"Raw Fisher" on Northern Virginia's Raw Deal

By: Lowell
Published On: 7/15/2008 4:49:33 AM

Today's Washington Post has a great article by Marc Fisher, entitled "N.Va. Abandoned by the Side of the Clogged Road."  It's hilarious and anger-inducing at the same time. First, the hilarious:

Let's not be unfair. The lawmakers in Richmond did not merely sit around spending $22,000 a day of taxpayers' money during their failed special session over the past few weeks. Oh, no, they were busy beavers. They chatted about more than 100 bills. And don't believe this nonsense about how the two parties are impossibly deadlocked and cannot agree to anything. Heck, they passed 104 resolutions honoring great Virginians and 11 actual bills. Let's take a look at them:

Your elected officials agreed that this was the time to congratulate the great Floyd County High School golf team. Democrats and Republicans came together to honor "the triumphant performance of the 2007 Buffaloes," noting that the team's success "is a tribute to the talent, dedication, and perseverance of the players; the leadership of Head Coach Skip Bishop and his staff; and the support of the parents, student body, and faculty and leadership of Floyd County High School."

Great stuff, I'm so glad we spent $22,000 a day for this (in a special session on TRANSPORTATION, not GOLF, by the way).  Meanwhile, as we all know, our legislators got nowhere fast in their never-ending quest to...well, NOT resolve our transportation problems.  Instead, as Raw Fisher explains, all we got was a resolution honoring a High School golf team, a lousy t-shirt (actually, we didn't even get that), and an overall "raw deal."

Will that translate into a willingness by Virginia Republicans to pay for roads and improvements? No, because the GOP has decided it doesn't need and can't get enough votes in Northern Virginia to compete with surging Democrats in the state's high-growth areas. The state's Republicans have decided their future lies in being anti-tax, anti-urban and anti-immigrant, leaving Northern Virginia to stew in its traffic woes. That's not necessarily an idiotic strategy on the GOP's part; Virginia, despite Democratic advances in recent years, remains an almost evenly divided state politically and culturally. But what it does mean is more stalemate, more paralysis.

If you like traffic, you're gonna love the next few years.

Yeah, and I'm sure people will particularly enjoy burning $4 (or higher) per gallon gasoline while sitting stuck in traffic jams.  Next time that happens, maybe we all should send the bill to Virginia's House Republicans, the ones who have abandoned northern Virginia "by the side of the clogged road."  Just a thought.

Comments



Albo Must Go Is On the Case (Albo Must Go - 7/15/2008 7:10:47 AM)
Here's our take.
AMG, Albo Puts Grover Norquist Ahead of His People

We also took some pictures of the sights and sounds around Richmond.....





Maybe Governor Lameduck could help. (Bubby - 7/15/2008 9:41:07 AM)
He could quit reaching out to help Morgan Griffith's partisans and make a very public show of it.  He could tell Morgan that what is good for the Goose, is good for the Gander, and that localities need to meet more of their own needs, since they so obviously see themselves disconnected from the rest of the Commonwealth.

There is little sympathy for NOVA/HR gridlock amongst the "low knowledge" voter that Griffith plays to.  The Gov needs to fire up his Fender and play over that out-of-tune violin Morgan seems so fond of.  Enough Mr. Nice-guy; let everyone know the no-tax door swings both ways.  Veto everything until the Norquist Regulars understand there is no "I" in "We".  

Been a long time since I saw a decent Kaine Fireside Chat!  



Albo Must Go But LOVE To Jerry Connolly, The BOSS'S Political Boss (Lee Diamond - 7/15/2008 2:40:55 PM)
As some in Farifax would probably say, he's a weasel, but he's our weasel.

Oh wow, that makes me feel better.  Whats the big deal with gridlock if we can have Jerry representing Fairfax in Congress?

I love Jerry.  He's bringing business to Fairfax.  He has made us a Leading Light of Lockjaw in the United States of America.  We can compete with all the great Metropolis's around the world.



Headline From the Future (HisRoc - 7/15/2008 5:07:37 PM)
Connolly Introduces Bill Relocating Federal Government

January 10, 2009 (AP) Representative Gerry Connolly (D-Pork) announced today that he has introduced a bill in the House to re-locate most of the Federal government to Fairfax County from the District of Columbia and Arlington County.  "With all the traffic problems and the DC crime rate, this just makes sense," said Connolly.  "We can free up hundreds of acres for parks and green space in the national capital while creating free public housing for the homeless and for illegal immigrants."  The Congressional Budget Office estimates the cost of the re-location at approximately $300B.  A spokesman for Connolly noted that the cost is significant, but easily affordable given Connolly's tax plan.  Reportedly, he supports increased tax rates for the most wealthy taxpayers.  Asked to define 'wealthy,' Connolly's spokesman responded, "You know, the really rich people in this country.  The ones who only work one job and own their own home.  Its about time that they contributed their fair share."

A spokesman for the Sierra Club praised Connolly's plan.  "This is the logical extension of Rep. Connolly's Green County initiative.  It is one of the reasons that we endorsed him for Congress," the spokesman noted.

Traffic impacts in Fairfax County are expected to be minimal since interim Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Linda Smyth has proposed legislation to outlaw any new automobile registrations in Fairfax County.  "We built all of this high-density housing around the Metro system and yet people insist on driving cars.  They just don't get it," complained Smyth.  



Not Bad Dude (Lee Diamond - 7/15/2008 11:23:39 PM)
Thats kind of nice.  I like the D-Pork.  Thanks.