Spank That Donkey

If HB 6055 passes, the people who will pay for it are John McCain and Jim Gilmore in 08.  Bob McDonnell, Bill Bolling and Ken Cuccinelli in 09 - and any GOPers who get a primary challenge or lose their seat in the general election.  This bad governance bleeds the base of Conservatives and Libertarians.

Regional Government Reveals the Rot in the Republican Party

HB 6055 is the son of Frankenstein (HB 3202) that was ruled Un-Constitutional by the Virginia Supreme Court.  The arrogance of trying to stuff this bill and its Regional Government down the throats of voters – again – reveals much of what is wrong in the elected caucus of the Republican Party of Virginia.  The Regional Government scam reveals the rot of political corruption like a surgeon cutting away the sores to show the cancer.

HB 6055 puts billions of dollars in the hands of the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)  The con the Republican bill HB 6055 is running skips putting the money in the Un-Constitutional Hampton Roads Transit Authority but shoves it at the MPO. The MPO, the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, and the Hampton Roads Transit Authority are the same people.  They meet at the same time.  The Republican shell game moves the new, higher taxes to the State Treasury in Richmond (as our Constitution requires) which dumps the money in a new holding account (professional thieves would use an off-shore bank), which sends the money to the MPO.

The MPO then manages the regional transportation projects for Hampton Roads/Tidewater.  Unfortunately, the HR MPO has been cited as one of the worst functioning (meaning operating contrary to public law) MPOs in the Nation.  The MPO is made up of appointed politicians representing the cities and counties and 4 big project advocacy representatives.  HB 6055 adds more politicians.

These appointed officials will spend more than $30b.  There is no oversight.  No checks and balances.  No separation of powers among the same body raising tolls, taking tolls, and spending tolls.  That is taxation without representation – again.

The decision on what to build was made back in 1997.  The construction of every project actually <b>INCREASES </b>congestion after completion.  HB 6055 adds improvements to the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel (HRBT), which would reduce congestion.  But the HRBT isn’t on the MPO list nor Is it established in funding priority in HB 6055.  It’s a fig leaf.

So, why do Republicans insist on creating the Regional Government in HB 6055 (the MPO now, not the HRTA) ?

It’s all about the money.  $30 to 35 billion is too much to pass up.

The appointed officials on the Regional Government aren’t engineers. They aren’t executives who have managed billion dollar programs for profit-earning corporations.  They bring absolutely no expertise – except how to spend other people's money on pet projects – to improve transportation.

So, the logic of HB 6055 is to give $35 billion dollars to politicians to hand out in contracts.  The Un-Constitutional HRTA has already spent $200k.  The first $50k went to Kaufmann and Canoles for legal services.   Republican State Senator Ken Stolle is a partner with Kaufmann and Canoles.  You can smell the rot even if you can’t see it yet.

Since the politicians of the MPO have no clue how to manage major engineering projects they will have to hire help.  This is where you can see the pus oozing.

These politicians will have hundreds of millions of dollars from year one to hire staff, rent offices or build them, hire transportation, more legal services, pay for meals, run executive off-sites, conduct ad campaigns to re-educate the public, put in the latest IT equipment, provide security, hire lobbyists, conduct environmental studies, and, above all, pay six figure salaries to retired and failed politician friends as ‘consultants’.

Eventually, huge contracts for the actual engineering will be awarded without accountability oversight or checks and balances or adjudication for disputes.  

The people who will make millions to billions in government contracts can afford to give tens of thousands of dollars to the politicians, or their friends or family or some other middle man.  But, the corruption will be done the genteel Virginia way.   No bags of money will change hands.   Just the right folks will get the contracts.  And there will be a lot of consultants – just the right folks again.

English-speaking People have built roads, ports, canals, bridges, ferries, railroads, airports, tunnels and subways in Virginia without Regional Governments for 400 years.

The People voted against Regional Governments with taxing authority in 1998.  

The People rejected Regional Government, the projects and the taxes like HB 6055 in 2002 over 2:1.  Polls indicate The People in Tidewater are against it about 3:1 today.

The Virginia Supreme Court ruled the Regional Government (HB 3202) Un-Constitutional in 2008.

There is no Constitutional, legal, technical, engineering, financial, moral, ethical or principled reason to have a Regional Government involved in building these big projects for HR/Tidewater.  None.

Yet, Republicans are going to try it again.  This pursuit of political power to control money and power is not a unique Republican condition.  It is the way of the world.  But, our Virginia Constitution is designed as a bulwark against such tyranny and thievery.  Our Constitution distributes powers, authority and accountability appropriately - with no Regional Governments.  However, it takes a vigilant public – and a press to do their duty to report news instead of shilling – to hold Virginia's politicians accountable.  

It can be done.  Ask my former Senator Marty Williams. It’s really a hard, painful, distasteful, disruptive fight within the Party.

The fact that this fight has to be fought within the Republican Party of Virginia exposes the source of the rot.  Only a few Republican politicians can be counted on to represent The People in Hampton Roads/Tidewater – and vote ‘No’ reflexively to HB 6055.  No to Regional Government because The People know it is a corrupt scam.  

