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Move
over, Mr. Governator, there is a new terminator in
town.
According
to Gov. Mark R. Warner, he is ready to lead the free
world as our next president. So naturally, he and
his aides are trying to show how tough he is.
This
is the old Richard "Tricky Dick" Nixon
strategy for sure. Or remember how Jimmy Carter told
Teddy Kennedy to kiss his Georgia peach backside to
show how tough he was during the 1976 Democratic
primary? Or when Michael Dukakis rode in that tank
to show everyone how tough he was?
Oh
yeah, that one worked - for the Republican Party.
But
it beats breaking 12 bricks with your forehead or
holding your hand over an open flame without
screaming the way Watergate burglar Gordon Liddy did
to prove his toughness.
So
anyway ... when I read in The Washington Post and
The Augusta Free Press how Mr. Warner had
refused to congratulate Richmond Mayor-elect Doug
Wilder, I naturally figured this was part of his
pre-presidential strategy to show his toughness by
making a public example of someone who dared
publicly to disagree with him.
Earlier
this year, Wilder opposed Warner's proposal for a
record tax increase. Rumor has it that Warner's
aides told the press this was the death-knell for
Wilder, that he was persona non grata in
Virginia, forever.
(Deja
vu! Because the Blue Dog has experienced the wrath
of Warner as well.)
As
in the days of yore, it became a crime to even
mention Wilder's name. If you mentioned St. Thomas
More in the presence of Henry VIII, he had your head
chopped off. Edward the Terrible had William
Wallace's name erased from recorded history, or so
it was for 700 years.
So
the name Doug Wilder was banished from the
Virginia governor's mansion earlier this year. No
one could mention it, not even the esteemed Governor
Mollycoddle.
Wilder
had, or so went the thinking at the top of the state
Democratic Party, hand-dug his own political grave.
"W
don't stand for no wimp" was gonna be Warner's
message in 2008, it seemed.
Wilder
would be example number #1. He who crosses Mark
Warner is politically dead would be the lesson going
forth around the USA.
Yes,
no more Governor Mollycoddle.
It's
time for a tough-guy image change.
Personally,
I think the governor is missing the obvious move.
The
Blue Dog would advise him to legally change his name
to John Wayne Warner so that the tough-guy
message could be printed right there on the ballot
when folks go into the primary voting booth to pick
the next Democratic nominee. No better tough-guy
image than the legendary Duke.
Of
course, folks 'round the country might confuse that
with another Virginian, John Wayne Bobbitt, who got
a whole lot of publicity for something his wife did
not so long ago.
That
cuts like a knife, don't you agree?
OK,
so maybe my John Wayne idea isn't so good after all.
But
you've got to admit, Warner's refusal to
congratulate Wilder has got to be some kind of
"Warner ain't no wimp" thing. Wilder was
the Democratic nominee for mayor in Richmond, the
first time Virginia Democrats have ever formally
backed anyone for mayor in modern political history.
Warner
is the head of the Virginia Democratic Party. He
refused to campaign for Wilder and now refuses to
even congratulate him. The same for Warner's
handpicked choice for state chairman, who likewise
has refused to congratulate Wilder.
True,
this could all be coincidental - and yes, O.J.
Simpson might have been innocent. Scott Peterson,
too.
But
if Warner ain't guilty, it is one heck of a case of
mistaken identity.
So
why is Warner refusing to call Wilder?
Let
your fingers do the walking
The
Blue Dog figured he would call up the Wilder
transition team in Richmond and talk to his campaign
manager, Paul Goldman. In 2001, Goldman was Warner's
chief political strategist.
The
Blue Dog was wondering what he thought of Warner's
snub of Wilder.
The
line wasn't busy, a bad sign, I figured.
Surely
I couldn't be the only one calling the mayor-elect?
(OK,
you got me. The following isn't based on an actual
phone call, though Mr. Goldman and I did, you could
say, collaborate, satirically and otherwise, to
achieve the final result. Either way, enjoy.)
