Senate candidate George Allen is taking a bit of heat for his reluctant support for the budget deal congressional leaders struck last week. His primary challenger, Jamie Radtke, calls the cuts “inadequate.” Even Democratic candidate Tim Kaine got into the act, saying that there was “no middle position” between the compromise cuts and a government shutdown.
Let’s take a breath here and consider if any of this really matters.
As we’ve learned today, nearly a third of the proposed cuts are aimed at monies that weren’t going to be spent anyway. If the nation wasn’t teetering on the edge of a debt nightmare, this would be hilarious. So, point for Mrs. Radtke for calling the cuts – such as are – “Inadequate.” If anything, she is being far too generous.
And then there is the idea of congressional Republicans living in mortal fear of a government shutdown. They think it will be 1995 all over again, with them shouldering the blame while the Democrats get the press laurels for sticking by Grandma and her Social Security check (all the while forgetting that it was the Republican leadership’s compromising with Bill Clinton that lead to a House freshman revolt against then-Speaker Newt Gingrich).
This qualifies as ancient history. But for Virginia pols, there is a much more recent government shutdown scenario that may have greater meaning.
During the epic, three-way battle between the House of Delegates, the Senate and then-Governor Mark Warner over a package of tax increases in 2004, there was the real possibility that Virginia’s state government would be forced to close its doors. The Republican base was split between those who wanted to fight to the last breath against the Senate-Warner tax hike plan and those who wanted to avoid a shutdown and, hopefully, protect themselves from any fallout.
The compromisers carried the day, as a series of strategic blunders by House leaders, coupled with the defection of a handful of House Republicans to the Warner camp, saw the tax hike pass. The result was that Mark Warner’s flagging career was rejuvenated, Republican electoral fortunes waned (until 2009) and, in 2005, Tim Kaine was able to take advantage of all the backbiting in GOP circles to win the governorship.
All of this may explain why George Allen is reluctant to embrace a deal. He’s seen the wreckage such deals can leave in their wake. It also explains why Jamie Radtke can make hay out of criticizing the compromise – it’s what her base expects. The downside for her is not being tough enough.
As for Mr. Kaine, his remarks make perfect sense too. He rode that wave of discontent to victory once. He hopes to do so again…just as he did in 2005, with a lot of help, and cover, from his senior partner, Mark Warner.
