Massive Resistance Oral History Project at VCU

Huzzah for VCU, and not for their basketball…

Virginia Commonwealth University is launching an oral history project on the subject of Massive Resistance. It will go beyond the high level history of the period and discover the stories of those children-now 60 something adults-whose lives and education were disrupted by the misguided anti-integration policies of the Byrd Machine.

Perhaps you are not familiar with Massive Resistance?  Virginia mostly avoided the large-scale racial violence that seen deep in Dixie.  Federal troops never had to be called out, and the Klan never got a foothold in Virginia.  However, Virginia had a less violent and potentially more destructive path in mind…

The state-supported Massive Resistance policies — initiated in the late 1950s by U.S. Sen. Harry F. Byrd Sr.— urged localities not to integrate their schools, as mandated by the 1954 Brown v. Board decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. Public schools of Arlington County, Charlottesville, Norfolk, Prince Edward County, and Warren County closed as a result of the policy. In some localities, white leaders founded academies for white children. Some black children moved to live with family members out-of-state so they could attend school, but many stopped their education altogether.

Essentially, the powers that be in the mid-late 1950’s authorized and encouraged a policy that deprived children of an education-for as long as five years in some areas-but blighted the lives of those children and their communities for generations.

It is a black mark on the history of our Commonwealth and those who encouraged the policy, and one from which some communities are still recovering.

Huzzah for VCU for a project that is long overdue.

Near Violence at Inauguration…

There are reports that prior to today’s inauguration there was near violence.

News sources report that Tim Kaine is so certain that more revenue is needed and so regretful of not actually attempting to raise taxes that he grabbed hold of Governor McDonnell and attempted to pat him down to see if McDonnell was carrying alternative revenue streams on his person…

 

Longtime Virginia politicos on the scene chuckled and said it reminded them of the Lee Trinkle to Harry Byrd gubernatorial succession in 1926.

 

 

After Trampoline Tim was led away to his offices at the DNC, it was determined the inaugural committee was a little short of funds…so Governor McDonnell decided to pass the hat…

 

Ultimately a good time was had by all.

Good Luck, Bob McDonnell!

The Tragedy that Made Careers

I was ruminating on the ascent of Creigh Deeds, and a little lightbulb exploded in my head…and it occurred to me that but for one terrible life turn, the Commonwealth would likely have been spared both Tim Kaine and Creigh Deeds.

I refer, of course, to the untimely passing of Emily Couric.

Emily Couric defeated Ed Robb in 1995 and quickly developed a loyal following in the Democratic Party.  Following her reelection in 1999 she made it clear she would be a candidate for the Dem nomination for Lt. Gov in 2001, and her popularity was such that most pundits saw her getting the nomination unopposed.

Then lightning struck.  Senator Couric was diagnored with pancreatic cancer came in July 2000.  While she took on the co-chairmanship of the State Democratic party, she gave up her LTgov candidacy.  Senator Couric died in October 2001.

With her withdrawal the LG field opened wide, and the Mayor of Richmond became a player.  He was little known outside the city.  He became mayor by virtue of winning a ward election to the City Council and then being tagged by his council members to be mayor.  The Mayor leveraged that small base, won a plurality primary, got a weak GOP opponent in the fall, and emerged as Lt Governor of Virginia-and four years later permanently dropped “The Mayor” in favor of a different title…”The Gov”.  As you know, this is the story of Tim Kaine’s rise to power.

Meanwhile, back in Central/Western Virginia, they held a special election to determine who would succeed the late Senator Couric.  Waldo Jaquith tells the story:

In 2001, after Sen. Emily Couric’s death, a special election was held to determine who would fill out her term. The 25th senate district contains Charlottesville, of course, so we knew that we could just select a nominee from among ourselves. The folks we expected stepped up to vie for the nomination: former Mayor Nancy O’Brien, City Councilor Meredith Richards, Al Weed…plus some delegate from Bath County (wherever that is), Creigh Deeds. We held the nominating convention in Charlottesville one Saturday morning, for which it was pretty clear that a woman was going to win, it was just a question of which one. But then we arrived that morning. Del. Deeds had filled a whole bus with folks from Alleghany, Bath, Buckingham, Buena Vista, Covington, and Rockbridge (not a single one of which any of us Charlottesville muckity-mucks could have picked out on a map.) He had slick-looking brochures, palm cards, and stickers. None of our candidates were even close. When we went into the balloting process, damned if that Deeds fellow didn’t lick everybody in the first round of voting, getting a majority of votes on the first ballot. He knew that the voting would be weighted by municipality, he knew how to campaign—not the deal-cutting like in Charlottesville, but really campaign—and he sure knew how make folks underestimate him. We never saw him coming, but we sure adopted him as one of our own real quick. Just a few weeks later he licked his Republican opponent in a landslide victory…

As you know, two days ago that same Creigh Deeds won the Democratic nomination to succeed Tim Kaine.

