Closing Up Shop

I'll no longer be blogging here at Blue in VA.

This site WILL be left up.

I'm now a regular contributor at The Virginia Progressive. Check it out. As soon as the Senate primary is over, I'm really hoping to delve into a solid analysis of important issues.

The National Journal covers the planking.

The Shad Planking received national media attention this year from the National Journal's Hotline blog.

Just one problem I have with their article.

It seemed to VASTLY understate the presence of Jim Webb at the Planking. Now I wasn't there, but I've seen numerous pictures of Webb signs lining Rt. 460 and other roads around Wakefield, without an Allen sign to be seen in the area. Hotline, however, had this to say:

"Luckily for Allen, though, the half-dozen or so anti-abortion activists were probably the biggest nuisance he faced all day. His two SEN opponents, ex-technology lobbyist Harris Miller (D) and ex-Navy Secretary Jim Webb (D), both made appearances, but had little of the presence that the GOPer projected."

Oh, so Sen. Allen PROJECTED thousands of Webb signs to dwarf his sign presence? I don't think so.



Pictures courtesy of Kenton Ngo and Raising Kaine, respectively.

Just pointing this out...

As AG McDonnell gives the keynote at Virginia's most political event of the year, this is worth reflecting on:

"I will use my experience working across the aisle to make the office less political and improve the overall efficiency and responsiveness of our government."

-Senator Creigh Deeds on his goals for the office of Attorney General

Mere months after winning the closest election in Virginia history, and with three shad plankings left before the 2009 Gubernatorial Race, AG McDonnell is campaigning for Governor.

Looks like we have another Jerry Kilgore. The AG's office is just a stepping stone for McDonnell. I hope he uses it for SOME good while he's there...

I'm so glad that George Allen is focusing on issues important to Virginians...

This is from NewsMax (of all places...) and is kind of old:

"NewsMax caught up with Sen. George Allen at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in Memphis, Tenn. to ask him about his proposed idea of withholding congressional pay when Congress fails to deliver legislation during the regular Congressional season...

...When asked who is actually supportive of the idea, the Senator laughed.
"I haven’t found any yet. However, I am going to try to find a way. [Sen. Tom] Coburn, R-Okla., ought to be with me. I’ll have to talk to him.”

Wow George...

Focusing your attention on legislation that has the support of 1 (ought to be 2, if you count Sen. Coburn) votes really is accomplishing what Virginians want accomplished by their legislators. Then again, so is running for President and Senate simultaneously. I REALLY want Sen. Allen to come up with a creative explaination for the Iowa license plate that was reportedly on his sign truck at the Shad Planking today.

Has our Senator left us for the state he wishes he was born in?

You be the judge (blatantly stolen from Raising Kaine):

Though the shad is being planked in Wakefield, life continues elsewhere.

On this, the day of the 58th annual Shad Planking down in Wakefield, Virginia, I find myself sitting at home, bored out of my wits.

I wish I could make it down, but tennis practice just wouldn't permit it.

So while everyone else is warring with their 4x8 signs and enjoying their roasted shad, I find myself charged to keep up with the big national stories of the day. Scott McClellan, White House press secretary, has resigned his post. To be quite honest, I always kind of liked McClellan. He did about as well as can be expected for a man who was constantly bombarded with questions relating to the poor conduct and bad policy devised by his superiors. It was almost hard not to feel sorry for him. As he fielded question after question about press leaks, wiretaps, faulty intelligence, poor disaster management, secret CIA prisons, etc. etc., it became painfully obvious that he was a man under enormous stress. Imagine going into work and having an entire corps of people asking you accusatory, pointed questions about things you have no control over. It would get rough. I'm not saying that McClellan didn't believe what he was telling the media, but he was, in effect, the messenger.

And he just kept getting shot from every possible angle.

The second White House resignation of the day creates a bit more complex of a situation. Karl Rove, while staying on as Deputy Chief of Staff, resigned as policy coordinator to focus on his main duty for the 2006 midterm elections:

Finding a way to slander and discredit Democrats all over the country and keep them from gaining control of the House and/or Senate.

My question is this...

