Pumpkins, Politics, Portent, and Potential

By Andrew Schwartz | Sunday, October 2nd, 2011 | Politics

Politicians abounded at Randy Forbes’s 3^rd annual Pumpkins and Politics, held at his home on Oct 2, 2011. Amidst the mountain sounds of the Flatland Bluegrass Band, Virginians had the opportunity to meet with their state delegates, state senators, local government officials, and, of course, Rep. J. Randy Forbes.

Office-holders and would-be office-holders made themselves available free of charge to the public, in a stereotypical–though exponentially enlarged–American picnic, complete with hot dogs, hay bales, and horse carriages. Among the public servants in attendance were Del. Rob Bell (58^th District), Del. Barry Knight (81^st District), Del. John Cosgrove (78^th District), Del. Ron Villanueva (21^st District), and Sen. Harry Blevins (14^th District). Bishop E.W. Jackson, Virginia candidate for US Senate was also there, along with former Congresswoman Thelma Drake, and numerous local officials from Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Sussex County, and Powhatan County.

In his address to his constituents, Mr. Forbes gave two warnings: the first was that we are just “weeks away from dismantling” the best military the world has ever known, unless Republicans in the House can stop it. The second was that America must re-learn a lesson we taught to China: a strong military and a strong economy are essential to a nation’s growth, and we can’t have one without the other.

Mr. Forbes is the chairman of the Congressional China Caucus, whose interest is “the emergence of China as a political, economic and military actor on both the regional and global stage.” He indicated that part of China’s strategy is to expand its military in proportion to its economic growth. These arguments and comparisons are not-so-oblique allusions to the so-called “Super Committee’s” responsibility to identify $1.5 trillion in budget cuts by Thanksgiving, coupled with President Obama’s call for $450 billion in defense cuts over the next decade. Some Republican representatives have argued these cuts will force America’s all-volunteer service to resume a plan for conscription, and ultimately be detrimental to job-creation.

Despite these warnings, and the colder-than-expected weather, it was an upbeat, warm, and optimistic festivity among political friends. The representatives were genuinely glad, and made themselves available to speak with anyone who came their way. Many of the guests were excited about the opportunities ahead and expressed an enthusiastic desire to do more by getting involved in the coming elections of 2011 and 2012. And, as always, they were appreciative of the opportunity to meet in a relaxed atmosphere those people we entrust to carry out the tortuous burdens of government. I, however, would have liked to see Del. Cosgrove join in with the band to sing a verse of “I’ll Fly Away.”

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