Bacon's Rebellion

An editorial in The Virginian-Pilot quotes Sen. Walter Stosch, R-Henrico, raising a valid point about the way Virginia accounts for its budget surplus. “What [would] Virginia owe if all the outstanding bills were suddenly called due? Practically speaking, that would never happen in one fell swoop. But the items Stosch wanted to smoke out compete for revenue and will have to be dealt with sooner or later. “

Stosch specifically focuses on the following:

• $500 million to $800 million in deferred maintenance on state buildings
• $223 million in car-tax reimbursements to state localities delayed until July
• $128 in obligations to the Virginia Prepaid Tuition Program
• Income tax refunds, court orders to clean up the Chesapeake Bay, borrowing from the Literary Fund.

All valid issues. The state should know what all of its obligations are. And it’s a shame that Stosch’s bill calling for a study of these obligations wasn’t passed.

But… I’d feel a whole lot better if Stosch would use his accounting expertise to find ways of cutting state spending, not just to justify tax increases. About that $500 – $800 billion in deferred building maintenance…. How about a companion study examining what percentage of state office buildings are vacant at any given time and how many hundreds of millions of dollars annually could be saved by moving to a tele-working/hoteling arrangement?

Somehow, that kind of thinking never seems to occur to either Sen. Stosch or the Virginian-Pilot.

This communique from Del. Albert Pollard, D-Lancaster, in a letter written to his constituents, was passed along Barnie Day, who for some inexplicable quirk of Blogger, was unable to post it to the blog himself.

What is unwritten about the “droopy drawers” bill is that the body was ready to defeat the measure. Its chief patron, Delegate Algie Howell, is a very unassuming and sincere person who, quite frankly, does not hold a firm command of jurisprudence and practical application of legislation. He is simply a neighborhood barber from an African-American community who was elected because of his individual acts of kindness within his community. I believe the body was poised to defeat HB1981. We collectively realized what the rest of the world realized the problematic nature of the bill. However, when the delegate from Chesapeake stood up and railed not only against the bill but also against Delegate Howell, the mood shifted in a palatable way. The delegate’s remarks personally attacked Delegate Howell and broke the rules of the House with such mean-spirited words. It was then that the body passed the bill, not so much because we were enamored with the resolution but because of the overreaction by the delegate from Chesapeake. It is easy to say one would never cast such a vote, but I believe that most people in similar circumstances would do the same. Needless to say, with the international publicity it was wise of the Senate to immediately take up the measure and kill the bill. I can also say in retrospect that given the benefits of hindsight the whole issue would have been dealt with in a different way.

The Virginia Progressive is the latest Democratic organ that’s all excited about Sen. Russ Potts’ candidacy. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, after all.

Some Republican blogs, when they are not trashing Potts, are trying to convince themselves that he’ll take votes from Kaine, not Kilgore. Of course, the “bring back the car tax” demographic may not have much of a voting track record.

Potts has said he only needs 34% of the vote in a three-way race. My questions are these: assuming Potts gets on the ballot (a big if, in my opinion), do we want a Governor who only got 34% of the vote? Do we want a Governor who doesn’t get 50%? Would a Governor without a majority alter the balance of power with the General Assembly?

Via Norm over at One Man’s Trash, we learn that the Cato Institute is releasing a report card on the Nation’s Governors this morning.

A preview of the report appeared in the Wall Street Journal (pay site) yesterday. Apparently, Virginia’s Governor Warner got a “D” for raising taxes. “F” students were “bi-partisan” Governors Taft (R) of Ohio and Rendell (D) of Pennsylvania. Schwarzenegger got an “A” for cutting spending and Bill Richardson of New Mexico got the highest grade for a Democrat, a “B.”

It wasn’t that long ago that we were reviewing the “A” Governing magazine gave Governor Warner for raising taxes.

Would you be willing to take a subconscious test on prejudices?

