Dems Acting Like Dems: Va. Gov. Candidate Pledges Work to Repeal Same-Sex Marriage Ban

Standing up for equality and inclusivity: Virginia's Brian Moran is my kind of Democrat. Of the three Democrats vying for Virginia's Democratic gubernatorial nomination in the June 9 primary, Moran is the only one who has pledged to work to repeal the state's 2006 constitutional amendment that banned same-sex marriage. The other Dem candidates are wetting their fingers to a conservative breeze: former DNC chair Terry McAuliffe says seeking a repeal would just be too hard; State Senator R. Creigh Deeds has said the amendment is discriminatory but made no argument against it in 2006 in the Virginia General Assembly.

So South Dakota Dems: which one of you is willing to run for office—governor, House, Senate—on a genuine Democratic platform? Which one of you will stand up against the yahoo-lery that we stuck in our state constitution in 2006 and call for a repeal of our same-sex marriage ban? Which of you will actively oppose whatever abortion nuttiness the Unruhs throw up on the ballot in 2010? Which of you will make an unapologetic pitch for a progressive tax system that ends the food tax and expands the ag land income tax to apply to the productive value of all commercial property? Your base eagerly awaits your response.

Stimulus Saves 7100 State Jobs in Virginia

Less than two weeks after passage, the federal stimulus can claim jobs saved: the state of Virginia just passed a budget that uses stimulus money to prevent the layoffs of as many as, by Governor Tim Kaine's count, 7,100 state employees.

Now even if you're a government-shrinking conservative, you've got to see the merits of keeping several thousand people out of the unemployment line and in the Wal-Mart check-out line when we're trying to revive the economy. Jobs are jobs, government or otherwise, and we need every job we can get.

Note also that the Virginia General Assembly managed to incorporate the stimulus money into its budget and adjourn on time in just eleven days. Meanwhile, no budget from Pierre yet, as South Dakota's unemployment rate jumps from 3.7% to 4.4% in January, the highest since 1987.

Virginia Gov. Kaine Calls for Citizen Input on Stimulus

Some good ideas do come from Virginia....

Here's a great synthesis of tech and government: National Journal's Tech Daily Dose reports that Virginia Governor Tim Kaine has launched Stimulus.Virginia.Gov, a portal where Virginians (and anyone else interested) can submit ideas for how Virginia ought to use its chunk of the stimulus package (which may arrive on President Obama's desk by the weekend, just as the Dems planned...or maybe not!).

Gov. Kaine opened the site yesterday. As of 16:08 EST today, I find 763 proposals for all sorts of projects:

• #710: Replace the town of Chilhowie's water tanks ($1,500,000).
  
• #725: Keep Aubrey Temple's hardware store open ($50,000).
  
• #753: Every penny to direct tax relief ($TBD).
  
• #759: Subsidize medication for old folks and fix up hospitals ($100,000,000).
  
• #760: resurface roads in Rocky Run ($100,000).
  
• #762: replace an organization's furnace with new green equipment ($3,000).

Three cheers for citizen participation!

The proposal report page also offers a nice little "Export to Excel" button that would allow me to download the whole list of proposals and sort them by dollar amount, proposer, etc. Bless you, Virginia.

At this rate, Governor Kaine and the Virginia General Assembly may have a general outline for how to put the stimulus money to work before Governor Rounds can even find a pen and paper to write out an order for a special session. (Legislature, my spreadsheets remain at your disposal. Give me a call!)

[cross-posted from my e-government research blog]