The politics of fear and hate

Was this just over-the-top talk at a hyper-partisan picnic or does Del. Steve Landes really believe his own fear mongering words that help spread distrust and hate among neighbors?

"They're afraid because they're afraid their neighbors are going to tell on them. When you've got a White House that's keeping names of people that don't agree with them, that reminds me of what went on the Soviet Union and in Nazi Germany."

Politics and politicians can be better than this trash talk. Landes is being challenged by Greg Marrow for the 25th House of Delegates seat. It is time for positive leadership in the 25th - for a change.

That ain't chicken feed

The Virginia General Assembly will hold a special session today to deal with the aftermath of Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts that will require Virginia to modify laws so that forensic analysts are available to testify about scientific evidence. The Senate Courts of Justice committee finished work on a bill that requires prosecutors give the defense 28 days notice of intent to use scientific evidence. The defendant would then have 14 days to decide if the analyst will be called into court. The change will place a manpower and cost burden on forensic labs, but that is often the situation when living up to the demands of our Constitution including the Sixth Amendment's Confrontation Clause.

Since that issue is likely resolved, the bigger story today will be Governor Tim Kaine's not-so-surprising announcement that the state's budget shortfall will be in the neighborhood of $1.3 billion. That ain't chicken feed. Kaine has told state agencies to make plans for spending cuts of 5%, 10%, and 15% by early September and those cuts, including elimination of some jobs, will likely roll into effect this fall. House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith and Governor Kaine find themselves in agreement - coming on top of previous budget reductions, these cuts "will be painful." The cumulative shortfall for the two-year budget is $3.7 billion!

Meanwhile, local school officials are saying federal stimulus funds helped them save jobs and programs and budget shortfalls won't be felt in classrooms. That's partly true but it is laced with chicken sh*t. I understand one smaller high school cut 11 sections of classes - and not because of declining enrollment. That translates into larger classes and some courses not be offered. Community colleges are looking at larger classes as well. Superintendents can talk, but talk is cheap. Those cuts will be paid for in the classroom.

Valley Republican delegates are going to push the General Assembly to find funding to reopen the interstate rest areas. They say delaying renovations at DMV headquarters will cover the costs of reopening and running the rest areas. Those renovations may be a wiser investment for long term efficiency of DMV, but they aren't as politically sexy for delegates facing challengers. Isn't it a bit hypocritical for the very delegates who blocked reliable funding for transportation to now be scratching through the grist and pecking at Governor Kaine over the rest areas?

Talkin' in the 25th

In the 25th House of Delegates district Democrats have two candidates - one will become the nominee by virtue of the June 9 primary. I haven't heard of any planned debates, so this may be as good as it gets - earlier this week The News Leader hosted online chats with Jim Noel and Greg Marrow. In the interest of keeping CCC readers up-to-date, here are links to the transcripts.

Jim Noel on April 29

Greg Marrow on April 30

No, this isn't really a debate, but many questions overlap and you will get a better sense of the two men, the issues each will focus on, and how they would take on the incumbent, Steve Landes. The 25th district includes Waynesboro, and parts of Albemarle, Augusta, and Rockingham counties.

I'd welcome your comments and reactions after you've checked out both candidates.

Fair play

With today's edition, The News Leader has now given three delegates, Chris Saxman (R-20), Ben Cline (R-24), and Steve Landes (R-25) generous column space to explain why they voted against accepting federal stimulus money to assist unemployed Virginians and boost our local economies.

This is an issue keenly followed across the state, especially in areas with rapidly rising unemployment. In Augusta County and Staunton it tops 7% and things are even more dire in Waynesboro where the unemployment rate is over 10%. There is a possibility the governor will call a special session to that a fresh look ways to use the federal funding to benefit Virginians.

In the spirit of fair play and a robust debate, The News Leader should offer comparable column space to the individuals who will be challenging those delegates this fall. In the 20th, the Democratic nominee is Erik Curren, in the 24th Jeff Price is the only announced candidate for the Democratic nomination, and in the 25th Greg Marrow and James Noel are running for the nomination which will be decided in the June 9 primary.

Deadline passes

The deadline for filing to run in the June 9 Democratic primary was 5:00 PM yesterday and it passed with no last minute surprises in the central Shenandoah Valley.

In the 20th House of Delegates District, Erik Curren was the only person to file and will be declared the nominee. Curren has announced a formal launch of his campaign with two events on Tuesday, April 14: at 11:45 AM at the Staunton Train Station and at 2:00 PM at Bridgewater Town Hall. Curren will take on the incumbent Chris Saxman.

