Shortly after Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) called a special session to try to tackle transportation funding issues, the governor gave a blunt assessment of what he hoped to accomplish by advocating a tax increase even though he didn't have the support of the Republican-controlled House of Delegates.

"It will be very productive to either try to find a solution or make it plain to people who are standing in the way," Kaine said in an interview with The Washington Post in May. "We are going to make something happen or let the public see who is obstructing, and frankly, that is one of the reasons why Democrats have won elections in Virginia."

But 10 days into the special session on transportation -- legislators have been on vacation for six of those days -- it remains uncertain whether any solution will be found or whether the governor will score any of those political points.

So what's going to happen next week during the special session on transportation? Probably not much, but who knows? So we are not even going to try to make a prediction. We'll leave that to others. Here is a sampling of predictions -- as a well as a few partisan shots -- from current and former state legislators and lobbyists.

For some members of the House of Delegates, the election has already started.

Since the legislative session started last month, Democrats have been targeting two Fairfax Republicans, Dels. David B. Albo and Thomas Davis Rust, who are up for re-election in 2009.

This week's winners

House Speaker William J. Howell -- Despite lots of pressure from delegates, Howell stands firm in opposing an increase in the daily allowance, or per diem, citing the state's budget shortfall.

Del. Steve Shannon (D-Fairfax)- Campaign finance reports show that Shannon, a possible Democratic candidate for attorney general next year, has over $202,000 in the bank. Shannon is also speaking more often on the House floor, which may help raise his profile in preparation for a statewide campaign.

Del. Lionel Spruill Sr. (D-Chesapeake) -- Spruill earns headlines nationwide over his bill to make it illegal to hang rubber testicles from a vehicle hitch.

Chaos reigned at today's meeting of the Senate Courts of Justice committee, which took the state legislature's first crack at killing the unpopular abusive-driver fees.

The panel struggled to combine 10 bills that essentially did the same thing-- repeal the fees. Senators argued along party lines over two issues: should the thousands of motorists who have already been assessed the fees get their money back, and should the committee attach an "emergency clause" to the bill so it takes effect as soon as the governor signs it?

RICHMOND - Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) tonight delivered the State of the Commonwealth address to the Joint Assembly in Richmond. The text of his speech follows:
"Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, Members of the General Assembly, my fellow Virginians:

It is with great pride in our shared history that we return tonight to our historic Capitol. This Capitol is entering its 220th year of service, as home to the oldest continuous legislature in the New World.

Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R) sent a letter today to Republicans in the General Assembly today outlining his support for a repeal of the abusive driver fees and encouraging them to support a repeal as well.

Bolling, a potential GOP candidate for governor in 2009, said he and many Republicans initially thought the fees would be a legitimate way to raise money for transportation and make Virginia's highways safer. But, he said, the legislation inadvertently applied the unpopular fees to less serious offenses and will generate less money than expected.

" While this was the most noble of efforts, it simply has not worked out the way it was intended, and it has become terribly unpopular in the public eye,'' Bolling wrote. "That is why I favor the total repeal of the abusive driver fees, as opposed to their modification."

Winners

Legislative Black Caucus - Senate leaders announced this week that four out of five African-American senators will chair a committee when the General Assembly convenes in January, a stunning ascendancy in power in a state that has historically be run by white men.

Doug Denneny - A Democratic House candidate in the 11th congressional district, Denneny was endorsed this week by U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa), a rising star within the Democratic party. Denneny and Murphy are both veterans of the war an Iraq, which they oppose.

As first reported (I think) by Republican blogger Shaun Kenney, Sen. Linda T. "Toddy" Puller (D-Fairfax) has introduced legislation to increase the state's gasoline tax by 5 percent.

Puller's proposal to raise the 17.5 cent a gallon gas tax, which hasn't been raised since 1986, comes amid growing calls to eliminate the controversial fees on bad drivers.

Yesterday, incoming Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax) refused to rule out a gas tax increase as a substitute for the abuser fees, which were designed to raise $65 million annually for transportation.

Earlier today, Del. Brian J. Moran (D-Alexandria) announced he will introduce legislation to repeal the abuser fees. Yesterday, the Joint Legislative Audit Review Commission released a report that questions whether the fees were good public policy.

Joseph Blackburn, a conservative who narrowly lost his challenge to Sen. Walter A. Stosch (R-Henrico) in this year's Republican primary, has stepped into the debate over whether House Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford) should replaced.

