Ralph Smith may buck GOP Senate organization plan
By JR Hoeft | Wednesday, January 11th, 2012 | Catch-AllI am sure the voters of the 19th District didn’t expect the first thing their re-elected state Senator to do is head to Richmond and act like a petulant child.
According to a well placed source, Smith was whining about possibly not getting his preferred committee assignments and threatened to not go along with the proposed Senate organization.
Should Smith merely sit on his hands for the organization vote, it would be 20 Democrats – 19 Republicans. No tiebreaker cast by the lieutenant governor.
Smith has just lost all credibility with me.
Apparently he said, “I hope there’s nobody from the media here.”
Character is what is exhibited when people are not watching. Clearly we now know the character of Smith.
This could be why there has still been no vote for organization and the Senate came to order at noon.
Update: Apparently cooler heads have prevailed and Smith has voted with the MAJORITY and LG Bolling for the state Senate to be organized along GOP lines. This gives Republicans the Senate for the first time in 11 years. That being said, Smith merely threatening this yesterday is in really bad form.
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Conservative to the core; liberal with his opinion! J.R. has been involved in politics for over a decade and has worked on several campaigns in Hampton Roads. He has served on the Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Chesapeake and the Central Committee of the Republican Party of Virginia. He is also the director of “Blogs United” in Virginia. E-mail J.R.. Follow J.R. on Twitter.
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26 Responses to "Ralph Smith may buck GOP Senate organization plan"
Jim, Ralph Smith has been crapped on by the leadership for some time now. Lets not forget, they drew him out of his district! I understand where he’s coming from. I dont agree, but I understand. If Republicans picked up more seats than they did, this wouldn’t be an issue. The man’s pissed and he oughtta be. Tommy Norment & Co tried to politically decapitate Smith last year and if there’s one thing that’s true in politics; when you go after someone, you better come back with a scalp, otherwise they’re gonna make you their personal project. Looks like Ralph has a project!
Good feedback, MBM. There are always two sides to every story.
My gut reaction when I heard this was not positive though, as I imagine it wasn’t when others heard it. It still smacks of pettiness and vindictiveness.
We don’t need that on the first day of the new majority.
Do you have a link to the committee assignments?
Kevin
“According to a well placed source”. I didn’t put much stock in it when you first posted it, but I was very glad to see that your “well placed source” was wrong.
Reading the proposed Committees off currently on the floor: Sen. Smith was given the chairmanship of the Local Government Committee.
And why was it OK for the VA Senate to share power the last time it was a 20/20 split? It was the Democrats, with a Dem Lt Gov who allowed the precedent.
He should know by now, they have no plans for him in the future. I doubt he will ever be more than a State Senator. It is out with the old, in with the new. I suggest he go on a retreat to his 1 bedroom cabin in the woods on Bent Mountain and think about if he wants to continue being a punching bag.
Then again, he signed up for this. Maybe he likes it.
Lets be clear about this, the republican party has made Ralph’s life easy this last year. After his district went away Ralph refused to run against the Democrat in the district joining him and instead rented a tiny cabin two districts away (he actually still doesn’t even live in the district)because it was the only safe R seat in the area. The district he “moved” to was occupied by Bill Stanley who had just won it in a special election. The actions taken by Ralph had a huge impact on the makeup of the senate, the democrat he refused to run against is still there. Ralph proved himself to be all about Ralph and really could care less about the party.
The funny thing about all this is Ralph Smith can not go back to his 1 bedroom cabin on Bent Mountain! Because I know for a FACT he stayed a total of two nights in that mountain retreat, and never paid any Roanoke County personal. Property taxes. He is a liar and cheated on his taxes…this is fraud…..plain and simple. I am embarrassed to be represented by this man.
Alton…my source is a BD contributor who witnessed Smith’s outburst in person. If it comes down to trust and credibility, I know who I believe.
Just noting that the Sara above is not me. I don’t even know Ralph Smith. And when I post, my gravitar shows up so you know it’s me. (Don’t want Mr. Smith to confuse his Saras) thanks. Hope things roll smoothingly along for the good guys in the VA Senate from here on out!
It is simple. Anyone who lives in the 19th district who feels he is representing without living here, can go to the Magistrate’s office, file a complaint, and have it taken to the Commonwealth’s Attorney. From there, they will issue a warrant for his arrest and file charges for election fraud, which is a felony. Now that he is sworn into office, he is now fraudulently representing the entire district.
In addition, I believe having his electrical, phone, water & sewer records from both his supposed place of residence on Bent Mountain, and the ones from his manor in Botetourt County, will quickly show which place he has been truly living. It only takes one person.
Hey fake sara january. If it only takes one person, why dont you do us all a favor and do it yourself? I am always curious why people posting under fake names encourage people do things that they don’t want to do publicly themselves. If it only takes one person – you go to the magistrate yourself. Let us know how it goes.
Looks like Sara #1 and Katie are holdovers from the rejected Team Brandon Bell! They are still espousing BB’s non-issues, perhaps in preparation for the return of Brandon in 2015.
Folks, politics is a “blood sport.”. Tommy Norment would like to be rid of Smith, as well as other conservatives in his caucus (replacing them with so-called “moderates”, Democrat turncoats or RINO lapdogs.) I can assure you Tommy’s playing hardball trying to bully conservatives into passive roles. It appears Norment has found that Smith won’t be pushed around. I appreciate having a bulldog representing me, rather than a lapdog. Go Ralph, don’t let the bas_ _ _ _s (from ANY party) get you down.
