Friday, February 20, 2009
RPV Day Notes - Part 2
Yesterday I wrote about the first ever RPV Day. What follows is a continuation of that.
State Senator Steve Martin spoke, followed by Dels. Bill Janis, and Morgan Griffith. Janis was definitely the best (and most captivating) speaker on the RPV Day lineup, while I learned the most from Del. Griffith, the House Majority Leader.
This was the first time I've ever heard Griffith give a speech. I've heard Martin and Janis plenty of times. Steve Martin addressed issues relating to voter fraud, and defended statutes making it necessary to show identification in order to vote. Martin stated that long ago when communities were smaller and more people lived in less urbanized areas, election officers (poll workers) were people who knew their communities and its denizens very well. Because of this, it was easy to identify those who were trying to create election fraud. Because our society has grown, it's gotten tougher to stop fraud. I had not thought of this before, and so found Steve Martin's discussion both interesting and salient.
The oft animated Janis went next. He told the story of Murphy the Irishman, who while walking home from the pub one day had a knife pulled on him and placed near his neck. Murphy was asked, "Are ye a Catholic or Protestant?" Murphy, knowing that given either answer he would be badly wounded, decided to say he's a Jew. Because, after all, the man who pulled the knife likely hates either Catholics, or Protestants -- but not both. Murphy considered this a safe pick. But Murphy got cut because the knife-wielding rouge was Muslim (and presumably didn't care for Catholics, Protestants, or Jews!)
Janis concluded his story by revealing its moral: It's better to be hated for who you are, than to be loved for who you aren't.
Griffith rounded out the speakers. He said that other than the smoking ban the budget, there really haven't been too many front page issues this year coming out the General Assembly. Griffith acknowledged the lopsided support for the smoking ban among the public, and revealed that the press frequently portrays the Republicans as the party of "no" and that some Republicans in the leadership pushed through the smoking ban to refute this stereotype, and also because some Republicans in urban areas need to "look good." Apparently restricting people's individual liberty and property rights is "in." Whether or not it'll help, it's bad policy. Hrumpf!
Griffith took note of a curiosity in the House of Delegates: Dels. Gear, Griffith, and Gilbert (all R)frequently cancel out the votes of Dels. Eisenberg, Ebbin, and Englin (all D), and vice-versa.
Griffith lamented over Kaine's lack of expediency in releasing 3 billion dollars in bond money for new roads -- a project Republicans enacted in 2007. Griffith predicts that Kaine won't release any bond money until after the November elections, as a sly and intellectually dishonest way to make it look like transportation is bad due to Republican leadership.
Griffith concluded that we've got to get back to the notion of common people running for office who are willing to carry their party's banner (even if it's a sure loss) and we seem to have lost that spirit. He said this goes especially for anyone involved in insurance, law, or real estate as this is a way for young professionals to get their name out to the community, if nothing else.
State Senator Steve Martin spoke, followed by Dels. Bill Janis, and Morgan Griffith. Janis was definitely the best (and most captivating) speaker on the RPV Day lineup, while I learned the most from Del. Griffith, the House Majority Leader.
This was the first time I've ever heard Griffith give a speech. I've heard Martin and Janis plenty of times. Steve Martin addressed issues relating to voter fraud, and defended statutes making it necessary to show identification in order to vote. Martin stated that long ago when communities were smaller and more people lived in less urbanized areas, election officers (poll workers) were people who knew their communities and its denizens very well. Because of this, it was easy to identify those who were trying to create election fraud. Because our society has grown, it's gotten tougher to stop fraud. I had not thought of this before, and so found Steve Martin's discussion both interesting and salient.
The oft animated Janis went next. He told the story of Murphy the Irishman, who while walking home from the pub one day had a knife pulled on him and placed near his neck. Murphy was asked, "Are ye a Catholic or Protestant?" Murphy, knowing that given either answer he would be badly wounded, decided to say he's a Jew. Because, after all, the man who pulled the knife likely hates either Catholics, or Protestants -- but not both. Murphy considered this a safe pick. But Murphy got cut because the knife-wielding rouge was Muslim (and presumably didn't care for Catholics, Protestants, or Jews!)
Janis concluded his story by revealing its moral: It's better to be hated for who you are, than to be loved for who you aren't.
Griffith rounded out the speakers. He said that other than the smoking ban the budget, there really haven't been too many front page issues this year coming out the General Assembly. Griffith acknowledged the lopsided support for the smoking ban among the public, and revealed that the press frequently portrays the Republicans as the party of "no" and that some Republicans in the leadership pushed through the smoking ban to refute this stereotype, and also because some Republicans in urban areas need to "look good." Apparently restricting people's individual liberty and property rights is "in." Whether or not it'll help, it's bad policy. Hrumpf!
Griffith took note of a curiosity in the House of Delegates: Dels. Gear, Griffith, and Gilbert (all R)frequently cancel out the votes of Dels. Eisenberg, Ebbin, and Englin (all D), and vice-versa.
Griffith lamented over Kaine's lack of expediency in releasing 3 billion dollars in bond money for new roads -- a project Republicans enacted in 2007. Griffith predicts that Kaine won't release any bond money until after the November elections, as a sly and intellectually dishonest way to make it look like transportation is bad due to Republican leadership.
Griffith concluded that we've got to get back to the notion of common people running for office who are willing to carry their party's banner (even if it's a sure loss) and we seem to have lost that spirit. He said this goes especially for anyone involved in insurance, law, or real estate as this is a way for young professionals to get their name out to the community, if nothing else.
# posted by Steven Latimer : 5:49 PM
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