FamilyFoundationBlog.com

With President Obama urgently working on a last-gasp push to ram his government-run health care bill through Congress, and Americans — including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — not knowing all that is contained in the 2,600 page behemoth, it is important that we all get as involved as possible to stop this monstrosity. Getting informed is the first step and tonight offers a high level source of information: Americans for Prosperity is hosting a tele-town hall meeting tonight which features U.S. Representative Mike Pence (R-Ind.). Congressman Pence is the third highest ranking Republican in the House and a leading free-market reformer. He has turned down a run for the open Indiana Senate seat this year because, some suggest, he is considering a presidential run in 2012.

Among the topics on the agenda are: The key undecided House members, the likely timeline to be used by Speaker Pelosi, and conservative alternatives along with Rep. Pence’s exchanges in recent weeks with President Obama. It starts at 8:00 p.m. Eastern and you can join in toll-free by calling (888) 356-3090 Ext.14326#.

As AFP President Tim Phillips penned in a letter to AFP members:

(Washington liberals have) put everything on the line for their ideology, as flawed as it is.

The question for us is: will we do the same for our values, our freedoms and our nation?

Speaking of getting informed, HotAir.com has a post on the latest Rasmussen Poll, which shows 57 percent of Americans oppose ObamaCare. In addition, a majority disapproves of the president’s job on the economy. One normally follows the other when you try takeover one-sixth of the economy.

Hillary Clinton may think it takes a village to raise your child — a village of her own choosing, of course. But Virginians think otherwise. Just prior to crossover, the House of Delegates passed a resolution affirming parental rights 64-31! This resolution, HJ 193, patroned by Delegate Brenda Pogge (R-96, Yorktown), urges Congress to pass an amendment to the U.S. Constitution declaring that, “the liberty of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children is a fundamental right.”

In case you have not yet heard about the Parents Rights amendment, let me give you the facts (see our policy brief, here). In the United States, parents have traditionally held the right to raise their own children according to their own beliefs. This right has been upheld in the U.S. Supreme Court for 70 years. However, recent court rulings on parental rights have shown that the court is becoming divided on this critical issue. In fact, the court issued 6 different opinions in the parental rights case Troxel v. Granville (2000), with only four justices acknowledging that parental rights were protected by the Constitution.

There’s another reason to be concerned about the plight of parental rights: the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (see our preivous post and video about this). Supported by people such as President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton and U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), this treaty actually has a chance of passing. Currently, the United States and Somalia are the only countries that have not passed the treaty. If this treaty is passed, it will undermine parental rights unless the Constitution clearly says otherwise.

Delegate Pogge’s resolution received enthusiastic support from both sides of the aisle in the House. However, this resolution will not become law unless it is also passed in the Virginia Senate. As many of you know, the Senate is much less receptive to family issues like this than the House of Delegates. When the bill is debated in the Senate, we will ask you to contact your Senators to urge their support of this measure.

Another parental rights effort did not meet with the same success. Several legislators this year introduced bills that would have allowed home school students to participate in public school sports programs. Unfortunately, despite the fact that their parents pay for public schools and their programs through tax dollars, home school students are treated as second-class citizens.

Delegate Rob Bell’s (R-58, Charlottesville) HB 926, which would have directed the Virginia High School League to allow homes school students eligibility, was “carried over” (see vote) until next year by the House Education Committee after a lengthy debate and opposition by the VHSL. This will give Delegate Bell the opportunity to work with the interested parties to seek a solution to the problem.

Virginia won’t truly prosper until it reforms public education. To do that, massive reforms must be made. We must have education freedom and choice. I like to tell people the analogy economist Walter E. Williams: Suppose your local government drew an arbitrary line around your home and said you can only shop at this one grocery store. How good do you think this store’s meats, fish and vegetables would be? What about its service? It’s prices? Even the quantity of its stock? With a government contrived monopoly, the answer to all of those questions is, not very. 