In the 25th House of Delegates District, Dr. Greg Marrow and Jim Noel filed and will square off in the primary. The winner will take on incumbent Steve Landes.

With both Landes and Saxman voting to turn down $125 million in federal stimulus funds to assist the unemployed, it appears the Democrats have a ready-made issue with which to kick off their campaigns. True, employment in the area isn't as high as in other areas of the state, but it is rising and has topped 10% in Waynesboro. The GOP opposition seemed to be based on a fear that when the federal funds ran out, there would be unfunded mandates passed on to businesses in the form of higher taxes. Hey, how about a sunset provision?

Kind of a GOP Déjà vu - remember when Virginia turned down $15 million in Goals 2000 education funding because they didn't like the strings attached only to later accept the funds? Hum.

Greg Marrow announces challenge

Dr. Greg Marrow, a resident of McGaheysville and a Harrisonburg optometrist, announced he will challenge Steve Landes for the 25th District House of Delegates seat. Marrow's announcement adds another district to the growing list of incumbent Republicans in the central Valley facing challenges. Jeff Price has been in the race to unseat Ben Cline in the 24th District for months. Gene Hart is challenging Matt Lohr in the 26th District. So far, no candidates have emerged to challenge Todd Gilbert in the 15th or Chris Saxman in the 20th, but there are rumors of at least one potential candidate considering a run against Saxman.

The 25th District includes portions of Rockingham and Augusta counties, the City of Waynesboro, and three western Albemarle precincts. Landes hasn't faced a serious challenge since he was first elected  in 1995. With unemployment rising (Waynesboro has reached nearly 8%), more Charlottesville area residents moving to eastern Augusta County and Waynesboro, and frustration with the ultra-partisan GOP leadership in House of Delegates, Marrow will find an opening in even in the most conservative parts of the sprawling district. He says a cornerstone of this campaign will be encouraging economic development and helping manufacturers to use green/alternative energy to grow their businesses and create jobs.

Landes, who one observer at his pre-session town hall meetings described as looking "tired and uninspired," broke ranks and angered conservative Republicans with his support for the smoking ban in restaurants. Then, marching to the party line and trying to cover his own seat, he voted in support of the gerrymander.

But, before becoming the Democratic candidate, Dr. Marrow may face a challenge for the nomination. According to the grist mill, James Noel of Mount Sidney is circulating petitions - so far, he's made no official announcement that's been reported by the media.

Delegate Chicken-Heart

Delegate Steve Landes (R-Augusta) was one of four Republicans on a subcommittee of the House Privileges & Elections committee that killed SB 926. The bill would have created a seven member commission to, beginning in 2011, draw General Assembly and congressional districts without regard to political considerations. The bill was sponsored by Senator Creigh Deeds and had passed the Senate by a 39-0 vote.

It is quite apparent to anyone who has observed the redistricting process that when legislators draw their own districts, they do so with their next campaign foremost in mind. To hell with drawing commonsense district lines that respect communities. To hell with good government. To hell with democracy. Legislators primarily think in terms of protecting their own neck or screwing the other party.

Landes, sticking his head deep into the sands of partisanship, denied the current system protects incumbents (how do you spell POULTRY LITTER?). Landes then dodged talking about the issue:

"One of the problems I've had in the many years I've been here is the legislative branch more and more gives up its authority to other groups or the executive branch..."

By the way, Landes' assertion is absurd and he's either not being forthcoming or didn't understand the bill. The General Assembly would have retained final say on districts created by the commission. Sure there would have been pressure on them to accept the commission's districts, but legislators could override if there was broad support to do so.

Delegate Landes, always the partisan on steroids, was marching to the party line that wants to deny Senator Deeds, a gubernatorial candidate, any legislative successes. Playing politics is more important than good policy. It is more important than democracy. It is apparently more important than the GOP's beloved tax breaks - the House killed another Deeds' bill (SB 1216) that would have created a sales tax exemption for renewable energy systems like wind powered electric generators and solar panels. The partisan chickens in the House didn't even consider the merits of the bill - they killed it on a procedural motion.

Senator Deeds responded to the defeat of SB 926 by saying he wanted an end to "bitter partisanship" in the State Capitol. He continued:

"I think you'll come out with a more moderate form of government. You'll end up with a more problem-solving, focused legislature, whether it's Democratic or Republican."

