If Virginia Were A Blue State Senator Creigh Deeds Would Be A Republican
The featured speaker at tonight’s Chesterfield County Democratic Committee (CCDC) was Virginia State Senator Creigh Deeds and a packed house awaited his remarks. (As I’ve yet to be booted from the committee – if the CCDC is representative of progressive democratic ideals then the Republican equivalent must meet in white hoods.) So I did a bit of Googling before the meeting and found little to excite me about this politician – his 2007 legislative résumé’s top two tags were “hunting” and “police”. To his credit he did propose a more balanced and fair redistricting policy but it is now dead and maybe that tells a little about his political prowess.
So for 20 or 30 minutes he tirelessly covered just about every state senate possibility for a Democratic overturn – in monotonous but animated exposition. If you turned off the volume you could imagine he was selling chop-o-matics or used cars. If I heard “and that’s not all” once I heard it ninety nine times. Finally the political tour of Virginia came to an end and there was an opening for questions. The new execution laws – Deeds failed to mention his support of capital punishment while reeling off the new additions to the death roster with the cool of someone talking about options on a new car.
His next question was about smoking laws – or no-smoking laws and a question or two on transportation bills where he seems to understand that northern Virginia and Hampton Roads are basically K-Mart parking lots but shed little light on how the congestion might be reasonably dealt with.
And when asked about global warming he amusingly offered that he had noticed a lot of aluminum cans and plastic bottles around the Capital and something might be done about that – yeah Senator Deeds, you are sure savvy on a very inconvenient truth.
Questions over, I stood in the receiving line and the guy in front of me, a corrections official, had a suggestion for using inmates in a waste reduction and ecologically beneficial program. Deeds eyes glazed over. Now I know it would be hell for me to deal with this glad-handing and barrage of individual interests but that’s his job.
The Senator was more attentive to an inquiry about his running for governor. Deeds running for governor? – of Virginia? – in the footsteps of Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson? Hardly.
My chance came and I asked why social issues such as the failed drug war, gay civil rights, and elimination of capital punishment weren’t even a part of this legislative session. His curt response, “It’s about getting 51%”.
No Senator, it’s about intelligent rational debate, it about having principles, its about facing up to the reality of the issues in Virginia, it’s about taking bold steps to improve the quality of life and increasing freedom and liberty. But I’m sure you think its all just about politics.
----------------------
The meeting was a waste of time and gas except for meeting candidate Perry DeMay, running for Chesterfield County Sheriff. As refreshing, common sense, pragmatic, sensible kind of guy as you’ll ever meet. And someone who candidly admits that the drug war is failing, that marijuana should be decriminalized as it is tying up police when they need to be focused on real crimes, and that marijuana arrests cause inordinate injustice to the casual weed smoker. (I’m paraphrasing). Still he came across as a grounded and honest public servant – I think I’d vote for him come this November 6th. As for Creigh Deeds, please God, there must be better people in Virginia to run for governor on the Democratic ticket.
So for 20 or 30 minutes he tirelessly covered just about every state senate possibility for a Democratic overturn – in monotonous but animated exposition. If you turned off the volume you could imagine he was selling chop-o-matics or used cars. If I heard “and that’s not all” once I heard it ninety nine times. Finally the political tour of Virginia came to an end and there was an opening for questions. The new execution laws – Deeds failed to mention his support of capital punishment while reeling off the new additions to the death roster with the cool of someone talking about options on a new car.
His next question was about smoking laws – or no-smoking laws and a question or two on transportation bills where he seems to understand that northern Virginia and Hampton Roads are basically K-Mart parking lots but shed little light on how the congestion might be reasonably dealt with.
And when asked about global warming he amusingly offered that he had noticed a lot of aluminum cans and plastic bottles around the Capital and something might be done about that – yeah Senator Deeds, you are sure savvy on a very inconvenient truth.
Questions over, I stood in the receiving line and the guy in front of me, a corrections official, had a suggestion for using inmates in a waste reduction and ecologically beneficial program. Deeds eyes glazed over. Now I know it would be hell for me to deal with this glad-handing and barrage of individual interests but that’s his job.
The Senator was more attentive to an inquiry about his running for governor. Deeds running for governor? – of Virginia? – in the footsteps of Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson? Hardly.
My chance came and I asked why social issues such as the failed drug war, gay civil rights, and elimination of capital punishment weren’t even a part of this legislative session. His curt response, “It’s about getting 51%”.
No Senator, it’s about intelligent rational debate, it about having principles, its about facing up to the reality of the issues in Virginia, it’s about taking bold steps to improve the quality of life and increasing freedom and liberty. But I’m sure you think its all just about politics.
----------------------
The meeting was a waste of time and gas except for meeting candidate Perry DeMay, running for Chesterfield County Sheriff. As refreshing, common sense, pragmatic, sensible kind of guy as you’ll ever meet. And someone who candidly admits that the drug war is failing, that marijuana should be decriminalized as it is tying up police when they need to be focused on real crimes, and that marijuana arrests cause inordinate injustice to the casual weed smoker. (I’m paraphrasing). Still he came across as a grounded and honest public servant – I think I’d vote for him come this November 6th. As for Creigh Deeds, please God, there must be better people in Virginia to run for governor on the Democratic ticket.
Comments
I am sorry if I was a bit flippant last night. I came to Chesterfield after a long floor session. Because committees are organized for the purpose of supporting candidates, I thought it proper to discuss the coming elections. I think the majority in the room agreed.
You approached me not with a question but with the assertion that I am apparently not Democratic enough for your tastes. I reject your narrow definition of what it means to be a Democrat. You then mentioned the death penalty, sodomy and legalized marijuana. My remark was a very short note of my work to build a majority party. Only when we elect majorities can we set the agenda and govern.