northern Virginians will have to fork over to drive the Dulles Toll Road.[1]

All is not lost, however, as both political groups have until the beginning of July 1^st to reach a compromise over the transportation quandary.

Of course, Bob McDonnell did little to alleviate the political fires that have been burning in the Senate when he commented, “And I have to say, this is the most fiscally irresponsible act that I’ve seen during my career.” The governor’s comment was clearly aimed at Democrats in the Senate, and just as clearly not well thought out.

Democrats in the Senate had legitimate concerns about the budget, however. The primary concern was the budget’s absence of $300 million to blanket the financial hardships that drivers would have endured on the Dulles Toll Road. The tolls for the Dulles Toll Road were implemented in order to help pay for an extension of the Metro rail system to Dulles International Airport.

But according to Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment (R-James City County), “they [Senate Democrats] are trying to embarrass and bring down Gov. McDonnell.” McDonnell does a fine job of that on his own, however.

This time around, Senate Democrats are standing up for the policies that their constituents voted them into office to uphold and promote. I know it will be difficult for the Republican Party of Virginia to do, but this time they’ll actually have to give a little bit more than they’re taking.

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[1] http://hamptonroads.com/2012/04/democrats-virginia-senate-block-budget-again

Marshall’s HB 1160 is necessary to retain fundamental rights of Virginians

Virginia Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William) recently submitted an 11-page legal memo requesting Gov. Bob McDonnell sign Marshall’s HB 1160[1], a piece of legislation that would disallow state agencies and their employees from assisting in the military detention of U.S. Citizens.

House Bill 1160, easily sailing through both chambers of Virginia’s legislature, attempts to plug the hole of a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2012 that effectively allows the indefinite detention of U.S. citizens without trial by the government.

McDonnell, the hawkish conservative that he is, has stated his concerns with the bill for the consequences it might have on information-sharing between state and local law enforcement.

On this rarest of rare occasions, Marshall’s HB 1160 is a necessary panacea to the open ended nature of the NDAA towards the indefinite government detention of U.S. citizens without trial.

Terrorist or no terrorist, the U.S. Constitution still upholds the right of habeas corpus for U.S. citizens. Our country’s founding laws and principles should not be undercut by the perceived need for safety and alleged risk reduction. HB 1160 is only, therefore, putting back into place what was disposed of during the “war on terror.”

We have exhausted too many individual rights as a country on this vague and ever pervasive war on terror. As was argued at the beginning of the debate over the Patriot Act and its successors, if the U.S. continues to pull back the reins on the rights of Americans, those who sought to do America harm will have already won.

The threat of terrorism is real. But what is even more real to me is the threat of individual rights being eroded by a war that looks to have no end.  

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[1] http://www.richmondsunlight.com/bill/2012/hb1160/

Landfill Gas a Renewable Form of Energy? The Majority of VA’s Representatives Apparently Thought So

When you think of landfill gas (which I’m sure you’re often inclined to do), what comes to mind? Landfill? Gas? Images of garbage stacked on top of one another? What about renewable energy? If by some reason you happened to think of the latter, you and Del. John Cosgrove in particular have something in common.

As part of my attempt to point out some of the ridiculous environmental bills that were passed through this session of the General Assembly alone, witness HB232. This bill “Expands the definition of renewable energy to include landfill gas.” HB232 also states that the RPS Goals under the renewable energy portfolio standard program can be made up of “renewable thermal energy equivalents.”

While I can’t pretend to fully understand what this last part means, I suspect that this provision allows energy sources such as landfill gas, among other questionable “renewable” sources of energy, to be counted under Virginia’s RPS Goals. Clearly, this violates the spirit of the RPS goals insofar as the only actual forms of renewable energy are wind and solar energy.

But just as Columbus thought he had discovered India when he landed in the West Indies, representatives in Virginia’s General Assembly keep mistaking one renewable form of energy after another for the real thing. 

Unfortunately, time is running out on this voyage of ours to promote real renewable forms of energy in Virginia before the consequences of fossil fuel use become “runaway” with respect to climate change. Their maps obviously need to be redrawn! 

Virginia Uranium Inc’s Lobbying Power Rivals That of a Dozen Public School Groups in VA

How many registered lobbyists would you guess Virginia Uranium Inc. (VUI) has had over the past year (from May 2011-April 2012)? 5? 7? How about 12? None of the above. VUI now has 19 lobbyists in its employ. Yes, 19[1].

