Weenie of the Week #19 for 2006

Guest Column by Dannyboy

Weenie of the Week:
Thelma Drake

Thanks to Not Gretchen for this one.  I won'tgo into details and bore you,
so just read what she has to say on this:

Look, I'm a proud Democrat, and I don't support the President on most
things.  I'd have to say I only agree with him 20% of the time.  Still, he's
the freaking President.  He's the most powerful man on Earth, and he's got
an incredibly busy schedule.  If he took time out of his day to do something
for me, I'd definitely be there.  I'd shake his hand, thank him for coming,
and get my pictue taken with him.  And I don't even particularly like the
guy!  But he's the President, and the office, in my opinion, demands a
certain level of respect.  Not immunity from the media or blogophere or
anything like that.  But if the guy does you a favor, the least you can do
is show up for him, I think.

I've heard that Thelma said there was an important vote she didn't want to
miss.  Okay, fine.  But what about getting with Georgie on AF1 for a quick
trip down, and then heading back to Washington with him for the vote
afterwards?  Did anybody think of that?  That's what makes me think Thelma
made this politial.  There were other options.  Look Congresswoman Drake,
you had a fundraiser with Cheney about two weeks after he shot a man in the face.  I'd say your pretty attached to this Presidency, and in Virginia's
Second that's not a completely horrible thing, even now.  At least it'll gt
out the hardcore Republians in this area, which outnumber the Dems.  Maybe
you should just embrace the Bush Administration and hope to fire up your
base?  I don't know.

So (I can't believe I'm saying this) I think the President of the United
States deserved a little more respect than he got.  And it's amazing that
somebody like Thelma, a strong supporter of the President, wouldn't even
show up for a fundraiser he was holding for her.  Thelma gets this week's
Weenie.

Feel free to flame below.

P.S.:  Honorable Mention to Alice Marshall for this beauty:

I think it was taken down.  Oh well.

Comments

[Not Larry Sabato]

I think she came out of it looking good- skipping an unpopular President who raised her money anyway, and getting to vote for the bill that funds billions of dollars in spending into her district?

Good call, Thelma.

[Not Ed Shrock]

I'm surprised to see that this won weenie of the week. Even if you characterize it as a no-win decision, think about it this way: would you rather offend a president with abysmal approval ratings, or offend the voters of your military-heavy district by skipping out on a heavily symbolic vote? As NLS pointed out, this isn't a tough call.

[Mike Sizemore]

Dan Geroe bad call on this one. This was probably a wise move on Thelma Drake's part, as the President was able to raise money for her and she was able to cast an important vote in Washington and not have her picture taken with Bush that could be used as ammo. I would have went with Pat Robertson for his "chat with God", or whoever let him speak at the teenage republican convention.

This is clearly a case of Weenie bias. Schapiro attacked the whole blogosphere, and Robertson went nuts. Geroe then picks his Congresswoman who he has a personal vendetta against?

[Vivian J. Paige]

Have to agree with the others on this. Thelma made the right call.

[ZB]

Right call or not, Rep. Thelma Drake is still a weenie.

Total lack of brain power in this post. Thelma would have been hammered by everyone had she missed that vote in order to raise money.

Some people don't get it and this post proves it. One of the top ten rules in politics is: NEVER miss an important vote that brings a ton of money back to your voters because of a fundraiser.

[Dannyboy]

I do agree that it was politically a smart move. Still, I think the Pres deserves mre respect than that. That's all.

In regards to respect, it is earned and not an automatic of office.

[Dannyboy]

To an extent, I agree, anon. But I still believe that there's still a level of respect inherent in the office. That's just me.

If Thelma didn't want to be connected with Bush, don't hold the fundraiser. That's just how I feel. Thelma probably made the right move politically. That doesn't mean I think it was right.

[Not Jack Herrity]

NGB, you and Dannyboy really missed the boat on this one. I can't believe you would have a sitting congressman miss a vote to attend a fundraiser. That is among the dumbest political advice I've heard. Or maybe it's because you guys are in bed with Phil Kellam. :)

NJH

[Madeline Abbitt]

TO: The Honorable William J. Howell

FROM: Bruce F. Jamerson

DATE: September 21, 2007

RE: House Operating Budget; Member Salary and Expenses/Return of Funds

In response to your recent inquiry regarding salary and expenses for members of the House of Delegates, I trust that the following information, which is authorized in the Appropriations Act, will answer your questions:

Salary $17,640/annually Has remained the same since self-imposed 2% salary cut in May 1991.

Office Expense $1,250/monthly Has remained same since January 2000.

Interim Meeting Per Diem $200/day For legislative meetings attended when not in session; paid according to roll call. Rate has been remained the same since January 2000.

Session Expense $135/day Appropriations Act authorizes $75 per day or maximum allowed by IRS. In October 2006, the IRS maximum was set at $156 per day, but the House Rules Committee only approved a rate of $135 per day.

Mileage $.485/mile Travel from home to Capitol for session (paid once per week during the legislative session) and interim legislative meetings. This rate is set by the IRS.

Additionally, due to responsible management of the budget of the House of Delegates, the 2007 budget, approved by the General Assembly, included the return of $2 million from the House’s unexpended balances to the General Fund, subject to the approval of the Rules Committee. The Committee authorized this transfer in June, and prior to the end of Fiscal Year 2007 a transfer of $2 million was executed from the House of Delegates to the General Fund of the Commonwealth.