Senator Deeds has been working on building a bipartisan consensus on this legislation for several sessions. It is ashamed that four partisans on a subcommittee can undo that good work - but such is the legislative process. Deeds promised that as Governor he would appoint an advisory panel on redistricting and use his veto/amendment powers to help craft a plan to remove partisanship from the process.

Blue Risin'

Success breeds success. With Virginia voting Democratic in a presidential election for the first time since 1964, electing a second Democrat as U.S. Senator, and holding a majority of the seats in the House of Representatives, there is optimism about continuing the blue risin' in November '09. A few examples:

Speaker of the House of Delegates, Bill Howell, will face an opponent for the 28th District seat. Stafford County Board of Supervisors Chairman George Schwartz announced that he will run for the Virginia House of Delegates. Schwartz said:

"My term as supervisor is coming to a close. I think I've accomplished what I set out to do. I have every confidence that the board will continue on the track it is presently on next year, and the time is right to take on this next challenge."

As speaker, Bill Howell hasn't been quite the Darth Vader that his predecessor was, but sometimes it is close. At any rate, on the key partisan issues, House Republicans usually march in carefully controlled lockstep to Howell's marching orders. Signs of a crack - some GOP delegates (along with some tobacco Democrats) watered down the restaurant smoking ban agreed to by Governor Kaine and Speaker Howell.

There will be an open seat 52nd District. Jeff Frederick who wears three hats - delegate, Virginia GOP chair, and dunce - announced he won't seek reelection. He's pushing his wife, Amy, to run for the seat. Many observers think this Prince William district, which is trending Democratic and embarrassed by Frederick's strange behaviors, will flip this year.

Here, in the most Republican area of the commonwealth, the central Shenandoah Valley, it looks like Republicans will face challenges in most districts.

In the 24th District, Jeff Price has been on the campaign trail for months and appears to be the likely nominee to take on Ben Cline. Price is a businessman and family man whose wife is a school teacher. From what I can tell, Price wasn't too political in the past, at least not in a partisan way. But, he became frustrated with the extreme Republican dogma, gridlock in the House of Delegates, and with the inept representation provided by Cline. He's run an energetic and creative campaign for the past six months meeting with small groups in Amherst, Rockbridge, and Augusta.

In the 26th District that comprises Harrisonburg and part of Rockingham, Gene Hart is taking on Matt Lohr. Like Cline, Lohr is a party line type guy. Hart calls for "Leadership That Works" which seems to mean ending partisanship and seeking practical solutions. Hart is an attorney with a solo practice in Harrisonburg and his wife is a special education teacher.

In the 25th District, Steve Landes will certainly face an opponent - two Democrats are apparently seeking the nomination which will be decided at the June 9 primary when the statewide candidates will be chosen. James Noel began gathering signatures on petitions a month or so ago and has visited local committees. More recently, Dr. Greg Marrow has expressed interest in running; he's a laser eye surgeon and a cofounder of Seven Generations. The 25th includes Waynesboro and the NE part of Augusta, eastern Rockingam, and a few western Albemarle precincts. Noel is from Augusta; Marrow from Rockingham.

The 20th District includes Staunton, Highland, parts of Augusta and Rockingham, including Bridgewater and Massanetta Springs. At this point, the very partisan incumbent, Chris Saxman, is unopposed as no Democrat has announced intentions to run. Not too surprising since the 20th is a gerrymandered district with solid Republican leanings in the rural areas. But, Democrats point to Staunton becoming increasingly blue and inroads in other areas as well. Some local party activists are hopeful that Bruce Elder might jump into the race. It sounds enticing, but Elder seems to be enjoying his influential role on Staunton City Council. While other names have surfaced and one individual seems to be actively weighting the pros/cons, there haven't been any announcements. Yet!

Similar Democratic activity can be found around the state and there is a good chance many Republican delegates will face real opposition. All of which bodes well for the Democrats picking up the half dozen seats necessary to control the House of Delegates.

Elections and democracy

Free speech at the polls? Remember the controversy about political apparel at polling places last November? It was a First Amendment issue that led to a lawsuit by three Virginia free-speech organizations. On Wednesday, Jan. 21 at 5:00 PM the House Privileges & Elections, Campaign Finance Subcommittee will take up HB 1610 and HB 1643. These bills permit individuals to wear buttons or items of apparel that contain a political candidate's name or a political slogan at polling places. Contact members to express your support for free speech. Delegate Landes represents Waynesboro and parts of Augusta, Rockingham, and Albemarle.