With that in mind, here’s a rundown on education reform legislation we are tracking:

» Delegate Jimmie Massie’s (R-72, Henrico) HB 599 would provide better education opportunities for many Virginia students through scholarships created by funds donated by businesses and individuals which would receive a tax credit for such donations. Despite fierce opposition from the Virginia School Board Association and the Virginia Education Association, the bill passed the House of Delegates 55-44. It now goes to the Senate Finance Committee. The bill was crafted in such a ingenious way as to ensure that there will be no negative fiscal impact to the state — something valuable in today’s economy and something that not many tax credits can boast. In fact, the bill will increase per pupil spending in school districts that lose students to private schools because they will have the same share of federal and local funds to educate less students.

This is a high priority Family Foundation bill and we are working to get a fair hearing in the Senate Finance committee. Unfortunately, this committee has been very hostile to any legislation that provides education freedom to families. Already this session, it voted 9-6 to defeat similar legislation (SB 133) introduced by Senator Mark Obenshain (R-26, Harrisonburg).

Believe it or not, however, this was progress. Last year, no one on the committee made a motion on Senator Obenshain’s bill. This year, they at least had the courage to go on record!

» A bill patroned by Delegate Bob Marshall (R-13, Manassas), HB 331, already passed the House by a vote of 95-4. This charter school bill would provide transparency to the charter school application process, requiring local school boards to provide reasons for rejecting charter school applications. Currently, school boards can reject applications without any notice and without providing reasons. The bill now is in the Senate Education and Health Public Education Sub-committee.

» One of Governor Bob McDonnell’s highest priorities is the expansion of Virginia’s charter schools. Public charter schools were designed nearly two decades ago to empower teachers, parents and communities to come together and create a new form of public school that was free from restrictive regulations and systems. The Family Foundation has made the advancement of charter schools a high priority, as we support any option that will increase parental choice in determining the best educational environment for their child. Unfortunately, Virginia’s charter school law is one of the most restrictive in the nation.

Last week, Governor McDonnell held a news conference announcing legislation concerning charter schools. Senator Stephen Newman (R- 23, Forest) is the patron of SB 737 and Delegate Scott Lingamfelter (R-30, Woodbridge), along with a bi-partisan array of co-patrons, has introduced its House counterpart, HB 1390. These bills seek to make the charter school application process more transparent and requires that the procedures are in place for receiving, reviewing and ruling upon applications for charter schools.

Most significantly, it establishes an appeal process to the state if the local school district rejects the application — which happens with disturbing frequency in Virginia, thus the paucity of charter schools here (three, with a fourth to come, in more than 10 years). Governor McDonnell believes passing this bill would prove Virginia is committed to supporting charter schools and improves its chances for receiving $350 million in federal funding from a multi-billion dollar program President Obama has proposed for charter schools.

» A second McDonnell bill that Senator Newman is shepherding in the Senate and Delegate Richard P. “Dickie” Bell (R-20, Staunton) is patroning in the House, involves virtual schools, which allow public-school classroom programs to be taught in a student’s home via Internet. It meets the same requirements for the student’s attendance, testing and Standards of Learning curriculum that the public school must meet.

» The third bill Senator Newman is carrying would establish “laboratory schools,” in which universities set up schools with specialized programs. Delegate Chris Peace (R-97, Mechanicsville) has the House version.

We will work for these reforms and urge you to contact your delegates and senators to do the same. If you don’t know your lawmakers, click here to find them. To guarantee to stay on top of these critical issues, which assuredly will shape the Commonwealth’s future, click here sign up for our e-mail alerts and forward this link to like-minded friends.

Looks like the arrogance in D.C. marches on unabated. Never mind three straight statewide defeats only a year after the president carried them, never mind the polls and massive rallies and town hall opposition, and certainly never mind the disinterest from “moderate” Democrats, but the Obama-Pelosi-Reid troika have figured out a way to ram through health care “reform” and, with it, an abortion mandate! That is, taxpayer funding of abortion and requiring insurance companies to offer abortion “coverage.” The plan will be rolled out as early as February 21.

