Notebook sadly could not make it to Richmond in May for “Lighten Up, It’s Just Politics,” a fundraising lunch that benefitted the Virginia Public Access Project, a nonprofit that provides Virginians with information about government and campaign finance.
There, two Hampton Roads lawmakers, state Sen. Louise Lucas and Virginia Beach’s own state Del. Barry Knight tried their hands at comedy.
A couple of the jokes cut deep, and they are available online at this link if you want to hear the audio for yourself.
At one point, Lucas, a Democrat, dropped a bit of potty mouthery while taking a dig at the GOP’s Knight, who is a retired farmer and represents much of the main coverage area of The Independent News.
The joke follows, though Notebook has used the editing magic of brackets to remove a couple of instances of what people who are not sailors think is sailor talk.
“I do love this event, and I’m so thankful to be up here joined by my close friend, Del. Barry Knight, the chair of House Appropriations,” Lucas said. “I mean, who doesn’t love Barry? This guy doesn’t take anything from anybody, even his own governor. Just over a month ago, Gov. Younkin was blabbing about budget negotiations. He was pressing legislators to reach a deal.
“You know what Barry said? [Pay-cable TV term for vigorous activity in which a couple of folks like each other an awful lot] that, I’m on a fishing trip in the Bahamas. Hey, Barry. I hear that the weed down there is better. Is that true? But seriously, Barry, congratulations on becoming chairman of House Appropriations. Your years shoveling pig [waste matter that is expelled from one’s bowels] makes you well qualified for that job. You’ve gone from manure to minutia. That’s a good change.”
Knight had a few zingers of his own.
“Wow,” he said. “What a crowd. To be honest, I’m a little disappointed. At this event, you usually see more state agency heads. But I get it. Under the new telework policy, they’re all chained to their desks.”
And there was one about Gov. Glenn Younkin’s possible plans.
“You know, Gov. Younkin is getting a lot of unfair criticism for lack of government experience,” Knight said. “He knows more about finance than anyone else in the room, and I’m impressed by the open lines of communication. In fact, he’s agreed to meet with me weekly for the balance of his term, but, like any governor, he doesn’t come to you. You go to him. I’m okay with that. Plus, I’ve never been to Iowa and New Hampshire.”
Some comedians punch up, speaking truth to power. Others joke about print journalism, which, let Notebook tell you, is doing just super-duper great these days.
“Is there anyone here from that newspaper, The Virginian-Pilot?” Knight asked. “Nah, I didn’t think so. You might remember a few years back The Pilot did an investigation on some development rights to my farmland. It’s not my fault that my dirt is selling better than their papers this year.”
After a moment of laughter, he added, “I like that one.”
It was all in good fun.
Probably.
Anyway, learn more about the Virginia Public Access Project online at this link. It is a great resource for Virginians.
And, for those wondering what a Virginian-Pilot is, there used to be this whole Hampton Roads journalism organization that employed enough people to cover stuff like this, even if it meant driving on I-64 midday.
Don’t worry, though, gentle reader. There’s still some local journalism around here.
Probably.
So this will be a very busy political year, and we’ll give Political Notebook another shot in 2022. The focus will be the congressional race and local City Council and School Board elections. As well as governmental odds and ends.
If former President Trump says something weird, we’ll probably put his words in red again because readers cannot get enough rubrication. We are in the process of lab testing colors for President Biden quotes, but beige does not show up well on newsprint.
Notebook generally collects relatively amusing items, stuff that might not make it as longer stories, upcoming political events and verified (or verifiable) endorsements.
Send information such as tips, endorsements and political events to Notebook via jhd@princessanneindy.com.
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