Southwest Virginia Blogs

DPVA announced today that the keynote speaker at this year’s JJ Dinner will be Senator Barack Obama.

The JJ Dinner will be held on Saturday, February 17, 2007, at 7 PM, at the Greater Richmond Convention Center.

Last year, I was able to attend the JJ Dinner and had a great time. I am still hoping to make it this year, but have not decided for certain yet.

Do you plan to attend?

I see that Chap has now made it official.

Chap’s website is also up - www.fairfaxsenator.com.

Most pundits are predicting Chap will defeat Republican Jeannemarie Devolites Davis and return the 34th Senatorial District seat to the Democratic column.

This race is also important to Virginia Democrats’ effort to re-take the majority in the Senate. Democrats need to pick-up four seats to regain the majority.

Chap is a strong candidate, but really has his work cut out for him. He will need our support early and often.

Last night I had the pleasure of attending a Grayson County Democratic Committee meeting in Independence. As always, I enjoyed meeting a lot of good Democrats. At last night’s meeting, though, was a nice lady that was of particular interest named Susie Dixon Garner.

Ms. Garner, who lives in Galax, was at last night’s meeting to make an important announcement. She asked the Grayson County Democrats for their support as she seeks the Democratic nomination for the House of Delegates in the 5th District.

The 5th District seat is currently held by Bill Carrico. Del. Carrico spent this past year challenging Congressman Boucher and came up a little short.

Ms. Garner is a CPA in Galax, and has her MBA from UNC-Chapel Hill. She has also served on the local School Board.

Ms. Garner said that she planned to offer positive solutions for the district, instead of the usual back and forth about all its problems. Her background in business and education will make her a very strong candidate.

A pick-up in the 5th District would be a huge step towards Virginia Democrats’ effort to re-take the majority in the House of Delegates.

I realize Mr. Fuhrman gets up early and publishes a lot of posts each morning, however, I could not help but notice that he put very little objective thought and research into one of his latest entries.

Today, via the Southwest Virginia Blogs aggregator¹, I happened to catch his post entitled “Boucher’s Big Plans,” in which he took some time to critique Congressman Boucher’s statements to the Coalfield Progress.

One of Mr. Fuhrman’s first points really caught my eye. He refers to Congressman Boucher’s statement regarding the economic benefits of a price floor on oil as “idocy.”

Mr. Fuhrman said:

A price floor. What that means is Boucher doesn’t ever want that gallon of gasoline you pay for to get too cheap. What’s with that? And, if he’s willing to set prices on gasoline at the pump, is he willing to set prices on milk? Aspirin? Diapers? PlayStation3’s? Water?

His averment that “Boucher doesn’t ever want that gallon of gasoline you pay for to get too cheap” is, of course, clearly and completely false.

In my opinion, the reason that Congressman Boucher would support a price floor on oil is the same reason that Republican Senator Lugar of Indiana does. They both – Boucher and Lugar – are concerned about our dependence on foreign oil and they want to improve the local economies of their constituents.

A price floor on oil, as Philip Gordon opined in this article for the Financial Times earlier this year, would be a “simple” way to get energy producers and consumers to “make long-term investment and consumption decisions in a way that makes little economic sense so long as price stability is not guaranteed.”

Gordon, I think, is on target when he says “Americans will not take long-term decisions to [invest in alternative energy sources (i.e., coal-to-liquid, ethanol)] unless they know that a future sharp fall in oil prices will not undercut them.”

In other words, Congressman Boucher, specifically, appears to looking for a way to reduce our dependence on imported oil while greatly improving the economy in the Coalfields of Southwest Virginia.

Sen. Lugar’s support for an oil price floor is based on the same reasoning, but his interest is in ethanol, as opposed to coal-to-liquid fuels.

Producers will not be able to attract the requisite investors necessary to develop and manufacture coal-to-liquid and ethanol fuels as long as there is still a chance the bottom will fall out of the oil market. A price floor would remove that concern.