Here’s how it will work: The House will pass the Senate bill. The Senate will then take it back and add in the abortion changes it and the House couldn’t put in originally. The Senate will avoid a filibuster by rerouting it through the budget reconciliation. Then Madam Speaker will attempt to ram it back through the House. But will pro-life Democrats, responsible for the Stupak Amendment prohibiting abortion mandates in the original House bill, go along? They can make the difference. Here’s the story reported earlier this morning by Congressional Quarterly via  StopTheAbortionMandate.com:

PRESIDENT OBAMA PLANNING TO PROPOSE OWN HEALTHCARE BILL, NO MENTION OF ABORTION EXCLUSION

The Congressional Quarterly in Washington, D.C. is now reporting that the final health care proposal is expected to be released by the White House “as early as Feb. 21″ — this weekend!

Abortion proponents are aggressively assembling a coalition to ram through a health care bill that is fully expected to mandate abortion coverage and government funding of abortion.

With a final version expected out as early as Sunday, it’s clear that abortion advocates know they’re on the verge of having the votes they need to force this bill through in a way that is filibuster-proof:

The most likely way forward is for the House to clear the Senate’s health care bill (HR 3590) and for the Senate to pass a package of changes to it, using the filibuster-proof budget reconciliation process. That set of changes would incorporate the deals struck with the House, which would then send the new package to the White House. Obama would first sign the original Senate bill, then the ‘corrections’ package. The last measure signed into law would be the one that dictates the final shape of the overhaul.

You see, the House passed the Stupak language that would save lives and protect taxpayers from funding abortion — but it was completely stripped from the Senate version.

With intense pressure mounting for the House to just roll over and pass the Senate version, millions of lives are at stake!

President Obama has refused to address the issue of abortion — and every indication is that he will keep abortion funding as a centerpiece of his proposal.

And with the immense amount of pressure that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have been applying to pro-life members of their party, we must act NOW!

So, there you have it. With Washington liberals in control it’s: Abortion now. Abortion always. Abortion the first option. Companies must offer it . . .  and we must foot the bill.

Below is the first part of a two part interview with nationally known political scientist Dr. Bob Holsworth, a regular commentator on Virginia and national politics. His articles and commentary can be read in publications and on the Internet, and heard on television and radio. He is a frequent speaker to numerous organizations, heads a consultancy, and is the editor of the widely read blog, Virginia Tomorrow. Today, we talk about the current session of the General Assembly and touch on national politics.

FamilyFoundationBlog.com: Dr. Holsworth, it’s a great honor to have you answer some questions on our blog about the General Assembly and Virginia politics in general. So, thank you very much for participating in this interview. We greatly appreciate your valuable time and look forward to your insights and are big fans of your blog, Virginia Tomorrow. Are you ready for some questions?

Dr. Bob Holsworth: Thanks very much for the opportunity to be on your site.

FamilyFoundationBlog: Has anything surprised you about this session of the General Assembly? Has the Republican sweep and increased House of Delegates majority created a visible difference or is it too early to tell (i.e., waiting for the budget)?

Dr. Holsworth: Certainly, the Republican sweep in the House has made it even easier for the GOP to control the legislative outcomes in that chamber. But the Democratic control of the Senate can still pose substantial hurdles for the Governor and the House GOP. I was surprised that five Democrats in the Senate supported the Health Care Freedom legislation, symbolically repudiating former Governor Kaine and President Obama. All of these Democrats are in districts where the GOP could field competitive challengers and this tells you just how concerned Democrats have become about the impact of the national mood here in Virginia. At the same time, Senate Dems have summarily dismissed part of the McDonnell agenda such as dedicating royalties for off-shore drilling to transportation and changing the budget cycle. What will happen with the overall budget is still up in the air as Senate Dems actually disagree if they should present a budget that includes some of the tax increases in (former) Governor Kaine’s recommended document or acknowledge the political reality that there will be no major tax increases and present a budget accordingly, even if it inconsistent with what they would really want to propose.

FamilyFoundationBlog: Governor Bob McDonnell ran on a jobs-creation platform and de-emphasized social issues. But social issues do play a role in the budget. Do you think he will go so far as to de-fund Planned Parenthood?

