Keeping an Eye On the General Assembly

Published in the January 21st edition of the Lynchburg Ledger 

While our national attention has been focused on Tucson, the Virginia General Assembly began what is called their “short” session, lasting 45 days.  This session is shorter than the 60-day session because the state budget is prepared for a two-year period.  This year, they will tweak the budget passed last year.

But before I begin discussing the session, I want to make two final comments regarding the Tucson shooting.

In last week’s column, I mentioned that Dorwan Stoddard, the father of Dale Stoddard of Lynchburg and a member of Thomas Terrace Baptist Church, was one of those who died.  Dale’s father tied protecting his wife Mavy, taking the bullets meant for her.  She suffered only a leg wound.

It takes an extraordinary amount of love to sacrifice one’s self as he did.  It is sad that the media has not seen fit to focus on this act of self-sacrifice.

My pastor and an assistant pastor from church traveled to Tucson to minister to the family and attend the funeral last Sunday for Mr. Stoddard.  I am blessed to be attending such a loving and caring church.

Also in my last column, I was critical of the rush-to-judgment of the local sheriff and the liberal left.  After more of the facts about the shooter became known, it was abundantly clear the shooting was not in anyway associated with political rhetoric.  The liberals very quickly backed away from this accusation, but it didn’t stop Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, a self-described socialist, from using it in a fundraising letter.

President Barack Obama, in what was supposed to be a memorial service but seemed more like a liberal pep-rally, called for “civility” in public discord.  What he was really saying was conservatives should be quiet and liberals, who lead the pack in incivility, should keep on keeping on.

Returning to the General Assembly, known for its civility, we can be sure of at least one thing.  Since 2011 is an election year when all 100 Delegates and 40 Senators are up for election, there will be no tax increase.  At least, not on the state level.

But that is not because one isn’t trying.   Delegate Joe Morrissey (D, Henrico) wants to add a plastic bag tax to our grocery bills, which are already on the rise due to the production of ethanol for use in fuels and unusually cold weather in Florida.  Morrissey is proposing a 20 cent tax on the bags. He says Virginians consume over 2.3 billion plastic bags per year and what he really wants is a ban on using them because he believes they have a negative impact on the environment.

This is not necessarily true as they can be recycled and people find other uses for them.  For example, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality suggests we dispose of fluorescent bulbs by wrapping them in plastic bags before putting them into a landfill.

Morrissey obviously doesn’t remember why we have plastic bags in the first place instead of those big paper bags of 20 years ago.  It was because the environmentalists wanted to save trees.  You get 75 plastic bags per pound as opposed to only 11 paper bags per pound.

Morrissey’s bill will go nowhere as most of the legislators who want to be re-elected will oppose any tax increase bill.  Only those in heavily Democrat districts would dare vote for a tax increase.

That does not mean that our taxes won’t increase.  The local city and county governments are heavily dependent state funding for schools, law enforcement, social services and other branches of local government.  As state tax revenues shrink, the amount of funds flowing to the city and counties will also shrink as the state must balance its budget.

Localities which have become dependent on state funds are going to scrambling to balance their own budgets.  That means they will either cut services, raise taxes, or a combination of both.

One other way the state balances their budget is by “unfunded mandates.”  They require a local government to provide some service but don’t provide the funding for it.

One such example is storm water regulations.  Since we in Central Virginia are in the watershed for the Chesapeake Bay, we need to contend with Erosion & Control (E&S) programs and a new mandate called the total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). To implement these programs local governments will be required to expend local funds.

In Campbell County, the cost estimate for first year startup of the program includes:

•           $77,000 for GIS land cover mapping

•           $18,000 for a vehicle

•           $28,000 to fill a vacant E&S/Storm water position

•           $75,000 for consulting engineering.

The total comes to $198,000, which will have to be factored into the next budget. 

State tax revenues seem to be improving so there is a possibility that the projected cuts to local governments won’t be as severe as some estimates indicate.

I would encourage all of us to stay in touch with our state legislators; we all have one Delegate and Senator.  You can phone them, email them, and even visit them.  If you have never been to Richmond for a day when the General Assembly is in session, I would recommend it. 

The Family Foundation hosts an annual lobbying day each hear.  This year, it is on Thursday, February 10th from 8:30 to noon.  Call Roger Pogge at 804-343-0010 for more details.

Concerned Women for America also hosts a day at the Virginia Capitol.  This year, it is on Monday, February 14^th.  Call Janet Robey at 434-401-8852 for more information.