As for what to do with the collected funds if the price per barrel actually ever fell below the floor, Gordon had some excellent ideas. Gordon suggested “[t]o make the proposal even more palatable politically, Washington could promise to spend the money on education, healthcare, homeland security and even tax cuts rather than use if for deficit reduction, a noble purpose but one that rarely excites voters.”

The reason I point this out is that, obviously, I am very concerned about the improvement of life here in the Coalfields. I do believe that the furtherance of coal-to-liquid transportation fuels will help our struggling economy. I further believe that a price floor on oil will be necessary if we want to see meaningful investments in coal-to-liquid development.

It would be very unfortunate if someone took Mr. Fuhrman’s post and knee-jerk reactions at face value, and used it as political fodder against Congressman Boucher’s efforts to improve the Coalfields of Southwest Virginia.

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¹ No blog has ever been removed from the Southwest Virginia Blogs aggregator, but the offensive content, which has recently been discussed at length, would certainly be a basis for removal.

I see, via Charlie, that the Washington County Board of Supervisors are wanting to make its executive sessions a little more secret.

From the Washington County News report:

Supervisors plan to add a sentence to the closed meeting bylaws for 2007.

The addition, proposed by Odell Owens at the Dec. 12 board meeting, would attempt to keep secret anything discussed during executive session.

“I’d like to see us add a sentence stating any and all discussion in these (closed) meetings will be held in strict confidence by the participants of the closed meeting,” Owens said.

The article then goes on to include quotes from all the applicable people (i.e., Frosty Landon, Robert O’Neal, and the county’s attorney).

Apparently the Washington County Supervisors have not heard about one of their most involved citizens, from Glade Spring, Ms. Diane Johnson.

Ms. Johson was recently proclaimed “this year’s citizen hero” by the Virginia Coalition for Open Government.

It sounds like Ms. Johnson’s efforts have paid off in the Town of Glade Spring. The Board of Supervisors, and its attempt to keep closed meetings more secret, may very well end up being her next challenge if they are not careful.

The 38th President, Gerald Ford, passed away yesterday evening.

This report says that he was the longest living president, followed by Ronald Reagan.

I guess I, like most people, remember him largely for his pardon of President Nixon.

My thoughts and prayers will be with his family.

Although Congressional Democrats, like Sen. Elect Jim Webb, intend to push for an increase in the national minimum wage, local Democrats are not waiting around or holding their breath. President Bush would have to agree to an increase too, which seems unlikely.

This AP article and a press release from the Joint Democratic Caucus both say that over 450,000 Virginians are currently working for minimum wage. It further states that “[n]early 35% of minimum wage workers are sole family earners and one in three of Virginians earning the minimum wage are raising children.”

I hope Virginia’s House Republicans will not obstruct and oppose this long overdue effort to better the life of Virginia’s hard-working men and women.

It is now official. The “m-word” is the most politically incorrect word.

From the article:

The word “macaca,” used by outgoing Republican Sen. George Allen of Virginia to describe a Democratic activist of Indian descent who was trailing his campaign, was named the most politically incorrect word of the year on Friday by Global Language Monitor, a nonprofit group that studies word usage.

The word might have changed the political balance of the U.S. Senate[.]

It is still hard for me to believe, this one word, uttered right here in Dickenson County by a U.S. Senator, could have created such a huge stir in the world.

Jayne’s friend, Kristin, was visiting from Ohio last weekend and we took her to the Breaks for dinner. Both of them are fairly apolitical, so I doubt either understood why I drove so slowly by that very spot where Sen. Allen used the “M-word” and made what most people thought impossible a reality.

Shawn, from Twin County Combustion, is reporting that Del. Bill Carrico will face Democratic opposition this coming November. I hope that we do not let any Republicans run unopposed, and especially Del. Carrico.

