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If
the Governor believes tax increases are right for
this Commonwealth, he should propose them - not
leave the task of leadership to others.
For
my part, I am opposed to increasing the tax burden
on our citizens, especially during these tough
economic times.
I'm
convinced that we will be far better off in the
years to come if we again reject tax hikes and
instead focus on allocating our resources to the
core responsibilities of state government -
especially education, job opportunities, and the
health, safety, and security of our citizens.
R.
H. Melton of the Washington
Post saw challenging times ahead for the
Speaker:
Howell
said he will be considering ways to privatize some
state functions, restrain government spending and
other long-term projects that he said will leave a
"Republican impact" on
Virginia
for years.
Howell
has also acknowledged that, at times, he will feel
"frustrated" by Republicans' election-year
preoccupation with abortion and other divisive
issues that have never been a priority for him but
are for many of his troops.
However,
Howell's expansive view of Republicanism will
collide one day with a strain of conservatism that
is gaining ground in the state GOP and doesn't leave
room for a lot of dissent.
Some
of that conservative “strain” was apparent in a piece
by Scott Lingamfelter, R-Woodbridge, that appeared
in the Potomac News. He argued for
his constitutional amendment legislation to allow
school choice in Virginia.
Former Richmond
Times-Dispatch columnist turned think tanker Robert
Holland also beat the drum for school choice and
vouchers in a Roanoke
Times column.
Sen.
John Chichester, R-Fredericksburg, chairman of the
Senate Finance Committee, explained
the budget mess in a Richmond
Times-Dispatch op-ed.
Like Governor Warner, he asked for an
“honest discussion” with taxpayers on core
functions of state government.
Unfortunately, he didn’t suggest the when,
where, and how of such a discussion.
Delegate
Linda “Toddy” Puller, D-Fairfax, praised
Governor Warner’s stewardship of VDOT in the Washington
Post. She
urged passage of his transportation reform package.
Mailing
It In
While
Howell,
Chichester, Lingamfelter,
and Puller probably labored over their op-eds, Preston
Bryant, R-Lynchburg, Roanoke
Times columnist and General Assembly delegate,
just dropped off a metaphor posing as a column
before heading to
Richmond
.
He compared the General Assembly to a horse
race, calling Governor Warner a “yearling.”
In
the Shadows
Most
columnists offer an e-mail address or their
newspapers provide a forum that readers may utilize
for comments. Not
Gary
Jacobsen and the
Potomac
News.
Described only by “lives in
Woodbridge
,” Jacobsen
provides his regular commentary without any contact
information. Writing
from the shadows might be tolerable for light fare,
but Jacobsen’s biting opinions, such as describing
one General Assembly delegate as a
“carpetbagger” and another as “most
annoying,” cry out for an opportunity to respond.
Half
Disclosure
Gregory
Werkheiser wrote a spirited defense of tenure for
college professors in the Daily Press. He was responding
to a bill sponsored by Del. David Albo,
R-Springfield, that would deny tenure for faculty
hired after June of this year.
Unfortunately, Werkheiser was only identified
by his college degrees and service on the Washington
Council of the College
of William
and Mary. There was no mention
of his Democratic Party ties, including service as a
speechwriter for President Clinton and Hillary
Clinton.
College
Corner
Margaret
Edds of the Virginian-Pilot
revealed a quiet movement toward making Virginia’s premier colleges more independent.
They would “trade declining reliance on the
public purse for more autonomy in a host of areas,
including adoption of tuition rates.”
Meanwhile, Bob
Gibson of the Daily
Progress traced a decline in the
University
of
Virginia’s influence. He included this
revealing quote from newly-elected Senator Jay
O’Brien, R-Fairfax: "I have always been
jealous of the success that UVa and Tech have had
compared to George Mason, which I represent."
Pundit
Review
Reginald
Shareef completed an exhaustive, two part review
of his Roanoke Times columns for 2002. While
this is a commendable exercise that more pundits
should emulate, Shareef didn’t have many second
thoughts.
The
Real Story
Forget
all the noble talk about the world’s oldest
continuous democratic body in the western world.
Dave
Addis of the Virginian-Pilot
tells us what the legislature is really about:
General
Assembly sessions of the recent past have endorsed
the notion among the citizens of the commonwealth
that state government exists for two primary
purposes: to spend money, and to grant vanity
license plates to every resident of Virginia who has
a hobby.
Errata:
Last week I misspelled the name of Fairfax
County Supervisor Gerald Connolly.
--
January 13, 2002
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