Leftists Exploit Tucson Shooting

Published January 14, 2011 in the Lynchburg ledger

The shooting last Saturday in Tucson, Arizona, which took the lives of six innocent people and critically wounded 14 others, including Democrat Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords from Arizona’s 8^th Congressional District, even touched us here in the Lynchburg area.

Among those who were killed was Dorwan Stoddard, age 73.  Mr. Stoddard was the father of Dale Stoddard of Lynchburg.  Dale and his wife Gail are members of Thomas Terrace Baptist Church, where I am also a member.  Mavanell (“Mavy”) Stoddard, Dale’s mother was one of those wounded.  She was shot in the leg and is expected to recover.

Mr Stoddard was a member of the Mountain Avenue Church of Christ where he frequently volunteered.  His pastor, Mike Nowak described him as “a terrific guy, a jack-of-all trade.”  What I am told is that the couple was shopping and were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Also killed was 9 year-old Christina Taylor Green, who was born on the same day the Islamic terrorists attacked on 9-11-2001.  It is particularly tragic when a child this young is cut down.  I am told that the death of a child is one of the most painful things one can endure.

The shooter is Jared Lee Loughner, age 22.  It would appear that Loughner had been planning his rampage for weeks before it occurred.  He purchased a 9mm Glock handgun in November, passing the standard FBI background check.  In the effort to keep fire arms out of the hands of criminals, felons and the mentally disturbed, just about all 2^nd Amendment supporters favor conducting a background check for those purchasing firearms.

We can gain some insight into Loughtner’s thought process by his YouTube page, which contains a series of text messages, best described as a rambling rant.  In it, he describes his favorite activity is “conscience dreaming,” which he claims is “the greatest inspiration for my political business information.” 

In what follows he complains about the currency and talks about a new currency.  He then writes about being literate in English grammar.  He stated that “the majority of the people, who reside in District 8 are illiterate- hilarious.”  He then goes on to write about “mind control and brainwashing methods.”

His rant ends with “In conclusion, my ambition - is for informing literate dreamers about a new currency, in a few days you will know I am conscience dreaming! Thank you.”

According to his YouTube profile, he attended “Thornydale elementary,Tortolita Middle School, Mountain View Highschool, Northwest Aztec Middle College, and Pima Community College.”  His favorite books include “The Communist Manifest and Mein Kampf.”

We have also learned some who know him describe his as a left-wing pothead.  He scared classmates and teachers alike when he attended Pima Community College.  The police had to be called on account of his behavior on five separate occasions.  However, he never quite made it into the police records and had no criminal record.

You will recall the Virginia Tech shooter, Seung-Hui Cho, also passed the FBI background check.  His mental instability was never made part of his record.

The media was quick to try to associate him with the tea party movement, Sarah Palin and talk radio but with The Communist Manifesto and Mein Kampf on his reading list, they will not be able to make that stick.  Rather, it would appear his is a left-wing individual who likely believes that Giffords (a blue-dog Democrat) was not liberal enough.

Loughner may be deranged, but he is certainly sane.  Documents found at his home indicated that he carefully planned the shooting he carried out.

Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, a Democrat who refused to enforce Arizona’s new immigration law, was one of the first to call for “toning down the rhetoric” of political discord.  There is nothing the left would like better than to shut up those who disagree with them.  Look for them to use this incident, which is nothing more than a tragic act of senseless violence by an obviously deranged individual, to try to take away more of our freedoms.

Dupnik was cheerfully greeted by the left-wing media and made all the rounds spewing his unfounded accusations.  The left complained about the “vitriol” coming from the right, where it the left which famous for hate-filled vitriol.  So soon they forget just how they attacked George Bush, Sarah Palin Christine O’Donnell and a number of other conservatives.

Left-wing pundits have also used this tragedy as is a shameless way to promote their liberal agenda.  They are already calling for more gun control and restrictions on free speech.

Prior to the shooting, the FCC has already begun to regulate the Internet, the most prevalent source of political information available today.  FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski's implementation of so-called "net neutrality" regulations is a preview of what the Obama White House has in store for us now that Republicans have regained control of the House of Representatives.

The FCC will, for the first time, regulate the way Internet companies are allowed to do business in the same way that the agency regulates other technologies such as the telephone.

I have learned that in Washington, the title of a bill or regulation is likely to be just the opposite of what it says.  For example, ObamaCare was called “The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” and will do neither.  Patients will be endangered, not protected, and health care will become even more unaffordable.  Because of the act, my costs have increased more than 20 percent this year.

