Ben "No Spine" Cline
As the dust settles from the controversial shake-up and down vote of openly gay judicial nominee Tracy Thorne-Begland, questions arise.
Questions like; How did Thorne-Begland get approved initially, who turned in their votes, why did Bob Marshall wait until Saturday night to stir-up opposition, and why did one-third of the House not vote when they are elected to vote on such matters? Why did chairman Ben Cline of the judicial review committee flip his position and vote and why won't Cline tell the truth about the situastion.
It is bad enough to be represented in the Virginia House by a milktoast weakling who follows party direction and fails to represent the folks back home in Amherst County but it is wose to not be able to get a straight answer out of Ben Cline.
The chairman of a House of Delegates judicial selection committee, along with the other members who certified Tracy Thorne-Begland to become judge just 60 days ago flipped in their support. That flipping chairman was Ben Cline, a might be bigot and homophobe representing Amherst County. Why must these jerks make Virginia look as if it is still mired in the 1940's and make us the laughing stock of America as we refuse to grow and meet the future.
These do nothings in Richmond could be working on something important like funding for the Amherst schools and help for our funding starved educational system. I guess if Bob Marshall told Ben Cline to work on getting some money for the county he represents he might consider it.
When it came time to vote, the chairman of that committee (Ben Cline) voted against Thorne-Begland, and others in that committee didn’t vote at all. When it comes to stand up leadership Ben Cline is a lay down and roll over sort of guy who takes his marching orders from Bob Marshall. The folks of Amherst County should know that Bob Marshall runs Amherst County. We have said before that Cline might just as well phone his vote in since he is directed by others. Next election it is time to retire Ben Cline and elect someone who will stand tall for Amherst County.
Ben Cline pretends to represents Amherst County in the Virginia House. Cline is chair of the judicial selection committee and he admitted that he called the Family Foundation about Thorne-Begland. The Family Foundation is a group that said it did not want the openly gay prosecutor to become a judge, in part because of what they see as his political activism.
But Cline insisted he speaks to the Family Foundation often, and voted against Thorne-Begland because he violated his oath in the Armed Forces and that mouthfull of drival from Cline doesn't pass the smell test. Come to think of it not much that Ben Cline does passes the smell test. If there was ever a politician who had exceeded his use by date it is Ben Cline.
Delegate Manoli Loupassi (R – Richmond) sponsored Richmond’s Chief Deputy prosecutor (Thorne-Begland) to become a judge.
He says 60 days ago, Begland went before the judicial selection committee. In their possession was a questionnaire that Thorne-Begland filled out.
The document included facts such as he is gay, that he was vice-chair of a gay rights organization, and that he had advocated against national policy in the early 90′s challenging “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
But Loupassi said none of the committee members questioned Thorne-Begland about those things—that would later become an issue, mainly vocalized by lawmaker Bob Marshall (R-Manassas).
“They did not ask him,” said Loupassi. “He was not asked.”
“He would have answered any question that was propounded to him because that’s why he was there,” said Loupassi.
The committee gave Thorne-Begland their approval.
T. Scott Garrett Lynchburg
But early Tuesday morning, his bid to become a judge was rejected, by some of those same committee members. They either voted No, or did not vote at all.
Paul Nardo, Clerk of the House of Delegates, said he`s never seen so many delegates vote against a judicial candidate in the 20 years he`s worked there.
“Because the question is put in the positive,” said Nardo. “So you vote yes, and anything else is no and in a judicial election we don`t usually count negative votes.”
Lets Look at How The Vote Went Down
Here is the roll call vote in the House of Delegates early Tuesday on Tracy Thorne-Begland, Richmond's chief deputy commonwealth's attorney, who was rejected for a judgeship in general district court.
Tracy Thorne-Begland, Richmond's chief deputy commonwealth's attorney
Thorne-Begland received 33 yea votes and 31 delegates voted against him. He needed a majority of the chamber -- 51 votes, to
be elected.
