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There
are plenty of questions left to play with in the
last month before Virginia elections for statewide
offices and delegates. Why in staging a
gubernatorial debate, for example, would a
Virginia university impose different criteria to
qualify participants than those of the Virginia
Board of Elections?
Wasn't
the dramatic American team victory in the
President's Cup in Prince William County the
greatest golf competition in Virginia history?
Who
is going to take care of this drought if Gov. Mark
R. Warner cannot succeed himself?
Is
one gubernatorial candidate better positioned to
end the running feud among Republicans controlling
the Virginia Senate and those controlling the
House of Delegates?
Last
question first. The polls and many pundits suggest
that Virginia Republicans could lose a couple of
delegate seats November 8 or gain a couple. Six to
ten races are that close a month out. Either way,
Republicans are certain to retain majorities in
the House of Delegates and the Virginia Senate,
which won't face elections for two more years. The
question remains whether Republicans will use
those majorities in combination to govern well
and, perhaps, govern long.
With
governing long as the measurement of success, the
characteristics of the House in 2006 may be more
important than whether the partisan head count
ends
up being 58 or 62 out of 100. And increasingly, it
looks as though pragmatic conservatism is the
prime characteristic being suggested now by
leaders of the House, including Speaker William J.
Howell, R-Fredericksburg. The challenge is whether
the Republican House Caucus will follow this line
of reasoning or revert to some type of ideological
fetish (apologies to George Will).
Speaker
Howell, for example, told members of Virginia FREE
on the first day in September that common sense is
a pretty good guide for future governance.
"Rallying around common-sense principles and
by working together, we can create new
opportunities to innovate in state government,
impact the everyday lives of Virginia's families
and improve the bottom lines of our friends in
business."
Speaker
Howell's appearance and remarks were part of a
business/Republican bury-the-hatchet initiative
after a rift opened up over low rankings by the
leading Virginia business group for many
Republicans who opposed the budget and tax
compromises of 2003 and 2004. So Howell noted that
governing, not simply presiding, requires leaders
willing to embrace fresh thinking and new
approaches.
That,
Howell said, is his goal as Speaker and the reason
he established the Virginia Reform Initiative in
2004 to improve the delivery of state government
services. Vincent F. Callahan, Jr., R-McLean,
Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee
seconded the plans and priorities of the Speaker
October 2 in The Washington Post with an
op-ed piece entitled, "Balance Must Be the
Byword for Virginia's Budget. Callahan, who is
also the co-leader of the growing Northern
Virginia delegation in the General Assembly, said
his challenge is to avoid the
"roller-coaster" budgeting of Virginia
in the last 15 years. His words echoed those of
Gov. Warner in August while briefing the Assembly
money committees.
"Even
in prosperous times," Chairman Callahan
wrote, "it [the General Assembly] should make
the difficult, sometimes unpopular, choices to
exercise the restraint necessary to match its
budget to its revenue stream." He estimated
that growth in public education, public safety,
Medicaid, higher education, debt service and
economic development projects already approved
will require $2 billion more in revenues over the
next two years. Any additional revenue, Callahan
concluded, should be committed first to
transportation, capital facilities and stopping
the water pollution that is killing the Chesapeake
Bay.
Speaker
Howell cited the same key issues for business in
2006 --transportation, health care, education,
public education, economic development and what he
called "environmental stewardship."
Progress, he maintained, would require thinking
that is prudent and careful, both traditional
conservative characteristics, but also new.
"We can move Virginia forward, not by a
business-as-usual approach, but through a bold
spirit, a lot of hard work and a little
imagination. To succeed in today's dynamic and
rapidly changing world, we all must be open to
change and new ideas."
If
Bill Howell and Vince Callahan enroll the majority
of their colleagues in this type of
forward-looking, pragmatic conservatism, they will
begin the process of claiming the best parts of
the so-called Mark Warner legacy for their party
-- and the responsible, competent governance that
goes with it.
Howell's
decision to back all his incumbent Republican
Delegates against challengers is another example
of how such leadership can produce its own
rewards. House Republicans also could find a
coalition of the willing among Virginia Senators,
even on as divisive an issue as transportation
funding, that allows the Commonwealth to move
forward regardless of who is elected Governor.
After all, transportation funding, more than any
other issue, will require delicate, pragmatic
compromises by all involved. And the political
stars align a lot better for bipartisan action in
2006 than in 2007, an election year for all
delegates and all state senators, even for a
transportation half-measure with hope to grow into
a comprehensive effort sometime in the future.
As
for the other questions up top, the fall rains
will start this week in Virginia. Still there are
other reasons Virginia could use a two-term
governor. The golf at the Robert Trent Jones
Course was more exciting and engaging than any
other, including the last three times Prince
William hosted the competition in 1994, 1996 and
2000.
And
on those debate rules, look for Larry Sabato and
the University of Virginia to give an explanation
on their policies of exclusion that is a little
longer than the usual sound bite.
--
October 3, 2005
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