There’s an old saying in politics – go big or go home.
Governor McAuliffe is a tried and true proponent of that political philosophy. On Monday he made the questionable claim that he’s had an almost perfect track record after his first year in office. I’ve always enjoyed the Governor’s sense of humor, and this is a perfect example of both that sense of humor and the deft skill at political spin of somebody who has spent years in the spotlight as a professional political turd polisher. Despite failing spectacularly at his top priority – medicaid expansion – he can claim success on the 95% of things nobody can name or remember.
The Governor just expanded on his go big or go home philosophy by announcing a series of policy proposals that he argues will “create a more open and welcoming environment for business development” but, in reality, represents one of the most bald faced political ploys in recent Virginia memory. Which is saying a lot. Unfortunately, the “go big” part of the plan is going big on election year gimmickry, not on policy change.
The Governor’s new “Equal Opportunity Legislative Agenda,” announced yesterday, is breathtaking in its scope – that scope being a hodgepodge of socially divisive wedge issues that have zero chance of seeing the light of day in the General Assembly.
In reality, each of the various proposals are so innocuous they can only be designed to embarrass Republicans and give the worst among us (and by that I mean Bob Marshall) a chance to demagogue in the hopes of causing national ridicule.
First, in what he cynically calls “creating a more inclusive environment for LGBT Virginians,” he calls for amending the Virginia Code to replace references to marriage that explicitly say “man and woman” or “husband and wife” to instead say “spouse.”
A blow struck for gay rights that will be heard round the globe … it ain’t.
I can understand why he’s doing that, but c’mon. Calling that “creating a more inclusive environment” is like arguing that if we change the name of the Redskins, they’re going to stop being awful. One does not follow the other. All this bill will do is make Bob Marshall go nuts and put a no-win vote before the GA.
Second, he buys into the same discredited claims that women are paid 79 cents for every dollar a man makes (although he gives them 2 cents more than President Obama, apparently), and then claims that he’s striking a blow for pay equity by raising the penalty employers who have violated equal pay laws (that already exist at both the federal and Virginia levels) from two to three times the lost wages of the employee. This is, again, almost nothing, because those who have been following the pay equity dispute already know how difficult it is for women to prove that they’ve been discriminated against. That’s why the Lily Ledbetter Act was passed in 2009 by the Democratic Congress. You’ve got to be able to prove your case before you worry about damages, and proving is still the hard part. But hey – making Republicans take a show vote on pay equity is great politics. Even my friend Rachel Maddow’s blog thinks so.
Third, he tears the scab off the wounds of UVA and the Rolling Stone debacle. He directs the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia to assist in the development of updated sexual misconduct policies. No big deal – they should have already been doing this, right? Here’s the kicker – he’s also proposing that all public colleges and universities document on a student’s academic transcript any dismissal from the institution for violation of the school’s sexual misconduct policy. Despite the fact that almost every college already asks if you’ve been expelled from a prior school and demands the reason, adding this to the transcript is a horrible idea given how fast and loose most colleges are with investigating and dealing with sexual misconduct. For an eye-opening discussion of the issues, this Slate article is hard to beat. Had he pushed to require all colleges and universities to turn over complete investigation and prosecution of sexual misconduct to local police and judicial authorities, I’d have been cheering him. Instead, he took another cynical baby step that really just forces a show vote in the legislature.
Fourth, he proposes allowing survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking (and their family members) to take leave from work to seek treatment for injuries, seek services from shelters, and the like. This is a bit superfluous, since the Family Medical Leave Act at the federal level already covers domestic abuse and the other issues covered could be considered serious medical issues under the current federal criteria. While it’s always good politics to recodify something that’s already in existence, it’s hard for the Governor to claim this is some big step forward towards promoting public safety.
And, finally, what progressive legislative agenda would be complete without abortion? The last plank in his legislative package is the inevitable push to roll back the mandatory ultrasound law passed in 2012.
So let’s go over that again – gay rights, women’s pay equity, sexual misconduct on campus, family medical leave and abortion.
Wedge issue, wedge issue, controversial wedge issue, wedge issue and the mother of all wedge issues.
Did I mention it was an election year?
I actually feel bad for my liberal and progressive friends who will have to defend these smallest of baby steps – they know in their hearts that this is just smoke and mirrors, but they’ll be forced to support it anyway. I’ll be amused to see how well they spin this, because that’s about all they’ll be able to do. Most of these provisions are dead on arrival in the General Assembly.
The Governor’s “Equal Opportunity Legislative Agenda” would be more aptly named the “Election Year Socially Divisive Wedge Issue Legislative Agenda.” This is nothing more than a cynical ploy to give Democratic candidates some talking points for November. Everybody knows it. I’m surprised the Governor is willing to be this obvious about it.
Looks like the Governor wants to trade in that “near-perfect track record” for a few seats in the General Assembly. I sure hope he doesn’t get his hopes up.