In my lifetime Virginia has often had its political waters roiled by an untimely passing. Sarge Reynolds death from cancer gave Henry Howell his shot at Lt. Gov and then Governor and accelerated the movement of conservative Democrats to the GOP. Rick Obenshains death in 1978 allowed John Warner to run (and win) in that year’s senate race.

Death has played in other races. Strom Thurmond went to the Senate when he did and the way he did by virtue of the truly untimely death of the incumbent SC US Senator. Jean Carnehan went to the Senate in 2001 after her husband died in a plane crash while running against (and eventually defeating from the grave) John Ashcroft.

Death has been a player in politics for years. But these other deals were one-off successions or driven by ideology. You don’t often see a political death having a direct impact on the make up of statewide tickets almost ten years after the event took place.

Thus endeth today’s history lesson…

Lynwood Holton: Ignoring History so as to Change It

Lynwood Holton, former governor of Virginia and father in law of The Gov, has written an autobiography titled “Opportunity Time“. It is on the shelf in the “Virginia” section at Barnes and Nobles. At $27.95, it is a pricey opportunity to watch a man try to change history by ignoring things that actually happened.

J. Harvie Wilkinson has written that Holton’s term in office proves that to be effective an elected official must do more than simply govern well.  His term is well remembered as the first GOP Virginia governor since Reconstruction and for his sending his children to the closest public school in Richmond (which were majority black) instead of sending them elsewhere, and perhaps for simply showing that after a century of democrat governors the GOP could do the job and do it well.  Holton spends lots of time on these matters.

But while he finds time to write about his late Lt. Governor J. Sargent Reynolds, Holton spends almost no time on the critical political matters that eventually cut his political throat.  Those would be his refusal to find a spot for Dick Obenshain in his administration and his insistence that the GOP run moderate candidates in the 1970 US Senate election and the 1971 Special election for Lt. Governor.

For those who have forgotten, Richard Obenshain was the modern architect of the Virginia GOP.  Killed in a plane crash in August 1978 while running for the US Senate against Andew Miller, Obenshain built the organization that made Virginia a clear Red State for so long.  In 1969 Holton all but begged Obenshain to run for Attorney General, promising him a big position in the administration.  But when the election was over and Holton had won and Obenshain lost, Holton first denied Obenshain the position of head of DMV (not the right experience) and then the position of Chief of Staff (not close enough personally, did not want Obenshain helping make policy decisisions).  To no one’s surprise but Holton’s, the position of a Board member at the Virginia ABC agency was not what Obenshain was looking for.  Holton devotes some small amount of time to this, and nowhere does he seem to think he should have tried harder to get Obenshain inside the tent…because by leaving him outside Holton bought himself a world of trouble.

Holton devotes no time to his electoral intrigues in 1970 and 1971.  In 1970, as part of an effort to get Harry Byrd, Jr. to change parties, there was an active campaign for the GOP to not run a candidate against and instead endorse Byrd.  Having taken his share of head smacks from the Byrd Machine, Holton came out for running a candidate and at a GOP Banquet the night before the convention voted said the GOP was the best and strongest party in Virginia, and not running a candidate would be like having the best, newest, shiniest fire engine in town and not taking it to a fire.

Well, Holton’s argument found traction and the convention nominated Ray Garland…who proceeded to get about 20% of the vote.  Byrd came in with over 50% of the vote, and Holton’s persuasiveness began to fade.

In 1971 there was a special election for Lt. Governor after Reynold’s death.  The field was complicated by state Senator Henry Howell’s decision to run as an indepedent.  The Dems tabbed a conservative delegate from the highland counties (I want to say Clifton Forge).  Holton insisted that the GOP needed a candidate from the moderate wing and not the conservative wing of the party.   He backed George Mason Green, a one term delegate, who got the nomination and  proceeded to run in third place in the special election.

Why are these items ignored?  Because they don’t fit in with the rosy scenario of how Holton sees things.   He had a capacity for delusion while serving as governor, and apparently he still has it.

