I'll look forward to live blogging tomorrow at 1 PM!

What are your thoughts on the Supreme Court decision today on abortion rights?  How do we prevent the Bob Marshalls of the world from restricting a woman's right to choose here in Virginia?

The Supreme Court decision on abortion rights turned back the clock on a woman's right to choose and opened the floodgate for anti-abortion advocates to use a rarely used medical procedure to push their agenda at the state level. That's why you need me in Richmond. I am a staunch supporter of abortion rights: I believe abortions should be legal, safe, and rare and that we need to spend much more time and energy on prevention and education programs  so that every child is a wanted child.

:)

raised $81,135 and spent $15,564 this quarter.  You raised $37,700 and spent $29,378.  The two of you started the period with significantly more cash on hand, but because your opponent raised a lot more money and spent less, the two of you are now even in cash.  Why do you think this has happened?

We've worked hard to maintain our overall fundraising advantage and have invested this quarter in building a campaign that will win on both June 12 and November 6. Our early funds helped us reach out to many voters and to identify solid support for my candidacy. And as you can see on my website, we have had many neighborhood events and more are planned for this quarter. In short, we have been in the district talking to voters and building an organization that will turn the 34th blue in November. I know we're in a position to do exactly that! 

Margi, if I am looking at the State Board website correctly, you are actually behind Rip in cash on hand.  How is this an advantage, especially considering that you raised less than half of what he and other Democrats like Chuck Caputo and Carlos DelToro did in the first quarter?  Are you planning on self-funding as you did when you started the campaign?

I was actually referring to the total overall raised to date. We're bringing in funds everyday and have more events scheduled and planned.

If you're interested in contributing, I would love to have you're support at my Act Blue page!

http://www.actblue.c...

Democratic presidential nomination in 2008?

Mark Warner broke my heart! I was on board and on his team, and we were already raising money. His future is bright, and I'll be there for whatever is next for him. Put me in the "firmly undecideds" in 2008 for now.

A new SurveyUSA poll indicates that, by a 43%-8% margin, Republicans believe Virginia gun laws should be "more restrictive."  Democrats hold that view by a 61%-6% margin.  What do you think?

The tragedy at Virginia Tech is unspeakable.

While I am a supporter of the Second Amendment, I don't believe the Founders intended that weapons with multiple rounds designed to kill many people at the same time were desirable or necessary. It's awful that it takes a tragedy of this magnitude for us to have a discussion about why and how it is so easy to obtain weapons like the ones used on Monday. I am certainly in favor of renewing the ban on assault weapons and also reconsidering how easy it is to obtain weapons in general with our lax background check procedures in Virginia.

But shouldn't the long view on the VT tragedy take into account the need for more of a focus on mental health counseling and funding?

The late teens are a difficult time for many people, and when I was in college I saw lots of alcohol abuse, for example.  People use alcohol to self-medicate sometimes. Hormones are raging, kids are away from their parents (usually for the first time). Big life questions approach ("Ohmygod, what am I going to do after senior year?").  It was a mind churning time for me, and lots of people I knew.  But somehow we seem to sweep that under the rug.

Maybe we need to focus more on ensuring that kids know they can talk with trained adults.

Any ideas?

you're so right that the college years are often turbulent and unsettling times for even the people who seem to be doing fine! I do believe in general that we need to pay more attention to mental health issues which hve been perennially underfunded in Virginia. The shooter in the Tech incident was 23 years old, and as I understand it, his teachers, counselors and peers all tried at one time or another to reach out to him to no avail. Just to brainstorm: what if we were to provide some basic counseling for all entering college students about the warning signs of mental or emotional instability in their peers? That could be helpful along with a structure for sharing their concerns with professional couselors in residence. It's a topic that merits more discussion; thank you for starting the conversation.

your history of involvement with your local Democratic Party and efforts you have undertaken to help elect Democrats?

Thanks - one of my favorite topics! i've been involved with the Democratic party my entire adult life. Here in Dranesville, I've chaired the Dranesville Democratic Committee, been a precinct captain for many years, and chaired the Fairfax county J-J Dinner. I've hosted numerous events to benefit candidates at the local, state and national levels along with participating on issues important to Democrats. I've worked to build our Party at the local and state levels and have recruited new Dems. to join us - perhaps the thing I'm most proud of. Working for Governors Mark Warner and Tim Kaine has certainly made the job easier too!

I'd like details on the "tools" and "honest solutions" you're referring to.  Thanks.

Rob

Thanks! The tools I am referring to include the land use  and growth measures that have been unavailable to local governments to make sure that development does not outpace the infrastructure to serve it. It also means giving localities the ability to concentrate densities at transit friendly locations so that transit options are financially possible. Those would be two exampls. The recent transportation legislation provides localities the options to impose impact fees on developers so they have to offset the cost of their projects on our transportation system. AS for honest solutions, I am talking about the dedicated and sustainable funding sources that largely eluded us with the recently passed legislation. Either the vehicle registration fees suggested by the Senate or the removal of the sales tax exemption proposed by the Governor would have generated significant and sustainable revenue to address our problem. We need to be honest about the magnitude of funding we need to be able to count on year after year both regionally and statewide.

Margi, why did you give less money to Jim Webb than you did to Harris Miller, and more to Lincoln Chafee than you did to the two of them combined, especially considering that Democratic control of the Senate hinged on Webb winning and Chafee losing?
 

