Tag Archives: Robin Beres

Chaos in Congress Isn’t Good for Virginia

Posted on January 4, 2023 by | 35 comments

by Robin Beres

In a recent column for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Rep. Bob Good (R-VA 05), noted that as of this month, “the U.S. House of Representatives will be the only thing standing between Americans and the Democrats’ assault on freedom, the family, the economy and our national security.”

The GOP won the House majority by a slim margin in November 2022. So, if Good is so concerned about the Republicans’ ability to address so many pressing issues, isn’t it odd that he is being such a willing contributor to the humiliation the GOP is inflicting upon itself right now?

What should have been a quick vote on January 3 for a Speaker of the House — a requirement before Congress can begin working on any of the people’s business — ended in the House adjourning Tuesday with no Speaker. Three consecutive votes failed to garner enough support for GOP leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA 23) to secure the gavel for his party.

The failure to elect a leader on the first vote is the first time this has happened in 100 years. The opposition is coming from a small group of far-right-wing Republicans who appear to be reveling in the chaos they are causing and the humiliation they have dealt to McCarthy. Bob Good is one of them.

I’m not sure what Good, who considers himself a biblical conservative, hopes to derive from this nonsense, other than reveling in the national attention. If he and his team of hyper-conservatives wanted to start this Congress making the GOP look like a bunch of inept buffoons, they’ve surely succeeded. If they wanted to give the Democrats a good laugh, they’ve also succeeded with that. Check out the Twitter picture of Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA 33), posing outside the House Chamber with a bag of popcorn. Continue reading →

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Posted in Democracy and Western Civilization, Elections, Governance, Leadership, Uncategorized

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Down Comes the Pedestal

Posted on December 6, 2021 by | 22 comments

From the latest edition of The Blunderbuss:

The last remaining section of a once towering statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee is being removed from Richmond’s Monument Avenue today. No word yet on what will replace the graffiti-covered pedestal in the grassy circle. The state is transferring that land back to the City of Richmond to decide its fate.

In September, Gov. Ralph Northam had declared the 40-foot base of the Confederate general’s statue would remain until efforts to reimagine Monument Avenue were complete. For whatever reason, the governor has changed his mind. Perhaps the memory of the city’s over-promised and under-delivered plans to improve Richmond’s 17th Street Farmers Market is still too vivid. Maybe he wants no part of the blame should the pedestal and the circle become untended eyesores while the city argues over what should be placed there — understandable for someone already leaving office with a tarnished legacy.

Whatever the reason, it’s for the best that the expletive-adorned base comes down. Richmonders can at least enjoy an open space as they begin to put this sad saga behind them. And whatever one’s opinion of Robert E. Lee, I’m sure the old soldier is just happy it’s over.

— Robin Beres

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Posted in Culture wars

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Time to Double Fines for Littering

Posted on February 8, 2021 by | 63 comments

Credit: Onthecommons.org

by Robin Beres

It isn’t often that a Virginia legislator files a bill calling for increased fines that one is tempted to stand up and cheer for, but a recent piece of legislation submitted by Del. James Edmunds, (R-Halifax), is pretty close.

Edmunds’ bill, HB 1801, calls for increasing the minimum fine for “dumping or disposing of litter, trash, or other unsightly matter on public or private property,” from $250 to $500. (The maximum fine of $2,500 would remain the same.) The bill would also require litterers to perform 40 hours of community service, four times as much the current mandatory minimum of 10 hours.

Edmunds, who has long been a participant in the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Adopt-A-Highway program, says he has seen an increase in litter. His theory is that since restaurants have been closed during the pandemic, more people are ordering food to go and eating in their vehicles. When done, many are simply tossing the empty containers out car windows. Virginia roads have become eyesores.

“The roads are the worst I’ve ever seen them,” Edmunds recently told The Virginia Star. “The status quo is not doing any good. This bill will hopefully bring attention to a terrible problem.” Continue reading →

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Posted in Environment, General Assembly

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Voters Still Want Principled, Conservative Policies

Posted on January 27, 2021 by | 154 comments

I am delighted to introduce a new contributor to Bacon’s Rebellion: Robin Beres, a former editorial writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. — JAB

by Robin Beres

Inauguration Day has come and gone, and President Joe Biden is safely ensconced in the White House. For more than a week now, he has been sitting at the Resolute desk, merrily signing one executive order after another. What exactly is in many of them and how they will impact Virginians remains to be seen.

But for now, there is hope that the long, national slugfest we endured during President Donald Trump’s four years in office will end. Biden’s inaugural words calling for unity hit the right tones. It was full-throated and patriotic — and sounded reassuringly like a speech from a well-seasoned statesman rather than a feeble old man. We can only pray his remarks hold true.

And, for now at least, most of the protests that marked 2020 appear to have stopped (except in places like Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, where unrest and rioting have become near-daily occurrences). On Inauguration Day, in a locked-down Washington, D.C. — to all appearances under martial law — there was none of the looting, destruction, or cry-ins we saw during Trump’s 2016 Inauguration.

With nearly 26,000 gun-toting National Guardsmen present, there were no further acts of insurrection such as happened at the U.S. Capitol on January 6. Never has the nation seen such a dreadful exhibition of anarchy and, hopefully, we never will again. The entire episode was repulsive. Continue reading →

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Posted in Politics

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