Dr. Holsworth: I think that you have phrased the question well. Some folks have said that McDonnell ran as a “moderate.” My sense is that he ran as an economic conservative and gave less priority in the campaign to his social conservatism. I fully expect that McDonnell will sign almost all bills with a “social conservative” orientation that emerge from the legislative process. What’s not entirely clear is how far his own proposals will move in this direction. He obviously made a symbolic change when he removed sexual orientation from the non-discrimination executive order with respect to state government workers. The question of whether he’ll propose a budget amendment to de-fund panned parenthood will be seen by many of his supporters as a test of whether he will implement the values of social conservatism in the budget. If he does, there will be a substantial fight in the Senate and the media will surely portray it as a switch from the “moderation” of the campaign. If he doesn’t, he’ll disappoint a segment of his core supporters.

FamilyFoundationBlog: If Governor McDonnell proposes a host of “fees” instead of taxes to close the budget gap, how will that affect his support on the right? creation

Dr. Holsworth: If McDonnell is perceived as simply playing semantics with taxes, it will harm him not only with the right, but with many independents as well. He was very clear during the election about his belief that revenue increases should primarily come from economic growth and I would be very surprised if he has a post-election conversion to a different point of view, especially in this political environment.

FamilyFoundationBlog: Governor McDonnell is getting a lot of positive attention right now — giving the GOP response to the State of the Union, doing several national interviews, even one for Newt Gingrich’s newsletter. Does he runs the risk of raising his own expectations?

Dr. Holsworth: I think of the smartest moves the new Governor made was to cancel his national interviews the day after his SOTU response. Virginians have made it clear that his first priority as Governor should be the Commonwealth and, in the long run, McDonnell’s national stature will be most enhanced by having a strong approval rating in-state.

FamilyFoundationBlog: What chances do you give of real reforms this or next year in areas of budgeting and in recalculating SOQ spending?

Dr. Holsworth: The Senate has already rejected a key McDonnell proposal on changing the two year budget cycle. Recalculating SOQ spending has been an issue that many House Republicans have pointed to over the last few years as a reform necessary to rein in future budget increases. We’ve seen some willingness from both parties to look at items such as staffing ratios regarding non-instructional personnel. If there ever would be a time where the entire SOQ calculation would be readjusted, it would be in the kind of fiscal environment we have now. But polls show that schools remain extremely high on the public’s priority list. In aggregate, school groups (teachers, superintendents, school boards, and principals) are extraordinarily well organized and very politically effective. Moreover, Virginia schools overall seem to perform extremely well — just this week, we ranked third in the nation in AP testing. I believe that the effort for major permanent structural changes in school funding will have substantial hurdles to overcome.

FamilyFoundationBlog: What are your thoughts on former Governor Doug Wilder calling for Tim Kaine’s removal as Democrat National Committee chairman?

Dr. Holsworth: Former Governor Wilder noted that he had supported Tim Kaine for Vice-President, but did not feel that the DNC Chair was the best fit for his talents and skills. My guess is that there are a number of Democratic activists who are more comfortable with the sharp edges of a Howard Dean than the more cerebral approach to the position of Tim Kaine. The proof, of course, will be in the November pudding. Kaine will succeed if Democrats do far better than expected. But if November is a Democratic debacle, Kaine will be fingered for part of the blame.

Be sure to check back with us tomorrow afternoon for part two of our interview with Dr. Bob Holsworth as we look at next year’s Congressional elections in Virginia, Senator Jim Webb’s prospects in 2012, and the Tea Party movement.

From the “corpse man” president — you know, the one who’s supposed to be the smartest president ever — from the “57 states” president, we also have the most polite president ever: It seems that President Obama, in trying to eulogize a deceased campaign worker last week, 1) didn’t have the dignity to mention her name and 2) evoked laughter from the audience, almost to the point of ridicule because of 3) it’s all about him, even when a supporter dies. Classy guy. Just as when he gave Queen Elizabeth a collection of his speeches (Scared Monkeys), every situation is absolutely always about him.

 Classy. Even in death. Someone else’s death, that is. Because its always about him.

Per Friday’s unemployment report, via Richmonder Kent Engelke, chief economic strategist and managing director of Capitol Securities Management, and one of the country’s leading stock market commentators:

Regarding the establishment or nonfarm payroll survey, I believe a major reason why jobs declined by 20,000 instead of rising by the expected 15,000 were that state and local governments eliminated 41,000 workers. The federal government added 33,000 for a net loss of 8,000 jobs.

