Bacon's Rebellion

GOP gubernatorial hopeful George Fitch has issued a meaty press release detailing his philosophy for dealing with Virginia’s transportation woes. The fiscal conservative totally disavows the need for tax increases–either on a state level, or through regional transportation authorities as proposed by Jerry Kilgore. Said Fitch: “Kilgore’s suggestion that new taxes may be needed is a terrible idea which Virginians have rejected again and again.”

(To be fair to Kilgore, the former Attorney General did not say that “new taxes may be needed.” He proposed setting up regional transportation authorities which, among other powers, would have the power to levy taxes. It would be more accurate to say that Kilgore’s plan would “enable” new taxes.)

Among Fitch’s observations were these:

We need a more balanced approach to transportation planning including more decision making at the local and regional level. … However, regional authorities should not have taxing authority as Jerry Kilgore suggests – just planning and more decision-making authority. Another government layer of taxing authority is too dangerous and is not necessary.

Estimates are that more than $20 billion of our unmet transportation needs could have been avoided if we had planned and coordinated growth with transportation. What we have now are large scale developments occurring where adequate infrastructure does not exist. Large subdivisions leapfrog over the countryside on narrow rural roads. High-density development is allowed to occur in villages without ensuring the infrastructure. Haymarket and Gainesville are one of many examples. To reduce these problems, the infrastructure must be in place or must be developing simultaneously with growth.

State Sen. Russell Potts, the renegade Republican running for governor, made an interesting–and alarming–observation in criticizing Jerry Kilgore’s transportation plan. As quoted by Chris Graham in the August Free Press today, he said: “The idea of regional transportation authorities is ludicrous. We are one commonwealth, not a collection of regions. The fact of the matter is, you either need to lead, follow or get the hell out of the way.”

Got that? We are one commonwealth, not a collection of regions. God save us all if Potts actually were elected governor and presided over state transportation policy. Yes, we are one commonwealth. But we also happen to be a collection of regions. Indeed, regions, metropolitan statistical areas, city states–call them what you will–are fast surpassing state and national governments as the critical organizing entities of the globally competitive economy.

To quote economic development professor Richard Florida in his latest book, “The Flight of the Creative Class”: “Cities are the key economic and social organizing units of the creative age. They promote economies of scale, incubate new technology and match human capital to opportunities, ideas to places, and innovations to investment.” Companies choose cities/regions to do business in, not states. Talented individuals choose cities/regions to live in, not states. Yes, states still play a governance role, but they are not paramount, as Potts suggests.

In the transportation realm, cities/regions (or as Ed Risse calls them, New Urban Regions) are the prime organizing unit. Traditional city/county boundaries are meaningless when it comes to peoples’ driving patterns. People live, work, shop and seek amenities within a regional context. That’s why Kilgore’s idea to establish regional transportation authorities does make sense. Kilgore’s plan is vulnerable to criticism because it envisions giving taxing and spending powers to authorities without also giving them any means to influence land use–the main factor that shapes demand for transportation amenities. But that point eludes Potts entirely.

With his one quote, Potts has revealed a very deep ignorance of the social and economic dynamics underlying Virginia’s transportation challenges. His comments on the topic cannot be taken seriously.

Is John Foote the man who stands between Northern Virginia and smart growth?

I’m guest blogging over at Commonwealth Conservative. Good thing–I’d just get in the way of this “twang tussle/Accent-gate” firestorm. I sure hope no one but us political junkies are paying attention.

Jeff Schapiro plays the “twang tussle” straight down the middle in today’s Richmond Times-Dispatch in a he-said, she-said story. He details the Kilgore crew’s counter charges in rural newspapers depicting Kaine as intolerant of rural Virginians:

“Harvard-educated liberal lawyer Tim Kaine is showing his true colors by attacking Jerry Kilgore’s Southwest Virginia accent,” the Kilgore newspaper ad said. It includes a headline that shoults, “Liberal Democrat Tim Kaine: SHAME ON YOU.”