Few Republicans will vote Conservatively on their own.  This is without mentioning the illogic and burden of new and higher local taxes, regressive taxes and taxes unrelated to transportation vs.  the Republican Creed of Virginia.  Or, the absence of project priorities to fund as you go.

Now, the elected Republicans will listen for voices to vote for HB 6055 and Regional Government  between now and 9 July.  Will they hear the special interests who will contribute thousands to politicians and gain millions in government spending or The People of Virginia?  It depends on who speaks up.

James Atticus Bowden

I agree completely with JAB, these regional govt. entities will rival the size of third world nations economies, and no doubt be governed as badly, with the exception of the genocide.

UVA just increased tuition 9.4% to $9,300 annually for FY 08-09', according to the Washington Times metro section.  What's the matter folks, didn't have the nerve to get the full 10%?  Tuition & Fees was $4,130 in FY 99-2000.

Governor's Mark Warner and Tim Kaine have absolutely opened the flood gates on tuition increases.  UVA has a $5 Billion dollar endowment.  Five Billion dollars, that is five times what the entire Commonwealth of Virginia has in it's rainy day fund?  Heck it took Governor Jim Gilmore four years to get Virginia's Rainy Day fund to $1 Billion...

Five billion dollars...

How much money annually would we be able to give to our other colleges if we just let them go private?  Out of State tuition is $29,600 annually.  Go for it, have at it.  This is getting to be like the Commonwealth of Virginia building a football stadium for the Redskins... like they need the subsidy?  Like their athletics department isn't raping their alumni already for season tickets.....

It is a bold step to let a college leave the system, but I sure would like to see the study on it.  I saw the figure in Jerry's post here, linking to VA Tech's mulling over crushing it's students with possibly a 10% hike in tuition.  It says $166 million is sent to VA Tech annually....  at least that much must be going to UVA.

What if we kept the medical school, and let the rest go private?  Establish a state scholarship fund to UVA from the money saved for the smartest students, and plow the balance into our other colleges to get this.... lower tuition.... It's getting out of hand folks, graduates carrying around $200 -$300 a month student loan bills only hurts the economy.  It makes it harder to purchase new vehicles, afford homes, afford health insurance, etc.

Five Billion dollars... If an institution with that kind of money can not be self sufficient, what the heck do they have a business school for?  Oh, I forgot, college is more about theory than practical application.... whatever... Five Billion Dollars!

Why in the heck are subsidizing a college with an endowment five times what the Commonwealth's cash reserves are?  Someone anyone?

 Well, now.  Seems that Yankee Philip, SWAC GIRL, and others, sorry if I skipped you, will get the link later, are reporting the fact that our Senator Hanger holds an excellent tax payers group in very low regard.

Let it be known, if Senator Hanger doesn't like AFP, he should put the reasons for it down in writing, as we bloggers do.  Along the same lines, he should have to defend his vote for SB 708 in 2006 in writing also.

That is what the blogosphere is about.  Posting the facts, giving your opinion, and backing up your arguments with solid rationale.  The AFP is not a 'splinter' group, and while tax payers state and nationwide are dealing with inflation in energy and food costs, attacking groups who would like to see good government practices is hardly productive.

We fell in behind you Senator Hanger after the primary; we have issues, and we hope you will be listening.

 What exactly is Governor Mark Warner talking about here in his Forward Together piece on SWVA?:

"Governor Warner focused an incredible amount of effort on recruiting businesses to locate, stay, and expand, in rural Virginia and manufacturing communities that have seen job losses due to global competition. Double-digit unemployment dropped into single digits in the most distressed counties for the first time in years."

UVA  at Wise in SWVA has seen it's tuition rise from $3,192 in FY 2000 to $6,151 in FY 2008.  That's just $233 dollars short of a 100% increase in tuition and fees.  Ouch!

Please reference Governor Jim Gilmore's Blue Ribbon Commission on Higher Education, pg 28, and the latest SCHEV report on Tuition and Fees, Pg. 11.

Maybe it's just me, but wouldn't attracting business to SWVA be enhanced by lowering the financial burdens on citizens living in SWVA, while encouraging them to get their college educations there, and to work in those businesses?  Furthermore, what if Governor's Warner and Kaine thought like Governor's Allen and Gilmore, and froze tuition at UVA-Wise and actually made that college the most tuition competitive in Virginia?  That would possibly attract more students from across the state to seek their educations there, and possibly relocate to SWVA to pursue careers, and raise families.

Higher Education institutions can drive local economies big time.  Take Blacksburg for instance, what is the impact of Virginia Tech on the local community?  Just a thought.

Republicans vs. Democrat/ics, Governor Jim Gilmore vs. Governor Warner, facts vs. rhetoric.

(Click on Hussein & Friends)

 Apparently no matter what happens, somewhere, somehow a Virginian Democratic Politician is in the mix for the 2008 Presidential Bid?

Hey I lifted this photo off the Observer, are they going to sue me too?  This blog costs me $12 a month to publish, not including the labor costs.  My thoughts are to send the bill to anyone whom I have linked too and in so doing promoted.  The thought here being that I am providing 'click throughs' to said newspaper, and I am not being compensated for doing so.

That is flat out wrong.  Bloggers should be compensated for directing any of our readers attention to publications that otherwise our readers might not have visited without their attention being brought to it.  I hope Snapped Shot can counter sue the AP.