Drunk on Power   Between tax increases and economic growth, state government revenues are growing 13 percent this year. But to some in the General Assembly, that's still not enough.    The working majority of the General Assembly, the Democrats and the Traitors-to-the-Republican-Creed Republicans, are drunk with power. I’d say they spend money like drunken sailors, but that would be an insult to drunken sailors, who sober up eventually. Sobriety is unlikely to return to the legislature if the 17 Republicans in the House of Delegates who do the Democrats' bidding go unchallenged in the June primary.    The increase in spending last year required an 8.2 percent raise in revenue. Did you get an 8.2 percent raise last year? Remember the crying, sniveling, whining, screaming about "essential services" that forced this increase. But do you believe, really, that state and local government would break if the bureaucrats got less than an 8.2 percent in one year?    The surprise (not) is that Virginia’s revenues increased 10.9 percent without the increase in taxes. Hello. The huge increase in spending could be funded without the largest tax increase in Virginia’s history. It seems the tax-and-spend legislators are either incompetent in understanding basic economics or just greedy for your money.    Because, ta-da, the big tax increase netted over a 13 percent increase in Virginia’s revenues. There is a surplus. The power drunks are spending every penny on this bender. Spending money for the special interests who fund their campaigns is not the only indication of their power intoxication. Good legislation was killed by the Republicans who made the majority with Democrats.   Conservatives tried to serve The People as follows: Introduced a bill to limit growth in the budget to the increase in inflation plus population.  Republican Senators killed the bill. Introduced a bill to require abortion clinics to meet the same medical standards as hospitals performing less dangerous surgery. A woman died in an abortion clinic in NoVa in 02. A woman died recently in a late-term infanticide in Wichita, Kansas. Ambulances are called to Virginia’s abortion clinics every year to save women’s lives. But, apparently the liberal rhetoric about "safe" abortions is a lie. Maybe, their refusal will cost a woman her life when she has an abortion. Republican Senators killed the bill. Introduced a bill to deny illegal immigrants seats in Virginia colleges and universities. Apparently, the word "illegal" in illegal immigrant is confusing to Liberals. Likewise, the stealing of a seat for a native Virginian by an illegal is okay. Republican Senators killed the bill. Introduced a bill to keep illegal immigrants from receiving some workmen’s compensation benefits. Liberals want to pay benefits to illegal immigrants instead of deporting them.  Republican Senators killed the bill. Introduced a bill to permit prayer and recognition of religious beliefs, heritage and tradition on public property – including government schools. Liberals howled that no one can improve on Thomas Jefferson’s Statute for Religious Freedom (1786). I agree, nor can we improve on the Virginia Constitution which requires  "christian tolerance" of all religions.  The sad reason for this bill is the blatant disregard for our Constitution and Jefferson's famous statute by government educrats. The explicit viewpoint discrimination against Christians exercising their rights and the cultural cleansing of the historical role of Christianity is the problem. Contact the Virginia Family Foundation and the Rutherford Institute for examples of abuses in Virginia’s schools. Or, go see what is going on in the schools provided by your taxes, even if you don’t have kids in school. Republican Senators killed the bill. If you want to see what ‘likker’ makes some Republicans drunk, look up who contributes to them (www.vapap.org). Look who buys them favors. When was the last time a corporation took you on a hunting trip costing thousands of dollars? Ask Sen. Tommy Norment why they spend so much money on him.  Apparently, he forgot his campaign promise that he would stop doing taking gifts from special interests.  Oops.   Until the political parties raise more money than special interests or produce enough votes on command, many politicians, including our beloved Republicans, will stay drunk on power spiked by money. Until conservative Republicans find courageous men and women to run against power politicians for power’s sake to serve The People, the drunken orgy of tax, spend and slam commonsense legislation will continue.   -- March 14, 2005