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March 30, 2005

Yearning for Larger Times

By Barnie K. Day

I have been spending quite a bit of time lately pulling together from contributors around Virginia the makings of a book of essays and political commentary that will be published later this year. The tentative, working title of this project is "Notes from the Sausage Factory," taken, of course, from the famous Otto Von Bismarck quote of a hundred years ago: "People who love the law or good sausage should never watch either being made." I will tell you more about this book, and perhaps give you glimpses of it, as publication draws near, but know this now: some of the sentiments you will find in "Notes" will leave you yearning for larger times. This crossed the transom the other day. It came from former House of Delegates member Alan Diamonstein who represented Newport News for 33 years, from 1967-1990.

"Although members of the General Assembly were identified as Republicans or Democrats, it was clear to me, during the first years of my service as a delegate, that it was far more important to distinguish yourself as someone who could furiously and knowledgeably debate issues on the floor and in committee and still go to dinner with the opposition that same evening to swap stories about the folks back home. There was a shared respect and reverence about the obligation we had to shape the future of the Commonwealth.

"The governors who occupied the third floor of the Capitol reflected that largely unspoken commitment and duty. Whether they were Democrat or Republican, the leading initiatives of those years almost always related to improvements and objectives that would impact our children and grandchildren. Establishing the state sales tax to pay for the community college system; making equal opportunity a state policy; increasing the income tax to clean up pollution from primitive sewage systems; raising the gas tax for an ambitious program for new roads and bridges - all set in motion the changes for things that we take for granted today ... and most of these were initiatives from Republican governors.

"As the years unfolded, and Democratic governors took the helm, there was a focus on the rights of the disabled and mentally ill, the funding needed for our teachers and higher education, international trade, diversity at the highest levels of state government and, again, the importance of our transportation network to our economy and quality of life. In addition, an unlikely but determined coalition was forged at the highest levels to foster the election of the nation's first African American governor.

"This was a time for landmark legislation with a purpose for our future. I was fortunate to work with those who helped me propose and win support for several bills and budget items that I think might be included in that list. I dedicated much of my time to funding improvements for higher education and to creating housing programs that would meet the needs of all areas of Virginia.

"And I can't forget one of my favorite retrospective efforts -- introducing bills to admit women to the University of Virginia (which failed for many years). Although this paled in comparison to Governor Baliles' later initiative to allow women to attend the Virginia Military Institute, in its time it was quite controversial.

"Were these ideal times? Of course not. I witnessed aggressive prejudice against Jewish constituents on a regular basis. African Americans were often excluded without a chance to demonstrate their character or capabilities as individuals. And women had no place at the official table when some of the most important decisions were made.

"But progress was made. Today, there is reason to be concerned about what progress means. Some of the visions promoted by candidates amount to a kind of bargain basement mentality - vote for me - I'm cheaper. People seem to be willing to vote against their own long-term interests and values if a candidate is successful in convincing them they can get more, pay less, and legislate values.

"Although we are losing our older leaders, those whose ingrained sense of community and sacrifice was shaped by World War II, another generation has begun the debate of how we use our collective resources to create the Commonwealth we deserve. It's not always a pleasant process, and you may not want to know all the details. But it is our history in the making, and it will reflect who we are, to all who come after us."

Posted by amahler at 08:18 AM | Comments (0)

March 16, 2005

Tim Kaine Kicks It Off (and DocDem stirs from its slumber)

Many DocDem readers (and quite a few local fellow Democrats) are probably assuming I was abducted by aliens or ran off and joined the circus. The relative hush on these pages has really been nothing more than a somewhat prolonged recharging of the batteries and a much needed return to life, work and family after running so ragged last year. While this blog is a cooperative endeavor, it is also a non-funded, grassroots and otherwise volunteer effort that will probably always tend to ebb and flow relative to larger events. Things are heating up, though, and it's time we got back underway...

My thanks to Rick Howell and Barnie Day for their continued contributions during these semi-silent last few months. We all look forward to more of your great insights and well-crafted words.

I started this blog around photographs last July, so it seems fitting to get things moving again with a new gallery of photos from a very important event for Virginians:

Select photos by your connection speed:

Roanoke: Tim Kaine's Campaign Kickoff - March 16, 2005 (slower)

Roanoke: Tim Kaine's Campaign Kickoff - March 16, 2005 (faster)

There is more writing to come and new faces to meet on DocDem. It might take a few more days or a week for the momentum to return to these pages as we get situated, but this is a collaborative process and I wish to put the call out again to Virginia democrats to send their contributions in the form of essays, news, photos and links.

One important note: the comment system WILL return. It was turned off in the winter after the blog spammers hit it very hard with advertisements for online poker and erectile dysfunction drugs. I have new updates to the software to put in place, part of which will tackle this problem and make our comment system usable again. I certainly never wanted anyone to feel silenced or remove the interactive nature of the site... but the insidious spammers won the first round.... (grumble)

More to come, and thanks for reading!
- Aaron

Posted by amahler at 05:48 PM | Comments (0)

The cow at the stoplight

By Barnie K. Day

The cow at the stoplight is giving me a look. The thing is, I recognize it-not this cow, but the look she is giving me. It is that doltish stare of vague unease and bewilderment. I have seen it before. Virginia Republicans have two looks these days: either the one this cow is exhibiting, or that fierce, clenched-jaw look of determination and survival, that Zell Miller look you see on the news when folks are filmed climbing out of the wreckage of hurricanes.

She is a big black and white Holstein. A beautiful, high dollar animal. We are locked in a stare-down at one of Patrick County's four stoplights. I guess it is some of that wretched growth you read about in northern Virginia. Not so long ago we didn't have stoplights here. Who needs lights when time itself is stopped?