If the Deputy Chief of Staff's salary is paid for with tax dollars, why is it right that Karl Rove can keep that position solely as a political strategist? Shouldn't he be paid from campaign treasuries, PAC's, or the Republican Party as a civilian consultant? If Rove stays on the taxpayer's payroll, at least half of America is forced to pay for something they didn't vote for. Besides, a vote for Bush doesn't nessicarily constitute a vote for all Republican Candidates...

Rove will obviously be breaking the Hatch Act by campaigning from his government office. How can he not, if that's his sole job?

I hope everyone gets used to their shad, because when they get home, they'll realize that something fishy is going on in the White House as well.

AP: "Jury Finds Former Ill. Gov. Ryan Guilty"

The fact that this trial was going on had completely slipped my mind.

This whole debacle, which culminates now with Gov. Ryan being found guilty on charges of racketeering conspriracy, mail fraud, attempted extortion, and money laundering, represents the worst of American democracy. If a similar thing ever happened in our fine Commonwealth, and I pray to God that it doesn't, I'd hope that the offending party receive swift and fair judgement.

And by that, I mean I hope they get locked away for a very, very, very, very long time.

Speaker Howell subverts democracy.

From the Daily Press:

"It has reached the point of absurdity. Howell demanded new powers in the House Republican caucus earlier this year and got them. A two-thirds vote of the 57 House Republicans binds the entire caucus to a unified position, and the GOP members have stuck to that.

That means 38 Republican delegates out of 140 total state legislators in the House and Senate - what Howell calls the "strong and united majority of the House" - are calling the shots.

Is that what Howell calls democracy?"

Sadly, yes, I think it is. I think its what a lot of House Republicans call democracy.

I hate making blanket statements, because there are a few House Republicans who I can truly respect. However, their numbers are being strangled out by the rest of the party leaders in Richmond. They made an example of Jim Dillard by essentially saying, "Look, if you have your own views and they differ from those of the party, we'll try to make your life a living hell even after you retire." Being a Republican in Virginia seems to be turning into a battle of who's the most Republican (whatever that means). Dissent isn't tolerated within the party. So much for "the big tent..."

House Republicans need a civics lesson. A coalition of 38 votes out of 100 should never dictate the public policy of a state. In such a system, there are 62 groups of constituents who aren't being fairly represented. How is this fair?

It isn't. Its a strongarmed tactic that should never be tolerated by the citizens of Virginia, historically the birthplace of American representative democracy. Speaker Howell and the House Republican caucus are setting a poor example and disgracing the legacy of the legislative body in which they sit.

Deja Vu

The WaPo reports that "Anger at Bush May Hurt at Polls".

Seems like I've already read this story.

Multiple times.

Oh well, it still makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Just a little thought for Easter.

"But the goodness of the resurrection news is most evident for those who have lost people they love to any sort of incomprehensible evil - the tragedies of dementia, the apparent meaninglessness of accident, the horrors of violence or injustice. Think back for a moment to the days when death squads operated in countries like Argentina or El Salvador: the Christians there developed a very dramatic way of celebrating their faith, their hope and their resistance. At the liturgy, someone would read out the names of those killed or 'disappeared', and for each name someone would call out from the congregation, Presente, 'Here'. When the assembly is gathered before God, the lost are indeed presente; when we pray at this Eucharist 'with angels and archangels and the whole company of heaven', we say presente of all those the world (including us) would forget and God remembers. With angels and archangels; with the butchered Rwandans of ten years ago and the butchered or brutalised Ugandan children of last week or yesterday; with the young woman dead on a mattress in King's Cross after an overdose and the childless widower with Alzheimer's; with the thief crucified alongside Jesus and all the thousands of other anonymous thieves crucified in Judaea by an efficient imperial administration; with the whole company of heaven, those whom God receives in his mercy. And with Christ our Lord, the firstborn from the dead, by whose death our sinful forgetfulness and lukewarm love can be forgiven and kindled to life, who leaves no human soul in anonymity and oblivion, but gives to all the dignity of a name and a presence. He is risen; he is not here; he is present everywhere and to all. He is risen: presente."

-The Most Revd. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury

A return? For real this time?

