Virginia's Real Politics
A guide to news, commentary and resources in Southwest Virginia

Barnie Day was a Democratic delegate from Patrick County from his election in 1997 through the 2001 session. A former county administrator and business owner, he is now a banker.

June 24, 2002 -- When our state troopers, magnificent public servers and protectors that they are, stop a vehicle for infractions, they don't ticket the vehicle. They ticket the driver. That is as it should be. Our courts don't fine Buicks. They fine lead-foots operating them. That is as it should be. The same is the case with the speakership.

Reform-minded editorial writers are already calling for a structural re-tooling of the speakership. The senior opinion scribes here at The Roanoke Times are leading the charge. See the editorial of Thursday, June 20, 2002. Best intentions notwithstanding, they are mistaken. To weaken the speakership of the Virginia House of Delegates would be to weaken the House itself. Therein would lie the mistake.

Of course there have been abuses -- past, present, and still to come. Speakers can be petty, vindictive, heavy-handed, retaliatory, mean, hateful. Did I leave out narcissistic? All of that. And more. And God knows Chip Woodrum should never have been removed from Virginia's Freedom of Information Advisory Council. He was the embodiment of it. Not a stronger defender of the public's right to know in America than Chip Woodrum. But ...

To weaken the speakership of the Virginia House of Delegates would be to weaken the House itself.

A strong speakership forces majority consensus. That's right. Forces. Not a bad thing. You don't think 100 delegates could agree on what day of the week it was without a little force involved, do you? Let me help you with that one. They couldn't.

If the House is to have parity with the Senate and with the Governor -- and it must -- it must speak, sooner or later, with one majority voice. The stronger the speakership, the better it can do that. To diffuse that strength would be to set up a yapping chorus of mini-fiefdoms.

Well, what about the abuse? Here's what about it. One of the exquisite aspects of democracy is that abuse of the public trust tends to self-correct. It self-corrects! Think about it.

House Republicans have a chance to do two things right in coming weeks. Make Bill Howell the speaker. Leave the speakership alone.

To be charitable for a moment, I'll resist the temptation to point out that getting two in a row right would be a recent record for them.

Your thoughts?

The Day Archive

What's that smell, Alice?

Money masher

Democrats will pick the next speaker