The Capital Beltway seems to be an approximate dividing line between the majority of Virginians who vote Republican and the Washington wannabes, who lean Democratic. Nowhere is the split clearer than in Virginia's General Assembly -- and perhaps never as clear as this year.
One of the crowning achievements of the 2005 legislature was passage of a law introduced by Del. David B. Albo (R-Fairfax) giving access to state welfare benefits only to those who reside in Virginia legally. Among those opposing the bill were Democratic Dels. Adam P. Ebbin (Alexandria) and Robert D. Hull (Fairfax). If these lawmakers don't see anything untoward about providing monetary rewards for criminal behavior, where would they draw the line?
Ebbin introduced legislation to crack down on misbehaving pedestrians and bicyclists. Hull tried to make it a crime to punish schoolchildren by keeping them inside during recess.
State Sen. Kenneth Cuccinelli (R-Fairfax) sponsored some of this year's most common-sense legislation -- including a bill that would tie the growth of state spending to population growth and inflation. Thanks in part to Northern Virginia Democrats, his measure died in committee. The ain't-no-taxes-high-enough crowd didn't even think its constituents are paying enough for gas. In these days of soaring prices at the pumps, Arlington Democrat Mary Margaret Whipple introduced legislation to raise the gasoline tax in Northern Virginia.
Not only do the Democrats crave higher taxes, many oppose curbing waste. When Del. Timothy D. Hugo (R-Fairfax) proposed offering the use of vacant state office buildings to private businesses, he garnered little support from his colleagues. Cuccinelli also suggested limiting annual vehicle inspections to cars with more than 55,000 miles. Eliminate unnecessary inconvenience and expense? The idea met fatal opposition.
The Democrats' efforts to expand the welfare state also seemed to reach the point of desperation. Del. Kenneth R. Plum (D-Fairfax) proposed forcing insurance companies to pay for "habilitative" services for children, which is defined as occupational and speech therapy that is not medically necessary. Why do Democrats complain about unaffordable health insurance yet drive up the costs of insurance with superfluous coverage?
Del. Jeffrey M. Frederick (R-Prince William) introduced a bill that became law; it allows individuals with professional experience (versus pedagogical training) to become teachers. Sen. Jay O'Brien (R-Fairfax) lent his support to small businesses, proposing that the state Department of Planning and Budget estimate the economic effect of government regulation on mom-and-pop shops.
And what vital concern did Sen. Patsy Ticer (D-Alexandria) bring to the assembly? Plans to legislate fertilizer labels and to promote hearing aids for children.
Perhaps Northern Virginia's Democratic delegation has hit the wall. Every year its members go to Richmond and make the claim that citizens are undertaxed and under-regulated, that the welfare state is too small and that criminals have it too tough -- and every year, they lose by ever-wider margins. Are they too out of touch even to realize that their ideology is passé?
In fairness, it must be difficult to represent Northern Virginia Democrats. Although many of these voters work in Washington, they live in the suburbs, where their kids can go to good schools in safe neighborhoods and where there aren't drive-by shootings and crack dealers on the corners. Yet these same voters support policies that have inflicted these conditions on others.
If Northern Virginia liberals believe it is a moral imperative to pay high tax rates, why not live in Washington instead of lower-taxed Virginia?
They send to Richmond representatives who vote for the sort of policies that ruined the District -- and from which Virginia suburbanites have tried to escape.
Maybe Northern Virginia's Democrats in Richmond are ineffectual in deference to the obvious: If their constituents really wanted what they vote for, they wouldn't live on the Virginia side of the Potomac.
