Not a surprise to read that Hager is pulling out the racist/sexist cards to remind the good old boy types (white male Republicans) that they've lost some of their influence.  

I found the WaPo article interesting regarding the potential Democratic committee assignments and problems that might ensue (bolding is my emphasis):

But as Democrats from those areas exert growing influence, some party leaders fear the rural Democrats who dominated state politics for more than a century could be pushed aside.

.... the effort to unite Senate Democrats around a message of economic populism might be hampered by a split over who should be named to the powerful Finance Committee.

Four slots on the committee will open up for Democrats when the General Assembly convenes. Democrats from southwestern Virginia argue they should get some of those slots, but the Senate's tradition of rewarding seniority could mean senators from other parts of the state get the plum seats.

"We are going to try to accommodate everyone, but basically this is the fall of the cards through the seniority system," Saslaw said.

Saslaw noted that Reynolds has been named deputy floor leader, which he said proves that the Democratic leadership is geographically diverse. Reynolds declined to comment.

Sen. R. Edward Houck (D-Spotsylvania) said the seniority system is "creating a huge geographic imbalance."

"Our majority is very tenuous," said Houck, who will chair the Education and Health Committee. "We got a very small majority to go around. Why do all the new chairmen also get the good committee assignments?"

I think Houck makes a very good point.  Seniority (loyalty) is certainly an accomplishment to be admired.  

But is seniority a real demonstration of what our State Party is about?  

Do we want to alienate rural Democrats when we have this tenuous majority?  

Would it not be good for the Democrats to employ the tenets of populism which the Party has so long been associated with (i.e., an unorthodox solution that would appeal to the common persons [those in the rural areas that feel they might be underrepresented by the rule of seniority])?  

Can the Democrats take this unusal opportunity to do serious negotiating and compromising within its ranks to equitably share the tenuous "power"?

Can Democrats put aside traditional party or partisan ideologies (seniority gets the "rewards") and appeal to all the people of the Virginia?  

of rural, populist values.  We were for a long time, then we lost that somehow.  I strongly recommend "Foxes in the Henhouse" by Steve Jarding and Dave "Mudcat" Saunders, which explains "How the Republicans Stole the South and the Heartland and What the Democrats Must Do to Run 'em Out."  As the Amazon blurb says, "The book encourages Democrats to open their minds to the rural culture of 'Bubbas,' or blue collar, religious folks who despise government intrusion, have been voting Republican and would respond to political 'NASCAR marketing.'"  I couldn't agree more.

Also, I agree that seniority systems should not be the "be all/end all" in politics. Other factors need to be taken into account, including ensuring that every part of the state is adequately represented.  I think Democrats have done a good job so far with the committee assignments, but this whole issue is something to be VERY cognizant of as we move forward...and DEFINITELY let's not get into any NOVA triumphalist mode; that would be both wrong AND disastrous politically.

Can you explain how they have done a "good job" with the committee assignments (i.e. the Chairs) so far?

I mean, Patsy Ticer (Alexandria) as Chair of Ag is the kind of thing that will be used to mock the Democrats for many years to come in rural Virginia.  "Where did they go for their Ag Chair?  Alexandria."

adjective "overall."  Not to say that Ticer won't do a fine job, but it's true, she's not from what's generally considered an agricultural region. :)

Lowell, you've got to understand that a lot of the other regions of Virginia ARE pissed off.  Dems in Southside and SWVA feel like they got the shaft.  They did.  Ticer?  Are you freaking kidding me?

Rural Democrats all over Virginia in Central, Southside, Southwest, The Valley, and the East, aren't too happy- and it has nothing to do with minorities.

n/t

I think a lot of us are concerned that John Hager can make a point that sounds reasonable to us (specifically, that the Senate leadership might not be as focused on the rest of us) and the Northern Virginian Democrat mentality reads that as meaning that we won't like that downstate because we're Southern misogynistic racists who don't think uppity women-folk and minorities ought be given any sort of authority?

I may be alone in this among the downstaters, Lowell, but I frequently find myself as offended by the assumptions made about downstate voters whenever you or Tribbet read a phantom insinuation into quotes like Hager's as I am by the quote itself.  It's kind of the same deal with the Alabama comments Tom Davis made.  As dumb as I thought they were on Davis' part, what actually offended me was when I realized some NOVA dems thought he was talking about me.

There seems to be a rather patronizing sentiment among a lot of Northern Virginia Democrats concerning those poor, stupid downstaters who are just too dumb to vote Democratic (or, apparently, live in Northern Virginia), and oh, won't we be magnanimous and show them the light.  Its a sentiment I find a lot of on Raising Kaine and NLS, though I'm sure a lot of it is unintentional.

Those of us from rural Virginia may talk a little slower, but it doesn't mean we think any slower.  

