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That’s not a typo. We have multiple Quotes of the Day today. One, this morning, occurred in the House Education Sub-committee on Standards of Quality. It was considering a bill from Delegate John O’Bannon (R-73, Henrico) on childhood obesity that would require additional physical education for students K-8. Pat Lacey, the ever present spokesman for the umbrella Educrat coalition, which can’t seem to approve of anything except more taxpayer money for any and all problems, and which makes nothing but excuses and obstacles for why education reforms can’t happen, extended the never say yes philosophy even to phys ed reform!

When he addressed the committee to say some elementary schools may not have the gyms to accommodate inclement weather, sub-committee chairman Scott Lingamfelter (R-31, Woodbridge) said:

At VMI we didn’t have that problem!

Later in the morning, in the Senate Privileges and Elections Sub-committee on Constitutional Amendments, a government lobbyist for Fairfax County, which used the hard-earned tax’ money of its own citizens to lobby against them, testified against Senator Mark Obenshain’s (R-26, Harrisonburg) proposed constitutional amendment to protect private property rights. She gave an example regarding the difficulty the amendment would create in taking land for certain municipal projects, which led to this exchange between her and Senator Creigh Deeds (D-25, Bath), the sub-committee’s chairman, who was preparing to lead a party line vote to defeat property rights protection:

Senator Deeds: But that’s the part of the bill I like!

Fairfax lobbyist: Okay . . . I’ll sit down now. 

Also from that committee: VACO and VML lobbyist Randy Cook — VACO and VML are the lobbying arms of Virginia’s counties and cities, respectively, which pay people like him with your hard earned tax money to lobby against your rights — said that a constitutional amendment isn’t necessary because they haven’t challenged the condemnation powers of the 2007  property rights statute . . . yet. To which Senator Obenshain later replied:

VACO said, ‘Stop me before I condemn (property) again.’

Three Quotes of the Day. All humorous. All pointing, however, to something much more serious.

This comes from yesterday, and involves one of our favorite delegates, Manoli Loupassi (R-68, Richmond). He chairs the House Education Sub-committee on Teachers and Administration and in a meeting yesterday a bill was heard about foreign language immersion classes.

Also in the room, in front row, where he is ever-presently perched with a watchful eye on anything that would upset the educrat agenda, was Pat Lacey, the lobbyist for the School Board Association.Chairman Loupassi asked the bill’s patron, lightheartedly, “So, when I took Spanish, was I being immersed?”

Shot back to a room of bursting of laughter, Lacey said: “No, that was English.”

Even liberals get off a funny line once in a while!

Delegate Todd Gilbert (R-15, Woodstock) is getting a rep as one of the wittiest guys around the capitol. Tonight, in the House Education Subcommittee on Teachers and Administration, he had a classic.

This evening the sub-committee heard Delegate Scott Lingamfelter’s (R-31, Prince William) bill (HB 1844) to make it easier for localities to create charter schools by allowing to sunset some of the restrictive language in the statute that created charter schools in Virginia (which critics say was passed not to create charter schools, given the difficulty in creating them and the paucity of them).

Typically, Pat Lacey, a veteran and effective lobbyist for the educrat establishment, which uses its political muscle to block any and every education reform — and even bills that sometimes only remotely affect education — was sitting in the GAB’s 4 West conference room’s front row waiting to punce on the bill, even after Delegate Lingamfelter amended some of the its language.

After Lingamfelter finished his presentation, Delegate Gilbert opened it up for public comment by asking:

“Would Delegate Lacey like to speak in opposition now?”

The room, knowing Lacey’s power may be as great or greater than many lawmakers, errupted in laughter.

However, things are only funny if there’s a bit of truth in them, and Delegate Gilbert’s keen sense of humor makes a huge point. Powerful special interests funded by huge war chests don’t make for a pretty legislative process. But Gilbert wasn’t done.

Also speaking in opposition was a man who identified himself as from an organization representing teachers. When he finished his statement, Gilbert pointedly asked, to gain some transparency:

“Do you represent any teachers other than those who work for public schools?”

The man meekly admitted, “No.” There. “Teachers unions” don’t speak for all teachers and, often enough, not even the ones in their own union. Delegate Gilbert’s question should be rote for any education committee member to anyone who claims to represent “teachers,” especially those whose mission isn’t to educate, but to block reform.

By the way, the bill passed 7-0. Good news for its immediate future. We’ll see how it fares down its legislative path. No doubt, the educrats are waiting somewhere along the way, waiting for “Delegate” Lacey and allies to kill it off.