Roanoke Tea Party

Epic Fail is a phrase used by young people these days to describe a Youtube video where somebody falls flat on their face.

No better description could be made of the performance of our State Senator John Edwards. He was one of 3 members of a sub-committee that had an opportunity to vote on SB 867.

This bill is simplicity itself…

“Provides that no legislative action may be taken on (i) committee amendments to the budget, (ii) any conference committee report on the budget, or (iii) any Governor’s recommendations on the budget until each has been posted on the General Assembly’s website for at least 72 hours. The bill provides that each house may vote by two-thirds majority to override the posting requirement. ”

How can you NOT support this?

Well the good news is that the bill passed this sub-committee 2-1. And guess which State Senator didn’t vote for it….

You guessed it…John Edwards.

Below is our open letter to the Senator. The Senator is welcome to call us or come to one of our meetings and explain exactly why he voted against this bill….or why last year he voted for the state budget he hadn’t read.

We will be spending some time at Senator Edward’s office on Tuesday of next week to protest this horrifically bad vote.

We will be there at noon.  I urge you to contact his Richmond office to ask for an explanation.

SunTrust Plaza Building
10 East Franklin Road, Suite 510
Roanoke, VA 24011
Phone: 540-985-8690 Richmond Phone 804-698-7521

Email: District21@senate.virginia.gov

Here’s our letter…

The Honorable John Edwards,

We are truly flabbergasted by your no vote on SB867. Your arguments against this bill seem centered around procedural issues and the potential cost of extending a session for a few days.

Senator Ralph Smith introduced this measure because he has had less than an hour for 2 straight years to review the entire budget bill before having to vote on it. To his credit, he voted against those bills because he couldn’t read them first. You “reluctantly” voted for the budget last year even though you admittedly did not read the budget bill you voted for in the 2010 session.

Your opposition to this bill flies in the face of calls for transparency in government, that have been rallying cries for both parties over the past few years. If you were truly “reluctant” to vote for a bill could not read, you would have voted for SB867.

Yet when given an opportunity to vote for open government, you fell back on a canard about “cost savings.” The expenses you suggest will be incurred by keeping the General Assembly in session will be minuscule by comparison with the boondoggles that would either be removed after scrutiny, or never proposed for fear of a closer examination.

Unless you begin voting in a manner commensurate with your oath to the  US and VA Constitutions, as well as protecting citizens from excessive state spending and taxation, the Roanoke Tea Party will make your ouster in the November elections our number one priority.

Chip Tarbutton
President
Roanoke Tea Party