By contrast, if you search “public school” on the Virginia Public Access Project’s (VPAP) website, you’ll find “12 Client Companies/Groups[2],” or 11 public school localities and one National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Out of these 12 entities, only 13 registered lobbyists are on record for the past 2 reporting periods. Virginia Uranium Inc. has 19 in the last reporting period alone.

Imagine what public advocacy and environmental groups in Virginia could accomplish if each had 19 lobbyists!

What is equally unique (and threatening to the public health interests of Virginians) is the diversity of lobbying firms that VUI has chosen to pick from: Capital Results LLC, Hunton & Williams, Kemper Consulting Inc, McGuire Woods, Vectre Corp. I’ll point out what you’ve already surmised, this isn’t a chump list of lobbyists. Rather, this is a strategic list of heavy-hitting lobbying and consulting firms placed like so many pieces on the chest-board of public policy to take the king.

Let me end with an excerpt from Kemper Consulting’s official website: “The firm is comprised of veteran lobbyists, former senior members of the Executive Branch, and experienced and highly recognized lawyers and consultants.”[3]

Uranium mining is not inevitable in Virginia, but Virginians must retain an attentive eye on the issue, constantly calling and writing to their local papers and elected representatives about their reservations regarding uranium mining. A number of good people in southern Virginia stand to lose a great deal if we fail to act. Who’s to say that we won’t be next?

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[1] http://www.vpap.org/lobbyists/lobbying_client/148831

[2] http://www.vpap.org/lobbyists/search?query=public+school&search=clients

[3] http://kemperconsult.com/

Allen’s quote on Tuesday reconfirms his neoconservative bent

Spoken like a true pseudo conservative, George Allen’s comment on Tuesday regarding the primary duty of  the federal government in front of 30 veterans at the American Legion Post 176[1] made it clear that Allen would try to lead Virginia and the rest of the country down the same dead-end path as the Bush administration if elected U.S. Senator for Virginia.

Allen stated that “The primary responsibility of the federal government is national defense and national security.”[2] While this quote may seem like a dumbed down version of libertarianism, what it really equates to is another round of neo-conservatism, the kind of neo-conservatism that brought the U.S. into 2 wars and exploded our national debt.

Whether you’re a self-proclaimed liberal, conservative, or libertarian, George Allen shouldn’t be at the top of your docket for viable political representatives in Virginia. Not only is Allen is a big government conservative, he barely hides his rampant cronyism when walking along the halls of power in Virginia’s capital or D.C. That is, Allen is hardly a “representative” of the people.

Allen is, therefore, the type of politician that America has become disgusted with. A player in the old political habits of pork barreling and back-slapping for favors, George Allen is precisely what Virginia and the country doesn’t need.

Tim Kaine, by contrast, is a man of integrity and a representative of the people. Is Kaine perfect? No, but who is? Especially when compared to George Allen though, who you put your vote down for in the upcoming senatorial election should be a no brainer.

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[1] http://www.vapost176.org/

[2] http://burke.patch.com/articles/george-allen-federal-government-s-top-responsibility-is-defense

Howell’s remarks add another sore spot on the VA GOP’s war against women

As if the Republican Party of Virginia needed another black eye with women in the commonwealth, House Speaker Bill Howell[1] (R-Stafford County) added another sore spot on Thursday when he told ProgressVA’s[2] executive director, Anna Scholl, that she didn’t understand him because he wasn’t using “little enough words.”

The remarks followed an American Executive Exchange Council (ALEC) study that placed Virginia third among states for economic competitiveness and pro-business policies.[3]

Howell became noticeably frustrated when asked by Anna Scholl to clarify upon the inaccuracies alleged by Howell of a recent ProgressVA report that highlighted ALEC’s legislative and financial influence in Virginia.

If only these women would stop concerning themselves with the important issues of government, Howell might as well have said. And it’s arguable that many within the Virginia GOP feel the same way.

From transvaginal ultrasounds to personhood bills, and now to verbal gaffes about the use of complex diction, the VA GOP appears to be doing little more than degrading the agency and the intelligence of women in a systematic manner and, in Howell’s case, off-the cuff manner.

By telling a woman when personhood begins in her womb, the VA GOP has effectively stripped women in the commonwealth of making that decision for themselves. After all, who knows better than a man about what constitutes personhood in a woman’s body?

A similar deduction of agency and intelligence with regards to women can also be cited for the ultrasound measure which passed through the General Assembly in 2012.

Virginia’s Republicans should look at their calendars. It’s 2012, not 1860. It’s time to recognize that all human beings deserve the same rights and respect.

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[1] http://www.williamjhowell.org/

[2] http://www.progressva.org/

[3] http://www.alec.org/