Daily Whackjob

If you found the story about Bob Marshall having an meltdown amusing, then do your part to encourage an encore. Go here and vote for Bruce Roemmelt. Just try to imagine the antics we could be treated to if Bob were to have to leave the House of Delegates. I just hope someone will be close by with a video camera.

Got this release from the Roemmelt campaign today. I wonder how Marshall will respond. Marshall’s biggest problem seems to be his church, which is holding him back from coming out too hard on immigration issues.

Chief’s Proposal Reasonable, Pragmatic: Should be “Model for the Commonwealth”

Haymarket, VA - Bruce Roemmelt - a candidate for the 13th Virginia House of Delegates district seat - issued the following statement regarding Prince William County Police Chief Charles Deane’s presentation Tuesday to the Prince William County Board of Supervisors:

“I fully support Chief Deane’s plan to implement the County’s agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Chief Deane has nearly four decades of experience in the Prince William County Police Department, including nearly twenty years as chief. In that time he has epitomized public service and has demonstrated time and again his commitment to the citizens of Prince William County.

“Chief Deane has developed a plan that will put criminals behind bars and - if those criminals are illegal aliens - hand them over to the federal government. He respects the law and strives to be fair to everyone affected. His plan is reasonable and pragmatic and should be a model for the Commonwealth.

“I pledge to develop state legislation to institute a paper trail that will aid the federal government in ending the ability of employers to pay employees ‘under the table.’ Together with the common sense program Chief Deane has introduced, this initiative will crack down on all criminals, including employers who hire illegal aliens.”

Bob Marshall and Bruce Roemmelt squared off in editorials on Tuesday, over the transportation plan. Bruce’s editorial was well written, and had some nice points, like:

From my own perspective, I would have preferred a bill that relied less on borrowing. However, the choice was not between what we ended up with and a perfect bill, but between what we ended up with and nothing.

Roemmelt also attack Bob Marshall for voting no on the transportation bill:

Delegate Marshall’s no vote is especially ironic in light of this last point. For years, he has been pushing for something like this in bills that went nowhere. Finally, when given a chance to vote for impact fees, he decides to do exactly what the developers he is supposedly so opposed to would have wanted — he voted against impact fees.

…

Ultimately, my disagreement with Delegate Marshall on this issue comes down to a fundamental difference in how we approach government.

His approach focuses primarily on why a problem can’t be solved. I have a different perspective. I spent 20 years as a Firefighter in Prince William County and my focus, in doing that job, was on working as part of a team to help people solve their problems. When lives are on the line, you’ve got to have a “can do” attitude and be ready to work with others. That is the approach that Governor Kaine and Speaker Howell took in coming up with a transportation bill — a bipartisan and common sense effort that worked across party lines.

Now, compare this with Bob Marshall’s piece. I’ll quote the opening paragraph:

If the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority incurs debt based on the taxes levied by its appointed members, then bond rating agencies will apportion this debt to each member locality. This may prevent Prince William, Loudoun and the cities of Manassas or Manassas Park from issuing bonds on their own or at a favorable rate for necessary local projects, because of the debt limit imposed by the Virginia Constitution on cities and the Constitutional requirements in counties for voter approval of local debt or local taxes by the governing body. None of these requirements were part of the recently passed transportation bill.

Go ahead, read that over a few times until it makes sense. I’ll wait.

Marshall ends his piece like this:

Please read these portions of the Virginia Constitution, Article VII, Section 10 on the matter of local debt:

“No city or town shall issue any bonds or other interest-bearing obligations which, including existing indebtedness, shall at any time exceed ten per centum of the assessed valuation of the real estate in the city or town subject to taxation, as shown by the last preceding assessment for taxes. In determining the limitation for a city or town there shall not be included the following classes of indebtedness:

(b) No debt shall be contracted by or on behalf of any county or district thereof or by or on behalf of any regional government or district thereof except by authority conferred by the General Assembly by general law. The General Assembly shall not authorize any such debt … unless in the general law authorizing the same, provision shall be made for submission to the qualified voters of the county or district thereof or the region or district thereof, as the case may be, for approval or rejection by a majority vote of the qualified voters voting in an election on the question of contracting such debt. Such approval shall be a prerequisite to contracting such debt.”

I have to admit, Marshall knows his law. What he doesn’t seem to know is how to translate his talking points into common sense language for his constituents. Does the Republican party just keep this guy away from people and let the “R” get him elected? I bet this guy is fun at parties. I will end with a truth that Marshall espouses:

If a vote of conscience alters the outcome of an election, so be it.

So be it, Bob.

