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The
Washington Post’s
Tim Craig penned a column
recently asking what, exactly, Republicans mean
when they talk about “Virginia values.”
It’s
a fair question, and one that Craig, unlike his
paper’s editorial page, explores with some
thoughtfulness.
It
wasn’t easy to get started. House Speaker
William J. Howell “hung up the phone” after a Post
reporter asked him to clarify what he meant by the
phrase “shared values” in a speech he
delivered before the Virginia Foundatio for
Research and Economic Education. The Speaker’s
spokesman, Paul Nardo, called the reporter back to
explain that “shared values” are really
“Virginia values,” which include a dedication
to low taxes and less regulation.
Okay.
Regrettably, the time-honored belief in limited
government doesn’t seem to be either a Virginia
or a shared value any longer.
Mr.
Jefferson and Mr. Mason would not be pleased to
hear that.
But
what struck me about the Craig piece was that the
Speaker hung up on a reporter from a major daily
paper. That’s unbelievably silly. But it also
seems to fit a pattern of conduct that,
increasingly, makes the state’s GOP leaders look
like they're running scared.
They
have good reason to be. The transportation
bill passed in the last session – the very plan
that was supposed to inoculate Republicans from
Democratic charges that they had done nothing to
address the state’s road needs – has instead
become a source of embarrassment and back
peddling. While many focus on the abusive driving
fees, others are more concerned with the new
regional tax authorities the bill established in
Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads.
Concerns
over the latter cost Senate Transportation
committee chairman Marty Williams his seat. More
general concerns over transportation taxes nearly
cost Senate Majority Leader Walter Stosch his
seat. And Republicans facing tough races across
the Commonwealth are wondering whether they, too,
will be looking for a new part-time job come
November 7th.
In
the face of all this angst, there are a few
choices: Either tackle the issues head-on and make
the best possible case for what you’ve done and
what you hope to achieve, or change the subject
and hope all the bad stuff goes away.
Republican
leaders have chosen the second option, though they
gamely, and unsuccessfully, tried to follow the
first. In the last few weeks, Republicans have
trotted out plans to address illegal immigration,
mental health reform and health care. That they
are making an effort to address these issues is to
their credit. The fact that they are thinking
about these issues puts them light years ahead of
state Democrats, who, aside from the Governor’s
middle-class entitlement proposal (otherwise known
as universal pre-k), haven’t placed a
single public policy issue before the voters.
While
that may strike some as smart politics, working on
the theory that Republicans will lose scads of
seats based upon both the unpopularity of their
abuser fees and their president, it smacks of
intellectual weakness.
Of
course, a lack of ideas has never stopped anyone
from winning political office. And in Virginia’s
case, the Republicans do face enormous obstacles
that could very well sweep away their House and
Senate majorities.
But
if that happens, does the GOP have a “Plan B”?
There
have been rumblings for many weeks that if the
Republicans loose three of four seats, Bill Howell
may be replaced as Speaker. Possibly. Republicans
don’t do coups very well, and it would be
difficult to imagine them pulling one off even in
the face of a mild (but steady) electoral rebuke.
If
Howell and an even slimmer GOP House majority
survive, I don’t look for any grand leap of
vision. Instead, we can expect more of what we
have now – ample lip service paid to
conservative principles, but little in the way of
conservative governance.
But
let’s assume the worst: The GOP gets taken to
the cleaners in November and loses control in both
legislative chambers. Aside from the shell shock,
is there a plan to regroup and recover? If
the experience of congressional Republicans is any
guide, the answer is “no.”
In
the aftermath of their defeat last fall, GOP
members of Congress turned aside leadership
challenges from self-styled conservative reformers
and re-elected the guys who led them into the
minority. Seeing that this has only deepened the
funk of Republicans nationwide, Minority Leader
John Boehner has launched a re-branding campaign
in hopes of drawing the faithful back to the
party. He faces very long odds, particularly as
congressional Republicans still seem unable to
shake the scandal bug.
For
Virginia Republicans, the road to recovery could
be just as difficult. Having lost the top three
statewide races in the last six years, and
seemingly poised to lose a fourth, morale is low.
Having approved tax increases in 2004 and 2007,
they have made mortal enemies out of the anti-tax
right. By embracing a host of social issues
ranging from banning gay marriage to the
ever-present drumbeat on abortion, they have
alienated libertarians and many moderates.
With
enemies like this, they will need any friends
they can get. And the first step to getting them
is to have a Plan B ready to roll that does more
than re-brand the party.
Which
brings us back to “Virginia values.”
Toward
the end of his piece, Craig writes:
Republicans
might want to find a way besides "Virginia
values" to convey their message. Kaine's
political slogan is "Moving Virginia
Forward."
Does
the Republican Party really want Northern Virginia
voters to decide between a message about the
future and one that causes some to think of the
state's past?
I’ll
forgive Craig for underestimating the almost
religious reverence some Virginians have for the
past. I’ll also forgive him for thinking that “Moving Virginia Forward” is little more than
a bloodless cipher. But the larger point – that
the GOP must redefine itself – is well taken.
I
wouldn’t necessarily abandon the concept of
“Virginia values.” For many, that phrase
evokes grander ideals – small “r” republican
values like civic duty and personal integrity.
They also encompass a set of beliefs, many of
which now seem quaint, but include the belief in
liberty, limited government and the primacy of
civil society. These are the very “Virginia
values” that helped form the nation.
They
are the same values that can help guide the GOP,
if not to immediate political success, to at least
a more honest, more dignified, more successful,
political future. That’s Plan B.
The
only question is whether they have the courage and
the vision to embrace it.
--
Sept. 17, 2007
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