Give 'Em Hell Harry
27th District Sen. H. (Harry) Russell Potts, Jr. used a recent floor speech to lambaste the House of Delegates for it’s recent dumping of former Del. Jim Dillard to the W&M Board of Visitors. Click here.
I think Potts should have saved the speech for later. It appears as though the House is set to block the conformation of former Virginia AFL-CIO President Daniel G. LeBlanc as the Secretary of the Commonwealth.
House Republican Leader Morgan Griffith was quoted in the Hampton Roads Daily Press as saying, “The concern is over the 4,000 or so appointments to boards and commissions the governor will have over the next four years, and he (LeBlanc) would be looking at them and could put pro-union activists into positions that would set policy.”
Sen. Thomas K. Norment Jr., R-James City, tried to patch thing up in a speech later in the day when he asked that the rhetoric be toned down.
It’s a shame but things could go down hill from here. Sadly, it looks like partisanship might prevail in this year’s session and ultimately put an end to much needed transportation legislation.
I do believe Sen. Potts was correct in saying that the current political climate has become more vindictive and meaner. We often lose our best potential candidates from both parties because they don’t want to get involved in the dogfight that has come to define present day politics. Go figure.
posted by RBV @ 3:56 PM
8 comments
8 Comments:
I hope they do stop the LeBlanc appointment. Virginia's got enough problems without union wars going on. The unions are killing some of the largest, most successful companies in the world. GM, Ford, etc. I'm all for employee rights but enough is enough.
Lucy,
I agree to a certain extent. I would also like to add the entire airline industry to your list.
Many union demands are unrealistic in today’s “global economy”, particularly when labor is cheap and benefits do not exist in many other parts of the world.
However, not many people will be able to afford a $40,000 SUV making $8.50 an hour working part-time at Wal-Mart, union or no union.
Common ground needs to be found. Union members as well as legislators should spend more time focusing on the things they agree on, not the petty things they disagree on, like whether or not someone was the head of a union.
If the House torpedoes LeBlanc it sets a negative tone that will carry over to other issues like transportation. There is too much at stake to let something like a political appointment get in the way.
I agree, it would probably come off as a petty payback or something to that affect but I'm very concerned about what would happen if LeBlanc/Kaine were able to push the union through in some remote appointments somehow. Would either of them have the power to make this happen?
I'm more worried about our large thriving technology sectors, both in NoVa and Hampton and likely, a private transportation sector.
I'm really still very interested in why he appointed someone like this in the first place...
Lucy-
To answer your question 'why would he appoint someone like this in the first place?'
Money.
Check this site: http://www.vpap.org/donors/topdonors.cfm?Year=2005&CandFilter=X
You'll see:
Service Employees Int. Union: $345,000
VA Laborers Leg. Action Fund: $225,000
VA State AFL-CIO: $174,000
Int. Brotherhood of Electrical Workers: $132,000
United Food and Commercial Workers:
$96,000
Communication Workers of America: $92,000
Brotherhood of Teamsters: $56,000
Mid-Atlantic Council of Carpenters: $50,000
That's about $1.2M and a good number of votes that one man had a lot to do with bringing in.
He's not getting this position because he simply applied for it. Who in upper-levels of our state Government are really 'qualified' for their posts?
Giving a bunch of money certainly doesn't 'qualify' someone. Nor should simply running their campaign. (Is it any surprise that our governments at all levels have such large-scale problems?)
Dang, always the money, money, money...
Potts is a self-absorbed, bitter old jack-ass. He is yesterday's man and his words are a waste of oxygen. The political hack who was denied the William & Mary post got what he deserved - nothing. He stabbed his own aide and supporters in the back for a favor from our former yankee governor. He, too, belongs on the shelf collecting dust. Hurrah for discipline.
I always find it amusing when people are so opinionated that they become afraid of what others might think of them and their opinions; so much so that they must find something to hide behind before they speak. Your opinions of Senator Potts are fine, they are yours, and they are only opinions after all. However, I would personally find it unsatisfying to have such strong opinions and still be afraid to stand next to them. Maybe its not that you dislike Potts, maybe you envy Potts, maybe you wish that you had the courage to stand by your convictions (regardless of popularity) the way Potts stands on top of his desk and yells out his for all to hear. Maybe it is jealousy of Potts’ ability to do things in public that you can’t even do on a blog. Or, maybe you just can’t stand him. Whatever it is it doesn’t really matter, it is just unfortunate that you find it far easier to criticize others opinions and positions than to stand up for their own.
It's almost ironic isn't it?
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