I think I'm back.

Major emphasis on the "I think."

Yesterday, I sat down at my computer and did something I haven't done in ages. I typed in www.baconsrebellion.com, and I started to browse the blogs. A lot has changed since I've been gone. We now have a Senate race to talk about, and I've gone from a "Silver" Blog to an "Aluminum" Blog on NLS (Frankly, I'm shocked to still be on the list.)

On a more personal note, I've been keeping quite busy over the past few months. First of all, I finally got into William and Mary after a long, dramatic wait that included an early admission deferral and a lot of anxiety. I'm relieved to have that settled. I feel like a weight has been lifted off my chest.

Also, I just finished my term as the President of the Episcopal Youth Community for the Diocese of Southern Virginia. The youth of the diocese are my family, and its sad to have to leave them. Oh, the tribulations of growing up...

On a somewhat related note, I've undergone sort of a personal awakening. For years, I've just run on the assumption that I'll end up as a lawyer or work in some level of Government. Like so many of you, Politics is my passion. I love everything about Government, from elections to parlimentary procedure.

But recently, I've become aware of something. I'm feeling more and more of a calling to finish college and go to Seminary to become an Episcopal clergyman. It could just be a phase, brought on by my departure from my elected position in my diocese, but I'm really not sure. So I plan to head off to W+M next year, set to double major in both Government (or Public Policy) and Religous Studies. I have a lot of prayerful consideration to do in the next four years. We'll see where the spirit leads me.

As for now, since I once again have some free time, I think I'll throw my hat back into the blogging ring. I realized, reading everyone's blogs, that I miss writing on this thing; even if I'm the only one who gets satisfaction from it.

So I'm back, I think. It feels good.

The rejected Jim Dillard appointment: The William and Mary response.

Seeing as my girlfriend goes there, and its my first choice college, I spend quite a bit of time down at William and Mary. I read this article in the Flat Hat, their student newspaper:

"Senate Condemns Dillard Rejection"

The "Senate" mentioned, of course, refers to the William and Mary Student Assembly. I was already irritated that so many House Republicans had the nerve to reject arguably the most qualified man possible for the job just because he endorsed a Democrat to replace him, a Democrat who just happened to be one of his former aides. Its wrong to play politics with education like that. There are a lot of families who pay a hefty chunk of change to send their kids to college at William and Mary. They deserve the very best from the Governor, who in this case delivered, and the HOD, who certainly didn't.

The most telling quote to come out of all of this...from the Flat Hat:

"'We take retaining our majority very, very seriously,' Del. Leo C. Wardrup Jr. (R-83rd) told the Daily Press the date of the vote. He added that Dillard deserved to be rejected because he betrayed his party. "

You take retaining your majority very, very seriously? More seriously than higher education?

Just another reason why we should take putting you in the minority "very, very seriously."

Abandon ship!

Unfortunately, my "question the candidate" idea didn't generate much response. Maybe i'll try again later.

Probably not. In the mean time, I'll get back to regular programming.

New Feature: Submit Questions for 11th District Candidate Andrew Hurst

I'll be out of town this weekend, so I'm leaving the blogosphere with a mission.

Andrew Hurst, a Democratic candidate for Congress in the 11th district, Rep. Tom Davis' seat, has graciously agreed to answer some questions provided by the readers. Use the comments in this thread to ask questions of Mr. Hurst. When I come back on Monday, I'll be submitting the questions to Andrew for him to answer.

As soon as I hear back from him, I'll post his answers on Blue In VA.

This is hopefully the beginning of a segment on Blue in VA that'll give readers an opportunity to ask questions of this year's Democratic candidates for Congress in Virginia. The other Democratic candidate in the 11th, Ken Longmyer, has also agreed to answer your questions. Given the opportunity, I hope we'll be able to make our way, one by one, through all the candidates. It would be awesome if my fellow bloggers could let people know about this new segment on Blue In VA. The more participation we get from both sides of the aisle, the more productive I think these interviews will be. I hope you'll take this opportunity to ask some questions!

So like I said, use this thread to submit your questions for Andrew, and I'll be back on Monday!