Recently, Ken Cuccinelli told an Iowa-based conservative talk show that Roman Catholic bishops should be willing to go to jail to keep women from having access to legal contraception in this country. That wasn’t the first time; this video’s from June 7, 2012, at a Chuck Colson Prison Fellowship event in Lansdowne, Virginia, and Cuccinelli was making the same argument about the evil “sterilization, contraceptive, abortifacient mandate,” as he so charmingly calls it. What boggles my mind is that this extremist was ever elected to anything, let alone Virginia’s Attorney General, and that he actually thinks he should be governor. Let’s make sure that does NOT happen!
The Virginia House and Senate elected interim Judge Tracy Thorne-Begland to a full term on the Richmond Manchester General District Court today, giving legislative approval to the state’ s first openly gay judge after rejecting him last year.
The Republican-controlled House voted first, approving him 66-28 with one abstention, and was followed by a Senate vote of 28-0. Twelve social conservatives in the Senate did not vote.
Is the NRA going to make Virginia a test case for their clout as a way to set the table for 2014?
by Paul Goldman
Tomorrow could be the biggest day in the entire 2013 campaign for Virginia governor. According to news reports, the president will be unveiling important, perhaps unprecedented at least in modern times, proposals and/or executive actions as relates to the rights of Americans as regards firearms. We can assume at least some of his proposals and/or executive actions will have not been supported before by any successful candidate for Virginia governor, LG or AG. The same for but a handful of winning candidates for House of Delegates, if that many.
Bottom line: Depending on what President Obama unveils tomorrow, it could potentially have a significant impact on the upcoming race for governor, LG and AG.
Mary Sue Terry is the last candidate for governor to try to “push the envelope” in Virginia during her unsuccessful run in 1993. She got crosswise with the NRA for favoring a waiting period – if I remember correctly – for gun purchases. Governor Wilder had managed to keep the NRA at bay in order to pass the “one gun a month” law, aimed at removing Virginia from the list of the top gun running states on the East Coast. It worked with the help of then Federal Prosecutor Richard Cullen.
Mary Sue Terry thought the landscape had thus perhaps changed and she aimed her new gun position – different than the one she had cultivated when a rising star from Southside – at voters in NOVA. Her proposal “tested well” in the polls and focus groups. But it fell flat in real life.
A generation later, President Obama believes the politics on gun issues has changed due to the Newtown horror. But his jurisdiction is all the states; what might be politically helpful in some even most might be a tough sell in Virginia this November. It will of course all be clear with 20-20 hindsight. However this is not the test for the winner this coming November.
My gut call: The president will be unveiling at least several items that will indeed have a significant impact on the politics of 2013 this year. As I have written many times, the “real events” determine winners and losers most of the time in elections. Newtown is a real event; the reaction from the U.S. president as regards his advice to his fellow Americans as regards that real event is itself a real event.
I know President Obama is leaning toward making a “statement” tomorrow as regards this message: he will not accept the status quo as it relates to gun violence. But the political impact will be in the details.
If I were still a bookie – that is someone who had to hit the books, what did you think I meant? – I would bet on the president hitting a few political nerves here in Virginia with his press release and the like tomorrow on gun issues. Like it or not, the weighty issues of governance facing the next governor don’t match the “sex, drugs and rock and roll” appeal of interest to most of us despite our denials. The “wedge issues” like guns do: that is why they move voters all the time and may change election outcomes some of the time.
It could be a very interesting day in the life of the next governor tomorrow. Not to mention the politics of the 2013 General Assembly Session.
Fundraising numbers for the 4th quarter of 2012 are starting to come in; I’ll post them as I receive them. First, Democratic LG candidate Aneesh Chopra.
CHOPRA CAMPAIGN FOR LT. GOVERNOR RAISES OVER $1 MILLION IN 2012
ARLINGTON, VA – Virginia Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor, Aneesh Chopra, announced today that his campaign has raised over $500,000 since July and brought in over $1,000,000 in 2012.* Chopra’s fundraising totals continue to show that he has the momentum and resources needed to build a winning statewide campaign.
“I cannot even begin to express my thanks to the countless individuals who have stepped up to support my campaign. As we continue to build our efforts from the ground up, I am confident we will have the resources and grassroots support needed to win this race. We must put a stop to the Republicans and their radical agenda that has moved the Commonwealth in the wrong direction and should focus on solving the tough problems facing Virginians today,” said Aneesh Chopra.
