Virginia@: Your February 6th Sunday Summary ...

Dear Friend of TJI,

"One has to have an extremely impoverished view of human social interaction not to realize what is lost when people cannot see each other’s faces or facial expressions, or even hear each other’s voices unfiltered through a foreign object. The richness and importance of facial expressions was obvious across the centuries – to poets, scientists, and laymen alike – for generations of people ... William Shakespeare’s Juliet confides to Romeo, ‘Thou know’st the mask of night is on my face; Else would a maiden blush bepaint my cheek.’ Charles Darwin ... observes that the face is ‘the chief seat of expression’ and that we immediately perceive its importance ‘when we converse on an important subject with any person whose face is concealed.’

"Members of the phone-obsessed generation are hardly known for their polished social skills, but at least they haven’t been as closed off from others as the masked generation sadly is being taught to be."

-- Jeffrey H. Anderson

The City Journal

February 3, 2022

Meanwhile ...

1.) Conservatives anticipating great victories with only a thin majority in the House of Delegates have been chastened. How does the Left say No? Let us count the ways (here).

2.) Victory continues to depend on hard work and nowhere is the work harder than in trying to reverse Virginia’s “Green New Deal.” Interviewed on WRVA’s John Reid show, Jefferson Institute Senior Fellow Steve Haner reviews one such battle over your ability to use natural gas and propane (and more) here.

3.) That bill preserving Virginians’ right to natural gas, HB 1257, will come up in the House Commerce and Energy Committee on Tuesday (the Institute has begun a Facebook ad campaign letting Virginians know of the Green effort to block natural gas). It was heard in committee once but is coming up again because three Republicans weren’t in their seats when the vote came. Over at Bacon’s Rebellion, Haner has the story here. Time for phone calls if you know any of these folks.

4.) Two more, House Bill 118 and House Bill 73, give back to the SCC the authority to decide how much (if any) utility-scale wind and solar power will be built, and whether to shut down our existing coal and natural gas units. They have passed and are headed to the House floor. Those looking for a deeper read on the limitations of offshore wind can find one in the Manhattan Institute’s new brief, The Biden Administration’s Offshore Wind Fantasy here.

5.) Taxes are equally under the gun. With billions in surplus revenue, the time to reform Virginia’s tax system is now and the first place to start is by doubling the standard deduction. This puts more money in the pockets of every Virginian and conforms not only with the Trump Tax Cuts and Jobs Act but also puts Virginia in line with what many other states have done. Democrats on a Senate Finance and Appropriations subcommittee, however, seek to send the idea off to a “study.” But if the tax cut is punted to next year, that revenue will all be committed to spending programs. A study means a stall ... and in the meantime, they spend it all. The Richmond Times-Dispatch has the story here.

6.) The same dynamic is being played out nationally on taxes, and over at The Wall Street Journal, Larry Kudlow and Stephen Moore offer the case for making the Trump Tax Cuts permanent here.

7.) On education and parental choice, the education establishment continues to resist. A bill backed by Governor Glenn Youngkin creating a pathway to genuine charter schools was defeated in Senate Education and Health Committee 8-7 (here), although the House bill still survives. In the good news department, another bill, SB16, was amended in committee to expand the size of the Education Improvement Scholarship Tax Credit from 65 to 70 percent for donations to foundations providing scholarships so low-income students might attend private school. Meanwhile, Lt. Governor Winsome Sears makes the larger argument for educational opportunity in a Richmond Times-Dispatch commentary here.

8.) The real test of wills and support for choice may come next week in the House Education Committee, where Legislation creating Education Savings Accounts (HB1025) should be considered. The bill would create an account setting aside the amount of money spent on a child’s education for parents to use for education-related expenses including tuition, fees, and required textbooks at private schools. The members of the Committee, with links, are located here. You can also offer public testimony by clicking here.

9.) As expected, Governor Youngkin’s Executive Order prohibiting schools from requiring masks on students is going through the legal system. A temporary injunction has now been issued (here), on the predictable grounds that it violates a state constitution giving almost absolute power to local school boards (here). The larger question of parental rights continues to play out as parents sue school boards requiring masks (here and here), two Democratic Senators crossed party lines to support parental review of curriculum (here), and Republicans united to support employee free speech rights in House committee (here), as three Democrats voted against First Amendment protections. Loudoun County Public Schools is threatening to suspend students if they do not mask up (here), a punishment apparently harsher than that given to a student who last year committed one sexual assault, was transferred to a different school where he committed another assault (here). It is the same in Fairfax, where the students refer to the “one free rape rule” (here).

10.) Left undiscussed in much of the debate are the economic and psychological consequences of tough pandemic measures (here, here, here, here, and here). The good news is that covid cases are declining and vaccines have an impact in reducing the severity of the virus. The public is coming to the conclusion that the virus is something we’re going to have to live with (here). But governments continue to impose stringent rules without regard to the consequences, and patience is wearing thin (here).

11.) The General Assembly’s Left continues to conduct itself with the arrogance of a massive majority it no longer has. First, the Legislative Black Caucus rejected the membership of Republican Delegate A.C. Cordoza (here and here), prompting Lt. Governor Sears to propose a new Caucus called the “You’re Not Black Enough Caucus” (here). Then, Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas raised the hackles of reporters after she publicly attacked one for (gasp!) daring to ask her questions like any ordinary Senator (here). Worse, this was a reporter for a progressive news outlet. Presumably, the Left wants uppity reporters and Black Republicans to know their place.

12.) The New York Times published the transcript of a Frank Luntz focus group of independent voters who voted once for Barack Obama and once for Donald Trump. It is not good news for Democrats (here).

Finally ... here’s another explanation of Why the Left was Lost.

Run, Bill, Run.

Cordially,