Yeas (33)
David B. Albo, R-Fairfax
Kenneth C. Alexander, D-Norfolk
Mamye E. BaCote, D-Newport News
David L. Bulova, D-Fairfax
Betsy B. Carr, D-Richmond
Barbara J. Comstock, R-Fairfax
Rosalyn R. Dance, D-Petersburg
Peter F. Farrell, R-Henrico
Eileen Filler-Corn, D-Fairfax
Charniele L. Herring, D-Alexandria
Patrick A. Hope, D-Arlington
Algie T. Howell, D-Norfolk
Matthew James, D-Portsmouth
Mark L. Keam, D-Fairfax
Terry G. Kilgore, R-Scott
L. Kaye Kory, D-Fairfax
James M. LeMunyon, R-Fairfax
Lynwood W. Lewis Jr., D-Accomack
Alfonso H. Lopez, D-Arlington
G. Manoli Loupassi, R-Richmond
Jennifer L. McClellan, D-Richmond
Delores L. McQuinn, D-Richmond
Joseph D. Morrissey, D-Henrico
Thomas Davis Rust, R-Fairfax
James M. Scott, D-Fairfax
Mark D. Sickles, D-Fairfax
Lionell Spruill Sr., D-Chesapeake
Scott A. Surovell, D-Fairfax
Luke Torian, D-Prince William
David J. Toscano, D-Charlottesville
Jeion A. Ward, D-Hampton
Vivian E. Watts, D-Fairfax
Joseph A. Yost, R-Montgomery
Nays (31)
Richard L. Anderson, R-Prince William
Richard P. "Dickie" Bell, R-Staunton
Robert B. Bell, R-Albemarle
Kathy J. Byron, R-Campbell
Benjamin L. Cline, R-Rockbridge
Mark L. Cole, R-Spotsylvania
John A. Cosgrove, R-Chesapeake
John A. Cox, R-Hanover
L. Mark Dudenhefer, R-Stafford
James E. Edmunds II, R-Halifax
C. Matthew Fariss, R-Campbell
T. Scott Garrett, R-Lynchburg
Thomas A. "Tag" Greason, R-Loudoun
Gordon C. Helsel Jr., R-Poquoson
M. Keith Hodges, R-Middlesex
Timothy D. Hugo, R-Fairfax
Salvatore R. Iaquinto, R-Virginia Beach
Barry D. Knight, R-Virginia Beach
L. Scott Lingamfelter, R-Prince William
Daniel W. Marshall III, R-Danville
Robert G. Marshall, R-Prince William
Jimmie Massie, R-Henrico
Donald W. Merricks, R-Pittsylvania
James W. "Will" Morefield, R-Tazewell
Brenda L. Pogge, R-James City
Charles D. Poindexter, R-Franklin County
David I. Ramadan, R-Loudoun
Roxann L. Robinson, R-Chesterfield
Ron Villanueva, R-Virginia Beach
Michael B. Watson, R-Williamsburg
Tony O. Wilt, R-Rockingham
Abstensions (10)
M. Kirkland Cox, R-Colonial Heights
Anne B. Crockett-Stark, R-Wythe
Riley E. Ingram, R-Hopewell
R. Steven Landes, R-Augusta
Israel D. O'Quinn, R-Bristol
Lacey E. Putney, I-Bedford
Larry N. Rush, R-Montgomery
Edward T. Scott, R-Madison
Beverly J. Sherwood, R-Frederick
Chris Stolle, R-Virginia Beach
Not voting (26)
Robert H. Brink, D-Arlington
David L. Englin, D-Alexandria
C. Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah
Gregory D. Habeeb, R-Salem
Christopher T. Head, R-Roanoke
William J. Howell, R-Stafford
Johnny S. Joannou, D-Portsmouth
Joseph P. Johnson Jr., D-Washington County
S. Chris Jones, R-Suffolk
Joe T. May, R-Loudoun
Jackson H. Miller, R-Manassas
J. Randall "Randy" Minchew, R-Leesburg
Richard L. Morris, R-Isle of Wight
John M. O'Bannon III, R-Henrico
Robert D. Orrock Sr., R-Caroline
Christopher K. Peace, R-Hanover
Kenneth R. Plum, D-Fairfax
Harry R. Purkey, R-Virginia Beach
Margaret B. Ransone, R-Westmoreland
Robert Tata, R-Virginia Beach
Roslyn C. Tyler, D-Sussex
Onzlee Ware, D-Roanoke
R. Lee Ware Jr., R-Powhatan
Michael J. Webert, R-Fauquier
Thomas C. Wright Jr., R-Lunenberg
David E. Yancey, R-Newport News
As you can see from the roll call Democrats don't have much to be proud of either ans they split their votes between Not Voting and Yes.
