Calling Angelina Jolie

Virginia Rep. Thelma Drake has a new idea to maintain congressional support for the war in Iraq: Call in Angelina Jolie.

The movie star-- half of the ``Brangelina" power couple that rules Hollywood-- recently returned from Iraq in her role as a United Nations goodwill ambassador.

In an op-ed piece for the Washington Post, Jolie called for increased humanitarian support to help Iraqi refugees and said last year's surge of troops appears to be working.

Drake, a Norfolk Republican, is pushing to get Jolie to testify to the House Armed Services Committee.

``Sadly, Ms. Jolie's positive perspective on the current security situation in Iraq has gone largely unnoticed by the mainstream press," Drake wrote in a letter to Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., the committee chairman.

``Ms. Jolie's experience as a U.N. goodwill ambassador has given her the opportunity to travel to Iraq, speak with our military leadership and gain a ground-view understanding of how our long-term strategic  objectives in Iraq and the region are met," Drake said. ``As co-chair of the Human Trafficking Caucus, I too share Ms. Jolie's concerns about the humanitarian aspects of the conflict in Iraq and the well-being of the refugees in neighboring countries."

Drake added, ``I believe the membership of our committee would gain crucial insight into another important aspect of the conflict from Ms. Jolie's testimony."

Asking celebrities to testify before Congress is hardly unusual. Many Hollywood figures routinely parade themselves before various committees in pursuit of funding for pet projects or to promote myriad causes.

MIchael J. Fox has lobbied for funding for Parkinson's disease research and for funding embryonic stem cell research. Everyone from Mary Tyler Moore to Bonnie Raitt and Martin Sheen have made the rounds.

While few celebrities offer any real expertise on policy matters, lawmakers know that the very presence of Hollywood stars will attract hoards of media attention for whatever cause they are pushing.

Jolie, of course, can attract television cameras from around the globe.

Mirth and glee: Marshall celebrates the Supreme Court ruling

State Sen. Robert Marshall, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit that led to the Supreme Court decision scrapping regional transportation authorities, "hailed" the court's decision -- in a statement released via his Bob Marshall for Senate campaign.

Marshall, a Manassas Republican, is vying with former Gov. Jim Gilmore for the party's nomination to replace Sen. John Warner, who is retiring when his term expires.

"This is a great victory for Virginia’s taxpayers, for the Old Dominion’s representative government, and for the hallowed principle established at great sacrifice by our Founding Fathers of no taxation without representation," Marshall said.

Shock and awe: Kaine, McDonnell and Howell respond to Supreme Court ruling

Gov. Tim Kaine, Attorney General Bob McDonnell and House Speaker Bill Howell just released statements -- all on the same release -- about the Virginia Supreme Court's decision that transportation authorities are unconstitutional.

Here's Kaine's:

I am disappointed by the Supreme Court’s finding that the limited authority to impose taxes granted by the General Assembly in 2007, by an overwhelming vote by both bodies, was unconstitutional. I remain committed to working with the General Assembly to ensure that the Commonwealth provides adequate funding for our transportation needs. Over the next few days, my legal staff and I will work closely with the Attorney General’s Office and members of the General Assembly to determine what alternatives are available to provide adequate transportation funding.

Here's McDonnell's:

We intervened in this case as is our obligation to defend challenges to the constitutionality of legislation passed by the General Assembly. The Virginia Supreme Court has spoken, we respect their decision, and we will advise our clients appropriately based on today’s ruling. It remains critical for Virginia’s future prosperity that we improve our transportation system.

And Howell's:
The complicated decision of the Court, and its effect on the regional components of the Comprehensive Transportation Funding and Reform Act of 2007, are disappointing to those of us who continue to support improving our roads, reducing congestion and increasing mobility for all Virginians.  We will be reviewing this decision carefully and remain committed to sorting out the long-term prospects for the regional plans in a timely manner.  Fortunately, the statewide components of the Act – which by themselves incorporate the largest single investment in transportation in a generation – are working right now to improve our roads, railways, and public transit.

McDonnell's statement struck me as very carefully crafted with an eye toward the next election -- he'll be able to say, "I never supported that plan. My office only defended it because it was our obligation."

Nice touch.

Blog posts about Hogan fueling chatter in Richmond

There's some interesting backroom gossip going around Richmond these days about Del. Clarke Hogan, R-Halifax, who is the subject of some lengthy blogging over at Not Larry Sabato this week.

The blog ties together some pretty interesting background stuff about Hogan and his donors, his standing in the caucus, his relationship with Speaker Bill Howell and his defense of a budget amendment earlier this week.

For the full story check out Not Larry Sabato - click here. And make sure you scroll down for more information - more than a few Republicans mentioned this around the Captiol today.   

More machinations on payday loans

The House Commerce and Labor Committee was supposed to consider a payday lending bill on Thursday. It didn't. It will meet again Monday afternoon.

Lawmakers are still talking behind the scenes about finding a compromise bill. Now, Monday is shaping up to be "payday loan day" in the General Assembly. Both the Senate and the House are scheduled to vote on bills. The legislature is scheduled to adjourn March 8, so times-a-wasting.