Chopra was Virginia’s 4th Secretary of Technology under Governor Tim Kaine and the first Chief Technology Officer of the United States under President Barack Obama. Aneesh knows it is time to get to work and refocus our efforts on growing the high-wage, high-skilled jobs of the future and not on radical ideas and efforts that take our eye off the ball and do serious harm to the image and competitiveness of the Commonwealth.
Now, here’s some news from Terry McAuliffe’s finance director, Andrew Smith:
I just found out that we surpassed our fundraising goal of 1,000 donors, and raised over $1.1 million in less than a month.
In fact, not only did we reach our goal, we surpassed it by almost 50 percent. 1,450 donors (and counting) own a piece of this campaign.
But what I’m most excited about is: 70 percent of the donations we collected were under $100 – a true indication of Terry’s grassroots support. And while we’re off to a great start, we know there’s still a lot of work to do. In the coming weeks, Terry will continue talking to voters across the Commonwealth and we’ll have some exciting announcements for you. Stay tuned
Today, Senate Democrats announced their 2013 legislative agenda:
Improving Education
Expanding Medicaid
Virginia Dream Act
Transportation
Gun Violence Prevention
Making it Easier to Vote
Improving Education
Senator George Barker (D-Fairfax) said, “Historically, Virginia has been third or fourth in the nation in terms of educational achievement. We need to ensure that success benefits all Virginians, and we can do that with targeted programs to eliminate achievement gaps.”
“Teacher salaries are one of the issues that we’re dealing with this year. We have a budget amendment in to increase teacher salaries by 3% during the second year of the biennium. We’d like to go higher than that, but we want to operate within the budget constraints that we have,” added Senator Barker.
Expanding Medicaid
Senator Barbara Favola (D-Arlington) said, “About a million Virginians who add to our economy through service jobs, including construction, tourism, and social services, lack health insurance. We must help these hardworking people by expanding Medicaid and providing them with quality health care.”
Senator Favola continued, “Reforming Medicaid will also put $29 billion into Virginia’s economy, creating about 30,000 new jobs. Let’s improve the health of Virginia, grow jobs, and help our families. Let’s expand Medicaid.”
Virginia Dream Act
Senator A. Donald McEachin (D-Henrico) said, “Thousands of undocumented children live in Virginia without hope of attending college because it’s so expensive. These children were brought into this country by their parents. They live in our neighborhoods and go to PTA meetings. Their families pay taxes. They deserve the same chance to earn an education as any one else.”
“Today, we are proposing the Virginia Dream Act, which allows the children of undocumented workers to pay in-state tuition to Virginia state colleges,” said Senator McEachin.
The Virginia Dream Act grants in-state tuition benefits to undocumented students if they meet certain conditions:
1. They must have graduated from a Virginia high school and lived in Virginia for at least three years.
2. They must be approved to stay in the United States under Homeland Security’s “deferred action” status.
3. They or their parents must have filed Virginia income taxes for at least three years.
Transportation
Senator Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax) said, “First off, we cannot take money from the General Fund. Any money. We are 48th in America in what we give transportation. We are the 7th wealthiest state. Our education budget for 2012 back slightly below 2007 levels. Our education system doesn’t have the money it needs right now. The last thing we should do is take money out the General Fund that pays for our schools.”
Senator Saslaw added, “Getting rid of the gas tax is folly. I don’t think there’s anyone who thinks we could save the people of Virginia 17 cents per gallon by getting rid of the gas tax. All last summer, North Carolina, which is 21 cents higher than Virginia, was even with us on a statewide average. Sometimes, they were lower than ours.”
Gun Violence Prevention
Senator Dave Marsden (D-Burke), an expert on violence and murder reduction strategies, said, “Mass shootings are coming at such frequency that overwhelming numbers of Virginians want something done. We must fund the changes we made to our mental health system after the tragedy at Virginia Tech. And we must expand the requirements for background checks for firearms sales to keep guns out of the hands of felons and the mentally ill.”
Making It Easier to Vote
Regarding ex-felon disenfranchisement, Senator Chap Petersen (D-Fairfax) said, “We have hundreds of thousands of people that are disenfranchised, most of them men but women also, and we believe it’s important to reintegrate them into society. So we are going to be carrying that measure.”
