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If you are interested in what former Governor Tim Kaine has been up to since he left office in January, below is a truncated version of a letter sent to DNC members recently. Let’s just say he’s taking a lot of “pride” in his work. The letter was sent for Mr. Kaine by Organizing for America, President Barack Obama’s nationwide community organizing group, which is an official ”project of the Democratic National Committee.” The president also declared June “Gay Pride Month” (see CBN News).

From: Tim Kaine

Subject: Share your voice this Pride Month

Friend -

LGBT Americans have helped build the Democratic Party into what it is today. And, as a leader of the party, I’m proud of our role in the struggle for equality.

That’s why it’s important to me — and to the future of this party — that we hear from you.

Take a moment to share your thoughts with us this Pride Month.

At times the pace of progress has not been as fast as some — myself included — would like. And, while equality cannot be achieved overnight, the President and our Democratic leaders in Congress have made important strides over the past 16 months to address barriers that LGBT Americans face.

- Last year, we passed the Matthew Shepherd & James Byrd, Jr., Federal Hate Crimes Act — which expanded the definition of hate crimes to include sexual orientation and gender identity and became the first federal law to provide protections for transgender Americans.

- In April, the President issued a directive, making critical changes to federal regulations and allowing gay and lesbian Americans to make medical decisions on behalf of their partners.

- And now we are on the verge of living up to President Obama’s pledge to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” The House just passed historic legislation to end this discriminatory policy, and the full Senate is getting ready to vote in the coming months.

But we are not satisfied. And we are not finished.

We must remain committed to making greater strides toward the fundamental American principle of equality.

Make your voice heard:

http://my.barackobama.com/PrideMonthVoices

Thanks, and happy Pride Month,

Governor Tim Kaine

Chairman

We don’t have a News Stand for you today, but if you take a look yesterday’s, you will see a link to a post entitled “Desperate Deeds” from Right Matters, a blog at the Washington Post, by conservative writer Ramesh Ponnuru (here). He concisely explains in six points why Democrat Creigh Deeds’ sudden, politically  eccentric attack on Republican Bob McDonnell’s pro-life positions won’t work. Here it is:

Democrat Creigh Deeds, down in the polls in the race
for governor of Virginia, has decided to campaign against Republican Robert McDonnell for having spent too much time during his career trying to restrict abortion. Here are five reasons why this tactic is unlikely to work:

1) Most people don’t enjoy discussions of abortion, and react negatively when people bring it up. The people who vote on the issue already know where the candidates stand and aren’t going to be swayed by ads.

2) Virginia isn’t a strongly pro-choice state. Its current governor, after all, is a nominally pro-life Democrat.

3) A lot of voters know that governors can’t ban abortion — and that Democrats have the White House, the House, and the Senate, and have just made an appointment to the Supreme Court.

4) Voters have other things on their minds, such as the economy, and will find it odd for a gubernatorial candidate to be talking about something else.

5) This campaign tactic puts Deeds in an impossible position. He has to persuade the voters that the candidate who isn’t talking a lot about abortion is the one who is dangerously obsessed with the issue. Good luck with that.

So what do you think? Is Deeds making a big mistake?

Update: I should have added another one. 6) McDonnell is on the right side of public opinion on the specific legislative issues Deeds is pointing at, such as a ban on late-term abortion and a requirement for parental consent.

One can imagine the Deeds team on a conference call last week, depressed by the poll numbers, frantically searching for in issue with traction. Finding none, someone yells, “I’ve got it! Abortion!” “Right,” the others would say, “the abortion card! Let’s play it!” But it’s no winning hand, as documented here.

It’s funny: Liberals always talk about conservatives “taking us back to bad times.” But this demagoguery is the real time warp.

Family Foundation Action today officialy released its 2008-09 General Assembly Report Card. A Capitol Square news conference is underway.  Below is the official news release from the orgnization:

FAMILY FOUNDATION ACTION RELEASES GENERAL ASSEMBLY REPORT CARD

RICHMOND — The Family Foundation Action today released the tenth edition of its non-partisan General Assembly Report Card. The educational document, released at a capitol press conference, informs citizens on key votes taken by the General Assembly during the 2008 and 2009 sessions. 

“In the House alone two-thirds of the members voted in favor of The Family Foundation’s agenda more than half the time, indicating a broad based, bipartisan support for The Family Foundation’s commonsense proposals,” said Victoria Cobb, president of The Family Foundation Action. ”It is our hope that the Report Card, along with Voter Guides that will be distributed in the fall, will motivate citizens to vote, and help them make informed choices when they go to the voting booth.” 

