Allen, Kaine will make Hampton Roads stops this weekend

The campaign for the U.S. Senate will be in full swing this weekend in Hampton Roads. Former Gov. Tim Kaine and former Governor and Senator George Allen both made speeches Friday in Hampton at the Virginia Transportation Construction Alliance convention.

Kaine will speak Friday evening at the James City County Democratic Banquet, which is being held at the Williamsburg Hotel and Conference Center.

Allen will be speaking Saturday night at the Virginia Federation of Republican Women Convention being held at the Williamsburg lodge.

Shad Planking draws conservative crowd

Shortly after former Sen. George Allen gave the keynote speech at the 64th Annual Shad Planking, Chairman Robert W. Bain, told reporters he didn't think any Democratic candidates for statewide office were at the event.

“I wish the Democrats were here,” Bain said. “It would sell more tickets. We are non-partisan. We don’t endorse.” In recent years, the festival which Allen heralded as the "pre-eminent bi-partisan political event in Virginia" has had a more Republican-oriented feel, according to Christopher Newport University political scientist Quentin Kidd.

Allen kicked off his speech making a sports joke.

"With the 2nd pick in the NFL Draft, the Washington Redskins select," Allen said, before cutting himself off. "Oops that's my brother's speech," he said, referring to his brother Bruce Allen, general manager of the Washington Redskins. At the draft next week, the Redskins are expected to select the highly touted, Heisman trophy-winning quarterback, Robert Griffin III.

Allen drew loud cheers throughout his speech, especially when he said he would like to cast the deciding vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act Congress passed in 2010.

Event organizers estimated the crowd size at about 2,000 this year. The line for the festival's heralded smoked shad stayed long through much of the day. Attendees also were treated to corn muffins, baked beans, cole slaw, pickles and fried fish.

Allen arrives at Shad Planking

Former Sen. George Allen has arrived at the Shad Planking with a long trail of supporters following him.

Allen is the only speaker this year after event organizers said they didn't hear from his likely opponent, former Gov. Tim Kaine, by February's deadline. Kaine's campaign has claimed they were never aware of any deadlines to respond.

E.W. Jackson, who is running for Senate in the Republican primary, said it was "unfortunate" event organizers only allowed one speaker.

"We did ask if we could speak," Jackson said. Jackson said he'd spent the day talking with voters and was hopeful he could gain traction before the race was over.

64th Annual Shad Planking underway

We're out here at the 64th annual Shad Planking in Wakefield, Va., where former Sen. George Allen is the keynote speaker. The festival, devoted to greasy fish and political chatter, is filled with campaign booths and lapel stickers.

Among the more interesting sights so far is a three-week old lamb, in a Randy Forbes T-shirt, named Rambo.

Rep. Gordon Helsel comments on budget delay

Lost in Tuesday's kerfluffle over the state budget was the relatively peaceful House of Delegates. As the Senate wrangled over the compromise spending plan, ultimately failing to pass it, the same compromise sailed through the House 77-19.

Del. Gordon Helsel of Poquoson weighed in on his frustration with Those On The Other Side.

“It’s a very difficult thing to understand as to how the Democrats in the Senate are able to hold the entire state of Virginia hostage over this budget. It’s a compromise. The entire state is in a quandary with no funding for judges, teachers, localities.”

For the record, he's not optimistic that the issue will be settled today.

UPDATE: As of 1:12 p.m., no action on the Senate on the failed budget. (Not that we were holding our breath.) Sen. Walter Stosch, R-Henrico, said Republicans who support the budget are still hoping to get at least one Democrat to go along with them, getting to the necessary 21 votes.

The current problem relates to highway tolls in Northern Virginia, the revenue of which will go toward extension of MetroRail to Dulles airport. Northern Virginia Democrats want financial assistance so toll payers don't shoulder so much of the burden.

Perhaps, Stosch said, there is away to convince the other side that their needs will be addressed in a meaningful way over the long term. This would require more than a "we've-agreed-to-come-back-and-talk-some-more" - something more substative.

What form that takes, we'll have to wait and see.

 

Does the state budget rise from the dead today?

Welcome to the one-day reconvened session of the General Assembly, where lawmakers meet to consider amendments and vetoes sent down by Gov. Bob McDonnell.

And on a personal note, it's nice to be blogging back on Shad Plank -- and on the day of the Shad Planking, no less! As the former statehouse reporter for the Daily Press, I helped start this blog back in the dark days before Twitter and Facebook and smart phones. I think Shad Plank was powered by coal back then.

Ah, those halcyon days of budget stalemates and partisan bickering and Sen. Tommy Norment giving the in-your-face quote.

I'm talking about 2001, when a dispute over the car tax dragged the session into overtime, without a budget agreeement, and Norment wondered aloud whether then-Gov. Jim Gilmore was smoking hallucinogenic mushrooms.

Fast forward to 2012, when a dispute over transportion has dragged the General Assembly into overtime, and Norment said yesterday that he pitied poor Sen. Chuck Colgan for getting kidney-punched (figuratively speaking, of course) by Sen. Dick Saslaw.

Good to know things haven't changed.

Anyway, we digress.

Attention will be focused today on whether the Senate can bring back the budget compromise that fell apart yesterday on the Senate floor.

The budget failed to pass 20-19 on Tuesday (It needs at least 21 votes) and that will undoubtedly make school officials and local government types very nervous. Also threatened: the timing of VDOT work and various interesting projects on the drawing board in Hampton Roads.

UPDATE: The Senate convened at 11:45 a.m. to restart yesterday's failed budget session, they recessed that until 1 p.m. and at 12 noon they began the one-day session on amendments and vetoes.

Got it?

So glad we're back.

 

 

Truth in advertising?

A fellow editor here at the Daily Press came across this truck as he was driving through Smithfield recently.

We suspect, but could not verify, that it was heading to the Shad Planking political fish fest in Wakefield. Or perhaps to the state Capitol, where lawmakers continue their budget shenanigans deliberations.