Senator Petersen also spoke about access to voting. “It’s great to have the right to vote, but it’s not so great if you have to stand in line two and a half hours to vote. We saw that happen on Election Day. The lines were inexcusable and should not be tolerated. I’ve put forward a bill, SB 259, that mandates that we should have a voting machine for every 500 voters, so that we can move people through those lines more efficiently.” he said.
“Senator Janet Howell also has a bill for no-excuse absentee voting. We believe that allowing people to vote before the election without having to specify an excuse will make voting easier and more accessible.”
Equality Virginia Statement on Thorne-Begland’s Appointment to the Bench
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jan. 15, 2013
Richmond, VA – Today, Equality Virginia applauds the House of Delegates for making the right decision and confirming Tracy Thorne-Begland’s appointment to the Richmond General District Court.
“This is a big step forward after last year’s actions made embarrassing national headlines,” Executive Director James Parrish said.
“Equality Virginia is pleased that the House of Delegates could see that Thorne-Begland is a qualified candidate with integrity and a long history of public service,” Parrish said. “Thorne-Begland has served his country and his city with honor and unquestioned competence first as a Navy pilot and then as a prosecutor.”
“We’re glad the House of Delegates took a second look at his candidacy and this time the decision was based on his qualifications and not on who he is or who he loves,” Parrish said. “While Thorne-Begland has been given another opportunity, without employment protections, most Virginians do not get a second chance at their jobs after being fired or not hired because of their sexual orientation.”
Equality Virginia is a statewide, non-partisan education, outreach, and advocacy organization seeking equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Virginians. Since 1989, EV has worked to end discrimination, protect families and build safe communities. More information is online at EqualityVirginia.org. Connect on Facebook.com/EqualityVA or Twitter @EqualityVA.
Today’s news from the Washington Post that Dominion Virginia Power and Attorney General Cuccinelli have reached an agreement on Virginia’s renewable energy law, if true, could mean a dagger through the heart for Virginia’s clean energy industry.
Some within the environmental community will disagree with me, and they would probably tell you the law was so bad that it should be repealed and replaced with a new more effective clean energy standard. I would agree if that were a possibility but, it is not.
Here are a couple of the realities which come to fruition if Virginia’s voluntary RPS is repealed:
First, investments in clean, renewable energy are now subject to the strictest interpretation of the Virginia State Corporation Commission. The commission has never approved a full clean energy proposal put forward by Dominion. It has limited the size of the utility’s energy efficiency and solar programs.
Now, to take away the regulatory framework by which the commission is supposed to approve new renewable energy programs the bar will be even higher for approval. Without the framework the commission is left to review the projects strictly on the basis of cost, and while renewables will lower cost for consumers in the long-run the methods for determining cost by the Commission are so archaic and stringent that renewables lose out.
Secondly, repealing the law removes Dominion’s incentive to invest in renewable energy. Environmentalist are correct to point out that no new renewable energy in Virginia means that Virginians are paying Dominion a bonus they don’t deserve while reaping none of the benefits of clean energy. The problem is that repealing the RPS means Dominion, and other investor owned utilities, now have zero incentive to invest in clean energy in or out of Virginia.
Now, Dominion’s decision on whether to tempt fate in front of the State Corporation Commission is left not to the rules that govern their decision making in such instances but, to the whims of their CEO Tom Farrell. For those who don’t know Mr. Farrell do a quick Google search, and you’ll find him railing against clean energy and singing the praises of the coal industry. Not exactly a clean energy champion.
A glass half-empty type of person probably sees this effort to repeal the state’s RPS as an opportunity for those who oppose clean energy to stop it dead in its tracks. The decision to move forward with repeal will rest with those who serve in the General Assembly. A prospect that doesn’t bode well for clean energy advocates.
Over the next five weeks we’ll all be able to see if Virginia’s energy future is going to be dependent on fossils or on the wind and the sun. Unfortunately, I don’t think you could give me odds I would be willing to take on this bet.
In a column in today’s Washington Post (advertised as “No More Mr. Nice-President”), Dana Milbank reports that he was led by President Obama’s press conference yesterday to “wonder whether Obama could achieve more if he could establish personal connections with Republicans on Capitol Hill.” This was a propos of a question by a New York Times reporter about Obama’s supposedly not “socializing” more.
Good grief. Has Milbank really so little clue about what’s been happening in recent years? These Republicans are not looking for peace and cooperation. Remember? They attacked even their own ideas when the President proposed them. Fighting is what they are about.
