Smoking ban will go up in smoke

With the House and Senate supporting very different bans on restaurant smoking, I think this is headed for a game of chicken.

Both houses will insist on their versions, and a lot will depend on who is appointed to conference. If anything less than the compromise struck between Speaker Howell and Gov. Kaine reaches the Governor’s desk, my bet is that the Governor substitutes the compromise and sends it back to die in the House.

Kaine is DNC chairman. He doesn’t need a legacy anymore. If he sorely wanted accomplishments, he’d take whatever was given him. But he’s guaranteed a national stage now. He’ll be on Meet the Press more than Brittney Spears is in the National Enquirer.

But he will spend a lot of time on this year’s elections. And he needs issues for those elections more than he needs accomplishments as Governor.

That’s why I think that if Kaine gets anything less that the deal he struck with Howell, he’s willing to let it die and blame Republicans.

I think it’s a flawed strategy, since I’ve never seen a poll where voters shifted their vote because of a view of restaurant smoking. But, Kaine’s public comments about “We had a deal” after the House amended the bill makes me think he’s accepting nothing less.

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About the author

Brian Kirwin

The right wants to jeer him. The left wants to censor him. Moderates usually want both. Brian Kirwin is a political consultant and public relations strategist in Virginia Beach with a lightning-rod flair. Brian also serves on the VB Arts & Humanities Commission and frequently appears on Hampton Roads theatrical stages, if only to prove that all actors aren’t liberals. Kirwin’s columns stir up debate and hit the political scene with no punches pulled.