Apparently, Northern Virginia Republicans are getting worried. That must be the case for the Dave Albos and Scott Lingamfelters of the world to be frantically trying to RAISE TAXES in order to pay for new roads. According to today's Washington Post:
The Northern Virginia Republicans involved are under enormous pressure to bring home more money for transportation improvements for constituents who sit in some of the nation's worst traffic.Even without the transportation issue, they are likely to be among the House's most vulnerable Republicans in the 2007 General Assembly elections. They hail from politically dynamic counties that supported Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) last year, and Democrats are preparing to use Northern Virginia's congested roads and crowded trains against them.
Perhaps that's why the Northern Virginia Republicans, increasingly worried about the complete stalemate in the "taxes over my dead body" Virginia House of Delegates, are pushing to "increase transportation spending by more than $400 million a year in the Washington suburbs, provided the region's local governments approve raising local taxes and fees."
What the outcome will be, I don't know. But if money isn't found and people in NOVA remain endlessly, maddeningly mired in gridlock, the species of politician known as Republicanus Northern Virginius could very well be an endangered species, with extinction possible as early as November 2007. Now wouldn't that be a shame.