Net neutrality will be anything but.

Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s former Chief of Staff once said, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.”  Look for the liberals to use this shooting as an excuse to deprive us from more of our freedoms.

2011 – A Year to Stay Engaged

Published in the January 7, 2011 edition of the Lynchburg Ledger

Politically, 2010 was a good year and a bad year.  What happened last year set the tone for this year and this is not a year to disengage. 

We need to learn from history that "eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."  The last time Republicans ousted Democrats in an election was in 1994 after the voters got a good look at Bill Clinton and his leftist policies.  They were particularly alarmed over the proposed “HillaryCare” which thankfully was defeated.

After electing the Republicans, many thought their work was done and they disengaged from the political process, it wasn’t long before Republicans began to look and sound like Democrats.  We have a name for that, “Potomac Fever.”  The media, which props up liberal Democrats while tearing down conservative Republicans, can be expected to up the ante in 2011.  In fact, ABC has already issued a warning to the freshmen Republicans of the 112th Congress.

ABC News’ Political Director Amy Walter has fired the first shot.  She said, “If Republicans decide they're going to spend the first six months of this year going over and debating the individual mandate or ObamaCare or whatever they want to call it, I think that's not going to sit very well with the electorate.”

Well, here is a news flash for the ignorant Ms. Walter.  ObamaCare was one of the top reasons the electorate threw out the Democrats. 

In 1994, we did not have the Internet, blogs, talk radio and a host of other communications vehicles.  Although the three networks are no longer as powerful and influential as they once were., the general public still needs to be able to discern media bias from fact.

President Barack Obama announced from his taxpayer-paid Christmas vacation in Hawaii that “Democrats and Republicans must work together in the new year and share responsibility for moving the country forward.” 

There is nothing like a shellacking at the polls to create a change in attitude.  Two years ago, when Republicans attempted to bring issues to the newly-elected Obama, they were met with two words, “We won.”  Now all of a sudden, Obama wants cooperation.

The Republican answer should be “Hell no.”   The electorate did not send 63 new congressmen and 6 new senators to Washington to compromise.  They were sent there to lead.

In 2006 when the Republicans lost both the House and Senate after becoming more and more like Democrats, they respected the will of the people.  In their “lame duck” session, they didn’t attempt to pass any meaningful legislation.

Such was not the case in 2010.  The defeated Democrats determined to govern in opposition to the will of the people.  They tried to push through every left-wing bill they had.  Unfortunately, some of them passed, among them repealing “Don’t Ask –Don’t Tell” after eight Republicans voted with the defeated Democrats in the Senate.  Republican Senators Scott Brown, Richard Burr, Susan Collins, John Ensign, Mark Kirk, Lisa Murkowski, Olympia Snowe and George Voinovich joined the Democrats passing the bill by 65 to 31.

This should convince us that we still have a lot of work to do.  If our nation is to survive,

defeating Democrats is not enough; we must also defeat liberal Republicans by replacing them with conservatives.

The mistake we have made in the past, and I include myself in this number, is not following up with our newly elected officials.  This year it is going to be more important then ever to keep in contact.  The newly elected representatives are going to be under enormous pressure from the liberal media and the Democrats to “compromise.”  We need to constantly assure them that we did not send them to Washington to compromise with the Obama agenda, but to de-fund it, derail it and eventually repeal it.

Robert Hurt needs to hear from us on a regular basis.  We need to tell him we don’t want ObamaCare funded.  We don’t want earmarks.  We do want government to rein in spending and we don’t want government control of the Internet and business.

Robert Hurt can be contacted by mail at:
Hon. Robert Hurt
Longworth House Office Building, Office # 1516
Independence Avenue and South Capitol Street
Washington, DC 20003
. 

His office phone is 202-225-4711.  You will be asked if you would like to leave a message or talk to a staff member.  Do both, by calling back.

Additionally, you can receive weekly updates on how our Senators and congressman votes by signing up at http://www.congress.org/congressorg/megavote/.  You will receive emails telling you how they voted and what votes are coming up.

Stay engaged in 2011 because in 2012 we need to defeat Obama.  Redistricting is going to give traditional red states more political power, making it easier to replace Obama with a conservative Republican.  But until then, we must de-fund, obstruct, divert, disparage and otherwise limit the socialistic agenda of Obama and the Democrats.