Virginia Tomorrow

1. Give Me Another Serving of Those Peas

That’s what almost every Republican seems to be asking for today.

Until recently,  a deficit-reducing, program cutting, eat your peas brand of politics never gained much political traction save for a few pundits who didn’t have to explain to constituents why their services were being cut.

The GOP believes that we’ve entered a new era and that the public has more of an appetite for imposing real limits on government spending than at any time in the recent past.

Spurrred by the Tea Party, Eric Cantor and his colleagues in the House GOP are proposing significant budget reductions that would reduce the scope of government.

A recent PEW poll suggests that the interest in truly reducing the size of government may not be embraced by a genuine majority of the population.

But Republicans think that what they’re hearing from their constituents is a more reliable indicator than a survey.

“If the peas are all gone, can you pass the brussels sprouts?”

2. Let’s Give Them Something to Talk About

It looked like the Democrats’ JJ dinner coming up next weekend was going to be an absolute snoozer.

But Jim Webb’s decision not to run in 2012 has certainly given the party faithful something to talk about.

No one’s likely to enter the race until Tim Kaine decides whether he wants the nomination. But if Kaine hasn’t spoken by Saturday, everyone will be watching to see the reception given to other potential nominees.

3. Under Pressure

That’s the situation Tim Kaine is in right now.

Mark Warner had said that he’s encouraging Kaine to run. Brian Moran thinks that he’d be a great candidate.

And who knows when the former Governor’s close personal friend, President Barack Obama, will make the ask.

It was barely two weeks ago when Kaine told an interviewer that he did not see himself serving Virginia in elected office anymore.

Will Kaine tell his party and, perhaps more importantly, his President, “No Thanks?”

4. Drafting Tom

The Democratic netroots has a preferred candidate and it doesn’t appear to be the fomer Governor.  They’ve been initiating a draft movement for Tom Perriello, former fifth district Congressman.

Perriello is a favorite among Democratic activists, an energetic campaigner, and a progressive populist who managed to obtain the endorsement of the NRA in 2010.

I don’t imagine that Perriello would actually directly challenge Tim Kaine for the nomination.

And while there are a number of Democrats who believe that Perriello is too liberal to be competitive in the general, I’ve come to think that he may be more formidable than initially presumed.

Hard work is a virtue that should never be underestimated, especially in politics.

5. A TMAC Teaser?

Was that a deliberate teaser put out by Terry McAuliffe’s staff in the wake of Webb’s announcement?

Something to the effect that while he was focused on 2011 and 2013, he would consider all possibilities.

Like Perriello, McAuliffe would not challenge Kaine directly.

But one can understand why the prospect of a high stakes, media saturated federal race could potentially sound very attractive to McAuliffe.

6. The GA Does Curriculum Development

And voted to require middle and elementary schools to devote 150 minutes a week to physical education.

A number of legislators endorsed the proposal as a necessary step in addressing the epidemic of childhood obesity.

But local education officials see it as an expensive unfunded mandate, requiring facility upgrades, staff hiring, and even more hours in the school day.

The bill will now get in the front of the Governor who will have to decide:

Is it a justifiable legislative response to a burgeoning social problem?

Or is the kind of well intentioned mandate that the state is resisting when the federal government imposes one on the Commonwealth?