Well, now, what a way to start the 2008 Assembly!
AA just can’t believe the House of Delegates voted NOT to record votes in subcommittees. And, then, of all things voted NOT to televise House sessions so we voters could watch them in action. What ARE they doing anyway that they don’t want us to see? And, for heaven’s sake, why don’t they want us to know how they voted?
Funny—TV cameras in the hallways for the evening news don’t seem to scare them.
AA suggests visiting one of the 7 a.m. subcommittee meetings where you can find out the vote. But that’s the only way you’ll find out.
There they sit right under the nose—well, feet, so to speak—of George Washington in Thomas Jefferson’s hall WHERE THE BUSINESS CONDUCTED WILL BE HIDDEN FROM THE PUBLIC.
The Majority Leader says not recording votes will save time. AA agrees with the Minority Leader who said the House could save even more time by not recording any votes.
Senators, thankfully, just let it all hang out. No secret votes, with cameras capturing streaming video from the Senate chambers. AA sometimes wishes they would make things a bit spicier in the Senate to liven things up but for REAL political junkies… turn on the Senate on your computer. Watch your government govern. Well, half of it anyway.
House members, so they said, worry that they just won’t ever get out of there if the public actually gets to watch what they’re doing.
No, AA doesn’t understand that either.
AA suspects that the senator who threatened the young man enforcing parking will look more closely next time before he threatens to call the Capitol police. Call the Capitol police ON the Capitol police? AA advises the senator to check the badge.
Queen Elizabeth is long gone so… can we bring Chicken’s back? Before the Queen’s visit last spring, the Capitol was given a general spiffing up—including the replacement of AA’s long-time favorite eatery, Chicken’s. Its down-home cooking was replaced by Meriwether’s, which sells more regal bisque and croissants. There’s nothing wrong with going upscale, but AA misses Chicken’s wraps, hot dogs, chocolate pie, and schmoozing in the cozy hubbub of the Capitol eatery.
Legislators must order lunch online now. This should be interesting. Some lawmakers, already challenged by their House-provided laptops, just might wind up ordering HB 32 (fighting of cocks and other animals) on a croissant. That could happen if you just click in the wrong place for chicken.
How do you eat bisque at your House desk anyway?
Speaking of food… AA remembers stepping off the ninth floor elevators to be greeted with the homey smell of bean soup wafting down the hall from Appropriations Chairman’s Bob Ball’s little kitchen. Never happened during the Vince Callahan years.
Ouch! Just 10 bills each? That’s the limit the House approved for legislators in the second year of the biennium.
Then the bill’s proposer was asked how many bills he’d introduced last year, he replied, “More than I should have.”
The Minority Leader interjected, “You introduced 25. As former Delegate Chip Woodrum used to say, ‘Bills are like children. They’re precious to someone.’”
The Majority Leader made a quick rejoinder, “Then I would say we’re over-populating the legislature.”
Touché!
AA sympathizes with the Senate, where, with no limits on bills, they’ll be buried.
If legislators drive as fast as they are running to kill the abusive driver fees, then they might get fined too. The raceway was already crowded when the Governor just joined the pack.
Oh, but how that has the road lobbyists worrying. With the bad driver money gone as it assuredly will be, where will the make up bucks come from?
Tsk, tsk. Anonymous thought it was going to be so lovely to have hoards of speeders and reckless drivers in Virginia to get some nice, new road money.
Okay road lobbyists… what next?
Gas tax is out, of course… let’s see, oh a favorite! Cigarettes? Alcohol? Hamburgers? Chicken?
Oh dear! AA, seeking MORE General Assembly news clicked on “General Assembly Opens” on inrich.com. And what did AA see? A woman who, apparently horribly constipated, had just been relieved by Dulcolax. Viewers were told that they, too, could become “more comfortable.” Good advice for the General Assembly, perhaps, since Dulcolax “makes it easier to go.” Oh, and just behind the constipated lady, now feeling better, came Jeff Schapiro, declaring that the General Assembly had opened “with good cheer and lots of back slapping.” Could it have been the Dulcolax? Jeff didn’t say.