Hey, it’s a snow day … and there’s nothing better to do! You can self-test your unconscious levels of prejudice about age, gender, race, etc.

https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/

A few weeks ago, the Washington Post published an article on Project Implicit, “See No Bias” by Shankar Vedantam.

The WP sub-headline wrote, “Many Americans believe they are not prejudiced. Now a new test provides powerful evidence that a majority of us really are. Assuming we accept the results, what can we do about it?”

To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27067-2005Jan21.html?referrer=emailarticle

Read more about the project, visit: http://projectimplicit.net/media.php

Ironically, the study is based at Harvard University. The president of Harvard University, Dr. Lawrence H. Summers, recently made controversial closed-door remarks about the shortage of women in the sciences and engineering started a campaign against the gender science bias.

Many politicians and elected officials claim they are not prejudiced, especially members of the Democratic Party who champion diversity issues and social engineering legislation. So the Blue Dog double-dared a well-known gay attorney and a number of Democratic activist to take the bias test, but most declined.

I’m not surprised either. Democratic liberalism is dead and has been replaced with the self-centered advocacy of the special interests. In the Commonwealth, the DPVA is a functional ambivalent entity.

But is the gender-based test nothing more than token junk science?

Personally, I thought the test was highly inaccurate, but humorous and fun. After all, I am what I am. And I’ve played this political correct game before …

In the early 1970s, I attended the first open space, self-progressing high school on the East coast. I never dealt with HS guidance counselors — and instead of Home room, I attended “Who am I” sessions where ‘we’ students daily explored our inter-feelings. The class hugged a lot, held hands, sat in a circle, etc. The school attracted an eclectic crowd of liberal educators along with a diverse student enrollment. It’s was vastly different from a tradition high school.

In hindsight, I consider myself a Junius-thinking political byproduct of a failed 1970s left-wing social experiment for a pre-utopian society (A.K.A. the political correct global village).

For the record: That’s why I’m a Blue Dog.

The Feb. 28, 2005, edition of Bacon’s Rebellion has been posted online. Contents include:

Pitching a Fitch. Warrenton Mayor George Fitch wants to be your next governor. Outraged by waste in government, he’s the one candidate totally committed to cutting taxes and reining in state spending. by James A. Bacon

Three Levels of Autonomy. Commonwealth universities didn’t get to Charterland, but they did pin some serious new commitments on the General Assembly. by Doug Koelemay

Think We Could Arrange a Trade? Virginia’s John Chichester wants to raise taxes. North Carolina’s Marc Basnight prefers to cut spending. Who would you want on your team? by Patrick McSweeney

How the Senate Really Operates. Richard Saslaw and Russell Potts revealed the true temperament of the state Senate by uttering in public opinions normally expressed behind closed doors. by Patrick McSweeney

Interstate Crime. Business As Usual interests are calling for bigger, wider Interstates to improve inter-regional mobility. The schemes won’t work because they don’t create Balanced Communities. by EM Risse

Amendamania. Legislators have filed an unprecedented 76 amendments to the state constitution this session. Someone needs to rein them in. by Barnie Day

In the End… Virginia has survived another session of the General Assembly. All things considered, it wasn’t a bad year. by Barnie Day

Why Shield the State? Ben Cline has a sound idea: Government should avoid doing things that the private sector could do just as well. It’s baffling that he can’t he get HB 2556 enacted into law. by Geoffrey Segal

Four Mo’ LG Candidates. The Blue Dog continues his environmental scan of the candidates for Lieutenant Governor. by Steven Sisson

Contributions, Sexual Politics and Sprawl. The Blue Dog completes his survey of the men and women vying for the Lieutenant Governorship. by Steven Sisson

Railroaded Again. An unelected group, the Commonwealth Transportation Board, is raising rates on the Dulles Toll Road to pay for METRO improvements. I call that taxation without representation. by Philip Rodokanakis

Republicans Asunder. If the Virginia GOP stands for everything from higher taxes to tax cuts, does it really stand for anything? Does anything unite the party beyond a hunger for power? by James Atticus Bowden

Reforming Higher Ed. The “chartered university” proposal has morphed into a comprehensive overhaul of higher education in Virginia. Many of the changes are good ideas — but they’re no substitute for more state support. by Jesse Ferguson

Virginia Pundit Watch: Special General Assembly-Bashing Edition. by Will Vehrs

Nice & Curious Questions: Virginia Prize Winners. by Edwin S. Clay III and Patricia Bangs

After reading Northern Crown‘s experience trying to contact Republican candidates via their websites, I don’t know if the internet is wildly overrated as a campaign tool or if some candidates are so totally clueless they should be dismissed out of hand.