Goodlatte and Cline
Two Politicians Who Have Stayed Too Long at the Fair
It is 2012 and high time we let go of the hangups of the past. It is not ok to hate or discriminate against gays. It is also not ok to fail to cast a vote when you are an elected politician. If you don't have the courage to cast a difficult vote you are useless.
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Romney's Nonsense
Paul Krugman
Paul Krugman Calls Romney's Job Creation Claims Nonsense
America’s recovery from recession has been so slow that it mostly doesn’t seem like a recovery at all, especially on the jobs front. So, in a better world, President Obama would face a challenger offering a serious critique of his job-creation policies, and proposing a serious alternative.
Instead, he’ll almost surely face Mitt Romney.
Mr. Romney claims that Mr. Obama has been a job destroyer, while he was a job-creating businessman. For example, he told Fox News: “This is a president who lost more jobs during his tenure than any president since Hoover. This is two million jobs that he lost as president.” He went on to declare, of his time at the private equity firm Bain Capital, “I’m very happy in my former life; we helped create over 100,000 new jobs.”
But his claims about the Obama record border on dishonesty, and his claims about his own record are well across that border.
Start with the Obama record. It’s true that 1.9 million fewer Americans have jobs now than when Mr. Obama took office. But the president inherited an economy in free fall, and can’t be held responsible for job losses during his first few months, before any of his own policies had time to take effect. So how much of that Obama job loss took place in, say, the first half of 2009?
The answer is: more than all of it. The economy lost 3.1 million jobs between January 2009 and June 2009 and has since gained 1.2 million jobs. That’s not enough, but it’s nothing like Mr. Romney’s portrait of job destruction.
Incidentally, the previous administration’s claims of job growth always started not from Inauguration Day but from August 2003, when Bush-era employment hit its low point. By that standard, Mr. Obama could say that he has created 2.5 million jobs since February 2010.
So Mr. Romney’s claims about the Obama job record aren’t literally false, but they are deeply misleading.
Still, the real fun comes when we look at what Mr. Romney says about himself. Where does that claim of creating 100,000 jobs come from?
Well, Glenn Kessler of The Washington Post got an answer from the Romney campaign. It’s the sum of job gains at three companies that Mr. Romney “helped to start or grow”: Staples, The Sports Authority and Domino’s.
Mr. Kessler immediately pointed out two problems with this tally. It’s “based on current employment figures, not the period when Romney worked at Bain,” and it “does not include job losses from other companies with which Bain Capital was involved.” Either problem, by itself, makes nonsense of the whole claim.
On the point about using current employment, consider Staples, which has more than twice as many stores now as it did back in 1999, when Mr. Romney left Bain. Can he claim credit for everything good that has happened to the company in the past 12 years? In particular, can he claim credit for the company’s successful shift from focusing on price to focusing on customer service (“That was easy”), which took place long after he had left
the business world?
Then there’s the bit about looking only at Bain-connected companies that added jobs, ignoring those that reduced their work forces or went out of business. Hey, if pluses count but minuses don’t, everyone who spends a day playing the slot machines comes out way ahead!
In any case, it makes no sense to look at changes in one company’s work force and say that this measures job creation for America as a whole.
Suppose, for example, that your chain of office-supply stores gains market share at the expense of rivals. You employ more people; your rivals employ fewer. What’s the overall effect on U.S. employment? One thing’s for sure: it’s a lot less than the number of workers your company added.
Better yet, suppose that you expand in part not by beating your competitors, but by buying them. Now their employees are your employees. Have you created jobs?
The point is that Mr. Romney’s claims about being a job creator would be nonsense even if he were being honest about the numbers, which he isn’t.
At this point, some readers may ask whether it isn’t equally wrong to say that Mr. Romney destroyed jobs. Yes, it is. The real complaint about Mr. Romney and his colleagues isn’t that they destroyed jobs, but that they destroyed good jobs.
When the dust settled after the companies that Bain restructured were downsized — or, as happened all too often, went bankrupt — total U.S. employment was probably about the same as it would have been in any case. But the jobs that were lost paid more and had better benefits than the jobs that replaced them. Mr. Romney and those like him didn’t destroy jobs, but they did enrich themselves while helping to destroy the American middle class.
And that reality is, of course, what all the blather and misdirection about job-creating businessmen and job-destroying Democrats is meant to obscure.