The mission of The Family Foundation Action is to protect families and promote responsible citizenship by giving Virginians the tools they need to hold their elected officials accountable. The Family Foundation Action is not a PAC and cannot endorse candidates. This organization will also be producing and distributing voter guides for Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General and select House races in the fall. The Family Foundation Action plans to distribute 100,000 Report Cards throughout Virginia in the coming months, double the number from the 2007 distribution. 

As with each Report Card distributed over the years, hundreds of votes taken by legislature during the past two years were reviewed. The first page of the report card explains the criteria used in determining which votes to include. Non-partisan and broad-based, the Report Card seeks not to benefit one party or one candidate over another, but to arm voting Virginians with the information they need to make an informed choice when they go to the ballot box.

This year’s Report Card has seven more “100 percenters” in the House than the last edition, bringing the total to 42. There are four in the state Senate, twice the number from 2007. In addition, there are no “Zeros” on this Report Card in either the House or the Senate.

“Demand for the Report Card continues to increase with each release,” added Cobb. ”We distributed 50,000 copies of the last edition, not including those that were downloaded from the Action Website. We hope to distribute twice that number with this edition to ensure that more Virginians know exactly where their elected officials stand on important values issues.”

Copies of the Report Card are available by contacting The Family Foundation Action at 804-343-0010 or at www.tffaction.org.

Today is the 58th annual National Day of Prayer. The theme for this year’s observance is “Prayer: America’s Hope” and the Scripture verse is:

“May Your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in You.” (Psalm 33:22)

We ask you to join with our nation and with The Family Foundation as we pray for God’s grace and His healing of our land.

The National Day of Prayer has a storied history. In 1952, President Harry Truman signed into law a declaration that every president must proclaim a National Day of Prayer on the day of his choosing. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan codified the first Thursday of May as the official National Day of Prayer. Since then, Presidents Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush have marked this day with a White House observance. All presidents have issued commemorative proclamations. For many years, a special prayer service has been held in the East Room.

Of course, now we are in a era of “change,” the “Age of Obama.” As this day approached, many pondered what, if anything, new or otherwise, the president might do. After all, he did state that America is “no longer a Christian nation” and his recent address at Georgetown University came with the insistence that it cover Jesus’ name.   

It turns out that President Obama, in lockstep with his previous hostile decisions, decided not to schedule a public ceremony in the White House, and may not send a representative to the National Day of Prayer Task Force event on Capitol Hill. Instead, he opted for a private proclamation signing. All are actions that indicate a desire to squelch the public expression of faith.

An Archbishop of Canterbury once said, “Lex orandi, lex credendi,” which translates to, “the manner in which we pray shapes the manner in which we believe.” President Obama’s actions appear to show that he, unlike pro-family Virginians, does not respect the importance of prayer and belief. Given what we see from the White House, now more than ever, it’s important that we protect our religious liberty.

However, we at The Family Foundation, continue to lead the battle in Virginia. In the past decade, we have championed several efforts on behalf of preserving religious liberty in the Commonwealth:

» A bill requiring that every school division conduct a moment of silence so each student can pray, meditate, or reflect (passed into law in 2000)

» A bill authorizing the posting of the national motto, “In God We Trust,” in public buildings (passed into law in 2002)

» A bill requiring a higher legal standard for government to intrude on an individual’s religious liberty (passed into law in 2007)

» A bill further protecting the rights of students in Virginia public schools to express their faith within classroom work (passed into law in 2008)

» A bill to restore the rights of state police chaplains to pray in the name of Jesus (passed the House in 2009, but failed in  Senate Courts of Justice Committee)

At first sight, it seems the last bill is an anomaly. Not necessarily so. It can take one, two or several sessions to get a bill passed and signed into law. Religious liberty is fragile and in danger from intrusion, or neglect, by the state. So, we will continue to fight to protect our religious heritage, even during an era where, to some, not prayer, but the cult of personality is paramount.

(We can always use help in carrying out our mission: To do so, visit our Action Center, sign up for our e-mail alerts here, sign up to volunteer here, or make a donation here.)

Looks like the the governor got a little jealous of his boss in Washington and issued his own threat assessment, which demonized several groups, as did the federal manifesto. A college professor often told us, “Never generalize. It’ll get you in trouble some day.” Some never learn from even the most basic of life lessons. The report knocked the gubernatorial campaign off the radar a bit, which probably didn’t win Governor Kaine any thanks from his would-be Democrat successors. But below we have some reports on the increasing acrimony of the Dem candidates toward each other. Are they a threat to anyone (other than the taxpayer)?

