Special Session Day Four: Appalling

Well, that didn’t take long.  Mere hours after my latest warning about what Bill Howell would do, Phillip Hamilton goes out and proves me right (Washington Post):

House Republican leaders are expected to move ahead today with a proposal to reestablish regional transportation plans in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, setting up a potential split within the GOP caucus.

Del. Phillip A. Hamilton (R-Newport News) said his proposal, which is expected to be embraced by the House leadership after it is heard by a committee today, will include a mix of state-imposed and locally enacted taxes, a concession for GOP leaders who previously had ruled out state-imposed taxes.

In Northern Virginia, the plan calls for a 2 percent rental car tax, a $5 a night hotel tax and a 40 cent grantors tax. There would also be a $100 initial vehicle registration fee. All of the money raised would stay in Northern Virginia to build roads.

“All along, we have said we are willing to address the regional components,” said Hamilton, noting all the new taxes in Hampton Roads would be state imposed.

Here we go again.

The bill itself (HB 6055, co-sponsored by Dave Albo) would do the following (read it and weep):

• Impose a rental car tax (2%) on Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads
• “Allow” localities in Northern Virginia to impose a grantor’s tax (0.4%), but once imposed, it can never be repealed so long as the NVTA is building something in the locality (and the NVTA gets all the dough)
• “Allow” localities in Northern Virginia to impose transient occupancy tax (2%), but once imposed, it can never be repealed so long as the NVTA is building something in the locality (and the NVTA gets all the dough)
• Allow localities in  Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads to impose a real estate tax (0.25% in NoVA, 0.1% in HR)
• Any localities in Northern Virginia that refuse to impose the fees get no NVTA road projects (just like HB3202 last year, it puts a gun to the head of the localities)
• Allows all other localities with a population over 500,000 – or any jurisdiction bordering it, or any city with a population of 265,000 to impose a local income tax (pursuant to a referendum)

That’s just the taxes.  Get a load of where the money goes (besides for “transportation”).

• The NVTA can be “an advocate for the transportation needs of Northern Virginia before the state and federal governments,” in other words, they can use taxpayer money to lobby for more taxpayer money
• The funding in Hampton Roads will be determined by the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Planning Organization (another appointed group).  In other words, Hampton Roads trades one regional government for another.

In short, Hamilton and Albo brought back HB3202 – and worse.

In response, Bill Howell sent it out of his Rules Committee and on to the floor by 10-5 vote (all eight Republicans back the monstrosity).

To make matters worse, Howell also had the Senate multi-tax disaster sent to the floor on an 11-4 vote (once again, all eight Republicans voted aye).

Meanwhile, all of Bob Marshall’s bills to reduce spending (and Jeff Frederick’s bill to download local roads) are still buried in committee.

Simply put, this is appalling.  Bill Howell has revealed himself to be a weak, cowardly, tax-hiking cipher (again).  If there was ever any doubt about the need for new leadership in the House of Delegates, that doubt is gone.

Cross-posted to the right-wing liberal

Bill Howell’s plans, and the GOP’s choice

The House of Delegates (or, to be more precise, the House Rules Committee) will take up the multifaceted tax increase (including the hidden, secret ones) passed by the Senate Democrats last night.  Odds are, the bill will die, which would be a good thing.  That’s not the end of the story though.

Amidst the whirl and rush over the Senate bill, people are beginning to notice that the House GOP has (publicly, at least) presented nothing.  As the session drags on, the calls for the House to show “leadership” will continue to grow.  I’d normally, start ripping MSM and the Democrats for this (they’ll be making said calls), but for my certain belief that Speaker Bill Howell has anticipated this all along – and is merely waiting to spring the return of HB3202 as his “compromise” solution.

Why do I say this?  Simple; every other option to fund transportation has been quietly killed by Speaker Howell.

To see what I mean, take a look at the bills presented by Delegate Bob Marshall (LIS).  He has a measure to implement the Wilder Commission’s recommendations for efficiencies in government (HJ 6061), a bill to find efficiencies in the Transportation Department (HB 6032), and one near and dear to my heart, a bill that closes the door on adding subdivision streets to the maintenance grid (HB 6041).  They all share two things in common: they can hold down the cost of government in order to enable existing transportation needs to be met, and they are all languishing in Bill Howell’s House Rules Committee.  Bills 6061 and 6041(the better two, IMHO) haven’t even made it to a Rules Committee docket.