MORE Romney Nonsense
Romney's Foreign Policy Nonsense
Christopher Preble takes a close look at Romney's promise to spend "at least 4 percent of GDP on the military’s base budget":
Romney’s 4 percent gimmick would result in taxpayers spending more than twice as much on the Pentagon as in 2000 (111 percent higher, to be precise) and 45 percent more than in 1985, the height of the Reagan buildup.
Over the next ten years, Romney’s annual spending (in constant dollars) for the Pentagon would average 64 percent higher than annual post–Cold War budgets (1990-2012), and 42 percent more than the average during the Reagan era (1981-1989). Mitt Romney may genuinely believe that today’s enemies are 42 percent more frightening than the big bad Soviets. He might believe that spending an average of $450 billion (in constant dollars) every
year since 1990 has left the country dangerously vulnerable. If that is true, he should say so.
Larison comments on Mitt's foreign policy predicament:
Romney has now trapped himself by opposing himself to this imaginary Obama of “apology tours,” rejection of American exceptionalism, and appeasement, and he has tied himself to this thoroughly false portrayal of Obama for so long that it would be difficult for him to stop and to start grounding his attacks in facts.
His entire candidacy is built on various fantasies dictated by his unhinged party's base. What's truly staggering to me is that at no time during the discussion about Iran has the question of Iraq been raised by these trigger-happy war-mongers. And Mitt "I'd Double Gitmo!" Romney is supposed to be the guy who knows how to
manage things.
Romney's Earlier Position on Gay Rights
This is a Gay Looking Group
In a 1994 letter to the Log Cabin Club of Massachusetts that was obtained way back when by the Boston Globe and has been mostly forgotten, then-Senate candidate Romney said ............. We all Know Romney has changed skins often.
Beyond his endorsement of gay rights back in 1994, Governor Mitt Romney's recently unearthed letter and interviews from that era show that he was making a political case for Republicans to back gay and lebisan causes.
In his 1994 letter to Log Cabin Republicans, posted here, Romney wrote of making "equality for gays and lesbians a mainstream concern.'' The letter, the subject of stories in the Globe and the New York Times and much blog chatter, was posted on the Bay Windows website over the weekend.
"As a result of our discussions and other interactions with gay and lesbian voters across the state, I am more convinced than ever that as we seek to establish full equality for America's gay and lesbian citizens, I will provide more effective leadership than my opponent,'' Romney wrote, referring to US Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.
"If we are to achieve the goals we share, we must make equality for gays and lesbians a mainstream concern. My opponent cannot do this. I can and will,'' Romney wrote.
In an interview with Bay Windows the same year, Romney made a similar political argument: “I think the gay community needs more support from the Republican Party and I would be a voice in the Republican Party to foster anti-discrimination efforts.''
In the interview, Romney was quoted saying that when Kennedy speaks on gay rights, he's viewed as a liberal "extremist." But Romney said when he speaks about gay rights he's seen as "a centrist and a moderate."
Romney was endorsed by the Log Cabin Republicans in his 2002 race for governor. But the group declined to endorse his would-be successor, Kerry Healey, this year, complaining that he had used his office to rally against gay marriage.
Since at least as far back as 2004, Romney has spoken out repeatedly for a federal amendment to ban gay marriage. But he occassionally has softened his tone, as he did before a Michigan audience in 2005.
''Americans respect all people. We also recognize that there are many settings where children are raised,"
Romney said in Livonia, Mich., citing grandparents and same-sex couples as examples. ''But we choose to recognize one setting as the ideal."
Andrew Sullivan asks "Was he lying then or is he lying now? What does he really believe?'' Which Mitt do you believe the old Mitt or the new Mitt? There is enough time before the election for Mittons to change his mind again.
Mitt is the kind of leader that watches the crowd to see which way they are heading and then runs to get in front of them. Mitt follows from up front. You're saying that doesn't make sense. Republicans keep accusing Obama of leading from behind. It makes as much sense as what the GOP is saying.
The Log Cabin Republicans are a funny group. Mitt and the GOP want to stone them to death a la the bible and they continue to support the republicans. It is hard to understand why groups support the republicans and vote with them when they get absolutely nothing in return. I'm talking about small businessmen, factory workers, farmers, soccer moms, store clerks, retired people, people on medicare and social security and all manner of working people who are not now and never will be rich. Bet you thought I was referring to just the Log Cabin Republicans.
