Republican senators Ken Stolle and Thomas Norment have been cleared of ethics accusations by the Senate Ethics Advisory Panel, Christina Nuckols writes for the Virginian-Pilot. Roanoke attorney and far-right Republican David Nixon had complained that the two men work for a law firm that has represented local governments that have the power of condemnation, as all local governments do.
The Daily Press explained in an editorial on Sunday why Nixon’s complaint is simply without merit, though surely a significant contributor to the panel’s decision is the fact that neither man handles any such condemnation cases. We have a citizen legislature and, as such, we have to decide whether we’re going to put our legislators’ best knowledge to work for the commonwealth or explicitly bar them from doing so. Nixon would apparently bar physicians from voting on matters of health, or bankers from voting on matters of finance, presumably preferring that people with absolutely no working knowledge in the field establish the legislation to regulate it.
What’s really going on here, of course, has nothing to do with ethics. This is just another byproduct of the widening split among Virginia Republicans. On the right there’s the majority of Republicans, your basic conservatives who figure government doesn’t belong in the bedroom or the boardroom and value a balanced budget above anything else. And then on the far right you have the tiny, vocal majority of Republicans backing fringe candidates (i.e. Chris Craddock) after incumbents fail these extremists’ purity tests. Even a couple of the chairmen of county parties are from this fringe (hence Sen. Emmett Hanger’s primary challenger), weighing down with RPV with private infighting that’s bound to turn public between now and November.
Ken Stolle and Thomas Norment have been cleared, but this is just one of the earlier broadsides in what’s going to be a very ugly battle in the years ahead. As Republicans lose their grasp on the majority in Richmond, it’s only going to get uglier. And we Democrats are going to make out like bandits.
It’s an interesting theory, but maybe y’all should concentrate on trying to elect a majority in either branch of the GA, have more than 3 of 11 congressional districts, or, just once, carry Virginia for a Democratic presidential candidate before you write the obituary of the commonwealth’s GOP.
Make out like bandits? You sound just like the democrats who thought they would never lose power in the 80’s. Take out Rob Bell in your backyard- that would be impressive. That or Virgil Goode.
The cocoon of Charlottesville liberalism makes moderation seem unnecessary.
Obituary? Never lose power? Not hardly. Power goes back and forth. Democrats held the majority for 100 years, Republicans have held it since 2000, Democrats will hold it again, and Republicans yet again. I’ve no more written the RPV’s obituary than I would have written the DPVA’s had I forecast back in the late 90s that the Democrats would lose power.
Republicans’ advantage came precipitously, and I forecast Democrats’ advantage will come just as quickly in the next few years. Then, after 5-10 years, we’ll start having the same ideological purity tests that Republicans are subjected to now, and it’ll flip again. So it goes.
That does it. I’m voting Whig in 2008.
Bar the likes of Coburn and Frist from voting on health issues? I love it!