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Two
Pundits, Two Issues
Two
respected columnists were in top form this week.
One addressed a current issue that got lost in
the shadow of Tropical Storm Gaston and the GOP
convention. The
other took a look backward as a way of looking forward.
Second
District Republican Congressman Ed Schrock of
Virginia
Beach
dropped his re-election bid under a cloud of suspicion
about his personal life. Bob
Gibson of the Daily
Progress directly confronted allegations made by a
blogger that Schrock had solicited gay sex. His outrage was obvious:
I
have no idea whether the congressman is gay, nor do I
care. There is some evidence he led a secret private
life, which hardly makes him cruel, unusual or
punishable by political ruin through outing innuendo.
The
destruction of Schrock’s political career is a nasty
act of political and sexual hatred, enabled by
society’s political and sexual loathing.
Gibson
described Schrock as a “quiet and thoughtful” member
of Congress and decried the actions of both the right
and left toward gays.
Gordon
Morse, writing in the Washington
Post, took a new approach to his repeated “tax and
invest” (“spend” is such a pejorative term) theme.
Morse took a copy of the 1984 “Governor’s
Commission on
Virginia’s
Future” report from the shelf, dusted it off, and used
it to evaluate Virginia’s
progress in the subsequent 20 years. He also used it to draw lessons for the future.
The
Commission appointed by then Gov. Charles Robb “was an
instructive document full of intelligent recommendations
-- not all of which were ignored.” Environmental protection was increased and
economic developed emphasized, but new approaches on
taxation and governmental structure did not come to
pass. Morse sees
the legacy of the report as “a reminder of
Virginia's
on-again, off-again sense of direction.”
Appointing
a high-minded commission to deliver a report and then
ignore it is a time-honored tradition in Virginia
and
elsewhere. Morse
demonstrates that at least one of those reports had
great value as a guidance document. Maybe what’s needed is more accountability for
responding to recommendations made by appointed
commissions and task forces. There might not be as many reports if those who
request them have to substantively answer each
recommendation annually.
Bryant’s
Opus
While
others vacationed during the waning days of August,
Preston Bryant of the Roanoke
Times produced that rarity of punditry — a
two-part series. He asked if the
ties that bind Virginia’s
geographic areas are more significant than the
boundaries separating them. His answer wasn’t particularly optimistic as he
called for changing
the “mindset” as both legislators and citizens of Virginia.
Personality
Parade
When
we last
left Ed Lynch of the Roanoke
Times, he was lambasting Democratic State Senator
and Attorney General candidate John Edwards.
Now
Lynch has taken the gloves off against 9th
District Democratic Congressman Rick Boucher.
Lynch criticizes Boucher for supporting higher
taxes while simultaneously taking credit for
“practically every new business that opens in the 9th
District, as well as for every dollar of federal money
that is spent in the district.”
Jeff
Schapiro of the Richmond
Times-Dispatch, a pundit who has frequently aimed
barbs at former Governor Jim Gilmore in the past, had a
surprisingly balanced
report on his nemesis from the GOP convention.
Schapiro knows that a comeback by the
controversial former governor would be the most exciting
political story of any year.
Education
Wrap-Up
With
another school year set to begin, pundits were all over
education issues. Bob
Gibson looked at the issues surrounding granting
universities such as UVA charter status.
He worried that it might contribute the trend of
“corporatization” of public education.
James
Simpson of the Potomac
News scoffed at an educator’s comment that running
a business and running a school were comparable.
For Simpson, the only similarity was
“Enron and Arthur Anderson accounting
procedures.” Also
in the Potomac
News, Denise
Oppenhagen tackled K-12 charter school issues in
light of a report that claimed charter school students
trailed conventional public school students in
achievement.
Not
Even Comparable
Massive
Resistance was a shameful period in Virginia’s
history. The denial of the right to an education for
African-Americans continues to occupy a special place of
infamy in the annals of hatred and discrimination. Nelson
Graves of the Virginia Minority Supplier Development
Council, writing in the Richmond
Times-Dispatch, cheapens the legacy of Massive
Resistance by implicitly comparing it to recently
reported low rates of minority supplier utilization by
the Commonwealth. He
coins the phrase “Massive Insistence” for a
recommendation that minorities use the same tactics to
gain more state contracts that racists used to enforce
Massive Resistance. In
1959, an African-American child couldn’t register to
attend school. In
2004, minority suppliers are encouraged to register with
the state to bid on state contracts. There may very well be issues with utilization
levels of minority contractors, but they have nothing in
common with Massive Resistance.
Vote
at Your Own Risk
Brian
Gottstein of the Roanoke
Times made the case for paper-verified ballots to be
used in conjunction with electronic voting machines. Electronic machines will be used throughout his
region, including
Roanoke
City, Roanoke
County, Botetourt
County, and
Floyd
County.
Election officials seem “so dazzled by new
technology that they believe these machines are close to
infallible.” Gottstein cited numerous examples of
machine failure.
Sex
in the Town
Ubiquitous
legal “talking head” Jonathan
Turley used the case of former Town of Luray
attorney John R. Bushey, Jr. to argue against archaic
adultery and fornication laws. Writing in the Washington Post, Turley highlighted Bushey’s prosecution for
having an affair. Bushey’s
wife, the town clerk, contacted prosecutors, and charges
were brought. Twenty-three
states, including Virginia,
have laws against adultery, while 10 states, including Virginia,
have laws against sex outside of marriage. The laws are rarely enforced.
Observation
of the Week
A.
Barton Hinkle of the Richmond
Times-Dispatch wins hands-down for describing the
Chesapeake
Bay
as
“the septic tank for much of the East Coast.”
Although most would like to blame some far-off
source for Bay pollution, Hinkle points out that the
picturesque family farm and those who maintain
manicured, weed-free lawns are also culpable.
Bad
News, Good News
It’s
bad news that Washington
and Lee
University
in
Lexington
was
rated the number two “Party
School”
in the nation by the Princeton
Review. It’s
good news that the vast majority of students on college
campuses are not partying to excess. It’s bad news that when a school is named to
the top party list, students feel pressure to maintain
the ranking. It’s
good news that 135 colleges and universities are using
“social norms” programs to address student drinking.
Michael
Haines of the National
Social
Norms
Resource
Center,
perhaps angling for the W&L account, reported this
mixed bag of news in the Roanoke Times.
--
September 7, 2004
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