Gov. McDonnell amends bill to prohibit insurance coverage for abortions...

Gov. Bob McDonnell has amended a bill designed to create health insurance exchanges in Virginia to prohibit health insurance coverage from paying for abortions.

McDonnell and General Assembly Republicans already clamped down on first trimester abortion clinics in Virginia by directing the Board of Health to come up with new hospital style restrictions. But now it appears that McDonnell is pushing for another tough vote on social issues next Wednesday when lawmakers return for the veto session.

Here's the link to the vote on the original bill designed to start Virginia on the path to developing health insurance exchanges. The bill was totally uncontroversial before - passing on 37-1 and 95 -3, but you can bet on a much closer vote when the amendments come down.

Here's a link to McDonnell's amendments and here's the text:

; (ii) ensure that no qualified health insurance plan that is sold or offered for sale through an exchange established or operating in the Commonwealth shall provide coverage for abortions, regardless of whether such coverage is provided through the plan or is offered as a separate optional rider thereto; and (iii) the limitation set forth in (ii) shall not apply to an abortion performed (a) when the life of the mother is endangered by a physical disorder, physical illness, or physical injury, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself, or (b) when the pregnancy is the result of an alleged act of rape or incest

McDonnell also inserted a dig against the health care reform bill - which remains in question because of Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's lawsuit. Here's that amendment:

3. That nothing in this act shall be construed or implied to recognize the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148), as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-152).

4. That the provisions of this act constitute the election of the Commonwealth to prohibit abortion coverage in qualified health plans offered through an exchange in the Commonwealth as amended by § 1303(a)(1) of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-152).

 

Williamsburg tea partiers upset with Norment's new district, plan for public hearings...

Williamsburg tea partiers are working to rally supporters to head to the General Assembly public hearing at Hampton University to complain about the new extended district Senate Democrats designed for Senate Majority Leader Thomas K. "Tommy" Norment.

We took a look at Norment's new district on the Shadplank earlier this week noting that it runs from near the base of the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel through Smithfield to James City, York, Gloucester and all the way to the Maryland border.  

Norment, a James City Republican, has thrown his support behind a Senate Republican plan to compete with the Senate Democrats vision for redistricting, where Sen. John Miller stretches up to capture Williamsburg and Sen. Mamie Locke stretches north into York County.

But it's unclear if Republicans will be able to pick off enough votes to change Norment's district, because Democrats hold a 22 to 18 seat advantage in the Senate. And Meanwhile House Republicans are playing many of the same games when it comes to the minority party in the chamber they control.

But tea partiers are organizing to head to Hampton University on Thursday and some plan to carpool north to Richmond for another hearing Monday morning.

 Here's a snippet from the email floating around:

James City County, as represented by the redrawn 3rd Senatorial District, now shares "interests" with the following localities:

Northumberland County Hampton City Middlesex County Isle of Wight County Poquoson City Richmond County York County Gloucester County Lancaster County Suffolk City But NOT the City of Williamsburg???

Want to share a ride to Richmond on Monday? Feel free to organize your own carpool and to use CrossWalk Community Church as your meeting place. CrossWalk is located in Norge and is convenient to I-64.

CrossWalk Community Church

7575 Richmond Road

Williamsburg, VA 23188

Carpoolers should plan to leave no later than 9:00 a.m. in order to secure parking in Richmond and to arrive at the hearing in a timely manner.

 

 

Democrats note that much-maligned "bank bailout" turns a profit...

On the campaign trail, in tea party events and as part of the political debate in the past two years, the bank bailout has been slammed as a form of socialism and an example of President Barack Obama's penchant for government intervention.

The program - started under President George W. Bush and continued under Obama - has been slammed for helping Wall Street big shots instead of homeowners - and for picking winners and loser in the financial sector.

Commonly called TARP - "Troubled Asset Relief Program" is likely to be a source of ongoing debate for years.

But now after an influx of $7.4 billion from three financial institutions the program designed to help calm financial fears and quell a potential collapse, and Democrats are looking at the strategy and drawing attention to the fact that taxpayers are now benefiting from the intrusion into the market.

Here are the financial details:

Today, three financial institutions—Sun Trust Banks, Inc.; KeyCorp; Financial Institutions, Inc.—repaid a combined total of $7.4 billion to the Treasury Department.

Here's a link to a CNN story on the turn of events.

On the heels of the turnaround of General Motors this gives Democrats a strong defense against Republicans and conservative lawmakers and pundits who have spent years slamming the bank bailout. It likely won't change the philosophical argument over whether the government should be intervening in the free-market and picking winners and losers.