I shouldn’t be surprised.  As a high school senior in 1978 I was to be a delegate from Manassas to the GOP convention that would select a nominee to run for the US senate and fill the seat of retiring senator Bill Scott.  As such I got invited to a number of social events.  I was careful to listen to how the longer term party members were going to vote.  I did not fully understand the Holton term in office and all that went on in those years.  At one party I found myself alone with the Governor at a snack table, so I asked him why it was that so many of the party veterans in the room (in an area that was real Obenshain country) disliked him so much.

He looked me straight in the eye and said “I don’t know”.

There are none so blind as those that cannot see, and none so foolish as those who attempt to change history by ignoring it.

Life’s Rich Pageantry, Part 1-Steve Agee to Appeals Court

Sometimes we see interesting things in the news that move beyond the need for mere ruminating…they have such mystery and coincidence that they fall under the category of “Life’s Rich Pageantry”, or LRP.  Today’s paper dropped three such items in my lap…

You may wonder where I go this terms….

Many years ago journalist Guy Fridell interviewed the late Colgate Darden.  The result was his book Conversations with Colgate, capturing conversations that covered the length and breadth of Darden’s illustrious career.  In one interview Darden allowed that his family, whenever encountered with a bizarre, mysterious, humorous situation that could not be explained they wrote it off as part of “Life’s Rich Pageantry”.

The first item comes with the unanimous Senate confirmationof Virginia Supreme Court Justice G. Steven Agee to fill a seat on the Fourth US Circuit Court of Appeals.

Judge Agee is a former member of the Virginia House of Delegates, then a member of the Virginia Court of Appeals, and then raised to the Virginia Supreme Court.  He must be a proud man today with his confirmation.

But what captures my attention is that fifteen years ago today Judge Agee, still in politics, was involved in a tooth and nail struggle for the Virginia GOP nomination for Attorney General…a contest he lost.  The man who defeated him was…Jim Gilmore.

Here it is fifteen years later.  Agee is now a member of the second highest judicial level in the land, while Jim GIlmore desperately attempts to regain the political luster he enjoyed in the mid to late 1990’s by fighting off a surprisingly strong challenge by Bob Marshall for the GOP Senate nod and then having to face the challenge of beating the man who succeeded him as governor, Mark Warner.  The first challenge is proving more difficult than originally anticipated, and the second will be…quite the effort.

Taking the long view, I wonder if Steve Agee really lost in that nomination fight…

LRP, indeed…

 

How Chuck Robb Won Me $200.00

Sometimes things happen in the body politic that are fun, satisfying, and even profitable.  So here, while we sit in the between campaign doldrums, I will brighten your day and share how a watchful eye and Chuck Robb’s tells won me a  $200.00 bet in the Fall of 1994.

You will recall that in 1994 then Senator Robb was running for reelection against Ollie North (R) and former Virginia AG Marshall Coleman (I).  The campaign was a rough and tumble affair.  North had been convicted of felonious activities due to his Iran-Contra operation, followed by reversals on appeal.  Robb had a lackluster first term in the Senate, and was bedeviled by bad relations with Doug Wilder, stories about wild parties in Virginia Beach and “nude massages” with beauty queen Tai Collins.  It was the year of the Contract with America, and the GOP was on the road to some big wins in November-and the Robb senate seat was expected to be part of the take.

Depending on whom you talked to, Coleman’s late candidacy was a quixotic attempt for the perennial candidate to stay in the limelight, a sincere effort thinking he could win in a split field, or a deliberate attempt to keep North out of the Senate by giving moderate GOP voters a place to park their vote.  Personally, I pick door #3.  I guess a bunch of folks agreed, as many of the same conservatives who backed North against Reagan OMB Director Jim Miller in the 1994 Virginia primary then backed the same Jim Miller against John Warner in 1996 in retaliation for Warner getting Coleman into the 1994 race.

North led in the polls throughout the fall, even with Coleman’s entry into the race…and still led in the polls about two weeks out.  Ten days out from election day I had a chance to be a judge at the Vienna Halloween Parade.  There on the reviewing stand we got to see civic groups, kids clubs, marching bands, and -finally-candidates come down the main drag.

First came North in his de rigeur khaki pants, flannel shirt, and bomber jacket.  He was surrounded by an adoring mob, and got lots of cheers.  But what I noticed was how dazed he looked, like he was not in the moment…distracted even.

