By Bob Gibson
Daily Progress political blogger
I love going through the drawers of a desk that I’ve been using the past 18 years and finding stuff like the April 6, 1991, Daily Progress story: “Remapping plan OK’d by House.“
The old story details how Democrats, who held majorities in the House, Senate and the governorship (although some Democrats questioned the party loyalty of then-Gov. Doug Wilder), used their party dominance to mess up the territory of GOP lawmakers, lumping some together in new districts.
Then-Del. George Allen, R-Earlysville, commented on his new district, saying, “The net effect is I’ve lost Wintergreen and gained Massanutten,“ he said of the plan that stripped Nelson County from his district.
The plan drawn by Del. Richard Cranwell, D-Vinton, divided Rockingham County four ways among five GOP delegates and placed Del. Phoebe Orebaugh in the same district with Del. Andy Guest of Warren County.
Cranwell devised four districts taking pieces of Rockingham for GOP Dels. Allen, Pete Giesen, Guest, Orebaugh and Clint Miller.
My story continued, “The House plan creates 11 black-majority seats and has won endorsement from civil rights groups. ... Allen said he will urge fellow Republicans to challenge it in federal court on the grounds that it is overly partisan in the way the Democratic majority lumped GOP delegates together across the state.“
“My advice would be to file suit quickly, within weeks,“ Allen said.
Republicans learned a great deal from the Democrats that year and returned all the favors 10 years later, giving Virginians the districts that are still in effect today.
The lesson is found somewhere in the Bible, under, “Do unto others…“ Or was it, “Love thy neighbor…“
As Paul Goldman would say, “Politics ain’t beanbag.“ Or perhaps Creigh Deeds and Brian Moran would offer, “We won’t Cranwell you if you don’t Wilkins us and let’s work out the kinks with seven bipartisan souls.“
By Bob Gibson
Daily Progress political blogger
For the first time in the history of the world, some ads run on a pair of Arab TV networks may have an impact on a Charlottesville to Danville congressional race.
Tom Perriello, the Democrat challenging 5th District Rep. Virgil Goode, R-Rocky Mount, helped raise money in 2004 to pay for ads on al-Jazaara and al-Arabiya that featured the comments of American religious leaders who apologized for the torture of some Iraqi citizens held in prisons by Americans.
America was showing moral leadership in the ads, according to Perriello. The ad text read: “As Americans of faith, we express our deep sorrow at abuses committed in Iraqi prisons. We stand in solidarity with all those in Iraq and everywhere who demand justice and human dignity. We condemn the sinful and systematic abuses committed in our name and pledge to work to right these wrongs.“
The Danville Register & Bee quoted a Baptist preacher in that community as saying the use of torture techniques on prisoners could be useful to save lives.
The Danville story by reporter Bernard Baker also quoted a retired Episcopal minister who supported Perriello’s effort and said he is the kind of person needed to undo the damage the Bush administration has done to the nation and America’s international reputation.
The story quoted Goode as saying he would not spend money on Arab television networks. This is far from the last that voters in the 5th will hear about these ads.
By Bob Gibson
Daily Progress political blogger
William Redpath, the Loudoun County man who lost to Mark Warner for governor and Republican candidate Mark Earley in 2001, wants to take on Warner again this year for the U.S. Senate.
The Virginia Libertarian Party nominated Redpath for the U.S. Senate over the weekend.
Redpath, who is the Libertarian Party’s national chairman, won 14,497 votes in his 2001 Libertarian quest for governor, gaining about 0.8 percent of the total votes cast.
Warner won the governorship that year with 984,177 votes—about 52.2 percent—to 887,234 for Earley, who carried about 47 percent trying to succeed Gov. Jim Gilmore.
Either Gilmore or Del. Bob Marshall, R-Manassas, will carry the GOP banner against Warner this year, depending on which Republican is nominated at the GOP’s May 30-31 state convention in Richmond.