The President’s response to the “socializing” question rightly rejected the notion that more warmth and schmoozing might bring peace in our times. But the president’s take on the nature of the problem also missed the deeper reality. The difficulties in negotiations, Mr. Obama said, “have to do with some very stark differences in terms of policy.”
Would that it were so. But if it were about policy, the Republicans would have supported the Obama initiatives in the first term that were based on Republican ideas. Again, making a fight over everything is the essence of this political dynamic.
These Republicans are not concerned, for example, about debt and deficits. If they were, they’d be eager to slash a clearly quite bloated defense budget. They’d not have doubled the national debt under their own president (W) during reasonably good economic times. They just take “positions” in terms of policy that provide the cover for the conflict that is really the expression of what’s driving the political right.
We should not get overly distracted by the “extreme” positions on issues that the Republicans take. The root of the problem is not “extremism.” “Extremism,” rather, is a means to the end, and the end is conflict. By taking “extreme” positions, and by rejecting “compromise” as an intolerable acknowledgement of the legitimacy of the “enemy,” today’s Republican Party can assure that there will be only fights, not agreements arrived at cooperatively.
Intractable and chronic fighting, in turn, is a means to disable the American political system from navigating a wise and constructive course through the challenges we face. And the end of that disabling of our political system is the infliction of damage and degradation on those structures in our world that are constructive and life-enhancing.
So what is all this destructiveness about? How can the root of the problem be some sort of purpose to damage and degrade the best parts of our civilization?
In my campaign, I repeatedly spoke about the “sick and broken spirit” that had taken possession of the once-respectable Republican Party. It is at THAT level –not at the level of interpersonal bonds among the players, nor at the level of actual policy concerns– that the destructive political dramas of our times in America are being played out.
That level may not be intuitively obvious. It may not be easy to wrap our minds around what can be meant, in a naturalistic perspective, by speaking in such terms as a “spirit” that is driving a “force” that’s operating destructively in our political system.
But I am convinced that what is driving this pathology in American civilization right now needs to be understood in some such terms.
The redemption of America is going to require a kind of “exorcism” of this dark force that’s arisen on the political right, and achieving that is going to require some understanding of what we’re up against.
In the days, weeks, months, and even years ahead, I intend to develop and share –piece by piece– this framework for understanding our American crisis. Among the the systemic dynamics that drive human history, as I will try to show, one of these –and the one perhaps most central to our present crisis– entails the conflict that plays out in civilized systems between two sets of forces, one set being constructive and the other set destructive.
That is one of my goals in the ambitious project now unfolding on my campaign Facebook page. Each entry in that project, appearing on that site, is headed by the title “SWINGING FOR THE FENCES.”
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Andy Schmookler, an award-winning author, political commentator, radio talk-show host, and teacher, was the Democratic nominee for Congress from Virginia’s 6th District. He is the author of various books including The Parable of the Tribes: The Problem of Power in Social Evolution, Out of Weakness: Healing the Wounds that Drive Us to War, and Sowings and Reapings: The Cycling of Good and Evil in the Human System.
Virginia Senator Adam Ebbin and Delegate Patrick Hope purchased handgun and 30-round magazine without undergoing background check
RICHMOND, VA—Virginia State Senator Adam P. Ebbin (D-Alexandria) and Delegate Patrick A. Hope (D-Arlington) have introduced a package of gun safety legislation to require universal background checks on prospective firearms purchasers (SB 1232 / HB 2025), close the gun show loophole, and tighten restrictions on the sale of weapons to the mentally ill (SB 1109 / HB 2221).
SB 1109 and HB 2221 would make it a Class 6 felony to sell firearms to persons found mentally incapacitated or who have been involuntarily admitted.
Ebbin also introduced legislation to require the reporting of lost or stolen firearms (SB 965) and to outlaw firearms in legislative buildings (SB 1012).
"We easily purchased a handgun at a Virginia gun show, without undergoing a background check. Sadly, nearly 40% of all gun sales are conducted without a background check. In the interest of community safety, it's not too much to ask for responsible gun purchasers to undergo a background check to screen for criminal history or history of serious mental illness," the two wrote in a joint statement.
The lawmakers discussed their visit to a gun show in a January 15th news conference at the Virginia Capitol. Hope showed the High Standard Sentinel Revolver he bought for $175; because he purchased the gun from a private dealer, he did not have to undergo a background check to screen for a criminal record. "Today, a felon with a violent past can walk into a gun show or go on the Internet and buy any gun with no questions asked,” Hope said. “A law we could pass today, requiring universal background checks for all gun sales, would have an almost immediate impact on gun safety. No responsible gun owner is afraid of a background check."