Next came Robb in his de rigeur grey flannel suit, white shirt, maroon rep tie.  Robb walked in front of his adoring mob,  darting back to both sides of the street, kissing hands and shaking babies, seemingly having a great time of it…not at all the face of someone who was running behind.

The next day at lunch I recounted these events to a couple of friends who were also political junkies.  I thought the behavior meant something, but they just thought it was a false dawn.

“No”, I said, “You had to see them.  Robb was ecstatic, and North was just dazed.  I bet something is going on.”

“Inconceivable…North has this thing sewed up,” they replied.

I parried, “”I disagree”

They thrust, “Wanna put a little wager on the election?”

So, in a moment of wild spontaneity and considerable stubbornness I put up $50 against each of my four friends.  The bet-they said North wins, I said Robb.  A Coleman win was a push.

Two days later, a new WaPo poll.  Robb had pushed ahead for the first time, while North had lost ground.  One of my friends speculated that the candidates probably got word of the poll on the day of the Vienna parade.

Well, things did not change on election day.  Robb won in a three way race.  I had lunch with my friends the next day at Brady’s in Old Town Manassas.  My pals covered the tab, and each paid up with an air that was somehow both grudging and dumbfounded.  They offered up all sorts of explanations, rationalizations, and excuses.

All I could say in response as I collected my money, using my best Inigo Montoya voice?

“You say a Robb win was inconceivable?  I don’t think that word means what you think it means.”

And that is why I have a long time warm place in my heart for Senator Robb…for the tell that won me some money.

You may ask, “But did you bet on Robb in 2000 against Allen?”

Nope-sometimes inconceivable means exactly what the dictionary says it means.

The Gov Joins Marsden in Getting It Wrong

Properly wanting to fill a vacancy in the state’s Wikipedia entry, The Gov has recently come out with a new idea for a Virginia state song.  He wants to select the bluegrass classic “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?”.

Right song, wrong classification. Make it the official state bluegrass song, not the state song.

So, so very wrong. If you are a bluegrass fan, great song. If you are a follower of music that traces the roots of the country, great song. If you want a song that can be played at state events and rouse folks, or at least not depress them…so very, very wrong.

As BVBL says:

It’s a nice, upbeat song about waiting for a hearse to carry away the body of someone’s dead mother.

Shoot, may as well pick “Near My God to Thee” or “Shall We Gather at the River”.

You cannot blame The Gov for trying. Virginia has been without an official song since 1997, and without a playable state song for years prior to that. “Carry Me Back to Old Virginny”, the former state song with its lyrics of a black man waxing nostalgic for “Old Massa”, doesn’t have a lot of supporters. It seems like everyone has offered a solution. Chuck Colgan pushed for “Shenandoah”, which had the fatal flaw of not referring to Virginia at all. My puckish state Senator The Cooch suggested“The Tax Man”. My delegate David Marsden tryed to roll a log for a constituent and proposed “Virginia, Ever Enshrined”, which sounds more like a celebration of getting admitted into Canton or Cooperstown.

Better to roll with the Shad Plank suggestion of “Highway to Hell” to reflect our current transportation issues.

Now I am not one of those moaning wombats who complains about a situation and fails to offer solutions. I have before and shall again suggest there is an obvious choice. It is a song that is about Virginia, and has the organic benefit that it was written simply to be written, and not for the sole purpose of becoming the state song. As a matter of fact, I will suggest two songs.

The first, and I think the obvious choice, is “Sweet Virginia Breeze” as I argued here. I will not completely repeat my eloquent exposition here, but as I said almost a year ago:

I admit a sentimental attachment to the song…but I know whether played at the normal pace or at a more stately rate it captures the spirit of those of live in and love Virginia…

…This song is not just entertaining, easy to sing, and fun, it is a real song. It was written to be sung and performed just for the sake of doing it, and not created out of whole cloth for the sole purpose of being submitted as the state song. I like the idea of a song that has had people on their feet dancing and singing and not a prim recital piece that would not exist but for someone wanting their little piece of immortality. So, Delegate Marsden, after the pretenders flame out, put up the real thing. Made in Virginia, vibrant for years, guaranteed to please-”Sweet Virginia Breeze”.

I think that captures the situation quite nicely.

So to The Gov, The Cooch, The Colgan, and The Marsden…jump on the bandwagon, and pick the only possible and reasonable choice for the new state song.  Written as a song, written about Virginia, popular and vibrant for going on two generations.  You know it, you love it, you feel it…

SWEET VIRGINIA BREEZE

…should be the new state song.