Paul
Goldman:
"Hello, Wilder headquarters. But in case this
is another press person asking about why Warner
hasn't called Wilder, I can save y'all a lot of
trouble. We love the governor here, just like the
lyrics in the song from Alabama. Remember that Ali
McGraw line: Love means never having to say you're
sorry. Sure, he hasn't called. But this ain't no
Connie Francis situation."
Blue
Dog:
"Hey Paul, it is Steve, Steve Sisson. I have
been meaning to call. Great campaign, I mean winning
by the biggest margin ever in Richmond history. I
bet Tim Kaine would love to do that in 2005."
Goldman:
"Hey Steve, great to hear from the Valley Blue
Dog. Sorry about that little speech there at the
start. The lieutenant governor helped us a lot, I
got to introduce him at the victory party, gave him
the credit he earned by sticking with us when the
Big Dog won't."
"If
Kaine gets our margin in Richmond, he probably gains
2 percent extra statewide next year. Warner's
snub makes that far harder to do right now. But
things change."
Blue
Dog:
"People are talking about Warner and Wilder.
They think Warner is sending a message to Democrats
everywhere, since he knows Wilder is a national
figure, and this kind of thing gets around."
Goldman:
"That could be, I hear that, too. But my gut
says this is a akin to a case like that of Al Smith,
the Democrat who ran for the White House three times
and lost. He got mad at his friends and wound up
voting against them because he thought they didn't
give him the respect he deserved. Wilder opposed
Warner's record tax increase as a matter of
principle. But Warner took it personally."
Blue
Dog:
"But why pick a fight with Wilder?"
Goldman:
"Warner hoped we would lose, as did most of the
Richmond residents at the state Democratic Party.
Our opponent was running as a Mark Warner Democrat,
pointing out that Wilder had opposed Warner. The
governor's aides told him he was so popular, our
opponent would win or at least make it close. We won
by 8-1 over our opponent. Warner is in political
shock, as is the whole statewide Democratic
establishment. But they will get over it."
(Aside:
But that political snub didn't surprise the Blue Dog
in the least. John Kerry received little to no
support in Virginia from our governor. Yes, Gov.
Warner took the time to campaign, but in
Massachusetts and Pennsylvania and Mississippi and
everywhere else in the USA - except Virginia. That
is to say, Rural Virginia. Personally, I don't
believe that showing up at staged appearances, such
as with Kerry at his headquarters in Northern
Virginia and at Democratic Party of Virginia
functions in Democratic enclaves, including the
Roanoke Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner and at the
state convention, constitute a proactive approach to
campaigning for a liberal Democratic presidential
nominee. That
was noticeable to me, and to members of the
Republican Party of Virginia. I'm regressing. Back
to the phone call with Paul.)
Blue
Dog:
"Hey Paul, don't feel bad because not so long
ago, a Warner supporter told me I deserved the Doug
Wilder Turncoat of the year award because I refused
to back the Warner tax increase. Remember, I ran for
state Senate as the anti-tax Democrat."
Goldman:
"Has Warner called you?"
Blue
Dog:
"No, siree Bob! But that's another story, err
... Blue Dog Tale."
Goldman:
"Warner is notoriously thin-skinned, I know
that, he knows I know that, so to be honest, I like
to tweak him now and then just to let him know that
I know. But at the same time, I don't take any of
this tough-guy stuff seriously. I get a big laugh
out of it, because Warner has a lot of strong suits
but the Rambo thing isn't one of them".
(Aside:
But it's no laughing matter, because several elected
General Assembly Democrats have warned the Blue Dog
that Warner is rather sensitive about his public
image. You see, Mr. Warner surrounds himself with
yes-man-type staff members who scour Virginia's
daily newspapers for mention his name - and report
back to him. And press secretary Ellen Qualls is
quick to rebuff any negative press. Back to the
phone call with Paul.)
Blue
Dog:
"I see where you said the Democratic Party of
Virginia chairman Kerry Donley didn't call Mayor
Wilder after the election, either. That's a smoking
gun to me in terms of saying the Warner thing is
premeditated."
Goldman:
"I haven't spoken with the man, so I couldn't
say."
