Democrats threaten a massive hissy-fit over the budget
By Norman Leahy | Sunday, February 19th, 2012 | Politics, VirginiaThe RTD’s Jeff Schapiro uses his Sunday sermon to spin a tale of possibly budgetary doom in River City. He begins by regaling us with the Governor’s chastisement of Senate Republican leader Tommy Norment, but quickly moves on to the darker threat on the horizon…a Democratic hissy-fit:
…they’re threatening impasse on the budget, perhaps as early as Thursday, when the Senate is scheduled to vote on its version of a two-year, $85 billion spending plan. It can be avoided, Democrats say, if Norment and his caucus agree to changes in committee memberships and, possibly, chairmanships.
Democrats, whose urgency on committee make-up is heightened by the gush of hard-right legislation, also are pressing McDonnell to back their demands. They’re signaling to the governor that the Virginia budget — his budget, the fiscal foundation of his legacy — could hang in the balance.
Neither Norment nor McDonnell is giving in, at least not now.
Sensing the possibility for a flood of good copy should this occur, Jeff reminds us that the last time the General Assembly couldn’t get its budgetary duties completed, in 2001, the task fell to then-Gov. Jim Gilmore…and the whole nasty episode probably did much to elevate the political fortunes of Mark Warner.
Or at least that’s the conventional wisdom. Jeff offers no context for that earlier fight — the centrality of the car tax battle, for instance, and the utter refusal of former Senate Finance committee chairman John Chichester and his fellow nabobs to play ball on the issue. But we can’t let details get in the way of a juicy narrative.
Though let’s assume Jeff’s sources are correct and that Senate Democrats would be willing to hamstring the budget over their lack of committee seats and chairmanships.
That puts their snit into context: it’s over power, not principle. And they are willing to hold their collective breath until they turn blue unless they get their way.
I would say that they need to be put in time out. But that would be treating the Democrats like two year-olds.
They have a long way to go before they rise to that level of competence.
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About the author
Norm Leahy has written about Virginia and national politics online since 2002, beginning with One Man's Trash (OMT), and continuing through Bacon's Rebellion (both the blog and the e-zine), Sic Semper Tyrannis, NBC12's Decision Virginia, Richmond.com and Tertium Quids. He is the chief blogger at "The Score" and a producer of "The Score" radio show as well as being a Washington Post contributor.
Comments
2 Responses to "Democrats threaten a massive hissy-fit over the budget"
Norm, I know that blogs have a different culture than say newspapers, but your childish attempt to cast those of the other party as obstructionists, given the way they have been treated this year in the organization of the Senate, defies rational analysis. Of course, if the shoe were on the other foot, as it will be someday, your language would be much different.
It is a fact that the good work done by Bearing Drift will only be able to continue if you use language designed to rile people up and make them angry? Is it a ” massive hissy fit” if republicans were to use the same tactics when they lack a majority? I know from reading your list of contributors that this blog is read by some of Virginians top political leaders. Must they be treated like 6th graders?
Well, Jeff might have had a point…if Democrats had any history of showing any party discipline in the General Assembly. I doubt Saslaw and McEachin can hold all the Dems on course to obstruct the budget unless committees are addressed. Some one will get criticized, get worried and break.
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