Assholes in the Earley campaign (Va.)

The BBQ Pit
1

Yeah, I know it’s just politics as usual. But it’s an excellent example of why ‘politics as usual’ stinks to high heaven.

In the Virginia gubernatorial race, Mark Warner, the Democratic candidate, recently released a proposed plan for improving transportation in the Commonwealth. One aspect of it was a referendum on a sales tax hike to fund transportation improvements that would only apply to Northern Virginia residents, and only be voted on by those residents. Without the tax hike, Northern Virginia road improvements wouldn’t be fully funded - but that would be up to the area residents.

“Warner has just made his first critical mistake of the campaign,” said one of GOP candidate Mark Earley’s backers, going on to say that it shows Warner is “someone who will very comfortably raise taxes.” (Story here.)

Excuse me, Buster, but exactly how is this bad for the Commonwealth of Virginia? And if it’s a good thing for the Commonwealth, then what business do you have in trying to slant it so that it wins votes for the other guy?

By doing this, aren’t you just saying that your ability to win a majority depends not on demonstrating to the voters that your program is the better of the two, but rather on deceiving them?

I thought conservatives were for moving governmental decisions down to the level closest to the people. The state government in Richmond has for decades been oblivious to the growing gridlock in northern Virginia, while taxes they collect from that area are a cash cow that allow them to fund projects elsewhere, and cut statewide taxes. Here’s a proposal for a referendum that would allow the voters of one region to decide whether they prefer higher taxes and better roads, or lower taxes and more gridlock, without asking for a dime from downstate.

How can it be a ‘mistake’ to allow them to choose?? Or is the conservative anti-tax imperative of such overriding importance that to allow the citizens of a locality to vote on whether to raise taxes to meet a civic need is in and of itself a bad thing?

If this sort of gamesmanship is the only way that you can get into office, Mr. Earley, then you ought to get out of politics and go home.

– RTFirefly, expat Virginian

2

Perhaps Mr. Earley feels that the tax burden on Northern Virginia is already disproportionaly great – that is, perhaps he feels that money tax money already comes out of Northern Virginia than state funding and services come into Northern Virginia.

Just a thought.

  • Rick
3

I don’t know where Mr earley lives, but is it in NVA? 'Cuz then he’d have to pay the extra tax and you know how cheap Republicans are. :wink:

dropzone
another ex-pat Virginian

4

I’m not sure where Earley lives, but I’m almost positive it’s not in the greater DC area.

And I’ve never, ever heard anyone running for election statewide making an issue of making sure the DC burbs get their fair due. And despite keeping pretty good tabs on this race from one state over, I’m not hearing that now.

5

They don’t say it that way because that would be unpalatable. But it does make (political) sense to frame it as a tax hike. In essence the proposal Warner has put forth (as you outline it) is: “Let’s continue to have the rich folk of N.Va. subsidize the rest of the state but tack on a surcharge if they want decent roads.” Now, I don’t live anywhere near Virginia (and all I know about the situation is what you presented) but that sounds like the typical wealth redistribution poke-job that Democrats love so much.

6

Oh, fie! I thought this was gonna be a thread about Jubal Earley[sic] and some nefarious buggers in a Civil War battle!

I guess I’ll have to settle for giving some help.

is from Earley’s Website.

If you can stomach reading his biography on his website, you will discover:

l. “His mother was a stay at home mom…” Lucky her.

  1. “…Mark attended public school…” A man of the people.

  2. “Mark attended the College of William & Mary and received his B.A. degree in Religion in 1976. After his graduation, he worked in campus ministry and spent two years at the University of the Philippines in Manila.” DANGER! WILL ROBINSON!! DANGER!!

I can find no mention of his having driven the beltway around D.C., trying to get to work.

PS. I lived in Arlington from 1947-1966. My parents still live in the same house. I get back 2-3 times each year.

The good news is that the article indicated his tactic isn’t working.

7

Knowing some on the faculty of the Religion Department at William & Mary, I’d have to say that’s a plus for Mr. Earley. Then again, I don’t know that many of said faculty will be voting for him…

8

johnson Sorry if I sounded like I was demeaning religion. Rather it was the juxtapostion of religion/politics that I was afraid of.

9

On the whole, the Northern Virginia 'burbs are much more liberal than downstate VA is. It’s the conservatives downstate who have perpetuated the wealth redistribution in question, and it’s the citizens of No.Va. who have realized they don’t have the votes to fight it - but would like the authority to increase their own taxes so that they can get from Point A to Point B in a finite amount of time.

10

Is neither of these candidates proposing the obvious, a toll road? How 'bout issuing bonds to fund the state’s portion of the construction costs and repaying them with the toll? What’s the need to raise anyone’s taxes, whether “they” want it or not? Does the state even have the authority to impose a tax, wanted or not, on only a portion of the population?

The article also says (without giving details) Earley has a plan to raise $1.8 billion without raising taxes. Why do the majority of the people (as you’ve implied) not prefer Earley’s plan?

11

Unc-

We have two toll roads in place in NoVa already. Predictably, the first (The Dulles Access Road) was supposed to be a toll road only until the construction costs were paid off. That would have been quite a while ago (more than 10 years, at least). Curiously, I still get charged each morning and afternoon.

The second is a privately held road (The Dulles Greenway) and reverts to the state in about 90 years. But the guys who built it got ‘taken care of’ by the developers who held the land that it passes through. Capitalism at it’s best.

But I agree that Earley’s tactics are having trouble getting traction. Really, he’s having to work hard to screw up his election chances following two fairly popular Republican governers (Gilmore and Allen). I would have never guessed that a liberal democrat from Alexandria would actually have a chance at the Virginia governership.

  • Jonathan “My dogs once ran down Mark Warner in the street. No foolin’. Ask me about it sometime.” Chance
12

Toll Roads: a workable idea, when there are one or two corridors that need improvement.

But No.Va.'s roads need improving every which way - limited-access and major local roads alike. Northern Virginia is an area where roads with names like West Ox Road went from rural two-lanes to major commuter arteries almost overnight during the tech boom of the '90s. It’s hard to put tollbooths on roads with traffic lights every few hundred yards, and have them still be useful at rush hour.

Anyway, the issue isn’t “what is the best way to pay for fixing Northern Virginia’s traffic problems”, but rather “is it a ‘mistake’ to give Northern Virginia voters a measure of local control over the issue?”

I can’t see how it goes against anyone’s philosophy - liberal or conservative - for higher levels of government to ensure that states and, in turn, localities have the tools to solve their own problems where possible - especially when the higher government in question has demonstrated a long-term lack of interest in addressing (in this case, hell, even acknowledging) the problem.

13

I don’t mean to suggest that Republicans are the only ones to try to make political hay by putting a different face on an issue than it has in reality. It was just the one that popped out of the newspaper that morning.

For example, I’m not particularly knowledgeable on the arsenic-in-drinking-water issue, but I’ve read enough to know that there really are two sides to this one. But the Democrats’ willingness to soundbite this issue into ‘they want you to drink arsenic’ is exactly the same sort of thing. Nobody’s got clean hands on this one.

And Jonathan, I’ll ask you about your dogs and Mark Warner at Halloween. :slight_smile:

14

As will I. However, I’ll drive in from the People’s Republic of Maryland to do so.