01/31/13: Are Virginians paying attention?

This op-ed appeared in The Virginian-Pilot on the date shown.

“POLITICS is the art of the possible,” Otto von Bismarck is said to have remarked. Nearly halfway through the General Assembly session, we are able to see what is possible in Virginia.

Expanding voting access, such as no-excuse absentee voting or early voting, is not possible. Allowing an automatic restoration of voting rights for certain felons is not possible. Reducing the number of forms of identification used for voting is possible, but requiring a photo ID is not.

Repealing a law against cohabitation is possible. Repealing one requiring ultrasounds before an abortion is not.

Banning smoking in certain public areas is possible. Banning smoking in cars with a minor present is not.

Awarding Virginia’s Electoral College votes by congressional district is not possible. Re-redistricting Virginia’s Senate in the middle of a decade? The verdict is still out on that, awaiting action in the House of Delegates.

While the legislators have avoided the social bills of the 2012 session — some say due to a grand bargain between the leaders in the House and Senate — that has not kept the state out of the national spotlight. The glare will continue as Virginia is only one of two states to have a gubernatorial election this year.

Along with the governor, Virginians will cast ballots in November for the lieutenant governor, attorney general and all 100 House seats. Republicans control all of these right now, with a 68-32 majority in the House, including the lone independent who caucuses with them.

The 40-member Senate, not on the ballot this year, is tied at 20 seats each for Republicans and Democrats. Republicans control the upper chamber due to the presence of the Republican lieutenant governor. Heading into November, the battle for this position — and its tiebreaking vote — may very well become the marquee race, even overshadowing that of the gubernatorial contest.

Is it possible that Virginia voters will pay attention?

Every four years, gubernatorial campaigns try to lure federal voters — so named because they vote only in federal elections — to vote in our off-year elections. Every four years, the effort fails. Unless it makes the national news, far too many Virginians tune out to what’s going on in Richmond.

I watched this play out over the last week as the national press hammered Virginia on the proposal to change the way the Electoral College votes are awarded. The state and local press had been writing about it almost from the time the bill was introduced in December. But those federal voters didn’t pay attention until it became national fodder.

The re-redistricting move by Senate Republicans made the national news, too. Is the House waiting for the media attention to die down before taking action on the bill? Or is there another grand bargain being cooked up, one that would kill the bill in exchange for, say, Democratic votes on the governor’s transportation bill in the Senate?

Are you satisfied with what’s possible in Virginia?

Because what is possible is the direct result of who we elect to represent us in Richmond. Elections have consequences, and decisions are made by those who show up.

Come November, we have another opportunity to choose those who share our vision. One voter at a time, we will engage in our own political art.