On the Western Banks of the Shenandoah

I wrote yesterday about how the outgoing Governor and the General Assembly were less than friendly to business when they eliminated resturants right to choose whether they would be smoking or not. Now, via Norm at TQ, we discover they have a new target: yoga instructors.

I can certainly understand the state regulating certain instructors of certain skills–doctors, lawyers, barbers, and a few other where health, safety and comptence are paramount. But they way the law is written would seem to indicate that guitar and piano instructors should be regulated too. After all, isn’t teaching someone how to make music teaching them a way to make money as well?

From Ryan Nobles at Richmond’s NBC12 comes this gem about how Governor Kaine will be spending some of his final hours in office:

Virginia Governor Tim Kaine will make a tour of a series of Restaurants on the day one of his signature legislative accomplishments goes into effect. On December 1st, Kaine will make appearances at a number of different restaurants across Virginia in honor of the first day that  Commonwealth’s ban on smoking in bars and eateries will be enforced. One of his stops will be here in Richmond. The Governor will appear at the Home Team Grill on Main Street in the Fan at 4pm.

I won’t go into length about my philosophical opposition to the smoking ban–I already did that here. But how swell is it that His Excellency is touting an increase in nanny state protections while leaving the state with a budget mess that barely covers essential services and even looks like it will leave his other landmark achievment, universal pre-K on the chopping block?

For those who smirk at my railing against statism, here’s a heartwarming Thanksgiving tale from that great bastion of nanny state thinking, Michael Bloomberg’s New York City (h/t Instapundit):

When a small church comes to the Bowery Mission bearing fried chicken with trans fat, unwittingly breaking the law, they’re told “thank you.” Then workers quietly chuck the food, mission director Tom Bastile said.

“It’s always hard for us to do,” Basile said. “We know we have to do it.” . . .

Lines at soup kitchens are up by 21 percent this year, according to a NYC Coalition Against Hunger report released yesterday. The city’s law banishing trans fat took effect in July 2008 and touched everyone with Health Department food licenses — including emergency food providers.

So come January 17th, how about just skedaddling on up to D.C. with your pal the President and work on consolidating statist thinking from the confines of the DNC? Kthanksbai.

In a surprise move, the RPV Executive Committee (not to be confused with the State Central Committee) has repudiated the efforts of Speaker Howell to compromise with Governor Kaine on a ban on smoking in public places. From Bearing Drift:

As members of the Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Virginia, we wish to remind you of the following core tenet of our Party’s creed: We Believe: That the free enterprise system is the most productive supplier of human needs and economic justice. We write to remind you of this key element of our Republican Creed because we understand that HB 1703 is moving on a fast track to a vote on Tuesday, and as our duly elected Representatives we urge you to vote NO. The passage of such legislation is completely antithetical to our Party’s core free market principles. This not about smoking. This is about unnecessary government intrusion into the private sector. This unconscionable encroachment will cost those affected their ability to operate a free enterprise and further alienate our Republican base.

Unfortunately the bill managed to pass this afternoon, though not without some changes. The biggies: Establishments that don’t allow minors can still allow smoking and the ban won’t begin until 2009. These are decent changes towards a compromise here, but a compromise that bans smoking in any form and prevents business owners from dictating their clientele on the basis of their consensual behaviors is still a violation of free enterprise. 

Clearly, there is a schism in the party on this issue, a fact that has not gone unnoticed by outside observers. From the AP: 

Or the legislation could create an intra-party rift, warns a group of GOP party leaders and district chairmen who wrote a letter to Republicans in the General Assembly pleading for a “no” vote.

Among the letters’ authors is Del. Jeffrey M. Frederick, R-Prince William, chairman of the state party.

“Supporting [House Bill] 1703 will discourage and demoralize the Republican base and confuse those that view us as the party of free market principles,” the letter states.

The letter notes that Attorney General Bob McDonnell, the all-but-official Republican nominee for governor, “understands our principles and position in regard to the smoking ban, and we believe you should take heed of his position.”

Del. William R. Janis, R-Henrico, spoke against the smoking measure on the floor, at one point saying that “it would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies.”

Janis said that since September — no matter what his constituents contacted him about — they were most concerned about the economy and joblessness.You can find my complete thoughts here. The bill will almost certainly be hashed out in conference–let’s hope that a deal can’t be made. 

Reason Magazine points out that the Obama administration is using the Stimulus as a backdoor to begin implementation of universal healthcare. The first step: 

One new bureaucracy, the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology, will monitor treatments to make sure your doctor is doing what the federal government deems appropriate and cost effective. The goal is to reduce costs and “guide” your doctor’s decisions (442, 446). These provisions in the stimulus bill are virtually identical to what Daschle prescribed in his 2008 book, Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis. According to Daschle, doctors have to give up autonomy and “learn to operate less like solo practitioners.”

Because government always knows best. Health care is the most personal of all industries, and treatment options should always be up to a patient and their provide, not some faceless bureaucrat in an office miles of way deciding what is best for “the people” as a collective and not as individuals. 

Reason also points out why this is so troubling in light of the stimulus “debate”:

It is backdoor but massively intrusive provisions like this one that make the Obama administration’s “there’s no time to debate” push to silence critics and prevent a thorough analysis of this bill all the more troubling.

From The Club for Growth, a handy visualization of just how far and wide government’s tentacles with reach with the passage of the Stimulus bill. Click to see just where all the money in this monstrosity is headed:

Looks like Governor Kain is having a win:

 

The Democratic National Committee has elected Tim Kaine as the party’s new chairman.

The vote was a formality and the outcome was expected.

President Barack Obama chose the Virginia governor for the post earlier this month. Kaine is a longtime ally who endorsed Obama for president in early 2007.

 

And lose kinda day:

 

Gov. Tim Kaine’s efforts to ban smoking in all Virginia restaurants and bars has hit a snag.

A Senate committee voted 6-6 on a bill that would have allowed localities to decide if they want to ban smoking or not. The even vote means the bill is stalled, but can resurface later in the session.

 

Many people were surprised when Governor Kaine declined to be considered for any cabinet slot. His Excellency (I’m not mocking him, that’s actually how the Governorship is styled in the state Commonwealth) said that he was elected to four years and would be serving it out. Most people took this to mean that he would be focusing on saving his legacy. 

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