So, President Obama is serious about reducing federal spending? Can he pronounce “corpsman”?

The Family Research Council is hosting a People’s State of the Union tonight, hosted by the irrepressible Herman Cain, and you can participate via its live Webcast. If you have never heard this former CEO and U.S. Senate candidate, you need to experience his unique passion for freedom and values. The link at tvTownhall has videos of Mr. Cain. Here’s the 411 from FRC President Tony Perkins:

Last week, you heard President Obama’s take on where we are as a nation after his first year in office. Now hear the American people respond! Tonight at 8 p.m. (EST), FRC headquarters will be the site of a special webcast, “State of the Union, Voice of the People,” hosted by Herman Cain and tvTownhall.com. FRC and seven other organizations will give their response to last week’s address by the President, along with select video responses from across the nation.

Join me tonight at 8:00 p.m. EST for this live webcast, which will provide a voice to the American people and an opportunity for them to give their own State of the Union response.

Register now to watch the live webcast of tvTownhall.com’s The State of The Union, The Voice of the People.

Sincerely,

Tony Perkins

President

You have to love when politicians eat their own words. But is there anyone who eats them as frequently — and obviously — as the 44th President of the United States? Or should that be obliviously? Because he sure doesn’t seem to care, or think we’re paying attention. But it is very much all about him (see David Limbaugh at townhall.com) as this fantastic video from our friends at Americans For Prosperity demonstrates.

No way. It’s not about me. Especially when it comes to taking blame and responsibilty! Never. Not about me, no sir!

This is the fourth in a series of five policy statements on issues that will come before the 2010 General Assembly. The third, regarding constitutional government, can be found here. Each statement covers one of The Family Foundation’s five areas of principle. We will post the fifth issue by early next week.

As with every General Assembly session, the usual suspects will show up promoting legislation that The Family Foundation believes would be harmful to the family or to the values that we share. Of particular note this year, there again are several bills that attempt to extend special rights to homosexuals based on their lifestyle choice.

In the aftermath of Congress passing and President Obama signing legislation that added sexual orientation to federal hate crimes laws, there is legislation that would do the same in Virginia. As we argued against the federal extension, this is a solution in search of a problem. There is absolutely no evidence anywhere that crimes against homosexuals are not being prosecuted, which was the original point of hate crimes statues.

There also is an effort to add sexual orientation to anti-discrimination laws, both for state government and localities’ hiring practices. This annual attempt at “gotcha politics” is of course intended to make anyone who opposes it appear discriminatory. Elected officials often are quizzed on whether or not they discriminate against homosexuals as if that should be a question on the employment application. Unfortunately for proponents, one of their biggest allies — The Washington Post — admitted in an editorial recently that there are “thousands of gays in state government.” There is absolutely no need for this legislation and no evidence of any discrimination given the lack of claims from these thousands.

Also this year, there are additional attempts at expanding so-called domestic partner benefits. Several years ago, despite our warning that such a change would open a floodgate, the General Assembly passed legislation that allowed some businesses to contract with health insurance companies to grant benefits outside of the longstanding standards of “blood, marriage or adoption.” Those standards were always intended to encourage and support marriages and families. Since then, there have been several attempts at expanding this loophole to life insurance, and there will be new attempts this year as well. Already, we’ve seen outgoing Governor Tim Kaine’s blatant political attempt to change state regulations in this area, knowing that the final decision maker will be Governor-elect Bob McDonnell. Unfortunately, in the General Assembly, when the principles of families and business compete, the family is often the loser.

Finally, in what will likely amount to a waste of everyone’s time, there is legislation seeking to repeal the Marriage Amendment passed by the voters in 2006. This bill will be introduced despite the fact that more 30 states now have marriage amendments and three statewide candidates that supported the Virginia Marriage Amendment won landslide elections in November.

We will be ever vigilant watching for other legislation that undermines our values and impacts our families. We will be at the capitol every day during session advocating on your behalf and against harmful legislation, and chronically it all here.