Virginia Tomorrow

1. Soering Stays

U.S. Attorney General Holder announced this week that convicted murderer Jens Soering will not be released to Germany and will remain imprisoned in Virginia. Holder’s announcement put an end to the bizarre situation that arose when outgoing Governor Kaine proposed that Soering be transferred to German custody, only to generate a firestorm of criticism in the Commonwealth. To this day, the reasons for Kaine’s request have not been adequately detailed. Politically speaking, it’s been almost impossible to discern what possible upside prompted reopening the wounds experienced by the friends and families of the victims.

2. Cantor Asks Steele to Pass on Foreign Policy

House Republican Whip Eric Cantor asked RNC Chair Michael Steele this week to concentrate on his job-electing Republicans in November- and pass on making foreign policy pronouncements. Steele’s comments suggesting the war in Afghanistan was not worth fighting angered many conservatives. The irony is that most liberals inside the Democratic Party probably agree far more with Steele than they do with the President.

3. Virginia Missing the Mark?

That was the gist of a story this week in The Virginian Pilot about the nation’s education reform movement. I have mixed feelings about how much credibility should be attached to these kind of stories. Virginia’s schools certainly have challenges (with too many kids in certain systems falling through the cracks and not having the chance to reach their full potential.) But compared to other states, the overall performance of Virginia’s schools is quite high. We should be focus intensively on our school’s shortcomings, but it doesn’t mean we should be badmouthing what has been accomplished.

4. Donald McEachin and Chap Petersen

Took some steps and made statements this week that fueled speculation about their statewide ambitions. McEachin is forming a PAC to support “progressive causes” inside the Democratic Party. Petersen took on Dick Saslaw and expressed concern that the party establishment was meeting at the Homestead and sending the “wrong message’ to Virginians who are struggling economically. McEachin and Petersen have both sought statewide office in the past  and may be looking to fill the leadership void now facing the Democrats.

5. Stalin in Bedford

If someone had told you a year ago that Joseph Stalin would be at the heart of one of the most controversial issues in Virgnia in 2010, you might have questioned their connection to reality. But the decision to display a bust of the murderous Soviet dictator at the national D-Day Memorial has generated a controversy that continues to escalate. If the bust isn’t toppled or removed soon,  I think that the national media will be spending some time in Bedford soon. I can’t imagine how the supporters of keeping Stalin’s bust up will withstand the political pressure that is forming against it.

6. The Persistence of History

Was also demonstrated this week when a group of 269 Holocaust survivors criticized Virginia Railway Express for awarding a $269 million dollar contract to Keolis, a company partially owned by a French railway that transported people to Nazi concentration camps during World War Two. The group of survivors want the company to apologize and pay reparations for its actions. For its part,  VRE  suggests that it is a stretch to say that Keolis has a “tie-in to what a French railway may have done in World War Two.”

7. Immigration?

Is this issue about to heat up in Virginia? Prince William’s Corey Stewart has suggested that the Commonwealth follow Arizona’s path in dealing with illegal immigrants. Recent legislative sessions have seen a raft of immigration bills. Expect the trajectory on this matter to get even steeper in the next session.