By LARRY O'DELL
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published Monday, February 19, 2007
RICHMOND, Va. - Virginia lawmakers meeting on the grounds of the former Confederate Capitol killed legislation creating a commission to oversee the state's participation in the national commemoration of the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth.
"He sent armies into Virginia to lay waste to our land," Lamb said. He said Marsh's bill should be amended to replace the Lincoln commemoration with a June 3, 2008, celebration of the 200th birthday of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
The House Rules Committee rejected Sen. Henry L. Marsh III's bill on a voice vote Wednesday. The Senate had passed the bill unanimously.
Marsh, D-Richmond, said several states have established panels to work with the federal Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, which is coordinating three years of events surrounding the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth on Feb. 12, 2009.
"Lincoln is regarded by many as the most outstanding president of all time," said Marsh, who noted that the 16th president's parents were born in Virginia.
Robert Lamb of Richmond, a lawyer and a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, told the committee that supporters of a Virginia celebration of Lincoln's birth suffer from "historical myopia and amnesia."
"He sent armies into Virginia to lay waste to our land," Lamb said. He said Marsh's bill should be amended to replace the Lincoln commemoration with a June 3, 2008, celebration of the 200th birthday of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
House Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith of Salem said he opposed Marsh's bill, but not for the reasons cited by Lamb.
"My concern is that we do not need a commission in light of the fact that he was not a Virginian," Griffith said.
The committee rejected the bill with little further discussion.
David Early, spokesman for the federal Lincoln commission, said 10 states have established their own commissions either by statute or executive order. He said state commissions "make it easier to coordinate and plan" but are not necessary for participation in the observance.
In the absence of a commission, Virginia's participation will be guided by John McGlennon, a College of William and Mary government professor serving as the state's liaison to the federal panel.
McGlennon said in a telephone interview that his mission is to "bring people's attention to the importance of 2009 and remind them of the significance of Abraham Lincoln on Virginia, recognizing that some of that experience may be viewed by some people as controversial."
He said "it would be desirable to have Virginia play a prominent role in commemorating the birth of a president who really kept the country together."
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Well, Yee-haw.