Black Metrosexual Abe Lincoln ?
If you’re wondering why the phrase “metrosexual, black Abe Lincoln” keeps popping up today, check out the New York Times‘ scoop about a group of high-profile Republicans working with TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts for a Jeremiah Wright-based Super PAC takedown of President Barack Obama.
The $10 million plan, one of several being studied by Mr. Ricketts, includes preparations for how to respond to the charges of race-baiting it envisions if it highlights Mr. Obama’s former ties to Mr. Wright, who espouses what is known as “black liberation theology.”
The group suggested hiring as a spokesman an “extremely literate conservative African-American” who can argue that Mr. Obama misled the nation by presenting himself as what the proposal calls a “metrosexual, black Abe Lincoln.”
A copy of a detailed advertising plan was obtained by The New York Times through a person not connected to the proposal who was alarmed by its tone. It is titled “The Defeat of Barack Hussein Obama: The Ricketts Plan to End His Spending for Good.”
UPDATE: An aide to Ricketts says the billionaire has decided to shelve the ads and the Obama Destruction Plan given the backlash and Mitt Romney’s repudiation.
There’s no way to know whether this will be successful or totally backfire (likely the latter), but until we see how it plays out, let’s take a moment to consider the merits of the plan.
• This plan to “do exactly what John McCain would not let us do” would cost $10 MILLION? Launching a fresh attack with the same ol’ tired “Okay, so maybe Obama’s not a double-secret Mooslim but he does take his orders from a scary black man” tactic is the best you can do for 10 million bucks? If it didn’t work in 2008, what makes these Republicans believe it would have the desired effect four years later?
• Do these Republicans realize how much this might hurt Mitt Romney? Opening the door to attacks on Barack Obama’s religion opens the same door to attacking Mormonism, Romney’s donations to the Church of Latter Day Saints and every dollar they’ve spent on support for things like Prop 8.
• Does anyone even use the word “metrosexual” anymore? Try “Black Hipster Lincoln,” guyz.
• Black and metrosexual descriptors aside, do Republicans believe comparing President Obama to Abraham Lincoln is really such a good idea? Republicans love to claim Lincoln as one of their own. By putting the word Obama next to the word Lincoln, they’re really doing themselves a disservice.
• This is all part of a misguided “vet the president” meme. Republicans believe Obama wasn’t vetted properly in 2008 by a national media that loved him too much. But the question then becomes: Okay, what next? Let’s say they find out that Obama in his past has expressed a deep hatred of Caucasians and said Jeremiah Wright didn’t go far enough. What then? Hasn’t this man been President of the United States for more than three years and white people as we know them are still hangin’ around? There’s only one goal here, and that’s to stoke white fear. It’s almost as if the people promoting a Renewed Wright Controversy and the people who want to believe it most are legitimately scared that a racist, classist Barack H. Obama will wipe white people off the map … but only in his second term.
• How is this desire to find an “extremely literate conservative African-American” spokesperson all that different from what Republicans saw in Herman Cain? Or is the plan to find someone kinda like Cain who can be the black-on-black hatchet-man, only without the sexual misconduct allegations?
• How many TD Ameritrade accounts will be closed today? How many new ones will open? Worth watching. ‘Til we see where this all goes, cue the Metrosexual Black Lincoln Photoshops!
Amherst County Virginia Democratic News
Ben Cline has been elected for life. He follows orders and does as he is told. He will move to Goodlatte's Congressional seat when Bob retires or dies, whichever comes first. Ben is keen to do only those things that don't upset the power figures above him who control his future. Ben represents one of the rual parts of Virginia and it is no secret that these areas get poor representation. The voters in Ben's area don't expect much and that is what Ben delivrs. Ben's district is 70 per cent Republican which translates to 40 percent non literate. Ben's money to campaign with comes from out of his district and he votes the interest of the people who fund his political life. The Virginia Dental Assoc helps Ben out and vice versa, the same with Verison. Lawyers in Roanoke push thousands of dollars to Ben Cline. The only thing Cline gets from the district are votes and he gives nothing in return. I hope you folks at Amherst Democratic News will continue to expose Cline for the do nothing free rider he is. Someday the voters will wake up. Perhaps the ones who can read will share the information with their less fortunate brothers who can't.
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