Have a great weekend!

Truly Devoted Sign Destruction!

Highway signs are going up and then either coming down or being defaced at the end of every campaign season.  Typically, it is graffiti or just removing the sign.  It is being done by partisans of both major parties, and a spin around the blogosphere will reveal heartfelt accounts of sign atrocities.  This practice is as wrong as can be, and should not be done or condoned by either party.  But in these days of massive sign wars, and attendant sign destruction, the synapses clicked and reminded me of the most impressive example of sign destruction I have ever seen.

The events linger with me, because all the signs that came down were signs I put up.

It was 1983, and I was working with Don Kidwell.  Don, a Republican, was running for reelection as Woodbridge Supervisor to the Prince William BOCS.  He was terribly frugal, but wanted to do something different with his road signs.  The campaign purchased 50 pieces of 4’x8′ plywood (sold to us at discount by Don’s supervisor colleague Joe Reading of Yorkshire), a spray gun, and cans of paint in each of three colors-red, white, and blue.  One hot August afternoon a group of volunteers cut those sheets into quarters, giving us 200 2’x4′ pieces.  We spray painted each one white, and after it dried used a stencil to paint “Re-Elect Don Kidwell Woodbridge Supervisor”, with the name in red and the rest in blue.

Yes, the money he spent on wood, paint, etc, plus the man-hours of construction, etc.,

The signs looked really good, but I wondered what we were going to secure them with.  Don had an original idea.  He had checked with the necessary parties to be sure his idea was OK, and we went out attaching these signs to telephone polls up and throughout Woodbridge.  The unusual factor was that all were attached at least 10 feet off the ground.  One person would stand on top of Don’s old Suburban, another would hand up a sign, and the first person would use a screw gun or a nail gun to attach the sign.

So-we had original looking signs, high up in the air so they were easy to see, and likely so high no one would try to take them down.

Don goes on to win reelection, and after a day of rest we head out to take down the signs, knowing  a lot of climbing would be involved.

Seems we were wrong.  While there were several signs stapled to the same polls we had put signs on, all of our signs were gone.  All the signs that remained were for a variety of Democratic candidates that year…but those Kidwell signs, attached ten feet or more up the poll, attached with nail and screw to ensure they could up to bad weather…all were down.  We had a mild fall that year, so weather likely was not the culprit.  We had the OK to hang the signs, with the proviso we take them down shortly after the election, so owner permission was not a problem.

Yet the signs came down-and I think the means by which that happened if fairly obvious.  But to this day I have seen no sign destruction that measures up to that systematic, energetic, and determined to tear down candidate signs.  You may think you have seen sign destruction, but I have been to the top of the telephone poll, and I assure you it ain’t nothing compared to whomever took down all those signs in Woodbridge in 1983.

Chuck Colgan and the Passing of the Day

I was in Manassas for dinner with my father last monday (along with all the WMD), and I came way ruminating about State Senator Chuck Colgan and the state of affairs in the General Assembly…and I arrived home thinking that Senator Colgan mirrors all that is good and bad about the General Assembly.

First elected in 1975, Colgan is the senior member of the State Senate. Other than Lacey Putney, I do not know of anyone else in the General Assembly with more seniority than Senator Colgan. He had already been there twenty years when the power sharing agreement of 1996 kicked in, and it was not until the 1999 elections that he moved into the minority.

My instinct is that Colgan wins re-election this time around. I lost count of the number of yards in Manassas with signs for Colgan (Dem) and Jackson Miller (GOP). This is Parrish Country, and people are used to splitting tickets. I tend to think the GOP missed their chance in 2003…the GOP star was-if not ascendant-then more nearly so than today. It was Colgan’s first contested election in at least a decade and he was rusty. He is a pro-life [NOTE: originally read pro-choice and was overlooked in editing] catholic who can get a larger share of the pro-life vote than most democrats, and he has not offended anyone.

Maybe that is the question that got me thinking. If he hasn’t offended anyone, then what is he doing in Richmond and why is he running again? Perhaps more important, what does his candidacy say about what we want in an elected official?