Displaying a 30-round ammunition magazine he purchased for $20, Ebbin said, "Buying a 30-round magazine should not be as easy as buying a candy bar.” He noted that a 30-round magazine was used in the recent Newtown, Connecticut tragedy that left 26 dead.
Citing the need to pass SB 965, Ebbin said, “When a gun is stolen, a deadly weapon is in criminal hands—a combination we all want to avoid. Reporting lost or stolen guns can help police avert a tragedy.”
Hope and Ebbin called on Virginians to contact their legislators in support of the gun safety legislation.
How many lies, errors, gaffes and distortions can Bob McDonnell make in one video? A LOT, apparently; here are just a few.
1. Before we even get to Bob McDonnell, Faux “News” host Neil Cavuto claims, erroneously, that cutting the gas tax by 17 cents per gallon would be passed along, 100%, to the price at the pump. That’s utter nonsense. See this article, for instance, in which economists from right, left, center, you name it, rip this idea a proverbial new one, including a libertarian Cato Institute economist who says, “gas taxes would be cut, but pump prices wouldn’t go down, service stations would just continue charging what they are charging.”
2. Presumably it’s a gaffe when Bob McDonnell says “it’s primarily…a lot of use of our general fund money.” Of course, that would mean taking money out of education and health care. Is that really what McDonnell meant to say?
3. McDonnell outright lies when he claims he’s converting the gas tax “revenue neutral to a sales tax.” Of course, if it really WERE “revenue neutral,” there would be no more money for transportation, except for whatever McDonnell managed to raid from the general fund. But it is NOT – repeat, NOT!!! – revenue neutral. That’s just a blatant, outright, pants-on-fire lie. See Robert McCartney’s demolition of that one.
4. As for the gas tax being in a “long-term state of decline because of fuel efficiency,” etc., there’s some truth to that, but it could be compensated for simply by converting to a tax based on miles driven, or by raising the gas tax proportionate to the increase in fuel economy, or whatever. This is just an evasion of responsibility, as is so typical with Bob McDonnell.
5. McDonnell claims “a number of major endorsements,” but of course they’re almost all from the usual suspects. Meanwhile, almost everyone else, from Grover Norquist (on the anti-tax right) to newspaper editorial boards to smart growth folks to Senate Majority Leader Saslaw, etc. are not fans. Most likely, this plan is not going anywhere, but we’ll see soon enough…
6. McDonnell says taxing consumption as opposed to income is the ways to go, yet he’s proposing REMOVING a direct tax on consumption – the gas tax. Huh?
7. McDonnell says he’s trying to create a “conservative, principled way” to address transportation, but in reality, this proposal is nothing “conservative” at all, unless a tax increase is now considered “conservative, principled.”
8. McDonnell completely rejects the notion that you tax things because you want to reduce their consumption, yet Econ 101 teaches us that, ceteris parabis, if the price of something increases, the consumption of it will go down. Has Bob McDonnell repealed the laws of economics, is he an ignoramus, or is he just pulling stuff out of his butt? You decide. (Also, I’d note that taxes and subsidies are used all the time to discourage consumption of “bad” things, and to encourage consumption of “good” things.)
9. McDonnell claims the goal here is to create a “sustainable method of funding our roads and bridges and other transportation assets for the future.” The problem is, this “plan” does nothing of the sort, as it’s not even CLOSE to adequate to the amount of money needed, even IF you count the supposed money we’ll be getting from Congressional action sometime in the future on taxing internet sales. Is anyone holding their breath on that one? If so, what were you smoking before you held your breath? LOL
10. McDonnell appears to take credit for Virginia’s relatively low unemployment rate, which of course is utter nonsense. In reality, Virginia’s unemployment rate is relatively low due to its proximity to Washington, DC, as well as to the huge amount of federal spending and income (federal and military employees, contractors, etc.) that flows into this state every year. For McDonnell to take credit for Virginia’s relatively low unemployment rate is simply laughable.
11. In the last minute, McDonnell switches topics to the national debt ceiling. I’m not going to debunk every lie and distortion here, other than to refer you to the phrase, “How can you tell if Bob McDonnell’s lying? His lips are moving!” Wow, I mean didn’t Pat Robertson teach “Bobby” that lying is a sin? Apparently, “Bobby” missed that lesson.