On Sunday, the House Republican caucus will meet to decide Howell's fate. Several conservative Republicans, including Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William), are trying to unseat Howell because they blame him for straying from his party's core conservative principles, which they say cost the GOP support in recent elections.

Blackburn, whose been mentioned a possible candidate for House in 2009, has sent a letter to Del. John M. O'Bannon III (R-Henrico) calling on him to join the effort to unseat Howell.

You can read Blackburn's letter below.

RICHMOND- Here are the answers to the election questions asked in the Oct. 25 Virginia Notebook after Democrats won the four seats needed to reclaim control of the state Senate and also make inroads in the House of Delegates.

Q Can a Republican still win inside the Beltway?

A Maybe. With Democrat Margaret G. Vanderhye's victory over Republican David M. Hunt for the seat of retiring Del. Vincent F. Callahan Jr. (R-Fairfax), there will be no elected Republican state official next year representing an inside-the-Beltway district. Hunt lost by just 540 votes, however. In Alexandria, Del. David L. Englin (D) beat Republican challenger Mark S. Allen by nearly 2 to 1. Even so, I wouldn't write off a Republican candidate's chance to someday prevail in Arlington, Alexandria or Fairfax.

House Republicans could be in for a contentious meeting Sunday when they decide if Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford) should stay in his job.

Most observers expect Howell, who became speaker in 2002, will win reelection as speaker, even though Republicans have lost a net of 11 House seats since he took over, including four in last week's elections.

But at least one delegate, Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William), said today he plans to force a debate Sunday on whether Howell should be replaced. Marshall blames Howell for costing the GOP House seats because House leaders pushed for last year's transportation package, which included controversial fees on bad drivers and new taxes in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia.

With the 2007 election over, some Democrats are already thinking ahead to 2009. And one Republican delegate who ran unopposed this year, David B. Albo of Fairfax County, is expected to be a top Democratic target.

Democratic sources say Greg Werkheiser, who narrowly lost to Albo in 2005, is thinking about making the race. In an interview today, Werkheiser said he will be "watching to see if there is any change in the way Mr. Albo has been representing the district."

The 42nd District includes Springfield and southern Fairfax County, where Democrat George Barker did well in his victory Tuesday over Sen. James K. "Jay" O'Brien (R-Fairfax).

Several Republican incumbents in the House defeated Democratic challengers or third-party candidates. Del. David B. Albo (R-Fairfax) faced neither but he still only garnered almost 88 percent of the vote.

An extraordinary number - more than 12 percent - of the vote in 42nd District in Fairfax County for write-in candidates. In one precinct it was higher than 37 percent.

Albo said a handful of anti-Republican activists who run the albomustgo Web site stood outside three precincts - Lorton, Lorton Station and Laurel Hill - to convince voters to write in other candidates' names. That doesn't explain the high numbers, one more than 10 percent, in some of the other precincts.

"It's an 8th grade campaign,'' Albo said. "They hate Republicans."

With the Nov..6 election less than two weeks away, here are some questions raised by the races throughout the state. Answers will appear in the next Virginia Notebook, which will be published Nov..15.

Q. Can a Republican still win inside the Beltway? Retiring Del. Vincent F. Callahan Jr. (R-Fairfax) is the last Republican elected official representing a district that is mainly inside the Capital Beltway. Republican Dave Hunt and Democrat Margaret G. Vanderhye are vying to replace Callahan. If Vanderhye wins, it will complete the Democrats' 30-year effort to purge Alexandria, Arlington County and inner Fairfax County of Republican officeholders

There is another poll out that shows the public doesn't think the recently approved transportation package will do enough to solve the state's traffic woes.

On Sunday, the Washington Post published a poll that showed voters by a 2 to 1 margin don't think the transportation funding package supported by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D)_ and GOP leaders, designed to raise $1 billion annually, does enough.

The findings in The Post poll are confirmed in a survey released today by Christopher Newport University. That poll found just 18 percent of voters think the transportation deal, which relies on regional taxing districts in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, goes far enough in solving the problem.

According to Washington Post reporter Nick Miroff, Republicans are still divided over those controversial fees on bad drivers.

Top GOP leaders, including Attorney General Robert F. McDonell (R) and Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, went on a statewide tour Monday in hopes of boosting the fortunes of Republicans running in the Nov. 6 election. At a stop at Manassas Regional Airport, House Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford) took credit for the fees and said they are making roads safer.

But as soon GOP leaders ended their speeches and headed back to the tarmac for their next flight, the local Republican candidates who stayed behind rushed up to reporters to distance themselves from Howell's support of the fees, which can reach $3,000.