• O'Bannon (chairman)
• Hargrove
• Landes
• Janis
• Joannou
• Sickles

Early birds. Yesterday, the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections approved a bill that will allow voters to cast ballots before Election Day without providing a specific reason. More than half the states have early voting processes and 321,000 Virginians cast absentee ballots in Virginia last November, many in-person. This legislation will make it easier for individuals to vote early without meeting one of 17 specific reasons.

Supporters of the legislation include Governor Tim Kaine, the ACLU, and Nancy Rodrigues, secretary of the State Board of Elections who testified, "The reality is this is the United States of America and we can provide other alternatives." Rodrigues also noted that some voters currently "shop" for an acceptable reason forcing registrars into the difficult role of judging if it fits into one of the 17 currently allowed. 

Senator Mark Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg) voted against the bill citing "the integrity of the system." We'll probably hear more of that Republican sound bite if the bill makes it to the House of Delegates. They have already killed a similar bill and have shown little inclination to make voting more accessible.

Overheard: clucks and yucks

People shouldn't talk so loudly at restaurants, especially if they intend it to be a private conversation. But, in their enthusiasm, a couple of Staunton area Republicans, err... libertarians, err... wingnuts did just that, disturbing the conversation at our table, in more ways than one.

The initial focus of their conversation was finding candidates to run for the Staunton School Board. Candidates who would promote choice, if not school choice, then teacher choice (every mom could tell the school which classroom to assign her child to). There was considerable teacher-bashing claiming most teachers just "see it as a job" and "discourage parents from being involved." While under Virginia law parties cannot nominate for school board, they can support candidates and often encourage and nurture them as part of building a farm team to run for other local and state offices. With Staunton's electoral trends running against them, the city GOP desperately needs to rebuild that farm team.

Their conversation drifted to Delegate Chris Saxman and Delegate Steve Landes (sorry Emmett, guess they don't consider you to be one of them) and wondering if either was on an education committee in the General Assembly. Now, if these two were really GOP activists (one implied he was on the Staunton committee), you'd think they'd be better informed... Landes has long been a member and currently chairs the House Education Committee. At any rate, they didn't have much confidence that the General Assembly would do the kind of things these two wanted, one saying, "all they do is throw money at it." Hum, over the next few weeks local school boards will likely find some of that thrown money was written on bad checks.

Shifting from the topic of education they found common ground in bashing Democrats saying all the nation's new majority party wanted was to make everyone equal and to do that would take away liberty. This led to one declaring that government had no place in any kind of "charity" work.

Other interesting and disturbing? points they made:

• Joe McCarthy didn't find all the reds in Hollywood - the place has long been infested with them. Find out all about it in the neocon book, Red Star Over Hollywood. Not sure what prompted this topic except maybe Sunday's Oscars had their bile churning.
• They ought to get new "Win the War!" yard signs that say "Win the War, DAMMIT!" Yes, he spelled it for everyone in the restaurant.
• Churchville area residents Alex Avery and Dennis Avery are great role models. Google 'em and judge for yourself.

As lunch wrapped up they promised each other to stay in touch and the older gentleman said he'd let the other know when the Staunton Republican Committee would be meeting. The conversation lingered a moment more - gotta get the right candidates to get "education under control." As they pulled out of the lot, I noticed one of their SUVs was still plastered with multiple McCain/Palin stickers. Living in the past?

Bowing at the Alter

In what has become an annual pilgrimage, a host of legislators bowed at the alter of Dean Welty and the Valley Family Forum at their annual "Unveiling" last Friday. Attending werethe predictable Republicans: Del. Matt Lohr of Broadway, Del. Steve Landes of Weyers Cave, Del. Chris Saxman of Staunton, Del. Ben Cline of Rockbridge, Sen. Mark Obenshain of Harrisonburg, and Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel of Winchester. Noticeably absent was Sen. Emmett Hanger who, while he may agree on some issues, is clearly not in lockstep with this crowd . Todd Gilbert was also a no-show.

According to Welty, the mission of the Valley Family Forum is

"Our purpose is no different tonight than [in years past]. Our purpose is to defend and rebuild the moral foundation of the nation. Unless we rebuild the foundation that protects our culture, we cannot survive."

No real specifics there, but one can assume they want to ban all abortions, give vouchers or tax breaks for private schools and home schoolers, support abstinence-only sex education, promote prayer in public school, make their God a player in public policy.

