According to TheNewspaper.com ("A journal of the politics of driving"):
Despite behind-the-scenes efforts by Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine (D) and House Speaker William J. Howell (R)to hold members in line, a number of state delegates are calling for the unconditional repeal of the controversial "civil remedial fees" that took effect July 1.
The article lists members of the House of Delegates who say they support modifying or repealing the fees. Given that the list includes Dave Albo, who was one of the Delegates leading the charge for these fees, perhaps one might expect some action come 2008. Also, given that the anti-abuser-fees petition now has more than 160,000 signatures - which "sounds significant in races that typically gather fewer than 20,000 votes" - you might think our so-called "leaders" might have gotten the message loud and clear.
But not so fast, whippersnappers! According to "The Newspaper," it appears that "party leaders are waiting until January in the hope that the issue will 'blow over.'"
Nice, huh? Forget the 160,000 signatures, not to mention the calls of everyone from the National Motorists Association and Democratic Caucus Chair Brian Moran that these "fees" should be repealed.
According to Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith (R-Salem) (pictured yawning above), the fees enjoy "widespread, bipartisan support," or they WOULD enjoy such support if not for "recent claims made in the news media and in the realm that is commonly referred to as the blogosphere."
You know, if Majority Leader Griffith would worry a bit more about the "realm commonly referred to as the House of Delegates" rather than the blogosphere or the news media, we all might be a lot better off. The question is, why do the Morgan Griffiths of the world love these outrageous new taxes abuser fees so much? And, if they're so great, then why are so many Delegates abandoning them? Could it be that "realm" commonly referred to as public opinion? As in, Virginians are pissed off big time about these fees, and even more pissed off when their so-called "leaders" tell them that they're falling for "urban legends" and should be happy to pay up?
It is truly time for big changes in Richmond come November. If we don't make those changes, we'll have nobody to blame but ourselves for the continued cluelessness and arrogance of people like Morgan Griffith.
"The realm that is commonly referred to as the blogosphere"? We gotta get this guy together with Ted "the tubes" Stevens.
The best hope for anyone is that either the court case wins, and swiftly, without having to goto the supreme court level like in Michigan (3 yrs of appeals), or that your legislature repeals the law or changes it to have less harsh fines.
And I guarantee you, they're just as incompetent as MI legislators, which means the fees are here to stay in order to pay for their government issued credit card gluttony.1
It is easy to sign something online and it's easy to submit multiple signatures or sign for someone else - so the data can't be taken literally. However, when it hits numbers like 160,000 there is a clear message that significant numbers of people are paying attention and don't like what they see. I guarantee that 160,000 signatures is not the work of half a dozen bored teenagers. There are clearly large numbers of people who are really unhappy about these fees.
In addition to all those that did sign, consider how many intentionally didn't sign (for various reasons) and how many are against these fees but didn't even know about the petition.
The petition might not force a special session, but it is a clear message to a number of legislators who supported the fees that they're in trouble with the voters. And in close races it could easily mean they lose their seats.