WTOP political commentator Mark Plotkin was online Tuesday, May 15 at 10:15 a.m. ET to discuss local politics and whatever else is on your mind.

The transcript follows.

Archive: Mark Plotkin discussion transcripts

Plotkin joined WTOP after 10 years as a political analyst for WAMU radio. He has been active in D.C. and national politics since attending George Washington University in the late '60s.

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Fairfax "Overflowing": Can you elaborate on the Sunday Post article on overcrowding in Fairfax homes? Lack of ordinance oversight, overbuilding homes, crowding residences -- does anyone but the immediate neighbors care? What are our viable options when things go bad? I really don't want to seem racist or anti-immigrant, but this is getting crazy.

washingtonpost.com: Overflowing Fairfax Homes Split Neighbors (Post, May 13)

Mark Plotkin: I must confess that I did not read the Washington Post article but that will not stop me from commenting on this subject. Somebody you should ask about this is Gerry Connolly who is the chairman of the Fairfax County board of supervisors and he appears on the "Ask The County Executive" program, monthly on WTOP on 103.5FM. I would venture this thought: Fairfax County in my opinion has more lenient and less rigorous enforcement of standards for renters and is more pro-landlord than Washington. Historically, Washington has been very tenant-friendly, and tenants comprise 60 percent of the District's population and vote in such significant numbers that their political strength is apparent to D.C. politicians. The real estate community in Fairfax plays a major role in political contests, and for that reason their influence is greater than the county. I think you really should ask Connolly these questions because obviously he would have more information than I do and has higher political ambitions (i.e. running for Congress) and I'm sure he would be glad to respond to your concerns.

On an entirely different subject, today there are hearings in Joe Lieberman's committee on the D.C. voting rights bill, and I heard last week that the judiciary committee which Orrin Hatch sits on also wants to hold hearing. There is some thought that the judiciary committee hearings are not necessary, but I presume Hatch wanted to take some major role given that he is now a co-introducer of the bill and it very may well be an advantage because he can vouch for the bills constitutionality. He does not serve on Lieberman's committee. I would welcome any comments on this subject -- everybody knows it's dear to my heart and it sure looks like there may very well be a vote in the Senate.

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washingtonpost.com: Is a gas tax the right option for funding Maryland transportation? Is it appropriate to tax drivers to pay for mass transit? Should Virginia consider this option?

Mark Plotkin: If you ask Ike Leggett the county executive for Montgomery County, he surely feels this is the right way to go. During his campaign, he advocated an increase in the state gasoline tax, which he said has not been increased I believe since 1993, and Steve Silverman, his opponent, actually used this statement against him to no avail. Leggett on my Show, "The Politics Program with Mark Plotkin" this past Friday on Washington Post Radio, 107.7FM and 1500AM reiterated this view with the caveat that the money be used explicitly for transportation projects in Montgomery County. I would think that the same proviso would apply in Fairfax County. The bill which was passed by the State Legislature really incorporated the idea of earmark funding but does not as you know increase the state gas tax. Gov. Kaine I think would have like to have done this but it was politically unpalatable and so he constructed a proposal where the counties themselves decide what taxes to raise and how they raise the revenue.

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washingtonpost.com: What do you think of the New York vs. Virginia gun issues in the news lately? New York authorities have been busting Virginia gun dealers for allowing "straw purchases," in which one person buys a gun for someone else. A rural Virginia gun group has countered with a gun raffle, which will be held in a Fairfax government building and which Gov. Kaine has criticized.

Mark Plotkin: I'm all for what the New York authorities are doing. Mayor Michael Bloomberg was right to take on forcefully attorney general Bob McDonald on this practice. New York has figured out that over 90 percent of the violent crimes committed with a hand gun, that hand gun was bought out of state and Virginia is a major supplier. Virginia is one of two or three states with the most lax gun control laws, and obviously people who want to buy a gun for violent purposes know where to buy it. Now I know there are hunters who want to purchase guns for nonviolent purposes, but I think the world would be a lot better off and there would be far fewer violent crimes and tragic accidents if there was a strong federal law which was so comprehensive that states couldn't create loopholes to get around the federal law. The gun show loophole -- where somebody can just go to a gun show in Virginia without any identification or clearance and purchase a gun -- makes a mockery of all the federal and state laws.

