Last week's other loser

Senator Emmett Hanger, I hope you are watching your back. Folks are already taking aim at your political life... and most likely they are your fellow Republicans. Democrats are still in a daze and aren't plotting that far ahead....

Senator Hanger represents the 24th Senate District that includes Augusta County, Greene County, Highland County, Lexington, Staunton, Waynesboro, plus parts of Albemarle County, Rockbridge County, and Rockingham County. You may recall that right wingers in the GOP worked hard to deny Hanger the party's nomination in 2007. They put up Scott Sayre who Hanger eventually defeated in the primary, but not until deep rifts between party factions were exposed.

Flash forward to the summer of 2009. At Staunton's July 4 parade Senator Hanger had his own float (actually a convertible) that was quite separate from the Republican float. Then later that month came Chris Saxman's surprise announcement that he was withdrawing from the 20th District House of Delegates race. Although there was a very public forum at Buffalo Gap High School, the local GOP chairs privately interviewed candidates and just as privately picked Staunton City Councilman Dickie Bell as their nominee. Bell easily won the election in November.

So, what does all this have to do with Senator Hanger? The bitter feelings from 2007 are still festering among local Republicans. Hanger, who is still popular with many in the GOP (and independent) electorate remains distrusted, even disliked, by his party's right wing. Reports indicate that the GOP chairs' interviews of potential candidates in the 20th District got not only into issues and electability, but also touched on their relationship and loyalty to the Senator. Anyone who was seen as too friendly to Hanger, or not tight enough with the conservative faction, had no chance of being the nominee. Equally important was picking a nominee acceptable to Delegate Saxman.

Looking forward to 2011, most observers assume Senator Hanger will seek renomination by the GOP and another term. But he faces considerable obstacles. Hanger, though he remains popular with many in the community, is largely estranged from the local Republican committees. Delegate Dickie Bell, who owes his nomination to those local chairs and to Chris Saxman will never be a Hanger ally and may well continue what some say was Saxman's behind-the-scenes sabotage of the Senator.

Speaking of Saxman, come January he is free to roam the political landscape. He says he will concentrate on "school choice" issues, but nobody buys that as his last waltz in politics. While some of the rumors swirling around his exit from the House race would, if true, likely end his career in electoral politics; the rumors of his future political aspirations have more credibility. Some say he may challenge Bob Goodlatte, but this bird wonders if his plans might be focused more on 2011.

Added to the toxic mix for Senator Hanger is the rise of the Tea Party activists and their appeal to right wing Republicans and the continuing local involvement of far right groups like the Club for Growth fighting healthcare reform. The nexus of a hostile party leadership and right wing grassroots politics spells danger for a mountain-valley Republican like Hanger. The Senator is well-advised to watch his back, to see who is following, to see who is gaining, to see who is taking aim. Might be a whole flock!

What Repubs do when they got nothing

When they have no issues, no leadership, no vision... Virginia Republicans turn to creating issues through vague innuendo, distortions, and empty rhetoric. Consider the recent demands that Governor Tim Kaine release his travel expenses as chair of the Democratic National Committee. Delegate Chris Saxman (R-Staunton), who has no facts, can only throw out tantalizing tidbits of make believe designed to be red meat for wingnuts and to gin up campaign contributions:

"Where is the governor at any given moment? How did he get there? Did he fly commercial or use someone's private jet? These are legitimate questions that we believe should be answered."

Perhaps Mr. Saxman should look in a mirror. Last fall, as the General Assembly was moving toward its session and constituents likely had much on their minds about the falling economy and the impact on state services, where was the delegate? Out on the campaign trail for McCain and putting out Frederick's fires. During the 2008 session, he even skipped votes to campaign for McCain during the Republican primary.

Truth is, most folks in public office fill various roles - those clearly connected to the office, and others related to politics, family, and charities. Del. Saxman understands this. That's why this demand of Governor Kaine is so transparently a case of cheap political posturing for partisan gain.

Stand UP for VA

Republicans in the General Assembly made a mistake - Virginians know it, but some in the GOP just can't seem to admit it. Marching in lockstep with their gubernatorial candidate, "heartless" Bob McDonnell, House Republicans rejected $125 million in federal stimulus funds targeted to help unemployed Virginians.

The number of people without jobs is rising, affecting thousands of Virginia families. Nearly 300,000 Virginians are unemployed (and this doesn't count the underemployed) and the statewide unemployment rate is 6.6%. In the central Valley, it tops 7% in many localities, and the unemployment rate is over 10% in Waynesboro (Hello, calling Delegate Steve Landes... is anybody home?). The federal unemployment funds would have helped 8,000 Virginians in job training programs and seeking part-time work. In addition to helping families, money would have flowed into local businesses boosting those communities most hammered by the economic downturn.

