At least here in Fairfax County.
I got a letter last week asking me to contribute to the local Republican Party. Up until recently, I was an active member and a local precinct captain for the party inside the beltway. I told them to fuck off.
Sadly, between that gun banning bigot Tom Davis, the Appropriations criminal Frank Wolf, and the political wind vane Sen. Warner (not to mention the embarrassment that was Senator Macaca himself), its been tough enough to find a reason to like our Congressional representation.
Its even worse at the state level, with Republican’s proudly claiming credit for the single most corrupt piece of lawmaking I’ve witnessed in a long time.
The labor pains were coming, so Jessica Hodges got going. The 26-year-old bank teller from Burke sped toward Inova Fairfax Hospital, but before she got there, the law got her — 57 mph in a 35 zone. Reckless driving.
Hodges’s labor pains subsided — they turned out to be a false alarm — but the agony from her ticket is mounting. She was found guilty of the July 3 offense and given a $1,050 civil fee on top of a judge-imposed $100 fine and court costs, making her one of the first to be hit with Virginia’s new “abusive driver fees,” which have been greeted by widespread public outrage.
Yes, you got that right. Republicans - not only are they now the racist, homophobic, and anti woman party, but they are also the party against delivering babies in hospitals. I guess the Democratic image of them as the barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen party really does make some sense.
Of course, simply being out of touch with reality isn’t enough to cause something to be “the single most corrupt piece of lawmaking I’ve seen in a long time.”
No, that takes a special certain level of corruption.
Enter Delegate Dave Albo - Republican of Arlington.
His web page proudly proclaims his dedication to
Its interesting, isn’t it, how he orders those priorities. Seems the kick backs from the road construction and property development firms take priority over all else - including minimizing taxes and making Virginia safe for kids.
The fees, which range from $750 to $3,000, were passed by the General Assembly in the spring as part of a package aimed at funding scores of transportation projects. Backers said the fees would both raise money and improve highway safety by targeting the state’s worst drivers — those guilty of severe traffic offenses such as DUI, reckless driving and driving on a suspended license.
How else to explain his authorship of this atrocious legislation.
Well, there is always something else to explain it. Back to the Washington Post.
Anger and exasperation have been common sentiments recently in Fairfax General District Court, where fee-facing drivers such as Hodges have started to join the daily swarm of traffic offenders. After waiting hours to give their side of the story to judges — several of whom seemed just as annoyed with the fees as defendants — many nevertheless left owing enormous sums that they said would be difficult to pay.
Those lucky enough to live out of state or to have been pulled over before the fees went into effect July 1 — the “magic date,” as one judge called it — escaped the penalties, as did many who hired attorneys who were able to argue for lesser charges or continuances.
Yep, why not kill two birds with one stone.
You see, Delegate Albo, brainchild behind this legislation is not only a corrupt Delegate out to get kick backs from construction firms . . . . . he’s also one of the states leading traffic ticket lawyers.
Mr. Albo is the co-founder of Albo & Oblon, which is one of Virginia’s 75 largest law firms. The firm practices employment law, government contracts law, business litigation, and criminal/traffic law.
No conflict of interest there, heh??
