58% of District 13 voters can't be wrong. What's Bob done for us this session?:

HB 1660 Premarital agreements; contents.
HB 1660 Premarital agreements; contents.
HB 1661 Adultery; definition.
HB 1662 Child custody; consideration of marital fault.
HB 1664 HB 1664 Divorce; marital fault to be 
        factored into equitable distribution.
HB 1665 Abortion; forced or coerced against 
        will prohibited.
HB 1742 Streets; prohibits taking additional 
        into state secondary highway system.
HB 1751 License plates, special; issuance of 
        those promoting brain tumor awareness.
HB 1883 Abortion clinics; regulations and licensure.
HB 1886 Streets; prohibits taking additional 
        into state secondary highway system.
HB 2123 Fertility treatments; disclosure required 
        of ova donors.
HB 2124 Abortion; illegal upon overturning of 
        Roe v. Wade.
HB 2125 Abortion; prohibits those coerced and 
        provides civil remedy.
HB 2797 Born and preborn human being; 
        constitutional right to enjoyment of life.
HB 2798 Divorce, no-fault; parties with minor 
        children cannot obtain.
HJ 582 Marriage; joint subcomm. to study effect 
       of no-fault divorce on 
       formation, duration, & dissolution.
HR 43  Marriage; House Comm. on Cts. of Justice 
       to study effect of no-fault 
       divorce on formation, etc.

These are the ones that represent wasted time, resources, and governmental invasions into the lives of private citizens. Traffic grows worse while legislators fixate on divorce and abortion.

Yet, he keeps getting elected.

What. the. hell?

Let us harken back to the days when one could vote a mixed ticket, choosing the candidate whom we liked the most. It was a time when manners and respect were the veneer, if not the substance, of American political life. It was a time before multimedia character assassination and 24x7 demagoguery.

I'll be crossing the aisle, figuratively anyway, to vote for Bruce Roemmelt this fall.

Still thin on content, the site is nonetheless up and running.

The eastern side of Prince William County is routinely voting Democratic and Loudoun County is swinging both ways depending on the election. Each year, we see the generic Republican vote in these jurisdictions getting smaller and smaller. As this trend continues, the Republican Party is at a strategic disadvantage statewide due to its increasing losses in Northern Virginia.

The causes of this problem are several. Shifting demographics make the region more focused on the provision of essential government services, particularly schools and roads. The region's economy is dependent on federal government programs making anti-government rhetoric seem hostile and unrealistic. The relative affluence of the population makes it as interested in the value for the tax dollar as it does the tax dollar itself.

Technorati Tag: prince william county

Most agree that Democrat Tim Kaine's victory in Prince William is a sign. They just don't agree on what that sign means.

"I think it's a reflection that people want the (Republican) party to be more responsive to their issues, particularly transportation, education and public safety," said Republican Sean Connaughton, chairman of the Board of County Supervisors.

Connaughton, a moderate who was defeated by Bill Bolling in the Republican primary for lieutenant governor, said the GOP needs to stick to real issues that affect voters every day, rather than social issues such as abortion.

Blue or Red aside, I tend to think that state legislators should stick to solving problems, problems that normal citizens can't resolve. This includes, of course, transportation, Choosing to flog hot-button social issues, like abortion or gay marriage, is nothing but pandering to some vocal slice of the electorate, with little chance of delivering anything of substance in return for the votes. Most state legislators get paid very little (about $18K in Virginia), have short legislative sessions (60 days per year in Virginia) and limited support and research resources, so each should have a keen sense of priority to make the most of his or her office.

Whether Delegate Bob agrees with me on social issues is far less important to the electorate (or should be) than him being a good steward of my state income taxes by pushing through efficient and effective projects that will benefit the greatest number of constituents. To date, he's failed at that task. What does he think he can actually do to stop abortion? Can he override the Supreme Court of the United States?

Given the state of things like growth and transportation in NoVA, I think Marshall is vulnerable.

Coplen contends that by pulling in 44 percent in a "challenging district," Roemmelt, a virtual unknown, has proven that Marshall can be beaten.

Marshall disagreed, but even other Republicans admit that this was the first time anyone has come so close to beating the conservative Republican, who has held his seat since 1992.

Technorati Tag: northern virginia

That aside, a little extra work is needed to see how Prince William voted for the Marshall-Roemmelt matchup.