So, what to do? The vote is done, the mistake made, right? Well, it is never to late for the let-'em-eat cake Republicans to admit a mistake and correct it. Governor Kaine wants to call a special session to focus on unemployment, but there is no point if no Republicans will man-up and agree to revisit the issue. We don't need all of them to change - just four or five reasonable Republicans would get the job done. Delegate Landes might answer that call - you can contact him at Del_Landes@house.state.va.us. It is less likely that right wing ideologues will even listen. You can Stand Up for VA and send a clear message to all House Republicans by signing the petition:

We, the undersigned, are outraged by the House of Delegates’ decision to follow the lead of gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell and vote to send $125 million of our federal tax dollars back to Washington.

With nearly 300,000 Virginians out of work - and more people joining their ranks every day through no fault of their own - it’s clear that Virginia families are hurting.

We demand that the General Assembly go back to Richmond, fix this mistake, and do what's right for Virginians. It's time for our elected leaders to stand up for Virginia and vote to accept the economic relief we deserve.

Yogi Berra once said, "It ain't over till its over." He was, of course, referring to baseball. The same is true in politics - this battle to do the right thing isn't over unless we sit silently on the sidelines. Sign the petition. Do it now!

Point Proven!

A couple days ago I posted about Virginia's broken system of appointing judges, pointing to the partisanship and gridlock that infests the process. Now, as if to prove one of my points, Delegate Chris Saxman is throwing political bricks at Senator (and gubernatorial candidate) Creigh Deeds for the failure of the General Assembly to appoint a judge for the Staunton and Augusta County General District Courts.

As the old saying goes, it takes two to tango. So, while he points his finger across the aisle, Delegate Saxman should gaze long and hard in the mirror. He is equally (if not more) guilty.

The problem is a system that actually encourages the blind partisanship and and bickering over what should be a nonpartisan appointment to an independent branch of government. It is a system that fosters gridlock leaving courts without judges, bottlenecks in court dockets, and justice denied.

Delegate Saxman, instead of getting your feathers up in political posturing, how about working to fix the problem?

Cleaning up the smokehouse

The General Assembly agreed to a compromise bill to ban most smoking in restaurants. Governor Tim Kaine says he'll sign it quickly, although it won't become effective until December. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 27-13 with Creigh Deeds voting in favor and Emmett Hanger voting against. In the House of Delegates, the vote was 60-39 with Steve Landes supporting the ban and Chris Saxman and Ben Cline voting no.

Smoking will be banned in most restaurants, exceptions being private clubs and restaurants with separately ventilated smoking rooms. The ban does not apply to outside dining areas.

The battle over the compromise bill cut across party lines but the rifts were felt most keenly on the GOP side of the aisle. Many Republicans, favoring a "don't work with the governor on anything" mentality, were beyond miffed when Speaker Bill Howell appeared with Governor Tim Kaine to support a compromise earlier this month. Majority leader Morgan Griffin parted ways from the speaker and there was open talk of choosing a new speaker for the next session - if the GOP stays in control of the chamber.

Final passage in the House found 21 Republicans voting with the speaker and that pissed of the Americans for Prosperity. Ben Marchi, speaking for the right wing group noted:

"A lot of conservatives were surprised that the Speaker would go off on his own and have talks with the Governor without even consulting his caucus."

The divisions in the GOP ranks bode well for the Democrats this November who need to pick up six seats to gain control of the House of Delegates. Delegates like Steve Landes may find some conservatives hedging support because of his yes vote on this one issue. On the other hand, opponents of the bill will have to answer for voting against a reasonable and good policy that is supported by a majority of Virginians.

Gubernatorial candidates may find political smoke blowing in the wind this November, too. Senator Creigh Deeds voted for the ban and the other two Democrats say they support it (of course, they are bystanders to the General Assembly). Republican Bob McDonnell blew warm smoke up conservatives' skirts by opposing the ban.

Republicans, trying to dodge backlash, were successful at delaying implementation until after the election.

An axe for Saxman's bills

Delegate Chris Saxman (R-20) saw several of his bills get a well-deserved axe in the Virginia Senate yesterday. The delegate had ginned up lots of attention for a constitutional amendment to protect Virginia's right-to-work laws. Totally unnecessary - those laws are well enshrined in state law and culture. It was all grandstanding for the anti-union crowd.

Saxman also saw his bill to designate royalties from off-shore drilling go to Chesapeake Bay cleanup, transportation, and renewable energy. While CCC can support each of those goals, there is one problem - Virginia gets zero royalties because there is currently a federal moratorium on off-shore drilling. Another bit of grandstanding to kiss up to the "Drill Here, Drill Now" fanatics. The delegate's bill was ill-timed - bring it up again if/when there is off-shore drilling. It makes no sense to mandate specific spending today when future priorities may be very different.

