Thursday, February 19, 2009
Notes on This Year's RPV Day - Part 1
Today marked the first ever Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) Day, which was held on Capitol Square in Richmond.
Just as a bevvy of non-profit and advocacy organizations hold lobby days year in and year out, RPV decided to have one for the first time this year. A lobby day allows members of a statewide organization to meet with their legislators at their Richmond offices when the General Assembly is in session, and furthermore provides a social opportunity for members to get together at a roughly central location to enjoy camaraderie and to fellowship. (For me, today had more a social purpose, as I can head down to Capitol Square every day of the week, if I wanted to.)
Technically, RPV Day in its entirety was held from 9:30 a.m. until 4 p.m., however due to my academic obligations I had to duck out at about noon. I took pictures, and even got a photograph with Jeff Frederick, the party chair. The photographs in their entirety can be viewed at this public link, here. What follows is notes. The following is not the day in its entirety.
I rolled out of bed at an earlier than usual 6:30 a.m. so I could bathe and get dressed. I then went to my 8 o'clock World Regional Geography class, then took the bus down to Capitol Square. I checked in with the RPV staff handling and received a folder containing the contents needed for the day. As I went inside the meeting room I saw a mix of people, taking into account the span of Republicans who came out for RPV Day. The attendees differed in race, and age, with most conventional categories represented.
I barely had enough time to eat my bagel -- let alone, sit down -- when RPV Executive Director Allison Coccia got the party started when she introduced a special surprise guest, Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling. (Outgoing Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell spoke later. Technically you'd expect both of these gentlemen would have been given prime speaking spots well in advance, but they weren't listed on the docket. Hence the surprise.)
Bolling set the stage. He spoke about the "787 billion pieces of manna" raining down from the heavens -- a sarcastic reference to the recent "stimulus package" of Obama's -- a package Bolling termed a "spendulus" for "ongoing government programs." Bolling spoke of how he opposes it, but is cognizant that 4.5 billion dollars are destined for Virginia anyway, and demands that these dollars be spent responsibly. Bolling also stressed that this is "one-time money" whose delivery must be taken by September 30, 2010 and that the incoming federal funds can give the General Assembly an "intoxicating illusion."
Bolling then fired a penultimate salvo: he lamented over Gov. Kaine's confiscatory policy, noting that the administration has "habitually missed the revenue estimates" year in and year out, thus creating the need to decimate the Rainy Day Fund.
Bolling concluded by saying that Virginians don't really care if something (e.g., an idea) has a D or an R next to it; they simply wonder if it is good government that will have a positive impact on people's lives. Bolling noted that George Allen did not become Governor in 1993 by dandying about the state telling people he had ideas that were Republican; rather, Allen advocated his own agenda that just happened to resonate with people. I found this was a reoccuring theme of RPV Day.
(Part 2 coming tomorrow)
Just as a bevvy of non-profit and advocacy organizations hold lobby days year in and year out, RPV decided to have one for the first time this year. A lobby day allows members of a statewide organization to meet with their legislators at their Richmond offices when the General Assembly is in session, and furthermore provides a social opportunity for members to get together at a roughly central location to enjoy camaraderie and to fellowship. (For me, today had more a social purpose, as I can head down to Capitol Square every day of the week, if I wanted to.)
Technically, RPV Day in its entirety was held from 9:30 a.m. until 4 p.m., however due to my academic obligations I had to duck out at about noon. I took pictures, and even got a photograph with Jeff Frederick, the party chair. The photographs in their entirety can be viewed at this public link, here. What follows is notes. The following is not the day in its entirety.
I rolled out of bed at an earlier than usual 6:30 a.m. so I could bathe and get dressed. I then went to my 8 o'clock World Regional Geography class, then took the bus down to Capitol Square. I checked in with the RPV staff handling and received a folder containing the contents needed for the day. As I went inside the meeting room I saw a mix of people, taking into account the span of Republicans who came out for RPV Day. The attendees differed in race, and age, with most conventional categories represented.
I barely had enough time to eat my bagel -- let alone, sit down -- when RPV Executive Director Allison Coccia got the party started when she introduced a special surprise guest, Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling. (Outgoing Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell spoke later. Technically you'd expect both of these gentlemen would have been given prime speaking spots well in advance, but they weren't listed on the docket. Hence the surprise.)
Bolling set the stage. He spoke about the "787 billion pieces of manna" raining down from the heavens -- a sarcastic reference to the recent "stimulus package" of Obama's -- a package Bolling termed a "spendulus" for "ongoing government programs." Bolling spoke of how he opposes it, but is cognizant that 4.5 billion dollars are destined for Virginia anyway, and demands that these dollars be spent responsibly. Bolling also stressed that this is "one-time money" whose delivery must be taken by September 30, 2010 and that the incoming federal funds can give the General Assembly an "intoxicating illusion."
Bolling then fired a penultimate salvo: he lamented over Gov. Kaine's confiscatory policy, noting that the administration has "habitually missed the revenue estimates" year in and year out, thus creating the need to decimate the Rainy Day Fund.
Bolling concluded by saying that Virginians don't really care if something (e.g., an idea) has a D or an R next to it; they simply wonder if it is good government that will have a positive impact on people's lives. Bolling noted that George Allen did not become Governor in 1993 by dandying about the state telling people he had ideas that were Republican; rather, Allen advocated his own agenda that just happened to resonate with people. I found this was a reoccuring theme of RPV Day.
(Part 2 coming tomorrow)
# posted by Steven Latimer : 9:00 PM
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