But the Kaine administration report is very appropriately timed as people increasingly are concerned about the total takeover and make over of the country by the Obama administration, and you dare note complain. For example, read about how the very 1984 so-called “hate crimes” bill looks destined to get ram-rodded through the House, and possibly into law. Sandy Rios writes in detail about the totality of the liberals’ grand scheme. 

The Miss USA debacle continues to be discussed. Andrew Breitbart has a blunt commentary about the viciousness of homosexual activists who are anything but the tolerant they say they are, or who want anything but the tolerance they say they seek. Meanwhile, a pro-life leader, herself a former Miss Delaware, says she’s proud of Miss California, Carrie Prejean (who attends a Christian college). We also have an article and video of D.C. ministers rallying in favor of traditional marriage and against same-sex marriage, which the D.C. government is contemplating.

Lastly, the much publicized polling that says evangelical Christians are all of a sudden tree-hugging-greenies has been debunked. A study of the phrasing of the questions proves they were designed to provoke answers to fit the pre-conceived template of the organization sponsoring the poll.  

Admin’s note: The News Stand may be intermittent the next 10 days or so as the Communications Department, who compiles the articles that make up much of the News Stand, takes a well-deserved vacation.

News:

Kaine orders investigation of report on terrorism threats (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot)

State terrorism report concerns university officials, rights watchdogs (The Daily Press)

Va. Democrats debate words vs. actions (Washington Times)

Democrats’ Digs Deepen as Forums Continue (Washington Post)

Major Front in Va. Race Is Online (Washington Post)

National News:

‘Hate crimes’ bill likely to pass House, thanks to Dems (OneNewsNow.com)

Climate-change report on evangelicals debunked (OneNewsNow.com)

Pro-life leader proud of Miss California (OneNewsNow.com)

Commentary:

We’re here, we’re queer and we’re hypocrites (Andrew Breitbart/Washington Times)

American Left attempts a bloodless coup (Sandy Rios/OneNewsNow.com)

Video:

Ministers Lead Protest of D.C. Legislation (Washington Post) 

Earlier today, during the General Assembly’s veto session, the House and Senate concurred unanimously to accept Governor Tim Kaine’s substitute version of HB 2285, a state spending transparency bill, patroned by Delegate Ben Cline (R-25, Amherst). This substitute, at first look, and based on conversations with some legislators and staffers, appears to be even stronger than SB 936, patroned by Senator Ken Cuccinelli (R-37, Fairfax), and signed last month by Governor Kaine. The language of the bills was identical when they reached his desk. 

Although neither bill received one dissenting vote in several sub-committee, committee and floor votes in both chambers, and now today’s veto session — after each got unceremoniously dumped last year in committee (Senate) and sub-committee (House) — it wasn’t as easy as it sounds getting them passed and signed into law. Each had to deal with the dreaded fiscal impact statement, which many times attributes bogus costs to bills as an unassailable hurdle in the money committees, often to thwart reforms. In this case, each bill had duty in front on the money committees and HB 2285 even had to go to the Senate Rules Committee.

In essence, we started with two great bills last year and again this year, that changed form, but not function, though perhaps not as comprehensive as we might have liked after several amendments, and ultimately got something more than what we thought after the regular session ended. Not bad. What a difference an election year makes.

Now a huge window has opened up on state spending, with a massive spotlight to boot. Soon, citizens — be they media, grassroots activists, policy wonks or even (for Heaven’s sake) bloggers — will be able to closely examine exactly how Virginia government spends the hard-earned tax money we send it, and with which vendors it contracts for services, as well as other open government features. It simply is not enough to say a department spends this much money; we need to know down to the line how much, on what and with whom. That, in turn, will let us know if the purpose was worthy or wasteful, duplicative or duplicitous. You get the picture.

Despite what would seem broad interest in government spending transparency, many self-proclaimed “open government” groups were noticeably absent form the debate. The  Mainstream Media, for example, which touts its annual “Sunshine Week” each March, was nowhere to be found. No doubt, however, in years to come, it will, as we all should, tout this new found access to the otherwise indecipherable bureaucratic nuances of state government.