I’ve changed my tune since my orginal post yesterday. I now think that the Kilgore campaign is way out of line. Tim Kaine never “attacked” Kilgore’s accent. His campaign made a vague statement — “Kilgore has been making things up about me and letting slick radio announcers do his dirty work” — which the Kilgore crew construed as attacking his accent.

Kilgore Deputy Press Secretary J. Tucker Martin explained to me yesterday that the quote must be viewed in the context of off-the-record comments made by campaign surrogates, posts on Kilgore campaign blogs and the infamous jerrytheduck.com website that plays an unflattering audio file of Kilgore speaking. I have no doubt that individuals in the Kaine campaign have poked cruel fun at Kilgore’s voice, which, at its worst, overlays his indigenous SW Virginia drawl with a certain, shall we say… school marm prissiness.

But I don’t think Martin’s case adds up. Unless the average suburban voter happens to be a campaign insider, he or she does not hear the mean jokes told by Kaine campaign staffers, doesn’t frequent the Kaine campaign blogs and has never heard of, much less visited, jerrytheduck.com. I find it unlikely that Kaine’s original comment would have triggered any of those associations, much less that the Kaine campaign would have thought that the comment would have triggered those associations.

The benign explanation for the Kilgore campaign’s counter-attack is that staffers, acutely sensitive to the issue of their man’s spoken voice and accent, simply overreacted. My advice: Get over it, guys.

Blogger “Tom” found a transcript of the Jerry Kilgore radio spot that inspired charges from the Kilgore camp that the lieutenant governor is “mocking” his Southwest Virginia accent. Here’s the relevant portion of what the ad said:

“I’m Tim Kaine and I’m running for Governor. If I have something to say I’m not afraid to say it myself. But Jerry Kilgore has been making things up about me and letting slick radio announcers do his dirty work. Virginia deserves a leader who says what he believes himself. …

What’s so offensive about that? It reads to me as if Kaine were criticizing Kilgore for hurling charges at him while distancing himself personally from the actual accusations. Sounds like fair game to me. What, then set off the Kilgore camp? I received this response from J. Tucker Martin, Kilgore’s deputy press secretary:

The Kaine campaign may be many things, but they aren’t dumb when it comes to how to spread a risky political attack. Quite simply, they know better than to just flat out say “Kilgore talks funny” and leave it like that. Their strategy is one that builds on several levels, and with the hope that no one will be able to put 2 and 2 together. Honestly I think they have significantly underestimated the press and the public’s ability to see through the lines.

Futhermore, any member of the Richmond press corps can attest to the jokes and off the record comments made by the Kaine campaign and its surrogates when it comes to Jerry Kilgore’s accent. Combine that with the posts found on the Kaine echo chamber blogs, and you have a completely coordinated and craven attempt to demean Jerry Kilgore’s native accent for political points. Just like most political rumor mills, you will not find one smoking gun. You have to put the pieces together. Larry Sabato has had no problem doing this, nor have other political observers. …

Ever since Democrats perfected the art of fulminating with moral outrage over the expression of “insensitive” remarks by Republicans, GOP candidates have been adopting the tactic as well. The latest instance of this politics of symbolism over substance comes from Jerry Kilgore.

The issue, of course, surrounds the unmistakable allusions by the Tim Kaine camp to Jerry Kilgore’s strong Central Appalachian — read “hillbilly” — accent. This was a huge tactical error on Kaine’s part. It’s not as if the suburban voters of Northern Virginia and elsewhere needed any reminding of Kilgore’s accent. The prejudice against “ignorant hillbillies, rednecks and assorted Deliverance creatures”, especially among Northern transplants, is so strong that it needs no reinforcement. But by raising the issue even in a veiled way–charging Kaine of being scared to run radio ads using his own voice–the Kaine-ites would have been better off to have simply handed Kilgore a tire iron and said, “Beat me!”