Commonwealth Conservative gets it: “As a candidate, when voters come to you, you need to cultivate that relationship.”

Governor Mark Warner has turned state government upside-down in an effort to do more business with small, women, and minority owned (SWAM) firms and the thanks he gets are headlines like this one in the Daily Press: Warner’s plan to raise contracting diversity falls short.

The article is full of innuendo that procurement officals are ignoring the Governor’s wishes and just waiting for him to leave office, that “special deals” are cut with non-SWAM vendors, and that somehow the electronic procurement system is “stacked” against SWAM firms. If true, these are serious charges, worthy of high-level investigation.

What’s missing from the article, though, is any attempt at investigative journalism to give even one factual example supporting the innuendo. What’s also missing is a fair-minded review of whether the sagging numbers reported for SWAM procurement are valid.

Someday a journalist is going to take the time to watch a sample number of SWAM firms submit bids on openly posted contracts, then use procurement tools that are in place to determine if any SWAM firms were unfairly denied contracts they deserved. Until then, this carping appears to be sour grapes. Governor Warner has done plenty to open up the system to SWAM firms and give them a presumptive advantage, even inviting a backlash by non-SWAM firms. Maybe SWAM firms aren’t doing all they can to return the Governor’s faith in them.

Well folks, no surprise here. The Washington Post is wasting no time–they’re already on record supporting Chichester’s proposed tax increase next year.

“Taxes, fees, tolls — all must be in the mix if Virginia is to keep moving. Senate Finance Committee Chairman John H. Chichester (R-Northumberland) said that this year’s “minuscule” compromise “isn’t even a beginning toward the solution to our transportation dilemma.” After the fall House elections, Mr. Chichester plans to push for a package of so-far unspecified taxes, probably including a much-needed increase in the gas tax. If candidates continue to paper over the severity of congestion and its economic consequences, voters should demand some truthful responses.”

How come we only hear talk of tax increases and we never hear anything about the need for government accountability? You still have the Wilder Commission report gathering dust and no one is talking about implementing some of its recommendations to reduce the massive fraud, waste, and abuse that goes on in most government programs.

An old friend, Joseph Britt of Kennesaw, GA, recently emailed to ask about anti-immigration as an issue for Virginia Democrats. Joe had just read a George W. Grayson article in the William & Mary Alumni Magazine, “Myths About Illegal Immigration.”

Grayson does not cite any Virginia examples, but among the “myths” he attempts to explode are that illegal immigrants perform jobs Americans don’t want and that they contribute more in taxes and social security than they take from government programs.

A recent email message sent by Paul Jost to Ken Hutcheson was just too good to pass up without sharing it on this blog. As most of you probably know, Hutcheson is Kilgore’s campaign manager. He also served previously as the campaign manger for the following heavyweight, tax-and-spend, State Senate Commissars: John Chichester, Tommy Norment, and Russ Potts. (I’ve received Paul’s permission to publish his message in its entirety.)

Hutch…I’m very confused. You are Jerry Kilgore’s campaign manager and long-time key strategist. The company you own is called Old Dominion Strategies. Jerry’s campaign is being quoted as saying that Russ Potts has “not been a Republican for years.”

Just now, I looked on the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP) web site and it shows that you have three clients:

1. Jerry Kilgore who has paid you $237,154 in consulting fees
2. Virginians for Responsible Government (the PAC formed to fund John Chichester and Tommy Norment’s reelection campaigns shortly before they led the fight to raise taxes which paid you $103,859 in consulting fees
3. Russ Potts who has paid you $15,194 in consulting fees.