So, what did the legislators offer up? Off-shore oil drilling. Anti-union legislation. Kicking Planned Parenthood out of sex education classes. Requiring parental permission for students to join clubs.

I guess off-shore drilling might connect to families by providing some jobs, but it is difficult to see the relationship to VFF goals. How about green jobs like might be provided by wind power? Unions are anti-family? Huh? So, because you disagree with organization's stand on choice/abortion, the state shouldn't work with Planned Parenthood in preventing teen pregnancy? That's hardly productive solution!

Some of the ideas made some sense, but probably aren't high on the VFF wish list. Lohr suggested easing some mandates of SOLs and NCLB because of the coming budget cuts to public schools. And, Landes' idea about donating unused medications to free clinics has merit and should be explored.

Read more at the DNR and check out the long list of comments in their online forum. Make your own comment. Those comments and common sense tell us the "family values" pushed by Valley Family Forum are out of the mainstream of many families in the Shenandoah Valley and most people in the Commonwealth. We can hope that, as they make decisions affecting us all, legislators will listen to the other voices that make up their constituencies. 

Where in the world is Chris?

Where's Chris? Chris Saxman, that is.

Delegate Saxman has been AWOL since his man, McCain, took a drubbing in Virginia last Tuesday. Not only did Virginia go Democratic for the first time since 1964 under his leadership, Saxman's hometown, Staunton turned blue.

Saxman was co-chair of McCain's campaign and had spent weeks discounting the polls and justifying the negative robo-calls that, in the end, may have done more harm than good. He'd dropped the hint that a job in a McCain administration sounded good and he was more than willing to give up his seat in the House of Delegates.

Out at the grist mill there is talk about Delegate Saxman not really being interested in representing this district, but sees it as a stepping stone. He floated his name as a potential candidate for U.S. Senate - that was mostly about getting play in the media and buzz among GOP activists. He's boxed in by Bolling running for Lt. Governor again - yep, Chris really wanted to run for that. With nowhere to go that met his ego, Chris hoped McCain would whisk him away to the nation's capitol.

There is also talk about Saxman being one of the least liked legislators by his colleagues in Richmond. Perhaps it is his self-righteous attitude. There's a hint of arrogance and an unwillingness to compromise. Perhaps that is why he isn't considered a very effective as a legislator.

Residents who journey to Richmond to be citizen-lobbyists report that when pressed on issues with which he disagrees, he is known to change the topic to something totally irrelevant or cut the meeting short - disrespecting his own constituents. He is right and his mind is set in stone, so why waste his valuable time in discussion?

So, as the parties eye the 2009 elections, the speculation that he'll have an opponent isn't too surprising. One name that surfaces is Bruce Elder who previously challenged Saxman and has built a resume on Staunton City Council. There is also talk, without a name as yet, of an individual from Bridgewater who is interested.

It appears Republicans will be challenged throughout their stronghold in the Shenandoah Valley. Jeff Price of Amherst Co. has already announced he'll challenge Ben Cline. And, most Democrats, seeing Valley cities turning blue, expect to nominate candidates to challenge Matt Lohr and Steve Landes as well.

Early prediction: although Democrats won't bump off all of these entrenched incumbents, their new-found strength in Virginia increases their odds of capturing control of the House of Delegates. Stay tuned.

The chicken and the pot hole

Every newspaper and state blog is blasting the failure of the General Assembly to find a compromise to fix Virginia's roads. Governor Kaine said it best: "It was like a 'Seinfeld' episode; I mean a show about nothing. In the House, it was a road session about nothing."

Delegate Steve Landes (R-Augusta) said the House of Delegates were called "delegates" because they are supposed to do what the people want. I guess that means the people want nothing done - perhaps so.

Sometimes problems have to get worse before they get better. Such is obviously the case with Virginia's pot holes. By any measure this is a political loss for the governor as well as the state. Guess we'll have to see how it plays out in the '09 elections when all 100 members of the House of Delegates stand for accountability before the voters. My guess is that some GOP delegates, especially from NOVA and Hampton Roads, will have some explaining to do. That's when the chicken will cross the road.

The stalemate on appointments probably works out as win for the governor. The legislature failed to make appointments to the Virginia Supreme Court, several circuit courts, and the State Corporation Commission. Governor Kaine will now make recess appointments that next year's session will have to confirm. Time will tell if House Republicans will kick out a judge who has already been seated.

For now, our political leaders have dropped the basket and broken all the eggs. Cluck.