Posted on 08/15/2007 11:40:51 AM PDT by JZelle
The multibillion-dollar transportation plan Virginia lawmakers approved earlier this year is a constitutional train wreck that sells out the party's basic tenets of low taxation and less government, a group of Republicans says.
"This is an ongoing massacre," Delegate Robert G. Marshall, Prince William County Republican, told The Washington Times this week. "Blood has been drawn and the incumbents sure are going to take the biggest heat. . .. If the Republican leadership thinks they can get out of this unscathed by shutting their eyes and hoping it goes away, it is not going to work."
Mr. Marshall is one of 18 plaintiffs in a sweeping constitutional challenge filed last week in Richmond Circuit Court by former state Republican Party Chairman Patrick M. McSweeney.
At a press conference in Richmond yesterday, Mr. McSweeney outlined the 13-count lawsuit, while four anti-tax advocates chided Republican leaders for supporting what they consider a "fundamentally flawed" policy and a "stunningly inept ... political strategy going into an election."
Election Day is Nov. 6 and all 140 seats in the General Assembly are up for election.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Lots of RINOs in the White House and in Congress, too.
You guys should be killing Kaine the eyebrow with this stuff, but no your RINOs gave him support and cover.
And I thought Republicans were supposed to be tough on crime.
These fees only apply to people guilty of driving offenses like DUI and other crimes that carry at jail sentence of up to a year and a fine of up to $2500, or to driving offense felonies.
Are we supposed to feel sorry for a DUI driver or someone whose reckless driving closes I-95 for four hours?
I know that when I am sitting stuck in traffic, it is costing me money and its costing millions when you count up the thousands of people sitting there with me.
“Republicans are expected to highlight other aspects of the plan, including new land-use reforms, and that the plan does not include a statewide tax increase.”
Problem is that even some non-RINOs voted for this unholy mess solely to avoid the statewide tax increase thing. Of course they DID enact statewide tax increases, only they call them “fees.” With a tax, you give the government more money, and with a fee you give the government more money. See the difference?
In addition to the fees, I think the transportation authorities are a bad idea, although I don’t live in the areas where they exist (and don’t really mind letting the folks who DO live there pay for those roads).
Any Virginia legislator who’s being honest will acknowledge that the state either needs more transportation revenue or it’s going to have to stop new folks from moving in and limit driving on deteriorating roads and bridges (no, I’m not actually suggsting this). The fairest answer I know of is to raise the gas tax (which could just as easily be called a road user fee), which to me operates on a conservative principle — you use it more, you pay more for it. And out-of-staters pay as well.
“Are we supposed to feel sorry for a DUI driver or someone whose reckless driving closes I-95 for four hours?”
No, but I can’t help but feel sorry for the woman who got one of those big fines for going 20 MPH over the speed limit, trying to get herself to the hospital after her water broke.
I don’t feel for the DUI guy and even some of the reckless driving. BUT, if you look at all the definitions for reckless driving, some of them are pretty vague and leave a lot of room for police officer interpretation.
Yeah right. That’s her story and she’s sticking with it. I guess she delivered the baby while the officer wrote the ticket.
So when she is serving a year in jail after she is convicted, like that would ever happen, I wonder who will raise the baby.
Does that mean you want to make reckless driving a $50 fine instead of a class 1 misdemeanor??
I’m not lobbying for weaker driving laws, but I am lobbying for some legislators with some guts and common sense.
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