"If he dies, he dies." -- Ivan Drago in Rocky IV"If he dies, he dies." -- Ivan Drago in Rocky IV
"We cannot sit down here all summer." -- House Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith
This transportation special session is like an aging Apollo Creed. We'd all love to see a winner, but once things got going, you quickly realized things were not going to end well. The House GOP is happy to play the role of The Siberian Bull, and doesn't care this is supposed to be an exhibition of bipartisanship. So here we are, Rocky in the corner looking at the towel in our hands. Time to throw it in.
If the Senate's gas tax increase had a chance, we'd all be pushing hard for passage. But the House GOP has decided that they'll only support regional taxes, and those only after they've been approved by local politicians in places the GOP has written off electorally. Translation - if you like the transportation funding, thank the House GOP, but if you hate the taxes, blame your local Democratic leaders. Jim Bacon also raises legitimate questions about whether these road plans still apply in the face of $4+ a gallon gas.
But if you're mad at the lack of transportation solutions, don't blame House Majority Leader and Dave Albo employee H. Morgan Griffith. Blame yourself. It's your fault for not demanding a real legislature:
"We are not a full-time legislature. People have plans, they have businesses, they have real jobs," Griffith said. "We cannot sit down here all summer."
What do you expect, H. Morgan Griffith to cancel his annual Beach & Badminton trip to Hilton Head just to make your commute easier? Please.
I know your sentiments are a reflection of Morgan Griffith's opinion, but I'm putting you on notice that Leader Griffith has got a cardboard ass on this thing. Be careful what you ask for, you just might get a fiscal disaster in your own back yard.
The GOP's posture is hard to figure. They have basically written off NoVa and HR.
Hopefully, Democrats will not take the bait and write off RoVa in return, as is suggested in some comments here. There are many public policy reasons why this would be bad, but the fact is that politically it would not work. Eventually, RoVa Democrats would face the same problem NoVa Republicans are facing now.
When I attended a recent briefing with about a dozen other citizens down here in C'ville with Del. David Toscano, he asked who would be willing to pay a higher gas tax to fund road-building in NoVa and HR, and the vote was unanimous in favor.
Many RoVa democrats understand the nature of the problem and the need for the entire state to support NoVa's transportation infrastructure. David Toscano does. Creigh Deeds does. So do many other democrats who are focused on developing and implementing good public policy, not merely political gamesmanship.
Hopefully, Democrats will not take the bait and write off RoVa in return, as is suggested in some comments here. There are many public policy reasons why this would be bad, but the fact is that politically it would not work. Eventually, RoVa Democrats would face the same problem NoVa Republicans are facing now.
It is way more than a political issue. Rural Virginia can't support itself. Much of southside, and southwest are already in the cheese line - barely getting by with funds from Richmond, and struggling with a lousy tax base, and jobs headed overseas. NOVA and Hampton Roads would be just fine even if the rest of the state spiraled into Third-World status. Unless Rural Virginians want to get owned by prosperous up-state businesses - Like Morgan Griffith and Albo & Oblong, we need to cooperate.