Shawn writes that he is “happy to say that we have at least TWO (maybe three) Democrats who are currently ‘forming their exploratory committees’ and considering challenging Mr. Carrico next year.”

This will be a good year for us to beat Del. Carrico, coming off his lackluster run against Congressman Boucher.

To be honest, though, I had hoped Del. Carrico would have really went after Congressman Boucher (i.e., made some outrageous statements, attacked votes, etc.). The way it worked out, he did not go negative, as was widely expected. By taking the “out of sight, out of mind” approach to his campaign, Del. Carrico wisely did not give us any new ammunition to use against him.

Granted, however, his record of voting with House Republicans instead of doing what is best for his district is probably harmful enough anyway.

I look forward to hearing more about the perspective challengers and eventually doing all I can to help the nominee.

What was that line Jerry Kilgore always used in 2005? I think it was “he will raise your taxes!” Then I usually got lost in the “always has, always will” refrain.

It was announced yesterday that Gov. Kaine not only wants to provide some “relief” for taxpayers, but he is proposing that we give several hundred thousand people a 100% break on their income taxes. The people who would be getting the tax break, however, is what makes this proposal unique and important.

Kaine will ask lawmakers to boost the minimum income level for people who file separately from the present $7,000 a year to $12,000. The threshold for married couples filing jointly would increase from $14,000 annually to $24,000.

“This is something I believe in deeply, plus you’ve got extra revenue,” Kaine said in an Associated Press interview Thursday.

I sincerely hope that House Republicans will not attempt to obstruct and/or make excuses for not supporting Gov. Kaine’s proposal for this much-needed tax relief.

Mr. Petersen continues to impress me. In his latest blog entry, entitled “Bridge to Somewhere,” he shares with us his work on the Board of the Virginia Economic Bridge.

The mission of the VEB “is to promote the economic vitality and external competitiveness of the Commonwealth through business, industry and educational partnerships between Southwestern Virginia, Northern Virginia and other areas of the Commonwealth.”

I first heard of the VEB when the Return to Roots program was announced a few months back. At that time, I visited the VEB’s webpage, but it was the type of information that “goes in one ear and out the other.”

Now, looking at it again, the VEB sounds like an excellent program and something that can greatly benefit our region. I am interested to hear whether or not they have been, and to what extent, successful in creating the partnerships that are envisioned.

I appreciate Chap’s service on this Board and him taking the time to share his experiences.

In Virginia, we have hundreds (thousands?) of people serving on boards, commissions, etc., but we rarely hear about what is going on - much less their personal thoughts and opinions - except through press releases that few people read.

I hope Chap will continue to keep us updated on these projects, especially those affecting Southwest Virginia.

The Roanoke Times is reporting that Senator Roscoe Reynolds (20th Dist.) will be challenged by Jeff Evans.

About Evans, it reports:

Jeff Evans, an Army veteran, former state trooper and current vice chairman of the Carroll County Board of Supervisors, has announced he’s seeking the Republican nomination to run in the 20th District against Reynolds, a Democrat from Henry County.

This is, of course, old news to the blogosphere. Alton reported it a couple of weeks ago.

Sen. Reynolds has a big advantage going in because of his experience and relationship with his consitutuents. Mr. Evans will have a difficult time making people believe he can do more than Sen. Reynolds, who knows how Richmond works, and continues to improve his district.

Still, we will need to be ready to help Sen. Reynolds anyway we can. He was a very out-spoken supporter of Sen.-Elect Webb and holding his seat will be imperative to our effort to regain the majority in the Virginia Senate.

In the news, a British citizen’s ” phone was bugged by US intelligence agencies… …without the permission of the British secret intelligence services.

