He wasn't subtle. To get there, Wilder presented himself as one who could distinguish between "niceties and necessities." Only there weren't enough niceties to cover the $2 billion he had to pull out of state commitments to avoid a general tax increase. So public schools, higher education, mental health, highway construction and state employees took the hit.
That was bad enough, but recoverable. Wilder's rhetoric was the greater sin. He tore into the Democratic legislative leadership and his two Democratic gubernatorial predecessors -- Robb and Gerald L. Baliles (for whom I wrote speeches) -- as fiscally irresponsible and even reckless.
Accordingly, Wilder gave Virginia Republicans -- or, at least those occupying the populist wing of the GOP -- the one thing that they had not been able to give themselves: credibility.
Wilder's dance prepared the stage for the Republican takeover of the legislature, which began before he even left office, and the subsequent election to the governor's office of George Allen and Jim Gilmore. Both men embraced (to politically beneficial effect) the same hyperbolic, anti-government rhetoric that Wilder employed.
No surprise, then, that Virginia Republicans, with the populists gripping the tiller these days, now lionize Wilder and invite him to their party functions.
The conservative editorial writers of the Richmond paper love him too. And in the capital of the Confederacy -- where the "magnolia mentality" Wilder long ago denounced still holds sway -- he's bagged the white vote for mayor.
It's just that "Democrat" Wilder is the reform candidate this time around.
He wants to revitalize the city and promises to end "the politics of division and diversion." He will do wonders, just wait, for safer neighborhoods, public health, affordable housing and better schools. Just recently, Wilder showed his common touch by trading in his Mercedes for a day to ride a city bus.
It's almost cinematic, this man's march through public life. Doug Wilder gives you high drama, low comedy, even sequels. You need only be ready to suspend your disbelief.
gcmorse@cox.net
