The
Blue Dog had an interesting Thursday evening last
week. After reading The Washington Post's
fair and balanced "rave reviews" along
with pundit Gordon Morse's foaming-at-the-mouth
taxation column concerning Gov.-elect Tim Kaine's
Moving Virginia Forward town-hall meeting, out of
curiosity, I had to attend the event of the fall
season.
Yes,
the front burners are on with the "Grow Right,
Get There Faster" statewide theme, which is the
Kaine transportation mission statement. The raising
Kaine citizen meetings have been sold-out affairs in
Manassas, Roanoke, Henrico, Newport News,
Fredericksburg, Leesburg and Danville. Gathered at
this town-hall meeting in Staunton were Dems and
'Pubs, parents and their children, social activists
and environmentalists, leftists and tree huggers,
gays and lesbians, former candidates and elected
officials, dynamic talk-radio DJs and TV-3's
wet-behind-the-ear reporters, and of course, the
local dino-newspapers reporters and a few Internet
bloggers were in attendance.
Kaine
had a nice crowd in the Stonewall Jackson Hotel
ballroom, which was standing-room-only. Notables
were recognized by the Governor-elect, which
included the mayor of Staunton, John Avoli, along
with local House of Delegates members Ben Cline and
Chris Saxman. However, our esteemed state senator,
Emmett Hanger, was AWOL.
While
addressing the town hall, Avoli bent over backwards
to express his undying gratitude for Gov. Mark
Warner's personal assistance and his state funding
that assisted with the renovation of the hotel -- as
the local elected Republicans in the crowd rolled
their teary eyes!
In
addition, the Blue Dog spied several members of the
Augusta County Board of Supervisors and the
Rockingham County Board of Supervisors who are
steadfast members of the local Republican Party
fawning over Gov.-elect Kaine and his handlers. No
doubt, this yet another sickening display for
supplementary state funding for future county pet
projects, such as an expensive loop road and pricey
infrastructure for their business corridors and much
more.
"No
mas, mo mas, Timmaayyyy!" - because power
and greed corrupts the heart and soul of our local
politicians in the Central Shenandoah Valley
Believe
it or not: The Blue Dog overheard from across the
crowded room an Augusta County elected Republican
say boldly he voted for Democrat Tim Kaine and not
that other guy. What an apple polisher! Local
Democrats gleefully expressed their enduring
gratitude for his vote.
Holy
RINO, Batman! Better contact the Virginia Club for
Growth and use the Grover Norquist hotline!
After
hearing this blasphemy, the Blue Dog sarcastically
questioned the conservative twosome, Delegates
Saxman and Cline, about the possibility of
supporting a Kaine gas-tax increase. Not wanting to
stir the pot, both Cline and Saxman politely said,
"No."
Just
double-checking there, boys! After all, Tim
"The Choir Boy" Kaine expressed sincere
appreciation for the cooperation at the town hall.
As
I chatted with Del. Cline, I noticed two of his
former Democratic opponents, Mimi Elrod and David
Cox, glaring and whispering sweet little nothings on
the front row. The Blue Dog's ears were a-burning!
The
Blue Dog provided Cline some advice to stay clear of
The News-Leader reporters as well - as the
staff there has rather mean-spiritedly nicknamed
Congressman Bob Goodlatte's former legislative
assistant Ben Clone in their editorials. After
warning Gentle Ben about the Lexington one-two
punch, a few seconds later, Cline graciously went
over to shake their hands.
Cline
is a good politician and Virginia gentleman, but I'm
still waiting for his brand of conservative
legislation to materialize in Richmond. If you need
some solid ideas, buddy, I'm just a phone call away.
Roadie
Toadies
His
Excellency-elect, Tim Kaine, waltzed into the
ballroom 15 minutes late for his own flipping
town-hall meeting! Kaine's mentor, the esteemed Gov.
Mollycoddle, can't tell time either. He's
consistently late.
Oh
yeah, Timmy did take a second look at the Blue Dog
when entering the room, and he might have actually
cracked a half-smile when he saw me on the front
row. Yes, Virginia politics are so addictive because
it's so personal.
Our
governor-elect quickly laid out his three
transportation principles ...
-
Urgency with the issue of Virginia transportation
and funding.
-
Accountability with the Virginia Department of
Transportation and road-construction projects.
-
Accountability with land-planning and transportation
needs.
And
err, wait a second, folks, because there's another
principle. Perhaps our governor-elect meant to say
there are four principles?
-
Choices with private partnerships along with mass
and alternative transportation processes.
For
the record, the Blue Dog says mass transit is the
only solution to the transportation challenges of
congested regions in the Commonwealth such as
Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads. In the first
place, there's no room to build the roads. Second,
planners need to alleviate secondary and local
traffic to free up major transportation routes. It's
not rocket science, because there's no justifiable
reasoning to building more and more roads. It's not
an answer to the problem. It's time for a
common-sense approach for our transportation
challenges.
Kaine
set the ground rules for the town hall: Keep the
questions brief, no applause or booing, either.
Kaine mainly listened and made few comments.
The
first questioner from Lynchburg broke the rules with
his commentary. I'm guessing this Lynchburg native
is a lifelong Democrat because he stroked Kaine's
ego excessively about his gubernatorial victory and
how pleased and happy he was about that fact. Then
he finally commented how the governor needs to
legislatively direct the reinstatement of toll roads
throughout Virginia.
Earth
to Lynchburg, Earth to Lynchburg ... Please wake up
and smell the hot asphalt, because nobody, and I
mean nobody, in the Shenandoah Valley wants toll
roads!
During
the meeting, Democrat and Republican alike stood up
and expressed their distain and displeasure for
legislation that would institute toll roads and the
Star Solutions project. Halfway through the meeting,
Gov.-elect Kaine asked for a show of hand of
residents who supported a rail alternative for I-81
or represented the rail-advocacy organization, Rail
Solution. Wow! It had to be 90 percent of the people
in the room raising their hands as supporters of a
rail alternative.
More
to the point, our elected officials attending the
meeting said "No!" to the clowns at Star
Solutions and "Yes!" to a rail alternative
for the Shenandoah Valley
When
addressing the governor-elect, Augusta County Board
of Supervisors member Tracey Pyles made some
excellent points about state funding of secondary
roadways and lessening the standards for road
construction in rural areas. The same for former
state senator Frank Nolen concerning a rail
solution. Frank Nolen never seems to grow older.
However,
the citizens attending the town hall from the
Peoples Republic of Charlottesville were noticeably
out of place and a tad bizarre with their left-wing
questions and superficial commentary concerning
transportation. Maybe it's the water across the
mountain?
Case
in point: First off, a Virginia Organizing Project
member said state taxes were regressive. He
obviously forgot the VOP supported Warner's tax
increases in 2004. And then he sternly requested
that the governor-elect curtail law enforcement
practice of racial profiling with ethnicity on our
Interstates and roadways. Oh, please! Who drives
slow enough to notice race or ethnicity or sex?
Later
that evening, the Blue Dog chatted with Kaine's
campaign media director Delacey Skinner and
congratulated her as well as the entire Kaine
campaign on a hard-fought victory. A stunning
victory, I must admit.
For
the record, the Blue Dog is attempting to mend a few
broken fences. See you on the road and ... Happy
trails to Gov.-elect Timmaayyyy!
--
December 12, 2005
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