The stock trailer is so small and this cow so big, that she has to hang her head out of the back of it. She is definitely giving me that Republican look. I am wondering what she is thinking. She appears to be?well?just wondering.

Perhaps she wonders about Morgan Griffith's math, his understanding of the numbers in the House of Delegates. They had a little "glad-you're-staying" soiree for Joe May somewhere upstate the other day-May, one of the brightest bulbs in the GOP marquee, is dropping his bid for statewide glory and will try to keep his House seat-and Griffith was there to lay it on pretty thick for him. "I wish we had a hundred Joe Mays in the House," Griffith said.

Umm-hmm. Morgan, that would mean you wouldn't be there. A lot of us wish that.

Speaker Bill Howell was at May's little shindig. Perhaps this big Holstein is wondering about him. Said he this week of Virginia'a GOP affairs in general: "We are a team. We are united."

Umm-hmm. That's why it is going to take something pamphlet-sized just to print the Republican ballot for the spring primary. Forget about a bus. It'll take Amtrak to haul the "united" Republican candidates. This "team" unity is the same reason Jerry Kilgore has to hold a press conference to say the GOP is behind him.

Maybe this brute trying to stare me down is wondering about this first poll that's out. Maybe she's running the numbers I have run. Kilgore has spent $46, 689.15 per point for the 46 points he polls. That makes Russ Potts' six points worth $280,000. That's what Republican reaction to his campaign has been worth to him. How else do you explain even six points for a man just two weeks in the race, a man with no name recognition, no money raised, no money spent? You don't believe that? Then where is George Fitch? Where is his six points in all of this?

Or it could be this cow is wondering about Kilgore, wondering about that lame "fake Kaine memo" stunt his campaign pulled this week. What's next, Jerry? Whoopee cushions? Hand buzzers? Those little trick lapel flowers that squirt water in your face? Think about hiring my cat to write the stand-up stuff for you from here on out. Sammy's not much, but, hey, he's better than anything you've got. Works cheap, too. He'll cut all kinds of shines for a bowl of milk now and then. At the very least, Jerry, don't sign off on stupid stuff like this again. At least keep somebody you can fire in front of you on stuff like this.

Just then, inexplicably, I look away for one split second. But that's all it takes. When I look back, this cow belches up a wad of cud and begins to chew contentedly. If cows can smile, this one does. She knows that she has bested me in our stare-down. Just as well. The light changes and we part company.

Posted by amahler at 09:16 AM | Comments (0)

March 12, 2005

Russ Potts: In A Game That He Understands

By Barnie K. Day

There is an old joke in politics. It goes like this: Two campers hike into the back-country. They get to their campsite late and turn in after dark. In the morning, the first camper is up early. As soon as he's out of the tent, he spots a huge grizzly bear moving down the trail, headed straight for the campsite. He screams at his friend, "A grizzly bear is coming!" The second camper peeps out of the tent, verifies that fact, and calmly proceeds to lace up his running shoes. The first camper screams at him, "You damn fool, you can't out run a grizzly bear!" The second camper levels a calm and steady gaze at him and says, "I don't have to out run the bear. I just have to out run you."

Russ Potts is calmly lacing up his running shoes.

Virginia Republicans don't know exactly what to do. Strike that. Some Virginia Republicans don't know what to do. Members of the flat earth wing of the party-those on the far right, those who insist that you can build roads without money, who profess disdain for "big government" but grow it every chance they get, those who want government "off our backs" but want the government peeping into our bedroom windows and looking over our shoulders whenever we're in our libraries, those who don't mind mixing government and religion, so long as it is the right religion, those who prefer "borrow and spend" to "tax and spend"-those Republicans don't know exactly what to do with Russ Potts. Others, the solid center moderates, already are beginning to embrace him.

How can that be? How is it possible that he's already toe-to-toe in media coverage, toe-to-toe in the political coin that means the most, in "legitimacy," with Jerry Kilgore, the GOP's Six Million Dollar Man?

The answer is easy. Russ Potts is in a game that he understands.

When Potts announced as an independent candidate for governor the flat-earthers did exactly the dumbest thing they could do if their intentions were to stop him. Rather than ignore him, they fired up their propaganda machine and went after him tooth and high decibel claw-they held news conferences and issued press releases and generally threw temper tantrums in public-and in the process gave him the kind of free media coverage that money can't buy.

Surely, the four-term senator from Virginia's 27th Senate District, this man who exudes the small-town directness and earnestness of an Andy Griffith re-run, must have smiled to himself, contemplating the headlines, when his Republican colleagues demanded that he give up his committee posts in the Virginia Senate.

"Please, whip me harder," he must have thought, gleefully. "Whip me harder. Let them see the way you've bloodied me."

Surely, this member of the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, who has made his living as a sports promoter, who has made his living by understanding what the term "underdog" means, and how to hype it, how to leverage it, must have smiled to himself when the imperial highness of Virginia Republican politics, Kate Griffin, the state party chairman, cast him as the ultimate underdog.

Surely he must have sent up a silent prayer, "Keep it up, Lord. Please, keep it up," when the right wing's blogger goons went after him for days on end. "Please, Lord, let them keep flinging me into that briar patch," he must have said.

And guess what? They're still at it! Prayer does work sometimes, you know.

Those who would stop Potts, this level-headed, "fraid o' nothin" centrist, have blundered badly. They have let themselves be drawn into a game that he understands. They're on his field now, and he's calmly lacing up his running shoes.

Posted by amahler at 09:50 AM | Comments (0)