HindSight, ForeSight

A family member is a member of VGEA, the Virginia Governmental Employees Association. In the past couple of months their newsletter, ForeSight, has been showing up in the mail... actually on time and with real news and commentary. In the past many saw VGEA as a weak step sister of similar organizations in the Commonwealth. Compared to the Virginia Education Association, for example, VGEA seemed impotent and largely ignored by legislators and the governor. On key issues of pay, of the Virginia Retirement System, and of working conditions it was hard to see how VGEA had much impact.

Things seem to be changing under the leadership of executive director R. Ronald Jordan and president William Dunlap. Communication with members is improving. Advocacy will hopefully be more forceful. If so, members will be more energized and engaged... which is the most vital way employee groups can exert influence. Kudos to those leaders and members who are moving VGEA towards greater influence - it is about time state employee voices were heard loud and clear.

Puppet masters of the tea party

Many of its organizers like to say the tea party is a "grassroots" organization. Maybe there is a bit of popular uprising involved, but there is plenty of Koch fertilizer feeding the roots... just like there is every time a Democrat is in the White House. These billionaire brothers are waging war against President Obama, Social Security, the environment, and anything (and anybody) they see as progressive. Read more about David and Charles Koch and how they pull the puppet strings of the tea party, of "think tanks" who don't really think but push an agenda, and of bought and paid for politicians and pundits in a fascinating exposé, Covert Operations, in The New Yorker.

On the (rail) road again?

After more than a half century of policies favoring highways, cars, and big oil it is time for all governments, including the Commonwealth of Virginia to get on board the train! Intercity passenger rail service can help ease crowded roads while weaning us from foreign oil and cleaning our air. Meredith Richards, a former Charlottesville city councilor lays out a compelling case for rail in "Intercity Passenger Rail in Virginia: What's on Track for Virginia?" in The Virginia News Letter. Breaking from policies of the past will take leadership - is our governor and General Assembly up to it?

Keep him center stage

In some ways I've been pleasantly surprised that Governor Bob McDonnell has been conservative, but relatively moderate, on some issues since taking office in January. He's a sharp politician and knows many Virginians are in the middle of the political spectrum and he has to work with a Virginia Senate controlled by the Democrats. But, CCC still believes McDonnell is a hard right conservative by ideology and he is being pulled towards stage right by the tea party whackos who are increasingly influential in the Virginia GOP and by "friends" like the extremist attorney general. Ken Cuccinelli is actually doing the governor a favor - as long as he's prowling the far right, McDonnell appears to be moderate by comparison.

So, in the hope that McDonnell will remain a somewhat pragmatic politician who knows the best political hay is in the middle of the field, I hopeful that his current town hall tour will fill his ears with more than right wing manure. Tonight (August 26) the governor will be at JMU Festival Conference and Student Center at 7:00 PM. In this format there will be time for only 12-15 speakers/questioners. If you plan on attending get there early and sign-up to speak - even so, it is likely his handlers will tilt the verbal questions to known conservative friends of the governor's policies.

If like me you cannot attend, or if you don't have the opportunity to speak, you can always leave comments at the governor's Reform Task Force website. Cluck, cluck... the site is slow loading today.

One issue the governor along with a local state senator will be pushing is privatization of the Commonwealth's liquor stores. I'm not opposed to the prospect of private liquor stores, but it is far from clear that this makes dollars and sense. There are two issues that I think are unresolved. The dollars don't seem to add up over time - it would be a real shame if a one-time cash infusion built a few roads and made the governor look like a hero only to have that funding stream dry up when he's out of office. Does it make sense to have more stores selling whiskey? Or would this lead to more DUIs or more hard liquor in underage bellies?

