Growing up, I loved the stories of Brer Rabbit. He was the original they used to make Bugs Bunny, Tweety Bird and all the other little guys, who always outsmarted the big idiots who were out to get 'em. Brer Rabbit was especially wonderful, though, because he could always get that dumb old Brer Fox to do just what he wanted, and hop away laughin'.Take the story of the Briar Patch for example. Brer Fox catches Brer Rabbit and is about to do him all manner of damage. Brer Rabbit begs not to be thrown in to the brier patch, he really begs. He begs so hard that Brer Fox throws him in, thinking it's the most cruel thing he could possibly do. But good ol' Brer Rabbit was born and raised in a briar patch. He hops away laughing, and we laugh with him.
I couldn't help thinking of my favorite childhood story when I read Tim Kaine's quote in the TimesCommunity in reaction to the passage of his landmark $3 Billion transportation bill:
"All in all, I think we had a pretty good day."
Below the fold: "Please don't send me regional authorities or circumvent the Dillon rule, Brer Howell"
If Tim Kaine was born in a brier patch, it's the briar patch of responsible government. These days it's more dangerous than ever. Thirty years of expanding right-wing influence has taken "The Virginia Way", which once allowed groups with differing opinions to treat each other with respect, and turned that wonderful way into "My Way or the Highway" politics. Right-Wing zealots act as if they own government. If you don't support them, you ain't a constituent. If you don't agree that there should be no taxes, limitless debt, mandatory gay and Muslim deportation, and defunded schools, you're not just wrong, you're evil and damned anyway, so why not just treat you like dirt?
Well, these wonderful folks are represented in the house by a great ol' guy named Howell who, while no friend to Virginia, knows which side his bread is buttered. Speaker Howell knows that this year every one of the 100 delegates in Virginia is up for reelection, and this year the #1 issue is Transportation. Speaker Howell being called "speaker", and if he doesn't make sure his