In other words, Howell is buring any alternative to tax increases. To me, that’s simply more evidence that he has his own tax increase waiting in the wings.  I’m not alone either (DC Examiner):

(University of Mary Washington Professor Stephen J.) Farnsworth expected any compromise to be centered on a patch for Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, the two regions that won millions of dollars in new transportation funding last year only to see the mechanism for collecting those taxes thrown out by the Virginia Supreme Court in February.

Lest anyone forget, none other than Attorney General and presumtive GOP gubernatorial nominee Bob McDonnell told the Washington Post, “I think the regional fixes are doable.”

So while the attention will be on the Senate bill today, I’m guessing the time will come when Howell will ask the Republican Delegates to swallow some form of tax increase.  Then the Delegates will have to ask themselves: Who is more important to them, their Speaker or their voters?

Cross-posted to the right-wing liberal

HERE WE GO AGAIN

What defines a Democrat?  A Democrat believes that someone else’s money provides the solution to every problem.  Since there is no end to problems, a Democrat is also someone who never believes that government has a enough money.  So long as one person has any money in their own pockets, somebody is being selfish.

Since they never believe government has enough money, Democrats see the world in a constant state of crisis.  So to resolve the crisis of the day, today begins a Special Session of the General Assembly.

The key to ending highway congestion: clearing the political bottleneck on Capitol Square.

“That’s where the real traffic jam is,” said Ray Pethtel, a former state transportation commissioner now with the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.

With the General Assembly returning tomorrow for another go at fixing transportation, the forces that have kept lawmakers and the governor at loggerheads for three years — among them, sharp partisanship and regional rivalries — remain firmly in place.  (from here)

What is the source of this political bottleneck?  According to one point of view, the problem is that those mean Republicans do not want to raise taxes.  That constitutes a crisis.  Sharon Pandak, a local Democratic Party leader, explains that point of view in her letter to the editor.  Here is an exerpt.

Ask those legislators, who think monies exist, to identify specifically where $700 million needed for the region annually, or even the minimum amount of $300 million, is located in the budget and what other items will not be funded. Pointing vaguely, generally alleging waste or mythical budget surpluses or saying an audit is necessary does not build a road, buy a bus or move a train. A “no new taxes” mantra actually raises our ultimate taxes because deferred maintenance and construction always cost more, much more. If the system is not fixed, someday we will rival a third-world country.  (from here)

Of course, as Pandak well knows, no politician is going step out on his own and volunteer a list of spending cuts. That is political suicide.  Unfortunately, because the electorate rewards honest politicians this way, that is why the budget has grown out of control.  It is also why we have a deadlock over transportation spending in Richmond; everyone wants someone else to pay for their goodies.

The solution should be obvious.  Everyone pays their own freight.  Why is that a novel idea?  It is the way we use to fund transportation.  Have you ever heard of toll roads?  Don’t people still pay to travel on a bus, train, or airplane?  Nonetheless, that is not the way Democrats think.  Democrats want somebody else to pay, and that is why we have to have this “special session.” 

To stiffen their nerve, elected Republicans should remind themselves of the reaction the last time they gave in to the Democrats. 

This is a post about betrayal. There is no misunderstanding; the matter is not trivial. Much of the Republican Party’s leadership has directly betrayed Republican Party principles, and the party rank and file is furious.  (from here)

The special session awaits

Tomorrow begins the transportation special session that may or may not provide a “solution” for roads, but will decide the fate of the Virginia GOP.

The good news: The House of Delegates is holding firm against Tim Kaine’s ridiculous tax inceases, and the Senate Democrats seem determined to ditch it themselves in favor of a gas tax hike.

The bad news: It’s sure thing that Kaine will sign anything the Senate Democrats pass – if it gets out of the House.

The worse news: Republican delegates are still talking about regional tax increases; now it’s Chris Peace, who leads off his “real plan” with this (from a letter by Peace forwarded to me):   

Rewrite last year’s bi-partisan transportation solution that provided the mechanism to produce about half a million dollars a day for Hampton Roads and nearly $1 million per day for Northern Virginia. This plan would direct all new funds for congestion relief. 

Of course, “last year’s bi-partisan transportation solution” was the disaster known as HB3202.  While Howell himself as been silent, Peace is now the third House Republican in less than two weeks to attempt a resurrection of that debacle.  Something tells me they’re running interference for him.

The Republicans in Richmond have to understand something: the voters will not accept any tax increases.  Election 2007 should have sent the message; the GOP convention should have sent the message.  Unfortunately, conventional wisdom jammed the message each time.

Still, if Howell et al think they can sneak out of Richmond with a tax increase, they are very much mistaken.

