Dateline Richmond — aka Dysfunction Junction

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Chap

It’s been a surreal week in Richmond, with friends across the country sending me emails and texts to see if I’m OK in light of “Redistrict-gate.”

Hell, I’m fine.

Last night I stopped by the Virginia Seafood Council’s reception at the Hilton Garden Inn.  A lot of friends from Tidewater and the Eastern Shore made the trip to Richmond.

Man, this state has great seafood.  The oyster half shells were as big as hubcaps.  How can you be depressed when you have fresh scallops and a cold Bud in your hand?

The next few days will be pivotal in the Senate.  It’s not just the redistricting. Or the latest committee assignments handed out today — which further marginalized the 20-20 Democrats (who now hold only five seats on the Finance Committee).

Next down the pike are the “sore loser” bills coming out of P&E Committee, including a bill to award Virginia’s Presidential electoral votes based on the tally in congressional districts.  (Is the next idea to just scrap popular elections altogether — and have the assembly pick the winner?)

Lost in the partisan madness are the parameters of a potential compromise on transportation which could involve pieces from several different Senate bills, including my SB 855. Unfortunately, the Governor’s bill doesn’t bring much actual revenue to the equation — although I give him credit for avoiding the unconstitutional “regional authorities.”

In the meantime, I’ve been doing some light training for the House vs. Senate basketball game which is set for February 12, 2013 at VCU’s Segal Center.  Just last weekend I played my son to a stand-off in a full-court one-on-one game at Lifetime Fitness in Fairfax City.  Of course, he’s seven years old.  But still he’s pretty good.

Stay tuned to this channel for more old-fashioned fun.

 

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  • ewk

    Well, I suppose it’s nice you are having some fun, but the implications of the various dysfunctions have left me with no appetite. Is there anything we can or should do as some of your colleagues do their best to subvert our votes? Does this electoral college thing have legs? Should we just grab a beer and learn to ignore what’s going on down there?

  • Chap Petersen

    As you can see, I am using humor as a defense mechanism. The electoral college bill and redistricting are dramatic changes which effectively lessen the democratic nature of our system. It’s depressing otherwise, so I’m putting a spin on it. Contact your lawmakers and tell them to stop with the reindeer games and stay on task.

    • Whitney Wilson

      On the Electoral College Issue, why not award the electors in a way which is proportional to the popular vote in Virginia. So if the Democratic candidate wins 54% of the vote in Virginia, and the Republican gets 43%, the Democrats would get 7 electoral votes, the Republicans 6. If you want to give a bonus for winning, let the winner have 2 votes off the top, and split the rest, so that in my scenario the Democrats get 8 and the Republicans 5.

      • Whitney Wilson

        I think the answer to the question of whether mid-decade redistricting is constitutional is unclear, but I also think the redistricting plan is a bad idea because it is a mistake to allow redistricting to become an on-going process. Once a decade is plenty. In addition, the process used here to jam it through the Senate (no advance notice or chance to review for anyone) leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

        It should be noted, of course, that the districts created by both the Senate and the House last year are absurd in many respects in terms of the way jurisdictions are split and the districts look like random ink blots. To have a single Senator representing parts of Arlington, Fairfax, and Loudoun counties makes no sense, especially when you compare it to the new district which has Sen. Favola representing essentially all of Arlington.

  • Bernard Markowicz

    Is there a Democratic strategy to counter the Republican move? A plan to put pressure on individual VA Senate and House members?
    Are Democratic senators meeting to devise a unified response?
    Is the national Democratic party involved and supporting the State legislature?
    Can pressure be put through businesses or others on Republican legislators?
    Are the Republicans united in their support of this legislation, or are they split?

  • Tbailsh

    The electoral vote split makes sense. There is no reason to give all votes to one candidate when a state is split. The only thing worse than giving them all to one candidate is the bill some states are considering to give them all to the winner, thus negating their importance.

  • Anonymous

    would it make sense if the loser won the popular vote statewide by a significant margin?

    • Tbailsh

      For the voice of the people to be heard, our state’s electoral votes must reflect the statewide vote, with no regard for who will win or lose at the national level. There is no great prize in voting for a winner just because it’s the safe thing to do. That’s like getting drunk because all the other kids do it.

      • Anonymous

        most people would agree that the electoral vote should represent the popular vote. You’d not want someone winning all or a majority of the electoral votes if they lost the state-wide popular vote by a significant margin.

        I’d support tallying by Congressional district for ‘close’ statewide totals – say the threshold we now use for a recount or thereabouts.

        but I’d hate to see an election where the winner of the electoral votes failed to win the statewide popular vote – by a significant margin.

        those are negotiation items. What should not be a negotiation is the permanent repeal of any/all GA gerrymandering – period.

        get rid of the Gerrymandering then find the electoral sweet spot that both sides can compromise on.

        • Tbailsh

          Exactly.

          Get a commission of half a dozen people who haven’t voted in the past three elections (therefore, not party hacks), give them the guidelines, and let them draw the districts every 10 years. I’d think draftsmen, mathematicians, programmers, and a few other fields would provide the capability necessary. NO PARTY INVOLVEMENT from anyone.

          • Anonymous

            I think all you really need is a GIS computer and some instructions to draw lines without regard to party.