Too Conservative

One of the greatest accomplishments of the framers of our Constitution is, in my opinion, protecting the freedom of the press. By doing so, journalists and editorial writers can sit back, criticize and opine about the public policy issues of the day in complete safety.  I believe this is one of the greatest feats of our Constitutional structure because it keeps these journalists far, far away from actual policy making.  A perfect example of what I mean shows up in today’s Washington Post, in yet another editorial shot across Gov.-Elect McDonnell’s bow on transportation.

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The Post’s only solution to transportation is raising taxes.  That’s it.  Throughout the campaign, they praised and endorsed Creigh Deeds for being the only candidate willing to say that he’d raise gas taxes in order to fund transportation.  Their praise of his “transportation realism” was so helpful to the voters, Deeds got crushed by 18 points.

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Gas taxes are regressive and they’re unpopular.  As recently as 2008, a majority of Americans favored temporary suspensions of the federal gas tax.  Whenever the price of gas starts edging up, gas taxes become an issue again.  There’s a good reason Virginia hasn’t raised the gas tax since 1987 – no rational politician wants to do that.  Yet despite the unpopularity of gas taxes, the Post is constantly banging the drum for a gas tax increase.  This is the only thing they can think of, and with good reasoon. They’re Democrats caught up in the constantly contradicted belief that the only way to raise revenue is to raise taxes, just like their pal Deeds.

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The gas tax, frankly, is part of the problem with transportation funding and certainly isn’t the solution.  Gas tax revenues are hard to predict and fluctuate significantly more than other forms of taxation or fees.  As people drive less and cars become more fuel efficient, the less revenue the gas tax is going to generate.  Yet clearly, the goal of Democrats – both federally and locally – is to get people out of their cars and onto public transportation as much as possible because of climate change.  Thus, you’ve got conflicting government priorities here – one the one hand, you’ve got the Congress handing out tax incentives for people to buy hybrid vehicles (which my wife and I took advantage of in 2008 when we bought our Mercury Mariner hybrid) and you’ve got them appropriating billions for the Cash for Clunkers program all designed to reduce the amount of gas people consume – thus reducing infrastructure funding.  On the other hand, you’ve got a federal infrastructure investment system that is most successful in raising money when people drive gas guzzling cars and drive them often and far.  It doesn’t make a lot of sense.  This is why Gov. Elect McDonnell and those who actually are responsible for fixing the transportation crisis (not just whining about it) have been trying to find a dedicated source of funding for transportation in Virginia that isn’t tied to the gas tax.

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But hey – when your knee jerk solution to every problem is to throw money at it, raising taxes is pretty much the only thing you know how to do.  I guess we can’t really fault the Post’s editorial board for that.  They’re just victims of their own ideology.  The unfortunate thing is that no matter what solutions McDonnell and Connaughton come up with, the Post is going to bash them as insufficient.  Fortunately, most of us in Northern Virginia don’t pay too much attention to the Post’s editorial page anyway.  Why should we?  Do any of them actually live in Virginia?  I doubt it.

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Jan 05th by Brian S

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The National Journal’s On Call blog has a write-up on the 37th District special, covering the basic dynamics of the race. It’s worth noting that the story neatly identifies what has been established as a basic fact: that Dave Marsden has a record of supporting tax hikes, and that his campaign is confusingly running as a fiscal conservative who will stand up against Governor Bob McDonnell’s fiscally conservative agenda, while making vague and nebulous threats of “one-party rule” and whispers of allusions of Steve Hunt’s social conservatism that they don’t want to get caught actually discussing.

 

To mix metaphors, the National Journal paints a picture of a candidate straddling the fence while merely dipping his toes on each side. Meanwhile, his manager acknowledges this is a turnout election, but its tough to see them matching the determination of a cadre of volunteers that knock on doors in the midst of a blizzard for Steve Hunt, particularly with their scattershot message. For instance, Marsden is touting himself as fiscally responsible and as someone who is concerned about government spending… and then the article notes that he’s “counting on President Obama” to win him votes. Yeesh.

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Dec 30th by VA Blogger

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Here’s a good decade-in-review by the esteemed blogger and my Senator Chap Petersen (look for the shout-out to our own Vince Harris.)

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Some changes I’d offer:

– Most Fun Political Campaign (Pat Edmonson)
– Best Movie (City of God, Memento, ESOTSM)
– Best Remake (The Departed)
– Biggest Collapse (2008 Broncos, 2007 Mets)
– And I’d add a category for Most Inspirational Sports Story to add George Mason’s 2006 Final Four run (shame on you for forgetting that, Chap—it’s even in your district!)