I just received an update from the Legislative Information System that Governor Tim Kaine has made recommendations to HB 2285, the House version of the spending transparency bill. It is patroned by Delegate Ben Cline. However, the system has not yet posted what those amendments are. It’s hard to believe they are too substantive given the unanimous approval it and the Senate version (SB 936, patroned by Senator Ken Cuccinelli) received. It also goes to reason that whatever these amendments are, the governor will apply them also to SB 936. We will update you when we find out.

The good news? The Senate today accepted Ken Cuccinelli’s (R-37, Fairfax) floor amendment to conform HB 2285, patroned by Delegate Ben Cline (R-24, Amherst), to his SB 936 by a unanimous vote. The House, meanwhile, unanimously approved SB 936. Sounds all so cut-and-dried, let’s-send-it-to- the-third-floorish, right?

That’d be too easy.

Here’s what happened late this morning. As you will recall from yesterday, Senator Walter Stosch (R-12, Henrico) raised concerns that language in the floor substitute might allow for Social Security numbers to be put online. The bill was passed by for the day for the day in order to work that out. However, as the Senate discovered today, federal law safeguards such a happenstance and all were prepped to go forward.

Then stepped up Senator Tommy Norment (R-3, Williamsburg). Exactly what might he want? It seems he had a little bill that would bring some much needed reform to the workings of the two chambers (SB 1401). It would require that anything budget conferees stuck in their final budget report —which the two chambers must vote up or down — that was a nonstate appropriation, an item not included in either chamber’s budget, or an item that represents legislation that failed during session, would have to be announced as such in letters to all 140 members by the chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees.

The bill sliced right through the Senate only to be left to die in House Appropriations. So, here was an opportunity to revive it and he jumped at it. Unfortunately, his original bill had a dreaded “fiscal impact” statement attached — then said the cost was “indeterminable.” (Odd, though, that no budget amendment was necessary. Besides, what’s the cost of writing a letter and making 140 copies?). Still, just having it there scares some lawmakers. And us. (Would it have to go before a bill-killing re-referal to Appropriations?)

Great stuff, actually, this amendment. All about transparency. But legislative transparency. Not spending transparency. One is actual facts about state spending. One is about GA procedures. Not exactly germane. Senator Norment admitted as much on the floor, saying he thinks the House may reject his amendment on those grounds. But no one asked the chamber’s presiding officer, Lt. Governor Bill Bolling, for a ruling (he cannot make one unilatterally). So the amendment proceeded to a vote and accepted by the body.

Here’s where it all stands: Instead of the two bills conformed exactly to each other (which we figured wouldn’t happen anyway only because we thought at the outset the Senate would leave HB 2285 alone) and avoiding a conference committee, HB 2285 goes back to the House since the Senate changed it. It must either accept or reject the Senate amendments. Either way, it will be different than SB 936: If it rejects the amendments, it is slimmer than SB 936; if it accepts them, it is larger. Meanwhile, the Senate must accept or reject SB 936, since it was tweaked in the House to meet Appropriations Committee concerns. Since the changes were the patron’s, it  won’t be a problem. 

Many variables from this last minute twist of the tale: Now that Senator Norment is part author on HB 2285, will he be on the conference committee? If so, how might that affect the dynamics? If the House insists on its version of HB 2285, will it give the Senate an excuse to scuttle it in conference? Or will the meat of the bill survive if Senate conferees insist on the slimmer HB 2285 as a slap? Is this all paranoia? We hope so, but just covering all bases.

To repeat, never have bills that still have not received a single dissenting vote gone through so much tortuous twisting. That said, an important reform still is within reach. Updates tomorrow.

In what may have been a record for the House Appropriations Committee, it got through a 25 item docket in about 17 seconds around 2:00 p.m. today. Committee members were far ahead of staff, who struggled to keep up with members who made rapid fire motions to adopt substitutes and report bills as soon staff read the first line of bill summaries. Every item was adopted by unanimous voice vote. Can you tell it’s getting near the end?

One beneficiary was you humble admin who got out of the committee earlier than anticipated. So did SB 936, which should head to the House’s uncontested  calendar tomorrow. That’s where HB 2285 sits on the Senate side. Not to count chickens or anything, but the two should go to conference unless some type of amending happens to conform the two. We’ll know more tomorrow and keep you posted.

We’re pleased to announce our first Bill Of The Day, SJR 303, patroned by Senator John Watkins (R-10, Powhatan), which designates 2009 as the Year of Astronomy in Virginia in conjunction with the United Nations declaration of the year 2009 as the International Year of Astronomy, now will become law. The House passed it in a block vote a few minutes ago 98-0.

Let it be known the power of the Family Foundation and this blog.