You are being presumptuous. Simply stating the protocol for those who exercised their first amendment rights and voiced their feelings towards Smith and his alleged shenanigans, does not make me “fake”, as you childishly say. Making idle, baiting threats? Also, childish.
Calm down,”Frank”.
Sara, that’s simply not true. We have had the same issues in Fairfax with a State Senator, and it’s not that easy to get a sitting member of the legislature removed for violating the state Constitution, especially since the provision he would be violating is not a criminal statute.
This is a political issue, not a criminal one.
Jim, that comment was baseless. I realize that for a lot of Establishment followers it is hard to even think that there are conservatives who WANT to play for the same team, but find it harder and harder, mainly because people refuse to open their eyes and ears.
Throwing an asinine comment around about someone being against a republican and being from the opposing team because they take issue, makes you seem uninformed.
@Brian
242-101 Definitions
” “Residence” or “residence”, for all purposes of qualification to register to vote, means and requires both domicile and a place of abode. To establish domicile, a person must live in a particular locality with the intention to remain. A place of abode is the physical place where a person dwells.”
It appears that voting fraud is a violation of the state constitution. Tax evasion, that would be criminal.
24.2-1016 False Statements
“Any willfully false material, statement or entry made by any person in any statement, form or report required by this title shall constitute the crime of election fraud and be punishable as a Class 5 Felony. Any preprinted statement, form, or report shall include a statement of such unlawful conduct and the penalty provided in this section.”
Sara, you’re saying I seem uninformed? Just how informed are you when you talk about securing Smith’s water, phone, and sewer records as a means of establishing his “residency”? The people up on Bent Mountain have wells and septic tanks, and many use cell phones instead of land lines.
Perhaps those of you who are more informed than I can develop a strategy for pumping Smith’s septic system to discern longevity of residency. I’ll leave that up to you. Oh and don’t forget, the Roanoke Times reporter has already been “dumpster diving” in his trash can.
Bell spent almost $300K putting this residency message out. The people heard it, and sent Smith to Richmond to represent them with a resounding margin of victory. Get on with your life and get over this “birther” non-issue.
Sara, in order to successfully prosecute for election fraud, you’ve got to demonstrate that the individual willfully violated the statute. That’s an exceedingly high burden, and one that most CA’s aren’t going to aim for without some kind of smoking-gun evidence. Having two homes or two addresses isn’t exactly smoking-gun.
As I said, we had the same problem with a State Senator in Fairfax who carpetbagged into the district. After a variety of folks spoke to law enforcement and private attorneys, no one moved forward with a suit because the likelihood of success if nearly zero. Willful is just too high a standard.
Like I said, it’s not as easy as you make it sound. If it were, we’d actually have one Republican in the State Senate from Northern Virginia. We still don’t.
Jim, you have shown me even more that you appear to be uninformed. When I stated the records in questions, I listed them with the obvious misconception that people would apply them as needed (one record could apply to both or one). Next time I will write things in crayon and not leave it so open to wrongful assumptions so your mind will not wander.
You actually think that a judge looking at his records from Botetourt County won’t be able to see if he was living there or just stopping by for a change of clothes? Turbines aren’t up yet on Bent Mountain, so there will still be an electric bill, and cell phone records would also go towards proving or disproving residency.
Portraying the Roanoke Times reporter as a “dumpster diver” is downright comical. You do know what Jackson- Alvarez is, don’t you?
Again and again it seems you are misinformed. I am not a birther and simply because I take issue with those suspected of making gross ethical mistakes, does not put me in those ranks. People who post rebuttals and resort to name calling and petty jargon make it impossible to have an intellectual debate. This is the Bearing Drift, not the message boards for American Idol.
@Brian- I understand fully what you are saying. The wording of the state code makes it almost impossible to get anything off the ground. As you stated, we would have a clean house if we could remove them all from office. Alas, it doesn’t make it right and I cannot help it that I question those who attempt to manipulate the code.
Fake Sara January, you didnt address the main point of my comment – if this is such an agregious violation – what is stopping YOU, a citizen, a human being from using your legs or wheelchair and walking / rolling into the courthouse and filing the lawsuit or complaint yourself? Why not take some initiative if it is such a slam dunk? that is what I do not understand – why you are stirring up others to do what you could easily do yourself. Seriously, answer that.
First, I don’t owe you anymore of an explanation than you do me for your poor grammar. Let’s just say it would be a conflict of interest. Show me a CA with the balls to see it through, and I would possibly consider. Unfortunately, it seems they’re all just as corrupted by the establishment kool-aid as the rest of the blinder-wearing drones.
I just realized many of the people posting in this thread have the month January by their handle. Have you ever thought that maybe it is because you are reading the date, resulting in my name, Sara, which is real, and the month January? Here is a helpful tool I use on my 5 year old: 1) read 2) read again and 3) reflect. Works like a charm.
Cheers!
Ralph Smith is good people and a fine Senator. He votes right on just about everything, unlike other Senators.
Thats actually pretty funny – you got me on the name and month part. So its a conflict of interest for you to report…lawbreaking? What kind of job could you possibly have that would make it innapropriate for you to turn in suspected lawbreaking? The reason I keep asking is because if you were a lawmaker for instance – and you suspected lawbreaking, you took an oath to report it. same if you were a lawyer and same if you were a candidate staffer. If you see something, say something. Unfortunately, your perverse world of justice calls for anonymously posting on blogs to have other people do your political dirty work – which is drag senatator smith through the mud with these accusations. So – we are still waiting for you to step forward and report this alleged crime!
still waiting sara…………
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