Blue
Dog:
"I thought Kerry Donley wanted to rebuild the
Virginia Democratic Party, not turn it into a
vehicle to promote Warner World. Just think, Wilder
won 80 percent of the vote, so you would think the
party would be highlighting the victory. Wilder is
the most popular Democrat in the most conservative
media market in the state. But yet he is treated as
a non-person by them and Warner. Mind-boggling from
a Democratic point of view."
Goldman:
"I had to sue the party in 1981 to get
African-American urban residents and rural voters
equal rights, and then had to fight them for the
right to give a black man a chance to win statewide
office. Now the mayor's race. Such is life."
(Aside:
Don't preach to the amen choir, Mr. Goldman ...
After a recent (scathing) column about Gov. Warner
and his administration, a Republican House of
Delegates member wrote to me to say, "Ouch!
Guess you’ll be off the governor's Christmas card
list this year." But then he added, "Can I
have your address? You just made mine!" I'm
digressing again. Back to the phone call with Paul.)
Blue
Dog:
"How about Del. Frank Hall? The Blue Dog heard
rumors of his pushback with the Wilder mayor
campaign. Was there any reason for that? Why are
Virginia Democrats so anti-Wilder?"
Goldman:
"Frank and I had a talk the other day. When
Frank needed someone to help him save his seat, he
asked me for help, and I gave it to him. We got
cross-wise the last few years here in Richmond on
the mayoral thing. Right now, I am focusing on the
future, we got a lot to do for the people especially
the poor kids who need us.
"As
for so many top Virginia Democrats, I think their
thing with Wilder is rooted in race, and they don't
get it. Deep down, they feel that no
African-American in Virginia could have possibly
made as much history as Wilder without their help.
This is especially true for party leaders. They
don't feel Wilder has properly acknowledged this
debt, and it really gnaws at them but they can't say
it for fear of how it would sound. That's why they
have such a reaction to him at certain times. I read
a lot of history and this is not an unusual reaction
from people. We are all human.
"I
think they take a personal pride in being part of
this history, and like any human being want to be
recognized for being a good person. It is a very
difficult world out there, and you don't get a
chance to be part of something like that in most
lifetimes.
"I
think this reaction is particularly true in
editorial boards, who feel they really helped Wilder
win election, but then he turned out to be far more
conservative than they wanted the first
African-American governor to be.
"This
would be my explanation for the vehemence you ask
about. I have learned to accept it in the sense of
calculating these types of feelings when predicting
how they will react to this or that."
Blue
Dog:
"I guess this explains why they thought Wilder
was going to lose, why they called him a Republican
and a Democratic sellout and why they believed all
of what Jeff Schapiro and Gordon Morse were
predicting: and thus got it so wrong."
"Here
in the Shenandoah Valley, I've seen Wilder for Mayor
political bumper stickers mixed with both
Bush/Cheney and Kerry/Edwards. Valley folks are wild
about Wilder."
Goldman:
"The other line is ringing, maybe it's the
Virginia governor."
Blue
Dog:
"OK, talk with you soon."
After
hanging up, I started to think about two political
mavericks--Zell Miller and Doug Wilder. It's no
secret, I love Zell Miller's message to national
Democrats, and the same can be said for Doug
Wilder's fiscally conservative message to Virginia.
In
Zell Miller's book, A National Party No More,
he explains: "This orgy of taxation is hurting
the economy and damaging the American Dream."
Wilder
also noted how the Warner 2004 tax increase would
hurt Virginia.
The
Blue Dog couldn't agree more with them.
Not
long ago, a political mentor said to me, "I’m
afraid, though, that you’re going to have to
change political parties, or face the treatment that
Zell Miller and Doug Wilder are receiving."
He
went on to say, "I don’t think that there is
any room in the Democrat Party nowadays for guys who
thinks, writes, and talks like you do."
But
I do--and after all, it's a big tent.
Back
in 1940s, President Franklin Roosevelt said the
Democratic Party was a big tent for all dedicated to
the principal of serving the common good, not the
good of the special interests.
With
me personally, I am going to say what's on my mind. Valley
folks seem to either like it or hate it. But most
seem to agree with me.
In
the 1960s, the late vice president, Hubert Humphrey,
used to say: "If you want to live like a
Republican, you better vote Democratic."
That's
true blue.
--
December 13, 2004
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