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Dec 29th by VA Blogger

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In a year that has seen about ten thousand mailing pieces (between the statewides, House of Delegate races, the special election for Fairfax County BoS Chairman and the Republican primary in S-37, I think I’ve gotten literally over a hundred mailers) I’ve seen plenty of good ones and plenty of bad ones. But none of them were as bad as the one I got yesterday from Dave Marsden. (Here’s a bigger version of the back.)

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The piece is obviously ripping off the latest world-ending blockbuster 2012 (as can be seen from the front of it.) According to Dave Marsden, the entire Commonwealth of Virginia is going to be consumed by the earth in fire and brimstone if Steve Hunt wins Ken Cuccinelli’s old seat. The piece then goes on to specify just what manner of destruction we are going to see in a Republican controlled Virginia.

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Our world class schools will be “devastated.” One of the biggest claims the Democrats love to throw around is that education suffers under Republicans. That’s really one of the dumbest lines and completely untrue. Funding for schools never declines in real terms, regardless of who is in control. And with No Child Left Behind, you saw the first education reform in decades and it was done in bipartisan fashion. Yet if Virginia Republicans (including Steve Hunt – who has served on the FCPS School Board, no less, unlike Marsden) get in control, the world goes to hell in a hand basket. Why? The mailer doesn’t expand upon this, which makes sense because they can’t. It’s a ridiculously empty accusation.

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Next, “our once-thriving small business economy: gone.” Once-thriving? Is it not thriving now? I know my small business is chugging along just fine right now although I know others aren’t doing as well. But unemployment across the state is still way below the national average. And even if the small business economy isn’t doing that well, who is to blame for that? Tim Kaine and Mark Warner – not House Republicans. Marsden himself should field some of that blame – he’s been in Richmond and Steve Hunt hasn’t.

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The next one is the most ridiculous of all of them: “A woman’s right to choose: eliminated.” Right. Because one-party rule in Richmond enables us to control the United States Supreme Court and overturn Roe v. Wade. Please. It’s one-party rule in Washington that’s making it impossible for us to even stop federal funds from being used to pay for abortions under the Senate health insurance reform bill – and yet Virginia Republicans can end the right to an abortion just by winning a special election? I know this line is meant as hyperbole, but it’s ridiculous. Even Hollywood blockbusters need to be just realistic enough for you to suspend disbelief – Star Wars did a better job of that than this mailer does. I can almost believe lightsabers and the Force – but Republicans ending abortion singlehandedly in Richmond just goes too far.

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Finally, they throw in traffic will be gridlocked. Guess what? It already is. So, at worst, we get four more years of the status quo if Republicans are elected? What have the Democrats been doing to fix traffic over the last eight years? Nothing that has helped, that’s for sure.

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This whole campaign on the Democratic side has been filled with mailers like this. And I’ve seen Marsden up on TV as well (but he didn’t bother putting the ad up on Youtube, probably because it sucks), running an ad where he claims to be a “fiscal conservative” and then slams Steve Hunt by claiming he was “thrown off the school board” when he really simply failed to win reelection. It’s too bad voters in Marsden’s district didn’t throw him out of the House of Delegates last month. Maybe we wouldn’t have to get idiotic mail like this from his carpetbagging campaign.

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Dec 29th by Brian S

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 This is just getting confusing. Marsden is now sending out mailers to the 37th District attacking Governor-elect Bob McDonnell, continuing the failed Creigh Deeds attack (remember their illegal signs?) that McDonnell and the GOP will gut public schools. Marsden is now claiming to be a leading voice to stand up against McDonnell, just days after pledging to be an ally in the fight against taxes and the size of government.

 

What’s odder is that Marsden’s mailer was sent to a very broad list; this mailer was sent to the house of a very conservative household (you’d think they’d take off households that voted in the firehouse primary). Even if Marsden is trying to rally a base that’s understandably very apprehensive, he now risks alienating the vast majority of voters who cast a ballot for McDonnell, who carried the 37th with more than 56% of the vote.

 

So one day Marsden is a conservative centrist; the next he’s leading the charge against a conservative administration. Kind of reminiscent of how one day Marsden was a Republican activist (working to elect Ken Cuccinelli, no less), and the next day he’s a Democratic candidate. And he still hasn’t said a word about the largest political issue of the month: Tim Kaine’s massive tax hike.

 

It seems like there’s no fence too large to straddle, no issue too important to flip-flop on, no principle too sacred to sacrifice for political opportunism for Dave Marsden. The result: a schizophrenic campaign, from a carpetbagger no less. It’s amazing to think that this is the best the Democrats could come up with.

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Dec 21st by VA Blogger

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