Cross-posted to the right-wing liberal

HOW TO FOLLOW UP

Recently, Bob Marshall lost his bid to be the Republican Party’s nominee for the Senate by a very small margin (see here).  Marshall led a grassroots, low budget campaign; he was clearly a people’s candidate.   Because he himself is a fighter, Marshall succeeded in rousing loyal supporters to fight for his campaign.   With the example of the battles he has waged to protect our traditions and our constitutional form of government, Marshall has shown one person really can make a difference. 

How can we help Bob Marshall?  Well, let’s look at the process.  Many of us gripe about politicians.  We complain about all the money they spend and waste.  Then most of us do nothing.  Most of us not even bother to vote.  We expect somebody else to fix the mess, but a republic does not work that way.  Marshall’s battles are our battles.  This is our country.  Win or lose, we will all live with the outcome.

Why do so many stand by and do nothing?  Since each of us is unique, I would imagine there are many different reasons.  Since most people were educated in the public school system, I would also hazard a guess that the predominant reason is most people do not know what to do.  Our education system is managed by politicians.  Would the rascals want to teach us how to throw the rascals out of office?  Of course not.  So here is a primer on our political system.

NEWS SOURCES

What They Do

Most of us receive our information on current events from the popular mass media.  We must treat each news source with great skepticism.  The news media does not exist to inform us.  Accuracy is not its primary objective.  The mass media is for the most part owned by corporations. Corporations exist to provide stockholders a profit.  The news media earns a profit by providing an audience for advertisers.   Unless you and I, their viewers, listeners, and readers, insist otherwise, corporate interests will strive to eliminate competition and feed us cheap drivel.

So-called nonprofit news outlets are no better.  Their news coverage is especially biased.   Such news sources are biased by the need to motivate listeners to fund them.  Because these news sources receive almost half of their funding from government (i.e., the incumbent politicians), such news sources are also immoral. 

To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.
Thomas Jefferson

Our Mission

We live in the Information Age.  We do not need to depend upon one single news source.  WE MUST BECOME INFORMED CITIZENS!  We must shop around for our news.

POLITICAL PARTIES

What Political Parties Do

Political parties exist for only one purpose, to nominate and elect candidates for public office.  The United States has only two political parties that have any significance: The Democratic Party and The Republican Party.  Without the nomination of one of these two parties, a candidate for public office has very little chance of being elected.

Several means exist to select the nominee of a political party.  The two most common are the convention and the primary election.  The convention process has the virtue of making the party label meaningful.  When a candidate receives a party’s nomination via a convention, only those people willing to take the time to spend hours listening to politicians speak and then vote participate.  Such dedicated people insist their candidates abide by their party’s principles.  Primary elections, on the other hand, make it easier for the general public to participate.  Unfortunately, many states, including Virginia, do not require party registration.  Then almost anyone can participate in a primary election.  In such cases a party’s nominee has little reason to abide by the principles of any particular political party.  Primary elections, particularly in states with party registration, render a party’s label virtually meaningless.

For politicians who do not wish to be held accountable for their decisions by the political party that nominated them, primary elections are the preferred nomination method. 

Our Role

In politics, half of the battle is just showing up.  The people who show up to vote in primary elections or show up at conventions decide.  The rest of the People live with the decisions of others.

As citizens, we can choose not to participate in the activities of any political party.  However, if we choose not to participate in one of the major political parties, we severely limit the effect we can have upon an election.  We are mostly reduced to choosing in the General Election between The Democratic Party’s and The Republican Party’s nominee. 

Nonetheless, even if we simply cannot decide which political party to join, we still have options. 

• We can work for or donate funds to the people competing for major party nominations. 
• We can work with folks in one of the minor political parties.  
• We can contribute our funds and energies to the political causes that interest us.

THE GENERAL ELECTION

Deciding Who Wins

This is the time when most people begin to take an interest in the political process.  Since at this point most of the deciding has been done, waiting until this point to take an interest is akin to waiting until the World Series to watch professional baseball.  Except in this case, we are important players.  If we have chosen to sit out all the previous games and our team is not on the field, whose fault is that?

Better Late Than Never

Nevertheless, even when the number of serious candidates has been reduced to two, we still have a choice.  To ensure the best candidate win, we must become informed and donate our money and time to his or her campaign.

IT IS OUR COUNTRY.  TO KEEP IT FOR OUR CHILDREN, WE MUST NOT GIVE UP OUR RIGHT TO CHOOSE WHO RULES US!

