Today's Dallas Morning News, has an opinion piece by the paper's Washington Bureau Chief, Carl Leubsdorf, entitled, "What's rattling Virginia? Fault lines in the GOP." Leubsdorf's main argument is that Virginia's June 14 primaries -- and the general election in November -- "could have a national impact" and serve as "a preview of coming attractions in the national GOP" due to "the role of the tax issue." Leubsdorf quotes anti-tax, Christian right-wing activist (and former candidate for Virginia Lt. Gov.) Michael Farris as follows:
Virginia is going to be a testing ground. If one or more of these [Republican] incumbents fall [to anti-tax conservatives], it will be a signal that the grass roots of the Republican Party still want people who stick to their principles....The issue will arise on the national level because of the Republican propensity to spend money. This is the party that's supposed to be dedicated to trimming budgets.
Leubsdorf asks whether or not the Virginia elections could provide a preview into the 2008 Presidential elections, highlighting the "rift" between "fiscal responsibility" Republicans like John McCain and anti-tax crusaders like George Allen. Why this issue matters so much is that, since George W. Bush took office in 2001, the federal budget has nosedived from a surplus to a deep deficit mainly due to Bush's huge tax cuts and the Republican Congress' spend-like-a-drunken-sailor ways.
Lest we forget, the out-of-control budget deficit provided a platform for Ross Perot's runs as the Reform Party candidate in 1992 and 1996. This year in Virginia, we again have the challenge of an independent -- "independent Republican" Russ Potts, that is. Potts' run is driven in part by his opposition to budget deficits and his support for fiscal responsibility. Jerry Kilgore, not suprisingly, trashed the budget deal which brought Virginia back to fiscal sanity after the Gilmore years. Tim Kaine, on the contrary, strongly supported the deal both as Mark Warner's loyal lieutenant and also as a balanced budget/AAA bond rating man himself.
The first test of the Republican anti-tax vs. balanced budget/responsible government wings will come in less than two weeks. Then, we will see whether or not challenges mounted to several Republican Virginia House of Delegates incumbents by anti-tax crusaders will succeed. These races expose the intra-Republican rift between the Virginia Conservative Action PAC and Virginia Club for Growth on the one hand, and pro-business groups like the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce on the other.
In other words, it's the "economic prosperity and quality of life" pro-business Republicans vs. the "tax cuts at all costs" wing of the party. In the former camp are people like Lt. Gov. candidate Sean Connaughton, along with Republican House of Delegates members like Joe May, Harry Parrish, and Gary Reece. In the latter camp are folks like Mark ?Bible study and prayer in our schools? Jarvis (30th), Chris ?Election Law Violations? Oprison (33rd), Jim ?No Voting Record but Supported by Far Right, Out-of-State Money? Kaplan (37th), Michael ?Club for Growth? Golden (41st), Steve ?Dead Dog? Chapman (50th), Shaun ?Life Begins at Conception? Kenney (54th), Chris ?25-year old school teacher who lost a school board race in ?03? Craddock (67th). If that's not a rift, what is?
The bottom line is that this year's elections here in Virginia are important, both for our state as well as for their possible broader implications. On June 14, we will have our chance to be heard around the country. So, let's all get out there and vote for fiscal sanity, AAA bond ratings, strong public services, and a continuation of the Warner/Kaine good government we have all enjoyed the past 4 years.