BAD ADVICE FROM THE NEWS MEDIA: THE SEQUEL

Since I was out-of-town this weekend, I am still catching up.   So I did not catch the Washington Post’s endorsements until just a little while ago (Missing such news is one of the things that makes vacations worthwhile.).

Were there any surprises for citizens of the 13th District of the House of Delegates?  Unfortunately, no.   The Post lived up to its reputation by castigating Delegate Bob Marshall and endorsing John Bell. Here is what the Post had to say about Marshall.

Del. Robert G. Marshall has distinguished himself by standing still; he remains the author of off-the-wall legislative antics that even members of his own Republican Party regard as clownish. In addition to making hay with wedge social issues (like trying to outlaw in vitro fertilization), he has also done his best to impede transportation funding proposals that would benefit his own district.  (from here)

The folks in the 13th District should find the Post‘s comments about Marshall highly insulting for at least two reasons:

• We have elected Delegate Bob Marshall repeatedly, and the Post is calling our delegate a clown.
• What the Post calls off-the-wall legislative antics is something that the hypocritical editors of the Washington Post have no trouble with if the clown is on their side of the aisle.  The Post is engaging in nothing more than partisan name calling.  This sort of juvenile name-calling and “news” is why I don’t buy that paper anymore.  I have little desire to subsidize propaganda for a cause I oppose.

Delegate Bob Marshall has served us honorably.  When he has disagreed with the elected leaders of his party, he has done so openly and for sound reasons.  For example, in cooperation with Democrats, the Republican Party leadership supported legislation, HB3202, that was unambiguously unconstitutional (see Marshall v. NVTA and here).   Marshall fought the bill every step of the way, eventually defeating it.

Latter, when he was running for the U.S. Senate, Marshall wrote a letter to Virginia voters.   Marshall described his “clownish” opposition this way.

Dear Virginia Voter,

I have been a state legislator for 17 years, winning nine elections in Northern Virginia, and I am running for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. I respectfully ask for your support.

I am the state delegate who brought the SUCCESSFUL lawsuit (Marshall v. NVTA) challenging the Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia unelected regional transportation taxing authorities, the only lawmaker who challenged the unconstitutional law and the only Republican who opposed HB3202 on the floor of the House of Delegates. (See You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqszbMKOGzA)  (continued here)

Contrary to what the Post suggests, rank and file Republicans respect Delegate Bob Marshall.  That is why Marshall almost won the Republican Party’s nomination for the U.S. Senate.  In fact, Marshall came within a hairbreadth of defeating former Governor Jim Gilmore.

Do you want to see how a clown represents you in the House of Delegates?  Check out the video.  This is what the Post considers “off-the-wall legislative antics.”

What is sad about candidate John Bell is that he and the Post see too much eye to eye.  In Bell we have a former military officer that regards his oath as something he can, when it becomes inconvenient, set aside.   Thus, the fact that HB3202 is clearly unconstitutional does not bother Bell (PWC100 debate with Marshall).  What truly concerns Bell is that Marshall stopped a bill that supposedly would have provided transportation funding.  Nonetheless, Marshall fought HB3202 for soundly philosophical reasons.  The bill gave taxation and spending authority to an unelected body, the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority.   For such a cause the Founders of this nation fought the American Revolution.