And the Staunton delegate again cringed when his tax credits for organizations that provide scholarships bit the dust. He's been pushing some variation of tax credits/vouchers for private schools since he's been in the General Assembly. It is never the right time for public money (either vouchers or tax breaks) to support private schools (unless they meet the same SOL standards of public schools), but these tax credits at a time of severe budget shortfalls was absurd. Senator Emmett Hanger abstained - in previous years he's voted against his GOP friend.

Tonight is the night for Delegate Saxman's 15,000 home conference call for him to listen to voters. He'll probably talk about each of the kill bills to eek out a little political propaganda. Ought to be interesting to find out (not that we ever will) how many people (1) answer the phone, (2) stay on the call more than a few minutes, and (3) get a chance to ask the delegate a question. I'm all in favor of communication between the people and elected officials, but the possibility that Delegate Saxman does more listening than talking is as remote as the Dolly Sods. Bob Dickerman, the Staunton Democratic Chair, said it better in his letter to the editor.

Cross-posted at We Will RockDem.

Counting Virginia's Corn

The media is filled with the stories about the projected deficits in Virginia's biennial budget. Facing shortfalls of about $3 billion over the two years, Governor Tim Kaine and the General Assembly will need sharp pencils to balance, as required by law, receipts and expenditures. Already hiring has been frozen, state employee raises have be delayed, and a variety of programs cut or delayed.

While we certainly can't blame today's budget woes on Virginia's two-year budgeting process, the current situation highlights the potential hazards of trying to write a budget with a long time horizon. After all, every family I know looks at their finances on a yearly basis. Businesses do so as well. That doesn't mean a family or business is failing to plan long term. It does mean they are balancing (hopefully) the books each year. In doing so they can plan to save or spend for bigger projects over time - that kitchen renovation has been put off until next year!

So, why does the Commonwealth use a biennial budget process? The practice dates back to the days when the General Assembly met every other year. During the 1970s the General Assembly began meeting every year but they kept the two-year budget cycle. So in a long session (even years) the Governor and General Assembly enacts a biennial budget. The next year, during a short session, the Governor and General Assembly amend the budget to reflect changes in projected revenues or expenditure needs during the past year. Huh? They are working on the two-year budget every year... is that right?

If this process seems clumsy and confusing to you, then join the crowd. Along with Delegate Albert Pollard (D-99), Delegate Chris Saxman (R-20) will introduce legislation to move Virginia to an annual budget. They cite greater accountability and transparency as key advantages of an annual budget. For example, when the biennial budget promises state employees a 4% raise it gets spread in some fashion over the two years - it could be 2% in each year or 1/2% in the first and 3 1/2% in the second. Geez, I'd like the 3 1/2% in the first year - with compounding getting the money sooner rather than later would be lots better for me. Perhaps legislators have incentives to give raises based on something else - like their election cycle?

Pollard and Saxman also point to real-time numbers that are now available to budget writers. In the "old days," information on tax receipts and expenditures were often months behind so perhaps a two-year cycle made since. It isn't a valid reason today. Pollard has these and other reasons for changing to an annual budget detailed on his website.

One other reason for changing Virginia's budgeting process may be found in the cycle of electing the Governor. Virginia Governors cannot serve consecutive terms. With the current biennial budget, a Governor enters office with at least one strike against him or her.

To illustrate, Governor Kaine took office in January 2006, too late to propose his own budget. So the new Governor was mostly locked into the budget proposed by his predecessor, in this case, Mark Warner. Warner and Kaine are both Democrats and were probably on the same page on many budget issues. Kaine could offer changes, but the point is that he was to a great extent locked in to the two-year budget (he could also offer amendments at the short session) presented by the previous guy. The next budget cycle the Governor has the luxury of proposing, helping to enact, and carrying out "his" budget. Of course, in late 2009 Governor Kaine will propose a two-year budget that will be enacted after he is out of office and will be carried out by his successor. So, changing to an annual budget may shift power to the Governor - a good thing?

Putting Virginia on an annual budget seems like a good idea to this bird. It is common sense and easier to understand for most citizens. It is more transparent. It is more accountable. It may allow a Governor to better match governing priorities with campaign promises. But don't believe for a minute that it will eliminate all the smoke and mirrors that are typically part of the state budget - like saying they funded a 4% raise for teachers but started it in December (when teachers' contracts start in August) or failing to provide funding for the actual number of teachers employed. Guess that falsely claiming credit or saying one thing while doing another is just part of politics!