FOLLOWING UP

Politics is a never ending struggle.  Even after the election, citizens can affect the outcome.  Bob Marshall has stood up for us against most of the General Assembly.  Marshall has fought to protect our traditions and our constitutional form of government.  Yet there are those in the shadows.  There his enemies will try to undermine and weaken his effectiveness.  When the news media wanted a competitor for Governor Jim Gilmore and a struggle over the Republican nomination, they raved about maverick Bob Marshall.  Now the contest is over.  Because they want us to think of him as inconsequential, the news media now refers to Bob Marshall as a “gadfly.”  In the General Assembly, Democrats label him as an extremist.   And too many spineless Republicans call him unreasonable.

Before we decide to abandon Marshall to the tender mercies of these people, we must ask ourselves a question.  Just who is being unreasonable?  We do not have enough government?  Why would anyone think we need more government?  Why don’t we need politicians willing to fight the growth of government?

Marshall has fought the growth of government.  Marshall has fought to protect our rights and our “unreasonable” traditions.  To help Marshall in his battles, we can write our delegates and ask them to support Marshall. 

It is our home.  Our country.  Will we fight for it?  Will we always be too lazy to show up for the battles?  If we will not fight for ourselves, who will fight for us?

Here is a website that provides the email addresses of our delegates.  Let’s send the rascals a message.  Vote for Bob Marshall for Speaker of the House.

It’s decision time for Gilmore and Frederick

If Bill Janis is any indication, the General Assembly Republicans have decided the revive the pre-Kaine version of HB3202 (for those who think it was Tim Kaine who made that bill bad, here’s the real story).

This time, Jim Bowden beats me to the punch:

In Del. Bill Janis’s criticisms of Gov. Tim Kaine running for VP, he offers this gem on Transportation.

“The constitutional flaws of HB 3202 were created by the Governor’s 2007 amendments to the legislation that passed the House and Senate, specifically, changing the composition of the regional authorities from elected to appointed representatives. These regional authorities could be easily remedied today, by simply amending the law back to the way it was when it passed the General Assembly, and without the Governor’s “improvements.” This would immediately restore approximately $400 million of transportation funding for Northern Virginia, and about $200 million for Hampton Roads. The Governor’s refusal to act is costing NOVA alone over $1 million per day.”

He doesn’t get it. NO REGIONAL GOVERNMENT. I sure hope he is all alone on this.

I would only add one other point: “the way it was when it passed the General Assembly” would still be a state-mandated tax increase.  True, it wouldn’t look like one; in fact, that was the whole point.  HB3202 was (and if Janis has his way, it would be again) a way for General Assembly Republicans to force local officials to enact tax increases in order to avoid accountability.  It didn’t work then, and it won’t work now (nor should it).

Meanwhile, Bowden goes on to throw down the gauntlet to our new Chairman and our Senate nominee (and not a moment too soon):

Message to Jim Gimore (sic) and Jeff Frederick: If this is what comes out of the session – you will have a stark choice to make. Defend The People against the Republicans stuck on stupid in the GA or be painted with the same paint – color me stupid – and lose more elections.

I could not agree more.

Bowden then concludes:

It appears the best we can hope for in Tidewater/Hampton Roads is nothing gets done. Nothing is better than what Janis and too many Republicans are pushing – Regional Government for a plan that doesn’t work – but moves money to the right politicians and special interests.

I would only add two points:

1) Nothing is not only better for Tidewater/Hampton Roads; it’s better for the entire Commonwealth.

2) If Janis’ view is shared by Speaker Howell, then Howell must be replaced, pronto.

Cross-posted to the right-wing liberal

Who Made You King? I Didn’t Vote For You!

I for one would like to see Del. Bob Marshall become Speaker Marshall. That is not so much a reflection on the job that Howell has done; because compared to the vanquished GOP Senate Leadership, Howell looked real good. HB 3202 was a debacle however, and this is my take on the whole thing, and more.

The Transportation crisis that won’t go away. Didn’t we supposedly have a $600M dollar short fall this year because last year’s Senate and House spent like 6% in projected revenues, but Virginia’s economy only delivered 3% or so… Our leadership knew the housing slowdown in NOVA, and statewide really was well underway, but they spent the 6% anyhow.

Can anyone else think of a better reason to not change Captains? Don’t predict 6′ of water and then run the vessel aground. Knowing it’s us they are looking towards to pay for the damage done, in higher taxes. Howell should have called the Senate GOP Leadership on this….

The Va GOP needs to seriously look inward and ask themselves, are we the party of limited government and lower taxation? Because if we are not, what’s the point in asking the electorate to vote for the GOP? Can’t we put to rest half of the old adage that the two biggest lies in politics are:

1. The Democrats are for the working class
2. The Republicans are for smaller government.

I think the election of Jeff Frederick Chair of RPV sent a lightning bolt through the party leadership that they better wake up too.