Now Kilgore is retaliating by running newspaper ads in small-town newspapers, calling attention to the Kaine ads, and accusing Kaine of making rural accents a political issue. The Kilgore ads quote Representatives Virgil Goode (5th) and Bob Goodlatte (6th). “Tim Kaine’s effort to divide Virginians by region is nothing short of disgusting,” runs the Goodlatte quote. “When a candidate for office openly derides the way a good portion of our citizens speak, it says an awful lot about the character of the man running the ad.” Kilgore’s counter attack plays well to the rural resentment of snobby urban elites. This one issue has the potential to measurably diminish Kaine’s appeal in rural Virginia.

Shame on the Democrats for their hypocricy. Can you imagine the furor if a Republican candidate made veiled allusions to the African-American accent of, say, Lieutenant Gov. candidate Viola Baskerville?

And shame on Kilgore for playing the “victimization” card. That’s a Democratic trope, and an unbecoming one at that. It’s a shame that Republicans are mimicking the ugliest tactics of the other side.

Potential military base closings are hanging like a sword of Damocles over Virginia. In the Daily Press, John Bull reviews contingency development plans for Ft. Monroe, an obvious target, and hints that a Federal agency might be interested in taking over another base in the Hampton Roads area, should one become “available.”

Turning closed military bases over to local authorities for development offers great opportunities for “smart growth,” as well as opportunities for rapacious profit-making. The battle to save bases can lead to battles over utilization of the losers.

In a follow-up to a story about Rep. Tom Davis’ involvement in a controversial development around the Vienna Metro Station, the project developer is undeterred by Davis’ efforts to scuttle it.

Yesterday was both a day without blogging and a day without sunshine.

I missed weighing in yesterday on the vapid Richmond Times-Dispatch front-page-above-the-fold blogging story. Commonwealth Conservative, as usual, was on top of it, drafting off of One Man’s Trash, and River City Rapids had two rebuttals.

Over a year ago, and maybe two (I can’t find the link), award-winning T-D political reporter Pamela Stallsmith did a front page, below the fold story on political blogs. Maybe yesterday equal time was being given to less polished views on blogging. Blogs with less than stirring content deserve scrutiny, too, I guess.

At least we know that politically oriented blogs are read by at least one editorial writer for the RT-D and I know that several RT-D reporters also peruse them. Maybe they check out cat bloggers, too.

Last week at a business function I met a young woman who revealed that she had a blog. I went to it, as I have occasionally to other blogs of that generation, and found the focus on relationships and the shallow but hip anti-Bushism tossed in as if to validate bona fides. There’s a lesson in those blogs for advertisers and political strategists, but I’m not smart enough to figure out what it is.

Update: The Jaded JD accuses me of elitism based on this post and he has a point, considering the imprecise words I used. Let me just say in my defense that if were truly an elitist, I wouldn’t be reading all the blogs that I do, blogs of every stripe and persuasion, and I wouldn’t link to as many as I do. I’ve been blogging for longer than most of my Virginia blog colleagues and I’ve been as big a booster of blogging, for all purposes, as anyone.

Our very own Gov. Pinocchio has set a new record in returning voting rights to more felons in our state’s history. He also leads the nation in restoring felons’ rights. For the full story click here.

This communique comes from Steve Baril in response to comments appearing in this blog asking why a candidate for Attorney General is making transportation a major platform in his campaign. — Jim Bacon

Some of your readers and others across the State have asked about the Attorney General’s role in transportation. The question has arisen in connection with my Marshall Plan for transportation. Aside from Jerry Kilgore, I’m the only statewide candidate offering a long-term, comprehensive plan to solve Virginia’s transportation problems. So, I’d like to answer the question head-on.

There are three good reasons why an AG candidate should speak out on transportation: litigation, legal advice and leadership.

1. Every major transportation project hits its first roadblock when the anti’s of one stripe or another file a lawsuit to block the project. Who’s going to defend VDOT and the Commonwealth? The AG’s office. It makes sense to have the best qualified lawyer in this race representing Virginia to advance these projects as quickly as possible.

