Norm Leahy commented on the end of Shaun Kenney’s tenure at the Republican Party of Virginia thusly, “this is now Ken Cuccinelli’s party.” That was enough set the factions of the party flailing at each other in the comments page, neither one recognize what really ails the party. The RPV has always had factional battles, for no other reason than that it’s a political party. They all have them. Parties argue about issue; they have since they were formed. Traditionally, one of the biggest arguments within the GOP has been about taxes.
That ended in 2013. for what really sank the party was when both faction leaders (Bill Bolling and Ken Cuccinelli) went squishy on taxes in his campaign. As Ken touted making the Bolling-backed Plan ’13 From Outer Space constitutional, and then reclaimed his horrific support for the 2007 tax hike (known at the time as HB3202), Cuccinelli divorced his campaign from the cause of limited government. The consequences of this cannot be understated.
Contrary to popular belief, the two RPV factions actually agree on a lot of stuff: there is no real difference between them on social issues, and neither really emphasize on foreign policy. It was only on economics – and taxes in particular – that one saw a disagreement about issues rather than people. Ken and Bill ended that in 2013.
Shorn from any policy disagreements, the factional battles devolved into an ever growing pile of personal slights and vendettas, with Republicans in Virginia seemingly unable to agree on anything except a willingness to tax the poor. Does it really surprise anyone that a party focused on tax hikes and trivialities suffered its first statewide sweep since 1989? Or its worst performance at the top of the ticket (Governor) since 1985?
The Republican Party of Virginia does not need the Establishment to lead it. It does not need the Tea Party insurgents to lead it. It needs opponents of tax hikes to lead it: from Pete Snyder to Susan Stimpson, from Barbara Comstock to Mark Cole.
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