What is going on inside the Governor’s Office? Unremarked by the MSM, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has done a 180-degree flip flop on legislative and political strategy. We’re talking Hungry Jack pancakes here!
First, a quick walk down memory lane:
On Aug. 31, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine gave a blog-conference interview, stating that he hoped to make progress in three areas: (1) reform and privatization of the Virginia Department of Transportation; (2) making the connection between transportation and land use planning; and (3) bolstering stable, ongoing transportation funding. Although shy on details regarding land use reforms, he did offer one specific initiative he wanted to solve: Under what circumstances should VDOT accept subdivision roads into the state road system?
“Let’s focus on the areas where we agree,” Kaine said. While some people were pessimistic that the special session would yield anything meaningful for transportation, he added, “I’m not among them. We have an opportunity to make some great things happen.” (See my post, “Kaine on the Transportation Session.”)
As we all know, the transportation session was a bust — no thanks to Kaine, who did a total about-face, abandoning any interest in VDOT reform or land use, and elevating the need for a tax increase to his sole rhetorical priority. House Republicans even submitted legislation tackling the issue of subdivision roads, addressing an issue that Kaine had indicated a specific interest in. But during the session, he never voiced support for that idea (not that I saw, anyway).
Now, Kaine is on the warpath. Castigating Republicans for their obstructionism, he’s said that he doesn’t expect to accomplish anything on transportation in the 2007 session. Indeed, he wants to wield transportation as an issue against House Republicans in the late 2007 elections. He told a Daily Press editorial board that he would recruit candidates to run against “no-tax, no-fee, limited-toll Republican lawmakers,” as DP writer John Bull put it.
What happened between Aug. 31 and Sept. 31? Why did Kaine lurch from compromiser to warrior? I’ve heard one partial explanation. It’s a Republican source, so you can take it for what it’s worth. My source thinks that there are two camps within the Kaine administration — a pragmatic, let’s-get-things-done camp, and a political, let’s-get-tough-with-those-stinking-Republicans camp. Both have influence on the Governor. But right now, it looks like the tough guys are prevailing.
If anyone can shed any insight, pro or con, on this theory, I would be most interested in hearing it.