2. It is also the Attorney General’s job to advise the Governor and VDOT on public-private partnership initiatives, privatizing and outsourcing VDOT’s traditional functions, including maintenance work. It makes perfect sense to arm our next Governor, Jerry Kilgore, with an Attorney General who is completely wired-in to one of the most critical challenges facing the Commonwealth — transportation.

3. Finally, statewide office is a bully pulpit for leadership. There is no shortage of politicians. What we lack is statesmanship. The Republican Party should produce as many leaders as possible who can champion issues like transportation. For example, Jerry Kilgore did it with domestic violence, though he was criticized for not tending to his knitting. The fact remains, Virginia is better off today because Jerry took up this very important issue, sought legislative action, and won the day in the General Assembly. I am offering the same leadership today on transportation. It is an area where I have a proven track record of success, having spearheaded the completion of Route 288 around Richmond, a road that the so-called experts said couldn’t be built in my lifetime.

If you want politics as usual, then I won’t be your guy. If you want straight talk and honest solutions to real problems like transportation and keeping Virginia safe, then I’m your man!

That’s why I’m receiving such a tremendous response to my Marshall Plan for transportation. Virginia has had enough career politicians who say one thing, yet do another. They want honest, straight talk, and a can-do attitude to get things done! I did it with Route 288. I’ll do it for transportation across Virginia.

— Steve Baril

I know Tim Kaine, and I know him to be a thoughtful man. I had a chance to speak to him at some length about education reform several months ago. Back then, before his campaign began in earnest, he articulated some interesting perspectives on education. He’d visited literally every single school jurisdiction across the state to get a sense of the varied challenges schools face across our diverse Commonwealth.

I recall that Kaine was especially concerned about the impending teacher shortage and what it would take to address it. (Addressing the teacher shortage, as coincidence would have it, was the main topic of Jerry Kilgore’s recently announced education initiative.) What impressed me about Kaine was that, although he clearly thought the education system needed more money, he also acknowledged that the system needed to be changed as well.

Judging by his latest campaign salvo, however, all education needs is more money. “Join teachers in the fight for full education funding,” he urges readers of his campaign e-mail blast. He attacked Kilgore for diluting his commitment to education funding. “Under a Kilgore administration, education’s funding would compete with big road project campaign promises, and Virginia’s school children would lose.” So much for nuance.

Question #1. What’s this about “full education funding”? I thought Gov. Mark R. Warner’s 2004 tax increase, which (as my fallible memory serves) raised about $600 million per year for Virginia schools, was supposed to bring Virginia up to the Standards of Quality. In what sense, pray tell, are Virginia’s schools not fully funded?

Question #2: What’s this about Kilgore’s commitment to funding big road projects? I didn’t detect that from the Kilgore transportation plan (detailed on this blog). What big road projects is Kaine talking about? … Can we presume from his comments that Kaine opposes pouring new money into “big road projects”? Can we have his commitment that, if elected governor, he will veto a tax hike for the purpose of funding more big road projects?

NorthernCrown, that is, and he’s already caught up on transportation and development issues from his neck of the Northern Virginia “woods.”

The symbiotic relationship between Russ Potts and the press has taken a new turn. Now, not only does the press feed off of Potts’ pot shots, but Potts is feeding off of the press’s pot shots.

Jeff Schapiro reports in today’s Richmond Times-Dispatch that “Independent Republican” Russ Potts has compared his opponents to “two kids in a sandbox,” pretty much parroting a line that several major pundits have pushed over the last two weeks.

Where Potts made his remarks is a mystery. Was it in a major policy speech somewhere? Or was it in a phone call or cozy conversation with Mr. Schapiro?

Update: Addison answers my questions in the comments. Norm outs me as a serial or inveterate thesaurus user.

Now I’m wondering why the headline wasn’t, “Maverick Republican Whitman Fails to Endorse Potts.”