My precinct, Evergreen (41% turnout), BM 953 - BR 684

PWC as a whole (36% turnout), BM 12,603 - BR 9,295

Roemmelt won only a single precinct in PWC, Mullen, but ran strong throughout, much better than I would expect for a first-timer with an entrenched incumbent like Marshall.

And yes, Marshall's ragged and likely gerrymandered district does extend beyond PWC, but I can't seem to locate the the same data for Loudoun and Fauquier quire so easily.

Oh, and there are proposed precinct changes for the county in 2006.

Technorati Tag: prince william county

In 2005, Delegate Bob Marshall was able to pass only seven of the original 37 bills he introduced, the lowest bill-passing effectiveness of any Virginia delegate. Rather than working to represent his constituents? best interests by improving the 13th District?s education and troubled transportation systems, Delegate Marshall chose to advance his own extreme personal agenda by introducing bizarre bills like a ban on the execution of pregnant women, a criminal restriction against distributing contraceptives, and regulations on the trafficking of fetal body parts. Delegate Bob Marshall?s unnecessary bills clogged the legislative process, wasted taxpayers? money, and took time away from dealing with real issues.

This would be a real hoot, if I didn't live in his district.

Technorati Tag: delegate bob marshall ineffectual

My State Delegate, yes the one with the tin ear about real issues in this district, has a cutesie section on his website called "Marshall Laws". How droll. I'll be rooting around over there for a few days for nuggets of goodness. We'll be putting them in the quote format, since God knows I don't want people thinking that I agree with these little jewels, most likely on the grounds of "what the hell is the state government doing in the personal affairs of the citizenry?" At least, the non-criminal ones anyway.

Who gets the treatment today? Families! A pair of invasive and unfriendly jewels:

HB 751 (2004) Affirmation of Marriage Act for the Commonwealth of Virginia. States that a civil union, partnership contract or other arrangement between persons of the same sex purporting to bestow the privileges or obligations of marriage is prohibited and that such an arrangement entered into in another state or jurisdiction is void in Virginia and any contractual rights created thereby are void and unenforceable. http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?041+sum+HB751

HB 2506 (1995) Divorce; mandatory counseling. Authorizes the court to require the parties to divorce to attend educational or informational sessions on the effects of divorce on children. Statements made by either party during the programs are not to be used as evidence in any subsequent proceeding. The parties are to pay any costs of the program, up to $50. http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?951+sum+HB2506

If Bob had spent 1995 thinking about transportation instead of inserting the state where it doesn't belong, in the lives of divorcees, the average speed during my commute today might approach 30mph.

I wonder if he had the wits to index the $50 to inflation. Gettin' divorced ain't as cheap as it once was.

Thanks, Bob! We're so glad that you are "Working For Virginians", just as long as they look like you and have no need to get to work on time each day!

Technorati Tag: delegate bob marshall bigoted clown

Other than costing me money, Governor Kaine is unlikely to do any real damage to this state, one in which the tech industry, the military, and the Federal government hold the most sway and a booming economy continues to shovel in revenue, releasing the state officials from any sort of financial restraint. Warner hoodwinked the state and our legislators into a large and wholly unnecessary tax increase two years ago and no one seems to be pissed off about it. What gives?

For my district, my ineffectual State Delegate, Bob Marshall, won handily over my Bull Run Mountain neighbor, veteran, firefighter, and upstart Bruce Roemmelt. I don't give a rat's patootie about Roemmelt as a candidate except as a tool to lever Marshall (did I mention he is a hyper-(social)-conservative nutcase?) out of his longtime seat in the Assembly. I'm embarassed to be represented by Marshall and ashamed for a Republican party that helps fund his campaigns.

Outside of Virginia, Bloomberg won in NYC, as expected, and Corzine bought himself another government job in New Jersey. Arnie's Props went down hard in California.

Post-election is a time for reflection and regrouping. I'm sure State Republicans are smarting, but the Bolling and McDonnell victories ease the sting. The real question that comes from these results is "what do the voter's choices here tell us about the 2006 elections?" Admittedly, we have a small sample and nothing remarkable about any of the elections. The next year will be interesting politically and I'm sure many campaigns will get a fine-tuning based on yesterday's polling.

Technorati Tag: virginia politics