Colgan has always been a nice guy. He was elected to the PWCo Board of Supervisors because he was a nice guy. He became chairman of a fractious board because he was the only person who could get along with the Four Horsemen, those wild men who fought amongst themselves as often as they agreed. Colgan went to the State Senate because he was a nice guy. Everyone in the Democratic Party liked him, while many carried a grievance of one type or another with then incumbent Selwyn Smith. Colgan beat Smith in a primary during the 1975 Harris purge, and then won election to the senate…but in doing so he cost PWCounty the funding to widen Va. 234 from Manassas to Route 1, a tale I recount here.

Since then the only piece of legislation I can readily remember as attributable to Colgan is the “Hustler Bill”. There arose a cry back in the day before the Internet about magazines like Hustler being readily available and viewed by our impressionable youth in places like a 7-11 store. This bill said that such magazines had to be displayed in such a way that customers could see the title of the mag but not what else might be on the cover.

Beyond that, as he piled up seniority and clout, nothing major happened. It was not until he had been in office for more than 20 years that funding came available to widen Va. 234, and that was more a function of Harry Parrish becoming head of the House Finance Committee.

I tend to think Colgan has functioned in much the way of a Byrd Machine courtier, following the party line and not causing much trouble. But he has always seemed strangely disconnected from his district, always reacting and never leading.
The current illegal immigration imbroglio is a good example. Senator Colgan has been in public office for pushing four decades, and a resident of Prince William County. He had to be aware of the changes taking place, and had to have an opinion of what could/should be done even as the issue got hotter and hotter. Yet he did nothing-neither introduced legislation addressing the issue nor stating there was no issue to address beyond bigotry. Now, in the midst of a campaign, he begins endorsing courses of action. This late call to action indicates:

a) He truly has no idea how to attack the perceived illegal immigration problems until now, which does not speak well of him as a leader, or
b) He truly has not thought there was an issue to address until now, which few will believe, or
c) He is endorsing courses of action only because he is in a contested election.

None of these options show him in an appealing light. But his tenure is I think a very Virginia thing. Say what you will about big change in Northern Virginia, I think most Virginians past and present share the idea that no one’s property or person is safe when the legislature is in session. Guys like Chuck Colgan have filled the General Assembly for years, making sure not to rock the boat or to be leaders. I don’t know how fair it is to score him for a lifetime of keeping a seat warm and listening to constituent requests.

But is that what we need today?

We have serious problems, and need serious people to deal with them. Yet neither party seems to have serious people; neither party offers a vision of where to go or how to get there. The GOP has to point back to the Allen/Gilmore terms to show their great achievements. The Democrats offer platitudes instead of programs, confident that the GOP will screw up enough to put the Dems back in charge. But what will the Dems do once they get there?

Maybe it is because no one is willing to lead, maybe it is because no one is willing to have enough SOB in their blood to stick to their guns or their principles (well, except for the Cooch, and not everyone is happy about that!). Such a man was the man Colgan replaced. Selwin Smith was respected enough that he went on to serve as Direct of Public Safety for both Governors Godwin and Dalton, and had enough clout in Richmond that when he was nominated for a seat on the Virginia Circuit Court for Prince William County he got the seat, despite not being endorsed by the local bar association. Selwyn was never a man who went along to get along. He was a mover and a shaker who stuck to his guns-imagine what he might have been able to accomplish for Prince William had he stayed in the legislature and continued to work with Ed Willey and Hutner Andrews? What would have happened had the people kept him in Richmond instead of a nice guy w/a good attendance record?

Chuck Colgan is a nice guy, an honorable man. He built a business and grew it, and recently sold it for so much he doesn’t have to work and Colgan family college tuitions are paid for generations to come. He is typical of the low key, low impact Virginia legislator the commonwealth has had in place for years, and perhaps his time is passing. The GOP won’t get him this time, but I suspect this is his the last time in the traces.

Yep, Chuck Colgan is a nice guy and an honorable man, and likely heading back to Richmond.

But I think we need more than that. We need legislators who want to lead, not simply hold a seat. We need parties that offer a clear direction and tell us how they will make things work. We need public officials who have the foresight to identify challenges before they become problems and the skills to create measures to meet those challenges.

I have no reason to think that Senator Colgan will work any differently if reelected. He will still be nice, honorable, unaggressive, voting the party line. I have no reason to think the legislative parties will be any different. Each will blame each other for the problems of the day and when the dust settles and the smoke clears we will be no better off than we are today.

But wouldn’t it be nice if things were different? If all legislators sought solutions instead of waiting for one to present itself? If the parties formulated, offered and elocuted a vision of what they want Virginia to be and how they want to get us there?

