Government
VA Dems bring out the video when GOP won't record votes
After legislative squabble, Democrats bring in video cameras to capture House proceedings and post the results on blogs.
Partisan video-taping didn't end with the election. In Virginia, the state Democratic Party is dispatching cameramen to film House of Delegates committee and subcommittee meetings. And they're being posted on liberal blogs.
The cameras came out after Republicans refused to record votes on bills in subcommittee meetings, said Del. Brian Moran, the House Democratic caucus leader. Up to one-third of the bills introduced in the House are killed by unrecorded subcommittee votes, Moran said.
"This provides an opportunity for the public to see how these meetings are conducted and how individual legislators vote," he said.
The leadership isn't real fond of the meetings being broadcast on the Internet.
"I was here until 10 last night," Griffith said. "People get tired, they get punch- drunk, and say things that they might not have said when they weren't tired. This doesn't contribute to the process of getting our work done."