A guide to political news, commentary and resources in Southwest Virginia
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Preston Bryant is a Republican who has represented Lynchburg and part of Amherst County in the Virginia House of Delgates since 1996.
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Ode to budget politics
By PRESTON BRYANT
MARCH 1, 2004
Where history and progress are at crossed fate.
From Queen Liz to King Mark, we have come far,
From the Constant and Godspeed to a cellphone star.
For what’s next in our bright future, we cannot wait.
To get there, though, we must work as one,
And keep our rightful place in the sun.
The Guv, the Speak, the Pro Tem must be
Willing to sit and talk – yes, all three,
So that the People’s work can truly be done.
The Guv is tall and has a big, wide grin.
The Warner who’s not John finally did win.
His ’02 bash came after Repubs did fail
To pass an ’01 budget and tell the tale
That it’s the Party of Abe on which you can depend.
So the people of Virginia stepped back to see
If someone else, even a Dem, could be
The one to lead them back to that good place
Where common sense prevailed, and good grace.
It’s Mark Warner, they said, who’ll break gridlock free.
Abe wasn’t happy; he was fit to be tied
That his GOP had not even tried
To meet halfway in that budget debate
And let the hard-headed seal their fate.
He hopes today, in ’04, to see a more enlightened side.
Abe thought good things were about to begin
Since redistricting battles Republicans did win.
House Democrats were greatly chopped away.
In the Senate, too, a few libs they did slay.
And ’twas more Whigs to Richmond that voters would send.
Complicating life was the economic slip
That caused the treasury’s numbers to dip.
Jobs were down, consumers’ buying, too
And few really knew just what to do
To restore upright the state’s listing ship.
Then Warner stepped up to say things were bad,
The Gilmore economy he wished he had.
The medicine he’d prescribe would be quite strong,
But most Republicans said it’d be all wrong --
Tax hikes, they feared, would make the hardcore all mad.
Warner once said no new taxes would he raise,
But that was then, and these are new days.
Six billion in cuts, he said, won’t bring
Our state budget back into full swing
And forever we’ll be in a blurred fiscal haze.
It’s our triple-A that we must protect
So no interest-rate plunge we will detect.
The Guv’s new plan he said would meet
The clear-cut demands from Wall Street
To keep us among the most fiscally select.
But the Senate said no, we must have more
There’s still an ill knock at Treasury’s door.
Mark’s one billion in new taxes won’t do --
We must have billions more, even a few,
If we’re to invest in roads, healthcare, and more.
The House, however, had another plan,
New taxes from Mark and the Senate they’d ban.
The economy’s growing, and we’ll do just fine,
On taxes and spending we’ll hold the line
And we’ll keep our base as strong as we can.
So here we are, in a three-way tie,
We’re in a real pickle, it is no lie.
Mark wants a budget, the Senate and House too,
But to get it certain things neither will do.
Let’s hope a March deadline will not pass us by.
Two from Stafford all Virginians must see
Meet up with Warner, one, both, and all three.
Never, ever known to throw in the towel
Is the Speaker of the House, William J. Howell,
Who forever will defend his beloved GOP.
Just as headstrong is his neighbor down the street,
It’s the other Stafford guy who’s hard to beat.
That’s John Chichester, the Senate’s number one,
Who’ll stick to the budget plan he’s just begun,
Even if it means a few lost GOP seats.
Howell is backed by a hard-core bunch
Whose everyday goal is to eat John’s lunch.
Chichester, too, has an army at hand
That’ll stand firmly behind his line in the sand.
Where it all leads not even Kreskin (or Sabato) has a hunch.
Chichester, Ken Stolle, and Tom Norment make three,
William Wampler and Mr. Stosch, two more, you see.
This Senate “Gang of Five,” they work as one,
Never as a group will they be out done,
Searching for every new tax, fine, levy and fee.
The Senate, many say, is hardly alive
But for this uppity old Gang of Five.
They’ll fight to the death, we know they will
For every taxed nickel to pitch in the till,
Since it’s for another 4 bil that they do now strive.
The silvered Howell works like a sly fox,
With him are Messrs. Putney, Callahan, and Cox.
Phil Hamilton is there, and Johnny Joannou, too,
Pushing the House plan, they certainly will do,
Guarding taxpayer gold just like old Fort Knox.
A showdown is brewing, it’s what’s in store,
The Assembly will look bad, that’s for sure.
Looking worse, however, is the GOP,
Who now has control of the Treasury key,
And will risk -- again -- being shown the door.
Let’s not return to the ’01 wreck
When hard-headedness sent us all to heck.
That was when last no budget was had,
Making most all Virginians angry and mad,
Who then called on Mark to reshuffle the deck.
Abe’s not happy, fearing what’ll take place,
A standoff letting no Republican save face.
He sees Mark Warner sitting off to the side,
Watching the Whigs at war, his toothy grin so wide,
Knowing he’ll win, claiming high road and good grace.
Let’s hope we unite -- Rs and Ds -- and say,
What’s really important is saving our triple-A.
Our good name is at stake, we know it’s true,
Acting like adults is what we now must do,
For it is, after all, the old Virginia Way.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this rhyme of mine.
It took all weekend -- my valuable time.
But it’s Abe’s Party that I love, and my Commonwealth too,
Thriving and growing, I want them both to do.
Pulling together as one means both will be just fine.
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The Bryant Archive
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