One day things will be different…but I fear that day will not anytime soon. We are still in the day of Chuck Colgan, and until we pass unto a new mindset in the legislature not a lot is going to get done.

UPDATE: Apparently I am not the only person who has noticed the large number of split ticket yards with signs for Chuck Colgan and for Jackson Miller.

My Conversation with Colgate and Bill

I was walking across capital square in Richmond one night when I saw a curious looking fellow sitting on a bench, spitting tobacco while he tossed bread crumbs to the pigeons.  He was a burly fellow, and as I walked up he tilted his head so he could see me from beneath his fedora.  He smiled a tobacco stained smile at me and said “good evening.”

I stopped, did a double take, and said “you look just like Bill Tuck”

“well, I should…that’s who I am.”

I stammered “But you’re…”

“…dead.  Yep, deader than Joe Brown’s old mule.  I am just here to keep Colgate company”

“Colgate who?”

“Colgate Darden, of course.”

“Colgate Darden?  But he’s…

“…yep, dead.  But Colgate was always special, and still is even in that unique part of heaven we call Celestial Virginia.  Did you know that during World War II Colgate had the iron fence around the Governor’s mansion tore up and melted for munitions?  Well, after the war they replaced it, and Colgate likes to come down and make sure it is holding OK.  At least that’s his story…I think he likes to come down here and chuckle at the statue of Harry Byrd.  Only a damn fool artist would think a man would have a chest that big and legs that short.”

“He was probably a yankee”

Tuck grinned, “No doubt about that!”

I didn’t know what to make of any of this. “So you’re both down here?”

Tuck grimaced, “Bwana, I was led to believe you were a little quicker on the uptake.”

“You know who I am?”

A stately tidewater drawl echoed from behind me, “Of course we do, and we want to talk to you.”

I spun around “Governor Darden…how do you know me?”

“Because your blog caused no little heartburn in Celestial Virginia.  Hal Flood and Tom Martin got very upset when they read your piece where you claimed they were forgotten men.”

“You read my blog?  You get the Internet in heaven!?”

Darden smiled, “Well, of course, son.  It’s heaven.  We get it, and we love to read about the political goings on.”

Everyone?

Darden hesitated, “Well, almost everyone.”

“Who doesn’t?”

Tuck answered, “Well, I only listen on saturdays to the Opry-on line broadcasts.  Patsy Cline and I do love to listen to Reba McIntyre.  But I cannot figure how that boy in Rascal Flatts sings so high.”

Darden said, “And there’s Harry Byrd.  He spends most of his time in the celestial apple orchards, and he doesn’t want to be bothered with wireless contraptions.”

I tried to regain my equilibrium.  “Colgate Darden and Bill Tuck.  Wow”

Tuck smiled, “Don’t it just take your breath away?”

“Well, yes it does.  So…what can I do for you gentlemen?”

Darden drawled, “William, let’s walk a little while we palaaver”.  Tuck followed along, carrying a spit cup and tossing his bread crumbs.  Governor Darden cleared his throat.

“Bwana, we have a job for you.”

“Moi?”

“Ah, oui, tu…you remembered I served in France, eh?”

“No, sir, I was being sort of a smart-ass”

“That was my second guess.  Well, you and your bloggin’ ilk need to spread the word that folks need to pay more attention to what is going on in Richmond and get these fools to be legislators and work together and not act like prima donna’s”

“Why us?”

Darden pointed at my chest, “Who put them there?”

“OK, you got a point…you mean it hasn’t always been that way?”

“Of course not!  Back in the day we worked together…of course we were almost all democrats back then, so it was easier…but everyone tried to look out for each part of the state.”

Tuck chimed in, “Yep, and now it’s like old Mother Catharpin and her blanket.”

“Huh?”

Darden sighed, “Lord, now you’ve got him going.”

Tuck waved him off, “Hush up, Colgate.  Now Bwana, let me tell you a story…

Back in South Boston there was an old lady we called Mother Catharpin.  Her father made money as a privateer during the War of Northern Aggression, then invested the money in railroads and coal mines.  Her husband invested their money in the Coca Cola company and was a major stockholder in RJ Reynolds tobacco.  She had no siblings, and as she entered her dotage she was maybe the richest woman between Virginia Beach and Roanoke.