If Russ Potts has “not been a Republican for years,” why were you recently working for him and taking his money? In fact, you were doing so with Jerry Kilgore’s blessing at the same time that you were working for Jerry. And why were you working for tax hikers John Chichester and Tommy Norment while working for Jerry?

And when Jerry was quoted as saying he would support all Republican incumbents against other Republican primary challengers just a few weeks ago, did he also mean that he would support Russ Potts?

Can you help me clear up this confusion?

Paul Jost

Governor Warner was on NPR’s All Things Considered this afternoon, talking about education, the issue he is leading as Chairman of the National Governors’ Association.

He emphasized “career and technical education” for non-college bound students and insisted that the Governors were looking for real solutions: “We don’t need another study that sits on the shelf.”

Commonwealth Commonsense had the statistics on high school outcomes a few days ago. Gov. Warner and his cohorts don’t just need to set up “career and technical education” programs; they need to convince parents that these programs are viable options to college.

Republican Gubernatorial Candidate, Jerry Kilgore was interviewed on WTOP this morning. Since this is a call-in show, I tried to get on the radio to ask Kilgore why he hasn’t signed the Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) pledge not to raise taxes–a pledge he had signed when he ran for Attorney General, but which according to the ATR must be renewed now that Kilgore is running for Governor (see: “A Backroom Deal?“)

Unfortunately, they wouldn’t let me ask the question on the air. They told me that there was another person already on hold waiting to ask the same question. I then said I wanted to ask him about Sen. Chichester’s proposals to raise taxes and why Kilgore is not he speaking out against them. They told me that this was too similar a question and they wouldn’t let me get on the air.

Interestingly, I later received an email confirmation that a person from ATR was indeed holding to ask the tax pledge question, but that person wasn’t allowed to come on the air as well. Makes you wonder whether Kilgore’s campaign staff had a role in screening the callers…

If anyone is interested, I recorded the entire interview. It’s about 40 minutes long once I removed the commercials. To listen to the interview click here.

The Kilgore team is moving quickly to put its own spin on the soon-to-be-announced candidacy of Sen. Russell Potts of Winchester. In a press release issued 2:46 p.m. this afternoon, Kilgore’s office stated:

The announcement today that Russ Potts (I-Winchester) will run for Governor [as] an Independent can only be seen as a tremendous setback for the Kaine for Governor campaign. Now, the High Tax/Big Government Spending lobby has two liberal candidates to choose from in the race for Governor. What we have here today is not a split within the Republican Party, but rather a colossal fissure among the High Tax/Big Government Spending coalition.

Russ Potts will only take votes away from Tim Kaine’s base of supporters who believe a $1.4 billion tax increase and a $1.5 billion budget surplus is not enough for their big government appetite.

The Kilgore spinmeisters have a point. Now, all they have to do is get past He Who Must Not Be Named — the “other” fiscal conservative — George Fitch.

Larry Sabato has a fresh edition of his Crystal Ball out on the Center for Politics web site. He handicaps the Democratic presidential field for 2008. Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. John Kerry, and former Sen. John Edwards constitute the top contenders. Gov. Mark Warner is high on Sabato’s second tier of potential candidates, just behind Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh. Here’s what the good professor has to say about Warner:

Mark Warner has a solid record as governor, a Southern address (always attractive to Democrats who remember that only Southerners Carter and Clinton have won since 1968), and a fortune often estimated at $200 million. Yet he is just a one-term state executive, prevented by Virginia’s constitution from running again, and he has never held any other elective office. Out of office in early 2006, Warner will have to struggle to stay relevant in the years leading up to 2008. A successful challenge to Republican Senator George Allen in 2006 would achieve that, but Warner appears disinclined to take the chance of losing and being eliminated from the White House sweepstakes.

Sabato will do a similar handicapping of the Republican field next and we’ll see how he rates Sen. Allen’s chances.