Sen. Phil Puckett, D-Russell, waited for the House Commerce and Labor Committee to hear his bill on Thursday, only to be told to come back later.

"I suppose this will go down to the last day -- the last hour," he said outside the committee room."It's hard to be optimistic. It changes too much.

A way with words

This was an unsettling week for Virginia Sen. John Warner, who went into the hospital Monday after suffering from an irregular heartbeat.

But doctors gave the senator new medication-- no surgery-- and Warner was back on Capitol Hill Wednesday.

Warner, who turned 81 last week, even found time Wednesday to address the annual conference of the National Garden Club.

On Thursday, Warner attended his regular duties and showed up for a morning hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The senator has suffered for at least a year from atrial fibrillation, an abnormal heart rhythm. He underwent a procedure last fall to correct the problem.

When a reporter asked him Thursday how he was faring, Warner appeared in high spirits and offered a simplified explanation of his medical condition.

``I'm feeling great," he said. ``A fuse blew and they put a new fuse in."

Kaine is headed to Texas for Obama

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine continues to be a big pitch hitter for Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama this time he's headed to Texas in the run up to March 4.

Kaine has been on tour for Obama quite a bit, hitting important early states like South Carolina and touting Obama's message. The two big states in play next Tuesday are Texas and Ohio and those are must win races for Hillary Clinton - even according to her own husband.   

We're assuming that Obama's campaign likes the fact that a white, southern governor is on board with the campaign - especially one who can say he was for Obama before being for Obama was cool.

We won't be covering the event, but when Kaine hits Galveston, Texas, on Saturday who wants to bet that he'll be sure to tell the crowd that he endorsed Obama more than a year ago. It's gotta be nice to be in on the ground floor of that groundswell. 

Is that a massive pig in your fund-raiser parking lot?

Apparently the fledgling taxpayer group Americans for Prosperity decided to crash a military lobbyist-heavy fund-raiser held by Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa. in Washington last night.

Murtha is the chairman of the House Appropriation defense panel and a frequent critic of the strategy for the war in Iraq. The former Marine is something of a hero on the left because his military background allowed him to critique the war without appearing to criticize the troops.

Murtha is also known for his ability to bring federal funds back to his district in Pennsylvania, and so spending watchdogs - including Citizens Against Government Waste and the National Taxpayers Union - decided to highlight his relationship with defense contractors and lobbyists.   

There are some great piggy pictures here.

Eyes are turning to the budget

It's that time again, when the Senate and the House of Delegates each craft a spending plan for the next two years of state government - and each loudly condemn the opposing proposal.

Senators were the first out of the gate, taking aim at how the House is funding the state's basic aid to public education - called the Standards of Quality. Each chamber funds the program differently and the House takes a tighter line on inflation and also recalculates how to pay non-instructional staff salaries.

Sen. Richard Saslaw, D-Fairfax, is not a budget negotiator, but he holds influence as the Senate majority leader. If the House budget would become law, he said it would create two Virginias – richer areas such as Northern Virginia where local governments could make up the difference, and poorer areas that would suffer.

"I'm prepared to stay here until December to make sure this never happens," Saslaw said. 

Meanwhile, The House Appropriations Committee held a hearing to compare the two budgets side-by-side. During the comparison, House lawmakers consistently found spending in the Senate Budget that is not backed up with real money.

For instance the Senate spending plan includes $47 million that is supposed to be collected as a new gasoline tax that failed to pass the House. It also spends $35 million in savings gleaned from efforts at energy efficiency, a number that House lawmakers suspect. In all, House lawmakers said that the Senate Budget includes somewhere between $150 million and $200 million in holes.   

"There's a lot of smoke a mirrors and faulty assumptions," said Del. Phil Hamilton,R-Newport News, a budget negotiator. 

Hamilton didn't like hearing that Saslaw had brought up staying past the scheduled March 8 adjournment.

"That's unfortunate, you don't hear anyone in the House talking about overtime," Hamilton said.

Payday loans and 'significant' reform.

A bit of backstory on the debate over the payday lending industry now percolating before the legislature.

Sen. Ken Stolle, R-Virginia Beach, heads up a special subcommittee that should meet Monday to consider a bill that is aimed at borrowers who fine themselves trapped in debt after taking out several payday advances.

What constitutes significant reform in Stolle's eyes? A database that tracks borrowing activity and a limit of one outstanding loan at a time.

"We don't have to drop an atomic bomb to fix this problem," Stolle said. "With the database, we can surgically go in and pick out the people who need our help."

Del. Glenn Oder, R-Newport News, doesn't agree. He has sponsored a bill that not only limits borrowers to one outstanding loan at a time, but says they can't take out more than five per year. Without an annual cap on the number of loans, someone could take out 52 loans a year -- at least in theory, as Oder sees it.

So we could see a "reform" bill that the reformers absolutely hate. Stay tuned.

The House Commerce and Labor Committee meets on Thursday. It has already endorsed Oder's bill. It will consider a bill from Sen. Phil Puckett, D-Russell, that is considered more friendly to the industry. Members probably won't like it.

Then on Monday, the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee meets to consider Oder's bill. Members probably won't like it.

By the way, eight days remain in the session, not counting today.