Musical chairs in the Senate

The late, and unremarkable, special session of the General Assembly did produce one important change: the membership and make-up of Senate committees. With the GOP now holding an outright, though slim, majority, change was guaranteed. What did the worthies do? The Family Foundation’s Chris Freund gives us an overview here:

Senate Finance is dominated 10-5 by Republicans, though some of those Rs have been more than willing to raise taxes and expand Medicaid.

Commerce and Labor was gutted of Democrat representation, with Republicans holding a 12-2 majority.

The Courts of Justice committee has a 9-6 Republican majority, with a strong lean toward the conservative side.

The all-important Education and Health committee was revamped, with John Cosgrove, elected to the state Senate late last year in a special election (where he replaced Harry Blevins) being the new 8th Republican member. As interesting, new Democrats on the committee include Lynwood Lewis, who won his special election earlier this year by just 11 votes, and Chap Petersen, who will sometimes buck his caucus on religious liberty issues. They replace John Miller and Barbara Favola who generally march to the orders of Senate Minority Leader Dick Saslaw.

Chris thinks the new line-ups mean conservatives may actually find more friendly territory in the upper house in 2015. There were some other committee changes worth noting:

…state Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, loses the chair at General Laws (it deals with a slew of civil law matters, including the big-bucks alcohol control area) to state Sen. Frank Ruff, R-Mecklenburg; state Sen. Frank Wagner, R-Virginia Beach, takes over from state Sen. Janet Howell, D-Fairfax, at Rehabilitation and Social Services, and state Sen. Jill Vogel, R-Winchester, at Privileges and Elections, a post that could be important if the legislature considers ethics reform. Vogel is a lawyer who specializes in that area, by the way. State Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg, takes from state Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Warm Springs, at Transportation.

But the really big change is Rules, the state Senate’s traffic cop. Membership shifts from a 12-5 Democratic-Republican split to a 12-4 GOP control. State Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke, who was chairman, is off the committee altogether. And state Sen. Ryan McDougle, R-Hanover, generally considered the leader of the conservative win of the Senate GOP caucus is now chairman.

The McDougle chairmanship is important, and not just because he happens to be on the conservative side of the fence. Recall that when Democrats took over the majority earlier this year, they vested unique powers in the Rules committee chairman, causing consternation in Republican ranks. Will McDougle retain the “super Senator” status Democrats gave to his predecessor, John Edwards?

We’ll see. But one thing is clear: Republicans have nowhere to hide now. They control the General Assembly and will have to prove to the commonwealth they are up to the task. Some Republican Senate incumbents already face, or will soon face, primary challenges. Majority leader Tommy Norment isn’t very keen on such contests. They sap resources that could be deployed elsewhere (like general elections) and sometimes dredge-up issues that can handicap the eventual winner in the general. I have little sympathy for such arguments. If people want to challenge an incumbent, so be it. Seats in the General Assembly are the property of the voters, placed in the temporary care of incumbents.

Republicans and Democrats alike need to be reminded of that from time to time.

Сейчас уже никто не берёт классический кредит, приходя в отделение банка. Это уже в далёком прошлом. Одним из главных достижений прогресса является возможность получать кредиты онлайн, что очень удобно и практично, а также выгодно кредиторам, так как теперь они могут ссудить деньги даже тем, у кого рядом нет филиала их организации, но есть интернет. http://credit-n.ru/zaymyi.html - это один из сайтов, где заёмщики могут заполнить заявку на получение кредита или микрозайма онлайн. Посетите его и оцените удобство взаимодействия с банками и мфо через сеть.