I just got the following press release from the Roemmelt campaign:

MARSHALL SAYS NO TO TRANSPORTATION RELIEF FOR THE PEOPLE OF THE 13^th DISTRICT
Haymarket, April 4 – Today, the Virginia General Assembly approved the largest increase in transportation funding in a generation.  Bruce Roemmelt, a retired firefighter, educator, and veteran, who is challenging long-term incumbent 13^th District Delegate Robert G. Marshall, praised the Governor and the General Assembly for working together to provide some relief from gridlock for Northern Virginia.  Roemmelt noted that “this transportation package is far from perfect, but it is a reasonable first step and the best deal that could be obtained for Northern Virginia at this time.” 
Delegate Marshall, however, voted no.  In so doing, he voted against funding for existing road projects and for the Virginia Rail Express.   Ronald Petracca, Chair of the Brentsville Magesterial District Democratic Committee, said that Marshall “put politics and his own idiosyncratic personal agenda above the needs of his constituents by saying that it all right to do nothing about the most critical issues facing our region, gridlock.”  Petracca noted that this is quite a contrast from Marshall’s views in October 2005 when, facing a strong challenge from Roemmelt, “he developed a sudden interest in portraying himself as being interested in solving transportation problems.”
Roemmelt praised the efforts of Governor Kaine and Speaker Howell to “reach out across the partisan divide in order to do something positive for Northern Virginia’s commuters.”  Roemmelt explained that, “the Governor could have just played politics here.  Instead, he worked with the Speaker to get something accomplished.”  This, according to Roemmelt, is what the voters want and it is the type of leadership “I plan on brining to Richmond.”  . 

Go show Bruce some love.

I see from the kids over at RK that the Virginia Partisans will be holding a fundraiser for Bruce Roemmelt on March 29th. Details can be found at the Partisans Website. You can also show Bruce some love by donating a few bucks. Remember, every time you donate a dollar to Bruce Roemmelt, the Pope yells at Bob Marshall.

On my flight down to Dallas today, I was thinking about Ann Coulter, but not in my usual way. I wasn’t thinking about her adam’s apple, nor was I thinking about the fact that she’s probably a lonely, depressed little inbred country girl, screaming to lynch someone because that’s the only way she ever feels complete. I was thinking about how I, as a single, gay, individual living in Virginia could get back at Miss. Coulter for her recent remarks where she called John Edwards a faggot.

At that exact moment, I noticed a disturbance in the gay force. Either someone had found a really good deal on Italian shoes, or an idea was coming. And that idea is this: each of us can make a difference against the homophobes in our own little way. For myself, my personal cause would be getting rid of Bob Marshall. I’ve noticed from Raising Kaine that state delegates are now on Act Blue, so I set up my own page, devoted to defeating Bob Marshall. As the primaries get finished, I’ll add other candidates who are in my district, but for now, I’m set on trying to help raise funds for Bruce’s run against Marshall. In the upper right hand corner, you will see a donate box for Bruce.

And that disturbance in the gay force I was telling you about? When I got to the hotel, I started surfing around, seeing where the campaign was (not much content on the website yet, but it’s only March). However, I found that the Virginia Partisans have endorsed Bruce. So, all you homos out there need to stop shopping and start donating. Seriously, skip the 400 count sheets and send 20 bucks over to the Roemmelt campaign. He’s going to need it to go against Marshall, who gets all that Pope money.

We have a large deck. This weekend I power washed and stained the railing (took 8 hours to stain if that gives you any idea of the size). While doing manual labor, I often think about all the stuff I need to get done. One of the things I really need to get done is to update my blogroll. Now for a non-sequitur (look it up STD): I’m putting forward a question. Who is your political hero and why. For some rules framing the question:

1. Must be living and active in politics.
2. Can be national or local, and party affiliation doesn’t matter.
3. Doesn’t have to be a politician, can be a blogger.
4. Waldo doesn’t count.

My political hero is Bruce Roemmelt. Bruce is the type of guy who will bail you out of a Maryland jail at 3:00 am. Bruce lost to Whackjob Marshall last year by 5 points, and is already preparing for next year. This year, he’s received his Ph.D., held fundraisers for Judy Feder and Jeanette Rishell, has helped campaign for Judy Feder, and has worked on the Vote No campaign. My friend Bruce is a spiritual man, but also a friend of the gay.
The day after we get Judy Feder elected to Congress, I’ll be sleeping off a hangover and heading over to the Roemmelt homestead to start planning the undoing of Whackjob Marshall. Hopefully, James Walkinshaw will be available to manage the campaign, once he gets Hurst elected (and not too busy doing the lecture circuit).

So, speak up but be polite.