Earlier this year Governor McDonnell proposed closing five state parks and has sided with Ken Cuccinelli on the legal challenge to the EPA which questions global warming. Some right wingers want to privatize state parks. If we don't speak up, this administration may dismantle Virginia's parks and do nothing (or take steps backwards) on protecting our rivers, air, and the Chesapeake Bay. Here is what this bird is telling the task force:

• Do not privatize our state parks. Do not close state parks. Instead, assure adequate state funding to keep our parks some of the best in the nation. My family and many of our friends have too many fond memories of camping, of picnics, and of exploring our great state parks to let you or anybody shut them down or diminish their splendor.
• Get real about transportation by moving encouraging rail-freight solutions on I-81, smart investments in public transit including high speed rail, and encouraging local governments to have common sense regulations to end the sprawl that means more and more cars on the roads. VDOT must be fully accountable to all environmental regulations.
• Make Virginia a green model for the nation. A recent report indicates that many of Virginia's streams and rivers are impaired. Impaired rivers mean an impaired Chesapeake Bay. We need tougher regulations to assure our water supplies are going to be cleaner in the future than they are today. The governor supports off-shore drilling - now let's see enthusiastic support for off-shore wind energy and other green businesses. That's hard to do when your attorney general, to appease the right wing, is conducting witch hunts in his crusade against global warming.

The governor has shown he can be nudged to center stage on some issues. But only if common sense Virginians are willing to speak up... indeed, stand up... to keep Virginia moving forward.

Something borrowed, something blue

It is widely reported that the Commonwealth's 2010 budget "surplus" has nearly doubled to $404 million. While it is only a "surplus" in the sense that very cautious figures were used in drafting the original budget, the news is nevertheless welcomed. The question now is how to allocate the "found money."

Governor McDonnell had previously promised state employee a 3% year-end "bonus." He and the General Assembly should live up to that commitment... or better yet, make it a permanent pay raise. It has been four years (well before the recession began) since state employees received one and they've taken hits on some benefits. It will go a long way to helping to build morale.

Another priority should be repaying the Virginia Retirement System for money the General Assembly borrowed to help balance the budget. This year alone the state put off $137 million in contributions to VRS. Restoring those contributions will be a giant step toward assuring the stability and long term viability of the system.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The Good - President Barack Obama and Mayor Michael Bloomberg
The Bad - Senator Harry Reid and Senator John Cornyn 
The Ugly - Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin

So students in Political Leadership 101, let's summarize... there are good leaders who rise above issues to by calling on the better angels of our nature; there are bad leaders who aren't leaders at all but jump in any parade, even marching along with disgusting rabble, if they think it will benefit them; and there are the ugly fear mongers who prey on our angst even if it means ripping to shreds our most cherished constitutional and national values.

Twist and Shout

Friday night we enjoyed a great evening of music and fun during Mary Chapin Carpenter's performance at the Shenandoah Valley Music Festival. The festival is a Valley gem in the beautiful village of Orkney Springs that features many fine artists bringing life to their slogan, We didn't invent summer - just the finest way to enjoy it.

Mary Chapin Carpenter and her fine band performed a number of songs off her new recording, The Age of Miracles, as well as old favorites such as Passionate Kisses and I Feel Lucky. Carpenter, who lives in Albemarle County, Virginia, connected with the audience by telling stories and explaining the origin of lyrics of songs such as Mrs. Hemingway, which she researched and wrote after rereading Ernest Hemingway's, A Moveable Feast. Along the way, she got in swipes at Verizon for the slow internet in her part of Virginia and at the right wing politics of Sarah Palin. Those brought a couple reactions - both cheers and jeers - from the audience. But hey, it was her stage and her mic... and her views were dead on.

Carpenter put in a big plug for Huss & Dalton of Staunton, Virginia. She owns three of what she proclaimed the "finest guitars in the world."

The opening act was Catie Curtis, a musician I'd heard of but wasn't very familiar with her work. The Boston area singer/songwriter put on an impressive performance that I wish had included more songs off her latest project, Hello Stranger.

For an encore, Carpenter and her band charged through a high energy performance of Down at the Twist and Shout, a song she played at Super Bowl XXXI. In the clip below, Carpenter sings the crowd favorite accompanied by the Cajun band BeauSoleil.