Conservatives Scold Va. GOP, Urge Change In Leadership

RICHMOND, Aug. 14 -- Anti-tax conservatives launched a revolt against the Republican leaders of the General Assembly on Tuesday, calling for GOP legislators to replace House Speaker William J. Howell and warning that the party risks steep losses in the November election unless the "abusive driver" fees are repealed.

At a news conference to discuss a lawsuit aimed at abolishing the transportation bill approved in April, several anti-tax activists said they and other conservatives might sit out the Nov. 6 election because Howell (R-Stafford) and other GOP leaders are defending the fees and other aspects of the legislation.

"This bill is a dramatic policy failure," said John Taylor, president of the Virginia Institute for Public Policy, a conservative think tank. "We believe it is unconstitutional and demonstrated a political ineptness that is stunning in an election year. The Republican grass roots needs to ask their leadership, 'What were you thinking?' "

The dissension is the latest sign that Republican legislators are going to be on the defensive this fall over the transportation bill, which party leaders conceived in part to help win votes for GOP candidates in heavily congested Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia.

Howell, who views the transportation deal as a cornerstone of his legacy, was unavailable for comment Tuesday. Other party leaders rose to his defense to try to fend off the criticism over the fees, which can reach $3,000.

"We have to govern, and we have to solve problems," said Del. Terry G. Kilgore (R-Scott). "We just can't step back and throw bombs or gas on a fire. We have to try to come up with a plan to build roads. While it may not be the greatest plan in the world, it is going to build roads without raising everybody's taxes."

Kilgore added that, despite the opposition to the driving fees, Republicans in the General Assembly would have faced a more daunting electoral challenge had they failed to deliver a plan to boost spending on transportation by $1 billion annually.

"If we had zero [plan], we could just write off Northern Virginia and the Tidewater," Kilgore said. "We would be really hurting."

Anti-tax activists said GOP leaders may have been a bit too clever in trying to come up with a way to pay for roads without a statewide tax increase. The activists are working with Patrick M. McSweeney, an attorney and former chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, to challenge the transportation plan in court.

"Our General Assembly, in its wisdom, has turned the entire commonwealth into a giant speed trap," said Paul Jost, president of the Virginia Club for Growth, an anti-tax group that doesn't think the state needs to raise more money for roads.

Jost, a wealthy businessman and frequent contributor to conservative causes, said his organization will not endorse any Republican delegate or senator this year who voted for the transportation bill. Lawmakers from both parties overwhelmingly approved the bill.

"It's time for new leadership in both houses of the General Assembly," Jost said.