I've supported Democratic candidates my entire adult life and will continue to do so.

I believe you have you're facts wrong in this case.

I gave $1250 to Harris Miller, who has been a friend since our kids were in elementary school together.  After Senator Webb won the primary, I worked hard for him, raising money to get him elected.  I personally contributed $500 directly to his campaign committee $1000 to the Virginia Senate 2006 (State Party Federal Account for Webb) and $500 the DSCC, all in 2006. 

Lincoln Chafee and his family are also close family friends of mine.  Their family was there for us when my son was in a car accident in Rhode Island.  That is why I supported his campaign.  The FEC shows that I contributed $2250 to his campaign.  In fact(which you can't easily tell because U.S. Senate reporting procedures), the contribution was only $1250 because of a bank error on the part of the candidate's committee. 

Those are the facts of what I gave last year.  If history of giving is important to you - then I invite you to review my entire history of supporting Democratic candidates, issues and committees.  I would hope all of us would rather talk about the issues the issues that affect our quality of life here in northern Virginia. 

Margi, first off, thanks for live blogging with RK.

Above you discuss the importance of addressing some of our environmental problems.  Do you have any specific ideas about legislation that you would introduce (or support) in order to improve these problems?  Tax incentives, stricter regulation, government R&D investment, initiatives to bring green companies to Virginia, etc.

And second, do you have any thoughts about how you can deal with the flat-earth Republicans in order to get some of these critical environmental efforts passed?  Right now they have control of both the senate and the house in Richmond, and with the retirements of a number of moderate Republicans things don't look good for the next session.  And barring a miracle the Republicans will still be in control of at least one.  Do you have any ideas about how to get environmental issues passed, or even on the table, given that there is not wide support for such measures from this group?

As far as my specific environmental proposals, I invite you to check out my column on Bacon's Rebellion which is fairly comprehensive.

As far as getting Republicans to go along with these kinds of proposals, I have two thoughts: first, elect more Democrats so that the dialog includes more environment-friendly voices. Second, make the proposals economically beneficial to the folks who might otherwise be opposed, such as tobacco farmers in Southside who would benefit from a switch grass for biofuels economy, or the farmers in the agricultural sector who could use methane generators to produce power for profit and reduce pollution at the same time!

...he asked me to post this because he was having computer problems.

1.  How do you plan to pay for the programs/initatives you are describing

2.  Given the fact that Democrats and Northern Virginia reps are both outnumbered in the house of the general assembly, how will you accomplish your agenda and/or how will you effectively work across party and regional lines.

Full Disclosure (I am a Republican. I am posting the exact same message in your opponents thread)

Thanks in Advance it takes alot of courage to run for political office

Thanks! The programs and initiatives I am describing don't necessarily require more funds except in the area of transportation, and for now we have a regional package that I will be concentrating on with the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority. The land use measures I propose to manage growth can be used by localities to reduce our dependence on the car and promote transit use - a good thing all around. The education reforms I'm suggesting revolve around how we teach and how we prepare our students to learn: we need thinkers, not just takers. I think we can strengthen our funding by adjusting other programs and fees. As for the environment, we can make these programs pay for themselves. The economic return on conservation and alterntive energy measures will be a net plus ofr the Virginia economy.

I will do what I have always done to work across Party lines to get things done: find the common objectives, identify the interests of each side to accomplish them, and listen with the intent to get results. When I first started working on state issues in the early 90's, northern Virginians worked together for the benefit of the region. We need to return to that model again. Thanks for the full disclosure; you sound like someone who wants to get things done too! I hope I might earn your support as well.

I'd like to know the answer to that too, as well as why you gave so much money to Sean Connaughton, considering he is pro-life and a big enough Republican he has since received an appointment in the Bush Administration.

In 2004, when Governor Warner was trying to work with moderate Republicans, Sean Connaughton was a voice of reason and fiscal responsibility.  Although I disagree with his stance on choice, if there were a more Republicans like him in the legislature, a better transportation bill would have passed this year.

At the same time of the contribution, I was making calls to help Leslie Byrne win her LG primary and am glad to have her endorsement as I run for office.  In addition, I am honored to have the support of EMILY's list, an organization dedicated to electing pro-choice women to office.

...what are your thoughts on the transportation package that passed the General Assembly this year?

The recently passed legislation as amended by Governor Kaine was a transfusion for a sick patient, not a cure for our transportation ills. We will continue to revisit this issue in the years ahead because the legislature would not take the necessary steps to adopt a comprehensive solution. But we have a start and a way to get transportation priority projects moving in the region along with a way to make growth and infrastructure keep pace with each other. The Assembly passed the same kinds of measures this year that they steadfastly refused to even consider last year in the general and special sessions. And we didn't raid the general fund to the extent the Republicans wanted. If you see road or transit projects including dedicated funding for Metro, moving ahead, thank the governor and the people who worked with him to make sure we got way to address our regional trasnportation priorities. 

I was checking for replies and thought it best to clarify the comment about the funding amount from the general fund for this year's transportation budget. The dedicated insurance premiums at about $65 million annually are the same source and level the Governor and the Senate identified this year and last as part of their statewide funding package - less than a third of what the House Republicans wanted to use.