She was always cold, and complained she never had a good blanket.  Oh, and she had a fierce temper.  She offered $100,000 to anyone who could make her a blanket to keep her warm for at least six months. Most folks nearby didn’t try it because they thoguth she was crazy.  A hundred thousand dollars for a blanket?  But the truth was they didn’t think they could please her, and they didn’t want to make her mad.

Word got around, and finally three young fellers came up the road.  Each had an idea that they could make the blanket she would like if only they could show her.

Ronnie detailed how warm his would be, Connie talked about how he could make a great blanket if he only had the tools, and Denny assured her that no matter how nice the others were his would be better.

So she gave them all some money for tools and materials, and sent them off, winner to get the $500K.  One week later, they all returned.

She went to them in alphabetical order.  First Connie-may I see the blanket?  His reponse-oh, yes, but see first also my tools and the fine fabric I purchased for your blanket.  I know you will be pleased with them.

Mother Catharpin said she wanted a blanket, and Connie said “Oh, I can’t do that…I can only tell you how I think it should be made-I can’t actually do it myself.  I prefer to sit back and contemplate how things should be.”

She was not pleased by the answer, and went on to Denny. 

“Denny-may I see your blanket?” 

His response-“Oh, I don’t have one.  I wanted to see how much you like Ronnie’s before I make you a blanket…but you can be assured mine will be much better than his!”

Angry and disappointed, she turned to Ronnie.

“Ronnie, may I see your blanket?”

Ronnie pulled out a patchwork affair that looked surprisingly robust.  “Here, Mother Catharpin.  This will keep you warm forever.”

She agreed to give it a try, but after only a short time the blanket began to disappoint.  First it began to pull, and it didn’t cover her well.  It did not keep her as warm as she liked, and after awhile it just sort of came apart.  So ultimately she sent them all away and sat there disappointed, looking for someone to make her the kind of blanket she wanted.

And that is just how things are now.”

“Huh?”

Governor Darden said, “Bwana, do you understand what Bill in his, colorful, coloquial way is trying to say?”

“Drawing a blank, sir.”

Tuck threw a bread ball at me.” Pay attention!  It’s an allegory!”

Darden started, “Bill, when did you learn that word?”

Tuck waved him off. “In the Marine Corps.  Now listen good, Bwana.  Virginia is just like Mother Catharpin.  The Republicans come up with these jerry rigged funding plans because they see a need-either for the public good or for their political lives-but they don’t want to be accused of raising taxes.  The Democrats just sit back watching the Republicans, hoping they fail and endlessly assuring the public if they only get a chance they will be so much better.  Meanwhile,  these are the conservative groups who keep on throwing out big words and concepts, but who really have no idea how to make things better.  And you know why?  Because none of these folks has a thimble full of…”

I mumbled “…vision”.

Darden smiled, “You do understand!”

Tuck spit out some tobacco,” I knew you had to be smarter than you look!”

Just then I heard my wife calling to me.  I turned around quickly…

…and found myself in bed in Burke with a crick in my neck.  I apparently had fallen asleep in bed while reading Guy Fridell’s Conversations with Colgate.

SWMBO looke at me…”Who’s Colgate and who’s Bill?”

“Why do you ask?”

“While you were asleep you kept mentioning them, and then speaking in these deep Virginia drawls.”

I said it was just a dream…and have not been able to meet the two old time governor’s again.

But the more I think of it, I wonder what would the old warhorses think of todays politicians, the desire to protect their seats and not the public well being, and the inability to reach even marginal agreement on how to run the Commonwealth…and I realize they are right.

It is up to us to hold their feet to the fire.  We up elected officials in office, and if they don’t listen and if they don’t perform we need to send them down the road like Mother Catharpin and find people who want to go to Richmond and govern and make a difference and not simply to hold power.

Until someone shows us they have the vision to guide, lead, and produce, we should be very leery of anyone we send down to Richmond.  Those two old men had that right.

Actually, they had two things right.

The Harry Byrd statue at the state capital is a sight.  The arms, torso, and legs are way out of proportion.

Only a damn fool artist would have thought a man could look like that…and I wonder if he has been drafting legislation recently.

*******

For those unfamiliar with Virginia history, Colgate Darden was-among other things-a Congressman from Va-2, Governor of Virginia from 1942-1946, and President of the University of Virginia.  Bill Tuck was a member of the House of Delegates, State Senate, Lt. Governor under Darden, Governor from 1946-1950, and Congressman from Va-5 .  While not a Harry Byrd favorite, Tuck shares a political achievement with him…neither of them ever lost an election.