There's no doubt that many folks on different side of the spectrum will simply have to agree to disagree when it comes to the bank bailout - in fact here's a powerful look at the program from the New York Times that still views the bank bailout as a failure because it ended up helping the richest sections of America and left desperate homeowners walking away from their mortgages and ruining their lives.

Here's a snippet:

From the perspective of the largest financial institutions, the glowing assessment is warranted: billions of dollars in taxpayer money allowed institutions that were on the brink of collapse not only to survive but even to flourish. These banks now enjoy record profits and the seemingly permanent competitive advantage that accompanies being deemed “too big to fail.”

Though there is no question that the country benefited by avoiding a meltdown of the financial system, this cannot be the only yardstick by which TARP’s legacy is measured. The legislation that created TARP, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, had far broader goals, including protecting home values and preserving homeownership.

These Main Street-oriented goals were not, as the Treasury Department is now suggesting, mere window dressing that needed only to be taken “into account.” Rather, they were a central part of the compromise with reluctant members of Congress to cast a vote that in many cases proved to be political suicide.

The act’s emphasis on preserving homeownership was particularly vital to passage. Congress was told that TARP would be used to purchase up to $700 billion of mortgages, and, to obtain the necessary votes, Treasury promised that it would modify those mortgages to assist struggling homeowners. Indeed, the act expressly directs the department to do just that.

The program will remain a focal point of debate for years, but with 2012 looming there's no doubt that Democrats have a potent way to punch back against attacks on the bank bailout.

 

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli up for "activism award" along with Scott Walker....

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is one of the three finalists for a 2011 activism award from Sam Adams Alliance, and he's going to have to beat out Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker to take home the "Sammie."

Cuccinelli's national image has grown in leaps and bounds since he took office in early 2010. After his resounding 2009 election victory Cuccinelli was still only very familiar to folks who tracked the General Assembly very closely, because he labored in minority status in the state Senate for a number of years and was even marginalized sometimes by fellow members of the Senate GOP.

Flash forward to 2011 and thanks to a pair of court victories for his lawsuit challenging Barack Obama's federal health care reform and Cuccinelli is a more familiar name. He's stirred the pot on social issues when he told Virginia colleges that they could not institute state protections against discrimination for sexual orientation and in his efforts to get access to climate research performed by a University of Virginia professor.

That's not even to mention his ongoing lawsuits and battles with the Environmental Protection Agency and his opinion that Gov. Bob McDonnell had the authority to put new regulations in place on the state's abortion clinics.  

But remember that name recognition cuts both ways so his popularity with the Republican base is likely offset at least in some ways, by the new awareness on the Democratic side of the spectrum. Virginia's statewide elections are usually decided somewhere in the middle, and it'll be interesting to see how voters react to Cuccinelli now that they know more about him.

Here's what the Sam Adams Alliance folks had to say about Cuccinelli:

The theme for this year's Sammies "Redrawing the Lines" celebrates how activists in 2010 redrew the battle lines in American politics, erasing "R" and "D," fusing red and blue, blurring conservative and liberal, and creating a bright contrast between political professional and citizen.

“This year, we were looking for real game changers who redrew the lines on the political landscape and re-imagined how Americans can engage in their democracy,” said Yvonne Ralsky, executive director of Sam Adams Alliance. “Our theme, ‘Redrawing the Lines,’ reflects the passionate citizen-led realignment of people versus politicians in America that is very much alive from Madison to Modesto today.”

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is nominated for the Public Servant of the Year Award. Shortly after he was elected Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli sued the federal government over the individual mandate in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Because of Cuccinelli’s actions, on December 13, 2010, a federal district court ruled that the individual mandate was indeed unconstitutional. Cuccinelli is currently seeking to expedite review of the health reform law past appellate courts and onto the Supreme Court.

Here's Union-busting Scott Walker's description - and you've also got to wonder how he would fare if he went back on the ballot in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Govenor Scott Walker proposed controversial legislation aimed at addressing Wisconsin's projected $3.6 billion budget shortfall. The controversy brought tens of thousands of opponents and supporters to the capitol, while bringing the issues of government responsibility, public union collective bargaining, and state budget deficits into the spotlight.

 Here's a list of the finalists in all the categories.

 

Del. Robin Abbott moved into Del. Glenn Oder's Newport News district...

Freshman Del. Robin Abbott, D-Newport News, was always going to face a tough re-election campaign but from the looks of the House Republican maps it appears that she has been moved into Del. Glenn Oder's Newport News district.

The move is of little surprise considering the ramifications of the maps built by both House Republicans and Senate Democrats - gerrymandering isn't just a funny word to say it's alive and well. House Minority Leader Ward Armstrong's district in Henry County has been sliced up, Del. Paula Miller was dumped into other Democratic districts as Norfolk's Ghent was diced and Del. William K. Barlow's district south of the James River looks even more Republican.