Rural Virginia has a lot of serious problems which need to be addressed in the legislature and without strong leadership voices to make sure we're heard, I get the sense that the Senate will be dominated by Northern Virginians talking about how they don't get enough money from the state.  

NoVA Dems frequently treat us like the retarded cousin at the family reunion.  You put up with us because you need us in general, but when it comes time to reward us for our hard work (in Hampton Roads, for example, we contributed JUST AS MUCH to the gains this year as Northern Virginia did), we frequently are ignored.  

Northern Virginia Democrats talk down to us because they think we don't know any better.  Frankly, the chair appointments just reinforce that image.  You wonder why I frequently rant against NoVA Democrats?  It's crap like the Ticer assignment that make me believe the things I do.

RoVA Democrats shouldn't have to try to catch the scraps from the NoVA and Richmond Democrats' plate.

Maybe you should or one of the others should start a diary that just lists your grievances against Northern Virginia Democrats and how we can move forward.  I certainly don't think we want to repeat the mistakes of the Republican Party of Virginia.  And losing sight of what unites us would certainly lead us down that path.  

I am sorry you and others feel like NoVA Dems belittle you.  As a NoVA Democrat, I hope I don't do that.

I couldn't agree more with what you just wrote.

but I have absolutely no negative bias towards SWVA.  However, I DO have an extremely negative bias towards jerks like John Hager.  

but for Pete's sake, I doubt she knows what a bush hog is, much less the price of a bale of hay.

But the rest of us downstate Dems are still pretty sure you don't get it.  And that's fine, friend!  All politics are local, and you're not from the parts of the state we're talking about here.  I mean, heck, y'all are still looking for ways to beat Ken Cuccinelli in your own back yard, just like we're looking for ways to beat (insert downstate incumbent Republican here).  It's okay for us as activists not to get regions of the state other than our own because we all have plenty of fights here in our own neck of the woods.

But while we're local activists, this is supposed to be a statewide party.  If this party wants to "get it," it would have made sense to put some elected Democrats from out in the political wilderness into meaningful leadership positions.  Rewarding the Dems who have had their seats longest (BECAUSE THEY WERE GERRYMANDERED TO PACK ALL THE DEM VOTERS INTO THOSE DISTRICTS IN THE FIRST PLACE) and then pointing to Roscoe Reynolds as a deputy assistant somethingorother and saying "we have rural friends, too!" is ridiculous.  Saslaw ought to be embarrassed (except I've heard the guy speak, and it seems like it would take a lot to make him feel embarrassed about saying something).

What values are rural, populist values?  Right now, blue collar, religious Whites are the Republican base.  Why would we go after them?  Let's concentrate on winning the folks that are persuadable - and in Virginia many of those people are in the growing suburbs of Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia.  

That said, parts of Southwest Virginia are an important part of the emerging Virginia Democratic majority.  SW Virginia was important in Warner's victory and are important for the DPV moving forward, therefore they need to be well-represented in leadership, even if that means that you have to depart from the seniority system.  

I read the article, and the article was awful for both the Dems and Repugs.  The article was bad for Republicans because dissing NOVA and minorities will help make sure that they continue to get killed among those groups.  The article was just as bad for Dems because SWVA Dem Senators were basically badmouthing our own party.  That's not right - handle your differences behind closed doors.  For the first time in recent memory (if ever), we in NOVA (the Democratic center of Virginia) don't get the shaft from Richmond and then other Dem senators complain that NOVA might actually get a fair share of state tax money back in benefits!  That's BS!  It is, and reading the article made me mad.  We all need to be team players in the Democratic Party, and those Democratic senators who are already complaining to the Washington Post aren't being team players.

the old "screw 'em if they don't vote Democrat" sentiment.  And what a lovely one it is.  Why waste our time trying to bring new people into the party when we can just exploit the votes we already got.

And of course, I can clearly see why you need some more money back from the state.  Its not like NoVa has some of the best public schools in the country, more highly paid public employees, raging economic development and very low unemployment.  Man, what HAS government done for you lately?

NOVA needs a lot more money than it is currently getting from Richmond.  The lack of transportation funding from Richmond is especially galling for both NOVA and Hampton Roads, which need transportation money to keep growing.  Growth in NOVA and Hampton Roads is important for the rest of the state because those regions provide most of Virginia's tax revenue.  That tax revenue can and has been used to provide valuable government services for the rest of the state.

Currently, NOVA is 25-30% of the population of VA and probably provides over 1/2 of Virginia's tax revenue.  We'd like some of that money back as an investment in the future economic health of NOVA and the rest of the state.  Currently, local governments in NOVA fund what they can fund (schools, especially) from high property taxes and try to work around what they can't fund (roads).  It's not fair.

I, and the rest of the Dems here in NOVA, want the rest of Virginia to succeed whether they vote for us or not.  My point is that we need to work together, and the statements made in the Washington Post article don't help, even if some of the substance of the complaints are legit.