Authoritative leaks say the extraordinary revelations will be published this week by Lord Stevens and is bound to raise fresh questions…

In the era of the Patriot Act, this shouldn’t come as a big surprise. Our government has been caught yet again spying on someone inappropriately. Yet another black mark on the civil rights record of George W. Bush… Except of course, this wasn’t during his Presidency. Apparently President Clinton’s administration played fast and loose with the rules too. I can hear the cries of moral outrage from here. People taking to the streets to protest the Clinton administration’s treatment of Princess Diana… Sorry, my mistake, those were crickets outside my window.

In the news, a British citizen’s ” phone was bugged by US intelligence agencies… …without the permission of the British secret intelligence services.

Authoritative leaks say the extraordinary revelations will be published this week by Lord Stevens and is bound to raise fresh questions…

In the era of the Patriot Act, this shouldn’t come as a big surprise. Our government has been caught yet again spying on someone inappropriately. Yet another black mark on the civil rights record of George W. Bush… Except of course, this wasn’t during his Presidency. Apparently President Clinton’s administration played fast and loose with the rules too. I can hear the cries of moral outrage from here. People taking to the streets to protest the Clinton administration’s treatment of Princess Diana… Sorry, my mistake, those were crickets outside my window.

The Southwest Virginia Young Democrats will hold its December meeting on:

Pizza Town is located next to Morgan-McClure in Castlewood. The phone number is (276) 762-2335.

More about the SWVA-YDs can be found here: www.swvayd.com

Hope to see you all there!!!

The last line of this AP story suggests that Congressman Boucher supports Congressman Steny Hoyer of Maryland to be Majority Leader in the House.

Hoyer’s backers say he has been an able lieutenant to Pelosi and has done nothing to disqualify himself from holding the same position in the majority.

He has been aggressive in lining up supporters, most of whom are sticking with him.

“One of the first things I learned around here is that when you give your commitment you honor it,” said Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., a Hoyer supporter.

On the other hand, House Speaker to-be Nancy Pelosi supports Congressman John Murtha from Pennsylvania.

Rob, at RK, is reporting that Senator-Elect Jim Webb will be on the “Armed Services, Foreign Relations, Veterans, and Joint Economic Committees.”

I am very pleased to hear these assignments. Webb’s background makes him very well-suited for these positions.

The full listing of Senate committee assignments can be found here.

Ben, over at NLS, has been doing a series in which he takes a “detailed look” at all 40 of Virginia’s senate districts.

Today, the second in the series, he looks at my home district, the 38th.

I could go on and on about the Senator representing the 38th District, Phillip Puckett. But, regular readers know how I feel about Sen. Puckett and would be bored by me heaping more praise on him.

Ben states that even though the numbers are trending Republican, Sen. Puckett is “a very popular incumbent” and the seat is “Likely Democratic.” I think Ben should have said that the seat will be Sen. Puckett’s until he retires or is elected to a higher office.

A popular figure in the 2006 election was S.R. Sidarth, the tracker that was called “macaca” by Sen. George Allen on a campaign stop in Dickenson County.

Sidarth shared his feelings about the incident and his thoughts on Dickenson County here in the Washington Post.

Sidarth said:

Nothing made me happier on election night than finding out the results from Dickenson County, where Allen and I had our encounter. Webb won there, in what I can only hope was a vote to deal the race card out of American politics once and for all.

To be fair, I am not sure we (voters in Dickenson County) took into consideration the “race card.” We did, however, cast votes for a new direction in D.C. and for a candidate that will fight for working folks.

The AP, after talking with election officials across the Commonwealth, is calling the senate race for Jim Webb.

They also has this interesting information:

An adviser to Allen, speaking on condition of anonymity[,] . . . said that Allen was disinclined to request a recount if the final vote spread was similar to that of election night.

I have to agree. Considering how few votes Creigh was able gain during last year’s recount, I would avoid taking that step unless the margin was less than 1,000 votes in a race like this one. Sen. Allen will likely bounce back and run for public office again. Pushing a recount now will only complicate matters when that time does arrive.

Congratulations to Jim Webb and all of the Democratic volunteers that made this happen.