The targets of opportunity abound.

Abbott of course has options - she can move into the new 93rd district which is built decidedly north and includes a significant population of conservative voters - or of course she could hypothetically run against Oder.

At this point it's important to remember that these districts are only proposals, but with lawmakers eyeing a quick exit from Richmond next week - perhaps by Thursday next week - there's not a whole heck of a lot of time to make hay. And Democrats in the House don't have much power in the way of votes - so they've got to be preparing a big stink.

The more time folks have to digest these maps the more the questions and mini-battles build.

And when you hear Senate Republicans howling about gerrymandering - ask them about the House Republican plan?

Likewise, when House Democrats yell about what's happening to them - ask them about Senate Democrats plan?

 

Senate Democrats build Sen. Thomas K. "Tommy" Norment a wild district...

U.S. Rep. Robert C. "Bobby" Scott, D-Newport News, might finally have some competition when it comes to the title of most gerrymandered district in Virginia.

The new district built for Senate Minority Leader Thomas K. "Tommy" Norment, R-James City, is just as partisan-packed as Scott's rambling district, which runs from Richmond to Norfolk hopping along the banks of the James River and takes in about every black voter that the GOP could find. But by now any politico in Virginia has gotten a gander at Scott's district.   

So let's get a gander and the boundaries of Norment's proposed new district.

Under the proposal, Norment’s territory starts just slightly to the west of the southern base of the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnelin Suffolk and runs along the western banks of the James River gobbling up rural and conservative voters in Smithfield and up to Surry.

Then Norment's district hops on the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry over to the Colonial National Historic Parkway north through James City County and into New Kent swerving around what looks like a wobbly elephant's sillouette that is Sen. John Miller's district stretching into Williamsburg to grab pockets of Democratic voters.

From there Norment stretches over to the western banks of the York River to grab Camp Peary before jumping to Gloucester on Miller's elephant's ear and jumping back onto the eastern edge of the York River to grab Yorktown, swallow Seaford, Grafton, all of Poquoson, Fox Hill and Grandview.

Anybody venture to guess what all those communities have in common? 

The district then jumps the water again back to Gloucester running along Route 17 and gobbling up Urbanna. Then it it heads into White Stone and Kilmarnock and then stretching all the way to the Maryland border.

If I lost you head over to Google Maps and click driving directions and type in "Bridge Road, Chesapeake Va." and "Morrisons Corner, Va." and you'll get the picture.

Actually you'll only get the straight shot with that map. So make yourself a seven destination campaign swing by clicking "add destination" a few times - then try this out.

A-Morrisons Corner Va

B-Poquoson Ave. Poquoson Va.

C-Fox Hiill Road, Hampton Va.

D-Yorktown, Va

E-Jamestown-Scotland Ferry, Surry, Va

F-Smithfield, Va.

G-Bridge Roads, Chesapeake, Va.

Now that is "communities of interest" - as in Democrats in the Senate have no interest in facing those voters again.

 

McDonnell's Independent advisory redistricting panel offers up draft report....

During its final meeting Gov. Bob McDonnell's independent advisory redistricting panel offered up a 43-page draft of suggestions for how to reform how the state's political boundaries are redrawn every ten years.

When lawmakers return to Richmond on Monday to debate the new maps they’ll have to compete with options laid in sunlight for the very first time. It offers stark contrast to lawmakers traditional closed door discussions on the decennial chore of remixing the state’s political lines to account for population changes found in the census.

“This is the first time that the voice of Virginians has been heard and put before the governor,” said Judy Ford Wason, a panel member and longtime political centrist who backed McDonnell's and Mark R. Warner’s runs for governor. “From what I read about the House and Senate maps, what we’re doing is justified.”

Here's the full report which is chock full of data on how to rework the system and how districts at the state and federal level can be built so that they are more compact and so that city and county lines are more respected in the process.

Download DraftRedistrictingReport 

UPDATE: Here's the Powerpoint presentation that breaksdown the population targets for each proposal put forward by the independent commission along with demographic data - including racial makeup.

Download DraftReport]

 

 

 

Senate Republican plan would merge Sen. Miller and Sen. Norment....

The competing plan offered up by Senate Republicans would merge Sen. John Miller and Sen. Thomas K. "Tommy" Norment into a single Peninsula district, according to an early analysis offered up by the GOP.

According to the Republican analysis the Norment, R-James City, and Miller, D-Newport News, both live in the new 9th district which would consist of Gloucester, James City, Williamsburg and parts of New Kent, Newport News and York County.

