I never got emotionally involved in this year’s General Assembly campaign, but I did my civic duty yesterday and voted. Last night, I didn’t bother to turn on the television and watch the returns. It wasn’t until this morning that I checked the Internet that I discovered that the Democrats have taken control of the state Senate and gained ground in the House of Delegates. Congratulations to them. Otherwise, big whoop.
As I’ve argued before, both parties support Business As Usual in the sphere of business and economics. The main issues where party control really makes a difference are the culture-war issues. I consider myself a centrist in most of those, distrustful of both extremes, so a marginal shift to the left really doesn’t bother me.
The Dems tend to be more expansionist in their view of government, which means that they are even more willing to reach into my pocket than most Republicans, but the old GOP-dominated Senate, dominated by John Chichester, had been so eager to hike spending and increase taxes that I really don’t expect to see much difference. Virginia will remain on the same steep growth curve in the size and scope of government that it has been on for several years now.
The new man to watch is Richard Saslaw, D-Fairfax, who replaces Chichester as the power broker in the state Senate. As the new Senate Majority Leader and chairman of the Commerce and Labor committee, Saslaw will set the agenda on business-related issues. According to my contacts in the conservation community, his ascendancy looks like a victory for Business As Usual. They are very worried.
As far as individual candidates, I’m disappointed to see that Albert Pollard lost in the race for Chichester’s old Fredericksburg-area seat. He was one of the few genuine environmentalists running for a Senate seat.
On the other hand, it looks like Ken Cuccinelli will hang on to his Northern Virginia seat by a whisker. While I don’t share his views on the culture war, I find him refreshingly articulate and aggressive on size-and-scope-of-government issues. He doesn’t kow-tow to the power structure. If he survives the count of absentee ballots and the inevitable recount, he could help re-shape Senate Republicans into a faction that stands for more than defense of the status quo.
The donkey clan is clearly in the ascendancy in Virginia now. It controls the governor’s mansion and a U.S. Senate seat, it has won the state Senate and eroded the GOP majority in the House, and it is the odds-on favorite to win a second Senate seat next year. It is time for some serious soul-searching over in the Grand Old Party. Elephants in Virginia are increasingly looking like an endangered species.
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