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Confusion on D.C. bill: I thought the Parliamentarian of the Senate took the bill out of the Lieb's committee and gave it to Max Baucus, whose position on D.C. voting is far less clear. When did it get switched back?

Mark Plotkin: That's a very good question and this requires somewhat of an intricate answer. The house bill had a pay-as-you-go provision that requires that the money to pay for the staffs and salaries of two additional representatives (one from Utah, one from the District) be provided for. This was done so that the rule to get the bill voted upon would conform to pay-as-you-go principles the Democratic party can obligate itself to, to show that they were going to be fiscally responsible. I know this sounds very arcane, but please follow me.

The Senate version of the bill did not require the pay-as-you-go principle to start the process. The bill is now in committee and the bill is substantially changed in some other ways. I asked Tom Davis, the author of the bill, about the exact point you raised, and his comment to me was "that's not a law, that's an internal Democratic party practice." The long and short of it is the following: the Senate bill -- if it should be passed by the Senate -- will be different from the House bill and thus will go to conference, where a compromise will be hatched out (sorry, couldn't pass up the pun). So what in effect happens is the pay-as-you-go provision fades away.

You are right about Baucus, I'm worried about him, as I am three other Democratic Senators voting against the bill. They are Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Mark Pryor of Arkansas, and finally Robert Byrd of West Virginia. That's why it's so important to get more Republican Senators on this bill -- to provide momentum, and more practically, to make up for the few Democrats that might not vote for the bill. Right now, there are just two, Hatch and his follow Utah Senator, Robert Bennett. Today, it will be interesting to see where three Republicans Senators stand on the bill: Susan Collins of Maine, who is the ranking Republican on the committee and is close to Lieberman, also Norm Coleman of Minnesota, George Voinovich of Ohio, and a real coup would be neighboring senator John Warner of Virginia. Warner is the least likely but Tom Davis is working on him and I had a conversation with him where he sounded like he was going to vote no on "constitutional reasons" but was surprised and seemed to be impressed that Ken Starr had testified for the bill and vouched for its constitutionality. In addition, the bill needs some more Republican Senators who will vote to break a filibuster, and that very well may be likely if the minority leader Mitch McConnell decides to take that course.

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Washington: Did you attend Howard University's graduation? Did you get to meet Oprah?

washingtonpost.com: Oprah Winfrey's Degrees of Communication at Howard (Post, May 13)

Mark Plotkin: No, and I wouldn't have gone if I was invited. I know it's heresy, but I find Oprah appeals to the lowest common denominator. I can't watch her and feel that the intellectual level of the country is in any way being raised. I know she does the book club and that is supposed to inspire more reading and appreciation of literature, but can't people determine their own reading interests without her direction? Some of the stuff that they do on that show is just so celebrity-driven and banal that its only purpose is to drive ratings. I was at Howard last week for a much more worthy goal, and that was the dedication of the papers of form Mayor Walter Washington to Howard University Library. That was a great event and I was glad to be invited to that one. Because you mentioned commencement speakers, I was told while I've been out of town that UDC commencement speaker Alphonso Jackson was not even mentioned in The Post on Sunday. All that was said was that there was a graduation ceremony. If anyone was there and heard Mr. Jackson, I'd like to hear about it.

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Baltimore: Re: Baltimore County executive Jim Smith (discussion topic last week): Mark, I want to add that Smith might be saving up his war chest for a House rather than a Senate run. If Barbara Mikulski retires, Smith's predecessor as County Executive, Dutch Ruppersberger, might well run for her seat; then Smith would run for Dutch's House seat. Kind of parallels to what happened last fall with Cardin taking Sarbanes' Senate seat. Also -- re: Bloomberg vs. Virginia. If Bloomberg really is considering an independent presidential run (rumors are that he would commit $1 billion of his fortune to it) this is not a bad issue to run on. He would not get the NRA member votes anyway, and the vast majority of Americans want reasonable controls on gun purchases.

Mark Plotkin: Good point, I should have factored that in and maybe you should take my job. I hadn't thought of that and I think there is valid speculation to that. Enjoyed the chat today, sorry this was a shortened version. See you next week at the regular time, 2 p.m.

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