THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 9, 1995 TAG: 9502080024
SECTION: FRONT MISCELLANEOUS PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
The Democratic majority in the General Assembly has rejected Gov. George Allen's budget proposals, both tax and spending cuts.
Ordinarily, Democratic opposition to a Republican governor would be a dog-bites-man story. But the governor so thoroughly dominated Democrats in his first year in office that this reversal of fortune is news.
Just weeks before the crucial votes, it was widely thought the Republican landslide in November had strengthened Allen's hand, that Democrats would yield again or face decimation in November 1995. Instead, they've handed Allen his head. What happened?
Democrats may have decided that if defeat was inevitable, they'd rather perish as real Democrats than ersatz Republicans. But feedback from the grass roots also helps explain the stiffening of Democratic spines. Details of the Allen budget created outspoken opponents. Business leaders joined parents in worrying about cuts for education. Arts groups weighed in. Studies appeared showing cuts from Washington could magnify the pain of Allen's initiatives.
Legislative insiders suggest the governor might still have carried the day if he'd played his cards right. But he showed little of the finesse that characterized his first year in office.
Allen refused to consider compromise, though some Democrats probably would have met him halfway. Members of his own party say the governor failed to consult them or to solicit support. Nor did Allen go over the heads of the General Assembly to win public support as he did in previous fights.
So, Allen bungled the selling of his own program and the chances for its passage. He played the political game badly. Why? Hubris is one explanation. Allen's first year went so swimmingly and the Republican landslide was so stunning he apparently assumed his program would breeze through. Instead, it met stiff opposition.
Allen may also have calculated that if he didn't win in the '95 Assembly, he could blame Democrats for thwarting the public will, pick up a majority in November and return to win in the next Assembly session. However, Allen overreached. Virginians want low taxes and limited government, but the particulars of the Allen budget worried more and more segments of the electorate.
Now Allen must make the case anew for the changes he favors. If he's persuasive, a Republican majority in the Assembly may be elected in November, giving him a second chance. A parliamentary maneuver by Allen will put each member of the Assembly on record, so voters will be in no doubt.
But the tactic could backfire. The severity of Allen's cuts may give voters second thoughts and persuade them to retain a Democratic majority in Richmond. Each side has got nine months to sell its vision of Virginia's future.
KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY BUDGET by CNB