Here’s the real deal, the rank and file GOP grassroots needs to demand the culture of:

“You Send it, We’ll Spend it”

Gets Exorcised from the GOP thought process… It should be, you send it, we meet the basic governmental needs, and send the rest back to the tax payers…. This gives me visions of levitating beds, heads spinning, and green vomit, but does anyone remember… oh say…

Governors George Allen and Jim Gilmore? Exactly what message were they preaching when they swept themselves into the State House, and historic GOP majorities in the General Assembly

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If this doesn’t make common sense to you, it’s because you like the culture of the General Assembly as it is… You deserve to be in the minority, you will be primaried.. because the peasants are at the gates again folks…. We’re cranking back the handles on the catapults, and fixin to launch in a couple cows, (visualize Monty Python’s Search For the Holy Grail).

MOOOOOOOO!!!!

The blogosphere comes together to demand change in Richmond

For the last six months, Spank That Donkey and yours truly were at loggerheads over the GOP Senate nomination battle.  On each others blogs, and in comment trails on blogs all over Virginia, we sparred with each other word for word, issue for issue, snarky comment for snarky comment (the last of these, of course, were the most enjoyable, but I digress).

Yet if you look to the right hand column of this fair blog, you will see that STD has joined us in our campaign to replace Speaker Bill Howell with Bob Marshall.

What better sign of the overwhelming need for change is there but the two of us coming together to help make it happen?

Why we need Bob Marshall as Speaker of the House of Delegates

To understand why we (as in the folks who are listed to the right) have come together to begin this (semi-draft) campaign, let us go back to Election Day 2007.

The Virginia Republican leadership, flush with a false sense of security known as HB3202, are shocked to learn that they have lost their majority in the State Senate, while their House of Delegates majority was almost halved.  What lessons were learned from this debacle?  Nothing.  Led by House Speaker Bill Howell, the Richmond Republicans refused to lay blame where it belonged – with themselves.

Meanwhile, the sickness began to spread.  Four days after the election, First District Republicans rewarded a 3202 supporter (Rob Wittman) with a seat in Congress.  Once again, the real problem with the party was ignored.

Finally, this spring, after the Supreme Court wiped out the regional tax hikes in HB3202, Howell and his fellow House Republican leaders insisted on bringing them back.  They do so to this day.

The demoralization of the party activists has continued to spread.  It was evident at the Republican state convention a week ago.  As we were choosing a Senate nominee and a party chairman, delegates discussed the state of the party – and all agreed that there was a serious problem.  We changed the Party Chairman, but most would agree that more must be done.  We need new leadership in the legislature – especially in the House, where we still have a majority and thus have the most visibility. Our biggest problem was that, for months, no alternative seemed available to Bill Howell.

For those of us on this blog, that alternative presented himself (however unwittingly) on that Saturday morning and afternoon.

No one who was at that convention would dispute that Bob Marshall was a force.  His supporters shook the hall when they aired their lungs.  They nearly toppled the presumptive favorite (Jim Gilmore) and they stayed long enough to topple the incumbent chairman (who was also the presumptive favorite) by a margin so wide we still don’t know what it was (because Hager conceded before the vote was released).

Bob Marshall is now a leading force in the Virginia Republican Party – and he got there by being true to himself and to the principles of the party when its leaders strayed.  He (and practically he alone) took the fight against the regional taxes in HB3202 to the Supreme Court.  He is one of only five legislators who has consistently opposed every tax increase – no matter from which party it originated (the others are Tom Gear, Mark Cole, Jeff Frederick, and Johnny Joannou).

If the caucus were to replace Bill Howell with Bob Marshall as Speaker, they would send the message that they have finally learned the lessons of the last seven years.  They would finally show that they are serious about limited government and lower taxes.  It would also send a message to all of the people Delegate Marshall brought into the party that they are a welcome and vital addition to the Virginia GOP.

Of course, it will take time to convince the Delegates (including, perhaps, Marshall himself) to do this; we don’t expect a change at the beginning, or even the end, of the special session this summer.  However, we believe this is a change whose time has come, and the change itself must come soon, before the House majority is either lost, or becomes as useless and counterproductive as the Congressional majority in 2006.

We aer calling for change; we believe the most important place within the GOP for that change is the House leadership; and we believe the person best suited to engineer that change is Bob Marshall.

That is why we support Bob Marshall for Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates.