Republican House Leadership Hoping Abuser Fee Issue Will "Blow Over?"

By: Lowell
Published On: 7/26/2007 6:11:46 AM

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everyone from the   National Motorists Association and Democratic Caucus Chair Brian Moran that these "fees" should be repealed.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.


Comments



The Realm? (Eric - 7/26/2007 9:48:12 AM)
After days of traveling the twisted tubes I had lost all sense of time and space and found myself floating aimlessly in a digital ether, being conscience of mind yet lacking physical form.  As I completed this binary journey I emerged from my tube to find myself in a strange and unusual realm, that of the blog.

"The realm that is commonly referred to as the blogosphere"?  We gotta get this guy together with Ted "the tubes" Stevens.



Petition signatures (Emperor Palpatine - 7/26/2007 10:24:07 AM)
I mentioned before that the online petition, even with so many signatures, is rarely considered in decisions. Even with hand signed ones, they're rarely taken seriously. But the online one even more so since the signatures cannot be verified.

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



The petition is (Eric - 7/26/2007 10:36:37 AM)
far from perfect, but I feel it is a strong indicator of how people feel. 

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.



Lyrics Contest (Rick James - 8/2/2007 7:27:05 AM)
Something like this will not blow over. There are many more issues just than this. The younger people are the ones who will suffer. We will always suffer. They allow our earth to continue to be polluted and our resources run dry. We are the ones who have to live with these decisions in the future. Most feel like they can do nothing about anything. But we can. They like it when people are so consumed with everyday (whatever that includes for any human being) that we do not have time to address such issues. The gas prices keep going up. Why not raise it up another cent to pay the cost of what they plan to gain from these abuser fees? Most people will not ever know about these new laws, if they do they do not know all the details.It will be a suprise to them when they have to pay them. Then they will want something to be done about it. Do we really know the details about anything? Who got paid to do, say, and sign what? The people who are signing this petition are not getting paid anything.
I thought Virginia was for Lovers?
My Dad is having a Lyrics contest.
Money will be donated to a soldier who has been wounded in Iraq/Afghanistan towards a scholarship fund to attend VA tech. In memorial of the tragedy which occured this year. The winner will also recieve a prize. To get involved email jskiddlez@yahoo.com or FeeFlickrill@gmail.com
We need people who write lyrics, musicians, and others who are willing to donate to the cause.
We need to wake up!!! Before it is too late. God Bless.