Meanwhile, the Peninsula would be represented in portion of four Senate districts instead of the current three.

The new 6th district would have parts of Hampton, Norfolk and York County and all of Poquoson.

The new 7th district would include parts of Hampton and Newport News.

The new 8th district would include parts of Chesapeake, Franklin, Hopewell, Newport News, Portsmouth, Prince George, Southampton, Suffolk and Surry and all of Isle of Wight.  

This is going to be an interesting wrinkle to keep an eye on.

 

Virginia Public Access Project offering up good analysis of redistricting plan...

The non-partisan campaign finance trackers at the Virginia Public Access Project are offering up some great analysis of the redistricting proposals.

Here are some quick hits from their breakdown of the proposed Senate maps from Senate Democrats and how they would change the current political map in Hampton Roads. Remember that for comparison sake Gov. Bob McDonnell won the 2009 election by a 17-point margin.

It appears that the folks at VPAP will have more analysis up soon.

Senate Democrats proposal analysis:

Sen. John Miller, D-Newport News - current district voted 63 percent for McDonnell. Porposed new district voted 54 percent for McDonnell.  

Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton - current district voted 33.3 percent for McDonnell. Proposed district voted 40 percent for McDonnell.

Sen. Thomas K. "Tommy" Norment, R-James City - current district voted 65.5 percent with McDonnell. proposed district voted 70 percent with McDonnell.

House GOP proposal analysis:   According to this breakdown there are 61 districts out of 100 that have at least 60 percent Republican voters. Meanwhile there are 15 seats out of 100 that have 60 percent Democratic performance.

Del. Robin Abbott, D-Newport News - proposed district becomes more Republican. Goes from 51-54 percent Republican to 55-59 percent.

Del. Mamye BaCote, D-Newport News - proposed district becomes less Democratic. Goes from 65-69 percent Democratic to 60-64 percent Democratic.

Del. William K. Barlow, D - Isle of Wight - proposed district becomes more Republican. Goes From 60-64 percent Republican to 65-69 percent Republican.

Del. Gordon Helsel, R-Poquoson -  Stays in 65-69 percent Republican range

Del. S. Chris Jones, R-Suffolk - Stays in 60 to 64 percent Republican range

Del. Harvey Morgan, R-Gloucester - Stays in 65-69 percent Republican range

Del. Glenn Oder, R-Newport News - Stays in 60 to 64 percent Republican range

Del. Brenda Pogge, R-York -  Stays in 65-69 percent Republican range

Del. Jeion Ward, D-Hampton - stays within  70 to 74 percent Democratic range

 

 

House Democrats still digesting GOP redistricting proposals, predict voter confusion and frustration...

House of Delegates Democrats are still digesting the plan released late Tuesday by Republican leaders, but they're already predicting that the shifting redistricting districts are going to cause voter confusion and frustration.

Democrats in the House haven't put forward their own plan and it's unclear if they will because the GOP enjoys a healthy majority in that chamber - as opposed to the thin advantage for Senate Democrats. Plus House lawmakers have to sort through 100 different districts to gather info on the future elections. The GOP's proposal can be found here under S. Chris Jones name and precinct by precinct data can be found here.

No doubt each member of the General Assembly already has an acute awareness of the proposed changes to their own districts. But on Tuesday House Minority Leader Del. Ward Armstrong and House Caucus Chairman Ken Plum offered up the following statements:

“We are still carefully evaluating the plan presented by our Republican colleagues. Our members have said in a number of public forums that the proposed plan should keep communities of interest together, be fair and transparent, and fully comply with all state and federal voting rights laws. We’ll be evaluating this plan to see if our members and the public have been listened to during this process,” said Caucus Chairman Ken Plum.

“Any plan passed by the General Assembly must meet the strict standards of the Voting Rights Act. Any attempt to dilute the ability of minorities to have effective representation in the House will be closely scrutinized by our members and the US Department of Justice,” Plum added.

Any plan passed in Virginia must be pre-cleared by the Justice Department under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.

House Minority Leader Ward Armstrong, who has long advocated for keeping Martinsville and Henry County in one district, offered sharp criticisms of the proposed plan. “In this process, one thing has stood out -- voters from across our Commonwealth have consistently said they oppose splitting up towns, neighborhoods and precincts and this plan does all three. Voters don’t want to see their communities split up in a way that creates confusion about which side of their street votes for which Delegate. I expect that during the public forums this week House Republicans will hear that frustration.”

Plum added, “Our Caucus will continue to evaluate the plan offered by House Republicans and we’ll come to Richmond next week prepared to debate and discuss this bill.”