"I, and the rest of the Dems here in NOVA, want the rest of Virginia to succeed whether they vote for us or not.  My point is that we need to work together, and the statements made in the Washington Post article don't help, even if some of the substance of the complaints are legit."

We don't think its fair that we can't get our roads paved, our bridges built, and improved safety on I-81 cause NoVa didn't plan its growth very well.  Everybody wants something more from the state government, whether its transportation funding, higher education funding, economic growth incentives, etc.  If NoVa would like more money, chances are its going to come from RoVa.  We do need to work together, and refusing to appoint anyone from RoVa to leadership positions in the State Senate sends a pretty clear signal that Saslaw and Whipple and the rest of the NoVa delegation could give a rats behind about what the rest of the state wants/needs.  Not a very good way to win our votes in the future.

I seem to remember that for every $1 NOVA puts into the state treasury, less than half of that comes back to the region.  If that's right, that would mean more money for NOVA wouldn't come from ROVA, it would come from, well, NOVA.  If anyone has the actual numbers, please enlighten me.  I'm also curious about the numbers for Hampton Roads and Richmond.  One of the reasons why NOVA and HR voters have turned to the Dems is the sense that downstate Republicans have been screwing over urban VA for years, and that it's time for a little more balance in appropriations.

that they are only so many dollars in the pot.  If NoVa is to receive more from the pot, someone else is going to get less.  Sorry if that wasn't clear.  

There aren't a lot of urban areas that have planned very well.  Part of the difficulty is predicting the future.  Another is the fact that we are a free market economy.  And part of that is there are powerful economic interests who make sure they pay the right people to get what they want (both in Richmond and at the local level).  On top of that, localities don't have an extraordinary amount of power given the mother-may-I system of government Virginia has adopted.  Localities essentially only have property tax to help them get things done.  And for example, Arlington can't just decide to expand 66 or 395 even if it had the money to do so.  And speaking of that, we are not one unified metropolitan government.  There are at least 7 jurisdictions that make up our urban region.  We can come up with transportation plans til we're blue in face, but we need VDOT to get them done.

I would not blame NoVA residents for the transportation woes we now face.  It wasn't our fault that the state failed to live up to its responsibility.  We shouldn't be punished for bad management.  And to your point, neither should you.  But moving forward, if we are working with limited funds, we have to make decisions based on getting the most bang for our buck.  

I don't think we can deny that the urban areas and the rural areas of the state have competing interests in some areas.  We have to reach a compromise that fits both of our needs, and move past regional rivalry.

both within Virginia and also with Maryland and DC.  If not, the same problems will keep happening again and again.

But rich people don't receive more government services than poor people because they pay more taxes.  There is no direct correlation between how much you pay in taxes and the amount of services you receive in exchange.  Silicon Valley doesn't get (or shouldn't get) better service from the government than Mississippi residents because they pay more in taxes.  NoVa's share of state dollars should be proportional to their share of the state population, not how many dollars they contribute to the overall pot.  That's not the way our government works.

NoVa's transportation needs top your priority list because you live there and deal with them every day.  If you lived in Southside or SW, you'd probably see the priorities differently.  

"NoVa's transportation needs top your priority list because you live there and deal with them every day.  If you lived in Southside or SW, you'd probably see the priorities differently."

Exactly.  It takes you a long time to get to work.  But their are poor children throughout SWVA who are wondering whether or not they are gonna get to eat today.  Just think of it that way.

(probably the first time ever I've said Amen to a Wahoo)

I think money should be allocated based on need.  Population is not always representative of need though.  I wasn't advocating that spending match revenue contribution or relative wealth.  

And to your last point, I do live in NoVA.  So yes, transportation is a top priority for me here.  And the reverse of your argument is true.  I imagine if you had to spend 30 to 45 minutes to drive 6 miles every morning and every evening, then you too would put transportation at the top of your list of priorities.  But you know my commute is really nothing compared to people who live further out.  Not that we should spend the entire state budget on fixing traffic problems in Hampton Roads and NoVA.  

Like I said, we will have different and sometimes competing priorities; this is the nature of things.  But we need to find common ground and help each other.  And surely we have common interests and values we can work from, we are all Democrats.

Two points:

-- The Dems really ought to give Roscoe Reynolds one of those seats on Senate Finance.  Roscoe not only represents a heavily GOP-leaning district, it's also a district that includes 2 localities with the hightest unemployment rates in the Commonwealth.  A seat on Finance would help Reynolds do more for some people who desperately need help and, in a rare confluence, would also be good politics for the party as a whole.

-- I'm glad I'm not the only one whose jaw dropped on reading John Hagar's statement this morning.  This comes close to a Trent Lott moment and, if pressed, might lead to Hager's resignation as chair of the RPV.